My Daughter, the Athlete

So my daughter, age 12 found out I had a blog and of course, the first thing she asked was..."Mom, are you going to write about me?" I told her "Oh probably! I'll sneak in and take a picture of you sleeping tonight & write about how loud you snore!" She told me I shouldn't lie on my blog! So, I guess that's out!

So I'll tell you what she's really like. She's an athlete. From the minute she was first placed in a blanket the first thing she did was wiggle her toes free. The girl needs to be able to move her feet. It should've been a clue to her future. She wanted to dance at age 4, I made her wait until she was 5. She wasn't happy with JUST that, because that only occupied her 1 day a week. She needed more, so we added soccer, that took up 2 days a week for 2 months out of the year. (Don't worry, I'm not one of "THOSE MOMS"!). She still wasn't happy, so I got her a bike so she could use those feet to pedal about. That seemed to do it. The girls a worker, she stays in shape, she motivates herself and she isn't intimidated by taller kids, complicated dance moves, taller players, BOYS or even a lot of hard work. I'm quite proud of her.

Last year she decided that she wanted to perform a solo at a few dance competitions. That would've been meant private 1 on 1 lessons, costumes, entrance fees, extra props here and there. The dollar wheels were spinning in my mind and I was getting nauseous about it. Luckily she had an AWESOME dance teacher that provided a means for her to do this. FUNDRAISERS! UGH! I about died when she told me "Mom, I get 1/2 amount of the money from what I sell! I only have to sell X amount to get enough to pay for it." Her figures were off, WAAAAAAY off, but I didn't have the heart to tell her. I hate fundraisers, I hate taking my kid around guilting people into buying things they really don't want. But she was determined. Now mind you, this was NOVEMBER in UTAH! It's COLD! She grabbed her salesheet, clipped it to a clipboard, shoved her pencil between her teeth and hopped on that trusty pedal-bike! By the time she was done, she had readjusted her goal several times and had earned enough to pay for her entire year of dancing!!!!!!!! I was FLOOORED! But I was most proud of her when people would call me telling me how polite and informed she was! Little did I know that would end up being her last year of dancing. (at least for awhile) Her beloved teacher retired to have a family and so the dancing shoes were hung up for awhile.

This was the result: 1st Attendant!!!



This year she is concentrating on soccer and a new sport: Gymnastics! She's been to 3 lessons. She's taken gymnastics in the past, when she was 4 and a few months when she was in 3rd or 4th grade. But it's been awhile. Tonight she performed with some other gymnasts at half-time at the football game! Imagine my shock to watch her do back-flips and back hand-springs!!!! THREE LESSONS I tell you, THREE! I was so proud of her willingness to work hard to get herself where she thought she should be. The girl's gonna go far. I'm proud of her! I love her, she keeps me on my toes!!!


Check out that concentration! Eye's always on the ball but keenly aware of where that ball needs to go, who she needs to get it to and who she needs to get away from.

I Love to See the Temple

.....I'm going there today......

I love days like today! Getting up and going to the temple....what a wonderful, peaceful way to start the day. My friend, Tamara & I left right after we put the kids on the bus and got home just as they were getting off the bus. Talk about perfect timing, 'eh?! We had the best time & I learned so much today. It was really a great day.

Oh! And a funny thing happened....we went into Ephriam to pick up Tamara's son and then went back into Manti for lunch at this burger joint. We're sitting there (and there were TONS of empty booths in the place, and a lady & her husband sat down to eat. A conversation ensued between her and I and somehow I found out that she was from Florida and knew a lady that I've known from an email list for approximately 8 years! What a small world it is! I keep thinking, "if we'd been a little later or earlier getting to the temple, if we'd eaten in Ephriam, if we'd done this different or that different, we wouldn't have met." I don't believe in coincidence and this certainly reaffirmed that for me today.

Tonight I helped the Young Women in my ward stamp up some cards for a "Grandma Party" they are having. We stamped up 25 cards in an hour! I was so impressed! We did it assembly-line style. And as it worked out.....every single girl had a job. I love it when that happens. Again....no coincidences!

And so, as I sign off tonight, there's only one way to put this day to bed.....with some lullabies to the kids, alone time with my hubby and plate of Chips Ahoy with a big ol' glass of milk! DUNKIN' TIME!!! *SLURP*

Treasure Hunt!

Speaking of Hunting......Wanna do some TREASURE HUNTING?!

Cornish Heritage Farms is having a treasure hunt to introduce you to their newest rubberstamp designer Kim Hughes. You'll find lots of treasures along the way and have the opportunity to win lots of wonderful new stamps.

Begin the hunt here: http://blog.cornishheritagefarms.com


HAVE FUN!!!!

PS I'm still learning how to make it so you can click on a link and go to the website, BUT....somehow I was able to do it by just clicking on the title of this post. So, if you click on "Treasure Hunt", it will take you to the start of the Treasure Hunt. Have Fun!!! (And if any of you can teach me how to make that work, and even better how I can just type a word in the body of a post and make it go there, PLEASE show me how! Thanks a bazillion!!!

MAN STUFF!

Today started out "RIGHT" for the man of my house! It was dark, but I can almost guarantee my hubby was smilin' as he left the house this morning at what seemed like "Dark-thirty A.M.". Even if I'd looked out the window I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to pick him out, dressed in Camo and all! And that's why he was happy....He was: *insert "Man-Grunt Voice" GOIN' HUNTIN'!!!! Normally it's only a day on the golf course that invokes that type of happiness in him, or a day at the racetrack (NASCAR, not horses), but once a year, the testosterone starts pumpin' and the camo starts appearing and there is some kind of secret grunt talk that happens between fellow hunters about what they've seen (the locations of really BIG ONES are not divulged and a TRUE hunter knows how to figure that out without outright asking!), when they are going, what type of weapon will be used and what type of equipment (GPS units, walkie-talkies, scopes, cameras, calling devices, even urine-scented "cologne") will be used! YUCK!!! It's quite a scene to behold.

For years I've dreaded this time of year! I like my husband...A LOT! I hate not having him around for days on end, I worry about him getting hurt and not being able to phone for help and the fact is, I hate the idea of just killing animals for sport. Today it occurs to me (And Darren, if you are reading this, keep in mind this may be a Fleeting thought!) that this is who he is....He's a man that needs to be out in nature. He has shot one elk and it was not just a "sport kill", we used the meat it provided for our family and were grateful for it. I keep thinking about the saying "A Leopard can't change his spots". Perhaps (Again, Darren, I say PERHAPS!) it's time for me to stop trying to. This "1 day at a time" hunting is better than days on end. He takes precautions and I know that he wants to come back safely too. I can't guarantee anything (Heaven knows and we've seen that even GOLF can be a "Hazardous contact sport"----another story another day!).

So, since I don't have any "hunting" cards to show you, I'll show you this "Spotted Leopard" card I made awhile back. It's one of those that you can mass-produce in very easily!




Leopard Card Recipe:
Stamps: "In the Wild" (SU)
Cardstock: More Mustard, Black (SU)
Ink: Basic Black (SU)
Ribbon: Black Grosgrain (SU)
Other: Daubers (SU)

Happy Fathers Day Hunters Card
Stamps: Great Outdoors Stampin Around Wheel, Canvas BG (SU)
Cardstock: Mellow Moss, Basic Black, Kraft (SU)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Other: Wire, Pop-Up Glue Dots, Black Marker

Best Wishes Card

Just thought I'd give you a little something to look at! Here is one of my favorite kinds of cards to make, it's called a pocket card. For those of you familiar with Stampin Up (SU) stamps, you will surely notice my obsession with Background (BG) Stamps! I think there are like 5 different ones used on this card alone! That's got to be some kind of record! LOL

Here's the recipe:
Cardstock: Bazzill, Roberts Crafts & SU
Stamps: French Script, Floral, Soft Swirls, Print Pattern, Linen BG's, Small Script
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black (SU) VersaMark
Punches: 1" circle, 1/16" hole punch, Corner Rouncer (SU) Fleur De Leis Corner Punch (Fiskars?)
Primas
Brads (Creating Keepsakes)
Ribbon Pink Organdy, Silver Cord (SU) Pink(Source Unknown)

Time to Take the Plunge!

Today I received the sweetest email from my friend, Valerie asking if I had started a blog yet. I've been thinking about it all day & decided that it's time to do it. She is such an inspiration on so many levels and certainly was that today. So Val, here's to you & all of the others that have encouraged me to start blogging and share my thoughts and stamping creations. I am truly blessed with some great friends and I'm so grateful. I'm hoping this little blog will provide an opportunity to share some of my heart with you.

Thanks so much!