Merry

He said, "Mom, trees(cheese)", ran over and grabbed a santa hat to put on and stood in front of the tree ready for a picture. How could I help but post this?

We went to the Huish house in Poway where they do a Santa's Village every year that is over the top. They use all of their old Golfland castles and houses and create the North Pole with Santa, a sleigh, cookies, milk, hot cocoa and the kids even get a toy! C loved Santa, I was very surprised by that. This was when I was about 16 weeks pregnant. First thing that happens to me is what I call "mask face" because my face retains water and I don't even look like myself. Puffed lips, nose and jawline. You won't see many pics of me until this baby pops out!

Midway

We went to Midway for Dan's family reunion this year. It was so amazing. I never appreciated this little town when I lived in UT, but as an adult I was in heaven. Small town, trees and land everywhere and little rolling green hills surrounded by Mountains. All of these pictures are from the farm that Dan's dad grew up on. It's still a dairy farm and they have their own little shop in town where you can buy cheese, ice cream, treats and even raw unpasteurized milk. He really enjoys giving a tour of the property when we are there. He has everyone drink the raw milk, the running spring water and talks about old times. There are lots of farm toys and rides. Even the rockets were built on the farm. They used to cart them to Swiss Days and back every year back in the day.

Krabi, Thailand

VIDEO TIME... Some Poorly Edited Videos

Made this on some new iphone app that makes cheesy snap sounds and cuts the pictures off. He was crazy with the giant ball. Diving all over the place.



And this song makes him go crazy

Happy we live where we do

So we can have days like this...

More Desert

Don't Forget to...

 

This is probably the only picture that I will post from Shauna and my Desert trip. Maybe you will see more but just know that this is from the very end of the desert stay.

after we sang karaoke ALL NIGHT LONG at a dive bar in Joshua Tree... dead sober
after we were woken up at 6am by the loud banging of every window and door in our luxurious airstream in the middle of nowhere
after we tried going to a flea market in the 75mph dust storm only to find it mostly shut down
after driving 6 hours in one day and singing our lungs out to 90's country music
after we stayed in a 5 star hotel that we had looked soooo forward to only to find out there was no electricity that night

Pretty Much Everyday

Do it Yourself Glitter Shellac Nail Tutorial

Guys!! I have stumbled upon something awesome. Nerium. Here is my before and after. I was so dull and chalky and wore tons of makeup to cover my uneven skin. Now I only wear Tinted Moisturizer and lip gloss. There is a 30 day money back guarantee for Preferred Customers, so it's risk free!! Click the link or photo for more before and afters!

 

After 3 Months of Nerium        Before Nerium

Click the Photo for More Information

darcic.nerium.com

Recently after discovering "Shellac" gel manicures, I have become a little bit dependent on these suckers. And by suckers, I mean $$$$ suckers. I started to add things up.
$27 + $5 tip = $32 two times per month
Then...I saw some glittery gel nails on a friend of mine and more dollar signs flashed. I HAD to try it, but I just quit cutting and coloring hair and only have extension clients left. I couldn't justify $40 for a bi-weekly service.
$40 + $8 tip = $48 two times per month
$96/month!!
I decided to buy the supplies and give it a go. I can paint my own nails,(my left hand at least), I can stick them under a dryer, and I am very familiar with Martha Stewart Glitters.
So here are the things you need to start your own collection of gel or shellac polishes.
$31 UV Nail Curing Light- This is not something you have to spend $200 on but the polish companies will have you believe you do. You can get it on Amazon for $31. It just needs to be at least 36 watts.
$.20 Nail Buff
$17 UV Gel Base Coat
$17 UV Gel Top Coat
$14 Clear Gel Polish
$18 24 Colors of Martha Stewart Glitter
$5 Nail Brush
$102.20 Total and you can shellac your own nails forever. I recommend buying the smaller bottles of polish just in case you decide you would rather be pampered at a salon.

Now onto the Nail Tutorial!                            
Step 1. Buff your nails with the soft side of your buffer until they are slightly dull then rinse your hands with water and dry them
Step 2. Use the UV Base coat. (When painting all coats avoid your cuticles so your polish doesn't lift and look chunky as it grows out.) Place your nails under the UV Lamp for 10 seconds to cure
Step 3. Paint with the clear coat, don't cure it yet. Tap the glitter out slowly onto your nail. (Use a paper plate under your hand to catch any fallen glitter.) Leave it sloppy and place your hand in the lamp for 120 seconds to cure
Step 4. Over your plate, use your nail brush or craft brush and dust off any glitter that is still loose
Step 5. Paint another clear coat and cure for 120 seconds
Step 6. Repeat Step 5
Step 7. Apply your UV top coat and cure for 180 seconds
Step 8. Use a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and remove the sticky residue on your nails. Don't worry they won't smudge.
Step 9. ADMIRE because these guys are DRY! You don't have to wait and there is absolutely no smudging!! (I did green for St. Paddy's Day but I think I'll go neutral next time)

Lake Lowell

Charlie and I went on a scenic drive today. I wanted to go see the Lake here in Nampa. It was FREEZING and soooooo windy. Charlie couldn't breathe or stand up straight so we left right away, but I did grab some pictures with my phone first. I've become so lazy and only been taking pictures with my phone. Today I at least used picnik for the graphics. Ahh, oh well I've never claimed to be a professional blogger.

Idaho

Everyone thinks I'm insane for babysitting 4 kids plus taking Charlie to Idaho. The flight over was horrible for the first half. He screamed while we were taxiing before take off and all of the grouchy business people just stared at me. Like I can help it, I wanted to say "WHAT?!! None of you have had kids?" The second flight was better because I got to take his seat on and he had the laptop. Biggest mistake I made was giving him apple juice (I never give him juice). When we were descending his ears started to hurt and he screamed and tugged on them until he started foaming at the mouth and hiccuping with a barfy look on his face. Luckily I got him to calm down. He's been sick to his stomach ever since.

The Beauty Department

What is going on with me? I think I'm having a midlife crisis that involves Pinterest, Instagram and The Beauty Department . Either way, I'm super loving girly stuff right now. Nails, makeup, hair curling and braids.

Instagram

Nocturnal, WHYYYYYYYYYY am I still awake?

Being sick on and off for almost a month has pretty much been a drag. It's made me sleep so much that I am all thrown off and can't go to bed before 2 am. Right now my ears are plugged and I can't hear well with the exception of my own voice ringing in my head. Go away sinus thing. Done complaining now.
EDIT: No, I am not pregnant.

Pinterest Recipes: PASS and FAIL

I collect lots of yummy, healthy recipes from Pinterest. It makes me feel like I'm a healthy eater, a dieter and a lover of earthy natural foods.... but have I tried any of them? NOPE. So I decided this week to try a few recipes because they look soooo good and all of the blogs have raving comments, "Oh your food is the best!", "My husband loved this meal! Will make again soon!", "The ONLY way I can get my kids to eat their veggies!"....etc.

First I tried Kale Chips 
They Passed the test. Dan would even eat them. Charlie liked them but they are soooo delicate, airy and crispy that he would crunch them like "Lennie Small" when he picked them up and there would be tiny green speckles everywhere. If I were to post a comment on a cooking blog, it would say, "Yay, my whole family loved these! My kid ate greens blah, blah, blah!"

Recipe:
One bunch of Kale of your choice
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Garlic Powder (Optional..I added this for some extra flavor to mask the Kale taste but it wasn't needed)

After you have rinsed and removed any thick stems (I think of it like de-boning?) dry your Kale off and spread it on a pan. Spray or brush with Olive oil. Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt and/or seasoning of choice.

Bake on 350 for 10-15 minutes or until edges have slightly tanned but not burnt. If you take it out and any of the leaves are flimsy, put them back in for a few minutes. They should be very light and crispy, and yummy too. No dipping sauces for these though, they're way too delicate for that.

 Now for the FAIL!! Baked Vegetarian Eggrolls. I made these for Dan when I wasn't going to be home so that he could just pop em in the oven. Slaved in the kitchen for an hour and a half making the filling (which was actually yummy) wrapped and placed them on a cookie sheet all ready for him. I thought it was a nice thing to do since I was going shopping. Next thing I know, I get a call, "Where are you?" Uh oh. I could tell what was coming next..."Thanks for making these but...they're weird. Like soggy and undercooked, but over cooked too. And only one side turned brown, even though I rotated them." etc. He wanted me to pick up Jack in the Box instead. When I got home I took a bite of one and wanted to barf, I threw them straight into the trash. BLEH!!! Sorry but you can not bake eggrolls. The wrap tasted like an uncooked spaghetti noodle. Crunchy as in stale not as in crisp.And they were soggy and just plain nasty. Followed the directions step by step. Now I'm hesitant to make any more of the recipes with the yummy pics on Pinterest. Maybe in a few weeks.

Happy Birthday Friend

Charlie's bff had a birthday. JeNae did such a good job decorating and even made these hats. At least they kept them on long enough for a future picture to hang in their college dorm room. Look at these 2 happy fellas.

Weirdos

How do people that are always sober look like this in so many pictures? These were taken at the photo booth at the wedding of Angela and Ithyle. Dan's beautiful and talented cousin and her now husband.