One-on-Four

Last weekend Ben and I stayed at his brother's house to watch their three boys. These mushers are so cute - Stockton, Branson, and Gannon - very well-behaved, and very active! Luckily the boys have plenty of playmates in the neighborhood... I looked up from the dishes to see all these little people around the house, "who are you? and you?"
The great thing about young boys is that they love to be outside! Lots of basketball all weekend. Branson, the middle-child, kept asking in his darling voice, "Lowen, do you wanna vewse (verse) me?" and when I accepted, he said, "just so you know, I'm gonna cweam you..."

Ben was brave enough to take the boys on Robb's toy - this gator or whatever it's called. I was like a frightened mother, "okay, you hang on tight, and don't let go, and Ben, don't drive fast!!!" I'm getting a glimpse of how mothers worry even when their children are in the hands of their own father :)

This picture is with Gannon, the youngest, who said, "Waren, get in da wagon, I'm gonna pull you"... he did surprisingly well considering the circumstances, the toughest part was me trying to get my backside to fit in the wagon.
It was a really fun weekend - the boys are so nice to their new "aunt lollipop".

Love this Lantern

I was reading the latest edition of Lucky, when I found this very chic throw blanket featured toward the back, citing wrapables.com. I was intrigued, excited, and as soon as I logged on - inspired!
I love to shop/window shop online - and beyond the usual hotspots I visit, aka, bluefly, or the classic sites I often browse, aka, banana or vs, or whatev, I LOVE finding new sites that are worth coming back to.
I would describe their stock as hip - while I wouldn't want to fill every room with it's items - I enjoyed searching through the site's various product categories. Cool patterns, modern ideas, and a selection that's extensive without being obnoxious (I hate that). Definitely a site to bookmark in case you ever need something unexpected to add to your decor.

My favorite thing I found? This gorgeous Chinese lantern.
Now, of course no one needs a Chinese lantern with Koi swimming around on it... but... I love to decorate with accessories that inspire me. If I only have one design instinct, that would be it. I find that I never regret those purchases, but always remember it as more like a great memory, a joyous acquisition!

Share the Wealth

One of the purposes of this blog is to share things that I've learned/ found to benefit the lives of my visitors. It dawned on me this past week that I must blog on this subject.

I've found the perfect sheets. I miss them when I'm staying away from home. Sometimes I take the flat sheet with me when I travel, is that weird? I have this maternal instinct that makes me crave soft towels, crisp sheets, fresh smelling soap -- the niceties of a simple yet comfortable life at home.

My freshman roommate, Niki, introduced me to the sheets in our dorm room six years ago. It was love at first sleep. I'll give her full credit. Although I've tried different thread counts, various colors and blends, I've never found anything that compares to the softness, the silkiness, and the coolness of this certain pair. You'd think that the higher the count, the softer the sheets, not so. (am I right, Taryn?)

Try them. If you aren't completely satisfied after at least two washings, I'll pay you for them and you can send them to me. The sheets are made by Wamsutta, 300 thread count Egyptian Cotton sheets. DON'T be fooled by imitations, if you're going to take my challenge, you must buy the exact pair.

Life Saver, Life Soother

I was a bit late in picking up John Mayer's latest album, Continuum. I've been an unabashed fan of Johnny's ever since he was 'running through the halls of his high school, screaming at the top of his lungs'. Not obsessed, but devoted.
I love the lyrics, the melody and his voice. The mood his music puts me in. Sedate at times, pensive, energized, you name it. I don't stay up on his social life or care much to, I just like (LOVE) his music.

All that to say that for the past two weeks, I've been listening to Continuum on repeat. At work. An attachment has developed. Listening to the album takes me to a place I'd rather be. Favorite tracks are 4, 7, 10, oh heck, and the rest of them too. As usual with John's albums, I find that I grow to most love the songs that never make the radio.

Just blogging about him makes me soothed. If you like John, do yourself a favor and download/buy the album. And if you don't need an escape while at your desk, try listening to the album as you're driving in the evening- one of my favorite moments of Spring so far.

The Mormon Way

I got an e-mail this morning from my sister-in-law with a link to this promo for a book called "The Mormon Way of Doing Business". I enjoyed watching the short clip that was produced for the book.

Last week I read an article on the reaction to the CEO of JetBlue coming forward to admit the mistakes and errors his company made when 1,000 flights were canceled last month. People were astonished at his honesty and desire to right the wrongs... a true rarity in today's competitive world where blame is ever-shifted.

If you have a moment, click and watch the 5 minute promo. I haven't read the book yet, but if you have any comments - please post. The book review mentions most of the LDS leaders that hold high offices in some of the world's largest corporations... among them - CFO Crittenden and CEO Archibald. (click on the book to link to Amazon.com)

Another Wedding!

Our darling little Tessa is getting married! Tessa and Duffy have set a date for May 26 at the Timpanogos temple. We're all so thrilled to have another blue-eyed, brown-haired, handsome husband joining our ever-growing family. Congratulations to the happy couple! Click here to leave a comment on their wedding website.

Click here

Okay, Tessa is over tonight and she took me to You Tube... to see the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

Click here

Tell me what you think.

Ben's a Star!

I couldn't resist! Okay, but the fist time we did this other picture of Ben, you wouldn't believe what kind of matches came up. Gorbechov, John Voight, and some guy with reniassance/ girl hair. So pick a picture that works for you. :)

Movie Weekend

Last weekend Ben and I laid low. Which I LOVE. I have friends that live in the fun, bustling cities of New York, DC, etc., where I'm sure it is fun to go out and see the sights, shows, and try new, hip restaurants. But here, for us, "new" is the new slurpee flavor at the seven eleven down the block.

Okay, so I exaggerate a little bit. But the truth is I love to stay in when it is cold. Give me a blanket, a movie, and some movie treats, and I'm a happy camper. Ben and I rented The Prestige and Annapolis. Both very good movies. I really thought The Prestige was well done, and just as good as it's rival movie, The Illusionist. Both are well worth seeing and very androgynous. (or should I use the phrase "couple-friendly")


Oh, we also saw Casino Royale for the second time. If you haven't seen it, you should. Although the film received lashings for it's choice of a 'blond Bond' - who the heck cares. It was a good movie, and after watching it, I thought Daniel Craig had surely shamed his whimpy, pretty Bond predecessors.

I'm a celebrity

I saw this on someone else's blog and HAD to try it. I think it's pretty funny, and kinda cool the way you can really see a resemblance to people who happen to be beautiful and famous. What a morale booster! Makes me feel like I could float down the red carpet with these ladies... what do you think??

Doing this requires a membership to myheritage.com - but if you send me an email with a photo of yourself, I'll do it for you. It's fun!

I Hate

I don't like to think of myself as a negative person, but today I felt I should create a blog that would be filled with only daily annoyances. Traffic, idiot drivers, waterspots on clean dishes, etc. Today's post would be on the dreaded post office. It is a place that none of us can avoid.

I usually send my letters with stamps, and so forth, but there is that rare occasion where, I MUST go to the post office. Today I even tried to send a padded envelope through the office mail, obviously covered with too many stamps - but who wants to risk the almost certain chance that it will be returned due to 'lack of sufficient postage'... thus creating the need to visit the post office. Taryn, let me know if/when you get the envelope.

Today, I decided to brave the PO on my lunch hour, because the post office isn't open before work and it sure isn't open afterwards. I thought I was being clever in going after 1 pm... not so. Here's how it is at the post office in downtown SLC...

First of all, you have to take a ticket to get into the parking lot! yes, and if you're there longer than 30 minutes, you have to pay! Then, you have to brave the crazy parking lot where there is no 'right way' down any lane, and certainly no 'right of way'. Yuk. I get into the post office, after the lunch rush, and the line is out the door! So I count. There are 8 available counter-desks that could be occupied with clerks, yet only 3 people working. And working slowly. Of course. With 18 people in line, some with huge/many packages, I feared I'd be spending my entire lunch hour at the post office, and paying to park! Meanwhile I'm plugging my nose, as I have NO idea where the nasty unkempt man in front of me has been.

How frustrating - why does the post office have to be soooo annoying? It's not like it hasn't been around for ever and they haven't had time to work out the system. In heaven, we won't need postage and so we most certainly won't need the post office! Something to look forward to!
In the meantime, you better believe I'm going to get online and try to figure out usps.com and calculating postage, etc., and anything else I'd have to do to avoid the post office at all costs.

Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all have a great V-day... whether it's a secret admirer, a husband, or your own spoiling (sometimes spoiling yourself is the most fun) - I hope it turns out to be a good day. Write a comment if something fun happened today, I love a good dish.

I got a great recipe for Sugar Cookies and made them last night. I'll post the recipe on the internecipies blog. I decorated them (it was hard!) and brought them to work today. They weren't as 'how you say' photogenic as they are yummy, so I'm posting this picture instead. From Martha.

Love to all!