. . . sneak peek . . .

. . . tomorrow is my day to 

teach all the young women 

in my ward . . .

. . . apparently, i'm much better 

at procrastinating 

than i am 

at preparing a lesson . . .

{read: posting right now?}

. . . last january, i invited myself 

to participate in a 

red/white fat quarter exchange . . .

. . . that was fun! . . .

. . . thanks, michelle . . .

{her quilts are the best}

. . . so, i finally cut over five hundred light 

and red fabric squares . . .

. . . 2.25 inches each . . .

. . . then, while i should have been studying,

i was sewing squares into long rows . . .

. . . then sewing rows into pairs of rows . . .

. . . wish me luck teaching tomorrow . . .

. . . i'll be back with 

more on monday . . .

. . . i shouldn't be surprised . . .

. . . given this fabulous weather forecast . . .

. . . but, still . . .

. . . i'm pretty sure it's only january . . .

. . . ahh ~ springtime in arizona . . .

{apologies to readers in lesser climates}

. . . making good . . .

. . . here's proof that i'm a 

man of my word . . .

. . . so to speak . . .

. . . cami was a giveaway winner 

WAY back in june . . .

. . . kayola picked up her oops! 

just in time for christmas . . .

. . . vicki finally got hers yesterday . . .

{only her kids have blogs}

. . . not sure how melissa chose 

which one of her 

new nephews 

to give this to . . .

. . . claudia has a couple of 

grandbaby girls on the way . . .

. . . and looky here . . . 

. . . quinci is an actual oops! user . . .

. . . and she looks pretty happy about it . . .

. . . thanks to all who entered . . .

. . . winners ~ enjoy . . . 

. . . shirking my duties . . .

. . . still not feeling 100% . . .

. . . but when i finally woke up yesterday . . . 

. . . i discovered that while i slept . . . 

. . . my husband . . . 

. . . MY HUSBAND! . . .

{whose condition has been previously covered}

. . . drove himself . . .

. . . HE DROVE HIMSELF! . . .

. . . to pick up some breakfast . . .

. . . desperate times 

call for 

desperate measures, i guess . . .

. . . then when i asked last night 

"what would you like for dinner?" . . . 

. . . he answered 

"something besides doughnuts." . . .

{krispy kreme's valentine edition = so cute, huh?}

. . . not to change the subject,

but it'd be great if you'd 

send a little email to drewski . . .

. . . the flu . . .

. . . so, i'm pretty sure that {flu} stands for . . .

. . . Feeling . . .

. . . Lousy . . . 

. . . Ugh . . .

. . . aside from the obvious routine:

•fever
•sweat
•chill
•ache
•repeat

. . . the highlight of 

two days on the couch 

had to be . . . 

. . . my gilmore girls marathon . . . 

{i lost count at 7 or 8 episodes - season 2}

. . . it was either that 

or the neverending 

inauguration "festivities" . . .

. . . thank you dvr . . .

. . . and i'm convinced that 

a town troubadour . . . 

. . . could pretty much 

fix whatever ails you . . .

. . . maybe even cure the f.l.u. . . .

. . . the obsession . . .

. . . continues . . .

. . . the child l.o.v.e.s guitars . . .

. . . even microscopic ones . . .

{we're so pumped ~

brent (and amanda) got a fancy schmancy new camera ~

we now have a designated photographer ~

which i also highly recommend}

. . . time well spent . . .

. . . thanks for the challenge, drew . . . 

. . . start date: 22 december 2008 . . .

. . . end date: 17 january 2009 . . .

. . . short term goal accomplished = a great feeling . . .

. . . i highly recommend this one . . .

. . . would you be happy . . .

. . . if you checked your email . . . 

. . . and elliott was there? . . .

. . . i was . . .

. . . is it over yet? . . .

. . . yes . . .

. . . Y.E.S it is . . .

. . . when you finally take it down . . .

. . . "not cute" . . .

{if you know the choreography to that little mini-cheer, go ahead and do it}

. . . as of today . . .

{see my red sweats and me in every ornament?}

. . . tuesday 13 january 2009 . . . 

. . . christmas {2008} is finally over . . . 

. . . and i even solved 

the mystery of 

the dark band mid-tree . . .

{which is not so cute naked/topless, is it?}

. . . i'll figure out 

how to make sure 

that plug stays 

snugly connected 

next year . . . 

. . . i'm just glad to say that 

nineteen days 

post-holiday . . . 

. . . everything is finally tucked away . . . 

. . . and hopefully, 

all this peppermint cheer 

will survive another 

un-airconditioned summer 

in the old storage room . . . 

. . . FYI: this final burst of energy was 

most likely fueled by the fact that 

cox cable's television guide 

showed last night's episode of 

the "batchelor" 

was 90 minutes long . . .

. . . that's all that recorded . . . 

. . . yes . . .

. . . i missed 

the.most.dramatic.rose.ceremony.ever . . .

. . . good thing al gore invented the internet . . .

. . . so i could watch it online this morning . . .

. . . joseph tunes my piano . . .

. . . no, really . . .

. . . have you seen 

reflections of christ? . . .

. . . because you should . . .

. . . and when you do . . . 

. . . you'll see 

my piano tuner 

as joseph . . .

. . . in some of 

my favorite images 

in the exhibit . . .

. . . and since i took these shots 

without him knowing . . .

{during the gorgeous mini-recital 

he always treats us to

 when he's finished tuning ~

just to double check his work}

. . . sorry, they're a little blurry . . .

{if your piano is in need of 

a little tune-up, let me know ~ 

i can totally hook you up}

. . . no girls allowed . . .

. . . except amanda, 

who requested to be included 

in the all boys club . . .

. . . which is fine, 

seeing as how she's the one 

who gave birth 

to this adorable 

{yet sleepy} 

little boy . . .

. . . happy blessing day, elliott andrew . . .

back row l to r: uncle chris, [barely visible] great papa, uncle tyler, uncle chase

front row l to r: papa, uncle lucas, grampa great, mom, elliott, dad, grampa

. . . and yes, the christmas decorations WILL come down 

starting tomorrow, i promise . . .

. . . cute laundry . . .

. . . what we have here . . . 

. . . is the handiwork 

of our quilt group 

for the year 2008 . . .

. . . please note that NONE 

{not one ~ zero ~ zip} 

of these cute quilts 

belongs to me . . .

. . . i was a quilting loser last year . . .

. . . i hope to change that in 2009 . . .

 {props to all hp quilters who finished their samplers}

. . . nine/fifteen . . .

. . . if he 

could've . . .

. . . elder romney 

would've 

sent you each a 

christmas card . . .

. . . featuring this photo . . .

. . . i think he 

should've . . .

. . . lofty goals . . .

. . . regarding new years resolutions . . .

. . . this year, i'm keeping it real . . .

. . . for starters, 

i've resolved to 

drink my RDA of water . . .

. . . before i break out 

the diet coke . . .

{because actually quitting = a goal that is most likely unattainable}

. . . meaning ~ if i plan to 

imbibe at lunchtime . . .

. . . i'll need an 

early start on the h20 . . .

. . . the adjective sloshy comes to mind . . .

. . . no more coming home 

from an early morning walk 

and popping a top . . .

. . . this will be a lifestyle change for me . . .

. . . but i'm looking forward to dewier, fresher skin . . .

. . . and healthy teeth and bones . . .

{sorry, wrong beverage}

. . . more importantly, 

i accepted 

drew's twenty seven day challenge . . .

. . . i'm eleven days/two hundred twenty two pages into it . . .

. . . what are you determined 

to be resolute about in 2009? . . .