Until We Meet Again...

Christmas is come and gone....again. I always get the post-Christmas blues. They only last a few days, but they are painful and incite great misery for me and those around me. I like to leave up my decorations until New Year's Day, but this year I feel like putting everything away right now and banishing good tidings. I am in a particularly stinky mood this year, I wonder if getting older has anything to do with it? We had a wonderful Christmas and were very blessed this year. The girls were so excited to wake up and see their scooters from Santa (thanks Amazon for the "razor" price mix up) and also for their rockin red kitchen from Woot! Of course all the Grandparents spoiled them horribly along with my sisters, who came out in force this year. It made up for all that has been lacking around here lately. It was very special and we are so grateful. I am the proud recipient of bath products and chocolate galore. There isn't anything better than that! We are so excited for the huge Thomason Family Christmas dinner tonight. The Nickerls flew in from SC and have been visiting friends in Yuma, but will be back tonight and the girls are so excited to have everyone at our house. There will be 17 cousins including Cat and Sarah; 5 couples and half of the 10 original Thomason kids in one place. By this weekend, Manda and her family will be here and then we will have 6. It is pure craziness! Right now, I am sitting here typing away to the sounds of cleaning by the ECOMAIDS. I love Christmas! So, if all the holiday mess is being cleaned up for me, why am I feeling so foul? Hopefully, 2011 will bring a brighter future and an even happier Holiday season!

Crayola Winter Fun Giveaway

I have posted before about the great give-aways that Natalie from Natalie's Sentiments has. This one is no exception! Natalie is giving away four different fabulous Crayola products. They are fantastic presents for your own kids or for a child's birthday party. Crayola is the leader in fun, quality, imaginative kids products and you don't want to miss out on your chance to win this one! Head over to Natalie's Sentiments to check it out and enter to win. I am going for the Glow Explosion, wish me luck!

Christmas Decorations

So, the lights and garlands and bows have been up for a couple weeks. The tree has been trimmed and the presents wrapped. However, today, I found this lovely at Walmart for $20!!!! How could I not buy it! It is my signature color and goes very lovely in my kitchen.

This is my table scape for the formal dining room. I found at Thanksgiving that I really enjoy making these and they go right along with the fancy feel I try to achieve in that room. I think that they turned out fabulous!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I took this picture on our snowy journey home. We had a great time in Washington with Grammie and Grampy. We were very glad to get home to warmer weather though! November came to a close and now we are already well into December. I am looking forward to a break from school and from responsibilities. I still have so much to do though. This picture gets me in the Christmas mood, a little Holly Wreath candle from BBW, some Bing and I am set. This is the way for Az to do Christmas!

We're Back!!

I will have to upload my photos before you can see all of the snowy-ness that we dealt with for Thanksgiving. Since my Mom and Dad couldn't come to us, we decided last minute(or the Saturday before Turkey day) to drive to Washington to be with them. We left Saturday after the delicious baby shower that was at my house about 1pm. We reached snowy or rather slushy Ogden around midnight. Horrible!! It then took us an extra two hours on Sunday to get to Chewelah. UUGGGHHH! We had a nice trip and it was fun to enjoy the snow by looking out the window at it. Have I mentioned that I am completely acclimated to Arizona and officially am a weiney? Just thought you should know. Thursday, I made whole wheat rolls, a fantastic Pumpkin Chiffon cake, haricot verts(aka small green beans), salad, and I spatchcocked the turkey. "What?", I hear you cry! Spatchcocking is when you take the backbone out of the turkey and then smoosh it flat as a pancake. It makes the most hideous cracking sound, but is so worth it! For a 12-14 pound bird, it cooks in 70 minutes! Our 12.3 lb clucker only took 60 minutes. Last year my 24 lb baby took 2 hours and 10 minutes. Whew! By taking out the cavity you cut the cooking time in half and it is all golden brown on the outside and crunchy, but tender and moist on the inside! Go look here, Martha will show you how. It was fantastic! While I was cooking the turkey, my Mom had just enough time to do the mashed potatoes. She almost didn't make it! That's fast people!!!! Enough about food. The drive home was more atrocious than the drive up, if that is possible. We left at 7am and had to turn around because my parents found our laptop hiding by the couch. We left again at 7:20 and didn't make it to Panguitch, UT until 1am. That's right, 18 hours in the car to make a 14 hour trip. We hit every blizzard and storm between WA and UT. Pathetic! Then, Sunday morning it was more of the same...blah, blah, blah, snow, slick, scary, pee...I will leave it there. We did make it home though and boy were we all glad to see 60 degree weather. My tomatoes and peppers froze while I was gone, so I have nothing to show for all of the little neighbor boy's hard work! Crap!

Having a Great Time!

We are having a great time in Washington! It is so cold, I think I might die, but it is so worth it to be with Grammie and Grampy! It was a rough journey here for sure! We are safe and sound now and having a blast!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Here are my Christmas cards for this year. Didn't they turn out absolutely adorable? I was able to order 50 for free because I participated in the Shutterfly Blogging promo. You can scroll down to see that post and how you can enter. You have to enter before December 31st, so there is still plenty of time. I am so happy with how they turned out and can hardly wait for them to show up in the mail.

With Love Chartreuse Christmas Card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Natalie's Sentiments Giveaway

Here is another great giveaway from Natalie at Natalie's Sentiments. She is offering up 50 flat cards from Minted. They have really great cards for all occasions. I found these cute menu cards, and this fantastic stationary. How cute are they? Head over to Natalie's Sentiments to enter to win.

Shutterfly for Bloggers

Shutterfly is a great online site that enables you to upload photos onto pre-designed cards for any occasion. I am so excited this year to be getting my Christmas cards from Shutterfly! Normally, I spend about a month cutting and gluing and embossing to make home-made Christmas cards. Since I started school a couple months ago, I really don't have the time this year. Shutterfly is going to take care of Christmas this year for me. It is going to cost the same amount for me to order cards as I would normally spend on supplies for making my own cards. I am so excited to have someone else take care of it for me this year. If you want Shutterfly to take care of your cards this busy Christmas season, I have the answer for you.
This link will enable you to receive 50 free prints from Shutterfly! How fantastic is that? You must be a blogger and you will need to post about Shutterfly. There is a small section to fill out, but it is so worth it! Here are some of my favorites.

"With Love, Chartreuse"

"Sweet and Retro"


These are just a few great Christmas cards, look at more here. They also have calendars that would make splendid gifts for Grandmas and Grandpas who live far away, or even for the Dad who has everything, check calendars out here. I have several family members who never quite get out their Christmas cards before it is New Year's; the New Year's cards would be perfect for them. They could say that they planned it that way, check out those cards here. I know that I am already planning to grab the "With Love Chartruese" cards for myself this year, head on over to Shutterfly and find yours! Good Luck!

The Big Reveal

Well friends, here it is. I know it doesn't look like much in the pictures, but in real life, I find it exquisite! One more 10-hour personal progress project (alliteration much?) done and done!

Let the Crafting Begin

Here are some pictures of all of the different components before and I will post some after soon!

Fantastic Giveaway

If you or anyone that you know loves video games, you have to enter to win here. You could win one of six fantastic new games. Head over to Natalie's Sentiments and check it out. Good Luck!

Please keep voting!!!

Here is the link again to vote for my sister-in-law. There are only a few more days and she can use all the votes we can get her! It takes a minute or two, please vote.

Thanksgiving Table and Piano Scapes

I have very few decorations for Thanksgiving, so I got creative this year. Michaels was having all their fall decorations for 66% off. I got all of this stuff for like $20. Totally worth it for me. The stand I made from the $1 store and some gorilla glue. The green plate I saw and loved, but the bowl was hideous, with garish, ugly leaves. A little spray paint later it was Krylon glossy Ivory and beautiful. I inverted the bowl and gorilla glued the plate on top. Instant cake or decorative plate. I think it works for this. My mom gave me the pilgrim candle holders on the piano. I messed around with that one FOREVER! I think I can finally handle how it turned out. So, that is it. I think they turned out great!

Project Pictures Coming!

The loft is finished. I will be posting some pictures soon. I am uploading them right now!

Vote for Becca and Beat Breast Cancer!

Please go to this website and vote for my sister-in-law, Rebecca's, breast cancer video. If she wins, some of her medical bills will be taken care of and this would really help her out. You have to register, but it doesn't take very long. You can vote once per day, so it is a little effort for big rewards. When you vote, it will show you an error page, but it is okay, you still voted. I would appreciate any efforts that you can give. Thanks so much!

http://kxly.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=A&c=18323&s=5361070&i=1&m=X#SD

The New Me

Here is the new me. Kendra cut my hair off and gave me a pixie cut like Carey Mulligan's. I really loved her hair cut and decided I was ready for a change. I am still getting the hang of it, but I really love it!

The Chicks

These are our newest babies. Let me start at the beginning and then you will understand. We went up on Saturday and purchased 3 tiny three day old chicks. The blond is Mrs. Buff, who is a Buff Orpington, Kelly who is the darker Americauna on the left, and Isa the other Americauna. The Americaunas lay blue and green eggs, while the Buff lays brown. I told the kids over and over what to do and what not to do. I specifically told them that if the birds got their wings out of their grip to put them down so that their delicate little wings wouldn't get broken. During lunch, Sarah was holding her chick Kelly and Kelly got her wings out. In her haste to not break Kelly's wings, she dropped her on her neck and broke it instead. However, much to my dismay, the neck broke, but didn't sever and so the chick remained alive and suffering. After severe trauma to all of us, 3.5 hours of hysterics and several calls later, Kelly passed away on the way to be euthanized. It was a small blessing for me. Thursday, we took Sarah up to pick out a new chick and she decided to get a Buff like Mommy. We now own Noodle and she is the cutest little thing! We are excited that they are getting their elder feathers and soon will be able to graduate from the bin in the laundry room to their coop outside. I will post a pic of Noodle soon. We had a funeral for Kelly in the backyard and hope that she is having better days.

Canning

I have been on a canning kick lately. I borrowed my sister-in-law, Sarah's, pressure canner and canned 17 quarts and 27 pints of pinto beans with yummy seasonings. I also helped a friend can beans and another can chicken. It is actually easier than I had thought, but kind of time consuming. For one batch of beans it takes the prep time, about 30-45 minutes, plus heating time which is about 20 minutes, then canning time, 90 minutes and cooling time which is about another hour. So between 3-4 hours depending on how organized and prepared I am. It makes me feel good to know that I have a good protein in my food storage! I also took a small foray into salsa and made 7 pints. There is a lot of vinegar in the recipe in order to make it safe, but both Brady and I like it, so it works. Sarah also will eat it with chips, which is pretty cute to watch.

Pinto Beans

The Pressure Canner

Salsa

Queen Creek High School Cheerleading Performance

The girls got to participate in a cheerleading camp held at a local high school at the beginning of the month. I know, I am just getting pictures up. They had a practice and then the game was the next weekend. They had a blast and were excited to go out and perform.

Catherine and Sarah

Cat and Sarah with Emily, their special helper

Dancing with Emily and Alejandra, a girl from our ward.

Cat and Sarah with Casey, a little friend from our ward.

The girls shaking it out on the field.

Catherine-ism #39

"I love pets!"
"When I grow up, I want to be a vegetarian"

While an appropriate statement, it was not the one she was going for.

Saturday is a special day

The day is ending; there are slowly dying embers in the fire pit. The hot dogs have all been eaten, the marshmellows are put away and sticky faces have been washed. It has been a great day. I am reminded of the words to a primary song, "where love is, there God is also". I can believe that heaven is close right now.

Looking out the Window

I am sitting in front of this computer in my loft with the shades open. I rarely open any of our shades because the burnt retinas aren't worth it. Today though, it is barely over 80 degrees, the sun is shining and I am looking out over our neighborhood to the distant peaks of South Mountain. I had never realized that I could even see them. Everything looks nice and clean from the HUGE hail storm we had the other night. It seems to have even blown away all the dust that has been plauging my allergies with it's 50 mile an hour winds. Thanks monsoon! I have finished my homework for the week and have none to do over the weekend (thanks honey). It is quite relaxing to just sit here with the sounds of Halo Reach in the background and Sarah making some weird noises down below in the living room. Tomorrow brings an 8am call to have the Primary kids clean the church for service...fun. Then, I have decided to begin tackling the project that is this loft. Sanding, staining/painting and all sorts of craftyness will ensue. For now, I am going to enjoy my view and then go get ready for a date with my sweetie.

Sarah-ism #204

Tonight the girls performed with the Queen Creek High School Pom and Cheer squads at halftime. They were very cute, but it was hot and we were all tired by halftime. When we got home, we were saying family prayer and Cat said that she had a headache. Que Sarah:
"Cat needs to go to the hospital, her head hurts."

Me: "No, you don't want to go to the hospital"

Sarah:"Yeah, they will give you shocks!"

Brady: "No Sarah, they give you shots, not shocks."

Surviving

As some of you know, my sister-in-law has had cancer for several years, she is a survivor. My Mom also has cancer as well as my Mother-in-law, more survivors. Now, another one of my sisters-in-law has cancer, she is a survivor as well and hopes to be cancer-free by Christmas. So with all of these bright and shining examples of surviving in my life, why do I feel hopeless sometimes? I don't have cancer; the hardest thing I deal with is what to make for dinner, or which assignment is due. I truly believe that Heavenly Father tests us with what we are able. What does it say about me that those are my biggest trials? First, I am not having a pity party, just wondering. Second, I am so grateful that those are my trials because I KNOW that I couldn't handle being sick. It just makes me stop to think sometimes about perspective. It puts things into perspective for me to STOP for two minutes and think about the blessings that we are each given individually. We are known and loved on an individual level from our Father above. I like that. I hope that all of you beautiful Latter Day Saint women enjoyed the words of advice and comfort from the sweet sisters in the Relief Society General Presidency. I loved seeing our beloved Prophet relaxed and joking while still offering great words of advice. "Judge Not" is my new mantra and goal.

Pickles and the Best Dinner Ever!

So, for one of my personal progress 10-hour values projects I canned and canned and canned pickles. Cucumbers were on sale at the ranch market so I drove up and got two boxes that I cut into circles and spears. I then brined the cucumbers overnight to help them stay crisp. After that, I canned 33 pints and 11 quarts of dill pickles using my Mom's recipe. In two weeks I will let you know how they taste, but until then, this is what I see when I look in my pantry. Yum!



Speaking of yum, Brady decided to make dinner for me tonight since I had been gone all day and was exhausted. He slaved for about and hour and a half over ginger, cornstarch and other tricky kitchen ingredients. We had a pleasant discussion about the garlic mincer. It was fun for me to watch him try so hard(struggle a bit) to make such a delicious dinner.


My adorable Husband

The recipe he found in my Food Network magazine(when he started reading my magazine, I don't know!)

Some funny quips

My children say the funniest things sometimes. I try to remember to write them down, but most the time it doens't happen. Here are some of the things from today that I want to remember.

Catherine: "Can we turn the radio on, it's too quiet"
Me: "Let's leave it off, Heavenly Father has the Holy Ghost speak to us when it is quiet"
Catherine: "I don't hear him"
Me: "Listen with your heart"
Sarah: "My heart can't listen, it doesn't have ears, it just goes bump, bump, bump"

Catherine: "Are we going to the ranch market or the library first?"
Me: "Library, so that our veggies don't die in the car"
Catherine: "If we just bought grapes it would be okay, they would turn into raisins"

Love it!

Organizer...what a shock.

For one of my school assignments, we had to figure out what personality we were. We were asked a series of questions and then rated on the answer to find your type. Wonder of all wonders, I was an off the chart organizer. Wow! Eight simple questions was all it took for my deep, dark little secret to come to light. Amazing! I was laughing so hard because they truly think that somehow this will enable me to work more cohesively with a team. Have they read anything about organizers? Don't think so. We don't work well with others because we want to do it all ourselves!! Why, you ask? Because we are control freaks!! So yes, put me on a team with four other people and sit back to watch the fireworks...I take no prisoners.

Dance Matrix

So, we finally gave up on Jeanne's School of Dance and started at Dance Matrix. The girls have only gone one week and they are loving it! The first day the smiles on their faces were priceless! Catherine is taking a full-time tap class. She has graduated from the combo classes and is very excited to be a grown up dancer. Sarah is still taking a combo class, but it is different than the combo she was in. She now gets to take tap, ballet and jazz instead of just tap and ballet. It is really fun. We miss Ms. Angie, but are looking forward to getting to know our new teachers.

Back to School

This week Catherine went back to Eagleridge as a Monday student. We have enjoyed having her be with other homeschool kids, that are doing all the same things that she is doing. We loved her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wallen, last year and are really enjoying Mrs. Evans this year so far. The program has moved to a new campus and it is a fabulous change. The kids have better classrooms, playgrounds and just over all facilities. I am loving it! Sarah was devestated again this year that she doesn't get to go. I feel bad to, but she misses that cut-off date to be able to test her in. I also started school this week! I know, I was a bit shocked myself. I am going back to get my Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. Big mouthful to say teaching degree. I figure while I have the resources to get it done, I should, so that I have a back-up if I should ever need it. Brady says that I am an over-achiever; I like to call it organization and participation. Hope that everyone is enjoying back to school!

Piano Lessons

Please tell everyone, I am going to be teaching piano lessons! I really need to get the word out so that I can get some students. I will charge $50 per month for weekly, half hour lessons. If your child is 4-5 years old, I will be charging $25 for 15 minute lessons. Interested parties can email me at robertathomason@yahoo.com or can call me(if you give them my number). Thanks for the help!

Oh Crafts!

So, yesterday I asked Sarah to go tell Daddy that the TV wasn't working and I needed his help. She returned and told me that Daddy told her, "Oh, crafts!". I am assuming she meant, "Oh, crap", but personally, I like her version better. Speaking of crap, this week I got to watch my niece and nephew and their dog, Dobby. The friendly little guy decided that he wanted to color with the girls and ate a crayon before anyone noticed. Today, I happened through the dining room and saw vibrant blue something on the carpet. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it was vibrant blue poop! Oh Crafts!

Only 3?

So, the other day, I was sitting on the couch watching an episode of Smallville and Sarah came up to me to ask me a question. As she was walking away, I asked her to get me some more water and handed her my cup. She groaned, rolled her eyes and responded, "I always do everything, you don't ever do anything!". Suprised, I told her how I do her laundry, fix all of the food and keep the house clean. Sarah then told me, "You only do 3 things, I do way more than that!" Perspective is everything I guess.

So, I am not dead, but I have been so busy getting back to life, that I feel like it has been months since I got home, not just two weeks. Life continues to progress, full steam ahead, and I feel like I am in a bad "B" movie hanging on to the caboose by my fingertips. When did our days become about the next task? I swore I wouldn't be THAT Mom, who is constantly shuttling her kids, strapped in the minivan, from place to place; activity, to activity. I want to be involved in my kids lives on more than a superficial level. What then, do I let go in order to be able to do that? Question of the day...

Picture of the Day

We found this wonderful science lesson outside on one of my Mom's Iris. This spider had adapted it's colors to white and pink to blend in with the shade and colors of the iris. (If he didn't adapt then he had some superior knowledge of where he was supposed to live.) Then, this unsuspecting honey bee flew in to get some nectar and was captured by said spider. We came in at dinner time; the spider didn't appreciate the flash photography so he dragged his kill underneath the petals for more privacy. It was a great learning experience for the girls.

Picture of the Day

My help meet

We are having a fun time on our vacation, but I am already exhausted! I truly believe that old adage, "you need a vacation from your vacation". Time just seems to run away from me more than usual. Last night we went for a walk and ended up being gone for an hour. By the time we got home at 7:30, I did not make my 8:00 bed time. Baths, hair, teeth, scriptures, chapter books and prayers took another hour! We are all just dragging today. I had to wake the girls up to get ready for church and leave by 8:00am to get into Stake Conference in the Valley. Now,I am struggling to keep them reverent and calm on the Sabbath. I just am looking for a small moment to be quiet and feel of the spirit of the day. I think that the Lord knew something when he declared that man needed a help meet. I need my husband. I am not as efficient, happy, or useful without him to help me get the things that I need; spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Husband, I love you and miss you! Happy Father's day!

Picture of the Day

Some really great friends of ours in Chewelah have opened the "Straw Bale Bread Co."
It is a bread and soup shop that they run out of their out building. Bill built their house in the straw bale style. Straw style housing is efficient, sound proof and more resistant to earthquake and weather damage. But, the point of this post is the delicious food that they are making. Tuesday through Friday they are open and serve fresh bread, made with healthy ingredients and no oil, dairy, or eggs; and the most delicious pastries I have ever eaten. Blueberry scones filled with cream cheese, berry and chocolate scones, and ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls, and daily soups with unlimited fresh bread. Linda also makes homemade granola that is to die for. Here is the Olive-Rosemary loaf that Grampy bought this morning. It was warm and the parmesan smell mixed with rosemary was absolutely tantalizing and made me slobber like a St. Bernard. Yum!

Picture of the Day

At Grammy and Grampy's House

Picture of the Day

Sarah took it upon herself to instigate family scripture study this morning.

Picture of the Day

We went downtown today and rode the carousel, fed the ducks, fed the garbage goat and followed the tracks in the mall. Thank you Auntie Deborah! Catherine and Sarah tried out their running poses with the Bloomsday runner statues.

Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

This is Walker a little pine beetle that we found on the Jensen's front porch. Sarah quickly crawled into my lap after discovering him, but Cat followed him around and named him and got very upset when Sarah wanted me to squish him. We have a rule that if bugs are living outside where they are supposed to be, we don't squish them, but Sarah is all in favor of breaking this rule. So here is to Walker, who hopefully will never find himself inside the house and under Sarah's shoe.