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Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One By One January 15, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Thoughts , add a comment

I am so upset about that DANG 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti.

Why is it the poorest are always hit the hardest?

After viewing some emotionally riviting images, I started to recognize some of my daily blessing that I take for granted.

If you have a roof over your head, food to eat, and know where your husband, children, and parents are, then count yourself lucky.  For many people in Haiti, that is a luxury.

That post I wrote a few weeks ago about my own world crumbling down was NOTHING.  I can’t believe I even complained.

If you want to donate to the relief of those in Haiti and would like 100% of the money you donate to go to these people (not administrative fees) click here.

Take the Dress and Run January 14, 2010

Posted by Emily in : My Previous Life, Thoughts , 2comments

I’m selling some BRAND SPANKING NEW wedding gowns on KSL and Craigslist. (I bought them for personal use from my bridal store, but never wore them.  Pageant stuff.)  Anyway, an interested bride came by the other night and tried on one of the gowns.  SHE LOVED IT.  IT WAS THE GOWN.

Now comes the part that reminded my why I hate selling wedding gowns . . .

This is an older bride, who is getting married for the second time.  She wanted her two daughters (ages 20 and 21) to SEE HER IN THE GOWN before buying it.

The kicker?  HER WEDDING WAS NINE DAYS AWAY!  HELLO!  What kills me, is that no matter how old you are, or how many times you get married, you still seek approval from everyone around you when the only opinion that matters it YOURS!

Did I mention this gown can be found on the rack at a very popular bridal store in town for $400 more than I’m selling mine?!

Let’s fast forward to SIX WHOLE DAYS before her wedding.

She comes back to my house to try on the dress again. This time she brings her daughter, and lucky for the bride, her daughter LOVES the dress too.

Fantastic right?

The bride then offers a lower price than I’m asking for the dress.

As I quietly bit my tongue, I politely remind her that she can drive right on down the road and buy this exact dress ON THE RACK  (insert popular bridal store name here) for more than TWICE what I’m asking.

My dress was brand new . . . with tags.  I told her (in not so many words) to take it and run, or go spend $400 more down the street.

She bought the dress.

I hope she’s not shocked to find out how long alterations take and how expensive they are.  YIKES.

Brides can be crazy I tell you.  Just watch the show, “Say Yes to the Dress” on TLC and you’ll know what I’m talking about!

 

Charming Little People January 13, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Family, Photography , 4comments

This is Hannah’s cousin Malaya.  She is two months older than Hannah, and a little more bossy.  :)

She is ADORABLE.

Her family is moving to Mississippi today.

I usually favor high contrast black and white images over color ones, but I really can’t decide which image I like better.

Malaya is only three, but it looks like she’s mastered the “blue steel” look.  (Hello, Zoolander anyone?)  What do you think?  ;)

This is Malaya’s little sister, Hailey.  She is just a few months older than Dallin.

Oh.  My.  Heck.  I could EAT HER UP!  Seriously, I asked if I could keep her, and it wasn’t a rhetorical question.

Her parents could sense the sincerity in my voice and I got a “No.”

Bummer.

It’s been nice for Hannah to live near her cousins.

Too bad we all keep moving away in different directions.

Cover Worthy January 12, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Family, Islands, Trips , 3comments

A couple of years ago, we spent Christmas on Emerald Isle in North Carolina at David’s brother’s beach house.

It was beautiful.

This is the front of the house.

Here’s a view from the beach of the back of the house.  He has since sold this beach house, (above) and had this beauty custom built:

His new sailboat made the January 2010 front cover of Cruising World!

His family starts their sail-around-the-world later this month.

Their first stop will be in the Caribbean.  Should I email him this post?

 

Why I Love Living In Utah January 11, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Friends, Utah , 3comments

Want to know the number one reason I LOVE living in Utah?

Let me give you a few hints: It’s not the sub-zero temperatures, or the stiff canyon wind that makes eight foot snow drifts in front of my door.  It’s also not my favorite thing to breathe the worst quality air in the USA either (that’s a fact, not an exaggeration).  I love living in Utah because Utah is home base for my friends.  We all seem to cross paths at some point when we’re visiting our families in Utah.  Last year I saw these people, and these people, and her.

My goal is to see as many of my friends as I can while I’m here.  I have a few months left in Utah, and I’m making it a priority to see some of my good friends who I haven’t seen in years.

Look at this little guy. Isn’t he cute?  He is the offspring of my good friend Pam.  The stars have aligned for us not once, but four times since I came back to the USA after living in the Caribbean.  I think I’ve seen her more than a couple of my siblings who live here!  (OK, that was a joke.  Kind of.)

Isn’t he a doll?  He’s a chubster too and I’m such a sucker for chub-a-lub babies.

More friend reunions coming up!

You Must Visit These Caribbean Islands January 8, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Islands, Saba, Thoughts , 6comments

This is the year my parents and David’s parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

They got married on the SAME DAY.  SAME YEAR.  SAME TEMPLE.  (Just a few hours apart.)

This is an absolute coincidence, of course.  They met after David and I were engaged.

With these big events coming up later this year, both of our families have started to talk about how to celebrate.

My sister-in-law threw out the idea of going on a Caribbean Cruise (Which actually sounds exciting now.  When you live in the Caribbean, taking a cruise there doesn’t sound that fun because you already live there.) and started to mention cruise lines since she has taken a couple of cruises.

David and I immediately started to talk about destinations because, well, we’re sort of like locals in that respect.

As honorary Caribbeans, (a title I bestowed upon ourselves after living there for 2 1/2 years and birthing our first baby down there) we explained the ins and outs and whereabouts of the islands.  Where to go, what to avoid, and what is a MUST SEE.

You might also be an honorary Caribbean if:

(Any further suggestions from honorary or actual residents of the Caribbean are certainly welcome in the comment section.)

David and I miss the Caribbean SO MUCH.  I especially miss it over the holiday season.  I love seeing fireworks from neighboring islands on New Year’s eve and enjoying the perfect Caribbean weather this time of year.

So . . . it is my duty as an “honorary Caribbean” to tell you about the two islands you must see. (Please note: the images in this post are from travel websites, they are not my own images.)

First, if you have money to burn, you MUST, MUST, MUST go to Saint Barths.

Did I say MUST? I mean HAVE TO or you will regret it for the rest of your life!

See, I obviously regret that we didn’t make it over to Saint Barths (which I could see from my kitchen window) while we lived on Saba.  But, since we were medical students when we lived there, it is very safe to say that we didn’t have any extra money to burn.

We’ll be going back because Saint Barths is calling my name!  Not like today, or tomorrow, or even next week, but when we’re old and super wrinkly and have finally paid off medical school, we’ll be there with bells on.  And since I’ll be so old by that time, I probably won’t care how much sun I get and who sees my jiggling old lady legs.

Next, you MUST, MUST, MUST go to Anguilla.

Not optional.  It is a MUST.  If  you miss this beauty, then it’s like your visit to the Caribbean is null and void and you should ask for you money back.

Obviously, Saba and Sint Maarten are “MUST SEE” as well, but I won’t take time to mention them here because it’s like a no brainer.  My entire blog from Jan ’07 to April ’08 is about these two islands.

Book your Caribbean vacation now!

Cutest. Thing. Ever. January 7, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Parenthood, Princess Hannah , 5comments

To say that Hannah is obsessed with ballet would be an understatement.

She has already worn out (as in, almost beyond repair) her first pair of ballet shoes.  WORN THEM OUT.  How do you do that when you’ve never taken a lesson?

You wear them day in, day out and then you beg to wear them to bed.  Sometimes you’ll get your way and then before you know it, your entire wardrobe consists of tights, and leotards and various other dress up clothes and your mom seriously wonders WHY she bought you regular clothes.  Because all they do is collect dust and warm the wooden shelves on which they are stored.

Some of you may remember this video I posted last year.  I took her to observe a ballet class (which happens to be the exact class she’s taking now) when she was only two (because she was obsessed back then too) and when we left ballet class, she cried like I had just cut off her arm.  Seriously, you must watch this short 60 second video clip before moving on  . . .

(The video was taken 18 months ago when Hannah had just turned two.  She had two good naps the day I shot this video.  What you see is not a tired baby, but a ticked off kid!)

We have all been bursting with anticipation this week waiting for Hannah’s first ballet class!  I’m not sure who was more excited: Hannah, me, or David!

I’ll let the pictures tell the story . . .

A bunch of little people, all the same age and dressed alike.  Hannah instantly awarded each of them “best friend” status.  (She’s not too picky.  Do you like to dance?  Is pink your favorite color?  Are you dressed like her?  YOU COULD BE HER BEST FRIEND TOO!)

All the little people were asked to do stretches that made me hurt just by observing them!  Look how close those feet are to the ground!  OUCH!  Right?!

Then, they did more stretches.  Look at Hannah’s toe touch!

Oops!  My little monkey got a fast rundown on the rules: NO HANGING ON THE BAR.

NO biggie.  She enjoyed jumping just as much!

Look at her legs!  (She’s the second from the left.)  Oh my heck!  Could they be any cuter?  Daylight cannot peak through them!

Hannah LOVED her teacher.  She thought she had hit the big time when I told her that her teacher was the Sugarplum fairy in the Nutcracker production we attended.

Hello.  I want to kiss this little face off.

Honestly, the top moments of motherhood for me have been (aside from birth, which was quite painful as I remember) seeing my kids’ faces on Christmas morning, and this:  Finally making one of Hannah’s dreams come true.

Heck, I know she’s only three, but to her, she has waited her whole life to take ballet and I’m so happy she finally can!

Slightly Neurotic January 6, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Princess Hannah, Thoughts , add a comment

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m slightly neurotic at times.

A few days ago, I noticed my 20/20 vision wasn’t as tack sharp as it should be.

My mind immediately started to race with one possibility . . . I must be going blind.

I know this sounds like an erratic conclusion, but given my family history with a genetic eye disorder, I was very concerned.

Not one to waste time on important matters like this, I made an appointment with an Optometrist right away.  As Hannah and I were walking into the clinic, she kept asking, “Mommy, are we going to the eyeball store?!”  And I was all, “Yep.  The eyeball store.  They fix your eyeballs!”

After a nice chat with the Optometrist about my eyes and discussion about my family history (which he found completely fascinating) I was very happy to hear my eyesight was still 20/20 with no pending blindness.

However, the few days I sat in uncertainly about possible pending blindness, I thought about my life.  What would I do differently?  What would I do the same?  What would you do if you knew you were going blind or deaf even?

What would you do?

 

Have Shovel, Will Work January 5, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Princess Hannah, Utah , 2comments

Hannah asked me several times last week to take her to my parents’ house.

She really wanted to play in their snow.

My parents have a “Hannah size” shovel and all she could think about was all the snow she could be shoveling.  (Apparently, David and I produce children who think child labor laws are for sissy’s.)

I drove my little worker bee over to my parents’ house and before she got half way into the house she was squealing.

She was put to work right away.  She did an excellent job of moving small amounts of snow from one spot to another.

My dad took a break from watching Hannah diligently shovel his back patio, to help her build a snowman.

I brought out the wrong length of carrot (snowmen don’t have Pinocchio noses, I was informed) which almost threw a wrench in the whole “build a snowman” thing.

At last, we broke the carrot in half and all was right in the world of snow.

Maybe Santa should bring her a “Hannah size snow blower” for Christmas next year!

The Adult “Brain Squeezer” January 4, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Thoughts , 9comments

Someone, help me understand . . .

Why is every other adult female head in Utah County sporting one of these?

A knit head wrap?  WHAT THE?!

So your ears can stay warm all day?  Because fancy ear bands (normally worn skiing, not as hair accessories) are so comfortable to wear all day?  Because you like your hair to pouf out on the back of your head?  Because your forehead gets cold?

Am I the only who thinks this “head wrap thing” is an adult version of the baby brain squeezer?

(I have never been a fan of baby brain squeezers either.)

Your hair accessory should never enter a room before you do, and it should compliment your outfit, not distract from it.

I’m sure many of us wore scrunchies and silk oversized bows in the 1990′s.

How do you feel about them now?

Don’t you wish someone told you to WALK away from the floppy bows and scrunchies?

Aside from my opinion (that head wraps are just not cute), WHY would someone choose a head wrap over a cute hat?

(Like this!  THIS is a cute hat!)

Seriously, WHY?

Start out 2010 right, by NOT succumbing to this fashion trend!  You’ll thank me in 10 years!