Dec 02
Everyone,
TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.
1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
My wish is that everyone is happy this holiday season. That goes for Juice and me, most of all.
2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?
Our Christmas morning is chaos! Juice and I typically have some kind of argument (yes, every year) over how we want to handle the kids. He wants to sleep in and just let them go down and play. I want to be down there before they come down to take pictures of their faces. Or he wants to eat breakfast first before we open presents and I think that’s unreasonable.
Anyway, once the kids start in on their presents, it all works out and we have a good time. We typically play with Santa gifts until breakfast time (around 9:30am) and then we have eggs and bacon and cinimon rolls for breakfast. After we eat, we typically call our parents and/or set up the web cam so they can see the kids open some presents.
3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?
There are lots of things that I would like. My biggest desire would be around $20,000 and better insurance. But since that won’t EVER happen, I’d like a Garmin GPS 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator
which is a high sensitivity GPS that I could use to geocache a little better. My current GPS does geocache, but I end up wandering around a lot because it’s not very sensentive. I wish I had enough Swagbucks to get it because it’s on sale for $200, normally about $600.
4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
My kids are little enough that Christmas lights makes the holiday special. We got them chocolate advent calendars too. This year, I’d like to read a Christmas story and sing a Christmas song. We tried it last night…didn’t work very well. Maybe they are TOO young for that one.
5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
We were a Nintendo family growing up. I remember watching my brother play a lot of Mario and Final Fantasy. I remember playing a lot of ‘Life’ and ‘Monopoly’ too.
6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
A lot! Putting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving, setting out presents from Santa without wrapping paper, chocolate advent calendars, new ornaments every year, leaving their stockings in their rooms, and opening presents by turns.
7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?
I’m torn between 2 different trips! One trip, home to visit family. This time of year I miss them the most. The other would be a Disney trip. Cruise, Land, or World, it really wouldn’t matter. I bet Disney is magical at Christmas time! I know, my Christmas trip would be meeting our family AT Disney to celebrate and vacation together!
8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?
Rock Band 3 Keyboard Bundle
Disney Epic Mickey
DSi Mario Bundle
Safire
Safirememes memes
Feb 06
Everyone,
Every time I open my email (which is not a lot lately) I have been tagged by someone to do 25 or 26 random things about me. It’s a plague running through F*ceb00k. Apparently I caught it over here on my blog.
1. I am 5 foot 11 and a half inches tall. But I tell everyone I am 6 feet tall.
2. I like playing the bass guitar on Rock Band.
3. I got rid of cable and all other tv beyond movies August of last year and haven’t missed it one bit.
4. I wash my face with sunflower oil every night.
5. I get cavities every time I go to the dentist and am pregnant or trying to be.
6. I am a sucker for great pictures of my kids.
7. I try to be a good photographer but recently had my confidence shaken and have not wanted to touch my camera since.
8. I feel horribly guilty about Pirate’s leg.
9. I have to fall asleep on my right side.
10. My hips ache horribly since having twins.
11. I talk to my mom once a week (at least) on the phone and my best friend every 10 days or so.
12. I love to read and am addicted to book club and my clubbers.
13. I once traveled to present and defend a paper I wrote about a Shakespeare play.
14. We got a 400 disk changer for our dvds for Christmas and I think it might be the best invention ever.
15. I try hard to be an awesome mom and watch the ladies in church to see what they do so I can be better by being like them.
16. I still know that the 16th president is Lincoln because Juice helped me study them in high school.
17. I am the eternal planner and I tend to over plan things sometimes.
18. I love getting mail.
19. I love getting packages more.
20. I trained a horse once. I still miss my Softy.
21. I love big long dresses and wish they would come back into style.
23. I have known my husband for more than half my life.
24. I have been to 41 states.
25. Being a mom is fantastic. I think I’m okay at it. “I’ve worked hard to become so.”
BONUS Question!
True or false?
26. I am horribly competitive.
Safire
Safireme., memes
Nov 25
Everyone,
I’ve been tagged twice this time (love these things during NaBloPoMo!) and so I thought that’s what I would do today before I got down and messy with some Thanksgiving dinner prep stuff.
This first tag is from MommyKnows. If you’re interested in some power ranger action, she’s got a few to give away!
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My Aunt and my great grandma. Two great names.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Hmm…I may have cried two nights ago when the boys would not sleep. I was so tired.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Only my first name signature. But I practiced that one.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey or ham. Working at a cafeteria making 400-500 sandwiches a day turned me off of roast beef. Even though it’s pressed meat, it still bleeds. Ew.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably, depends how nicely I asked.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Some.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS. Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No. I would have before kids, now I’m turning into a scared cat.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Golden Grams, Strawberry Shredded Wheat, Cap’n Crunch…anything really sugary. Oh, and Basic 4.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No. They have no ties.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically? No. Having the boys did a number on my body. Mentally, some. If I get enough sleep.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Anything fruity or Safeway brand moose tracks with fudge.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? If they seem friendly and outgoing.
15. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? The twin skin flab of a stomach that makes it hard to fit into any pants.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. She needs to move closer. Or I do.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Wait, sending? Did I miss something?
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I have bare feet at the moment, but I will spend a lot of the winter in my brown slip on shoes.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? glass of water
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I can faintly hear the TV on in the living room, I am in bed with my laptop. (weird same answer as MommyKnows! Strange!)
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? blue
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? I love a horse barn…the hay, the manure, sweet smells!
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My parents answering machine yesterday. Funny they never called back…
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes! She’s a cool chick.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Anything horsey, jumping, racing, pulling. I don’t like to watch any ball sports.
27. HAIR COLOR? Brown
28. EYE COLOR? Blue.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? popcorn.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I much prefer a happy ending.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Nanny Diaries. Eh.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Pink.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall and Spring
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Popcorn
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Whoever feels like it
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND. Whoever doesn’t feel like it
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Currently not reading anything. Huh. I probably should be reading something…did we have a book picked out for book club this month?
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don’t use a mouse pad on the lapple. But I did buy Juice one that has a picture of us on our honey moon on it. It’s faded so bad you can barely see us but we looked cute and happy.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? No tv, but I did watch Ugly Betty online.
42. FAVORITE SOUND. Silence.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles!
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? England, no, probably Scotland.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can whistle through my tongue.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Colorado. Proud to be sort of a native!
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? MusicMan because he hasn’t posted in over a month yet he said he was going to try to do it once a week, Chef since she is doing NaBloPoMo and might need this, Karen just because, and Zuke and Melissa.
Second tag:
Here are the rules:
Go to your photos and open the 4th folder.
Post the 4th picture in your folder.
Tag 4 more people.
(I’ve seen this one with different numbers but since I was tagged with the 4, I will go with 4. My favorite number anyway.)
Look! Itty bitty baby boys! So cute!! Professor in yellow and crying, and Pirate in blue with his old man face. They were so tiny.
Tags for this one: Jill, Valinda, FlowerMaiden, and Julia.
Safire
PS- If you made it this far and want to see baby/kid pictures of me, go to my Dad’s blog. He’s been blogging his autobiography which I have been loving. Also included are pictures of him as a baby, my brother, my parents at their wedding, etc.
Safireblog fun, memes, NaBloPoMo
Nov 18
Everyone,
So I’ve been tagged by my friend Marisa and since I can’t think of anything better to write about today, I’ll do it. But I refuse to perpetuate the tag. Do it if you’d like.
8 Favorite TV Shows: (I watch most of these either online or by dvd)
1- Ugly Betty
2- Grey’s Anatomy
3- Private Practice
4- Northern Exposure
5- Gilmore Girls
6- Pushing Up Daisies
7- The Dog Whisperer
9- Animal Planet (yes I used to watch that station all the time.)
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1- Freaked out over a mouse.
2- Screamed and watched said mouse jump into the air.
3- Cleaned till I dropped.
4- Changed several diapers (around 9).
5- Blogged.
6- Set up my Christmas cards.
7- Walked to the post office.
8- Watched Professor and Pirate fight over Professor’s binky.
8 Things I Look Forward To:
1- Seeing my family again.
2- Having my own mailbox near my house.
3- Having a garage.
4- Not having to worry about mice.
5- Seeing the boys and Butterfly grow up, along with any other siblings.
6- My 10 year anniversary (and hopefully accompanying cruise to Alaska)
7- Having a bigger kitchen table.
8- Having a horse and miles of near by trails to explore.
8 Favorite Restaurants:
1- Red Rock Canyon Grill
2- Canton Delight (Chinese take out)
3- Pizza Hut
4- Chipotle
5- Cheeburger, Cheeburger
6- Baja Fresh
7- Chick-Fil-A
8- Bajio (in Utah)
8 Things on my Wish List:
1- A horse and all accompanying stuff.
2- A bigger mouse free house.
3- A little trip by myself with my Mom and/or BFF Mink to some random place we’ve never been. (sans kids)
4- An itunes gift card.
5- Awesome lenses for my camera, with image stabilizer.
6- A work out partner.
7- Fios
8- Horseback riding lessons.
There you go Marisa!
A mouse update: no mice in traps today, but we are starting to find droppings around. Juice is thrilled that Soot was so helpful and plans to have her just as helpful if we need her to be. I am freaked over every little movement out of the corner of my eye. I am making plans to try and plug up some more likely holes and we are not leaving dog food out overnight anymore. We need to go get some different traps because I think they are running under the cupboards and the snap traps we have won’t spring under there. I am never moving to NYC because apparently they have lots of mice there. (Every single website I read on it was geared towards New Yorkers. Sorry.)
We went to the resource center with friends from my moms group today and that was fun! They had shaving cream out for the craft and Butterfly managed to get it all over. My friend made mention about how Butterfly just really spreads herself out and boy does she ever. She is a boisterous little girl, but happy and friendly. They had a great time together and I had a nice chat. Seriously loving the resource center more this year than last. And I loved it lots last year!
Safire
Safirememes, NaBloPoMo, pests and critters, resource center
Jan 31
Everyone,
Sooo…close to midnight here. My family is all sleeping away peacefully. Including Soot who I can hear is snoring in her crate in the next room. And why, why does sleep have to be so elusive to me?! When I was pregnant with Butterfly, I could sleep at the drop of a hat. And I did. I slept so much and so often I wondered what I would do when she was born. But she slept a lot too, and those newborn days of hers are hazy and pajama ridden.
There are lots of pajamas in this pregnancy too, but probably because I remember them more. I’m awake a lot more. And I never seem to be able to sleep at night. During the day, no problem! Butterfly and I took a 4 hour nap today. This could be encouraging the insomnia at night.
We all had a very early day today. We had dentist appointments starting at 8am. Butterfly typically doesn’t get up until about 9am these days, and I sleep as long as she does. But today, I was up at 6am so I could get ready before facing “the beast” as we call it. She is NOT a happy camper when she gets up. Okay, she’s not a happy camper for me. She loves Daddy. Anyway, back to teeth. We all had a nice cleaning and no cavities. Yay!
I have been tagged for 2 different memes. I’ll do one tonight since the other needs me to take pictures and my internet is out on the computer my camera is hooked to. So, meme #1, from jw4mkc.
Rules:
- Link to the person that tagged you.
- Post the rules on your blog.
- Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
- Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
- Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
My 6 things…again. (I’m pretty sure I’ve already done this so I’m going to do a pregnancy version.)
1- I drool. A lot. It wakes me up at night with how much I drool. Juice will not let me sleep on his pillow anymore and I had to give my word of honor that I wouldn’t sleep there when he wasn’t around to police me. Turns out, this is a normal thing of pregnancy because of all the heartburn.
2- My belly button is so close to poking out. It never did this with Butterfly’s pregnancy because I have a crag of a belly button. But this time around, I can see my innie becoming an outie and it’s strange. (Also strange, the stupid skin tag I have in the middle of my belly button. I want it removed it bugs me so much!)
3- I have been denied chocolate and now that is all I want to eat. I went to the store the other day and they had all their valentines stuff out and I was sad I couldn’t eat anything. Even the smell was driving me crazy.
4- With Butterfly’s pregnancy I had food aversion like you would not believe. Now, I have food cravings. I eat so much cereal and string cheese these days. I also like fresh food, no leftovers please!
5- I take 5 pills every day. 3 prenatal vitamins (that’s the dosage on the bottle…it’s supposed to be conveinant to take at meal times but I never rememeber), one heartburn supresor so I might actually be able to lay down to sleep, and a Flintstone chewable. Man those things taste so good. They are my reward for actually remember to take all my pills every day and probably the only reason I do.
6- I forget. I forget things like words of things (cabanet, mail being my favorite), I forget people’s birthdays. I forget to pay bills or I forget that I have already paid a bill and pay it twice. I never forget to eat, though. Or anything important with Butterfly. But everything else, so sorry if I’ve forgotten.
There you go. I was resting my arm on my belly thinking of something to write and I got a definite hand or foot swipe, along with a very hard push against my arm. It was slowly lifting my arm in the air and then suddenly went away when I felt the other baby move. It’s fun to be pregnant with twins. 
Safire
PS- The spell check function seems to be on the fritz. Sorry about the misspellings.
PPS- No tags for anyone…if you wish to play along, then do so!
Safire2 boys-double trouble, dentist, memes, sleep
Sep 26
Everyone,
They are re-doing our roof today. Actually, they were supposed to do it yesterday. They kept telling me this was going to be a one day job. Well, when you don’t show up to your job until 11am, it’s probably going to take 2 days. They worked until almost 8pm last night, and didn’t show up until 11am again today. Maybe those are their hours? In any case, the pounding has stopped so I assume they are out to lunch. They better not have left because the yard is a wreck and there are nails everywhere. I just can’t wait till they are done. Having a small amount of buyer’s remorse as well. Oh well.
My friend Aimee as asked a few questions so I thought I’d answer them. Thanks Aimee! This is fun.
1. Who is the person you admire most in your life and why? Probably my mom because she has an amazing memory and she would do anything for us. That’s pretty amazing.
2. If you were presented a Tree in a pot or a piece of chocolate cake on a plate, which would you choose and why? A tree in a pot because I am not a cake eater. I would plant the tree (this is assuming when I am given the tree I actually have a place to plant it) and watch it grow. Would be better than 5 minutes eating cake!
3. Tell me a story from your childhood. One year for Christmas I got a fish tank. I loved that tank. It was so much fun to set up, and to have the filter bubbling and the light softly glowing in my room at night. A few days later, we were able to pick out 6 fish at the pet store. I think I got 2 guppies, 2 black mollies, and a couple gold fish. Within a week, everything but the black mollies had died, and the black mollies had ick. (White spots all over them, poor things.) I kept getting more fish like neon tetras, the fish that you can see through, and a beta here and there. Some lived a long time, some died right away. At the time, I was keeping a very small journal with a lock and a key. Most of my entries around this time are about my fish. What I named them, and how sad I was when they died. I even drew a big picture of the fish tank in there and said good bye to each of the fish as they died. “Good bye Lemon, Lime, and Lemon Drop! You were good pet fish. I will love you forever!” Funny, those are the only fish’s names I can remember. When we moved from Colorado to Utah, I decided against putting up the fish tank again. I think it is still in my parent’s garage though. It has gone through about 5 moves and 3 different houses. But I never set it up after Colorado. I still love to look at the fish at the pet store. Maybe if we ever move back to Colorado, I will set it up again. I’m sure my parents will be happy to see it go from their garage.
4. What is your favorite thing to do by yourself? My all time favorite thing to do by myself is to read with a huge bowl of popcorn. Most days though, I don’t have a moment to myself or a good book to read.
5. Describe yourself in 4 words. Hmm, this is a hard one. Loyal, thoughtful, quiet, nice.
If anyone wants me to interview them, just leave me a comment.
Safire
Safirehouse, memes
