Trailer Trash

Jon, Noah and I enjoy spending time with "the boys". That somehow became the defining name for my nephews Sam and Nathan. They are only 11 months apart and are always together, so that is how they often get described, "the boys". So, on Friday night we went to their place and picked them up and brought them back to our house to have them spend the night. The next day Noah decided he wanted us all to go play mini-golf at the Fiesta Fun... so we did. We had a great time and Jon beat us all (he only beat me by 1 point though). After we all went to Arby's for lunch. Well, it was still early in the afternoon and we wanted to still have some fun with the boys, but by this time just between the golf and lunch we had spent $50... so what could we do next that would keep an 11, a 13, and a 14 year old boy entertained (for no money) that would also keep Jon and I interested.

Let me back up and tell you that Jon and I have the desire to someday in the future buy a smaller camping trailer, but we don't want to finance it and don't have the cash right now... so that little desire is on the back burner for now. (But it can't hurt to look, right?)

We took the boys (Noah, Sam, and Nathan) to the RV place out in Hurricane and looked at RV's, Toy Hauler's, and Trailers for hours. SERIOUSLY... HOURS. None of us got bored, and it was a lot of fun that cost absolutely no money. Now, maybe looking at stuff like that all day long when you can't currently afford to buy it may not be everyone's cup-o-tea... but it suited us just fine, and now Jon and I have a better idea of what we will be looking forward to buying someday. It was a fun, silly, crazy afternoon spent with some of my favorite people and I loved every minute of it. If that makes me a little red around the neck area... so be it. :)

Blog, Blog, Who's Got a Blog?

I have a new blog. I know this may surprise some since I really don't write on this one like I should, but either way... I have one. After being inspired by other wonderful blogs over the last few weeks, I have decided to put my two cents into the mix and see what happens. I have started a style blog that will talk about things that I find, love, or projects I do with interior design, or fashion, or in the world of green living. I hope you all will follow it and enjoy it. You can find it at homegrownstyle.blogspot.com. Hope you like it.

Does Anyone Get Naked Anymore??

I was watching "You've Got Mail" today to pass the time. (I have been going a little crazy with Noah being stuck in the house sick again.) I watched and started to wonder about the way email has changed things and then how texting, twitter, facebook, and myspace have changed it even more. It made me think about how different things were for me being a teenager dating in the 90's. Some changes are great... no huge long distance phone bills if you have a "special someone" who lives in a different area code (thanks to cell phones), or no everyone sharing one phone line no doubt located in the noisy family room until you finally get your own room with your own phone. There is now no worrying about a sibling picking up the other line to evesdrop on your all important conversation. No busy signal if you have a boyfriend whos mom loves to chat with her friends on the phone... now you just call HIS cell.

Then I started to think about what what teenagers these days might be missing. I thought of what I would miss the most and I must say I wouldn't trade all of the above "improvements" for this one missing thing.... LOVE LETTERS!!! Do teenagers write real pen and paper love letters anymore?? I bet most of them don't. That had to be one of my favorite parts of being a teenager "in love". The butterflies you would get when your boyfriend handed you that folded up piece of paper... or checking the mailbox every day when you knew a letter was coming through the mail. But most of all the thing I would miss the most about real love letters was when you have to sit for sometimes hours at a time to think about the things you want to say and then have to write them out with your very hands, I think something magical happens... you bare your soul. You put your feeling out there in a way that you just don't in 160 characters. You open yourself up and feel emotions that sometimes it takes time to bring up... time you don't spend sending a text. Yes, there have been some great things that have come from the advances in technology. Don't get me wrong because I love my facebook, but I think I just might love the old letters I have from family, friends, and boyfriends (including my now husband) just a little bit more.

I Dream Like Bella

So, we all know I am a Twihard (I know the word "duh" comes to mind.). Well most of my friends and my female (and a few male) relatives are too, so you should all understand what I am talking about here. Well, in the beginning of New Moon Bella has that dream where she thinks she sees her grandmother, but really it's her and she just hasn't realized she has aged. It's like her dreams haven't caught up to her reality. I am so there! When I dream I always seem to be around the age of 18 or so, and my body is 18 too!! I dream that I still have my 18 year old body. This body...

Yup, but really I'm 31 and I have this body...

My dreams have yet to catch up to my reality. So then I start to think, maybe I dream this way because someone is trying to tell me that this current body I have shouldn't be my reality. I need to be better. Two years ago I had lost 30 pounds, and then since that time have gained it all back... as of today I am all the way back up to where I was. How sad. I need to start over instead of giving up. So I am putting it out there and saying I need to lose weight. I tend to do better if I put it out there in the world because I know people will be waiting to see if I follow through.

Now, I know there is no way to get that exact BC (before children) body back, but I can do much better. Then at least when I do dream like Bella, my dream life and real life will be a little bit of a closer match. :)

Piss and Drone

Noah always comes up with something "interesting" that he wants to be for Halloween. Past favorites were a die (single dice) and a shadow. Yes, a shadow! What is there to say when you child comes up to you and tells you he wants to be a shadow besides... um okay??? (Panic soon follows as you ask yourself... How the heck do I make my kid a shadow??) But I digress... this year Noah tells me he wants to be a bee. Ahuh, a bee. So what goes through my head... cute little girl bee costumes or sluty "big-girl"costumes. How am I going to make a BOY bee costume?? So then Noah tells his daddy about his plans and his daddy has a cow!! "He is not going to be a bee! Girls are bees!!" So, we try to talk Noah into being just about anything but a bee, and tell him that most of the time only girls dress up as bees. He won't budge. He really wants to be a bee.

The next week I take Noah to the library and he checks out a book on bees. (How did I not see that one coming?) He reads the book from cover to cover and then informs me that he is going to be a drone for Halloween. So I of course ask, "What is a drone?" To which he replies, "It's a MALE bee." How smart is he??? He then explains to me that he wants to be a bee because they are hard workers. How do I argue with that? I decide that if my boy wants to be a bee, then that's is what he will "bee". Screw the world and anyone who would make fun of him for picking a costume that they in their ignorance see as only a girl costume.

Yesterday we set out to find a "boyish" bee costume. Specialized Halloween store... nope, Kmart.... nope, Walmart.... nope, Target... ding, ding, ding. Target has 1 mens Bumble Bee costume that I grab. No ruffles, no glitter, no girly wings. I put one of Noahs arms through, and then the other and go to zip it up... the zipper is missing!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!! So, I go to checkout and ask for a discount to off set the cost of having to have the costume repaired and they give me $10.00 off. Oh well, I'll take it. So we head of to Walmart and I buy a zipper that I think looks like it might fit. I get home and pull out my trusty needle nose pliers and "make it fit". It does. I go to zip it up.... IT ZIPS!!! WOOT!!!! So, yes my beautiful boy will get to be a cute DRONE!! Pictures soon to follow! While waiting please enjoy pictures of my "creative" past costumes described above. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Nostalgia, get thee hence.

I have been missing my friends a lot. I grew up in Southern California, and as a teenager had a great group of friends. We laughed, cried, played, danced, were dramatic, were crazy, had crushes, had fights... but we really loved eachother. I still love them all. I do not often miss living in California. I miss things about it like a sunset on the beach, a week in Carlsbad, taking a walk on a breezy summer evening with the smell of gardenia in the air... stuff like that. Now though, I love living in Southern Utah and I really do feel like it is my home. I can feel okay about the things in Cali that I listed above that I have to miss to live in the beautiful red rock of Ivins. But of all the things I give up to live here being away from those friends I grew up with is the hardest part. So, to those friends that I am talking about... and you know who you are... I love you, I miss you, I talk about you all the time, and thank you for making my teenage years worth missing.

Gone by

It has been 3 years today. They say time heals all wounds, but I miss you as much today as I have any day gone by.