encourage me

I love watching the Amazing Race. Mostly because I like seeing where they travel, and then dreaming of visiting all those far off places. But also because you get characters. Like the happy hippies. Or the Mormon-hating "Christian" family. Or the couple from the sticks. Or the mother and her deaf son. The list goes on and on. This year there was one couple that pretty much had it all together, and they ended up winning. They were fairly upbeat; perhaps to a fault. During one daunting task, the girl looked at her partner and said, "Encourage me, Cheyne. Encourage me." The way she said it was pretty funny, and it came off a little pathetic. Ryan mocked her. But I kind of got it. Sometimes you know you need a little encouragement, and sometimes you've got to ask for it.

I need some encouragement.

Since I was 10 I have had bad posture. Slumped over, stooped over, bad posture. My parents tried to help me {I couldn't get my ears pierced until I improved}, I would try to focus on it, and while our efforts helped for a while I would always fall off the wagon.

When we were in Italy this fall I once again noticed how poor my posture was (funny how pictures standing next to your pitch perfect sister will do that). I'm heading toward hunchback. So I jumped back on the wagon. I went to a physical therapist, got some exercises, and have been making a sincere effort.

But now it's been 3 weeks, and the 40 minutes a day spent doing these stupid exercises is getting a little old. I am seeing a difference {one of my ribs actually poked out funny, and now it is going back in place} but I can tell that I am on the verge of letting it slide. And then I may end up a hunchback forever.

So....encourage me. Tell me how you've persevered and how worth it is. Or tell me that no one likes a hunchback. That if I don't take care of this now, you won't be my friend. {I really like having friends--that one might work}

Thanks. It worked for Megan and Cheyne.

yum, yum, yum

The Harlem Family Recipe Book strikes again. This time it's dessert. And it's delicious. Right, Annie?

Carrot Cake Supreme

(Karen Bryner)

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

3 large eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla

2 c grated carrots

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained

3.5 ounces flaked coconut

1 c chopped pecans (I left this out)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Stir together dry ingredients. Beat eggs and mix wet ingredients with electric mixer. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrots, pineapple, coconut and pecans. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Frost with Deluxe Cream Cheese Frosting. Chill for several hours before slicing. Store in fridge. For best results, cover and chill cake, serve on second day.

Deluxe Cream Cheese Frosting

11 ounces cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup butter, softened

16 ounces powdered sugar (I didn't use quite this much)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until light and fluffy, 1-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla.

16 at 16

1. She's really into symmetry. If she brings you one shoe from the closet, you can bet your bottom dollar that the match is on it's way. And you'd better put them on. Same goes for kisses and tricks. If mom gets a kiss, so does dad and anyone else that's in the room. If you ask her where her nose is not only will she show you, but she will also touch yours, dad's, grandma's and the stranger's sitting across the room.
2. She's got the most expressive face. The other day I put her in a sweater that was too small. She lifted both her arms up, twisted side to side and gave me a look that said, "Mom. Seriously? What are you thinking?"


3. Her eyes are still in flux. Some days they are hazel, other times brown, and on a rare day, blue.
4. Almost all of her 'words' are monosyllabic and are missing the last few letters. Although she does turn more into a two syllable word. Mow-uh, with the uh really high-pitched.
5. She really loves her bottle. Given the choice of a sippy cup of milk and a bottle of water she will pick the bottle.
6. Listening to her sing is one of my favorite things on this earth.
7. She has four teeth coming in, and then we are DONE! Well, at least for a year or so.
8. If she makes a "mess," a relatively common occurrence, she wants it cleaned up right away. However, I think we may need to narrow the definition of the word. The other day she was in the bath and splashed water on her arm. "Mess! Mess! Mess!"

9. Finally figured out animal sounds.
10. Hearing evidence of aviation stops her in her tracks. Eyes and pointer finger reach for the sky until she finds the source. Her father's daughter indeed.
11. We are on the Nursery countdown. Our ward has the best nursery leader. February, here we come. Sacrament meeting, on the other hand....still struggling.
12. We wish our cousins and grandmas and aunts lived closer. And our friends Lily and Bea, too.
13. We are grateful for our friends who live close. Keeps us sane. That and the Discovery Gateway Museum. Love that place.
14. She likes it when you whisper in her ear.
15. She says Mom 500 times a day. Maybe more. "Uh" used to be the catch-all word. It is now "ma."
16. A very boring video. But if you're a grandma, you can see her fold her arms, say "more" (twice), "mmm", "no" "mama" and stuff her face full of food, only to spit it all out. One of our favorite tricks.

first haircut

bedtime bliss and blues

For two or three weeks, we really had it good. Around nap time/bed time, I'd ask Ella if she wanted to go to bed. She'd nod her head yes, we'd read a few stories, say prayers and then she would point to her crib. She would cuddle up with her monkey, elephant, dog, bunny, Duke Bear, and bottle (she just held it, it was empty) and would smile as I left. It was heavenly.

Now we are back to the scream and cry for 30 seconds to a minute and then go to sleep. Not as much fun.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I didn't know what I was doing right.

The ebb and flow of childhood.

I think I liked the ebb.

couldn't be happier

My baby sister's getting hitched. One month from today she will become Mrs. Chris Crosby. Nice work, Kimmy. You got a good one.

Check them out. So hip. So beautiful. So clean. Love it.

calling all crafters

I have this fabulous idea spinning around in my head...only problem...execution. So any creative ideas you have, please send them my way.

We recently completely renovated our office, and now I have 3 gorgeous exam rooms to decorate. I really want to have something in the rooms that will occupy the children while they wait, have minimal germs, and appeal to all ages. I saw these memory cards

at Antrho a few weeks ago, and it got me thinking...wouldn't it be fun to have a memory game hanging on the wall in each room. Minimal fomites (although I would still have a can of Clorox wipes on a shelf above each game for the germaphobe mamas), appeals to all ages, and tons of cool images out there.

But how to create it. That's what stumps me. I've had a few thoughts, but nothing that seems practical. I have a reasonable budget to get these rooms looking good; it seems like this could work.

So any ideas you may have, please share. Bored kids and parents throughout the Wasatch front are counting on it.

Thanks.

2010

A new year. A new decade. I think she's up for it.