joining the work force

 Matthew began his first day of work over the weekend -

quite a rite of passage for my handsome and hard-working 16 year old!

(who is also my baby..... I know I have to get over that! I know, I know!)

I'm delighted for him and really proud of him :)

 He was hired by a long-time friend of ours who owns his own pest control company.

He's already learning a lot of new skills, and meeting interesting people - and situations! 

He was thrown right into the trenches on day one and it was quite the initiation, hehe!

 He came home absolutely exhausted, but so excited about his new job.....

and full of some rodent tales that made my stomach turn - LOL - we were dying!

But he was totally thrilled! Now that right there is a GREAT employee!

 AWWW..... someone discovered he was home and had to come give kisses :)

 hehehehe - so sweet :)

Now just look at that face... would YOU sign up for pest control from this guy?!

I SURE WOULD!!!

Love you Matthew! And I'm truly proud of you!

I hope this job continues to be an awesome experience for you :)

xoxoxo

w.o.t.e.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

For you hip, slick and coolio peeps..... you've probably already heard this song.

I just recently heard it, thanks to my hip, slick, and cool friend Cindy ------> her *BLOG* btw

and, well.....

ohmyfreakinggoshIloveitsomuchIwentcompletelynutsyfaganandIcantstoplisteningtoit!!!!!

But the thing is, you've got to WATCH it too, because that's half the fun. No, really.

At first, you're like hmmm..... and then you're like well this is interesting.....

and then you go oh they're all playing this guitar..... and then you go hey they're taking turns singing.....

and then before you know it, you're totally SUCKED IN to this song!!! (written by Gotye, fyi)

So the group is Walk Off The Earth (WOTE)

and the song is "Somebody That I Used To Know".

The group from left to right are: 

Joel Cassady, Sarah Blackwood, Gianni Luminati, Marshall and Taylor. 

Suffice it to say I'm going to download them on iTunes, subscribe to their YouTube channel,

and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

*** CUZ THAT'S HOW MUCH I LIKE THEM ***

You can also find Sarah Blackwood on Facebook and YouTube

And Gianni & Sarah's blog/music channel on YouTube. 

HAH! That should keep you busy and out of trouble for a while :)

So enjoy - and have an awesome weekend! 

lds young women's program - diy logo lanterns

 ok, that was a big mouthful of a post title :/

As I've mentioned BEFORE, "Arise and shine forth!" is the 2012 theme for our Young Women's program.

For our recent New Beginnings night, we made DIY lanterns for all the girls to take home.

They had the YW logo of the burning torch, with a flickering battery-powered candle shining through.

The lanterns turned out GREAT and it was a fantastic and inspiring program!

Below is the tutorial of how we did this project (way to go Kerrie for your *bright* idea!)

*** please forgive my blurry candlelight photos, as I forgot my good camera - grrrrr!

 we started out with just regular glass jars in all shapes and sizes

 we used heavy gage wire - thick enough to be strong but thin enough to be pliable

 Using needle-nosed pliers, we wound the wire around the mouths of the jars twice,

making a big loop for the handle after the first loop, and securing wires together on both sides.

We used our pliers to make curly loops down the sides as well (I was a doofus at this!)

before cutting any extra wire with the wire cutters. And wear eye protection!

If you can't figure out everything I just said, WING IT - you'll figure it out!

 We had a friend (thank you Linda!) make 45 YW logo torches on transfer paper.

She has a fancy machine that does this and I have no idea what it's called. 

But if you're crafty, I bet YOU know... they're similar to transfers for car windows, but removable.

 We peeled off the protective paper, carefully stuck the transfer on the glass jar,

and slowly peeled off the second piece of protective paper. Look how cute the jars were!

But we didn't stop there! Next was my fave, cuz I love the smell of spray paint a little too much...

 We lightly sprayed the jars with this specialty frost - it's a craft spray for glass surfaces.

It's a small can - about half the size of regular spray paint, but twice the cost - about $10 per can.

A little goes a long way though - you don't need much to get a nice, frosted surface.

It dries quickly. THEN using a pin or needle, you very carefully lift and peel the transfers from the jars.

Put small battery-powered candles inside each jar so the flame lights up the torch logo!

(I found a good deal for these: 48 cute, flickering tea lights for $30 on Amazon)

 These lanterns set the ambiance for our whole evening and they looked LOVELY!

(***again, sorry for such pathetic pics.....aargh!)

We had a truly beautiful New Beginnings program (Carrie - you are a genius!) -

Darling photographs of the incoming girls on poster board, that all the girls had fun signing...

Talented women dressing up like strong and courageous women from the scriptures,

speaking directly to the girls as shining examples of women they would want to follow and emulate.

Amazing old world decorations that made it feel like we were back in time (Robin, you rock!)

Even refreshments straight from the scriptures: homemade bread, honey, butter, crackers, hummus, fruit...

you name it - it was a wonderful spread that we all enjoyed immensely! You women were so awesome!

There were more details of course, but all in all, it was SUCH AN INSPIRING EVENING! 

"Arise and *SHINE* forth!"

Shell :)

 Most of you know how much I love my cousin Shelly :)

I never get to see her enough, but am so grateful for the times we can get together!

She was able to come visit last week, and as usual, we had a wonderful time...

 Every time she comes I seem to find another fantabulous gnome!

And I'm very picky about gnomes.

A huge TURQUOISE gnome?! Are you even KIDDING?!

 Our all time favorite thing to do is get pedicures together and take feet pics :)

Shell came up with the quilt idea this time, which looked great with our sparkles -

and was probably a better choice than stepping on Davy's album covers ------> HAH!

 OH YEAH :)

 Shell is going on the waiting list for Kat Von D at L.A. Ink...

so we'd better start thinking, cuz that's probably the next time she'll be here!

 And almost as soon as she arrived... she left... saaaaad. SO SAAAD. OH GOSH, SO SO SAAAD :(

I always sleep on the quilts and pillows she uses cuz they smell so good and it comforts me.

 I put on the fuzzy socks I got with her at one of our favorite stores.

I sipped some hot cocoa while we texted how much we already missed each other.

Thank you so much for coming Shell - as usual, I had a terrific time!

I sure love you and can't wait to see you again :)

xoxo

v day

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends!

This will remain my very most favorite Valentine in the entire world, for life!

The Mouse made it when he was 5 or 6 - it's the most precious thing on earth.

I re-post it every chance I get because I love it so much...

It hangs on my Boy Wall all year long and makes me smile every day :)

Love to you all - have a wonderful day!

xoxo

malt ball cake

 My dear friend Jamie had a birthday last month. Yay!

Over the years we have made each other quite a few birthday cakes,

since we both love birthday cakes and rarely get them on our birthdays.

Jamie has an unbridled love of malt balls, so this year I decided to do something fun.

 AND YES IT INCLUDED CANNED FROSTING

so just get over it.

I collect bundt pans and wanted you to see this flower bundt form...

though it's not a traditional bundt with a hole in the middle, it works out great - 

especially for filling/lemon curd/frosting/fruit/etc. in the center depression.

 Ta-Daaaaa!

I heated the frosting so it was a pourable consistency,

and the rest is history.

Consistency. History. Hehehe :)

 The amazing plate with all the malt-ball-sized holes in it was a lucky find!

 YUM

You're welcome :)

cozy

 I got a new lamp recently, thanks to my adorable cousin Shell :)

It's *awesome*

My house is constantly in desperate need of illumination -

in my world, there is no such thing as too much light! Hah!

 So now my bedroom is on it's way to being a well-lit room!

 YESSSSS!

 Bonus: now that we have a third lamp, I was able to arrange a COZY little reading nook :)

Can I even tell you how much I love my very own little place? Are there even words? 

 It's a good place to hang out, I tell you.

hehe :)