GOT IT.

I had a dream last night. {Just let me preface it by saying that this is NOT an announcement.} Now that I have that out of the way:

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I had a dream that I was on a makeshift bed in my doctor's living room...his entire family milling around...while I was in labor with my first baby. Even worse, nobody knew where Andrew was!
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Despite this ridiculous, terrifying setting, all I could think about was the fact that I was about to lose my last opportunity to get a picture of myself with a pregnant belly. Nothing stressed me out more than the fact that I COULD NOT FIND MY CAMERA! This MUST be documented!
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Apparently, my subconscious priorities are a little out of whack.

Yesterday, I submitted an eighty-something page paper...for my master's program. It took two months, and I can't tell you the relief that followed after finishing it. It had lots of graphs and tables and scanned documents...but STILL...that is an insane amount of typing.
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I feel a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in the idea that I compiled such a project myself...which is probably why I'm bragging about it to all of you. I like the sound of it. Here. Let me say it again:

I just finished writing an eighty-something page paper.

No big deal.

And only 2 classes left to go before I get this darn degree!!!

Um, yes actually. I got time. I gots lots of it. Not only was my big paper just turned in, but are both currently church calling-less. All within a few weeks, Andrew was released from a bishopric, and I was released from a Relief Society Presidency.

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{Bishopric and ward member at ward social}

I can hardly comprehend the amount of extra time we've got floating around in our lives right now. No meetings, no phone calls, no e-mails, no home visits, no lesson prep...
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Andrew now wanders aimlessly through the house, while I spend entirely too much time watching YouTube tutorials about designing your own blog header. {Which reminds me...you like? See Above.}

Anyway, we'll see how long it lasts...

FROSTY

Southeast Idaho. Back in December. -14 degrees Fahrenheit.

We were driving home from Sun Valley.

The desert was glittering with sparkly-ness.

After making Andrew stop the truck, I bundled up to my eyeballs to take some pictures.

These crystals did not form from falling snow. Just freezing temperatures. 

This was last week. In town. 31 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Beautiful, little sparklies.

Really quite miraculous the shapes they form.

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Can you imagine me on my belly trying to get these shots?

Makes me miss the Snoshack and my daily dose of shaved ice. 

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I'm guessing it probably has to be above freezing before that place opens for the season. 

Drat the luck. 

SNAPSHOT SATURDAY {speed bumps}

Speed bumps 'round these parts are removed during winter months for easier snow removal, and then returned to the roads for summer.

This means, that for the majority of the year, that posted sign in our neighborhood is lying. No speed bump.

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That is, until today.

Thanks Becca and Andrew, for being willing to take one for the team.

OF LATE

1.)

My sister who just moved in is very talented. She can read her novel, watch a movie, text, work on homework, and Facebook all at the same time. 

2.)

I love lists. I think I've mentioned this twenty separate times on the blog before. To help organize them all, I bought this board from a thrift store, painted it, and hung it in the kitchen.

We are already very happy together.

3.)

The sight of rain clouds is so refreshing. Especially, after a winter of suffocatingly low, foggy, cottony, snow clouds. But not much white left 'round these parts! 

4.)

I think Becca's presence in the house has made us reckless and irresponsible. Saturday night, we made a cookie monster like this. 

For each of us. 

Cookie Monster:  Chocolate chip cookie dough baked at the bottom of a pan. Then, straight out of the oven, vanilla ice cream is dropped on top before whipped cream, chocolate, and caramel. 

Ooey, gooey, delightful dessert. 

Let me suggest, however, making one to share. The three of us got about a quarter of the way through our individual dishes before we were sick and wondering what possessed us to attempt it in the first place. 

KID'S KITE CRAFT TUTORIAL {free printable!}

For the teachers, parents, and construction-paper-craft-enthusiasts who follow this blog, I'm sharing this year's 3rd grade spring craft.

Materials:

1. construction paper
2. tissue paper
3. yarn
4. glue stick/stapler
5. scissors
6. fabric strips

Kite Printable Free

I drew, enlarged, and copied this outline on large 9x18 construction paper...enough for two pages each. Help yourself HERE.

The hardest part for the kids is cutting out the triangular windows.

Then, sandwiched between two cut-out kite outlines, cut tissue paper to the desired shape and glue in place to create a stain glass look. Next, staple a 12" piece of yarn to the bottom.

Finally, tie three to four fabric strips into simple knots up and down along the yarn.

Though not really in condition to take out and fly, they do make pretty window decorations!

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WE TOSS 'EM, THEY'RE AWESOME

This weekend, I enlisted the help of my bread maker to prepare pizza dough. Then we each created our very own, personal pan pizza. 

I thought it was only appropriate to display Andrew's pizza tossin' skills in this way...to give you the full effect. Don't you love his satisfied smirk at the end?

And I must give credit where credit is due for the *ahem* cheesy title at the top. It's what Andrew chanted to himself as he worked. 

Never a dull moment with my love. 

And the tasty end result. 

Next time, we want to try fun styles like chicken and ranch, Philly cheese steak, Pesto, white sauce with spinach and chicken, or BBQ wing.

Any other suggestions of yummy, unique kinds of pizza?

MY LITTLE FAMILY

Becca moved into our spare room. She didn't want to pay for a full semester contract when she'll be leaving in a few months for her New Jersey internship.

Look! There is Becca now...wondering why the heck I'm taking pictures when I could be helping her carry her stuff in.

After her internship, she'll takes off to grad school somewhere...or take a job in a big time publishing company on the opposite side of the country...
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It's all very vexing.

But in the meantime, she's content to hang with me...staying up entirely too late watching Jane Austen movies.
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I haven't been to bed on time once since her arrival.

We were cleaning house on Saturday when I came across this image of Andrew in his manly work clothes, unaware of being watched, and mopping the kitchen floor.
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It makes my heart very happy.

Once he realized I was pointing a camera in his direction, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to strike this dramatic pose...with an exclamation of: "See how you make me slave away?!"

He's the most adorable kitchen slave I've ever seen.

TUTORIAL TUESDAY--frames

I found three matching wood frames at a local thrift store for a couple bucks. I liked their fun, curvy edges, but by themselves, they were battered and outdated.

Luckily, I had a vision. 

To begin, I painted over the wood with white paint...one coat obviously not enough. 

Three to four layers was about right. But it wasn't finished yet!

Plain, white paint looks...flat...and boring. 

To give it some rustic charm, I roughed it up with sandpaper. 

Ahh..much better. 

There's no rhyme or reason to his phase. Just randomly sand through the paint enough for the pretty wood color to peek through. 

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I could have hung them together on a wall somewhere. Small pictures arranged together look more complete. 

It makes my eye twitch to see one little picture in the middle of a big, blank wall. 

But instead, I ended up arranging them on my decorative kitchen shelves. Without pictures. 


I must have been feeling rebellious and dare-devilish at the time. Andrew tells me it's weird...but I kinda like it. You'll have to tell me what you think.  

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In my defense, I have seen empty frames all over the Internet. 

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Each frame different in size and shape... 

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 ...Unified by their similar colors.

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All the cool kids are doing it. 

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So there you have it. My thoughts on some cheap, funky, decorating ideas. 

Maybe pictures will end up in those frames one day. But for now, I'm satisfied to let my radical side win out. 

SPRING BREAK IN THE TETONS

Driving through miles of potato fields, and were it not for fences, there would be no way to tell where earth ended and sky began. Everything around us was white, white, white.

The falling, blowing snow made driving slightly difficult on this lonely highway.

We soon came across a little car that had slid off the road and gotten stuck in a snowbank. Its occupants were attempting to dig themselves out with snowboards. 

We pulled them out only to realize their car was too damaged from the accident to drive. We left them in the hands of a tow truck. 

See the sign peeking out of the top of the pile? I thought this might give you an idea how much snow there was once we reached the mountains. 

After an hour drive, we reached the Grand Targhee Ski Resort in...er...Wydaho, U.S.A.

Being the first day of my spring break, Andrew got work off for some half-price snowboarding. 

I ask, what could be better than combining snowboarding with half-price? I know not. 

We enjoyed thirty inches worth of new powder...on deserted slopes. People must have assumed the snow would be lousy this late in the season. 
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Boy, were they wrong. 

Most snowboarders lead with their left foot. We discovered I should be leading with my right, and changed my bindings accordingly. A a result, my progress was exponential! I keep dreaming about going back as soon as humanly possible. 

We came across some folks who preferred an alternative way of enjoying the snowfall. 

This gal, moments after taking the picture, rolled around in a fresh snow-pile before jumping back in the pool. 

Driving home at the end of the day, we came across others who weren't deterred by the spring storm. 

Spud farmers, up to their ankles in mud, prepare for the fast-approaching planting season. 

As we descended back into Rexburg, I couldn't help think of those celebrating a wild spring break on beaches in Florida. And here I was, perfectly content to enjoy the effects of a snowstorm on spud fields with my love, from the middle seat of a Dodge pick-up...ha!