I can't believe it!

Guess who's 30?

And flirty!

More about my big day of surprises, and my birthday trip to Sephora later! :)

Tyler made the paper!

Our local newspaper asked for submissions for a piece they were doing titled: "Kids Say the Darndest Things". So i sent in the tampon/dynamite story from last year and they loved it so much they made it the feature and changed the title to "The Dynamite Things Kids Say" with a big pic of a tampon dispenser! LOLOL!!! I was lol-ing about it all over again when i saw it in the paper this morning!

Some oldies but goodies.

This is a video I made for Caleb just after his first Christmas. I love the song. I can't believe he was so tiny! sniff sniff!!



Some other videos i came across while clearing out some computer files. These were projects for an animation class i took 2 years ago.

Too many journals...

i have blogs here, blogs there, journals in my nightstand drawer, memories jotted down all over tarnation. I've got to keep it together so i can actually look back at it without huge gaps of missing memories lurking on a piece of scrap paper somewhere, lol..

This journal is meant to be for me. I need to dedicate it to myself and be faithful to it. Is it too late for a New Year's Resolution?

Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt

My husband and I had so much fun with a recent scavenger hunt, that i decided to do one for the kids today. i made up 14 clues and hid them all over, with the last clue leading them to their gifts. They absolutely had a blast and did really well solving each clue. we had to keep telling them to slow down so we could follow them with the video camera!

Here are the clues i worked very hard on, lol!

1. It's Valentines Day and time for some fun. I've hidden some clues - you must find every one. So here's the first clue, read it carefully: Go to the place where mom keeps cold tea. (fridge)

2. Sometimes we might forget to say please, but when our ears itch, we ask you for these. (q-tip drawer.)

3. Looking your best everyday never hurts. This is the place where you hang your nice shirts. (closet)

4. Sometimes in the morning, we're in quite a rush. This is the place where you go to brush.(bathroom)

5. Reading each day is more important that good looks. This is the place where you store all your books. (bookshelf)

6. When we eat corn dogs or tater tots, we put our plates here so that they can be washed. (dishwasher)

7. When we wear our clothes, they get dirty or stained. This is where mom gets them clean every day. (laundry room.)

8. When mommy goofs off, she doesn't like to watch shows. When she's working or playing, here's where she goes. (computer desk)

9. You like to skateboard over dirt and rocks, But your favorite game includes this special "box". (XBox)

10. Every now and then we all crave a treat. Here's where we keep goodies for a tooth that is sweet. (candy drawer)

11. Old family pictures remind us of the past. Here's where your baby pictures sit behind glass. (picture shelf)

12. Daddy works hard for us every day. When he comes home, here his keys lay. (key basket)

13. When Caleb gets stinky we all plug our nose. Here to change diapers is where we go. (Changing table)

14. The game's almost done and you're doing great! This is where Santa comes Christmas Night when it's late. (fireplace)

So, as they ran off to find the last clue, i quickly pulled out their gifts and put them on the hearth. They had so much fun and so did I! When they finally got to their gifts, I realized that my heart was racing with excitement!

All in all it was pretty cheap too. About $15 per kid in gifts, and $4 on cute little note cards for clues. Best $50 i've spent in a long while!

Sorry kids...

i am the worst blogger ever. :( i have been trying to carve out some time to post a few things that i have on my mind, and i have an eyeshadow video from before my Oregon trip that i've got to edit and upload.
I was on my death bed with the flu - i rarely get sick and when i do, i make up for lost time. lol. Then the other day i had a family emergency, and it seems as though I'm going to be taking care of a hurting hubby for a few months. :( But he will surely get on my nerves as husbands do from time to time, so I plan to be here posting away just as soon as everything settles down.

XOXOXO!

RSM Is officially an AWARD WINNING blog! ;)

Wow! I am so honored and so flattered to have recently received awards from 2 fellow bloggers! I have never received an award before... I must buy a new dress. Oh wait - there's no red carpet? Aw well, DH doesn't need to know. We'll tell him I must have a new dress...

The first: "The Smile Award" is from the lovely Justine at Justine's Froggy Bloggy. Go check her out - she's growing out eyebrows for a wax AND doing an acid peel on her face - all at the same time! Thank you Justine for thinking of me!


The second: The "I Love Your Blog" award is from Kelly at Raising Delia. You MUST go visit her blog and see her precious little girl.




I'm going to combine the 2 and pass them both along at the same time! I'm SUCH a rebel. One requires you to pass along to 5 people and the other 7. I'm going to pass both on to seven other bloggers, but just this once... I won't be so bold as to forever alter the rules of my first ever awards. :)

THE SMILE AWARD rules:
1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator. Check
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award. Check
3. You must choose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself. Hmmm. Lemme think on that for a minute...
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award Check?
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient. Wow, this is gonna stretch my brain.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others. In process.
7. You must thank your giver. Check.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human).
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from other.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.


The I Love Your Blog rules:
1. Pass this award on to seven people.
2. Answer the following questions with one word answers:


1. Where is your cell phone? counter
2. Where is your significant other? floor
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? Mom
5. Your father? Dad
6. Your favorite thing? cosmetics.
7. Your dream last night? dunno.
8. Your dream/goal? hairdresser
9. The room you're in? living
10. Your hobby? internets
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? content
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? thin
15. One of your wish-list items? pool
16. Where you grew up? California
17. The last thing you did? typed
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. Your TV? huge
20. Your pet? Roxy
21. Your computer? lifeline
22. Your mood? excited
23. Missing someone? no
24. Your car? Equinox
25. Something you're not wearing? mascara
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? fun
28. Love someone? YES!
29. Your favorite color? fuschia
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? yesterday

Now to pass them on.

The first is Sue at Happy Meals and Happy Hour. She makes me laugh. See her post about pervy craft projects. So hilarious. Actually see all of her posts. She makes my day.

The second is Dime Piece 101. I don't remember how i found her blog exactly, but she's a confessed make-up addict like myself. And - we share the same birthday. Leo's rock!

Third is Donna at The Southern Sass. She's an old pal who's new to blogging. Go give her some comment lovin'. :)

Fourth is Bridget at Equilibrium. She was one of my first commenters. I heart her.

Fifth is er... Martina (i had to think - i call her TooCute, lol!) at Johnny's Brother. We hang out in the same blog gang. :)

Sixth is Sarah at Rock-a-bye Slings/The Potty Diaries. Her little boy is so dang cute and Sarah makes baby slings - check them out!

And finally, Debbie at This is the Life. She has a VERY cool Blogicon. ;)

The Plane Didn't Crash!

I'm home. yay! We had an awesome trip and so much fun, but I am happy to be back in Cali.

This was the first extended vacation we have ever taken as a family, and the first time the little ones have taken an airplane ride. Poor hubby had to attend classes 8 hours a day for all the weekdays we were there, but the kids and I had plenty of adventures in the meantime.

The first full day we were there, I took the munchkins to Build-A-Bear and they created new members for our family. Tyler and Riley have such unique personalities, and this activity really showed it. Tyler created a very preppy little dog which he named "Huskie Dog", complete with Docker style pants, a sweater vest, and Converse hi-tops.
Riley stuffed the exact same puppy, but made a bee-line for a Batman costume he saw on display. Thus, "BatDog" was born.
Caleb didn't build his friend until a few days later. He chose a sweet teddy, and we dressed him in distressed jeans and a surfer tank. (Mommy & Daddy chose the clothes, so, no insight into Caleb's personality just yet.) Caleb's bear and namesake, "Mister", has a sound effect in one paw, that is a recording of Caleb's hysterical laughter (which I had saved on my phone to cheer me up on crummy days.) Whenever he hears that bear yuk it up, he smothers it with kisses. It's the sweetest thing. Ever.

We also visited a Lego store, which prompted a small meltdown when one child wanted the largest most expensive set in the place. His reaction so extreme, that he ALMOST left there empty handed. Luckily he saw the light (with Daddy's help) and did score a prize before we left.

We visited OMSI, a science museum, and saw a fascinating dinosaur exhibit that is traveling thru. Here we saw how we might look when we're 80, learned how babies grow in the womb, and even dug for dinosaur bones like archeologists. There were many hands-on type activities that kept everyone interested, although, the glass elevator that afforded us a great view of the waterfront proved to be one of the most exciting parts of our visit there. lol.

A trip to the Portland Children's Musuem had everyone playing make believe from the time we walked in the door. We put on a show in the theater, painted faces, pretended to be shoppers AND cashiers at a kids-sized grocery market, "drove" an ambulance, examined & x-rayed each other in the hospital, helped build a house, and even sailed a ship! This was one of my fave places that we visited and we spent nearly 4 hours there. I, er, the kids, could have played store all day. ;)

We also took a drive out to Roloff Farm of Little People, Big World. On our way there, we encountered a little red VW bug at a 4-way stop and who was driving? MATT ROLOFF! I was so excited, i almost jumped out of the car window. We didn't get to see the farm since it's closed until pumpkin season, but it was exciting enough to jump out and take pictures by the sign we see everytime we watch the show.

So those are a few of the highlights of our trip. Yes, i did visit Sephora and was very excited about that, but just hanging out with my kids beat playing make-up hands down. (and playing grocery store was super fun too. hee hee!)

Sorry I'm so Quiet!

I'm still away on vacation. The weather is so weird here in Oregon. It was a comfy 75 degrees the first day, then it got HOT, all the way into the 100's. Today, it's 65 and raining. LOL! my poor hair. i could never pull off this bob if i lived here. It's a frizzed out mess!

when my husband and i made a move to another city a few years ago, i told him i'd be okay as long as i had a Target and a Starbucks near by. Here on vacation, we have both just across the way. And just like at home, i've been to Target every other to every day. LOL! Last night i picked up a cream to powder eyeshadow pallette by revlon. I don't know how i never saw these before but it's a great consistency. i'll try it out today. I also visited Sephora when i was in less of a rush, and received a birthday present from them! A "vanilla cupcake" scented bubble bath. So cute!

So we'll be here for another week and then i'll be back to good ol' California and back to regular posting. TTYL! XOXO

Happy Birthday to me...

Happy birthday toooo meeee, happy birthday dear meeee-eeeeeeeeee, happy birthday to me. :)

So, my birthday went by almost unnoticed. boo hoo. I'll cut DH some major slack because our kids, who were away camping with gramma and grampa, came home early when my 6 year old had an accident. He tripped and fell onto a camping bbq pit and got severe 2nd degree burns on his leg. Let me tell you, it is HEARTBREAKING to see my poor baby so hurt. When i was a kid, I remember my dad always telling me he wished he could take whatever ailed me, and be sick or hurt in my place. Now as a mother, i understand completely. Riley is actualy doing very very well, but healing will certainly take some time:

Today, my husband surprised me with a late birthday present. I couldn't believe he remembered me mentioning this bag months ago, and then he went searching for it and got it for me, just in time for our trip!



It's by Soap and Glory and is available at Target. This one is the train case, they also have a larger bag that looks a bit like a flattened bowling ball bag. (I may actually go exchange for the larger one. Ssshh. Don't tell!;) The pink is glossy like patent leather, but very soft. The inside has two pockets, and a pull out mirror. It's large enough to hold travel sized bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. Very cute. Very pink. and it has a STAR. It's PERFECT!

Tutorials, Travel, and Turning Twenty-nine.

I have a hair tutorial video uploading to YouTube as i type. I am trying a new format that provides better picture quality, so we'll see how that goes. Anyhoo, as soon as it's ready, i'll post it here. Just something new and different that i tried out on my hair the other day and really liked.

I'm getting ready to go out of town in a few days, so I've been crazy busy making lists, sorting clothes, doing laundry, cleaning every inch of the house, making little post-it notes to leave all over for my MIL who'll be feeding the cat while we're gone, and all kinds of other obsessive/compulsive type things that make up my "prepping-for-a-trip" routine. So i don't have much planned in the way of posts (other than the hair video) until we get there. Then i'm sure I'll have shopping spree videos to share. hee hee.

Tomorrow, I turn 29, for real, for the very first time. I have been looking forward to my 30's for a few years now, so tomorrow is going to be an exciting reminder that the 20's are on their way out. lol. i don't care how old i live to be, i'm rockin' the wild eyeshadow for as long as i can see straight to put it on. :)

Another very cool thing... Friday's date is 08-08-08, and it's my 8th wedding anniversary! i hope i get 8 presents. just in keeping with the theme and all...

ttyl! xoxo

And now for something completely different...

I don't consider myself to be an over the top animal lover. I mean, i like animals. And i have a cat. But i'm one who gets ooked out when a big dog jumps at me, licks me and sniffs my butt.

So, I cannot believe i actually cried when i watched this video. But i did. I bet you will too.

Lion Video post at HM&HH

OT: House Hunting

Reason #5846 that i love makeup:

Makeup is so easy to choose. I can see something that is just the right color, just the right product, there is no anxiety or worry. I can even "try it on" first to be sure, if there ever WAS any doubt. Then just hand over the $ and off I go with a new item for my collection. Instant gratification.

If only house hunting was as fulfilling. Instead, house hunting is draining the LIFE out of me. I'm tired of talking about escrow and sq ft and half baths... Short sales, contingencies, foreclosure, PMI, APR and points, origination fees, fixed rates, highest and best. AUGH. I want to pull my newly hi-lighted hair out.

i badly need a new lipgloss, eyeshadow, or eyeliner to make me feel better.

Is it what's on the inside that counts?

No, I'm not about to get all deep on you here. We all know the old saying about beauty being on the inside. (For the record, i totally believe it's what is on the inside that counts most. I am only slightly vain, and make-up is my hobby, not my identity. *end of PSA*)

No, today, i'm talking about packaging. Cosmetic packaging. How often do you buy something just because the packaging was cute or caught your eye? Like i said on the Posh Brush review, i like not only the purpose and quality of products, but the color scheme used to decorate it, the font used to brand it, and on occasion, the packaging.

Take for example, the Urban Decay Brow Box. When i had my brows waxed, Eyebrow Genius used Benefit Browzings on me. And hello, Browzings? Hecka cute name. (That's right, I said "hecka".) I put a Browzing compact into my basket, but quickly ditched it for the Urban Decay Brow Box, because i was IN LOVE with the box it came in, the purple tin decoration on top, the little pop out drawer of brow wax, the miniature brush and tweezers... It was a must have!

Even in the drugstore, i barely glance at Revlon cosmetics, because the packaging is so plain, it looks almost generic or something. But Loreal H.I.P. draws me like a magnet to a refrigerator. When i first ever discovered NYX cosmetics, i loved the presentation. The display was so me - a metal freestanding shelf with swirly accents, everything perfectly lined up and organized, the eyeshadow colors going in order from green to blue to purple to pink to red. I loved the single shadow pots and the fact that the lid was see thru so that when i look into my makeup drawer i can grab just the color i want. All of my Clinique shadows come in slide out or mirrored compact type garb, and it never failed that i grabbed at 3 before finding the one i was looking for. So yeah, I'm a sucker for presentation and function.

What about you dear readers? Do you pay attention to such things? Or am i simply a marketing directors dream come true? A sheeple that blindly follows whatever appears pink and purple before me? Do you have some fave cosmetics that i may miss because the display isn't swirly? Tell me about them. I want to know what else I've been missing out on just because it wasn't shiny or flashy or blinking at me. ;)

By Request: To some certain special hotties...

OT - Word Verification

i hate this. I have been doing so much commenting on other blogs that i've realized what a pain it is to stop and do those things - those things i hate ANYTIME i'm forced to do them. But especially when i'm just trying to show some comment love and feel as though I'm being put thru the paces before my comment is worthy. lol. it's time consuming. is that a lower case "g" or a number "9"? they almost always tell me my entry isn't accurate. Then i remembered - i had the same feature enabled on my own blog. So sorry to everyone who had to endure it. i want your comments! You're welcome here! Please forgive me - it has been disabled and the commenters have been set free. Comment away!

Sign my new guestbook!

At the bottom of the blog!

Mantra