38!

I am 38 today!

I have to say, birthdays are a little bit of a love/hate thing. Don't you agree?

I love hearing from dear friends and family on this day. It reminds me once again that I have so many wonderful people in my life that love me.

The down side is each birthday seems to come faster and faster and I'm realizing that life is too short! I wish I could slow things down once in a while or even rewind and re-live some of my favorite memories.

So far, I don't feel too bad that I'm not still 20. I didn't enjoy my 20's much, so I really don't want to go back there. I've loved my 30's though. So loved them. I got married to my dream man when I was 30. I've had both of my children in my 30's. I dare say I've even gotten a little bit wiser in my 30's. I will be sad to leave my 30's in a couple of years, but right now I'm pretty excited to see what the 40's will bring too.

Lizette and I took some pictures of me today.

This one that Lizette took cracks me up because I'm thinking this is the view of me that the girls see all the time. I probably look so far away to them.

This is what my 38 year old foot looks like. Thanks to my smokin' flower anklet, I look just a bit more stylish. I do need a pedicure though. Those heels are looking pretty rough. Maybe I'll take better care of them in my 40's? Something to shoot for. I do like my shoes though.

I've gone international!

If you are a blogger, have you ever checked out your stats in the dashboard section?

Well, I just did and discovered that I have two readers from Columbia!

Bienvenido!

A Dream Come True

When I was about five years old I decided that Donny Osmond was going to be my husband. At that time the original Donny and Marie show was on the air and I loved to watch it and dance. I remember putting on my pink, frilly dress and twirling. I was a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. I wanted to be just like Marie and marry Donny. Didn't every girl? Part of the reason my fascination with them began at a young age was because I lived in a house with teenagers who liked them. However, I don't know if their love ran as deep as mine. I was truly smitten.

Well, as you may have heard on Facebook, a dream of mine came true last week. Donny and Marie came to the garden section at our local Wal Mart to sign their latest CD. And yes, you are not mistaken. I did say the garden section at Wal Mart.

I was so excited when I heard they were going to be there. But then I saw a sign that said NO PICTURES PLEASE and I was so disappointed. In fact, I almost didn't go! But I decided pictures or not, I had to go and meet them.

I loaded up the girls Friday morning and we got there about an hour before the signing was to begin. We were positioned in a perfect spot in line so that when they arrived we could snap a few pictures. And yes, pictures were allowed! I guess just not individually posed with them. When they walked in my heart jumped! I was surprised at how star struck I was. (I think I need to get out more, but that's a whole other post.)

I snapped a ton of pictures but very few turned out. I was actually so nervous that I was shaking the entire time!

Well, when the time came to actually have them sign my CD, I sort of froze. I could barely look at Donny. I just kept looking at Marie and all I could say was "You guys are just beautiful." Really? Marie asked me what my name was and told me it was nice to meet me. Then Donny gave Lexi a little wave and that was it. My chance to talk to them, and maybe even have a little laugh together or whatever was over! I felt like the kid in "A Christmas Story" when he froze when Santa asked him what he wanted. I wanted to run back and say "I think you are both just fantastic and I have admired you for a long, long time. Marie, you look just beautiful. And Donny, you are just so, so great." That's what I would have said had I not been in the dumbfounded state that I was.

Oh well.

Here are the pictures.

My girls were troopers in line. We waited for an hour and a half. Lizette kept asking when "Dandy and Marie" were going to be here.

Lizette and I posing in front of the solar garden lights. :) You can't tell from the picture, but I took extra time to do my hair that day and I wore eye shadow. A very rare occurrence.

Just after they entered the building. Marie is way skinnier looking in person.

Just before I met them and went into a state of shock.

Leaving the garden section. It was over. See that girl with the long red hair? She looks like she's having a nice little exchange with them. How could I have blown my one chance?!! Darn it all!

Tidbits

Just a few updates to share...

Lexi is doing great and coming along with her speech. She hasn't begun speech therapy yet because there is a waiting list for the program. However, they did give us some pointers and ideas of things to work on with her at home until we can begin the program. Something is working because she is making progress. She can say apple now which to me is a huge deal! She also says up when she wants up. She has a ways to go but progress is great! She is such a little tease. It's so fun to watch her try to make us laugh. When she knows she has done something funny she will do it over and over again. She is still an ornery little thing and messes with her sister constantly. But progress has been made in the fact that she will give her an "I'm sorry" hug after pulling her hair, scratching or biting her. Lizette is thankful for the sentiment.

Lizette is staying oh so busy with preschool, gymnastics and many play dates. We usually have kids here for play dates 2-3 times a week. Between that, preschool and church, she is getting plenty of social interaction! She loves it though and so do I. She has won the affection of one of the little boys in her church class. He draws her pictures, sends her notes in church, and he even brought her a flower the other day. How sweet. We are looking forward to swim lessons this summer and lots of trips to the pool and park. I was amazed a few weeks ago when we went swimming at an indoor pool. She jumped right in with no hesitation! Definitely not my timid little swimmer from last year. It's amazing the progress they make in a year.

Jeff is staying very busy with work and with his new iMac (see previous post). Now that we have a working computer he will be able to get back into the business of photo editing and working on his photography skills. I'm glad he has taken up that hobby because it's so great to capture these fun memories with the girls. He is also learning a lot of fun new video editing techniques. I love it that he gets into that stuff. He's so good at it!

As for me, well, I'm not sure what to say. I think I'm doing pretty good now. I've really had a difficult time this past while for some reason. Feeling so inadequate as a mother mostly! Maybe I've been a little depressed or something. I really don't know. It's just been a challenge to stay upbeat. I keep telling myself this is crazy to feel this way. I'm so blessed. I have a wonderful life. How could I feel anything but happy every day. Who knows why our minds work the way they do? I guess we just get into ruts sometimes. I find that I get into the biggest ruts when I'm feeling inadequate about something. Lately that's been my parenting skills so the rut has been big! Well, the good news is, I think I'm finally getting out of it. I've been trying very hard to not let myself get down about not being a perfect mother. I remember my own mom feeling so inadequate and I can't even imagine a better mother than her. Her feelings of inadequacy have been the biggest help to me lately. To know that she felt the same way I do makes me feel so much better.

Even with all the positive pep talks I've been giving myself lately, I've still felt that I need to get a little boost somehow. I think as mother's we often put ourselves last which ends up actually being a detriment to our families. We need to take some time for ourselves so that we have our buckets filled. When our buckets are filled it is so much easier to take on the many tasks that lie in front of us.

So, I told Jeff a few weeks ago that I thought I should do three things. First, exercise more. Getting those endorphins going always helps me. Second, I wanted to try some herbal supplements that are supposed to help your mood. :) Yes, maybe this sounds wacky to some of you, but to me it sounded like a completely good idea. So I did some research and have been trying out 5-HTP. Have you heard of it? I think it actually works! Maybe it's just in my head, but whatever. If it works, so what? The third thing I told him was that I needed some new clothes. That always helps me feel better. :)

I told him this in all seriousness and he actually laughed at me! Can you believe that? He thought my little plan was funny. I think it was the fact that new clothes were part of the plan. Well, look who's laughing now because it's working! I've been walking almost every day. Taking my happy pills and yes, I did buy a few things to spruce up my wardrobe. I'm a new woman. The nice thing about Jeff is that he completely believes in the saying "when momma ain't happy, nobody's happy." If keeping me happy means buying me a few new clothes and some herbal supplements, it's a no brainer for him. He's a good man.

The iMac

I think I've mentioned in a couple of posts that our computer has been on the fritz lately. It's sort of been a slow death over the last 6 months or so. We knew we needed to replace it and we knew we wanted to replace it with another Mac. But as all Mac lovers know, you must wait for the latest version to come out before buying. You can't just go purchase it to find out a month later that an even better version is out! So Jeff watched all of his forums where all the Mac rumors are discussed. He learned that the new version would be out soon and we were on pins and needles around here waiting for the big day.

The big day arrived exactly one week ago. We are now the proud owners of our second iMac. And it is beautiful. Jeff took the afternoon off so he could set it up and get everything transferred over. It was like bringing home a new baby. So much to do. So much to think about. So many emotions to process.

The girls and I knew this was a big day for dad so we decided to have a party to celebrate. We made signs and cupcakes with little apples on them. We love dad. We love that he gets so excited about his gadgetry. It's like watching a kid at Christmas and it's fun.

You've Got to Check These Out!!

Introducing my newest favorite accessory...

Go HERE and check them out!

My sister-in-law, Hilary, has begun her own little business venture making these beauties. They really are sooooo cute!

I'm still having trouble getting photos to upload on my computer these days, but I did manage to snag one from Hilary's site. When we get our new computer (very soon!), I will post some pictures of some more of mine. They are THE perfect accessory for someone like me who doesn't necessarily want to go crazy with bling or fru fru stuff.


See what I mean? Plain Jane me heading to church until I added this anklet to my outfit. I know what you're thinking...ooh la la! :) Well, a girl can try can't she?

Restaurant Review #2 - Guido's

For our second restaurant adventure, Jeff and I tried Guido's in downtown Boise. It is located at 235 North 5th Street just down from the Flying M Coffee House.

Guido's serves up New York style pizza along with a small assortment of salads, stromboli and sausage rolls. The menu is simple but offers most anything you would want from a pizza joint. The atmosphere is very relaxed. Definitely nothing fancy and not somewhere to go for a 'nice' dinner.

Okay, on to the food. It was great! The crust was cooked just how I like it. Thin and slightly chewy. A couple of bites tasted a little burnt, but I think that's just a matter of taste as thin crust pizza often times has a slight charcoal taste to it. Jeff ordered straight up pepperoni and I ordered a version of their white pizza with sausage, tomato and spinach. The sausage was not the best I've ever had, but the rest of the pizza was fantastic.

Prices per slice range anywhere from $1.80 to $2.05. You can order a large cheese and basil pizza for $12.50. Not bad!

If I were to give Guido's a rating, I would give it a B+. They would have gotten an A if my sausage would have been better. I would recommend this as a great place to grab a quick and inexpensive bite if your in the downtown area.