A Beauty Tip From Me

Don't pay attention to the lone little hair that's out of place. I tried to edit it, but I'm not savvy enough. You get the picture.

This is the only one you will ever get, because, lets face it, I'm slightly helpless when I comes to all things make-up and beauty. I just basically started wearing tinted moisturizer; and I've only actually worn foundation and powder a total of MAYBE 3 times in my life. However, there is one thing that I'm very adamant about, and this is eyebrows.

Notice how my face looks "neater" when I have well-groomed eyebrows.

I am of the possibly harsh opinion that it is impossible for a woman to look truly pretty unless she has properly groomed eyebrows. I am also fully aware that sometimes, my life gets ahead of me, and my eyebrows are slightly scruffy. As a result, I go through my days, wishing I had a paper bag to cover my head. To me, having shaggy eyebrows is as much of an offense to humanity as not wearing deodorant and not showering for weeks on end. Ok, maybe not, but really, there's no excuse.

When I was in middle school, and my friends started to tweeze their eyebrows, my mom sat me down, and gave me a stern talking to. She said, "Anne, I'm going to take you to get your eyebrows waxed. We are going to continue to do this for the rest of your life, because heaven help me, you're a pretty girl and I don't want you to ruin this by over-tweezing." Thus, a relationship was formed. The only time in my life that I've ever let tweezers within 30 feet of my face was in Russia when I had no other choice. Getting your eyebrows done will not break the bank. I go to a school in town, and it costs me $8. The girl who did it yesterday was so good that I almost kissed her on the mouth. I hope she never graduates and she can do my eyebrows for the rest of my life. I only need to get them done about every other month, although sometimes I forget, and it goes a little longer than that. It doesn't hurt, but since I'm so fair, I'm really red for a few hours. Ain't no thang. It's worth it for the exchange that I can reach my full beauty potential later. :)

So ladies, there's no reason to have shaggy eyebrows. Do yourself a favor, and go get them done. Don't go too thin, but ask for a nice shape. You'll be happy you did.

Wait, what do you feed YOUR kid for breakfast??

Yesterday, Aubrey and Jason came over for breakfast. We made a delightful meal of waffles, but while Hazen and I were waiting for them to come upstairs, Hazen made a mad dash for his new favorite snack: dried peas. I have no clue why he's so obsessed with them, but at any chance, he eats them by the handful. He was so funny while he ate them, he'd get the silliest look on his face, and then dance around as he had his cheeks full to the brim. He sure is a cutie!

Happy Birthday Abbie!

On Friday, my sweet little Abbie D had her 7th birthday party! Heather ROCKED the theme, and it was awesome! It was a "Rainbow Party", but don't google it, because it wasn't THAT. Perv. Jason, HAL, and I went over, thinking that we were 1/2 hour late to the party, but it turns out that we were 1/2 hour early; which worked out well so we could help Heather in the preparations. Heather made food that was nothing but bright, rainbow colored fruits and veggies, and it looked adorable. When the kids got there, they painted each other's faces while Heather and I sat back and let the destruction occur. It was hilarious. Jason had both of the boys at the park, and it was cute to look out the window and see the boys walking together and having fun.



Next on the agenda was tie-dye. Mental note: don't do this anytime soon until you have a backyard and no fear of getting dirty. It was really funny watching the kids dye their shirts, and they seemed to have a great time. My favorite overheard quote? "Why does Abbie's birthday party always have to be so cold!" Abbie was born in February, so her birthday parties tend to be a little on the chilly side.


After the Tie-dye, we whipped out the Pinata. My favorite part about the pinata was that we used a piece of re bar for the bat. Ain't nothin' safer than giving a bunch of 7 year olds a jagged piece of metal to swing around. Jason's job was to be the photographer/daycare provider for the babies. He did a great job. I just followed the kids around cleaning after they had moved on to the next activity. Finally, it was time for cake. We blew out candles, gave presents, and then shuttled the kids out as quickly as we could, and it was over almost as soon as it began. It was the most fun I'd had at a kids birthday in quite some time. I love you, Miss Abbie-babbie!

A Wake-Up Call

So, tonight, I went to Abbie's birthday party to help out. We had a great time (post coming), and the birthday girl seemed to be thrilled with the turnout. As we loaded into our car, I noticed that something was slightly off with the passenger side. As I looked further, I realized that the glove compartment was open, everything was strewn on the floor, and all of the contents of the center console were thrown on the seats. I asked Jason if he had come out to the car- he said no, and I knew that I hadn't done it, either. I asked Heather, and some others, and the general consensus was that no one had been in my car. It looks as though someone had tried to break into my car. Luckily, I didn't have anything of value in the car, but that was actually an exception to what I normally have in my car. Usually, when I go to Heather's house, I leave my cell phone in the car, my purse, and more often than not, my keys are sitting in the ignition!! Now, Heather doesn't live in the inner-city! Her house is in a quiet neighborhood in the middle of a small down. The ballsy thing about this event is that there was a BIRTHDAY party going on! People were constantly in and out, and a decent portion of the party was actually outside! I've learned that I need to be better with locking my doors, because, hey, even small town Utah isn't always safe!

Somedays, I'm Lazy

Yesterday was ONE of those mornings. Hazen and I leisurely got up, puttered around the house, played play dough, played blocks, I talked on the phone, we watched "Little Einsteins", and trashed the house. Somedays, it feels good to let Hazen go to town, and not worry about what happens. It cracked me up, though, when I looked at the clock and saw that it was noon and we were both still in our Pajamas and the house was a huge wreck. So, I stripped Hazen down, and continued to enjoy our day. I love our lazy days!

An Ode To Sunflower Markets

I have a new favorite thing. This thing brings me joy. I get stomachaches of anticipation for Wednesdays, because I get to enjoy my new favorite thing.



This thing, is Sunflower Markets. Now, I don't know if you've been to Utah before, but, (gasp), the produce here sucks. It's not that great tasting, and it's inordinately expensive. That sucks, because if you want a fighting chance of eating healthy, you need to be willing to pay the big bucks. Not anymore. Sunflower is a new store in Orem that has fresh, beautiful, delicious produce at REALLY affordable prices. The best thing about Sunflower? Double Ad Wednesdays. Every Wednesday, the sale prices from the previous week are accepted in addition to the sales from the upcoming weeks. Do you know what this results in?? Crazy, unbelievable, fabulous prices!!! I know, I sound like an infomercial, but do you realize that since I've discovered Sunflower, I've mainly subsisted on Fruits and Veggies? **Side note: I MUST have the VitaMix. If you get it for me, I WILL love you forever. And probably kiss you on the mouth.

What's more, they have an INCREDIBLE selection of dried fruits, veggies, and nuts. Yep, that's what I've been snacking on these days, and I couldn't be happier!

Believe it or not, Sunflower even sells doughnuts, even though it's a health store!

Sunflower makes me happy. Sunflower, you are the rays of my sunshine. Thank you for encouraging me to eat delicious, fresh food in the middle of this cold, cold winter.

A Letter of My Thoughts

Dear Hazen,

Mommy is starting something very new and important tomorrow. It's my first day of classes, and I hope I make you proud. Do you know how many times I've held you and cried, praying to KNOW that my going to school is the right choice? I feel that it is, and I HOPE that you'll understand that. Hazen, there's something about your Mommy. She is the happiest when she feels that she's being stretched. While being a Mother has stretched me more than I ever thought possible, it's time for me to do more. It's so important for me to be educated. Sadly, I didn't understand how important this was until recently.

I've found the best possible people to watch you and take care of you when I can't. I hope that you're good for them, and know that they love you, and are going to make sure that you're happy and healthy. Did you know what a HUGE sacrifice your Daddy has made, Hazen? Daddy has changed his schedule so that he can't go to church for months. Instead, my love, he's working Sundays so he can stay home every other Monday with you while I'm at school. We're both doing as MUCH as we possibly can to make sure that you're with either one of us as much as possible. We're trying, Hazen.

I love you, my darling, and you know my life is for you. These next 18 months are going to have their ups and downs, but know, regardless of what happens, I love you.

Love,

Your Mama