Monday, March 30, 2009

Prophets

Tonight for FHE we talked about Prophets. We told the kids we were going to watch and listen to them this weekend in General Conference. It was short and sweet. I love how excited the kids get about family night and prophets and Jesus. It refreshes my faith.

But a few weeks ago a sister shared an experience with her encounter with President Monson in a hospital elevator. Then my cousin blogged about her encounter President Monson outside of an elevator this weekend. It made me remember my experiences with the Leadership of my Church.

I've never shaken hands with the President of the Church, but I have been in their presence several times. In General Conference, the General Relief Society meeting and BYU devotionals. But there have been a few times that I was able to talk with or be really close to the apostles.
The first occured while I was living in London for a study abroad. We were fortunate enough to attend a Single Adult Fireside with Elder Eyring and his wife. He was sooooo personable and made jokes throughout his talk. That is when I really grew fond of him as an individual and a prophet.
The second time happened about a year later. I roomed with a girl named Alina who married a boy named Matt. He is the grandson of Elder Ballard. I was one of her bridesmaids and "got" to stand in her reception line. I shook hands with Elder Wirthlin, Ballard and Perry and perhaps one more. The one I remember most was Elder Perry. Our conversation went something like this:
Elder P: Your dresses look beautiful.
Me: Thank you.
EP: Are you going to school?
Me: Yes
EP: How are your grades?
Me: embarrassed Pretty good, I think. Mostly A's and B's.
And then he gave me this look, like, "keep it up" and said, "That's good!"

I felt so elated! Sort of mad at myself for not getting straight A's! But he had such a presence (not just becuase he is sooooo tall), they all did!

The last experience has to do with my then BYU President, Elder Bateman, of the Quorum of the 70, and now Provo Temple President. I was walking in the Wilk (Wilkenson Center) and he and his wife were holding hands and simply walking down the hall. He is a very tall man, and she petite. But without even seeing their faces, they had an aura around them. I'm not a person who "see's" people's aura's or anything. I could just see their purity or brightness. It was almost as if they glowed. It was really really neat to see.

So have you had any encounters with the apostles and prophets?

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Colorado

This is several weeks late but better late than never, right?

The kids and I went to Colorado a few weeks ago. Tyler's mom and sister came out here for a clogging competition. Then his brother, wife and new baby decided to drive up to see them. And then another of Tyler's sister came down from BYU-I. It was a full house. They all stayed at our place. It was super fun to see them all, especially for the kids, but it was like living on a houseboat. Luggage, bedding and people everywhere in our little apartment.

Then his mom and sister drove back to Colorado with me. We spent about 5 days in Arvada. I wanted to get a lot of sewing done but only got a little bit. But I was able to get help from my MIL who is a great seamstress. Plus the kids had a great time w/two of their aunts and especially Gma and Gpa.
Plus, I was able to visit with my sister and her husband. She is due with her first child in about a month. It was fun to hang out with her. And we had one of my oldest (in knowing her, not years of her life :) ) friends, Nora, over and visited for hours while our kids played wonderfully together. Just like she and I did for so many years. Then a few days later I met up with another friend, Katherine. She was my freshman roommate over 10 years ago!!! It was nice to catch up with both friends.
It was a great week! I found a great deal on diapers over there and loaded up. The way home, was, well, I won't mention the word. Nothing wrong happened. Just the usual 8 hours of screaming, fighitng, nagging, and a bit of sleeping. I tried not to veer off the road while I was replacing Jocelyn's seat straps--one handed, fill their sippy cups and provide snacks and Clifford on CD. It was amazing that we survived the trip. I am grateful for prayer. Next time, I want to use a DVD player. That would have helped A LOT! I don't recommend driving alone, for 8 hours, with two practically helpless and strapped in toddlers. ugh.
But it was a great week! Fun times with the grandparents.

Surpise ingredient

I planned on making meatball subs the other night but I realized I didn't have any breadcrumbs. But next to the usual spot in the cupboard was this:

So I added it hoping it was taste okay. And guess what, it did! It tasted just like normal. Here is the recipe:

Wheat Germ Meatball Sandwiches
Serves 4.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine:
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 3/4 cup wheat germ
  • 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
  • 2 cloves minced garlic or garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Hoagie sandwiches
  • a touch of worcestershire sauce
  • 1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
  • Mozzerella cheese
  • more garlic and parm cheese
Combine the first set of ingredients in a bowl. Form into about 12-14 balls. Cook on foil covered cookie sheet for about 15 minutes.
While meat is cooking, slice hoagies, butter each side and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Then sprinkle with grated mozzarella or provolone cheese. Bake in oven the last 5 minutes with the meatballs. Meanwhile, heat spaghetti sauce. When meatballs are done cooking add them to the sauce. Place the meatballs and sauce on hoagies and eat!

Happy Birthday to ME


After a looooong week of opening my shop and getting very little sleep I had a wonderful birthday weekend. I turned 29! One more year until I turn 30! Weird.

It started Friday night. I threw a birthday party for myself for some of my very closest friends. I wanted to throw my own party so I could have it the way I wanted to. Is that selfish or what? I wanted to try out some of my party items before I sold them. And it turned out really well. I was happy when I stopped sewing for it though. It was a tedious process. But it looked really beautiful!

Then, the major thing I really wanted on my actual birthday (Saturday) was to SLEEP IN! And I got my wish. Tyler kept the kids at bay so I could rest until 10 am!! It was sooooo nice and I was so happy to see them when I woke up. The rest you probably don't care about...but I want to remember this day so I am sharing all details :) I then took the kids out in the beautiful weather and let them play on the playground. We came inside and ate lunch then I put them to bed (easily too) and drove down to Utah valley to register Samuel for pre-school. Then I went shopping at the GAP and found some great deals and got some free lotion from V.Secret. Then I met Tyler and the kids at Red Robin paid for by my free burger certificate and a gift card from my sister (thanks Rose!). And the kids were great once again in a restaurant! After we went to the mall and walked off the fulnness. We shopped at the Children's Place and bought the kids sunglasses (I'll have to post photos later, they picked them out themselves) and and a preppy Easter outfit for Samuel. Then off to get a free Blizzard. Then we put the kids to bed and we watched Cold Comfort Farm, a British TV movie. It was so fun! But then it continued. On Sunday, we woke up to blizzard like conditions but by the time church was over it was sunny and melting away. We had leftovers for dinner and Tyler made me some strawberry shortcake for dessert and I took a nap w/Jocelyn on the couch while Samuel watched a movie. Oh, it was nice! Perfect really!
Thank you all for the phone calls and cards. I love Birthdays!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

OPEN for business!

Bonne Nouvelle opened today!

Check it out and feel free to spread the word to your friends as well!

I will be adding new items as I make and photograph them.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me out, particularly Melissa and Sarah (she's the one who created my awesome logo/banner)!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Stay Tuned




Bonne Nouvelle opens on Tuesday! I am so excited, nervous and will probably be up late. Check it out right here at www.BonneNouvelle.etsy.com

lf any of you (friends and family that I personally know) want to personally order items you see in the shop please leave me a comment or better yet email me at shopbonnenouvelle@gmail.com . I can set up a custom order for you or we can arrange payment options.

Keep checking regularly as I will be adding new items almost daily!

À Bientôt (roughly translated as, "see you later")!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Wheeler Farm




It was so gorgeous this week! I got sunburned it was so warm :)

I took the kids to Wheeler Farm for some quality time together. I've been so busy getting ready to open my shop that I feel I haven't spent any personal time with them. We went to Wheeler Farm to feed the ducks, play on the tractors and watch the baby animals eat. And to prove to Samuel, that yes, animals eat and poop too.




So, I got a little picture happy.

Making progress

Samuel has been accident free for 2 weeks now!!!!!! I think he has turned the corner, finally. He'll poop on his own! yay!!!!!!!!

Not so Martha Stewart

I don't know exactly why, but I have been a poor cook lately.
I've burned just about everything, including oatmeal. Who does that? Samuel wouldn't eat it because he said it tasted like broccoli. And I didn't blame him because it was nasty.
Then I burned canned tomato sauce.
And then I ruined a crock-pot dinner. Look if you dare. Who can ruin crock-pot dinners? I can!
I made a tuna pasta dish. And I've made it before but forgot that the instructions are poor. It suggested cooking it for 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 on high. It was done after 3 hours on low. Then it was just a big pile of mushy noodles. So I threw in in the fridge and had to pre-heat the oven, grate some cheese on it so it was edible and heat it for 15 mintues. So much for planning ahead. I still had to "cook" it. Waste of time! And now I have to force myself to eat the leftovers. ugh.
I only have like 2 good crock-pot dishes. I have a cookbook too but none of them really sound that appetizing or don't require frozen or raw meat. dang.

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V-ball

I decided to buck up and exercise. The girls in the ward have been playing weekly and I've heard so many rumors about it that I decided I wanted to be in on the crowd and played myself.

To be honest, I was scared, mostly due to the aforementioned rumors (really competitive, bruised arms, 2 hours of playing!). But these ladies are all my friends (11 of us played that night) and I lasted the whole 2 hours. And I didn't feel too sheepish even after not having played in over 10 years. Tyler laughed imagining me playing any group sport. But I did pretty well! I'll go again! Thanks ladies!
Needless to say, I slept so well that night. And I didn't get bruises (we used a nice soft ball) but my arms did itch. And now, two days later, I am STILL sore. I feel like an old lady every time I sit down or stand up. I have to put my weight onto something to get up. Oh, sad. But it's a good pain, you know?
Oh, and the best part was....I didn't think about my etsy shop once! That's a record!
Stay tuned because my shop is opening very soon......

St Patrick's Day

Well, I remembered my SIL's B-day on this day but not the holiday. Not until I went visiting teaching. But it just so happened that I dressed myself and the kids in green! Weird, eh? So we didn't get pinched.
Then I felt mommy guilt about not making green eggs and ham so I made something else instead.
Green quiche w/spinach, green beans and limeade. Then green jello for dessert!

So that was our green holiday. That's all. (more like a journal post than anything). Thanks for being so lucky and reading this post. You feeling it??? huh? I didn't think so.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Inspiration


Here is a stack of some of the fabrics I bought a few weeks ago. I LOVE THEM! I bought them from fabricpalooza on Etsy. Aren't they beautiful? They are a combination of designer fabrics. Oh, yes. I've turned into a bit of a fabric snob. Never thought I would. They include designers such as Joel Dewberry, Amy Butler, and Heather Bailey. But every time I look at them I think happy thoughts. I have so many ideas in mind I can't keep up. But just you wait, I hope to open in the next two weeks!

These are the two names that I have narrowed my shop ideas to. I am sooooo indecsive and can't make up my mind! I like both for many reasons. My shop will be elegant, classy, sophisticated, practical yet fun and smart.

Option 1:

As You Like It Studios
: Staging your Good News (this is the tagline)

OR

Bonne Nouvelle
: Staging your Good News (this is the tagline)

What do you think?
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Monday, March 2, 2009

Women's Conference 2009

Well, good news. Samuel hasn't vomited for over 24 hours and my pile of laundry disappeared! I did it! Wahoo.

This is just a head's up. Registration for Women's Conference at BYU has begun.
I went last year and LOVED it and am looking for any friends who want to tag along this year.
Date: April 30 and May 1st.
Cost: 2 days (and paid by April 3) is $40 1 day, $23. After April 3rd, $47/$27
Featured speakers: Thursday: Sandra Rogers and Camille Fronk Olson Friday: Elder Perry and Sr. Julie Beck

I am going on Friday (I would love to go both days, especially because I love the service activities on Thursday, but it's Tyler's B-day).

Soooooo, if anyone wants to go w/me let me know! Otherwise I'll be going by myself again this year (which I loved doing last year).

Anyway, it's so worth the day off and the spiritual boost.

Here is the link to the website.