july review: the lake, harry potter, and american idol tour

so july is basically over

and

hobby lobby already has christmas set up - that stresses me out

it tells my brain the year is over

and i've yet to figure out my plans for school in 2012

really, i need to figure a lot out.

ANYWAY

...now for my foto-review of recent events:

this is B...and me:

me and b were good friends

back in our byu days

and still are

really, he's one of the few i'm still in touch with

we relate on a lot of things in life

i miss him.

THOUGH

now i'm overly excited

because B is getting MARRiED!!!

to miss kelli lebaron...

they are a perfect match

(i hope she doesn't mind me snagging her foto)

and

they've asked me to be in the wedding

which is perfect

because i wasn't planning on missing it anyway.

so...november 5th is the big day

i already have my flight to Salt Lake

and my dress

purchased.

and can't hardly wait for this reunion

and happy times.

my first time back to utah in

3 1/2 years.

other july events...

THE END CAME

6 hours of Harry Potter

Part I and Part II

we all just left ever more disappointed

that Hogwarts is not real.

my sister, Cinnamon, and her kids were in town

we spent a day at lake lanier

the water made me miss my view of the beaches

in Puerto Rico and Barbados

and how i wished i could live like that forever

right on the water.

i did not document my evening at the Fox Theater in Atlanta

for Fiddler on the Roof,

but i did get something from the

american idol 2011 tour concert!

it was a very fun night

and full of  s t e l l a r  talent

all i had was a lil dinky camera, so the fotos are not up to par...

singing celo green's "forget you"

lauren alaina and her new hit single "like my mother does"

scotty mcreery

i had to capture the ONLY jacob lusk fan in the audience.. HA!

he came on right after james durbin (fotos below)

everybody was up and going wild for james

...and then the disco lights came on

jacob came out...

and only one person was really into it.

james durbin rockin out in the crowd

i thought he did the best

of course, he did sing Muse

and i love Muse.

i wish i had some fotos of stefano langone

he was my crush in the beginning

(paul mcdonald being the other - LOVEhim)

though it seems he's come out of his shell a bit

because he had half his clothes off through his performances!

believe me, no one was complaining.

mine and ryan's happy face

i left craving more live music

too bad there are very few shows coming up

that i'm interested in at least.

we made homemade spaghetti sauce with some of our tomatoes

...we cut up some...

and then mom went out for more to add to it...

and look!

my first sunflower bloomed!

we have quite a few more now.

and bigger

:)

weekends in july.

garden update...

check out the cucumbers...

remember my sunflowers? that the birds were eating?...

look at them now!

 

the hibiscus are loaded this summer

and bigger than brighton's head

meemaw gave briya her first haircut

she liked the water spray-bottle best

 

the kids have been enjoying 

a little pre-4th sparkler fun

and B is obsessed with squirting EVERYTHING

the lesson that i'm being taught

constantly:

another thought i absolutely  L O V E

i wish we would all apply it

june.29.2011

Never get discouraged. Whatever difficulties might surround you. If you were sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia, and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of you, you ought not to be discouraged - but hang on, exercise faith and keep up good courage and you should come out on top of the heap.

 (quoted in 1950 from George A. Smith’s journal)

Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves 

in the service of others.

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare…if our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.

(CS Lewis – Mere Christianty)

On that same note:

The truer measure of sacrifice is not so much 

what one gives to sacrifice 

as to what one sacrifices to give.

-Elder Lynn G. Robbins

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

-Quaker Minister Stephen Grellet

************************************************************************

my sister, Cinnamon, and her three kids are on their way right now.

driving from Houston, TX.

they will be visiting for at least two weeks.

the original trip was meant to come and meet kevin while he was here

but, life rarely happens how we plan.

i’m excited to have them home with us for a while!

July will also bring London from slc on the 6^th

you know… BBFL. LYLAS.

i’ve already asked for a couple extra days off from work

to make it more worthwhile.

institute tonight.

always much needed. 

p.s. - kevin did get a 93 on his english test.

now we're waiting to here from byu.

it's true

best dad ever.
absolutely.
hands down.
we got the cream of the crop.
creme de la creme.
te amo...

i think he was most excited about the new reads we got him.

he devours books.

that, and the flan mamita made him for dessert

:)

daily doodle...



things to look forward to. everybody needs them.

we are growing more veggies than we know what to do with.

 i ran across these colorful ideas

...

thankyou, bhg!

Spinach, Grapes, and Bacon

Top baby spinach with grapes, bacon, dilled Havarti cheese, and pecans, then drizzle with warm bacon-raspberry vinaigrette.

Tomato Egg Salad

Roma tomatoes filled with creamy egg salad and a tangy cucumber mixture top crisp greens.

Chickpea Salad with Grilled Pita

For a meatless dinner idea or simple side dish, toss garbanzo beans with tomatoes, feta, mint, and an easy vinaigrette and serve with warm pita wedges.

(this one makes me excited because i have an obsession with hummus & pita)

Farmer's Market Grilled Cheese

For a quick dinner, layer spinach mayonnaise, goat cheese, zucchini, and tomato on sourdough bread, and then toast until golden.

 some of you might be gagging...

but i'm a veggie lover!!

can't wait to try em!

july...are you here YET?

apart from some very dear loved ones coming that month

i think i failed to mention that we got tickets to

.

.

.

it's true.

for the first time ever, i followed a complete season with my mom.

when they kicked off paul mcdonald, mom told me,

"if he ever comes in concert, let's go!"

coming from mom, age 60, and not a concert-goer

i smiled.

now look who's going!

lovely.

the last concert she went to

was when she accompanied me and some friends to

Spice Girls

yes...that was my first concert

i was 11

i think.

haha...though i was thoroughly distraught

because when they toured in the states, Ginger Spice had already left the group

she was my favorite.

disappointing.

anyway...

i also have tickets in july for

at the fabulous fox theater in atlanta

i got them for kevin and i to go.

the FOX is my favorite, so he has to experience it.

now i just pray everything comes thru for his visa.

and i've never seen fiddler

...so i'm excited to see the old Russian man dance on the stage singing

"if i were a rich man...dabadeedledeedledoodledoobadeeba dum!.."

haha...something like that.

i've realized i have this fetish for throwing things away.

or consolidating/organizing.

now i'm not OCD about it...but i love tossing out uneeded things.

under my bed, in my desk, in my closet.

i get it from mom.

i used to HATEDETESTLOATHE

coming home from school and having my room newly organized

and seeing a large black trash bag full of stuff

and hear mom say:

"i went through your stuff and organized it all.

you wouldn't  B E L I E V E  the junk you had!

i have a whole trash bag full of stuff you won't even miss!"

how did she know what i wanted to keep and not?

she didn't.

i hated it.

there was no privacy at my house...

she entered any room

went through any drawers.closets.whatever.

so this past week mom and dad were out of town.

we have this organizer on the desk in the kitchen.

four shelves high. plastic.

who knows how many years we've had it.

so i decided to update it.

i found a very nice looking alternative @ office depot. 

on sale.

bought three to stack on top of each other.

perfect!

now the fun part:

the thing is stuffed full of random papers

pictures

wedding announcements

mail

handouts

mini calendars

receipts

business cards

newspaper clippings

restaurant menus

gardening tips

...you name it...who knows...

but i took the liberty to throw out what i thought was junk!

4 shelves down to 3

and much slimmer, fits less.

PLENTY thrown away.

it looks much better.

best part: mom comes home.

sees it

and i tell her,

"you wouldn't  B E L I E V E  the junk that i threw out!

stuff from years ago...

you won't even know it's missing!"

her eyes got all big and she gasped,

"NO!"

haha...sweet revenge...

dad chuckled. 

i'm my mother's daughter.

not quite sure why i just shared that.

if you know my mother, it's kinda funny.

ps...i love my parents

happy hump day!

easter weekend

a visual review of my weekend

.

.

.

dacy, ry, and the kids came down to spend Easter with us.

we went to the Atlanta Temple Open House

the kids saw the inside of a temple for the FIRST time.

the changes to the inside are gorgeous.

i

love

being

in

the

temple

.

fortunately there was no rain!

but...no sun either.

me . mamita . dacy

 that was our very "good friday"

.

.

.

we dyed (and tie-dyed) easter eggs and had a hunt

 dacy helping quin helping quin pick up the insides of an easter egg that

fell out of the tree on her head!

lil zia needed help with her hunt. i hid the eggs, so i knew where to look :)

emptying the candy out of the eggs afterwards

max found money in some of his eggs! (kids get excited about quarters)

 they found a REAL robin's eggs that fell out of the pine trees

this is my lovely family.

other f o t o s...

she loves them skittles

breakfast time when she doesn't get the pink cup.

we saw the movie RiO!

adorable.

fun.

loved it!

now i want a little pet birdie.

Easter was also ryan's 32nd birthday.

we ate tacos. his fav.

shrimp. fish. and beef.

DELISH!

and we ate some more.

i think i gained some this weekend.

who cares

little chocolate bunnies are worth it.

(i have been doing a lot of this lately)...

true discovery begins with introspection

.

introspection requires pondering

.

pondering leads to understanding

.

what we understand, we hope to remember

.

to be remembered, it must be written.

a new life motto:

"SEE THE POSSIBILITIES"