Regret

I should be posting about our new home, or our adventures in Manti but I feel like this instead:
It took ages to grow out Millie's hair (after she took scissors to it). But then she started begging me to cut it short every time I gave Ivy a trim. So one night I gave in and chopped it off.

I've regretted it ever since.

Sneak Peek

We have to be out of our house this Saturday. It came so fast! I'm frantically trying to pack everything up by myself while playing single mom to two needy girls and it's not much fun. I know it will all be over soon enough. And Mark, bless his heart, is working himself to death trying to get our rental home finished. It won't be ready by this weekend, but we don't want to be homeless any longer than we have to be, so work he must. Here's a sneak peek at where we will be living for the next year or so . . . more pictures to come.



I was so excited when I saw the home had peonies! The girls and I brought some home as soon as they bloomed.

And these wild poppies just started growing behind our (current) home this year. Poppies and peonies are my favorite flowers, so I had to include this shot.
It may be while before I'm able to post again, but I'll do my best.

Face Paint and Piccadillies

I took the girls down to Manti over Memorial Day Weekend. We go every year for the Scandinavian Festival. Mark usually joins us, but this year he was too busy fixing up a rental home so we have somewhere to live in a few weeks.

Millie and Ivy were so excited to collect candy at the parade (or at least Millie was). My sister Deanna was on the Miss Manti float. Millie told me that when she grows up she wants to be "First Attendent" and be in a parade. It was so cute.

And here's the famous "First Attendant" after the parade chowing down on Sanpete barbecue turkey and piccadillies -- so good!


Vikings are also a favorite at the festival. Here Marie (a foreign exchange student from Germany who has lived with my family for the past 5 months) poses with one.


My mom took Millie to get her face painted at one of the booths.


She was on cloud nine. Thanks mom.


Sunday morning we took a trip to the Manti Cemetery. Millie was so excited to see where her great-grandfather is buried.


We also visited my friend Emily's grave. It's such a pretty headstone with her signature on one side and her photo on the other. The visit brought back sad memories but it was nice to have my daughters there with me.

My Awesome Sisters

Last month I spent a weekend in Manti. My sister Mandie graduated from Utah State University through its extension program in Ephraim.

Here's the graduate with her husband Danny. Way to go Mando.

Then the next night I went to see my sister Deanna (right) compete in the Miss Manti Pageant and my sister Ariel (left) give up her crown (she was last year's winner).

Deanna was awesome and won first attendant. Now she and Ariel will compete together in Miss Sanpete this fall.

And here's the ritual sibling group shot.

"Please Take Note: Always Bring a Tote." - Fancy Nancy

Yes, I know Earth Day month is long since gone but I was too busy with my last week of teaching preschool and getting the house up for sale, to blog. But as most all of us are frequent visitors of the supermarket, this topic extends past the month of April.


These are my grocery bags and I absolutely love them! Not only do they keep hundreds (if not thousands) of plastic bags out of the landfill (and out of my pantry) but they are also far more effective at getting my groceries from the grocery cart to the trunk of my car and from the trunk to my kitchen counter top, in fewer trips, and with greater ease and comfort . . . love them!

I also went one step further and purchased my own produce bags as I have started buying more and more produce in an effort to feed my family healthier meals. However a word of caution when buying produce: USDA Certified Organic is always better for the environment and your health than non-organic, but not always realistic when it comes to the pocketbook. In this case I refer to the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” lists. (Click here to download your own list.) Pesticides were recently link to ADHD in the news, but I have no doubt they contribute to a plethora of maladies and are best to be avoided. And sure Organic foods are more expensive than non-organic but look at it this way: For every dollar you save when buying non-organic (and processed foods for that matter) you will pay later in medical care and sick-leave. So invest the money in good food and save yourself the trouble and the heartache of poor health.

Why Green?
For many people I think the concept of “Going Green” appears to be a fad, or a trend. And I must admit that I purchased my canvas grocery totes (years ago), after watching an environmentally- conscious episode of Oprah, but it has always been an interest of mine. As a girl I remember wishing my hometown would start a recycling program. All these years later that has yet to happen and it breaks my heart because “Going Green” is not about being trendy, but about being responsible consumers of this planet! And it is my belief that the Earth, in some way we cannot fully comprehend, feels pain (Moses 7:48). And while I know my efforts will make little difference and the Earth will most likely fall into ruin before the second coming of the Savior, I don’t want to be found guilty of it on judgment day. So whether it’s trend or conscience that motivates us, we’d all do well to observe the words of Fancy Nancy and remember that “Every day is Earth Day.”

For Sale

Our house is officially up for sale. The sign has been up for an entire day now and we've already had two calls on it. Woohoo! We'll see if anything comes of either. In the meantime feel free to browse the awesome house pictures my friend Jenny took for us and pass along the following blog address to anyone who may be looking for a home in the Logan/Cache Valley area: www.westonhome-riverheights.blogspot.com.

And in case you're wondering; we won't be moving far. Mark's father owns another lot in our ward where we plan to build next. Wish us luck.

"The Green Book"

I recently picked up "The Green Book" from Kohl's. It was $5 and touted a "New York Times Bestseller" label. I'm always looking for more ways to live an environmentally-friendly life, so I thought I'd give it a read.

The book is full of small things the average American can do to have less of a negative impact on the planet. It's a bit redundant from chapter to chapter, but I guess that way the reader can pick and choose which topics to read about and apply it elsewhere if they feel so inclined. I especially enjoyed the letters from celebrities at the beginning of each chapter. And while I didn't agree with everything the book suggests (cooking exclusively in your microwave for a year may use less energy than using a conventional oven but it could be detrimental to your health and frequently substituting beef with soy may cut back on the water used to raise cattle but unfermented soy is both extremely estrogenic and most often a dangerous Roundup ready GMO) I still found a lot of ways I can improve at becoming "green".

A few of my efforts now include: trying to use less water by turning off the faucet while I scrub my hands then turning it back on with my wrist to rinse (of course this isn't possible on all faucets), I no longer let my car idol when I pick up Millie from preschool, and I now unplug the surge protectors in the office and theater room every night before going to bed (even if something is turned off it still uses energy if it is plugged in and it all adds up to an enormous amount of wasted resources).

But the biggest thing I took away from this book was a heightened awareness of everything I waste. Paper, plastic, food, water, energy, money . . . waste, waste, waste. We need so little in this life to be happy. And all this STUFF we think "adds" to our life, often times merely makes life more complicated. And while I'm still inherently greedy and selfish, I am trying to be better and that's all I (or any of us) can do.