Winter Driving

I think you'd be proud of me if I told you how far I've come in my winter driving skills. A few years ago we moved from Kent, WA to Ellensburg, central Washington. It was my first real winter driving experience- and I HATED it. You can ask my husband and he will tell you that there were mornings when I'd have to pull over and call him because I was so scared I was crying. Of course, I had a longer commute to work at the time, on country roads with deep ditches on either side, and a speed limit of 50 mph... I could at my fastest reach maybe 35 before I could feel the road sliding out from under me. Yes, I spun out a few times, no I was never in an accident... but I remember praying earnestly every morning just to make it to work in one piece...

Then we moved to Montana, where I learned what a "real Montana Winter looked like"- The kind of cold that hurts way down to your bones. The negative 35 degrees winter that your car won't start it. The cold that makes your preschooler cry, even though he's bundled up tightly.

Last year I grumbled, cursed, and felt nervous behind the wheel everytime I got in the car. We got stuck a few times, again no accidents, but I was never so thankful for a thaw in all my life.

But, now I feel like a pro! Despite the several inches of snow we've gotten I have driven with alot more confidence. I haven't cried once! I still occasionally curse under my breath when it gets a little hairy, but over all a vast improvement. If anything I should be MORE nervous this year because I am pregnant and if I get in an accident it would be VERY scary, because it's not just me I have to worry about... but maybe because someone else is depending on me to be brave, I am able to just do it...

Anyway, I feel pretty proud of myself, and I thought I'd share. :)

Another Give AWAY!

Ok, It worked so well the last time that I thought I'd give it another go. There is an awesome give away at The Vintage Pearl- check out their link. ANYWAY, there is a give away for a $50 gift card. And if I don't get it, I would be just as psyched if one of you guys do, so... here is the link to Blue Cricket Designs on how you can enter.

New Year- Same Me

So, I've decided that I am ALWAYS resolving to do the same things better. Does that mean that I shouldn't make new year's resolutions? It doesn't seem popular any more, and while I admire the "just take things one day at a time" approach, I still think resolutions are a good thing to do. It's kind of a yearly inventory. Sure, I've already been late to church, and spent money on something I didn't really need, so if I were looking at resolutions that way, of course they would seem a little pointless. It's not about the "Always" or "never" it's about "where am I?" and "where do I want to be?"

So, in light of these observations I am going to share some of my resolutions with you. I believe that the key to success with these is to have a detailed plan, which I do, but I am not going to outline each of them here on the blog... So here is goes.

1. Get (more) out of debt
2. Become more organized
3. Be more self- reliant
4. finish my novel
5. transition to SAHM (or get closer)
6. Grow spiritually- specifically, attending the temple more frequently, and having a daily scripture study of some kind.

What are your new year's resolutions?

I won!

I won! By the way, the give away I posted... yeah, I won. I am pretty amazing. and I am really excited to get my prize in the mail... yes, I know I don't have a little girl to use the hair clips, but they are so cute I may just use them myself or mail them to a friend for Christmas... we'll have to see. But I have to say that I am excited about it anyway.

Also, I have been having alot of fun with felt and will post a picture soon! :)

Oooh a give away!

I've always seen give aways on blogs, and figure, you can't win unless you enter. Plus you can get some really cool homemade stuff, so I am giving it a whirl. This particular give away is fun because you get to post your favorite Christmas tradition, and thinking about it made me get a little more excited for the holidays.

Go to http://brittasboutique.blogspot.com/ to enter to win!

Cute Bread

I don't know what it is lately, but I am becoming obsessed with bread. It started at my cousin Sarah's house when I ate her delicious homemade bread every morning over Thanksgiving break. Hmmmm... (stares off dreamily for several long minutes before realizing that she is supposed to be writing...)

Anyway, I have been finding more and more cute bread online and gosh darn it, I am falling in love. Check some of these out, hopefully the artists won't mind. I will try to site everything...This darling piece of Toast was on www.dailycute.net with instructions on how to make him.


These cute pieces were found on Etsy, made by pumpkinpye517. She has tons of cute bread items including French Bread with little moustaches and cheese toasts. I want to buy all of them- and I don't know why all of the sudden bread is so stinkin cool, but it is.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I'd like to try my hand at making food with faces out of felt and sculpey, if I ever get around to it... (and that is my biggest set back as a creative artist... procrastination....) and now I'm hungry.

Hanging in there

Things here are generally good. We had a really fun Thanksgiving break, after shelling out some money for a new fuel pump, that is... but it was totally worth it for me to see my big sister and her baby bump! I also got a chance to play with my cousin's adorable baby boy and I found myself actually excited to have another little boy. Which is weird because it took longer than I had expected to feel excited about this pregnancy. I mean we wanted to get pregnant, I've wanted to have another child for a long time, so it was bizarre to me that I have felt so disconnected these first few months.

But all that has changed. I even went out and purchased material for a cute baby quilt. I am beginning to get the "nesting" feeling. It's just too bad that I am also getting that "I'm broke and my back is killing me" feeling. I am going to actually try to decorate my living room, which means slip-covering the mismatched furniture, making cute accent pillows, and embellishing the curtains. This also means organizing the bookshelf, and clearing out clutter.... Don't even get me started on what we'll do with Hudson's room, because I don't know yet...

I think I'll purge a bunch of stuff... I want to live more simply.

PS Eating out update- DOING SO WELL! We've really been doing good at eating at home. I hope to keep it this way. :)