a last minute Christmas craft

This project is so easy, it literally takes 10 minutes.

You can use any leftover ornaments and all you need is a wire hanger or wire.

I didn't have any so I went to the local dollar tree and bought about 50. Some of you may have seen this picture I posted on facebook. Funny stuff...

This was my inspiration, but I wanted a Christmas one so I bought Christmas colors, but it would work year round.

Just for good measure we hot glued all the tops so they wouldn't come off...

 Unfortunately I didn't have a wire hanger and neither did my sister, so instead i bought some floral wire thinking it would work...but it didn't. As we strung them on we soon realized the wire was too flimsy and when we connected the ends it was more like an oval, not a circle. We improvised though and tied down the ends and I just left it like this and strung it across my mantel.

It's still cute and easy, but if you want a wreath you will need to use a wire hanger.

What's Happening Wednesday

01. Fall semester is finally over for Ryan, we've sent his transcripts to MTSAC. Registration is January 19th
02. We celebrated Christmas with Ryan' boss and co-workers at Tucano's. Yum
03. I won a camera at my work's Christmas party.
04. Saw Sherlock Holmes and loved it just as much as the first movie.
05. Went to the MOTAB Christmas concert with my cousin. The perfect way to bring in the Holiday spirit.
06. Exchanged gifts with my parents since we won't see them on Christmas.
07. Ryan's been in Mesquite since Monday golfing. He's really enjoying his Christmas break.
08. Gave blood yesterday at the "Reach Out Utah Holiday Blood Drive"
09. Still have neighbor gifts to deliver.
10. Going to enjoy a nice 5 day weekend.


                                                           Merry Christmas everyone!

What's Happening Wednesday

01. Really feeling the Christmas spirit with lots of parties and get togethers. More to come too!
02. Ryan's been watching "What not to Wear" with me each week, and enjoying it! We love Clinton.
03. Completely finished with my Christmas shopping!
04. Got a pineapple at a white elephant party. Best gift ever, it was delicious!
05. Made all my neighbor gifts Saturday.
06. Had a craft day with my sister this month. It didn't turn out exactly as planned but we improvised. Post to come.
07. I'm looking for a new book to read. The problem is I have too many on my goodreads list I can't narrow it down. Any suggestions are welcome.
08. The company I work for got acquired, so things have been a little crazy the past few weeks with all the changes.
09. I still have a few more gifts to wrap. I need to buy more wrapping paper today.
10. We went to the Joseph Smith movie last night at the Legacy Theater for YW's. I've seen it several times but our churches history still amazes me. I feel so blessed.

Fat guy in a little coat

When I saw this at Wal-Mart for .97 i couldn't pass it up. See inspiration here

He hated it but I enjoyed every minute. Needless to say, it was a tad small and meant for xx small dogs and since my cats are bigger than most dogs his hair was spilling out at every opening.

It was hilarious.

Thought you'd enjoy

clearance clothes

**This is a guest post from an advertiser**

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If you prefer to go to a retailer near you, these sale prices go through Dec. 24^th. On their web site you can print a coupon for $10 off or $25 off.

Their cropped sweater is only $30 and whether you wear it with high-waisted jeans during the day, or a mini at night, it will make your legs seem longer.

The multistripe sweater is also very fashion forward and it’s the perfect time of year to be cute and cozy and wear cuddly scarves with tassels or a bold stripe hat.

Aeropostale is featured in 7 magazines this month. The company provides high-quality, fashion merchandise at compelling values. With stores in 49 states you would be hard pressed to not find one near you.

What's Happening Wednesday

01. Made a craft at Super Saturday a few weeks ago. Took forever, but can't wait to show you the finished project after Christmas.
02. Saw Breaking Dawn as per tradition with our die-hard Twilight-loving friends. After discussing, I realized I really should probably read the books again. I've forgotten a lot.
03. Ran yesterday for the 1st time since the 5k. I'm REALLY sore today.
04. Helped decorate a tree for Festival of Trees this year with some ward friends. Those girls are creative! The theme was "A few of my favorite things."
05. Ryan finally agreed to go through his t-shirts, we donated lots to DI.
06. Got an eye exam. It was years overdue. Can't wait for my new glasses!
07. One of our 2 young women turned 18 and is now out of Young Women's. Sad day.
08. Did baptisms for the dead for the first time since being endowed. Very neat.
09. Had a new Beehive move into our ward. Excited to meet her and hope she'll come to church.
10. Ryan applied for his last semester of college!!! So much to do before February...

Oprah

******Guest Blogger******

Thanks to Darwin Barton

My mom has been watching Oprah since her show started over twenty five years ago. When Oprah announced that this was going to be her last season, my mom was very upset. She said that she did not know what she was going to do at four o’clock in the afternoons now. She said that she was really going to miss everything from the inspiring stories from the guests on the shows to the advice on decorating and losing weight. I told her that the new Oprah Winfrey Network would probably have shows that were about most of that stuff. She said that she did not get that channel. I told her that I have direct tv and I get the OWN channel. She said that she was going to look in to getting DirectTV, because she would really like to have the OWN channel. She said that in the meantime, she will just have to come to my house to watch her shows. Lucky for her I have this channel and she is welcome in my house any time she wants. However, I do think that it is a good idea for her to get this channel at her house too.

My first 5k

We had a great time at the race Thanksgiving morning. There were over 4500 people participating for the Utah Food Bank. We got there early and stayed in the Mall to keep warm. Our wave started a little after 8:00. We stayed together for the most part for the first few minutes then everyone got separated as we started to pace ourselves. 

Our whole group!

Brianna and Devin

Devin and Ryan

Ryan crossing the finish line!

After the race!

My sister was near the finish line to cheer us on.

Ryan's chip didn't register with his time but according to this picture and the time we started we figure it was about 39 minutes.

My final time: 34:58. I beat my time by about 1 minute. 100 out of 273 in my age group

Brianna did not train at all but ending up 31:38 44th out of 159 in her age group, so amazing!

Everyone had a great time. I can't wait to do another one and start training for a 10k

P.S. We had a great Thanksgiving at my parents house. Devin and Brianna joined us and 3 of my cousins and their significant others were there too. We had a fun time playing games and eating yummy food!

2011 WAC Volleyball Tournament

We got back from Vegas Wednesday night. We went down with Ryan's family to see Alyssa play in the WAC tournament. Although they lost, we still had a great time eating tons of food, walking the strip and being together.

The tournament was played in THE ORLEANS arena, where we stayed.

Loved the M&M store but didn't want to spend $13.99 a pound

At the coca-cola store the bear was there for pictures. He was so tall and cute, it was fun to watch him. I got a picture with Ryan's sisters that his mom bought. 

The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory tempted me every time I'd walk by it at the hotel. After we checked out I caved and bought an English Toffee apple. Well worth the $6

It seems like we go to Vegas a lot. Here's some of our other visits:

here

here

Wish 100 - Oct 22

This post is a long time coming. Not sure why it's taken me over a month to blog it.

The same weekend of Ryan's Ragnar was the Make-A-Wish Wish 100 fundraiser. I got to Ivins bright and early before the race to help set up. I had to leave early to drive to Vegas, but I'm glad I got to see the 1st waive of bikers go out. This was the 1st annual Wish 100, a woman's only cycling event.  They had 100, 60, 30, and 10 mile options. The event was very well planned and they had a great turnout!

For more info visit here

To view more pictures visit here

What's Happening Wednesday

01. Tried our hand at painting glass for our YW activity last week. It was a fun new skill to learn and some got really creative!
02. Got to spend the weekend with my cousins.
03. Starting to make gift lists for Christmas, a daunting task.
04. Things keep falling into place for us as we prepare for Ryan to leave in February and we're continually seeing the blessings in our lives.
05. Got our team of 10 for the 5k next week
06. Taking next week off work, going to Vegas with Ryan's family.
07. Thought we'd have a small gathering for Thanksgiving, but the guest list keeps growing, and that is great.
08. Found out my cousin is expecting!
09. Have a new lady to visit teach. Can't wait to get to know her.
10. Finished Mockingjay and did not really like it. It's very sad and depressing, but I'm excited to see the movie. The trailer looks great.

11/11/11

Two of my cousins from different sides of the family got married yesterday. It was a busy day for weddings there were brides everywhere. The Salt Lake Temple had something like 122 weddings and had to cancel some. Bountiful had about 70, I think. I know a lot of people had trouble finding an open reception center too. Makes me glad I chose Jordan River and was 1 of 2 brides that day. The temple workers knew me by name and I got their complete attention for myself.

We went to my cousin Tiffani's wedding in the Bountiful Temple at noon. She married Marc Bucher who is my friends husband's brother.  I was sad Andrea couldn't be there, but I got to meet Todd for the first time. My mom's cousin is Pat Holland, so we were lucky to have Elder Holland marry them. (more about her story here) It was the best wedding I've ever been to. He spoke for about 40 minutes and talked about symbolism in the Temple. He went through each phase of the endowment and related it to marriage. I wish i had a tape recorder because I learned so much! He made everything sound so simple. He counseled to be obedient and if we are then are marriage will always be ok no matter what happens in the world. So many beautiful things were said and the spirit was so strong. He said he maybe does 3 weddings a year because he's so busy and the church is not the same as it used to be. He joked that there are hundred of quorums of 70 and thousands of missionaries but somehow there are only 12 apostles.

I was so glad to be there and be reminded of my wedding not so many years ago. It was a great day.



Tiff's family


Some of my cousins, the Bills

Tiff's brothers, Steve and Mike

Family anxiously awaiting the new couple.

We went to their luncheon at Corbin's Grill in Layton. It was nice to be able to sit and talk with some of my cousins that I haven't seen in so long. Why is it that we don't see each other often when we all live so close? Lives get busy as we get older and it seems that Weddings or Funerals are the only time everyone gets together. Sad. I need to make a better effort to see them.

They had a ring ceremony right before the reception, but we had to leave soon after to get to my other cousin's reception in Lindon. It was a long day and I would be so tired if I was Tiff. Ryan and I had our reception the night before so our wedding day was very short, which we loved.



I didn't get any pictures of Jay and Katy's reception, but it was at a reception center called Bella Vista, and it was gorgeous! I don't see my Dad's side of the family very often and the last time was at my Grandma's funeral. They live in California, Texas, Idaho, Nevada, and some are spread out even further. I hadn't seen Jay since our family reunion in 2005. Although not very many family members could make it, it was nice to be able to see my Aunt, Uncle and Leithead cousins.

So grateful for events like these that remind me how blessed we are to have the Gospel and the knowledge of the plan of salvation and that we can have forever families!