Let's Catch Up-Leslie

Ok, here are five things that have been going on with me lately:

1. Out with the Old & In with the New

We sold our couches (that we have had since our first year of marriage) and bought a new one. Yes, we went from a couch and a love seat to just one couch. At first it was a little weird, but I really appreciate the extra space & look forward to adding a comfy recliner to the front room sometime in the future. Why? Well, the old ones had held up pretty well, but were starting to look a little droopy & getting more and more run down from our kids. We spiffy'd them up as best we could, stuck them on Craig's list, & they sold the next morning for $200.00! We were pleasantly surprised & lived without any couches for about a week. Our new couch is microfiber & the girls LOVE it! I am looking forward to how easily everything is supposed to wash off of it & Matt is glad not to have 2 couches to deal with when we end up moving again. Here is a picture of it from the Store's website. I think it looks much better in person-I'll try to stick a different picture on here tomorrow.

2. The first Step is Admitting you Have a Problem

I have made a personal goal not to go overboard with digital scrap booking this month. I got so excited with the challenges at Scrapmatters last month that it sort of overcame my life!! I ended up completing LO's for 14 different challenges & also did almost every speed scrap! Don't get me wrong, I had SO MUCH FUN, but my family suffered & I felt like my life was slipping out of balance. I now try to scrap on a reward system where I spend an equal amount of time cleaning or playing with the kids as I do scrapping. I haven't done a challenge for April yet, but I already have a few in mind that I am looking forward to doing. Oh, and I was totally surprised to find out that one of my LO's was a winner for last month, and it wasn't even random!! I was so flattered & still can't believe that I won. This is the LO that got picked: 3. If It's Not Broke-Don't Fix It

Matt finally convinced me to get a new phone. I've had mine for a couple of years now & have really liked it, plus there was nothing wrong with it! My time had come up for a new phone & it was driving him crazy that I wasn't jumping all over the chance to upgrade. He would hint about it almost every time we were in Costco (because they have a Verizon dealer booth in there), so I finally told him that if he would help me find a phone I liked that I'd switch. I decided on a new Motorola, and was nervous that I wouldn't know how to use a new phone very well. I actually LOVE it & am glad that Matt gave me the push I needed to get a new one. Plus we sold my old one for $40 bucks! Yea Baby!!

This is my old phone:And this is my new phone:4. Do You Believe In Signs?

I don't know why but for some reason Minnie Mouse keeps popping into our lives lately. My niece Sierra was Minnie Mouse for Halloween, and her picture pops up on our screen saver occasionally & the girls always get so excited when they see it! Then, one day when it was snowing like crazy here I opened our curtains & noticed something weird down by the dumpsters. I was so curious to find out what it was, so I threw some shoes on & ran down with my camera to investigate. After I brushed the snow away my assumptions were correct-a HUGE paper mache Minnie Mouse! Then, about a week after that I woke up to find a mysterious plate of cupcakes on my counter that had been decorated with Jr. Mints, Mini Oreos, & Purple Frosting bows. Yup-Minnie Mouse again!! My visiting teacher had dropped them off at our door the night before. I haven't really been a big believer in signs, but I think someone is telling us to go to Disney Land! :) I'm ready for a vacation?5. Life Comes At You Fast

So, it seems like I was in High School yesterday & today I have 3 kids-THREE! Trinity somehow went from being 3 months old to 4 years old & Brinley went from being my cuddly little mamma's girl to a very articulate 2 1/2 year old. Then there is Grayden who thinks he can turn one in 3 more months & I just don't know how I feel about that! How did the time fly by so fast?? I feel so lucky to have such energetic, curious, determined, smart, beautiful, and healthy children. The girls LOVE to help out with Grayden anyway that I will let them, so I finally decided to give them the opportunity to feed him. Brinley was armed with squash & Trinity with carrots-both ready to give Grayden the best meal he had ever had. Unfortunately more of it ended up on his face & the floor than in his mouth. Oh well, they all had such a fun time & now the excitement of "feeding Grayden" is old news so I can do it more efficiently in peace!

Let's Catch Up

Ok everyone has to do their own post with 5 things they've been up to lately. We really need to catch up.

1) New entertainment center. We FINALLY got a new entertainment center.  No more TV sitting on an ugly old coffee table.  We got it at Ikea for a great deal, but it was a little crazy getting it together.  Good thing Josh is smart.  I'm trying to fill the shelves, decorate it and make it cute. As soon as its cute, I'll post a picture.

2) Soccer. Josh plays soccer at least once or twice a week these days. He's been on a team for a while now called the Hooligans. But some guys in the ward just found out he plays so they've invite him to play with them too. Plus he watches soccer games on TV like everyday. So - yes, soccer has become quite a big part of our lives these days.  In fact, he's off playing soccer right now.

3) New nieces coming soon. Tami (my SIL) is due in about 2 weeks and my cousin Morgan is due in about 3 weeks. Both are having baby girls!! It's Tami's first girl. She has three boys, so its super exciting. I think they are naming her Ava. And then we even get to go to Phoenix to visit Morgan at the end of the month. Josh can't stay the whole time, so I get to stay longer and fly home. So, I'll be there for the birth of her baby. They are naming her Addison.  I know technically Morgan's girls are not my nieces, but they might as well be. They call me Aunt Brittney! So - we have two new little girls coming to meet us very soon!

4) Taxes. Don't they suck?? Being self-employed is the worst. You have to pay so much and you have to be super responsible and save up all year to pay them so you don't all of a sudden owe a ton of money and not have it to pay. The great thing this year is, since its my first year with a substantial income as a digital designer, I get to write off/deduct all my office expenses like my computer, my new desk I got for Christmas, all that jazz. And my dad does our taxes for free so that's awesome too. So - we aren't having to pay much at all this year!!! WOO HOO. It's like getting a tax return sort of because we have all this money saved thinking we were going to owe a ton. We haven't had a tax return in a REALLY long time, so we're stoked. Too bad we can't do something fun with the money. We'll be paying off some old debt instead.

5) Work. Things with ScrapMatters have been busy lately. I've had a TON of new kits out lately, as you probably noticed. But I feel a little scattered behind the scenes. I just get easily stressed and annoyed. I don't want to get into the full details here on the blog, but there are just things that could run so much more simply and smoothly if it were up to me. You know? I really really love my job though and I LOVE working from home. I'm ruined for ever having to work outside the home again. I set my own schedule, wear sweats, sometimes go without makeup (today). It's the best. PLUS I love that when we eventually have kids I'll be to able to keep up a little income without leaving the home. Not that there's any way I could keep working the hours I currently do after I have kids. But still - its nice to have a job that allows such flexibility.

Ok girls - your turns. Make a post and tell me 5 things you've been up to. You've read mine, so you know they don't have to be exciting. We've had NOTHING exciting going on at all, but there are still at least 5 things you can tell me!

What did you learn?

So this weekend was pretty good but hard at the same time. It was much harder to listen to conference then I thought. Jared had to work Saturday and Ethan was very tired and grouchy all day Sunday. I recorded everything so that I can go back and watch it but I was wondering what you learned this weekend? Did anything stand out to you? From what I did listen to I gained a better appreciation for temples. I love the temple and after listen this weekend I'm making it a goal to go at least once a month. So what inspired you?

(ps have you ever been on top of the conference center? I had no idea there was a garden on top)

Hello...are you there?

Just wondering if you girls are still around. I haven't heard from you much and I miss you!

AWESOME flashbacks!

I can't wait for you to see what I've got today!

First up a flashback of Britt's mom at Band Camp. Do you see her? She in the upper right hand corner of this picture.

Next I have a very special one for Leslie and Dancia...

Look at our silly make-up!

Here's one for you Britt he he he!

I have a ton more pics like this to come. I found some of my old negatives and took them to Costco and had them scanned in and put on a disc. It was so fun to see what silly pics from Band Camp and WG I had. Good times!

Teriyaki Beef

I meant to post this yesterday but never got to it...better late then never. This receipe comes from Jared so when he wrote it he was being a little silly.

Teriyaki Beef

2 lbs flank steak (cut into ¼ strips-make sure you cut AGAINTS the grain)
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 – 6 garlic cloves chopped
1 inch ginger root sliced (does not need to be peeled)
3 – 4 green onions sliced

Mix all those together (except meat) in a bowl of some sort. Insert hands into the mixture and grab the floating garlic, onion, and ginger and apply a generous amount of pressure using only your hands. This will help extract delicious flavors from those ingredients. Repeat 4 to 6 times.

To prepare the meat:
Place your flank steak on a cutting board. Cutting against the grain, cut strips of ¼”. This is the most crucial part of the recipe. Don’t screw it up.

Place meat in a 2 gallon zip lock bag and dump the marinade into the bag. Gently massage the bag so that the meat is evenly covered with delicious goodness. Place in refrigerator for 3 to 3 and ½ hours, but no longer.

Cook over hot coals for a few minutes per side…you’ll know when they are done.
Serve with sticky rice (sushi), not that other crap. It also goes well with mac salad, homemade of course.

Enjoy and don’t let the secret out.

I need your opinion...

Hi girls! I need your help with something. I've been working on my wedding pictures and I'm almost done. I'm working on journaling my pages and I wanted to ask your opinion. Should I write this as if my kids are reading this or as if I'm reading this or as if some complete stranger is reading this?

For example on this page I wrote "these are all of Shantell's friends that attended the ceremony" then I named everyone in the picture. Should I write it more like "these are all of my friends", Or "these are all of mom's friends?" I'm not sure how to do this. I always struggle with journaling.