I have been tagged... multiple times!

Okay, so I think this is the fourth time I have been tagged so I am giving in and doing it. I have tried in the past, but never finish the entry.

♦10 years ago (1998): I was fourteen years old and finishing up my 8th grade year at Canyon View Junior High here in Orem, Utah. I had a dog named Zip and my parents were still married. I wanted to be a marine biologist, I had permed hair and braces. (So happy I don't have to relive that stage!)

♦5 things on my to-do list today: 1. Feed, change, put down for two naps and play with Cohen (and Izzy) 2. Go work for my Mom for a couple hours, organizing details of her company and interview people for the position I need to fill since leaving to be a SAHM (stay at home mom) 3. Shower, feed myself and grocery shop 4. Make and take dinner to my sister and her two sick kids 5. Laundry and cleaning the rest of the house, which I probably won't get to... I guess that is more than five things...

♦I enjoy: Hearing my baby laugh, kissing my husband, reading, decorating, almost anything to do with animals, eating ice cream, shopping, being crafty and creative, gardening and mowing the lawn (can't wait until Spring!), painting, watching my favorite TV shows, walking up the canyon in the summer, swimming, cuddling with Izzy, talking with my best friends, home improvements and projects with my husband, spending time with my mom and all my family, horseback riding, learning and researching about ways to keep my family healthier, photography, giving gifts, visiting California, vacations, relaxing and lazy days at home with my family.

♦If I were suddenly made a billionaire: I would want to pay my tithing, pay off all my debts and then invest in my husbands business with rehabbing and remodeling homes, start my own business/give to charities that help homeless pets (mainly dogs), build my dream home and decorate it, buy my mom her dream boat and get her on Opera, buy my dad his dream cabin, help my sisters move forward with their dreams, help my in-laws and Scott's sisters in anyway I can, set up college/mission/future funds for my children, by an entirely new wardrobe, get a Honda Pilot or something with better gas mileage than my Jeep, by a getaway/retreat in the Utah mountains and one on the beach in Southern California for a place for all of my family to gather and spend stress free time together. And I am sure I would like to do a few things for my amazing grandparents and awesome friends and cousins!

♦5 jobs that I've had: A shift manager at Baskin Robbins when I was 16, on the logistics team at Mervyns, a nanny to 5 children (1 to 11 years old), receptionist then escrow assistant at Equity Title, personal assistant/marketer/receptionist/etc. for my mom and her company New Dimensions in Healing (here is the website www.newdimensionsinhealing.com) and the best yet, being a mommy to Cohen! Okay, that is six jobs... had to add the last one!

♦5 things people don't know about me:
1. I was baptized by missionaries (when I was 9 years old and one month) who were named Elder Farmer and Elder Gill (I totally had a crush on Elder Farmer). :)
2. I really enjoy writing. I took a creative writing class in high school and we illustrated and wrote a children's book and I had a lot of fun doing it. Writing children's books may be something I want to do in the future (for fun), but first I need to learn how to spell... but I guess that is what editors and spell check are for. (Mamamandy will you be my editor? I don't want to be embarrassed when something is wrong in my published works! Is that really how you spell embarrassed? It looks wrong... point proven.)
3. I have had a couple frogs, hamsters, and birds, tons of fish, two cats, six dogs, ducks, rabbits, and would have owned horses and maybe an alpaca by now if the zoning was different here in Orem and I had the land and money. I am planning on getting my fish tank going again here soon. In fact, today I visited three different pet stores looking for the perfect gold fish to fall in love with. I would love to get another dog, but that is such a big responsibility that I think I will stick with adding the fish to our family for now...
4. I was on the swim team in High School, but really hated competing because I really wasn't that fast and I got really nervous, but I loved being apart of the team and swimming almost everyday! (Boy, do I wish I still had that swimmers body! One day, one day...)
5. I was offered a modeling contract to go to Japan when I was 16 (and had that swimmers body I talked about above) and chose not to go because I would have to leave my family and everything behind and go to a strange place and eat sick food! I am still happy I didn't go... I made the right choice for me and my future.

♦Now I tag: Jen Avery, Nicole Cassity, Tracy Green, Kristen Pearson and Heidi Streadbeck. I put your last names on there so you couldn't get out of it by saying you weren't sure if it was you or not!!! :) Love ya!

Heidi's Post

I thoroughly enjoyed and almost died laughing while reading my friend, Heidi's post about the Joys of Motherhood. I just have to share her story, visit russellandheidi.blogspot.com I think it will be worth your time...

Morning Photo Shoot

This morning while we were walking in the mall (yes, I am a "mall walker," I have to get exercise with baby in tow in this freezer somehow) Kiddie Kandids offered a free photo shoot again, just like the one we did a few months back. We got a couple more cute ones this time. Take a look!

I WIN!!! :)

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Nighttime Intruder

The first night it happened was about two months ago when Cohen was sleeping between Scott and I. I brought him to bed with us, I wanted to keep an eye on him because he hadn't been feeling well. It was around 2 am and we were all sound asleep, including Izzy who was snoring (yes, snoring) in her bed next to our dresser. I heard the commotion and my heart was pounding out of my chest before I was even fully awake. Izzy had flown from her bed and hit the ground running, barking hysterically, chasing someone or something, out of our bedroom, into the hallway and out of the house to the backyard! I was so startled and extremely frightened, all I could think or say was, "What is going on?" Scott jumped to his feet, more out of it than I was and went to investigate. My body was stiff as I laid in bed next to Cohen, thankful that he was safe next to me. He was so out of it that he didn't even wake up.
Scott didn't find anyone or anything in the backyard and Izzy came back inside and started eating from her bowl in the kitchen just a minute after being outside. We wondered if Izzy was hallucinating or had a night terror that came to life. It took me a while to calm myself down enough to fall back to sleep.
A week or two later, around 9 pm, I sat on the couch while we were watching TV. I heard the doggy door flap back and forth like it does multiple times a day from Izzy going in and out, but then I realized it wasn't Izzy because she was sitting next to me! She jumped off the couch and tore off after whatever had just tried to re-enter our home. Again, we didn't see what it was or find anything that could give us any clues.
This has happened another three times during the night, twice just this week. I have wondered if it was a stray cat, but why would a cat continually enter a house where it gets chased out by a dog? I know that there have been raccoons in neighborhoods close by, but why would it just hang out around here this long?
It is freezing, so whatever this is is probably looking for a warm place to hide out and maybe some food. I love animals and don't want any of them to freeze, but this is getting really frustrating and annoying! I already have one little critter waking me up at night, I don't need another one!
I searched the snow for any other prints other than Izzy's and couldn't find anything that looked different. I noticed that our neighbors behind us has a metal cage trap set in their backyard. I plan on going over and asking them what they are trying to catch, I hope they have some insight. We might just have to close the doggy door at night and let Izzy out when she needs it.
Does anyone have any insight or ideas about what this intruder might be or what we could do to find out?

Remembering President Gordon B. Hinckley

Since I found out last night about President Hinckley's passing, I have been thinking more about what it will be like after this life and how he was the only President of the LDS Church that I really have known since being a member.
At first I was sad to hear about it and then I thought about what he might be doing right then and how he was probably celebrating the reunion of his wife that he seemed to miss so much. In reality, it truly is a celebration rather than a grievance. I want to honor his life by remembering how much his influence has changed my life for the better.
I feel like I have a lot of growing to do and since last night I have had a stronger desire to do the things that help me to feel closer to our Heavenly Father. I started the Book of Mormon from the beginning before bed to represent to myself a new start for the year.
While here on earth President Hinckley made a positive difference for countless people and even in passing he helped me to grow spiritually. I am thankful to have the church in my life, I feel like I don't talk or think about it enough. I am grateful for his life and how even in death, he reminded me of what is truly important.
Scott and I are REALLY going to miss President Hinckley as our prophet of the church, but are happy for him that he lead such an inspiring and amazing life throughout all his 97 years.

Landmark Remodels

Scott (and his friend and project partner Scott Ammott) recently remodeled my mom's 1980's bathroom into a dream bathroom!
Here it is before...

During demolition and tiling...

And *TA DA!* After!