"The Host", end of the Yo-Yo

I finished the new book from Stephenie Meyer (Twilight series) called "The Host". Before I read it, a couple of different people told me that they had a hard time getting into it and they weren't sure if they liked it, so I was a little worried. But let me tell you, I loved it!! I really like the way Meyer writes. She has so many little sub-plots going on, yet it isn't hard for me to follow. She gives you just enough information to keep it exciting and interesting, but not quite enough to figure everything out. While this book has its fair share of "the lomance" (romance) as Jeff calls it, that isn't the main focus of the book. It is intriguing more because of the plight of the characters in the book. I am really not a science fiction reader, but this is like "Science Fiction for Dummies". It is really good. So I encourage you to check it out when you can.

Totally different subject! If you have read my past posts, you'll know that one of my goals is to get physically fit. I'm sure that a lot of people have the same goal, but for me it's a matter of I have to do it now. And it isn't just a diet or exercise program that I am going to get on to lose weight, I am actually changing my lifestyle and I can tell this time that because I am doing that, it is going to be a long-term change. In the past I have lost weight and gained it back, but not anymore. I'm sick of the yo-yo! IT'S THE END OF THE YO-YO! I have not only changed my eating habits, but I am exercising too. For those of you who know me well, you know that this is not exactly my cup of tea. And I'm not the most coordinated, so I prefer to exercise in the privacy of my own living area so that I can have the least amount of embarrassment possible. So, for the last few months I have been trying, and succeeding for the most part, to exercise three days a week. And so far I've lost about 18 pounds (yay me! pat on the back!) Anyway, I got up this morning and DID NOT want to work out. But I sucked it up and did it and once I got into it, I actually found I was enjoying exercising. I was even enjoying sweating. Me! I know!! Crazy, but true. Miracles do happen!

Tag from Missy and Katie

How To Play This Game of Tag:Post these rules on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

3 Joys!
1. My husband and kids. I am so happy that Jeff and I are best friends. I think it can be hard to maintain that sometimes after you are married. I'm so in love with him! We have a great time together, and we work well as a team. Love you Frito! And of course, what mom doesn't love watching their kids grow and develop, they're so much fun! I can't imagine life without them.
2. Music. Playing the piano, singing, or just listening. I love music!! I think it is one of the ways that God communicates to us and it brings me a lot of joy and comfort in my life.
3. Humanity. I get so much joy from seeing people do good things for other people. And seeing people achieve their goals or make a difference in the world. It always reminds me that there is so much good in this world and gives me hope.

3 Fears
1. Drowning in the ocean. I know, I live in the middle of a desert, so there isn't much chance of this, but the ocean is SO big and SO deep that if I was ever in it (the deep part) for whatever reason, I might freak out a little. Plus, there's all sorts of creatures swimming around and pooping, yuck!
2. Dying young. I have a huge fear of not being able to see my kids grow up and also of them growing up without a mom. This is probably my worst fear ever!
3. Not having any money to retire on.

3 Goals
1. Getting into shape physically.
2. Getting completely out of debt and buying a house. Check back in 20 years, we might be a little closer to this one!
3. Flirting with my husband. It sounds corny, but with the day to day stresses of life, it's easy for me to forget this.

3 Current Obsessions
1. The Twilight series of books. I really am obsessed with it. No really. Obsessed. I can't help myself! It can't be healthy.
2. My family. My whole life is centered around Jeff, Mason, and Mallorie.
3. Organizing. I'm not very good at it, but I am constantly trying to organize different aspects of my life and maintaining the organization. Jeff would probably laugh because he doesn't think I'm organized at all, but it's true. I think about it constantly.

3 Surpising random facts about myself (I don't know how surprising these are, but...)
1. I was born in Washington D.C.
2. I am a romantic through and through. I'm such a sucker for romantic gestures, romantic movies, etc. That's one of the things that I liked about Jeff when we first met is that he was always doing cute, silly things to try to get me to go out with him, until I finally gave in. He may not have considered them romantic, but to me they were. Life moves on though, and these are not nearly as frequent now :( My secret fantasy is to have him plan a romantic night for us with romantic music, see #3, candles, and no basketball or other sports on tv. In fact, no tv whatsoever. Just us. Whew! I get goosebumps just thinking about it!

3. My favorite types of music are American Standards (think Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Michael Buble, Rosemary Clooney, etc.) Big Band, Jazz, and Swing. Along with this, the era of the 30's, 40's and 50's are my favorite. I love everything about it: music, movies, fashion, decor, cars, architecture, etc. I think I was born in the wrong time period.


I am going to tag this to Jill, Jennifer, Jenny, Meredith and Abby because I haven't seen it on theirs yet, I don't think! But I look at this as a forwarded email that tells you to forward it to five friends or whatever, if you don't, I won't be upset about it. It's just something fun!

Reality TV and the whole enchilada...

I have followed this season of American Idol semi-seriously. I haven't watched every week but I watch when I can and I look up certain performances on YouTube afterward. I kind of gave up on it a few seasons ago. It just got to be too much for me. You have to be home to watch every Tuesday, or DVR it and watch it later. It's kind of like The Bachelor, I just don't have time to make that much of an emotional investment anymore, and the result always lets me down! Anyhoo, mocklate, (Friends joke!) I have watched this season, like I said, semi-seriously. But my mom and I talk about it and, of course, one of our favorites is David Archuleta and we have recently been talking about all the hulabaloo when he came home to Utah. So tonight, I had it on and when David Archuleta came on to sing his third song, Mallorie, very seriously said, "Hey! That's David Enchilada!" I kind of laughed and said David who? And she said "Enchilada!" It was so cute!! You say Archuleta, we say Enchilada!

Birthday Cakes

For the kids' birthday I made some fun cakes. Mason wanted a pirate themed cake and Mallorie, of course, wanted a horse cake. So here are some pictures of my first attempt at a decorated cake, not just frosted. Far from professional, but they were cute and fun to make!

Birthday weekend!

We've had a great birthday weekend with our twinkles! The kids turned four on Saturday - Oh my gosh!! We can't believe that they are that old already. The time has flown by so quickly and through it all, the hugs and kisses, tantrums, beautiful smiles, and up-all-nights, we have loved every second of it. After everyone else had gone to bed on Saturday night, I stayed up and I was thinking about what a miracle these munchkins have been in our lives. I also realized how special they are and how cool it is that they are twins. They are best friends and for the last four years have rarely been apart. They are so lucky to have each other and, in the grand scheme of things, they have such a short period of time that they will have most of the same interests and their lives will be so intertwined. That is so special! I am so happy that they have had these last four years that way. As they get older, they will do their own things and make their own friends. I just hope they will always be close and always lean on each other.

Mason got a play bow and arrow set for his birthday that he absolutely loves! He picked it out himself and he was so excited to get it home and use it, he said "I can't wait to try this baby out!" It was so cute!!! Mallorie is such a sweetheart and really enjoys spending time with the people she loves. She had so much fun playing at Grandma and Grandpa's on Sunday and she especially loved playing the kids' new Candy Land game with her Auntie Katie!

Twilight

I want to say how excited I am for the next book in the Twilight series to come out! And the movie! I know, I know...it sounds so silly to be excited about a "vampire romance" novel, but hey, I can't help myself. If you haven't read any of the books by Stephenie Meyer, I highly recommend them. I didn't want to read them myself at first because I'm not really into vampire stuff, but oh my gosh!! I loved them! They are the type of books that you can't stop reading until you get to the end. You tell yourself that at the end of the next chapter you will stop and get something done around the house, or in my case, go to bed at 3 o'clock in the morning. But then, you either don't realize that the chapter is over or you are so engrossed that you just can't stop. I read all three of the first books in record time (even for me!) I put a link to the author's website here for you, check it out! Just click on the title of this post. She is also writing another series called "Host" that looks like it will be just as good. I also just found out that someone I know recently dressed up for his wife as Edward, the main vampire character in the books and the love interest. I wonder if I could get Jeff to do that?