Thanksgiving

We had an awesome Thanksgiving! This weekend has been dreamy. Having Mark home four days in a row, eating decadently, cleaning the house, and decorating for Christmas.

I made coconut cream pie, banana cream pie, yams, and yummy orange cranberry rolls


we had pie night with cousins


we had a perfect afternoon at my mom & johns.
our dinner was out of a magazine, eating on fancy china with name tags and all.


Siri wore her cute snowflake dress from Grandma Carol today

the beginning of the month we rode bikes along highway 40 into Kamas

we took some family pics tonight, we'll post them soon.
until then, this is Siri post photoshoot, just reading to herself on her box.

I love technology

Let me start by saying I love technology

I've thought about getting Lasik eye surgery before. Afterall, I've had glasses and/or contacts since kindergarten and don't know what it's like going camping or having a sleepover without worry if someone is going to step on my (very thick) glasses.

you can stop laughing now. stop it!

me and my cute grandpa

About two or three years ago I went to Hoopes-Alldredge and the Eye Institute of Utah to see if I could even be a candidate. Both places said no but that it may still be possible in the future. My friend Tim just got Lasik and highly recommended LasikPlus. I had to wait to make an appt because I was still nursing Siri and they make you wait six weeks to make sure your hormones are back to normal. I made my appt and they didn't like the shapes of my corneas. The Dr described it as a 'beer belly' on my eye...a spot where it was a lot steeper than the rest. After wearing glasses for two week it turns out that my contacts had been warping and misshaping my eyes.

They told me on Friday that my eyes looked great and were back to normal and I could get Lasik. They only do surgery on Fridays and had an open spot that very day and I would save $400 by going at that time. I went home and talked it over with Mark and two hours later I was staring into a crazy blinking orange light squeezing a stuffed monkey praying that I would be ok and things would go well.

15 minutes after I walked in (and thousands of dollars later), I walked out with plastic shields on my eyes and could not stand the light outside. Mark took me home and I kept my eyes closed until the next morning. A freakin' miracle. I was so excited to wake up, look over, and see my alarm clock- 6:19am, 6:21am, 6:40am...I couldn't go back to sleep. I had little butterflies in my tummy. I can SEE!

I love technology.

I also love treats. A lot.


I went overboard, again, one night last month and felt disgusted with myself. I had probably eaten five servings of dessert and it just made me feel so crappy (physically and mentally). So, I decided to see if I could go 30 days with no treats. (Yes, still sugar, just none of the extra stuff...like the baked goods and candy that I love). Today is day 30 and what a good feeling I have. I did cheat a few times. Homemade donuts on Halloween, dessert for Mark's birthday, and a bowl of homemade ice cream. I had decided beforehand on two of the three occasions, so I feel like I only cheated once.

What I learned: Eating goodies is a very social and happy habit to me and others. Baking is a hobby that I love, but shouldn't spend too much time on. I also learned how to recognize what I'm doing when reaching for a cookie. Before it was a thoughtless action. Cookie, eat, cupcake, eat, candy, eat. I will most definitely be eating pie for Thanksgiving, but I now feel more in control of my actions and am so much better and saying no and feeling good about it.

I just realized I'm either crazy or balanced because here are two food blogs that I follow:

Confessions of a Bake-a-holic
and
Green shakes and giggles

I highly recommend doing a 30 day challenge yourself, with any habit you want to break or implement. If you commit to 30 days you have enough time to break or start a habit and it isn't overwhelming...like no sugar for a year or forever (rolling my eyes, yeah right).

He's 27

Yesterday was Mark's birthday. (In November there are seven birthdays between our two families)! I LOVE birthdays. And when its your husbands birthday, you get to share in the goodies and parties just as much as if it were your own. We were so happy to get together with friends for dinner and games on Saturday. T-Rex Spit is the funniest card game I have ever seen! Sandy made her carrot cake and homemade ice cream for all of us.

Sunday I made baked french toast. Church as usual and then home for more yummy food (fried cream cheese wontons... didn't feel so hot after those). We read a bunch of our new book. Yes, we've been sucked into the Twilight craze. We had dinner at my brother's and it was so fun with all the siblings and kids, especially watching Izac and Connor wrestle and Siri stand in awe at the noisy kids running around her. Mark got some great phone calls and generous gifts, including a gift cert to his beloved Lonestar taco joint.

Thanks for being born Mark and for choosing me to be your sidekick. Love you, like, a whole bunch (times a kajillion).

It was a happy Halloween...

Red, White + Blue

Love the American flag - So much purpose, symbolism, and energy in it. Here are a few snappers I got at my hotel in San Francisco a month ago. Born in the USA!