An attempt to procrastinate...

I'm supposed to be packing.
Ug. I love going on trips but I sure hate packing.
But I have my lists, I have my bags, and I think everything is now in one room. That always helps.
So here I go.
Off to pack.
To pinch and shove and make it all fit.
And then hope I didn't forget some of the most important items. (Like I tend to do when I'm frantically packing the night before!)
Well...procrastination over. I want to go to bed soon.

Texas here we come!!!

Week 2 of the quilt along...

I don't know why looking at my stack of fabric strips makes me so happy...
but it does.
I just love that pretty soon it is going to be sewn.
And cut some more.
And then sewn again~
to make something beautiful
and cozy
and lasting.

An heirloom.

How exciting!!

100

Ooooh, this is my 100th post!! Wow. Thiscalls for some kind of celebrating.
Which means 100 things about me. Lucky you. ;)
Okay. I think I can do this. Here goes:

1. My name is Nicole.
2. My middle name is Marie.
3. I am married to my very best friend who I love so much. His name is Jeff.
4. We were married in the San Diego Temple.
5. We have two sweet, beautiful little boys.
6. My first girl's middle name will be Marie.
7. I have a twin sister.
8. I have 1 fabulous younger sister and 2 amazing younger brothers
9. I have 3 sisters in law, & 4 brothers in law. I love them all.
10. My 3 nieces and 3 nephews are some of my very favorite people. They are all so stinkin cute.
11. I love the color pink. and green. and turquoise right now.
12. My favorite holiday is Christmas.
13. I am 28 years old.
14. I took clogging classes when I was younger.
15. I graduated from Ricks College.
16. My first major at Ricks was Performing Arts.
17. I quickly switched that major to Interpersonal Communications.
18. But I have grown up always wanting to act and have been in a few plays.
19. I love to sing and often sing at the top of my lungs. Good thing my boys love music.
20. I love being married and being a mom.
21. I also love my life.
22. I have taken 2 voice lessons in my life but it is my goal to take a lot more of them eventually.
23. I took piano lessons for 1 year and wish wish wish I had taken them longer. So sometime in my life I will also take piano.
24. I want to learn the violin.
25. I was on the dance team in high school.
26. I am LDS
27. I have brown hair and brown eyes..and I like that.
28. I love to make things.
29. I am currently making my first quilt.
30. My favorite sport to play is volleyball. That doesn't mean I am good.
31. My favorite sport to watch is basketball...
32. However, I am learning to love football
33. since I am married to a Cowboys fan!
34. My favorite candy is skittles. And reeses pieces. and anything chocolate. but no nuts.
35. My favorite food is lasagna. However, I am really craving tacos right now.
36. I don't really love cooking.
37. But I do love feeding my family.
38. I love cereal. I think it could be eaten at any meal.
39. I also love ice cream. Hmmm... sweet tooth here.
40. But salad is my other favorite food.
41. I love eating salad with ranch dressing and sunflower seeds.
42. I make a fabulous banana bread. Well..we all like it.
43. I grew up in CA.
44. I love the beach more than just about any other place.
45. I have only been to 2 other countries: Mexico and Ecuador.
46. I have been to Mexico on family vacations and
47. on a cruise for my honeymoon.
48. I have worked in orphanages in Ecuador. I loved it and miss those beautiful, sweet babies.
49. I have worked with children with Autism. And I love them.
50. I love road trips. Errr.. I loved them as a child and as an adult. As a mom to toddlers they are a little crazy.
51. One of my favorite family vacations is camping.
52. I have been water skiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding.
53. I love wakeboarding the most.
54. My first car was a toyota corolla. Great little car.
55. I absolutely LOVE reading.
56. Fantasy and YA novels are my favorite.
57. Someday I will write a novel.
58. Someday I will also be organized....
59. Because if I'm honest with myself, I know I'm not (organized that is)
60. I want to take a photography class.
61. I would love to own a Canon Rebel. Somday!
62. I also want to take a photoshop class.
63. I have my own etsy shop.
64. I love my parents.
65. I love my in-laws too!
66. I just have the best family ever. Really, I do.
67. I wear chapstick.
68. I seldom wear lipstick.
69. I put on makeup every single day. Well, minus the days my husband asks me not to...for some reason he likes when I don't wear it?!
70. I like to jog.
71. I am afraid of losing my sight.
72. I took Sign Language classes in college. It is such a beautiful language.
73. I like the snow for about 2 days. Then I hate the snow.
74. I have snowboarded. I really liked it, but haven't gone much.
75. I graduated from BYU with a degree in Marriage, Family, Human Development.
76. I love learning.
77. I greatly dislike speaking in front of people.
78. I much prefer small groups
79. I LOVE to play games.
80. My current favorite game is Ticket to Ride.
81. I am terrified of heights.
82. I will try most anything once. And only once. (except really really really gross things)
83. My favorite restaurant is Cafe Rio. Oh and Fuddruckers.
84. I am also absolutely terrified of sharks. Even more than heights.
85. My favorite place to be is home.
86. I love a clean house.
87. Sometimes my clean laundry never gets folded and we wear everything out of the basket. But only sometimes.
88. I read to my boys every single day.
89. I want to live in a warm state.
90. but I am happy with my life. :)
91. I love giving gifts.
92. I daydream a lot. About places to go, things to see, people to visit. and then I wake up and know that I am in heaven right here.
93. I love sleeping in.
94. But I also love being up early and feeling productive.
95. Sea World is my favorite theme park.
96. Lost is my favorite TV show. And American Idol.
97. I have lived in 3 different states so far.
98. I want to visit every single state someday!!
99. I will accomplish everything on my dream list
100. With my sweet family right by my side!

That's it: 100 things about me that I am SURE you wanted to know!!

Happy 100!

More happy thoughts...

On the days when I am the most tired, least patient, and completely overwhelmed with everything on my to-do list...
I just have to sit back and think about all of the beauty that surrounds me.
Those happy little moments throughout the day that put things in perspective:

Tave's pats on my back when I pick him up.
Weston's laugh when I say something funny.
Weston saying something funny.
Seeing Tave SO proud of himself because he climbed ALL of the stairs.
The gorgeous weather we've been having.
How the second shopping trip of the day was surprisingly smooth considering the time of day (dinner time) and I found a very cute shirt for tomorrow's photo shoot.
A visit from a friend.
Hanging out with my sister and niece while the guys worked on the shop.
Feeling the baby in Shar's tummy turn just a little.
Jamba Juice and pretzel bites.
and, of course, that sweet kiss from my hubby at the end of the day.

I'd say it was a pretty good day, afterall.

Good thing...

We were up at least 5 times last night with our stuffy nosed sweety of a 2 year old.
He hates stuffy/runny noses. One minute it's running all over the place and the next you go to blow and nothing will come out. Quite annoying. I can understand why he was so miserable and frustrated.
As I lay back on my pillow for what felt like the millionth time last night, I thought to myself: "Self, it's a pretty darn good thing you went to bed as early as you did or you would be ever more tired than you are right now."

So it pays to go to bed early.

Also, Jeff and I read along as we watched this talk by Elder Holland again. It's incredible. We try to read it every couple of months as a reminder. (Here are some of my previous thoughts on it)
And wow. I have so much to work on.
But it helped. It helped me be more patient and kind in my speaking today. It helped me keep my mouth closed when I wanted to say something I shouldn't. It helped me turn a possibly-could-have-been-not-so-nice way of saying things into a postive-uplifting-was-very-nice comment instead.

So it's a good thing I read that too.

It's amazing how some very small choices made a huge difference in my day.

Sleepy-head

We are going to bed before 10 o'clock tonight.
And I am so thrilled. The idea of so much sleep is making me all cozy and happy.
Because I don't think we've gone to bed that early since before we had children.
Not because of our children, welllll.... maybe in a way it is because of them...
Our kiddos are in bed by 730, 8 tops.
That means we have the rest of our evening to ourselves. And I sure like to jam pack my evening full of conversations, crafting, emailing, blogging, cleaning and everything that I might try to do during the day but only happens half-way, or a quarter-way, or no way.
Which usually means I am up until midnight. Pretty much every night. And if I get some reading in after all of this, well it's even later than that.

So even though I have lots of new items to post in my shop
and a great book calling my name
and a quilt that wants to be made
and lots and lots of blogs to catch up on
and a house that's begging to be cleaned...

I am going to sleep.

Good night!

Snail Mail

We live in the days of computers, iphones, emails, and pretty much instantaneous access to whomever or whatever we would like.
No wonder our children are not developing patience.
(but that is another day's post)
Getting actual mail from the mailbox may take a little longer, but it sure is a treat and something special!
So how surprised was I when today I received not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 different items of mail that made my day. (and NONE of them were bills!)

Mail #1:
A 1 year old birthday announcement for my cousins darling little girl, Abby. Abbers, we sure love and miss you. We cannot wait to meet you very very soon!
Mail #2: A lovely invitation to Jeff's cousin's bridal shower. Erin, Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I so wish I could be there. We are thrilled for you and Luke and can't wait to see and hear about all of the details of your perfect day!!
Mail #3: A package of earrings that I got for a steal of a deal on etsy. Oh how I love etsy. Thanks, Emily. They are gorgeous and I can't wait to wear them!
Mail #4: My sweet mom surprised me with a package full of some vintage buttons. Mom, your sweet, fun little package made my day. Thank you! I am already imagining the possibilities. I'm thinking some really cool necklaces are about to be made...

What a happy-making day!

Have you gotten anything exciting via snail mail lately?

Summer means...

Campouts and bonfires-
Holding hands with my hubby as we stroll down the gravel path to our campsite.
Good company and scrumptious smores around the campfire before bed.
Birds chirping ever so loudly while I am trying to get a little extra snoozing in the morning.
Rock-climbing and hiking and enjoying all the beauty of nature.
Bright, sun-shiny days.

Backyard barbeques-
Yummy, delicious hamburgers with all the fixins.
Barefeet in the grass.
The sound of my children playing and squealing with their friends.
Laughter and light-hearted conversation with our own dear friends.

Summer is officially here and I am in heaven!!