Witch Craftin'

I started out the year doing really well crafting something once a week. Then I got pregnant and majorly slacked off- ha ha! I finally finished this little Halloween decoration,


and decorated some Halloween sugar cookies. Wahoo!

More Titles

Goodnight Mister Tom was our title for book club this month and I absolutely loved it. It is terribly heartbreaking, but I was completely smitten with Mister Tom and Willie (seriously, so in love with both of them.) Don't forget your tissues when you read it, but it is so worth it!


I'm slowly working my way through the Wheel of Time series and have now begun book 7, A Crown of Swords.

Sharing Traditions

My sister-in-law's sweet mother made this Christmas album for Len & I for our 2nd Christmas (1998). I was big into scrapbooking then, and had visions of filling this book with pictures of our family through the years. Well that never happened, and I'm not so much into scrapbooking anymore. Back in 2002, I saw my friend's 24 Days of Christmas book and asked if I could copy it. It has become a yearly favorite since then.

So what's inside? Each day has a Christmas scripture, song, and story. I've also made a title page for each day that has a picture of our special Hallmark ornament representing that year. It's like our family has Family Home Evening every night from December 1st- 24th. And our children really do enjoy it as much as we do!

My mom is the Relief Society President in her ward, and asked if I could send her the book file so they can do it at Super Saturday. Unfortunately, when I re-typed the whole book in Taiwan I didn't save the file. Since I had to make a hard copy for her, I decided to make a cute book for her too! Now I need to make a book for my dad and all 11 of our siblings.

I wish I had a digital file to share with others, but if you live in my neighborhood stop by anytime and I'll lend you my new Master Set to copy. Warning: It's 150 pages of quality family bonding.

***2012 update:  My mom scanned her copy and shared the files with me, so if you'd like a copy leave me a message and I'll email it to you!

Favorite Summer Salad

You can actually eat this salad year-round, but it's so much better in the summer with ingredients fresh from the garden. Not my garden (which is non-existant), but a few of my friends were very generous with their bounteous harvest this year and we loved it!

Basic Greek Salad:
Diced Tomatoes
Diced Cucumbers
Sliced Olives
Feta Cheese
Greek Seasoning

I could eat this salad everyday and not feel guilty since I don't put any salad dressing on it- delish!

Parenting Tips

My mom gave me this book and it has lots of great ideas. It has simple things you need to teach your kids (like how to do the laundry) as well as extraordinary things (like go on a hot air balloon ride). Each activity is also an object lesson to teach your children not only how much you love them, but also how much their Father in Heaven loves them. I just want the day my kids leave home to be far, far away!


I'm also on to book 6 in The Wheel of Time. After buying all the books for my husband, I've finally gotten into them myself.

My Pretty Little House

Last summer, Gramma bought a dollhouse like this for Noe (and all her future granddaughters) to play with at her house. Noe liked it so much Gramma wanted to send it home with her, but it was just too big to get on the plane. This past spring Noe got her very own dollhouse for her birthday.




When Gramma came to visit in the spring, I commented on how I wish I lived in a perfect little dollhouse. Gramma responded that I did. That made me smile.




Home Sweet Home! My home may not be a "dream" house, but right now it is the home of our dreams. We've lived here for 2 years now. Our first summer we were busy unpacking. Last summer I was busy finishing up all the decorating. This summer I have been busy going through each room top to bottom. I've gone through every closet, drawer, cupboard, and cabinet clearing away the junk. I still have the 2 storage rooms in the basement to do, plus the garage, shed, and dreaded file cabinets. Wish me luck to get it all done before summer is over!

I love hanging a wreath for each season.

Entry way.

The hall.

The stairs.

Laundry room.

Powder room.

Living room.

Dining room.

Kitchen.

Family room.

Master bedroom.

En suite.

The big boy's room.

The little boys' room.

The girl's room.

The kids' bathroom.

The rec room- library.

The rec room- office.

The rec room- guest room (hide-a-bed).

The rec room- play room.

Our tiny backyard.

Our big family vehicle.

*I am so grateful for our home and most especially for our family that lives here!

Strawberry Lemonade

I invited my dear friends over for a movie night. We did a double-feature with "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "A Room with a View." I wanted to do a cute snack table, so I got a little inspiration from a strawberry and a lemon.

I made strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, strawberry slices, and half with coconut. I also made lemon cupcakes with a lemon cream filling, vanilla frosting, and half again with coconut. I had planned on making the rest of the snacks and drinks too, but time got away from me so they were just store-bought goodies.

The complete table. I was missing the savory- veggies & dip, crackers & cheese, chips etc. Oh well, there's always next time!

This was supposed to be a picture of the group of us. I had my camera out and asked my hubby ahead of time if he'd get a shot of all of us. Unfortunately, as I got into the movies I forgot all about the photo op. My sweet friends surprised me with a birthday gift- yummy lotions, lovely nail polish, and a gift certificate for a mani-pedi (I am SO excited!). Thank you so much Airi, Angelique, Annick, Jackie, Laura, Lianne, Marsha, Mary, Rhonda, and Sonia!!

From Novel to Film

My friend Marsha lent me this book and as I knew I would, I LOVED it! I'm so excited it's being made into a movie. Obviously, this is a book that makes you think. My own grandmother was raised on a tobacco farm in Kentucky and her family had "help". My mother grew up in Dayton, Ohio (one of the most racist cities in the US) during integration. I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and attended school with students from 109 different ethnic groups. Each of us has our own stories. I loved the point of the book though- we are just 2 women, there are no lines between us except the ones we create.


I am a fan of Jane Austen's, but I have only read "Pride and Prejudice". I must admit that I prefer watching her tales on the big screen. They were written as novels, but I enjoy them like I enjoy Shakespeare- acted out.

I've been wanting to read works by the Bronte Sisters for years now. Well, Marsha lent me the movie of "Jane Eyre" and I decided that now I'll watch the stories from the other 2 sisters too!