The Crafting Queen!

Ok, so the title doesn't really fit but oh well! For those of you that know me, I'm not what you'd call a patient crafter. Sure, crafting is super fun, but I get so impatient that my crafts often end up sloppy, if done at all. Thats why I wanted to post about my latest craft. I put alot of time into it and was extra patient so it would be good. It's a present for my mother-in-law so don't tell her until I send it, ok?

Ok so this is a latch-hook pillow totally made from scratch. Believe it or not, latch hooks take a LONG time to finish! Then, I made the back and stuffed it with a home-made pillow. Hopefully she'll like it! Kudos to me for actually finishing a GOOD craft!

Christmas 2008

For Christmas this year, we decided to stay here in Arizona. It was a good idea because we got to spend alot of time with friends and by ourselves. We had a dinner at our house on Christmas Eve and even got to help play Santa with our friends Melissa & Charlie.

I also included some pictures of Trixie that Kirk and I took on Christmas Day. We were bored all afternoon so we watched Trixie play with the laser light. She got so worn out that her tongue started hanging out of her mouth! It was hilarious! We couldn't stop laughing!

Hope everyone had a jolly Christmas season! :)

Christmas 2008 Pictures

The fun is all over!

This week has been a busy one! We had Thanksgiving at our house this year and it was a total blast! Kirks sisters Kathy & Lisa drove down from Utah on Saturday, his parents came on Monday and his older sister Kristie and husband Monti came on Tuesday. Let me just say that I won the in-law lottery! I have the best in-laws! I love them so much! I was so glad that they could all come! (minus Katie...we missed you!)

Let's see, we played alot of games, ate tons of food and watched a couple movies. Oh, and we can't forget the black Friday shopping! I am so sad that they're all gone!

One of Kirk's best friends was in town also. They had fun playing wii together and shopping for Kirk's new "toy" on Friday. Sure, I knew it was coming some time in the future. I just didn't realize that the future was so close! He got a great deal on a 52" flat screen tv. Seriously, why do men need these things?? I'll never understand that.

Anyways, here are some pics to sum up our fun week!

Thanksgiving

Twilight!!!!

I figured I'd wait a couple days to post about Twilight, just in case anyone was waiting to see it and they read my blog. We had so much fun! Melissa, Charlie and Tara and I went to the midnight showing at the theater on Superstition Springs. I couldnt believe how many people were there! They had like 6 theaters playing the movie.

We got one with a TON of teenie-boppers and their psycotic moms. That was a little distracting but oh well. The movie was AWESOME! There were some parts where I dont think anyone in the theater breathed!

We were all really, really tired on the way home but it was SO worth it! I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did. And if you haven't heard the soundtrack, get it. It's GREAT!!

Random Information

I have been storing some information that I've been meaning to share on my blog so here goes. Bring on the randomness! :)

I bought Trixie a new Halloween costume, but it was too small so I had to give it to Melissa. Look how cute she looks though!


I think I have a slight obsession with twilight. I'm willing to admit that. Isn't that the first step to recovery? I'm going to the midnight showing of Twilight in t-minus 15 minutes and counting.


Last weekend I cleaned out my WHOLE house! Kirks family is coming out for Thanksgiving so I thought that now would be a good time for a 'spring' cleaning. I didn't take a picture but oh well. And the best part of clean-out weekend was that my dear, dear friend Lea painted my kitchen! Yea! Thanks Lea!!!

Yesterday Kirk and I had a fun time cooking in the kitchen. We made cinnamon rolls from SCRATCH! I mean everything, down to the icing from scratch. They are so yummy! I used Ashley's roll recipe (Thanks Ash) and added chocolate chips too!


Well, thats about it for the update. I'll write about my twilight experience after I recover from my lack of sleep! :)

Twilight

Ok so I am sitting here listening to the Twilight soundtrack and I LOVE it! I do have to admit that the songs sung by Robert Pattison are at the bottom of my list, sorry gals.

I really wanted to put a background of Twilight on my blog but I couldn't find one so I settled for this little widget thingy on the side and a couple of poster pics (I couldn't decide which one I liked best). I am super excited about the movie, even if it isn't anything like the book. A couple of us are going to the midnight showing at the Harkins on Superstition Springs if anyone wants to join. Get your tickets now before they sell out! :)

Birthday Pictures

BIRTHDAY!!!

Birthdays are starting to get not so exciting for me, I've decided. If you ask Kirk, he'd say different because he thinks I make way too many references to my birthday during the year. I can't help it if I'm just trying to make sure he remembers! Well, I do like that people remember my birthday but lately I have been hoping that it will be less and less of a big deal. Maybe because I think I'm getting old (no comments please). I still remember clearly what I was like in high school and sometimes I still think I am living that life. Then I get smacked back to reality (usually by my husband) and realize that I'm a 27 year old, married homeowner. Quite different from high school.

This birthday (which was yesterday for anyone who didn't know), might have brought me out of that low key birthday slump. I am quite positive that I have the BEST husband of all time and some pretty freakin' awesome friends as well! So on Saturday, I was feeling a little bummed because Kirk ditched me to go shopping with the Udy's for my birthday. I know, I should have just let him go with no sadness but I couldn't help feeling a little ticked cause I had the whole day off, which I never do, and I had a wedding to go to which I was now to attend alone. Kinda sucky but oh well!

The next morning, Kirk wakes me up with breakfast in bed, this is just the beginning. Then, at choir practice, my dear sweet husband bullied Melissa into surprising me with the whole choir singing happy birthday. Mmmm, not so low-key. After choir, the Udy's made us stay over to have cake and ice cream, which was so yummy, by the way and open presents. By this point I decided to just throw all my feelings out of the window because I could see how happy and excited they were for me. So, I began opening presents. Ok, I need to pause here. All my life, I never really got any 'good' presents. My family was not well off and we have 6 kids so you can imagine what our birthdays and christmas' were like. Ok, back to the story. I got the best presents EVER!!!! Here's what I got: a friendship-charm bracelet (that was very thought out!), a hot roller set, two gorgeous pictures for my wall, a beautiful purse (cause I couldn't find one in NYC) and a wii remote. Now, I was pretty happy with my wii-mote cause I really wanted a wii, and I knew I was never gonna get one so when Kirk gave it to me he said, 'now you know we cant afford one of these but I got you this to start your collection.' I was like 'cool!' Then about 10 minutes later, he brings out one more present. Give you one guess as to what it was...yep, A WII!!!! Like I said....BEST HUSBAND EVER!!!!

So that pretty much wraps up my birthday! It was great, thanks to awesome family and friends! I'll get some pictures up soon.

No time is just not an excuse anymore...

I promised myself that when I quit my full time job I was gonna blog more. But its been a week and I haven't really kept up. I guess I will use the "I'm lazy" excuse!

Working at the salon full time has been so great! I'm not that busy yet but I know I'll get there. I just love being able to talk to people every day and help them look good and feel better about themselves. It's very rewarding! My schedule is Tuesday 1-8, Wed thru Fri 10-4 and Saturday 9-6. Kirk is liking it too because he can work the early shift from 7-4 so we're both home a couple hours earlier which is super nice!

On the flip side of quitting my job, I've found that its really hard to get things done when you have alot of free time. I have a task list of about a hundred things and about a hundred more things that I want to learn to do but I can never seem to organize myself. I can organize an office, no problem, but when it comes to my life, I think I'm just too impatient. I like everything right here, right now and I don't like coming up with ideas on how to get things done. If anyone has suggestions on this, please let me know! Or, if anyone wants to organize it for me... Just Kidding!

I guess this is good practice for when I am a stay at home mom. If I can learn to organize myself now, then when I have kids and more activities, it will be easier for me to control. At least, that is what I keep telling myself!

As far as news goes, my dad came into town last week for a couple days to trade cars. He took my brothers old Saturn that has been sitting in my driveway, broken, for more than a year and gave me his 1991 Chevy Caprice that he doesn't want to drive anymore. Thanks Dad! Let me tell ya though, this car, nicknamed "The Boat" is SWEET! Just ask anyone that has taken a ride with me so far! It has bench seats, nice maroon interiors, automatic locks and windows and a freakin' awesome stereo with a tape player included! Yeah, so if you ever feel like rockin' it out to Disney or Classical, call me anytime!

I love Weezer!!!!

My husband is the best! On Saturday night, he took me to see one of my favorite bands at the state fair. It was easy for him though, cause it was one of his favorites too! Weezer was amazing! They sang every song I wanted to hear and ended with one of my all time favorites, Buddy Holly! In the hallway, there was a poster of Weezer with one head cut out. I took a picture of my friend Bekah as a member of Weezer!

Pink Surprise

Ok, this is it! The last day of my life as a business lady! Three cheers for me! In honor of this mementos occasion, I gave myself a pink surprise!

Omar's Retreat Salon & Day Spa

Hello all!
As many of you know, I will be working full time at Omar's Retreat beginning next week. In honor of this memorable occasion, I will be offering discounts for new and exisiting clients.

New clients that come in will automatically get $10.00 off any cut or color between now and the end of the year! It's a fabolous offer! Also, existing clients can get $10.00 off any cut or color every time they refer a friend. This is an offer that doesn't expire!

If you would like to participate in this amazing offer, see me and I can provide you with the referral card you need to bring to the salon when you get your $10.00 off service. You only need to write the name of the person you referred on the card so I can verify they came or are coming to see me. You can call the salon or my cell to make your appointment.

I hope everyone will take part, and help me grow my buisness! I deeply appreciate all the wonderful clients I already have and hope to add you to that awesome list! Thanks so much!

Also, if you can, please pass this info around to friends and family you know would like to participate in this great offer!

Thanks!
Laura Spencer
Stylist
Omars Retreat Day Spa & Salon
6638 Superstition Springs Blvd.
Mesa, AZ 85206
480-615-6337 Salon
480-620-7462 Laura Cell
www.omarsalon.com

5 Days Left!!!

Mondays are not fun for me. I hate that feeling that the weekend is over. But today, after a fit of the "Mondays" I realized that today is the last Monday I get to grumble at! Only 5 more days and counting, and then I can be at my salon full time! Yeah! In case you didn't know, I'll only be working Tuesday - Saturday so I'll get a two day weekend again! It's gonna be a good week! :)

NYC!!!

Ok, finally I am going to put up pictures about our awesome trip to NYC! The idea was to go visit Kirk's parents in Connecticut for some much needed R/R. We invited a couple of our close friends to join us. Once we realized how close everything thing is up north, the ideas started flowing. We decided to make the most of our much needed vacation and visit everything we could possibly fit under the sun! Melissa & Charlie Udy, Brian & Lori Munoz and us flew into Providence, RI and Kirk's wonderful parents picked us up drove us back to their place via the beach. It was completly dark but still fun to see. The next two days we spent in NYC. We took the train and got to spend the night in a hotel, which cost a fortune, by the way, in Manhattan. Some of the sights we saw were the Statue of Liberty, Time Square, China Town, Little Italy, Cental Park, Musem of Natural History (though we didnt go in cause it was closed), and Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! The next day, we went to the spanish branch with Kirk's mom. She is the Stake Primary President and the spanish branch was having the primary presentation. It was so cute! Then we went to the beach (during daylight this time). We were the typical tourists taking so many pictures! PS - that is why it took me so long to get this post up cause I had to sift though all 700 pictures! Ok, so then Brian & Lori had to go home (*tear*). The rest of us packed up and went to Boston. First we stopped at Plymouth Rock, which we didnt even see cause it was raining, but we did see the Mayflower II. Then in Boston, we saw the Minute Men trail in Lexington/Concord, The Boston Temple and the Freedom Trail with this awesome tour guide dressed up like James Otis. We decided we learned more about history from the 90 minute tour than we ever did in our whole life! The last couple of days were spent relaxing. We went shopping one day and ate at a mom & pop soda shop that Kirk likes and took his parents out to a nice dinner for putting up with us all week. Sadly the day came where we had to go home. It was a good trip but frankly, I was ready to get back to my little puppy! Thanks so much to the Heaths for watching her!!! Ya'll are the best!!! :)

PS...

Sorry, there are 4 volumes of pictures! :) Like I said, we were picture-aholics!

General Conference

General Conference is so great! I love to hear the words of the Prophet and other General Authorities. Kirk brought home some muffins yesterday so we could keep a tradition his family has.

It's hard to pick out one specific talk or thought that was my favorite so I'll share a few. In the first session today Sister Dalton, General YW President talked about our virtue. She reminds us to understand our own identity and to never underestimate your righteous influence on others. She also said to be the first to make a stand, even if you're the only one. I loved the way she spoke about importance of returning to virtue. President Monson spoke of the joy in life right now. He reminds us to find joy in the journey and to not let life pass us by. Russell M. Nelson's talk during the second session stuck out to me. He talked about the sanctity of marriage and the blessings of having a temple marriage. It made me remember how grateful I am to be sealed in the temple for all eternity with a man I love and adore so much! I am grateful we have a temple so close that we can remind ourselves of the covenants we made there. William Oswald taught us about teaching. I loved this talk because teaching is my calling. He gave us 3 guides to teaching; show love to those you teach and call them by name; teach from the scriptures; and encourage pondering on spiritual thoughts. And finally, Elder Quentin L Cook gave a wonderful talk on opposition. I'll always remember him saying 'I hope you know, we had a hard time.'

So, those are my thoughts on conference. I was sad that I missed Saturdays because of work but am glad at the spiritual feast I was able to partake of today. On a sillier note, here are a couple of pictures of what the other two members of my family we up to during conference. Trixie was fervently chasing a light under the coffee table and Kirk thought he'd learn by osmosis! :) I hope everyone had an amazing conference weekend!

Happy Happy Birthday...

Last week my boss had a milestone birthday. We, as faithful employees decided help him celebrate in style! Five boxes of foil later, and he had an office from the 80's!!!

Rick's Office

Labor Day

We love days off! Who doesn't though? We have been spending the weekend with my brother Michael. So far, we've made some good food, watched movies and played Settlers while eating break-n-bake cookies. Tomorrow Kirk's gonna make us some smoked meat. MMM.... Hope you enjoy the pics.

Labor Day Weekend

When Toads Attack

Everyone has been posting about the incredibly large toads in our area, so I thought I would too. Only, mine is a sad story. Today Trixie was playing outside when she came across a frog. She likes to chase them and make them jump. Well, this frog turned out to be a poisoneous toad. Yeah, you can imagine what happened next. We heard Trixie whining outside so we went to investigate. Her whine quickly turned into a squeal, sounding exactly like a pig. She wouldn't let us pick her up but eventually we were able to wash her mouth out with the hose and she calmed down. We seriously thought we were going to lose her. It was bad. These giant toads are a serious problem for dogs. When your dogs go out at night, make sure you check their surroundings and keep a good eye on them. We found out the hard way. Beware!

50 Questions

Since I haven't posted in a while, I thought I'd take this questionnaire email I got from my lovely little sister and share it with ya'll. I hope you enjoy finding more out about me! :)

1. What time did you get up this morning? 11:32am
2. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Wall-e
3. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
4. Favorite t.v. show? Friends, The Office
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Luna Bar and Cranergy
6. What is your middle name? Jeanne
7. What food do you dislike ? seafood
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I guess the new Coldplay
9. What kind of car do you drive? Hyundai Elantra
10. Favorite sandwich? Ham, Turkey and Cheese (Plain)
11. What characteristic do you despise? Lying
12. Favorite item of clothing? Capri sweat pants
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it
be? Anywhere out of the country
14. Where would you retire to? Switzerland, or more realistically, a ranch in Texas
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Well, my friends used to throw me parties when I was in high school and I loved them!
16. If you were a superhero, what super power would you want? To be able to fly
17. States you've lived in? Texas and Arizona
18. When is your birthday? 11/9/81 (I expect everyone to remember that) :)
19. Morning person or a night person? Definatly night, but I really want to be a morning
19. Pets? Dog
21. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I just got a new phone...
22. What did you want to be when you were little? Pediatrician
23. How are you today? So so
24. What is your favorite flower? Daisy
25. What is the day on the calendar? August 20th
26. What are you listening to right now? Pandora (piano music)
27. What was the last thing you ate? Luna Bar
28. Do you wish on stars? Not since I was a kid
29. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Bright Pink
30. How is the weather right now? blue sky and hot, hot, hot!
31. Last person you spoke to on the phone? someone calling for their attorney
32. Favorite soft drink? Water, but Dr. Pepper if I'm feeling crazy :)
33. Favorite restaurant? Chick-fil-a, Joe's BBQ, YC's Mongolian BBQ
34. Hair color? Blond with Brown at the present
35. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies, cabbage patch dolls, rainbow brite, baby sister :)
36. Summer or winter? Neither, fall
37. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate
38. Coffee or tea? neither
39. How many siblings do you have? 2 sisters, 3 brothers, 4 sister in laws, 2 brother in laws
40. What is under your bed? Winter clothes, extra shoes and bags in boxes
41. What did you do last night? cut hair, and got my new phone
42. What are you afraid? snakes, failure
43. Salty or sweet? salty
44. How many keys on your key ring? 2 but there should be 3
45. How many years at your current job? 2.5 at Lake & Cobb and 1 at Omars Retreat
46. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
47. Do you make friends easily? I guess so (at least thats what my mom says)
48. Where were you born? Dallas, TX
49. Favorite hobby? Cutting hair
50. What was your first job? If you don't count babysitting, then Seagull Book & Tape

Back Again

Ok, I am back to normal again, for now, I hope! Melissa, Heather and I went to a Breaking Dawn release party last friday. We had a blast! It was kind of dorky but fun to act like obsessive teenagers again. I haven't finished the book yet so no one tell me what happens! :) Enjoy reading (if you are)

Breaking Dawn Release Party

Breaking Dawn

Ok, so I feel like the coolest kid on the block! I finally figured out how to change the background on my blog! Yeah me! I decided on the Breaking Dawn theme in honor of the book coming out this weekend.

This Friday, Melissa and I are going to a Breaking Dawn release party at Barnes & Noble at the San Tan Market place. If you want to come, feel free! It's a vampire prom! Ha ha! No, we're not dressing up. We just want to go and laugh at everyone that is. Come on, we all have to have our teenie bopper moments, even when we're in our mid 20's! :)

Oh, and if you're going to try to reach me this weekend, or perhaps next week, I probably won't answer the phone. I'm gonna be in an Edward comma. Ha ha!

My trip to Utah

4th of July

We had a great 4th! Our friends from Texas, Melissa and Matt, came to visit us. We went down to Tucson to the Old Tucson Studios, then we had a BBQ at Matt's parents house. It was so good to see them, especially their little baby, Levi. We hadn't seen him since he was 3 weeks old! Now, he is 7 months! They grow up so fast! We had a blast hanging out, laughing and of course, eating!

New Car

Last week, our insurance officially declared our car as totaled. Since then we have been car shopping. Well, I guess I have to say that Kirk was car shopping. I was just along for the ride. I hate researching and taking a long time to make a decision so for me, this was not fun. But, after a million cars, and a million degrees later, we finally bought one. It's a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. Enjoy, I know we will! :)