For Mom On Our Birthday

20ish years later, we still got it...

Other awesome pictures from the day...


Thanks to everyone for their warm wishes + gifts on my day, for filling out the poll and entering the giveaway...I'll announce winners early this week!!

[Sorry for the lack of photoshop, I gots me a new computer and am still in the process of getting things transfered over!]

There'll Be Fun, Fun, Fun, Fun

...throughout this whole weekend, can't you wait?

[And because of that I have decided to avoid blogging the rest of the week]

Well if you don't enjoy Thanksgiving as much as I do, let me give you a few things to get excited about for instance A POLL, A GIVEAWAY, SHOPPING, and MY BIRTHDAY...

Fun #1 [mainly for MY enjoyment]:
Last year I did a poll on my blog to see who was out there and thought it might be fun to check my stats and do it again...so for all you Google Readers out there take a minute to visit my blog and tell me who you are!
Fun #2 [mostly for YOUR enjoyment]:
I recently made my 200th post and was planning on doing a GIVEAWAY or something of a fun-like nature...so LEAVE ME A COMMENT now and I will mail you a secret surprise that may or may not encompass the following: candy, something handmade by me, and a signed photo of me.

Fun #3 [mostly for CRAZY PEOPLE enjoyment]:
Enjoy Black Friday...I know I will! If you aren't into department store shopping and prefer online shopping check out the blog m.writes on Friday for a list of some fun online artisians offering goodies not to be missed! [I will be participating, thanks Marta, it's such a fabulous idea!]

Fun #4 [enjoyment for ALL]:
It's my shared-birthday this weekend [Happy Birthday T-Rizz!]Wahoo...also another great reason to do the GIVEAWAY...and all I will ask from you for my birthday is that you...

[Seriously I have a lot of pictures of me from younger times with sweet bangs and peace signs, that may have to be another post all in itself...]

Confession #5, In My Place

I received an e-mail a couple weeks ago informing me that Pamela/Tamula** would start to be able to hear sounds outside of my belly.

I found this exciting, but nerve racking...all of my swearing would have to stop immediately, plus I didn't know if it would be ok to jokingly name our baby anymore. What if she grew to like the fake name we have given her? Pamela, ugh!

While most people choose to talk and sing to their babies or play them classical music, we've decided to take a different approach... NOTHING BUT ROCK N' ROLL CONCERTS and so we took Pamela along with us to the Coldplay concert last Saturday.

Now before you call child services...

Yes we were close at the concert, close to the very back wall in the nose bleed section...

But I'm glad we weren't too close, because at one point during Politik, Pamela was head banging so hard I thought she might burst out...but I think she's really into rock n' roll.

Think it's too much to ask that she'll come into this word singing Lovers in Japan instead of crying? ...I'll have to keep working on that, but in the mean time anyone know where I find/buy/rent a confetti machine?

[**Neice Hailey's version of Pamela=Tamula]

You Can Do Side Bends or Sit-Ups

But let's face it, I can't...

I also failed miserably at trying to take a decent side shot of my belly, I may need to call in a professional?

On the bright side...

[24 weeks]

A. Don's Birthday [Revisited]

I have been going to post these pictures for a week now, but we are still recovering from this...

I will post more before and afters as soon as the afters get looking a little less scary. In the mean time here are some shots from Don's Birthday...

Last year we had the candle fiasco...

This year we had the frosting mishap [apparently frosting does not like to stick to cheesecake?] so instead of writing out everything on the cake, I managed to simply write ADAM and draw lips a duck [Thank goodness for Photoshop].

All-in-all it was a good birthday with lots of support all around!!

[Thanks Nan&Scott for letting us use your furnished house for

Birthday celebrations!]

Though My Dreams...

In high school most people had big dreams...They'd go out with so&so to such&such a place. They also had nicknames such as cool&cool, hot&hot and so&so.

Not me.

There was nothing I'd like to do more on a Friday night than crochet. Things got bad enough my nickname became Grandma Tori, not anything remotely great like cool&cool.

You may feel sorry for me at anytime during this post. As a matter of fact, why don't we have a moment of silence?

[silence.]

I even sacrificed many Friday nights making this per the request of one of my friends for her birthday...

Since then my dreams have changed, I've grown up and therefore decided to aim a little higher in life and will spend Friday nights pursuing something more along these lines...

It will be for Baby Pamela Andersen, Christmas 2010 [that's a lot of Fridays].

He's My Boy...

and today he's 29!!

He's the best, I love him, and you know that already because I married him.

But he really is great!

He is one of the only guys I know who would take off work on their special day to rip up carpet...I would be partying or eating cake!

[We'll do both later...]

On A Day Like Today

A very sweet lady passed away early this morning, she was not related to me directly [through 2 marriages] but I'd happily claim her as my own Grandmother. She was a perfect example of being loving, kind, and friendly to all, words cannot express how GREAT she truly was.

So on a day like today,

I am sad.

I am humbled more than I thought I ever could be. As one life passes and I continue to feel the start of another inside me, I marvel at all the wonderful opportunities and experiences we are given and will yet to have.

I am thankful for a testimony of my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ and the Wonderful Plan they have laid out for us.

So on a day like today,

I am proud to be a member of the LDS Church more than anything.

Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do

I haven't had much time to blog because we've had a lot of sad times going on around here...we've had to cut ties and say goodbye to some old friends...

Don't worry too much about me, things haven't been that bad...

A Fly By

ME: the terrible grocery shopper.

EXPLANATION: every Saturday night rolls around only to find out that we are out of milk and our cereal of choice [which happens to be Captain Crunch this month] only to go to the grocery store around 11 to buy those things and other things like oreos, only to miss out on the important food items like eggs and other things that would make actual meals.

MY PROBLEM: has a name, fly-by-the-hip shopping. I'm not the ONLY one! I impulse buy the majority of my groceries and end up forgetting the important things and spending loads of money.

The Grocery Guru came and spoke to the ladies of my ward and informed us that there is a better way to shop...I usually hate things like this but I really could get into the things he was saying...

WHAT I KNOW: he mentioned Wal-mart and how he hasn't been able to get any sort of a system down with saving money at Wal-mart...price matching and all...Awhile ago I started shopping at Smith's instead of Wal-mart and have saved up to $40 dollars each time I shop.

[I also save $50 if I don't take Don with me to the store, instant savings of $90.]

MY THEORY: while I don't believe in getting preachy on my blog, I think that there is some truth in making lists and then searching for coupons for the things on our list and not vise virsa...or just trying to plan meals as we go shopping [like I do every Saturday Night].

MY GOAL: is to plan meals and make lists. This is hard because we don't have a stove...but Captain Crunch w/Berries counts as a balanced meal, right?

MY PLAN: will be to have a plan. The Grocery Guru has a website and a plan, he tells you what is on sale and which store and where to find coupons. Also, if you live in Utah he travels around and has shops [at different stores] set up where he'll take you grocery shopping in a half hour, buying enough food for a week and save you up to 70%.

[He's going to be in Cache Valley next week if anyone is interested, it's free, let me know]

BLING: with all of the money I'm going to be saving I'm going to buy these, in every color, for my baby:

[Who I am kidding, I'll be buying them anyway...]

Happy Election Day!

Get out and vote and you won't be!

[via, Word To Your Mother]