Wrapping Things Up

My goodness the week has flown by! And where have I been? Not roaming around the blogosphere sadly. I've missed my frequent little updates and peeks into the windows of everyone else's world, families and homes out there.

So . . . . where have I been?

Here mostly . . . it was my looooonnnngggg working streak that I have to participate in once a month, where I pretty much work, breath, work, breath, occasionally eat, occasionally sleep. (I really only work 24 hours a week, two 12 hour night shifts from 7 pm to 7 am but I cluster the shifts all together at the end of one week and the beginning of the next so I can have a big loooonnngggg break now - aahhh yes, it feels soooo good to be done:)


And in a few of the moments when I wasn't trying to eat, breath, sleep or work; I was here. A friend persuaded me (didn't take much persuasion actually since I love to take photos for just about everyone) to come help her with a scrap booking project. She is in charge of putting together an annual scrapbook for our high school's soccer team. I managed to take some of the most awesome photos for the scrapbook!




Then, in addition to all the above . . .

Yesterday, it was my turn to present at our monthly book club. This month we were reading "Life of Pi". Can I tell you it is one of my most favorite books ever. If you check my profile you'll see I have a pretty short list of ~~~most favorite books ever~~~~ and "Life of Pi" is on that list. I highly recommend it. It is beautiful, exciting, adventurous, religious, endearing, captivating, and more. At first I was so disappointed with the ending, but the more I came to understand the book, and the message the author was trying to impress upon the reader, the more I LOVED the ending. Kind of a surprise twist there - which I'm not about to spoil for the rest of you. Hope you'll give it a try, I highly recommend it. There's nothing like an author who can truly tell a GOOD story.


My husband left this morning for this place - time to get the houseboat in shape for all our summer adventures. Just a little weekend of hammering, painting and otherwise fixing and repairing all things having to do with the houseboat.

Leaving Kelsie and I at home tonight - to go have dinner at this place. (sorry to borrow your photo Tilt Photography, I'll bring it right back)

Yummy Lemon-lime Grilled Chicken BLT with Sweet Potato Fries for me, and luscious Lemon Chicken Alfredo with Hummus on herb baked lavash crackers and pita bread (a brave selection for my Kelsie I must admit) for Kelsie. And brought home this for dessert . . .

And that about
wraps it all up

and now I'm home,

and it feels so good.

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A Third Place - i♥faces

Yay! I'm so excited!

I love to enter the weekly photography contest over at

i♥faces

it's so much fun and it gives me a goal to really work towards for the week.

Anyway, I never win and seldom remember to check back to see who really DID win, so much to my surprise, I was browsing the winners for

Week 13 - "My Friend & I"

and there was my photo in third place.

It really is one of my very favorite photos ever. It's our reunion in Southern Utah over spring break when my two daughters were finally reunited after being separated while Karianne was away at college for sooooo long.

You can see some of my other i♥faces entries here, and you're always welcome at

Pickled Pepper Photography.

You might enjoy the other winners also!

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I'm Thinking . . .

I've just been thinking all week . . .

I'm thinking of my of my good friend and neighbor who has been caring so diligently for her aging father, who has increasingly become afflicted with dementia, and her family members who have had to make the most difficult decision ever to separate him from the love of his life and move him into a home in an assisted living center . . .

I'm thinking about our good friends who just received the unexpected news that he has a tumor on his liver, that he has cancer of the common bile duct, that he may be able to extend his life through chemotherapy and radiation and possibly surgery to remove 1/3 of his liver, that he will probably ultimately not be able to beat this particular type of cancer, and it realistically may claim his life . . .

I'm thinking about some old friends who recently lost a 16 month toddler grandson, who was playing outside with his grandma, when he was accidentally run over as he crawled under a large truck for a toy, the driver was his 19 year old uncle who is currently serving a mission but is home due to extreme abdominal problems he is being treated for . . .

I'm thinking of my brother and his wife, and how much they are missing their 19 year old son who was killed two months ago in an automobile accident while returning from snowboarding with some friends. And I'm thinking about their 18 year old son who was the driver of the vehicle, and hoping that he is doing well and still surrounded by his good friends . . .

I'm thinking about my good friend at work who recently underwent a thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer, and just found out that the cancer has metastasized to other different locations, including her lung and left eye . . .



I just keep thinking . . .

I'm wondering . . . how DO our HEARTS endure this type of pain?

How do we get through these life events?

It can only be through prayer and faith.

My prayers.

Your prayers.

And their prayers.

And our faith.

And the love of a Savior and Heavenly Father.

And his comfort.

It can only be.

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Back to Quilting!

Been working on remodeling the blog and now have to get back to my BIG project of the day.  Tonight is our "graduating laurels" quilting project and I don't have our quilt ready to go.

Remember how I said I wasn't a quilter?  Well, I'M STILL NOT!  Thank goodness Kelsie appears to be.  She has done great things with the fabric.  You can check back here to see what it looked like before we started.  

She has worked night and day to get the pieces all put together just so, and in the right order.  And to sew them all just right.  I'm SOOOOO PROUD OF HER!

Now I have to do MY PART.  Get it finished with the back and bat in time for tonight. 

Gotta get off this computer :)

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Trying on NEW STUFF

If by chance you're hanging out with me today, 

just checking in every now and then to see what kind of awesome blogs 

I've posted today.  

You might notice that I'm going through a 

metamorphosis today.

Out with the old and in with SOMETHING new:  

Currently trying on many different sizes over there at 

~~~~CUTEST BLOG ON THE BLOCK~~~~

One of the most awesome blog tools out there!  

If you haven't checked them out lately, come on by!  

You can hang out with me, and try on 

lots of new looks also!

Come back frequently during the day, 

you never know what you'll find :)

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A Great Way to Increase your Technorati Authority

Anyone a big fan of Technorati and Technorati Authority out there?

Harriet over at the Mom Bloggers Club has a great way to increase your authority. I know I NEED all the AUTHORITY I can get around here. So I'm going to give it a try:) Wish me luck!

http://blog.weddingpaperdivas.com/ http://blog.weddingpaperdivas.com/ http://blog.tinyprints.com/ http://lipsticktocrayons.com/ http://momstart.com/ http://iamharriet.blogspot.com/ http://www.akblessingsabound .com/ http://www.momspective .com/ http://www.shortpumppreppy.com/ http://www.anuttymom.com/ http://mamamentor.blogspot.com/ http://moomettesmagnificents.com/blog/ http://moomettesmagnificents.com/reviews/ http://ifmomsaysok.wordpress.com/ http://dominiquegoh .com/ http://www.stickyfeet2 .com/ http://wondermommy.wordpress .com/ http://mamasmoneysavers .com/ http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/ http://jeanstockdale.typepad.com/ http://a-nut-in-a-nutshell.blogspot.com/ http://lizzie-q-homemaker.blogspot .com/ http://mainfo.blogspot .com/ http://saveyourmoneymama.blogspot .com/ http://www.themomjen.com/ http://www.themomreviews.com/ http://fitness.momspective.com/ http://www.blessedwithgrace.blogspot .com/ http://www.bizziemommy.com/ http://blog.lalababyboutique.com/ http://www.thinkorganicbaby.com/ http://www.fracturedtoy.blogspot.com/ http://apple4meandyou.blogspot.com/ http://lovehomemaking.com/ http://www.justtherightspice.com/ http://www.thehomemakerhelpers.com/ http://melodythacker.com/ http://associatemelody.com/watkins-news-and-product-reviews/ http://heritageremedies.com/serendipity/ http://scarymommy.com/ http://scarymommycreations.blogspot.com/ http://joyntheir.com/ http://betheweightyouwant.com/ http://joyblogging.com/ http://bodybuildingmuscleshaping.com/ http://blasianbabynotes.wordpress.com/ http://littlemisshannah.com/ http://stacysrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/ http://drachma-girl.blogspot.com/ http://1momof5.blogspot.com/ http://isitmondayalready.blogspot .com/ http://saveyourmoneymama.blogspot .com/ http://www.manicmother.com/ http://practicingthrift.blogspot.com/ http://conversationswithmoms.com/ http://healthywealthymoms.blogspot.com/ http://www.3psinapod.com/ http://downtoearthblog.com/ http://lusciousdeals.blogspot.com/ http://dominiquegoh.com/ http://www.andrewsandfamily.blogspot.com/ http://lusciousdeals.blogspot.com/ http://confessionsofahousewife.com/ http://brainfoggles.com/ http://prettypinkmomma.blogspot.com/ http://ahappyhippymom.blogspot.com/ http://sweeps4bloggers.blogspot.com/ http://sweeps4california.blogspot.com/ http://thedivinemissmommy.com/ http://www.gliks.blogspot.com/ http://www.momsrevolution.blogspot.com/ http://www.mydivinechaos.com/ http://www.morethancents.info/ http://itsabeautyfilledlife.blogspot.com



http://kidzarama.com/

May 1st

http://momsrevolution.blogspot.com

http://www.atticgirl.blogspot.com

http://thesimmonswardfamily.blogspot.com/

http://www.professionalfamilymanager.com

http://wwww.akblessingsabound.com/

http://www.itsabeautyfilledlife.com

May 8th

http://conniesview.com
May 1




http://conniesview.com
http://www.alpinekleinbunch.blogspot.com/

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A Surprise Proposal

Whew! What a week!

What a weekend!

Karianne is getting married!

You can see the whole thing right here thank you to all the wonders of modern blogology.

In fact our friends and family scattered all over the country could see photos of the "bride and groom to be", a video of the marriage proposal, and express their congratulations and best wishes all within a few hours. It's amazing!

Greg Donovan is the young man who has won her heart. And believe me it was no easy task. We have really come to love him and are grateful that he was able to spend so much time with our family in our home before the "BIG" proposal. He wanted to SURPRISE Karianne with a proposal and knew it would be a difficult stunt to pull off. After visiting with her daddy, and asking officially for 'her hand' in marriage. (Of course Norm was certain that he'd really come for more than just 'her hand':)

Greg involved the whole family and planned a surprise proposal at the finish line of the Salt Lake Marathon where Karianne was running this past weekend. He showed up with roses and a large banner which read "Way to go Karianne" on one side, and "Karianne will you marry me?" on the other.

By the time Karianne crossed the finish line quite a crowd had gathered awaiting the actual event. So it was very fun when Greg got down on one knee to propose and the crowd all cheered and clapped their approval. Of course, she said "yes", which was followed by more cheers. The announcer of the marathon even recognised and announced their engagement as the runners and winners continued to arrive throughout the Gateway plaza in downtown Salt Lake City.

Which begs the next question . . . Can you plan an entire wedding online? LOL sort of . . .

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Win a Sleep Number Bed worth $1300!!

THIS!!!!!! is just what we need!

Officially it is called C3 Sleep Number Bed by Select Comfort.

My husband and I have been sleeping on the oldest mattress and box springs ever. We have done soooo many things to try to extend the life out of this old set! I hate to even go into the details, you'd think we were crazy.

But lately, my BACK has been KILLING me! So I was so excited to see that there was a giveaway to actually win one of these.

I'm crossing my finger, and my toes, and my eyes!

Just wanted to share the good news with you all that you too and enter to win a fantastic bed like the one pictured above.

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Smooth Moves

It's "What's for Breakfast?" today!

We're just in the mood for something healthy but different than the cold ceral routine we frequent on a busy mornings.

During the summers of plenty, we harvest fresh peaches from the trees and fresh raspberries from the garden and keep them handy for breakfast smoothies.  Also, a great thing to do with the bananas once they're a little past their prime, is just take them out of the skins and pop them into the freezer in zipper baggies to add to smoothies.  You can add a little flax seed, and fiber to increase the nutritional value even more.

I try to keep the sugar down, but we did use orange juice and a little sherbet today.  Usually it would be sugar-free low fat yogurt with a little skim milk and we'd skip the sherbet and juice.

Smoothies for Two

1 C. frozen peaches

1 C. frozen raspberries

1 frozen banana

3 t. fiber

3 t. flax seed

1 C. orange juice (or skim milk)

1/2 C. frozen sherbet of your choice (or one 6-oz lowfat sugar free yogurt)

Garnish with a little mint from the garden

~~~Voila~~~

~~Enjoy~~

So yummy!

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And the WINNERS are . . .

Well, between our family gatherings for the Easter holidays, working 5 out of the last seven nights, loading up my son's moving van of belongings to move him across the country, volunteering as an RN for General Conference, tending all my friends and neighbors dogs because they are out of town for Spring break (and I'm NOT because I'm working!), and cutting out, sewing, ironing, and trimming 70 quilt squares for my daughter's graduation quilt, I had put my prizes from my ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY 2009 post on hold

for just a bit.

But the moment has arrived . . .

drum roll please . . .

I had 14 comments and promised one prize per every 5 entries. I made 3 beaded bookmarks and decided I'll give them all away. I'm trusting my high tech random number selector to choose 3 random numbers . . .

And the winners are:

#5 Joy for your Journey who said, "Kristin--guess what I just ate? One of your wonderful, very yummy (and fattening :-) banana, chocolate chip muffins! I made them last night with some bananas that were going bad but made everyone wait until this morning to have one. What a sweet treat! Thanks so much for the recipe."

(you too can find this yummy recipe here.)

#10 BrandyEllen

Who said,

"Just dropping by to see your blog, since you stopped by mine during this great UBP 09!

Love your place! Hope to visit again soon!thanks, brandyellen@writingsofawahm.com"

#13 BABA

Who said,"Hi! So nice

to meet you and your family. You can sure tell your are all related. Party hopping and participating too so stop in for a visit."

Congratulations ladies! May you never LOSE your place again!

(That was sooooo fun!)

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Inspired ART?

Inspired by one woman.

Who was inspired by another woman.

I decided to embark upon a week long photo challenge - to attempt to capture with a camera a little bit of MY world and actually portray it as fine, inspired art.

There is so much meaning behind a photo, a whole world exists and revolves around the one dimensional view as seen in a single photo. I wonder if I captured any of my world through the eyes of the camera lens? I think I'm beginning to.

I have a favorite quote on my photography blog, it goes like this -

I think the best pictures are often on the edges of any situation, I don't find photographing the situation nearly as interesting as photographing the edges.

~William Albert Allard, "The Photographic Essay"

There is a situation that is meaningful to me behind each one of these photos. I hope that I have captured the edges. That is a story for another blog and another day.

I decided to pick one of my selections below and frame it in a manner befitting of

~FINE INSPIRED ART~

Which one did I pick?

Which one would you pick?

Many other Blissfully Domestic offerings
available here - come on by!

Was this your choice also?

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Mini - Makeover

In these days of the humongous "Extreme Makeover" reality shows . . . I'm happy when I can come up with a simple change that makes my life and my home just a little bit better, and a little bit easier to keep under control.

This is an extremely MINI-MAKEOVER - but I love it. It just looks soooo much better don't you think?

I saw this idea in the home of a friend - thank you Jolene for your inspiration. Much you do is an inspiration to me actually, but this was a simple one!

We went from this -



to this -



in five minutes or less.


Not bad huh?

It works for me!

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