Olsen's 7

Poppy Feilds

2010-04-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the Poppy Fields in Lancaster. We looked around at the beautiful Poppies. After we went around looking in the Reserve, we went back in our car, and out onto private property. (Because on the Reserve you couldn't walk around in the Poppy Fields, you had to stay on the trail.) So we got out of our car and walked around in the Fields outside of the Reserve.

Brotherly Love!

2010-03-22T07:04:00.001-07:00

Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah

2010-03-20T19:23:00.000-07:00

Alma and the Sons of Mosiah from zig beetle on Vimeo.

This is from Jack’s Sunbeam class. It's really cute!

Thanks ZigBeetle great job!

100 Years of Scouting

2010-02-17T16:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we as a family, went to Sam's Pack meeting celebrating 100 years of Scouting!!! Sam got a few badges and we had dinner and watched some skits by the Scouts at our church

building! Here's a picture I took of Sam getting his badges from his Scout leader!

Scott and Dad having a bite to eat!

More of Dad and his kids!

Jack found a ball!

After school today Scott wanted to take care of Jeff! He decided to read him a story!

Cooking, Smiles, and Hair Cuts!

2010-02-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

HEY, it's Nina, Mary's oldest kid, and my mom is letting me hijack the family blog! So she told me how to post stuff and voila!

Here is a cute picture of Jefferson smiling... Sigh! All ready he is three months old! He is growing SOOOO fast!!! Just this past few weeks he has started to laugh! We all adore every moment we see him smile or laugh!

Scott and Sammy with their new cuts! My mom, Mary, actually saw a boy with this hair cut at the dentist, she thought she could try it. (It was funny cause it reminded her of a Jar Head! HAHA!!!)

Here's a side view!

Here's when mom was just starting!

Before!

This is Charlotte's first attempt at cooking! She is growing up so fast! Good job Charlotte!

Life With Six Kids :)

2010-01-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

Awesome! The baby (Jefferson 2 1/2 mo.) happened to be smiling as his big brother Scott read to him! Too cute!
Sam's first attempt at making eggs solo! He did a great job! We did aerobics for 3 days straight and then the kids said that they hated it! Now that we haven't done it for 3 days they want to start it up again!
Fickle kids.Nina wanted to hold the baby while doing aerobics for a bit so I decided to snap some photos since my hands were free!Assume the Saturday position!

Too Cute!

Just for kicks here is the latest easy peasy craft at my blog http://craftersguru.blogspot.com

Hair Cuts+Treadmills

2010-01-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

Jack wanted his hair cut and it was long over due too! But the baby won't let me put him down. Even when he sleeps, if I put him down he wakes right up and cries. I hate it when they cry so I cut Jack's hair with the baby asleep in the sling over my shoulder. Jack was so good while I cut his hair. He was watching the new Ice Age movie. He loves the movie soooo much that he thanked Heavenly Father for the Ice Age movie in our family prayer this morning.

Day 2 of having each of the kids walk/run/whatever for 30 minutes on the treadmill. Now if only I could squeeze time in.Sammy working up a sweat :)When baby woke up it was his turn to loose the long thin "Old Man" hair ring around his head.All done and no tears:)

Jefferson's Baby Blessing

2010-01-04T18:31:00.001-08:00

I didn't have a lot of time between getting the lunch buffet ready, house picked up, relatives in town and staying at the house, and kids to be ready + early for church to take photos. So this is what I got :)Great Uncle Paul Gordon holding Jefferson Gordon.Rick, Uncle Jeff, Great Uncle Paul +Jefferson
The awesome Uncles and great examples of priesthood holders that he was named after (besides their awesome Dad, but his name was already used along with my father +father in law)

Papa Tom was hugging Nina during the short time I had the camera and so I got this lucky shot:)

It's Time for the Holidays!

2009-12-21T16:34:00.001-08:00

We made gingerbread cookies and even fulfilled a dream of mine..making them as ornaments for the Christmas Tree :) It only took 3 days to complete. Slow and steady like a snail, but we did it! The baby is all about eating and being held 24/7. So even now as I blog this I am nursing this little angel. If you want to know the recipe and some easy tricks of the trade visit www.craftersguru.blogspot.com for details.
Rick hold the baby while decorating his own cookies so that I can take pics:)

My sister and family came over for dinner, games and cookie decorating on the fly. We had a blast!
Our very adorable Pixie Shoo-Shoo!Scott loves to decorate cookies too!Sam made his own gingerbread sandwich!

Cousins Wyatt and Lando give it a shot:)
Nina :)

It's a family affair!

Aaah! Cha-ching! It finally happened! Gingerbread cookies as ornaments on a tree!

Hair Cuts, Glass Ice,I Luv U and Baby

2009-12-14T17:17:00.000-08:00

The boys needed a hair cut..Badly!!!So I thought why not blog about how to cut a cute boys hair cut for the clipper paranoid child. It will be posting step-by-step asap on my craftersguru blogNina is now my official photographer. If I or my hands are in the picture, it was most likely taken by her! She's getting better all the time:) In fact she took every picture on this post minus the baby pics!!!
Jack was soooo cute! He was eating stick pretzels and called out to Nina,"I love you Nina!" with the pretzels in his fingers! It's an Olsen thing to sign I love you all the time. Nina does it with Jack and now (sniffle, sniffle. tear drop) he thinks of saying it to her (cheesy to get emotional but it was sooo sweet!!!). He's been doing it for the passed year and a half. At 18 months we taught him to flip it around to be Spiderman when that was all the rage for him.
It was so cold last week that the water in our little turtle pool froze over with a thin sheet of ice. Sam and Charlotte thought it was so cool and it reminded them of our trip this summer at Glacier National Forest.

I felt Charlotte was old enough to hold the baby while standing. She is very careful and loves to hold our little Jefferson:)

Peek-a-boo Jefferson!

It's Been a Crazy Happy Month

2009-12-07T18:48:00.001-08:00

On November 7,2009 after working a 7 and a half hour work day my water broke. I was at home about 3 hours after work, worrying about the baby when my water broke like never before. I thought that this was it and that I'd better hurry to the hospital because he would be coming fast.
So I packed my bag and Rick and I went to the hospital.Only to pace the halls for 6 hours before labor finally began. It was a good thing because the video camera and camera were both out of batteries,so we had plenty of time to go home,get the chargers and charge them. I was also able to Facebook my progress:)

Two hours and 3 pushes later Jefferson Gordon Olsen was born, November 8th 2009.

My mother sadly had the flu so my sister and father were there.All warm and snugly after his first bath given by his father(it's tradition)

Proud Daddy with our precious son:) He's got daddy's chin!I was ready to go home after the first 6 hours but the pediatrician likes the baby to be there 24.
The kids were sooo excited they ran out to meet us! It was a wonderful precious site to see!

Big brother Jack HAD to be the first to hold HIS new baby!So we let each of the kids hold him, youngest to oldest. Charlotte loves her new baby too.

Sam wasn't quite sure what to make of his new brother but he still wanted to hold him for a quick moment.

Scott took on the oldest brother role right away! He is always asking to hold his new brother.Nina is such a pro by now:) They called me into work just 2 weeks after having Jefferson. Here is the I-Phone picture I took to show everyone.
Here is the cake that they wanted me to make. It took 4 hours!!!Rick was off work for 3 weeks. He helped out and was able to tackle a few small projects. Jack loved helping his dad with the drummel.
Uncle Jeff holding Jefferson. What an awesome uncle. He is always taking his sons and our kids hiking, shooting, bike riding and is there for every priesthood ordinance!

When Nana was over the flu she came right over to hold her 18th grand baby!Aunt Joy came to visit with the girls and brought dinner!
Daddy is always helping out and holding the baby.When the cord fell off, mommy gave Jeff his first real bath(with Nina's help holding the pacifier). He hates to be cold. He only cries when he is hungry and when he gets his diaper changed. He is a really calm, easy baby. We are blessed.Mommy getting the baby warm and dry.Yeah! Nana came and stayed for a week! She helped out so much with getting the kids back into school mode. Sam got a lot of one on one time with Nana.
Scott loves to hold his brother. While listening to his school lessons he loves to hold and cuddle with his new brother.Scott helps mommy feed the baby with pumped milk. Jack loves the milk too!Grandma stayed and helped out a TON preparing for 18 guests over for Thanks Giving!
Papa gets to hold Jefferson while we got everything ready.Nana takes time out to cuddle her latest grandchild.Cousin Mimi wants to hold him to!
Rachel and Lizzy got to hold him too!Grandma Jana and Papa Tom came for Thanks Giving too! They also took each of the kids out shopping on Black Friday. They all felt very special for getting Grandma to themselves.
Aunt Tami got to hold him too!Jack cuddles with Aunt Tami! The kids missed Tami and were soooo excited to spend time with her.

Tami is going to beauty school and cut my hair and Nina's hair. She did a great job.Charlotte wanted to learn how to sew on the machine and she caught on really fast. I showed her a couple of times and then she was totally on her own the rest of the time. She is making a blanket for her doll.I made a necklace out of Yo-yo's and Tami and Nina liked it so much I made one for each of them and taught Tami how to make them. She made a hair clip out of one of them.I made Charlotte another Twirling skirt. She really loved it because of all the bright colors.Sam wanted to hold the baby. He hasn't really been interested until he realized the baby looked and acts like he did when he was a baby. He finally bonded and now calls him his twin :)The kids decorated a gingerbread house together for FHE.

This was all that remained by mid morning the next day.

Good thing I took a picture.Jefferson got his first shower with Dad (another tradition). He was not happy at all at first but got use to it.Aunt Tina, Teak and Riley visited their new cousin.HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK! YOU'RE 3 !!!
Jack wanted to go to church on his birthday really badly. I haven't let him go for 4 weeks because I don't want him bringing some sickness home from the die hards at church.

But I acquiesced and let him go..reluctantly. H1N1 (aka the swine flue) is really prevalent and I didn't want that brought home.
Jack took a new approach to present opening...with scissors!!!

He was sooo excited to get a Mega Blocks Halo set. He jumped up and down screaming"Halo 3!! U-hawh, Yeah Baby!!!" Master Chief is his new favorite guy! He had to have a picture of him.I made a volcano dinosaur cake for Jack and Wyatt's joint birthday party!How awesome is that to share a birthday with a cousin you are so close to!Jack loves to hold his baby brother every day!

Teaching the Kids to Sew

2009-11-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

It all started with the Personal Progress Pouches that my sister saw online. She wanted to make one for her niece for her birthday and wondered if I could show her how. I saw the site and didn't really like the pattern. So I made up my own. My daughter liked it so much that she wanted to make up her own. She had such fun making it that she wanted to make one for her entire beehive class. That's 11 girls!!! Needless to say she is using this to pass off a 10 hour project in her personal progress book. Up above is her second one! She is really getting the hang of sewing and wants to do more.

I started from pattern making, to cutting to sewing! She did great. For the project I am helping her out with the cutting and ironing. the sewing alone will take up the 10 hours. Well it started a sewing frenzy in our house.
Seeing his sister sewing and creating made him want to learn how to hand sew. I have taught classes at the local elementary school and my kids were there. But they were never really THAT into it. Now he really wanted to learn. So we started with a pattern. He wanted to make mittens for his sister or brother to play with. I had him place his hand on a piece of paper and bubble traced mittens (making sure to have plenty of seam allowance and wrist room. Then I had him cut 2 pieces out of felt. I then showed him how to thread a needle, make a knot at the end and make a running stitch. He did an excellent job with his running stitch. they were surprisingly very even. I was really impressed! The needle, thread and knot was a bit hard to grasp but maybe next time.Charlotte loved the glove so much that she wanted to make her own set. I let her use her brothers pattern and told Sam to show her what to do. She traced and cut out the pattern and then I showed her how to thread a needle, make a knot and make a running stitch. She, like Sam did a really great job at the running stitch. She was very ambitious and made 2 gloves. She plays with them all of the time.Jack loves the mittens too!Scott wanted to make a bean bag voodoo doll (silly boy).They all did a really good job but the house needed to be cleaned after a long weekend, dinner needed to be made and Family Home Evening needed to be had. I was really tired by that time. After a full day of home schooling, teaching the kids, I forced my self to round every one up to clean, made a super easy meal and assigned FHE assignments. We recapped last weeks family song "Come Thou Fount" that Nina taught, the boys made up a bowling game from plastic cups, Charlotte lead the Wheels on the bus and Rick and I helped the kids memorize the first verse of D&C 4. Scott needs to memorize all of D&C 4 before becoming a deacon. We finished off with some easy and yummy cake mix cookies!
Luckily I had a lot of energy that day because it was all used up. The next day I had none! Can't wait to get my old self and body back!

Trick or Treating, a Family Affair!

2009-11-03T21:32:00.000-08:00

We went Trick Or Treating at my sister's new house in Moorpark! I was really tired from a 7 hour work day and in my 9th month of pregnancy. I had to get out of my house. My house represented (at that moment) a place of endless clean up! I had to get away from it (this nesting thing is really hard with 5 kids, home schooled in a tiny house). My wonderful sister made us dinner, meatballs and spaghetti! Here Jack is eating them. It was really funny to watch. He is really into theatrical eating and even makes cute little piggy noises for an even greater effect!Uncle Jeff lent Jack his head light to go Trick Or Treating! Rick, Jeff, and my parents took all the kids around while my sister and I got to talk, relax and pass out candy! My idea of Trick Or Treating while this big and fat :) Even Rick was in a silly mood :)Uncle Jeff bought the kids some make up and Wyatt and I went to town on the kids faces! A Pirate Zombie Sam, A Hooded Zombie Wyatt and a Zombie Park Ranger Scott. They all made up these outfits!Nana even got into the Halloween Spirit! Isn't she awesome! Princess Bride Charlotte and Maleficent Charlotte!The Trick Or Treating Gang!

After scoring a bunch of candy Rick and Jeff took the kids to a Haunted House. These creative neighbors have been putting this free event for the local kids for years! Charlotte cried and the boys loved it so much they waited 45 minutes in line to go again!!!

We all talked til late afterwards while the kids played and watched movies. This is my idea of fun..Good company, good times!

Field Trip #2 Placerita Nature Center

2009-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

My awesome visiting teacher,Wendy, invited to take us to Placerita Nature Center.Charlotte and Nina pose in the parking lot.

Jack's on the go....!
We got to see an up close look at a hawk.
My kids see a tree and they have to climb it!!!

Turtles!

Inside they have a little exhibit of things to touch and see.
We went on a little hike to the butterfly gardens and more...

We saw the Oak of the Golden Dream! Where gold was first discovered in California!

"The Oak" where a man surveying his newly purchased property fell asleep near this oak tree and had a dream. In the dream he was told that he would be very rich. When he awoke he pulled onions from the ground and up came gold nuggets with roots!The story and plaque!To get to the oak you have to go under a bridge. My kids are pointing at a mural.To finish it off we had a pic-nic!

Ward Trunk-Or-Treat

2009-10-26T13:33:00.001-07:00

Ranger Scott and the Attack of the Killer Snake!Our own Harry Potter Jack! He was Spider man minutes before we were to leave, but promptly undressed and wanted to be Harry Potter.Take a bow Princess Charlotte!She was a princess Musketeer but changed her mind before we left.The last Minute Monk! Sam changed his mind from a fully dressed pirate to a monk before we left.

I had just gotten home from a 5 hour cake decorating shift and I was dead beat. The kids were partially dressed. Once I was through the door they wanted me to re-invent their costumes at the last minute! I quickly helped them transform into different outfits and took pictures once we arrived. that was about all my exhausted legs and body could do. I just sat in a chair and handed out candy the rest of the night while the kids ran free and Rick took Jack from trunk to trunk. I didn't get a picture of out Aria (Elf Princess Nina). She was gone with her friends decorating their cars and Trunk-Or-Treating the evening away!

Home School Field Trip #1

2009-10-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

This is our first official field trip. Going to their cousins house would make this the second!

The pictures will be out of order because I had some problems down loading them and it would take way to long to fix it. So here goes. Our first field trip! Here is field trip criteria:1# it must be within 30 minutes from out home, #2 it must be free (with this economy my budget fro such things is now ZERO $ and ZERO cents, #3 it must be out doors (this can be changed). So this is what fell in the 3 criteria. Going to Hart Park and Mansion! Here is Nina and Jack viewing the remains of the pool.

The kids stop for a much needed drink. We took the trail first and then the road. It is a lot easier than taking the steep road all the way.Here's the look out tower from Hart Mansion.

We have Bison in SCV. No need to go to another state!

Look at this huge palm tree! Nina wanted a picture with it :)

This is the bunk house for the workers/ranch hands of Hart Mansion. It's now used as a meeting house.This just makes my heart sing. Big brother Scott holding his baby brother's hand by choice!

I wanted to get out of the house and I wanted the kids to get out too! We had so much fun , I think that i want to do a field trip every week! We'll see after the baby comes if I am up to it...I hope so. The kids were so well behaved at Hart Park, it makes me want to do more and more!

The city renovated Hart Park and it looks great. It has a very small farm/zoo where they keep animals for people to look at. this was a warthog!This cow was the biggest cow I had ever seen!

You can't see it very well in the picture but in the cage is a massive pig.
My kids are so use to pictures that they often tell me to take a picture and pose. Even Charlotte at 7 and Jack at 2yrs. know the routine :)

The Trading Post was closed due to lack of volunteers and the animal food vending machine was broken. I could only eek out very small bits of food after depositing a quarter. The kids still had fun with their 5 tiny pieces of food to give to the animals. This male deer had hormone problems and had a mass growing on it's antlers and head. It looked like it's brain was growing on the outside. They are going to give him hormone shot next season to rectify the problem. A worker told us that these deer are Asian meat deer and normally do not live this long. They are also neutered. This combination apparently causes hormone problems.

We saw a Burro and Horse from afar.

There were also a variety of chickens, birds, rabbits and turkeys to see.

This was where Mr. Hart buried his well loved horse.
Scott insisted on a moment of silence for the horse.
Another moment of silence for the dogs.This is where all the dogs that Mr. Hart had were buried.
They stayed on the trail and we had a great time!

First Day of Home School

2009-09-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

Charlotte's first attempt at writing her name in cursive!!! They do not do printing at ABEKA, only cursive from the beginning.Art class taught her how to make a cute bunny with grass and carrots to color!
Here's my little Miss Independent working hard :)
Scott is excited and fully engaged! No wondering off into space or stubbornly not finishing work. Yes, it's only day one but it gives me hope :)

Sam getting the job done and with a smile on his face! WOW!!! Hope it lasts :)

Our official start date wasn't until next Monday but we just couldn't wait any longer!!! Once my husband (the computer genius) set up all of the computers the kids wanted to start...Right then! I let them check out a lesson and then told them we would do a trial run Thursday and Friday. I wanted to find our groove and work out all the kinks.

So far it has been work (I can't sit around and do my own thing at all. Not even for a moment because I am checking on them, answering questions,getting them ready for the next lesson, occupying Jack and/or sitting in and being with them as they are taught their lessons) but it's been really nice! The first thing my 9 year old son said was that the teachers are all so happy and nice!

I have to help the two younger ones the most but my 11 and 13 year old need little to no help. I just have to correct their work and answer questions here and there. They also can rewind the video if they missed something.

It's only the first day but I am really pleased!

We started off with a little meeting of what needed to be done before school starts at 8 am. That included breakfast, rooms picked up, beds made (because someone is doing school in that room and need a clean environment around them), dressed from head to toe as if they were going to school (I think it helps them get in the right frame of mind), hair brushed, and teeth brushed.

To start off school we have family prayer and scripture study. Then they go off to their computers and get their books to start class. They get a break at 11:30 for lunch and a little running around for about 20-30 minutes. Then off to finish the rest of the classes and homework. They'll all be done with class/classwork and homework as early as 12:30 and as late as 3:00. It depends on how fast they do their work. Then they have the rest of the day to play and relax. I told them that when everyone is done with their work for the day that they can have 1 hour to play a video game or TV. The rest of the time has to be filled with chores, reading, drawing, or playing in/outside.
That's our day so far! It sounds perfect and has been running smoothly but it's only day one! I hope it continues :)
All those people (including the Valencia Valley receptionist) that said I was crazy... Hah!!! And there were a LOT!!! So far it's a lot better than stressful public school that makes me feel like a terrible parent for having so many kids. They are respectful, kind, hard working, and have a desire to follow Jesus Christ and choose the right! I call that wonderful having a lot of kids :)

Filling Our Home With Art

2009-09-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Since I changed the colors of our home I had the children change some of the art we had on the walls to better suit our new decor! So for a couple of hours they worked on some fun and colorful art. Some (they will be remain nameless) did not want to be photo graphed because their hair did not look beautifully coiffed. I am buying frames today and will post the final results :)

Jack enjoyed painting so much that he wanted to work on it more the next day. He is sooo ready for the pre-school activities that I have planned for him through ABEKA books! I am so excited to start him when the books arrive!

Hi Ho! It's Off to Work They Go!

2009-08-26T10:26:00.001-07:00

The kid's outdoor swing set desperately needed to be re-sealed and stained. I have been so crazy painting the entire house from top to bottom I thought that I'd never get to it, so the kids volunteered!!! They did a pretty good job and got 1/3 of the way done but had to stop. It has been just tooo hot here lately. I was just so excited that they were willing to do that much!

Yosemite

2009-06-22T12:12:00.001-07:00

Me , Jenn, and Belinda on my first girls trip with friends and first time at Yosemite.

Not a lot of wild life so it was cool to see and I had to take a picture. Almost all the wild life we saw, I got them on film (some deer, squirrels, and birds). It was a really short trip there and back when you don't have a car full of kids. We never listened to the radio. There was just too much to say! We stayed for 2 days and that was perfect for me. I didn't have to worry about the kids and Jenn + Belinda are in such great shape I would have died if I went on another hike. They were totally fine and I was so soar.

This was a Difficult hike for me to Yosemite falls but to in shape people it was a "nice hike":) Jenn and Belinda's love for Yosemite was catching and I find myself wanting to go back every year with my family.

We got pretty close to the falls and did a little off-roading to get closer.

See that little speck in the upper-left hand corner? Someone was actually going across the falls on a rope. There are no climbing restrictions in Yosemite!

Maybe next time when I'm not pregnant I will hike Half Dome.

Mirror lake was beautiful. The hike was really easy but after having gone on a hard hike the day before and a day of bike riding, anything seemed hard.
Jenn contemplating going over the rock slide instead of going back...Belinda said that she was fine scaling rocks but she didn't trust the pregnant lady...we walked back.

Yosemite was so awe inspiring I felt a great spiritual awakening. It didn't make me feel insignificant among God's creations. It made me think that if God spent this much time contemplating down to the atom how awesome and what a masterpiece this place would be..What a great amount went in to putting me here at this place and this time?

My purpose as well as all our purposes must be great indeed. Down to the Atom!

FREEBIE TIME at CraftersGuru!!!

2009-06-16T09:03:00.001-07:00

I'm having a FREEBIE give away at http://www.craftersguru.blogspot.com/ in honor of my very first product review! Check it out and sign up there to enter. The whole wheat products are really good, easy and convenient! My daughter made the muffins herself!

My favorite products are the muffins and zero calorie sweetener! The sweetener has no bad or weird after taste and is the best zero calorie sweetener that I have ever tasted! It's not made from chemicals, but from fruit extracts! Cool :)

Why Do Pregnant Women Feel the Need to Paint?

2009-06-15T06:57:00.001-07:00

For every pregnancy I am compelled to either paint or drastically change my hair style! After my first 2 kids I changed chopped off my hair and painted a little. I moved to strictly painting after that because it takes me too long to grow my hair out. So guess what? Since I am pregnant again I had to paint almost my entire house! I have to admit when I take on this much I usually get help. My sister usually rescues me from my folly. I always go into it thinking, "It's such a little house! It will only take me a day or two!" Hah! Ha! Haaaa! Is all I have to say about my clouded and crazy pregnant mind! It took almost a week of hard work..and I had help too. I went from a dark color to a light color and that requires priming and then painting. That is twice the work!Now for the next challenge! Looking for fabric for curtains and giving my home a face lift. I want to simplify, have a totally new and clean yet artsy look. Will show pix when I'm done :)

Happy Birthday Charlotte!!!

2009-05-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our Pixy Shoo-Shoo is 7 years old today!!! I remember clearly the day we found out we were having a girl. Rick and I were sure she was a girl but the ultra sound was the true test. I took Nina (then 5) to see the ultra sound with me. She wanted a baby sister sooooooo badly. She had been praying every night for one. The entire family was rooting for a girl. I even had the perfect name picked out, Charlotte, because it was the name of my beautiful and wonderful mother and it happened to be a beautiful name too! As the ultra sound tech did her measuring she asked me what I thought it was. I said,"Girl"with confidence! When she was done she confirmed GIRL. Nina was soooo excited she started to get teary eyed (me too). When we returned home, my sister was there. She had been watching the two boys while we were gone. I told Nina to cover her face and run up to her room crying (I new she would be a dead giveaway if I didn't have her leave and hide her face). It worked like a charm. My sister sadly said, "Oh, It's a boy!" Then I said,"No! It's a GIRL!!!" And we hugged and jumped and dance around the room9totally Baliwood like, no joke). And when she came into the world she melted her Daddy's heart from the moment he saw her. He has a way with the babies right after they are born. He just starts singing and talking to them and they look at him and stop crying. It is soooo cute, you have to see it to believe it!

So Happy Birthday my baby growing up too fast! You are a little pixy straight from heaven!

These are the moments!

2009-05-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

These are the moments that make being a Mom seem like I am actually doing something. My daughter this morning made her own breakfast!!! She didn't have to ask me how to do a thing. She just did it! I am so proud of her. Her younger brother even asked if he could learn. That is my goal as a mother! To prepare them to be self sufficient, self reliant and able to function in the world on their own as good righteous people!!!

Yesterday Charlotte was a Winkie in the Wizard of Oz play. She certainly is a little pixie and full of sweetness and energy! After the play she wanted to go to The Habit. I have no idea why they love it sooo much. It has OK food for outrageous prices. You walk into an upscale fast food joint and they charge you Elephant Bar prices! Insane! Anyways, she loved it and I choked on the price!I finished a pair of earrings and necklace for a friend who is sadly moving away at the end of the month. Lisa is soooo sweet, real, down to earth and just fun to be around. We are soooo going to miss her and her cute family.

When Sam got home we made homemade donuts together. He liked it so much that he wants to make them for his How To class presentation! Thanks Heather for the idea for CraftersGuru post idea!Here it is Facebook friends. I finally figured out how to make the brownie wands. I baked the brownies (added an extra egg to make it less gooey and more dense and cake like), let them cool and then pressed a star cookie cutter into it and gently pulled out the brownie star. I then tried to coat the entire thing with candy melts but felt like it was too messy, didn't really adhere to the sides and used to much candy melts. So I just melted the candy in a pastry bag, cut off the tip and piped it on the top of the star. I then quickly added sprinkles and the heart center. The candy sticks were too thick (I did something else with those), so I used white sticks and inserted them gently into the center of the brownie star and secured it with candy melts at the base. I wrapped it in a clear bag and tied it with curling ribbon (seriously the curling ribbon took most of the time, I would just curl 3 strips instead of 6). she loved them sooo much they were off to school the next day. She told me that everyone would be jealous because every one else just brought treat bags and cupcakes. These were new and cool! (How sweet is that little girl).

So with the left over Candy sticks I added royal icing flowers (I had made these a couple of weeks ago for cakes) and attached it to the stick with royal icing leaves. These will be for her class at church (they will take a few days to dry). So needless to say that I was tired by the end of the day! And Oh! One more major accomplishment for the day. This is big because it rarely happens. I made an actual grown-up dinner last night. It was baked potatoes, veggies, and ribs! my kids thought it was cool! I've been making quick and easy stuff (or survival night meals) for far too long.

A New Necklace Design

2009-05-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a necklace that I made for Rachelle. For the chain and clasp I used the chain of a key chain. I thought it gives it a modern look. Sorry the picture isn't very good. I just took a picture of it with my I-Phone, in not the best of light. Next time I'll take a better picture. Hope it inspires you to create something today :)

Hurray for Heart Beats :)

2009-05-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

I cry every time I hear that little fluttering heartbeat! I was amazed at how clear it was and that I could see everything. The baby had all it's fingers and toes developed. The ultrasound specialist thought that I was at the end of my first tri-mester because of how big the baby was. We'll see when she finishes her measurements :) I'm just glad it was a happy moment and she wasn't silent and got up and walked out of the room to get the doctor :( Yep it's happened. I hate that and I am sure they hate it too! And I am so glad that there is only one in the oven and not 2. How could I manage twins!?!

Vinegar Magic!

2009-05-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

My husband noticed that our shower heads were clogged with calcium and mineral deposits. We have hard water, and it tends to collect on the openings of the facets It makes them look ugly and it tends to be hard to remove.

So genious that he is, he soaked them in vinegar overnight and...Voila! Unclogged shower heads. Pretty cool!

It was easy and took no effort to clean (the hardest part was removing the faucets, but that was easy too, they just twist off!)

Cake Time!!!

2009-04-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of cakes this weekend but here are the ones I did. The Jack cake above coordinates with the invitation.

Bandana Shirt

2009-04-27T08:58:00.001-07:00

Necklace

2009-04-22T08:57:00.001-07:00

Have fun getting creative and looking fantastic with my new how to video! Email me pix at anoriginalbymary(at)pacbell(dot)net if you do this or any other crafters guru projects and I will be sure to post them :) Have fun and enjoy!

Cakes Galore

2009-04-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

It was a busy weekend. I worked 2, 8 hour shifts to construct/frost/and decorate these cakes. I may have forgotten a couple. I tried to remember to get a picture of each one but it was such a whirl-wind those 2 days that I may have forgotten a few! Hope you enjoy :)

Also check out the new craft on my crafting blog http://www.craftersguru.blogspot.com/ It's adorable and really easy to do!

$2,500 for a Vacuum!!!

2009-04-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

A man came to my door and told me that he worked for a carpet cleaning company and they were taking a survey of how well the community liked their carpet cleaning service. They offered a free cleaning and my opinion of how well I thought they cleaned. I thought..Ok! Why not. If they do a good job then maybe I will hire them once every year or so to clean my 2 rugs (my house is all wood flooring). They came and then proceeded to try and sell me a vacuum!!! What the heck!!!! I was bamboozled by the KIRBY vacuum guys! I will never buy a Kirby because of this unethical lying method! The 20 minutes the first guy promised turned out to be an hour sales pitch!!! And then he proceeded to try and get me to buy without my husbands approval! What home wreckers are these slimy Kirby sales men! My husband and I consult each other on ever large purchase over $200 (sometimes even less, I value his opinion on all things electronic). This has stifled any financial fights. They then asked if my husband helped with the house work (several times)! Kinda like if he doesn't help then you deserve this insanely priced vacuum!!! Well I proudly told them several times that YES!!! My husband does help!!! Oh and they told me that I had probably gone through several vacuum cleaners! HA! HA! HA! Got ya! I have an OREK and I LOVE it! I have had the same one for almost 14 years!!! If this one dies then I will most definitely buy another OREK for a fourth of the price of a stupid Kirby. So my advice to you is...If a guy claims he is just trying out his "carpet cleaning" business to see if the neighborhood likes his cleaning capabilities..! Just know that it's that retched Kirby guy trying to rip you off with a $2,500 vacuum!!! "What Ever!!!" is all I have to say to those Kirby guys!

On a happier note!

Look at my Little Jack-Jack, trying to be Eco-friendly and ride his bike to work like his Daddy!!!

On my blog http://craftersguru.blogspot.com I am posting a FREEBIE giveaway of a signed by the author The Pocket Daring Book for Girls!!! I peaked inside and my girls (ages 12 and almost 7) loved it sooo much I had to buy one for myself!!! Check it out and good luck! Hope you win!!!

Trip to the Dentist

2009-04-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Jack actually sat still the entire time and was excited to go to the dentist! Look!!! She is scraping his teeth and he is fine! Amazing what 6 months will do!

Jack and Jack side by side!!!

Cupcake wraps are popping up everywhere!!!

Author of The Daring Book for Girls has posted an AWESOME craft on http://craftersguru.blogspot.com/

bagandtip winner

2009-04-15T14:59:00.001-07:00

If you are the winner please email me anoriginalbymary(at)pacbell(dot)net so I can get your shipping info :)

Easter

2009-04-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

The pictures were taken with my I-Phone. In dim light the pix aren't as good as in outdoor lighting (no flash on the I-phone yet..maybe the next model will have one :P ).

Easter at the Henshaw house is full of fun and children! My parents have 17 grandchildren (with 14 that attended the Easter Celebration). My parents like to host it on Saturday so as not to let the fun festivities take away from Easters Real meaning and purpose..The Savior. We have a big family feast and of course a huge Easter egg hunt. Hundreds of eggs are packaged with candy and hidden all around the back yard. This year there were sooooo many eggs that the kids baskets couldn't hold any more! My sons wanted to bring bags instead of baskets so they could get more eggs; but even their bags were filled!
It was surprisingly event free (no major fights broke out) and a good time with the family :) Don't you wish it was always like that!

I have a new, exciting, and fun post on http://craftersguru.blogspot.com/ Sushi Candy, by Karina Cebuliak! Check it out and see how fun it is to do!
Yummmmmm!

More Cakes!

2009-04-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Did more cakes this weekend at work! I'll post more on Easter tomorrow! The video is coming for the winner of the 2D Tip and Pastry Bag on Wednesday, so keep an eye out for that :)

Here is pix of my latest post on http://craftersguru.blogspot.com/ How to turn your old Hutch into a new Island!

Super Crop Top

2009-04-11T06:41:00.001-07:00

Had to Get Out!!!

2009-04-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

Jack is still sick on and off but the off is more than the on. His fevers are less and less. I hope by our Easter Party at my parents he will be fully recovered! Well on one of the off times I had to get out of the house!!! So we went for a walk for about 3/4 of a mile. The kids found ladybugs, bugs of all kinds, saw workers putting up large pipes under a bridge, and a small stream (Jack was sure that there were crocodiles in it!). They had fun and I was strangely exhausted. Being pregnant just Zaps every ounce of energy from me (and it's only the very beginning) and leaves me feeling nauseous all day (at least it isn't sooo bad I throw up...yet! Had a couple of close calls and sometimes I wish I would so I could feel better...I'm sure you wanted to know all that :)) Here are some pix. Sorry for no creative thought or expression. I posted one on my blog http://www.craftersguru.blogspot.com/

I'll have one coming soon! Once Easter is over and Jack is all better. I am still getting up with him in the middle of the night taking baths or showers, trying to cool him off...fun!

Taking Care of A Sicky!!!

2009-04-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

My poor baby son does not photograph well when he is sleeping. He looks dead every time I try to take a picture of him sleeping!!! He's had a fever on and off all night long and today! We've been in and out of the bath trying to cool him off, followed by the maximum amount of Motrin he can take! Tylenol has no effect on the other kids but I am going to see and hope it works on him so I can do a Tylenol-Motrin regimen to see if that helps keep the fever at bay! When there is a time he sleep long enough I am going to try and make some cute and easy American Girl Doll outfits with my girls. I'll keep my fingers crossed so I will be able to post something tomorrow!

Check Out My New Blog Crafters Guru

2009-04-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

For an Easter Fun craft with the kids or grandkids check out my new blog and post at http://www.craftersguru.blogspot.com/

Do you love to create, decorate,paint, sew, make jewelry, bake, etc.? You can be featured too on Crafters Guru. Leave me a post or contact me at anoriginalbymary at pacbell dot net !

All I need is

*a photo of you (or family photo)

* a short bio (make sure you include your company name or blog if desired)

*a picture of your finished craft (step by step photos are best as well)

*easy step by step instructions

That's all!!!

Don't forget the FREEBIE there and here so post a comment and follow at both blogs on all posts to increase your chances of winning!!!

Great Weekend Fun With the Family!!!

2009-04-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

It was an AWESOME General Conference this weekend! I had my sister and her fam over as well a my parents! It was great! We had breakfast together, a wonderful inspirational conference, a great Linner (lunch and dinner all rolled into one meal), a nice 3 mile walk, kids made crowns (even for the dog) great company and a perfect day!

When everyone left, my kids and I did an Easter Craft together! The above picture is my eldest son decorating his egg. I didn't think they would want to do it but they all asked and they did a great job! I'll give instructions tomorrow on my blog http://www.craftersguru.blogspot.com/ !!! It's a fun super easy craft to do with the kids and they makes cute Easter decorations!

Cakes! Cakes! And more Cakes!

2009-04-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

Went to work today and there were a lot of cakes!!! I finished a bunch and thought..yeah! I'm done and then looked at the next board and saw 5 more+ 2 more came in last minute!!! Here are some pix from my I-phone!

Sorry I don't have a lot to write but pix are fun :) I have been Twittering like mad (follow me craftersguru), Facebooking( be my friend: Mary Olsen), blogging on my new blog Crafterguru.blogspot.com ( I posted 3 posts including a hair cutting tutorial, a Freebie is there too so comment and follow there for weekly freebies!!!) and working! Now I want to spend some time with the fam! It's cuddling, hugging, and fun time now.

I just read that cuddling and hugging helps women release stress!!! I think it's true!!!

Oh! I just got an email from http://www.cafehandmade.blogspot.com/ and they are featuring my new Tube Top No Sew YouTube video on their blog! Make sure you stop by and check it out! I am so excited to be featured there!!!

Tube Top No Sew

2009-04-03T20:53:00.001-07:00

Freebie on Craftersguru.blogspot.com

2009-04-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

I just started a new blog for crafters, like me that are aching to share their craftiness with the world. Life's too short to hide your talents under a basket! Let them shine!!! There is also a new freebie on www.craftersguru.blogspot.com So leave a comment here for your chance to win the 2d tip and pastry bag and leave a comment there and follow to win the freebie at craftersguru!!! If you are in a crafty mood then email me at anoriginalbymary@pacbell.net and let me feature you on my new crafting blog!!! All you need is a self portrait (or family portrait), a short bio on yourself, pictures of your finished product (you can also include step by step pix...I love pix) and easy to follow step by step directions on how you did what you did!!!
Coming soon to CraftersGuru is an adorable hair style for your little girl by Joy Henshaw, How to make Nursing Covers by Rachelle Eckman, A cleaver craft from Mandy McHenry (TBA), How to Refinish and Faux Your Cabinets from Christina Taylor, How to Make a Doll Cake from Jane LeCheminant, Tie It Up secrets from me Mary and many more. So come join the fun and contact me with your awesome craft!!! Everyone featured gets a fabulous prize!!!

You Could Win This for Free!!!

2009-03-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

In honor of my YouTube video making it on the Café handmade site (go to http://www.cafehandmade.blogspot.com/ ) I have decided to start Once a Month Mondays as FREE Giveaway Day!!! So in tribute to my YouTube the Cupcake How to Frost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7aMdOf61s

I am giving away one new FREE 2D tip and Pastry Bag!!! All you have to do is leave a maximum of 1 comment per post (this post and future posts until the giveaway end date Sunday, April 12th) and/or scroll down to the bottom of my blog where it says Follow and…Follow!!! So comment on every new post and Follow this blog to increase your chances of winning! I will post a video on Wednesday, April 15th (Tax Day!!! Something good’s gotta happen that day!) of my oldest daughter drawing the winner out of a hat!!!

I had a crazy week this week! I’m not gonna bore you with the details but the highlights are: I worked 2 days this week because there were a TON of cake orders!!! I also ran/walked one of the worst runs ever (13 miles but it was really, really, really hard this time and I was suppose to do 15 miles!!!) So here are some of the pix of the cakes and don’t forget to leave a comment and Follow my blog for a chance to win the FREE giveaway!!! Remember that 2D tips are great for frosting not only cupcakes but a cake as well!!! They are great for trim and décor as well as making it easier to frost a cake smooth (I’ll have to do a demo of that nifty little trick!!!).

If there are any video demonstrations or written directions of crafts/decorating/desserts or anything…just let me know and I will figure out the easiest, most fun way to do it…if I haven’t already!!!

This was for my mom's B-day. It looked and tasted sooo rich and yummy!!!

This was for my Mom's B-day party as well and my personal all time fave! This was sooooo good! It tasted like a See's Candy raspberry truffle! This is a brownie cake frosted in fudge with raspberry Comstock on top! Soooo good! You have to try it!!!

The customer wanted something bright and neony! This was soooo bright you had to wear shades :)

This was part of a double fudge layer brownie wedding cake. It was sooo busy that day that this is all I could get a picture of before they took it and left! This is the base and they were going to put Gerber daisies under the pillars and place the other smaller double fudge layer brownie cake on top on!

I wanna be a little girl again!!!

This was a Baby Einstein cake!

I gotta new YouTube Video in the works that I plan on putting out this week! It's about how to make easy jewelry without any special tools! It's buying the fancy tools that kills ya as well as the wallet!!!

YW Cake Decorating Class

2009-03-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last night Jane and I taught a beginning cake decorating class to the Laurels. They did such a great job for their very first cakes! I didn't get pix of all the girls (there were 10) and their beautiful cakes but above is just a few. It was one of the funnest (it's a word in my vocabulary), least stressful classes I have ever taught. Thanks to Jane!

Happy Birthday Scott!!! Your 11 today!

2009-03-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

Today will go on record as one of my favorite days of the year! Today my son R. Scott Olsen was born 11 years ago! He wanted Cheese Pizza from Papa Johns (the best delivery pizza around)! This is huge! He just very recently began to eat the "All American Birthday Food". He use to only eat the crust but now my 11 year old will eat the entire thing! There is hope for his future wife after all! His big sister Nina, fully decorated her first character cake! She did a great job. She filled the bags, drew the picture, frosted and trimmed the cake and everything BY HER SELF! I knew she could do it and she did a great job.

She's only 12 and already following in her Mom's footsteps :) Here are some of the cakes I did at work on Saturday! There were a lot of cakes! Even some weird cakes that I did not post because they were just...weird...the things people ask for?????

These were mini cupcakes that I decorated like a flower. I saw it on YouTube for cupcakes. I tried it on cupcakes but thought mini cupcakes would be soooo cute for a tea party! I'll have to do a video someday on it! Mums would be easy and adorable as well as roses! I am sooo in love with mini cupcakes right now. They satisfy and you aren't downing a million calories for the pleasure....did I mention how adorable they are too!

Here is a before and after cheesecake. We thought it needed something more!

This was a Super Fun cake!!! The ears are cookies painted with black royal icing! Can you see the mini Mini's on the side? Too cute!

Here is a picture that Nina took of Jack pre-stitches. Sorry I have no gruesome pix's. I don't even have pix of the kids in their costumes that I made for the Variety show that they were in this weekend! What has happened to me!!!! I'm going to start gluing that camera to my hand! I don't want to miss a thing in my kids lives :)

Well the story behind Jack is that Wednesday he locked himself in the garage with one of our dogs. When I went to get him he was crying and a face full of blood! The bleeding stopped soon after but it still did not look right. It was just a small cut on his lip but I Googled and I read that even the smallest of cuts on the face can leave a scar as well as infection. So with that we were off to the ER and Jack got 2 stitches. They asked if I wanted to be in the room...Heck yeah! Why would I want to worry and be away from my son when he needs me? The nurse told me not too look because it would be too traumatic! What! I love surgery! No way was I gonna miss this and I wanted to make sure the doc. did a good job! The nurse also said that he would sleep like a rock...Ha ha ha h ah a! He was back to his old tricks as soon as we got home, jumping on the couch, singing songs, acting out Spiderman and going to bed late!

So needless to say that Goofy is gone. I told the pound to give him to a family without small kids!

Oh! By the way! See the water bottle he is holding! You can't see it but it is the perfect thing for a baby/ messy kid/ toddler/small child to drink out of! Why? My son Samuel thought of this. One day he just grabbed a pencil and popped a hole at the center of the lid and ...Voila! Instant, non-drip baby sippy cup/water bottle. It works with a pen or key(makes a larger hole but still works)! Try it when you are on the road if your kids often spill their water bottles! It works great!

Nina took this of Charlotte this week too! Isn't she sweet! Beautiful inside and out..I am soooooo lucky!

Also a catch up on the running! I did 10 Wednesday and then today seven (both with hills, and not little ones either...big long hills). I can't believe how quickly the human body recovers! I went from nothing to 13 mile in 2 months! Rick also ran the 7 miles with me today and he wasn't far behind. He is athletic (he rides his bike to work everyday up a huge steep hill) but he was right there with me the first half and not more than 100 yards the last half! Men are soooo lucky. It took me 2 months to get here and he is this far on his second run in 2 weeks! He can definitely do the marathon. He will be dead tired but he can do it!

cupcake how to frost

2009-03-22T15:25:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the sequel to Cupcake Wraps! Hope you enjoy and go out and try it! It's easy and fun too! Have your kids give it a try with you. Yes! It's that easy. Don't forget that practice makes perfect :)

Cupcake Wraps

2009-03-17T12:13:00.001-07:00

Early Saint Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

This week I did a 13 mile run! WOW! I know! It was not easy peazy though. When will it ever be? Well by mile 10 I could no longer continue jogging because of knee pain, so I started to jog walk. Then at mile 13 I could no longer jog so I walked it! I did a half marathon and lived! I stretched a bunch and I felt fine the next day! Even so , I saw my family doctor today to get a referral to a podiatrist (gotta love hmo's...it's gonna take 2 weeks until I can even make an appointment!!!). So while I was at the doc this morning I got a bunch of routine blood work done as well...so we'll see if everything is in working order.

I did cakes this weekend of course! There were not a lot but here are the pix:

On Sunday I went to my parents house for the traditional St. Patrick's Day celebration. We had to do it early because of everyone's schedules. We made ribs, fish, Irish stew, mashed potatoes with rings, buttons and coins in it(rings signify good marriage, coins= wealth and buttons= good health), green colored sprite, asparagus, green died chocolate chip cookies and lucky charms marshmallow treats!!! To top it off we played settlers with the older kids! I love days like this: Good Food, Good Company, Good Games!!!

One Day @ a Time

2009-03-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

My sister came over on Thursday! Yey! I cut her hair and we hung out for part of the day. We went for a walk and the sky was just beautiful! I had to take a picture.
On Friday we went out with Rick's sister Tina and her hubby, Art. We went to sushi and I totally pigged out until my stomach hurt...Why do I do that to myself? We then played a fun game of Settlers (Cities and Knight style)!!! I gotta stop winning because then people don't want to play it with me!
There were a LOT of cakes on Saturday at work. I was there 8 hours..standing...on my feet!!! I was soooo tired I wanted to go to bed but Nina had road show and it was up to me to take her! That pretty much killed it for my run on Saturday. I was pretty sad. That was my first missed run!!! But I am back on today! Here are some of the cakes I did this weekend!

This is Nina in the dressing room at the road show. The "Popular Girls" wore my jewelry and Tie It Up shirts for their wardrobe! Cool!!!

I had my family over for dinner and we had soooo much fun...I forgot to take pix even after telling myself that I have to take pix because I wanted my kids to remember this time with their grandparents, cousins, Aunt and Uncle!!! But alas! I forgot! I love my parents. My Dad led us in Family Home evening after dinner. He did a great job! Now that is what I call a pretty perfect day! Church, family and great family time!!!

2009-03-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

I finished another chapter in my Lost Art of Parenting book. It's been going pretty

smoothly ever since I brainstormed for two weeks and made an outline. Nina is gone to Sacramento with the Maloy's and I miss her already but I know she is in most excellent hands!!! Jack has made it another day with out sucking my finger!!! Yeah!!! You heard right. It's weird but my kids would never take a pacifier, they sucked on my finger. Ever since we stopped he has been acting like a bigger boy and wanting to go to the potty! Cool! Now I just have to get him out of my bed...One thing at a time.

I also ran 12 miles without stopping and I felt great (of course I must add that it was on the treadmill because of the rain so 12 miles felt like 7 miles on pavement. It is much easier on your body to run on a treadmill. But putting that aside it was a big accomplishment for me. I actually ran for 2 hours straight!!!) After the marathon I am soooo going to run half marathons a couple times a year! It is sooo easy compared to full marathons. It could actually be fun and not a lot of work comparatively speaking :)

China Town/Cakes/Work

2009-03-03T17:32:00.001-08:00

I've been so busy with writing, kids, sickness and work. I haven't been able to update. So here is the quick version. I am still good with the 3 and 4 mile run (it's longer that I haven't felt Great after but I am sick so maybe that should be taken in account for my sluggishness, I have officially lost weight (It's been 3 years that I haven't been able to break the 163 mark and I am officially 161. I need to loose another 20 lbs but hey. It's a start). I went to a Chinese market to get some real Chinese/Thai food in L.A. with my friend Panada. Above is Jack and I looking at the live crabs. We even went to a Chinese restaurant afterwards! Here Jack is trying to eat with chopsticks and it actually works!

Later that week I cooked some of the food and I officially love Americanized Chinese food and I hate fish oil/sauce or whatever it is they put in the authentic stuff. My husband and kids don't like it either and when my husband came home he had to open the doors and windows and put the air purifier on it's highest capacity.The oil stank up the house!
In between writing, cleaning, running (yes I am still running), researching for my book, getting kids to activities, doing homework with kids and the like, I made some fun cakes at work on Saturday. Here are some of them. I no longer transfer drawings and I haven't for the past 6 months. I just find an image and free hand it now. I never thought I could freehand an image but when you are forced to do things sometimes it's the best way to find hidden talents.Well here are the last pictures of pre-school for a while. I was laid-off!!! Yes the down turned economy has even affected my little ol' job. My friend's husband's work hours and pay was cut so he has taken over my position. Until things get better I am out of the pre-school business. Melanie might add another day if she gets enough students and then I would work one day a week, but who knows!?! In the picture below the kids are making moon pies! I am kind of glad to have the extra time for writing but I will miss the money (however small, it will still be missed)!
Well enough of the catch up. Today was full of excitement (LOL)! My baby (he's 2 but still a baby to me...oh and he is huge for his age..off the charts...but still a baby to me and I carry that little lug way too much!); well last night he poked his eye. I have no idea how,who or what. I was taking a shower and all of a sudden I heard,"Jack hurt his eye and he's crying!" Jack came in the shower crying (not a normal I'm hurt cry but a I'm REALLY HURT cry). I was kinda freaked out but his eye wasn't too bad but bad enough to where I knew he needed to be seen by a doctor. So this morning I called my sister's best friend (since high school) and asked if her husband could see Jack asap (he's a really good eye doc.). They fit him right in! I only had to drive almost an hour to get there and pay $33 (that's really cheap but my insurance co-pay is $5 and it is down the street from my house. That's how good of a doctor I think he is and how much I trust him and in today's world you can't put a price on great service..it was worth it!). So after the drive (I really hate driving to new places without my husband. I can do it alone... I just don't like to) Jack indeed had a laceration due to blunt force trauma (sounds scarier than it really was but it kinda felt CSI to say it!). His eye was cut but not perforated and his eye lid was cut as well. I have to put antibiotics in his eye and make sure he can see out of it for the next two weeks but the doc thinks he'll be fine. The swelling has already gone down a lot. You can still see the blood clot and a little puffiness but it looks a lot better!

Easy Felt Cards

2009-02-24T20:35:00.000-08:00

I forgot to add the cards that I made. These are super easy and require no sewing, just some felt, buttons, some beads if you have some, paper and hot glue.

The pre-schoolers were a hoot today as they made astronaut puppets!

With training, today was a rest day (I ran 3 miles on Monday and it wasn't so bad) so tomorrow I have 5 miles. It should be pretty easy. Gone are the days of the 4 miler Wednesdays. The miles just go up from here until the LA Marathon. Sorry It's so short but I Gotta keep writing to make my deadline :)

2009-02-23T09:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy week and a half and it doesn't seem to be letting up. My house goal this week is just to get caught up with laundry and have at least 3 dinners this week. I always know when I do too much is when the family meals are lacking. So here is the picture version of what I did this past week and a half.

This is the Blue and Gold Dinner that was for over 65 people. I was in charge of planning the meal for it! (I guess we did have at least one family meal together that week) And thank you to Liz for helping me with that!

Here are some of the cakes that I did at work over the past 2 weekends.

Here is a picture of the activities day art class I taught. These girls are soooo sweet!!! I took Charlotte along. She is such a fun and talented little girl. We are going to have a blast when she is older.

Here is some fun painting we did in pre-school! The kids love the messy painting projects the best!!!

And here are the cupcake bar(brownies, cookies and cake all made into mini cupcakes so you could have a taste of each and not feel as guilty) I made for my sister's B-day get together. And also the Cupcake Skirts I made and video taped me making (thanks Mom and Sis. for the help). When I edit it I will post it!

Now back to writing my Lost Art of Parenting book. I gotta finish the intro and first 2 chapters by Friday!

2009-02-12T13:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I wanted to get a project done before I started my next book, The Lost Art of Parenting. I wanted to make some cool cards and this weekend I want to video tape it! Here are some of the cards I did. The kids loved them, I did too. Scott said they were funky and I think that is a great compliment from him :)

Here is the necklace I did last night. I didn't have a lot of time because we bought an awesome range!!!! Yeah! I have been living with a broken one for a year and a half (can you believe that! Me not have a good over...I know! I had to bake things at work, or small things like cupcakes or mini cupcakes because our oven only worked to temperature for 15 minutes and then shut off until it was completely cooled. It took hours to bake a simple thing!!! Now we are getting a convection oven, so things will be done in no time!!!

Work went by fast today. We had a Valentine's party!!! I love parties with kids!!! After our normal routine we made alien heart headbands (the theme this month is space, they are learning about our solar system). After that they decorated their valentines bags, frosted and decorated cookies, and then passed out their valentines! We were having sooooo much fun!!! We had some games planned but we ran out of time.

2009-02-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

I decided that since the laundry is caught up, I would make a new necklace every night (if possible) while vegging in front of the TV. So here is last nights! Today I am making cards while watching Jack and Ryan (friends little 2 year old). I'll have to post more pics tomorrow!

Also, I need to start video taping some "How To" stuff and post it on U-Tube. Maybe by saying it to you all I will finally do it! It seemed to help with the running thing ( I have 4 easy miles today!) :)

Mini Cupcake Heaven

2009-02-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

After the crazy day on Saturday I still wasn't finished!!! I had to bake a million mini cupcakes for a family get together and a YW activity. I love, love, love mini cupcakes! They are sooo easy to do, look adorable and take little time (comparatively speaking). I made 4 types of minis for a dessert bar effect. I made chocolate, vanilla, brownies and even sugar cookies (I just place a little ball in the cupcake paper and baked it). I then frosted them with either chocolate frosting or vanilla and topped each with a different colored heart. Here are some I-Phone pix:

The best moment I had while doing this was asking my daughter to fill the bags with frosting. She filled them easily with no mess and all by herself! You might think that is crazy but I love it when my kids learn from the things that I do with them and they not only do it right but they can do it all by themselves! She also did her hair really cute (all by herself) and got several complaments. She is such a talented young woman that I have to tell you all how proud I am of her. She tries so hard to be good and righteous. One grade was slipping a bit and she talked to the teacher about extra credit to bring it back up and has been working more diligently at all her studies. She has a 3.8. Wow! I am so impressed with her persistence and efforts. Also, after we turned a dress of hers into a shirt, she took the extra leftover fabric and did the cutest thing with it! I'll have to get pix. SHE IS AWESOME!!!

I Did It!!!

2009-02-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

There is a lot to catch up on! It has been a pretty busy weekend. I helped a friend plan, decorate, and conduct a party with over 25 kids. It was no problem! I have a great system that I have been using for years I like to call Pattern Parties. It fits any theme and a large age group and a large group or small. It keeps them busy and happy for 2 hours of party time! I decorated the house and made the party area bigger by moving furniture.
We notice that her dining room chairs were stained and I suggested we re-cover them. I measured, we went to the fabric store, and I recovered them. it took about 1 hour and a half for 6 chairs and only cost $24. Here are some before and after pix I took with my I-Phone:

I decorated the cake because I LOVE doing that :)

The next morning I went to work and I asked my boss for a raise and he didn't even realize that I had been there a year already and he told me that I would of course get a raise. It might not be very big but that I would get one. I decorated some interesting cakes. One was sooo huge that we didn't have a big enough board and used a platter instead.

This was the Mardi Gras B-day cake:

After work I had to rush to pick up my daughter from a sleepover, go home and wrap a present, grab some games for the party and go to the party. The kids had a blast! I am telling you Pattern Parties is fool proof and once I get it published you will know the secrets to great parties too :)Her are some pix:

After that I was so tired and my feet hurt but I had to stick to the marathon schedule, so I did the 5 miles. It was hard for the first 1.5 miles and then I got into it and it was more enjoyable! I found a good pace and I was even able to shorten my walk time. For long run days I run as I would the marathon with a run/walk method. This time I was able to shave off a minute of my walk time. So instead of run 4 minutes/walk 2, it was run 4 walk 1. If I could run the entire marathon 4 minutes run/1 minute walk....I would be a happy camper. I walk almost as fast as I run/jog.

Now it is time to continue watching my family play Spore.

???Questions and Answers???

2009-02-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

Jack's asleep so I have a few minutes to spare before I gotta go! I wanted to post a picture of him sleeping but he looks dead. Bad memories so I will spare you the details....anyways...
It's Wednesday already! I just finished running 4 miles ...on the pavement with a friend (thanks again Belinda you are awesome). It was a good run. I learned a lot about myself and that my time isn't as bad as I thought. She has this awesome GPS watch gizmo that told her I was running a 10-10.5 minute mile! How cool is that. I am very excited! I can feel those endorphins running through me :)
Now I need to finish up making food assignments for the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Dinner and make the final plans for the dinner, make up costumes for my kids in the school talent show (thank you Dan for making that possible), clean my house and a couple other projects that I am really excited about.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make inexpensive monkey suits. I have a couple of ideas but a couple more wouldn't hurt. I'd love to hear from you :)
Also I need to figure out how to get music on my blog. If anyone knows how to do that PLEASE PLEASE drop me a line.

4th Row Center for Sister Beck!!!

2009-02-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

Sunday was an amazing day full of testimonies and uplifting words. In the evening came time for the multi-stake fireside with Sister Beck, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints General Relief Society President. I did not want to go because of the crowds, no parking and fear of not finding a seat (mainly the crowds of people). My friend asked if I wanted a ride, she did not want to go either but if I came she would go. My husband told me that I really should go, if not for me then as an example to my daughter, she thought it was soooo cool that I was actually going to see Sister Beck live and not on TV. So time came and my friend called to see if I was going. I said yes and my husband dropped us off at the chapel. We were 10 minutes early and the parking lot was already packed. As we entered we saw many women standing around. Oh! NO! It was sooooo full there were no seats left! As we peaked inside the chapel we saw many seats in the front that were empty and we thought that they must be saved for church leaders, so we moved on only to find that it was packed inside the cultural hall as well! As we moved through the crowded hallway we peaked in at the back of the cultural hall, some other friends waved to us and told us some woman had just left to go to the Spanish translation room. As we sat, we felt fortunate to be able to be in the same room as Sister Beck, even though she was a meer speck in the distance. We were all very excited and I found out that most of the woman around me had their husbands tell them that they needed to go tonight as well..

As a side note, in sacrament meeting that afternoon the Bishop had said that he did not think anything was a coincidence and I believe that is true.

As we were sitting there with about 5 minutes til starting time, a member of our ward and stake presidency came by and told the woman behind us (who were also in our ward, that told us of the open seats that we were now sitting in) that the reserved seats up front were now being opened up. As they left for those seats I asked the women that I was with if we should follow. We were undecided and I told them that I would go and see if there were any seats left. Brother Paterson told us all to go and that he would save our seats if needed. So we walked, rather swiftly all the way to the front of the chapel and the 4th row center was available. WOW! It was amazing. We were in shock and excitement. We were able to hear her voice without the aid of a microphone and see her in person and not on the big screen(better that in HD). Not only was that a treat, but the words that were said were inspiring. She spoke a little about her counselors and herself and then asked us if we had any burning questions. My mind was blank. I waited to hear what others wanted to ask. The first woman asked if her child could be taught by her husband, basic school and homework. She said that yes, children can learn from family members friends etc. but that the real mothering can not be delegated and that we have the leadership responsibility of Eve to teach and raise our children. "A mother's job his her job." She also mentioned that mothers have to work all hours/ all shifts. She mentioned that during "Swing Shift" (that is from 5:00pm-til bedtime for me) that mother's need to be at the top of their game! This is when we are needed the most. This time was the golden opportunity time to teach! "You prepare missionaries on Swing Shift".

Many more words of wisdom were spoken and great council given. This fireside has left me with a deeper understanding of my role as a mother. When 5:00pm rolls around I am no longer going to dread it because I am tired, the kids are tired and there are mounds of homework and dishes to do. It is the "Golden Opportunity" time to teach!

My Cakes and Bandana Apron are in This Months SCV Magazine!!!

2009-01-31T19:14:00.000-08:00

Open up your SCV Magazine to page 56 and check out my cake designs as well as one of my bandana aprons! It is apart of our Cookies Kitchen uniform!

I did it! 7 miles!!!

2009-01-31T16:51:00.000-08:00

I went to work and decorated cakes and cup cakes. I have been there a year and have not got a raise. Any suggestions on how I should ask? It's hard economically for the little businesses right now but I am helping them pull in more cakes and I have upgraded the quality and appearance of their cakes. You can see the pictures of my cakes in their add in the SCV Magazine that just came out!
I walk/ran 7 miles and I wanted to stop, cry and finish it! I skipped the self pity part and finished! Kids have friends over and when I take a break I gotta do something fun with the kids.

Present Meets Future

2009-01-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a little epiphany I had while struggling to run 3 miles a day for the past couple of days. While running I envisioned myself finishing the 3 miles and writing about it. I kept telling myself that I only had 30 more minutes, 10 more etc. until I reached my goal... until I reached my future. I started saying to myself that "Present meets Future" in 20 minutes, 10 minutes, etc as I journeyed through the run. It made me feel so alive and in control (as much as one can be) of myself and my future outcome! I was making my own present and future collide. With determination and an eye set on a goal we can all make our own "Present meet the Future" in what ever goal we set. Whether it be personal, family oriented or religious, we can make the "Present meet the Future" and celebrate in the steps to get their. When I get on the right path and realize the joy in the journey I feel more alive, confident and successful in even the smallest of achievements. These little successes prepare me for the more challenging trials ahead. I hope this helped. It helped me and hopefully my children in their journey though this amazing thing called life.

Mile Stone Moment!!!!

2009-01-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

I just ran 3 miles (no walking at all this time) and it felt good. Really and truly good! I even increased my speed! I am so excited!

2009-01-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

Sunday was a nice relaxing day. I really shouldn't relax because that is when I fall behind! That should be a day to do scouts and young women's and stuff! I got to get into that again. I updated the http://www.mormmonmommies.blogspot.com/ blog today. I have manic Mondays :)

Church was soooo awesome and spiritually inspiring. We have been making a point to get there earlier, I am a nursery leader, so that is all the church I get for the day. We sat right smack in the center front pew! The kids were actually quite reverent! They even listened to the speakers. I quizzed each one after church and they all listened. I am amazed! They are growing up so fast. They didn't even need snacks (just Jack) or anything to write with. I am shocked!

When I gave Jack some fruit snacks I was reminded of Singles Ward 2 ( I love movies). A mom with a bunch of kids was passing out snacks. Her snacks weren't just snacks! They were meals, like a bowl of cereal! She even got out a gallon of milk when a kid asked for some milk! But the funniest was when she got out a Costco sized jar of peanut butter and started making sandwiches. I had to laugh!

gotta run, literally and put jack down for a nap (my fingers are crossed on that one).

2009-01-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

It was a busy day at work today. I had to get up at 6:30 and be at work by 7:00am. For the next 7 hours I was on my feet baking and decorating cupcakes and cakes. They were really easy cakes today. Nothing that ornate but not so plain as to cause boredom. I do love decorating cakes:)
After that I knew what had to come next. The 6 mile run!!! Dun-dun-dun-duuuuuunnn!!! I have been worried, scared and not quite sure I could actually do it! It is 2x as long as what I have been running during the week (except for the 4 miler, and I thought that was a killer). But yesterday I went and got new shoes. My feet and knees were killing me and I knew that if I did not get new shoes that I would not be able to continue to run. Let me flash back to yesterday...
I went to a local place called Runners Lane in Santa Clarita ( I hate to drive far away and the other store was in Encino). It is a quaint little runners store but I love, love, Loved it! The sales woman was awesome! She examined my walk and jog and found me the most perfectly perfect shoes (I am pronated and have high arches that flatten out when I run). I instantly felt more secure and comfortable in my new shoes. After that I wanted to switch my cell phone service to my hubbies and in the process get a new phone. I got an IPhone and I absolutely love it. It is soooo easy to use, even I can figure it out:) That leads me back to the photos and work......
I took these photos with my new IPhone! So after work I got ready to run/jog/whatever you want to call it :) The moment after my 5 minute warm-up, I was done! I did not want to go on.!!!But I kept trudging on. The sales woman at the shoe store suggested that I run for 4 minutes and walk for 2 (since walking for 1 minute was too short). I tried this and I was able to push myself to run/walk in this manner for 1 hour! That is the longest I have been able to run. I was getting nauseous, tired and my knee was acting up a bit. I said a little prayer asking HF to help me be able to continue without any aches or pains, I then told myself that I would not use the GU(an energy booster that runners use to refuel and replenish electrolytes) until mile 4. After the hour passed I didn't think I could continue at this pace so I switched to 2 minutes jog-2 minutes walk. At this pace I was able to continue (the entire time I was telling myself that I could do this..I can make it to 3 miles...now I can make it to 4 miles! This running thing is really a mental journey as well as a physical one.). Finally when I got to mile 4 I took the GU. This was a first and I feared it would make me hurl (I was already nauseous). But I took a little at a time and drank it down with water (It really isn't that bad). Within 2-3 minutes I was feeling really good. My knee was bearable, my nausea was gone and I had energy!! Wow! I could do it! 90 minutes total time (including 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool down, I know that is slow but heh! I'm just starting!!!), 6.22 miles and 799 calories ( I don't know how accurate that is but it sounds good to me:} ). I am just excited that I did it without stopping (except to go to the bathroom)!!! I think I can actually do this. I felt great after the run, but now I am a little soar. I am not going to quit. I really want to check this off of The 100 Things to do Before You Die List, lose weight and feel healthy!

I Need Running Music

2009-01-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

I jogged for 30 minutes today without stopping! Woo-hoo! This has been sooooo hard for me. It has been a really long week for me (running wise). I can usually catch on to things but my body is in such bad shape that it is going to take a while to get the hang of this. I am really motivated though. After a week and a half I have already lost 6 pounds. My motivation is that if I have to do any kind of presentation or workshop or demo for my book, I am not letting people see me at this weight. No, NO, NO!
I didn't quite finish the 3 miles I am suppose to do today (it was time to pick up the first round of kids)but at least I ran for a solid 30 minute block. That is more than I have in a long time and I actually feel good today. I am worried about my long run this weekend, 6 miles.
Anyways I need your help!!!! PLEASE!!! I need good upbeat, fast paced music or just something with a good beat kind of beat to keep my spirits high while I am running. If anyone has any suggestions please, please, PLEASE help me and let me know!!!
I love Mika, Match box 20, some mainstream punk, etc. I guess I like what mainstream America likes. I'm pretty generic. Gotta go pick up kids, homework and all that stuff, but please drop me a song or two. Thanks:)

Mormon Mommy Writers

2009-01-21T10:13:00.001-08:00

I've just been invited to contribute to Mormon Mommy writers at http://mormonmommywriters.blogspot.com . The sharing ideas thing is really fun. It is what I've been praying for for the past year. So come check it out :)

I changed my blog back ground. Let me know what you think! I'll most likely will change it again soon. It needs some more tweaking to get it just right but I was excited that I could do it myself, sans the aid of my computer genius hubby! My daughter does not like the header. She wants it to still say olsens7. So that must go!

My kids mean a lot to me and I love sharing about them and with them. I love involving them in this whole writing process. My children have been models in my book, my oldest son Scott (he is a 10 year old genius for naming things) has helped me title several of my books as well as projects, they have been giving me creative ideas for my projects etc. They are my little muses (along with my totally awesome rad agent, Emmanuelle). This has been a family process and we have grown closer together by listening and appreciating each others ideas.

My agent just sent out the finished proposal to publishers, so we will be hearing back sometime next week. Keep your fingers crossed :)

One last thing before I go and I am almost affraid to admit this new one, but what the heck! I have been wanting to do this ever since my aunt Judy ran one when I was a child. (Maybe it will make me have to do it now that I told the world!) I am begining to train for the L.A. marathon. My marathon group says that I have enough time to train. At 18 weeks, I'm having some doubts. I am sooooo out of shape. But at least I will get in shape if not for this one then the next soonest one for sure.

In the mean time, back to laundry, dinners, homework, my 2 jobs etc. :)

Life Coaching? You Need It!

2009-01-20T07:15:00.001-08:00

I have to give a shout out to John Henshaw, my Life Coach, friend and father. He has been a life coach all his life. When ever we would sit down for family meetings or one-on-one Dad time he would always ask, "What are your goals?" He is always coaching his children and helping them as well as others attain their goals! That's John Henshaw! When I was a child he would be my life coach in any thing that I decided to do. When I was on the track team and wanted to improve my time, he would help me map out my training, envision the finish line and obtain my goal. You may think that I was an only child with how much individual attention I got. No! I was one of 4 kids! We were all given that special attention. His goal was and is to help his family succeed. He took class after class to perfect his Life Coaching talent. He has tried many new, innovative ideas and concepts with us. He has perfected the art. But that does not stop him! He continues to pursue new ideas and concepts even now. His knowledge and life energy are so powerful, you can't help but have it rub off on you.
Through my journey writing this book he has been there. Coaching me and motivating me. His excitement and energy has rubbed off on to me and I am ready to succeed. I envision that finish line and ready to achieve my goal. Thanks Dad. You can check him out on Linkedin under John Henshaw Professional Coach & Organizational Development Specialist at Northrop Grumman.

Still Working!

2009-01-19T06:22:00.000-08:00

I am still working on my proposal for my book ideas! There is so much to learn in the world of writing and getting a book published that I never knew. You think it's somehow like the movies. You write la-di-da and then you publish...pow!

Movies lie. Why? It's a lot of writing, re-writing proposals and back and forth. So if you are wanting to write a book, just know that you are in for a lot of rejections and work. Many of you want to know how to get your book published? Well all I can tell you is how I am trying to do that. The #1 thing is to get an agent. If that doesn't work, try re-writing your query letter and re-sending it or find new agents to send it to. A query letter is a small synopsis of your work. Kind of like what you would find on the inside of a book jacket. Something that tells a little about you and the book. Something that will really reel them in! Here are some sites to go to to find agents (remember to research each agent and find out if you are the right fit for them and what they are looking for in a query letter). Here are some of the sites that really helped me:

Start with this one first! It was the best. I went through the entire list and e-mailed every agent that I thought would fit the bill. Some only wanted paper/snail mail queries so I skipped those. I am going green like many agencies and I couldn't afford the money to print and mail to all of them so I did all the e-mailed ones first. If I didn't get a response then I was going to do the paper/snail mail ones. I was't going to give up no matter how many rejections! I knew that this was an awesome book and that I had soooo much more to share!

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/3575/wn/writerstext-uspublishers.html

http://www.literarymarketplace.com/lmp/us/index_us.asp

http://www.spywriter.com/litagency5.html This guy really kept me going! Check out how many query letters it took him. He's got me beat. I sent out 350 individual query letters (do not spam agents, they do not like that and you will most likely be rejected. Personalize each query. It's slow but do it!).

http://www.author-network.com/agents2.html

I also went to Stephanie Meyers website here http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

and read about how she did it, got a subscription for a month to writers market http://www.writersmarket.com/ and went to Janet Evanovich's website http://www.evanovich.com/. This is where I learned to write a query letter. Then by researching on agents sites I found out more and more. When agents tell you that your work is not right for them but offer suggestions, take those suggestions as if they were pure gold. Take them into consideration. I did. An agent told me that it wasn't long enough. I had about 16 ideas in the book then. So I added a bunch more and it really has been good advice!

So #1 FINISH YOUR BOOK

#2 get family and friends to help you edit it

#3 Send out a million query letters and don't give up until you get an agent or if you have tried your best, then go for a publishing house that takes un-agented work. But don't go that route unless you have queried at least 400 agents. Yes really that many!

I hope this helped and good luck!

WOW!

2009-01-15T12:51:00.001-08:00

WOW! WOW! WOW! Is all I can say right now. I actually have a literary agent! She is awesome! Already she is putting not only my finished book out to editors but my future book ideas as well! How awesome is that. I knew she was the one when she emailed me for my proposal. It was inspiration! I already emailed the 4 other agents and told them that I already had representation! I am still in shock! Can you believe it! I might actually be in print some day! I can't wait to show everyone all the cool things they can do with very little money, some elbow grease and an imagination!

Oh ! About the image above. I drew it several years ago as a part of my pop couture t-shirt line. I hate to leave my posts pictureless!

Have Fun, Be Creative, Look Fantastic!

Bandana Girl

2009-01-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Just started this blog, www.crazy4bandanas.blogspot.com for the re-launch of my latest book: Bandana Girl, 118 fun and fashionable bandana creations! (working title). I finally finished and sent out queries for Tie It Up, I am awaiting 3 agents response. My friend Sarah, a writer, said that I needed to wait patiently on the agents to respond (a book I am reading said up to 2 weeks) and write the next book in the mean time, in order to not go crazy! So I took her advice and I am back in the game! After that, I can finish a sequel to Tie It Up, called Tie It Up in the Home (working title).

I am really excited to getting back to a schedule but not having the kids in school. I love them at home. We can do stuff together, have friends over, no stressful homework, no getting places on time, did I mention no homework? I am already back to cleaning the house, dinner on the table, and grocery shopping! For most of the vacation I was just writing, creating and photographing and letting everything else just go.

Hope you all had a great vacation! Thanks Heather and Gabby!

Work! Work! Work!

2009-01-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

Just sent out over 250 query letters and I got 2 agents back that wanted to see the entire book! So my entire Holiday Season has been dedicated to the book and getting a house full of relatives and kids over sickness after sickness! Did I mention the garage was cleaned out too? Now the real work begins. I have to make up proposals, work on my Tie-It-Up.blogspot.com page, my http://www.tie-it-up/ web page (I want to add video and better graphics). Who knew that writing a book was so much work?

Tie It Up a Blog and Website Added

2008-12-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

I have just added new blog http://www.tie-it-up.blogspot.com/ as well as a website http://www.tie-it-up.com/ for you all to view. i will be adding more updates. Right now they just have some new pix but once I finish sending out more queries and tyeing up loose ends with the book I will be making it much much better. But for now the basics 'l have to do!

Also some new news! My Tie It Up T-shirt in a can was just sent to a toy company and it was well received. Will let you know if it goes anywhere:)

Sorry No Pix! Just Blah, Blah, Blah :)

2008-12-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

It's been so crazy with the book, working 2 part time jobs and still doing laundry, grocery shopping, homework, etc.

I get up at 6:30 am and work on the book, get the kids up and work on the book, take kids to school and back to the book. My muscles are totally atrophied with complete lack of exercise. I have lost a little weight but I am sure it is all muscle because my clothes aren't any looser. It's crazy but I must carry on because with all this stuff buzzing around in my head for the past 12 years... I have to let it out. After this book I have a Bandanna book, a Jewelry making book, a Shirt Accessorising book, a party book and many more. All of this stuff I learned because I always had to make do and make up with what I had because of lack of funds. I use to think it was a curse not being rich but now I see it as a blessing. Out of this trial I have grown and continue to do so. If I was rich I would probably say that traveling or shopping was my talent/hobby. But I am pleased to say that my talent is that I can make anything work with anything I have. I don't mean to brag, it is just realization that I have come to!

Well enough of this blah, blah, blahing. No one really reads this stuff anyways but I thought I would journal it. To remind me that I have been blessed with a lot. Excessive riches my not be one of them but I am blessed with my own very special talent and I am publicly thanking my Heavenly Father for his blessings!

2008-11-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

2007-09-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

Pixie Freebies

Download Here:http://www.4shared.com/file/24716604/e17e5f64/fairies_web.html

Here are the pixies! Enjoy!

2007-09-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

Pixie Freebies

Download here:http://www.4shared.com/file/24615004/3c1a5f9d/pixie_for_web.html

Here are some pixie freebies from my banner. I'll be adding more for the next few weeks! Here are 3 papers(cloud, pixie dust, and rainbow papers), pixie word, stardust, star, and cloud to play with! Enjoy and let me know how you used them and how you liked them!!!

2007-09-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

Digital Scrapbook Freebie!!!

Now that I have the banner done, scrunchies, Room Mom stuff,Team Mom stuff, Den Mother stuff and Nina's sleepover done for the week I have a littel time until it all starts over again! So I thought I'd put up a little freebie while I was at it! It is just 2 pages and some doodles! Enjoy!

Here to download:http://www.4shared.com/file/23958828/3a92d2ca/hearts_for_web.html

2007-09-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

It's Finished!!!

That's it! I am not tinkering with it anymore! I could spend hours more on it but enough is enough! I have to get back to the real world of laundry, dishes, cooking etc. The coach wanted it with a "y" light the Phili hockey team so there it is!!! I made the rain bow super easy!!! Just used the pen tool(in photo shop...I don't know if elements has it! Let me know) and filled in the arches. Then I used the Gaussian blurr (to the max)and it made it all blurry /misty looking! Cool eh! Try it! I did the same with the cloud! Now the cloud is light and fluffy :) Everything except the girls names, I used the pen tool! No matter how big it gets there is no pixels here! It will look nice and smooth at 3 ft by 5ft! Can you tell I'm just a little excited:)

2007-09-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add the 6th fairy, so here she is! I thought it needed a rainbow as well! What do you think!

2007-09-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

Pixie Fliers

Here is Charlottes Soccer Team Banner that I have been working on for the past week! It's pretty much finished! I just ahve to match the girls skin and hair color!

2007-08-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

Digi Freebie

Pop art Elements

Here are some free digital scrapbooking thought bubbles to add to your pages! Add any words or colors you want or use the pre-made ones! Just use your lasso tool and move 'em on over! Enjoy!!!
download here:http://www.4shared.com/file/23293796/4db4fbf8/jepeg_elements.html

2007-08-30T01:02:00.000-07:00

#3 Pop Art Freebie Digi Scrap Download
Here is part 3 of my pop art collection! This kit includes 4 polka dot papers and 4 polka dot overlays! Consider the infinite possibilities with the overlays!!! Just add any color on another background layer and you could have blue background with yellow polka dots, yellow polka dots with black background....etc. etc. etc. Have fun and look for more tomorrow! Elements are coming soon!!!

Download Here:

http://www.4shared.com/file/23176159/7b49e92a/polkadot.html

2007-08-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here are 4 more Freebie pages from my Pop Art Collection!
Download Here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/23116777/250a2fbd/swirl_pop_art_for_download.html

Digital Scrapbooking Freebie

2007-08-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Here is my first Digital Scrapbooking Freebie!!!

It is a small part of my pop art collection that I will be giving away free, to say thanks for all the free stuff I got on the web! I really enjoy making these pages and hope you enjoy them! This mini-mini kit includes 4 solid papers and 4 overlays! There will be more elements and papers to come during the following week so be sure to get my whole Pop Art collection! For personal use only!Please no sharing, reproducing or claiming my designs as your own! Send your friends to this site to get it FREE! Thanks and feel free to drop me a line!

Download here:

http://www.4shared.com/file/23084882/b5e1f99f/Pop_Art_Overlays_Mimi_Kit1.html

2007-08-23T03:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday

Here is my latest digi scrappin' page! I learned how to make pop art from a photo and boy is it intense! I made my own paper to go along with it! I got the template from http://tracireed.com and the film strip is from Simply Sarah! I am trying my very first digi challenge! What do you think!

2007-08-20T20:23:00.001-07:00

Monday

I just found a great couple of sights for freebies that are to die for!!! Here is what I did with one of them! Sights are: http://scrappinhillbilly.blogspot.com/ and http://raspberryroaddesigns.blogspot.com/

2007-08-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday

Still No Camera Battery!

I changed the Blog title image because I got some complaints! So I hope this one is better than the last! I still kept it at the bottom of the page because I oddly like it! This one is odd as well but...again I like it! No blood(it was red sparkles) just for you Sis! I love you and feel free to comment! I tend to get carried away sometimes and my Sis. helps to keep me from going crazy (in the design world as well as the real world)!

2007-08-17T07:53:00.001-07:00

Friday

Still no battery but will post new stuff soon! Here is the latest page! I re-did Sam's Haircut page now that I know what I am doing a little better and now that I have better paper! Everything I have used has been FREE! I love digital scrappin'!!!

2007-08-15T18:36:00.001-07:00

Wednesday

Sorry no pix..Just a new scrapbook page! It was the first day of school for my kids and I still have no camera battery!(Christina! Please visit me soon! I'll cut your boys hair!) So I can not download them! I'm trying to conserve battery power!

Thanks Mandy, Lori, Christina, Sara, and Heather for your comments lately! Other friends feel free to comment! Love to hear from you!

2007-08-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

Here's my page for the day! I have to get everything ready for school tomorrow! Wow! 4 off to school! Just Jack at home! Maybe he'll sleep and I can get something done!(He is the baby that requires only 8-9 hours a day of sleep! Yep! That is in a 24 hour day!Crazy..I Know!)

2007-08-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Monday

Just cleaned the house with the kids and got some stuff ready for school for the kids! I can't take pix because I left my camera battery at my sisters and have to conserve for the first day of school pix! I wasn't going to post anymore layouts because my husband thought, "Who would care about that!" But my sister said post so here it is! I made the flower myself and of course had to change the colors to match! Let me know what you think! Oh and I just learned how to clean up clip art and turn them into lay overs! Cool eh :)

Here's another one! And another... I got clip art and tweaked it (the crown and heart)!

2007-08-12T08:42:00.001-07:00

Here's another version! I've only got 2 more to go on the same subject!!! Man I take a lot of pix!

2007-08-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday
I did 2 pages today! First one is two entries down(I added the photos from last Saturday finally) and second is this one...

2007-08-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

Friday

Been out of town! Me and my sis. have been digital scrapbookin' and going to a lot of places with kids and Nana! Sis. and I even made a baby shower invite! How cool is that! I am very excited about this digital stuff! See you soon!

2007-08-08T07:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

I worked on another page! This time I changed colors and textures of stuff I had to match my theme! It took a long time but was fun! I can't wait to learn more so that I can make my own papers and stuff!

Be back for more soon!

2007-08-07T00:14:00.000-07:00

Monday

(well it's really Tues. morning...barely)

Had to post something! I have been working on a Shutterfly Scrapbook as well as this page all day! Yeah! They are both finally done! I'll post tomorrow about the last 3 days! I'm tired and I want to spend time with my hubby!

Here's some Total Momsense

2007-08-05T11:19:00.001-07:00