Blog Makeover Winner!

Yes, I am doing this a few minutes early. I feel pretty comfortable saying that no one else is going to enter. So, here you go.

Congratulations to:

Rosie

She's my cousin in law (on Ryan's side) and is such a sweet person. She also makes really beautiful, hand stamped metal jewelry. You can look at some of her pieces here or here.

Rosie, contact Erin at Designer Blogs now to work out all of the details. I look forward to seeing what the two of you come up with. To all the rest who entered, her sale prices end today. If you would like to purchase a package from her, I would do it today.

Maybe some one out there knows

I've noticed that my profile views number has been stuck at 1,600 for quite a long time. Like a couple of months. Yet, my stat counter tells me that people have been viewing it and coming to my blog via my profile. Does anyone know the reason for this? Is there a setting I need to change?

P.S. Sorry for the first post with the typo in the title. I didn't mean to hit publish. I actually wanted to fix the title typo and say something first. I just couldn't help myself and I hit publish.

Some things I would love

Listed in no particular order:

• An entire day to go by where I don't have to deal with poop from kids who I shouldn't have to be dealing with their poop.
• A flatter stomach. I will never look the way I did before I had children. (I wasn't great to begin with.) Having babies really did a number on my skin. I have zero elasticity to it. I'm sure you can imagine what that means. Sorry for the TMI. I just want a stomach that is a little flatter and a little smoother and rather less like a muffin top. I really am working on it.
• To be less anxious.
• For Dr. Pepper to not be bad for me. I love it. I miss it. I want it. I can't believe I've lasted this long without it.
• To have less, or even better, no more headaches.
• A new fence in my backyard. I'm tired of the ghetto one we currently have.
• To be caught up on my scrap booking. I haven't even started a book for Peyton. Yes, all who know me, you read that right. I am that far behind. Shocking.
• To have feet that don't cramp when I run. It really stinks.
• Patience.
• To yell less. I feel bad when I do it. I should learn to not do it at all.
• To be better about reading my scriptures. Once a week really doesn't cut it.
• To be better at planning out my menus.
• A "decorated" bedroom. Mine is just a mish mash of stuff right now. I really want something pretty. I think I'm going to start working on this one. Tomorrow.
• For donuts to not go directly from my mouth to my butt.
• To be less combative and stubborn. Ryan is pretty much the same way. You better believe that makes for some interesting moments around here.
• For Peyton to really like me. Of course he knows I'm his mom and he does love me, but I want him to really LOVE me. (He still loves Ryan more then me, but I'm not bitter or anything. No.) He's my last baby and I want him to let me really baby him. He won't. He's too independent.
• For a vegetable garden to spontaneously grow in my backyard.
• Better understanding, empathy, sympathy, whatever you want to call it, for others.

Yuck

I have an enormous headache in my eye. So, why am I staring at a computer screen and posting unnecessarily you ask. Because I want need people to feel sorry for me. Duh. In conjunction with the headache, I also have a messy house. Those two things don't go well together. I wonder how much I'll get done today.

Don't forget, if you have a blog that could use a makeover, leave a comment on "It's a great day for a giveaway" for a chance to win a custom makeover by Erin at Designer Blogs. You only have until Thursday to do it. Plus, I think this will be my last pathetic reminder about it. I'm needy, but I don't want to be pathetically needy. So, go on and leave a comment before you forget.

You really do forget

I totally forgot what it was like to have a toddler who's into everything around the house. Peyton is crazy. He's truly into everything. He breaks dishes. He plays in my bathroom sink. He's constantly getting into the refrigerator. I can't do the dishes when he's around. He takes the dirty ones out and runs away them, or he climbs inside and tries to sit on the door. He's a non-stop, spinning whirlwind who laughs at his own naughty antics all along the way.

He gets into my cupboards and dumps out boxes of crackers and cereal. Yet, I don't learn my lesson and put them in a place he can't reach them. ☺ I guess it's my own fault when he does that.

He takes the vent covers off and drops stuff into the ducts. I found alphabet magnets, my mixer dough hook, a book and a bottle in one the other day. He still loves to play in the toilet. He likes to play in the garbage too. I have to keep the can up on my kitchen counter, out of his reach. I learned my lesson there. The hard way.

His new favorite game: tipping the piano bench over so it's upside down. He then likes to push it around to no particular place.

He is such a stinker and trying to stop him only makes him try harder. You would think that with him being the 4th child, I would have all of this mothering stuff down. My house would be child-proofed and nothing would ever get destroyed. Nope. You really do forget. And maybe, you kind of get lazy by the 4th one and figure as long as they're not bleeding or making a lot of noise, if they're happy whatever they're doing is okay.

I don't know why I was worried

The baby shower for Emily went off without a hitch. Except, I left her present at home (we had the shower at my church) and I had to go home to get it. That's pretty typical. It wouldn't be a day in my life if something wasn't forgotten. At least I didn't leave all the food at home and only take the present. Maybe I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

I sort of forgot I was in charge

I'm throwing a baby shower tomorrow for my sister in law Emily. I sort of forgot that since I was the one throwing it, that meant I was the one in charge of the food. Or, at least making assignments for things. I've forgotten to call any of the many aunts to ask them to bring something. Oh well, forgetting stuff is the story of my life. I think. I can't really remember.

The shower is going to be open house from 4:30-6:30. Kind of a weird time, but that's what it had to be to work with many different schedules. I don't want to go all out with a dinner (because I have no time for that now), but I also don't really want to skimp on it either. I'm thinking finger sandwiches, a couple of salads and some other finger-y kind of food. That's not skimpy. Right? Possibly cookies for dessert. No time to bake them though. I'll be buying them. So, it looks like Costco here I come. I have lots of money (hahah) just waiting to be spent.

Don't forget to leave a comment on "It's a beautiful day for a giveaway" to enter for a chance to win a custom blog makeover by Erin at Designer Blogs. You have until Thursday, April 30th at 6:00 pm MST time to do it. I don't even care if we don't know each other. That makes it more fun. Oh yeah, and remember how I said I'm very needy. I NEED to know who reads this blog. I just NEED to. Post about the giveaway on your own blog and you will get 2 additional entries. How bad can that be!?

It's a beautiful day for a giveaway

The birds are singing and chirping outside my window. The sun is shining and it's actually warm. My house is basically clean and most of my laundry is done. I also have a beautiful, new blog design thanks to Erin at Designer Blogs. It is indeed "A Beautiful Day" and that is coincidentally the name of the design kit used on this blog. Sounds like today is just the perfect day for a giveaway.

I wanted to do this in conjunction with my blog birthday giveaway, but alas, that didn't happen. I added my name to Erin's queue several weeks ago and was hoping that the new design might possibly be up and running at the same time as my darling little blogs birthday. It's okay that it wasn't because this giveaway deserves a spot all its own. When I find something I like, I really like it and I like to let everyone know about it. So, now you know about Rustic Mama Jewelry and Designer Blogs. Plus, these giveaways might just be a little bit about me. I really do love meeting new people through blogs. Giveaways are a good way to get all the lurkers to come out of the closet so I can finally meet them.

What I am giving away is a custom blog makeover by Erin. You will receive 1 "Package A" makeover. Click here to see examples. If you want anything above and beyond that, you can certainly upgrade. (At an additional cost to you.) There is already a spot reserved for the winner of this giveaway in the May Queue listed as "Christa's Giveaway Winner". Once the winner is chosen, you can start communicating with Erin to work out the details. Go check out all of the beautiful possibilities.

I know that many already have their own custom designs, or are experimenting with doing it on their own. I think that's fantastic. However, maybe Erin can simply help you to kick it up a notch, add to what you already have, or just start all over. She has so many design kits to choose from. There's something there for almost anyone.

The giveaway rules:

1. If you are interested in entering, leave a comment saying so. Doing that=1 chance to win.

2. Post about this on your own blog=2 additional chances to win. (Even if you aren't interested in the makeover, please post about this on your own blog as well. Like I said, I like to get the word out about things I like. I also like to know that people like me. ☺ I'm so very needy.)

3. That's it.

In total, you can have 3 chances to win. One more chance than my last giveaway. You're all so lucky I'm in such a generous mood today. I will allow comments to be left on this post until Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 6:00 pm MST time. Erin has a sale happening right now that will run until the end of the month. I will try to have the winner posted before too late in the evening so that everyone who doesn't win (I don't want to call you losers), can have the chance to purchase a package at the sale price before it ends. You know, if you're interested. By the way, the package I purchased was Package C.

I again want to thank all the wonderful friends I've made through this blog. You truly mean so much to me. I don't know where I would be without you. Truly.

Phew!

Ryan fixed my computer. It involved something with re-partitioning the hard drive or something like that. I don't know. I didn't really pay attention. I'm just glad he was able to do it.

On another note, I'm a little bummed. I found out a couple of days ago that my school district will not be holding their summer gifted program. And that really sucks. I had been waiting and waiting for my kids to come home with the brochure about it. The program is by invitation only and both Tyler and Cameron were sure to be invited this year. Nothing was coming. I called the gifted office to find out what was going on. The only thing they had to say was "no, we will not be holding it this year." That's it. Thanks for the information school district.

Several months ago, they mailed a survey to determine the level of interest in the program and the validity of continuing it. Apparently, they have lost money on it every year it's been running due to the cost of the facilities, teachers additional salaries, etc. One of the questions was whether or not I would be willing to pay $150 for the tuition rather than the $125 it has been for several years. Absolutely. I would be willing to pay any amount to help further my children's education. They obviously did not get enough responses like that. I just wish that they would have let me know, but I suppose mailing out letters would have added to their cost. ☺ I'm actually really sad that this beneficial program is being cut. I really feel like my kids will be missing out. I guess it's up to me now to challenge their minds. Oh boy.

My computer bit the dust

My computer has some sort of hardware issue right now. Usually, the troubles come from promiscuity and catching viruses. This time it's internal and wouldn't you know it, Ryan is in Idaho working for the next couple of days. He'll try to get to it once he gets back. I do have another computer in my family room, but it's kind of difficult to use. I'll try too here and there, but please try to be understanding of my absence. I know, no one has noticed. You probably wouldn't have if I hadn't said anything, but I wanted to garner a little sympathy. ☺

There's some good stuff here

My family and I were at Costco (aka the store that claims I have spent over $2200 dollars there in 5 months time) last Saturday. There was an author there having a book signing. When we strolled past her, she handed us a small, bookmark size flier advertising her book and it also had the address to a website on it. I've finally looked at the site and am very happy I did. It's going to help me along on my food storage/self-efficiency quest very nicely. I plan on going back to Costco to see if her book is still there and to also unknowingly spend huge amounts of money.

I know

A conversation that took place last week between Tyler and myself.

Tyler: Hey, Mom. You haven't bought any Dr. Pepper for a long time. You NEED to buy some. I'm REALLY craving it.

Me: I know. Me too. sob....

I'm not sure I believe them

I shop at Costco frequently. By that I mean at least once a week. Sometimes twice a week. OK, probably more like three. I do have a family of six after all. I don't buy big, extravagant items. I just buy regular grocery stuff. I have the regular kind of membership. The kind that costs $50 annually. Well, around 2 months ago my family and I were shopping on a Saturday. We were checking out and one of the associates came by with a hand held scanner and
pre-scanned our items before we got to the register. She then asked me if I was interested in upgrading my membership to the business type. With a business membership, you receive cash back rewards and that's about it. Nothing fancy. You need to spend $2000 annually in order to get the cash back. I told her no thanks, I looked into it when I renewed back in November and was told I had only spent $1200 for the previous year. (Their year is from renewal date to renewal date. Not the calendar year.) I was told upgrading most likely would not be worth it unless I planned on buying some big ticket items. She said, "well, it looks like so far this year you've spent....$1800. You're well on track to reaching $2000." WTH! (I, of course mean heck there.)
This was around the beginning of March. No way had I spent $1800 in three months time. Especially since I had only spent $1200 the previous year. I asked her to recheck and sure enough, $1800 was the amount spent. I told her I'd have to think about the upgrade and walked away shaking my head. No way could it be possible.

Well, back on the greatest day of my life, I decided to look into it again. This time I went to customer service and asked them to tell me my total. They told me my total spent was...$2200. If I upgraded I would get the cost of the upgrade back and then around $60 more. I was absolutely flabbergasted. I asked them to double and triple check the numbers. Really, I spent $2200 dollars since November 30, 2008 up until then. (It's actually a little higher than that now because I've been back a couple of times since.) In five months time, I've spent more than $1000 dollars more than I did the entire previous year. I just don't know how it's even possible. Like I said, I just buy regular grocery stuff. Milk, eggs, cheese, string cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, orange juice, chicken, other meats, fruit snacks, laundry soap, fabric softener, dryer sheets, soups, crackers, chips, spices, granola bars, etc. Huh. When you type it out like that, the list gets really long. Maybe I have spent that much money....I'm still not sure I believe them.

And the winner is....

Dionne

Dionne and I were friends in high school, but haven't seen each other since graduation. Almost 15 years ago. Isn't it funny how you lose track (like, immediately) of people you thought you would associate with/know for years. Reconnecting with her is exactly what I meant when I said I was grateful for the blog world. It's been nice finding old friends and making new ones. You'll never know how much it truly means to me.

Dionne, go check out Rustic Mama's stuff, if you haven't already. You choose whatever you want (remember you can have a whole set) and then email me at hendriksen.christa@gmail.com to let me know. I'll get it ordered. I can have it shipped to you, or we can meet up and I'll give it to you in person.

Thanks to all who left comments. I appreciate all of them.

Just so you know

Today is the last day to leave a comment on the post "Happy Birthday Blog" to enter for a chance to win some jewelry. I"ll turn off comments at 10:00 pm MST. I'm pretty sure that every one who is going to enter, has. I'm just giving one final reminder to all you lurkers and stalkers. Go ahead, you can leave one too. I dare you. ☺

It will probably take me about 5 years

If you live in the Salt Lake valley, you know that due to an increase in population and building, there has been a third area code added to the state. The entire state used to be 801. Around 15 years ago, 435 was added for all areas outside of the Wasatch Front. This new third one will also cover the Wasatch Front. What does that means for those who live there and currently have an 801 number? It means that they will get to keep it, but anyone getting a new number in the area will get the new area code. (I have no idea what it is.) That means that you could have an 801 number, but if someone new moves into the house across the street from you, their number will have the new area code. (Right? I could be wrong about that. I haven't really paid very close attention to all of this. It may only mean that numbers given to new construction will get the new area code. If anyone knows, tell me.) It will not be a long distance call to call them, but you will have to dial the 10 digit phone number whenever you do. Customers were informed of this change several months ago and told to start practicing using it. I think I practiced once and I had around 9 months to do it. Once implemented and the change took place, local calls would not go through unless the 10 digit number was dialed.

Well, the change has officially taken place and I would say that 9 times out of 10, I don't remember to dial the area code first. I've already done it wrong twice today. I get the "your call could not be completed as dialed" message almost every time I try to use the phone. I have to hang up and start all over again. Now, like I said, customers had around 9 months to prepare for this change and it happened about a month ago. So, in total, I've had 10 months to get ready. You would think I would have it down by now, but I don't. I'm 33 years old. I've lived in Utah my entire life. I was used to only one area code for 18 of my 33 years. It took ages for me to remember and get used to 435. I'm guessing that it's going to take at least 5 years for me to get used to this change. If I subtract the time I've already had, I suppose it could technically only take another 4 years and 2 months. I hope I get it soon. I'm getting really sick of dialing and then hanging up and having to redial every time I want to make a phone call.

Try it. You WILL be surprised

Back in January, Heather (my sister-in-law) wrote this post about cleaning. I was very impressed with it and have implemented some of the items into my own routine. (I'm getting a very strong sense of deja vu. Have I already blogged this? Oh well. It's worth telling again.) The one thing I liked the very best was the idea of setting a timer when you plan to clean. I do it all the time and am always amazed at how much I can get done. For example, today I set my time for 1 hour. In that time, I was able to sweep my kitchen floor, unload and load my dishwasher, scrub the kitchen sink, wipe down all of the counters and the table, dust my living room, clean my bathroom and finally, wipe down the inside of my refrigerator. That's a lot and I did it all in the 1 hour I allowed myself. I've found that if I go into without a specific idea of what I want to get done, I get a whole lot done. I just set my timer and start moving. Rooms get tidied up quickly because I'm working against the clock. This isn't something I do when I plan on doing a deep cleaning. I reserve stuff like that for Saturdays. I do this to take care of the everyday messes that happen. I always come out of it with a great sense of accomplishment. Try it and you WILL be surprised at how much you WILL accomplish.

*Go leave a comment on my post "Happy Birthday Blog" for a chance to win some jewelry. You only have until Saturday at 10 pm MST to do it. So, hurry! I mean like, NOW! Time is running out.

Hi, my name is

Hi, my name is Christa, and for some stupid reason, I have a really hard time typing it correctly. 99.9% of the time, it comes out like this: Chritsa. It drives me crazy. Christa, Christa, Chritsa, Christa, Chritsa, Chritsa, Chritsa, Christa. SEE! On the ones I got right, I had to focus all of my attention on what I was doing. So annoying.

Peyton formed a real, discernible, coherent sentence today. He picked up Tyler's Nintendo DS and said, "Mom, this is Tyler's". I kid you not. He then walked over to the top of the stairs and yelled down "Tyler! Tyler! Tyler!" all while holding the DS up in the air. Anyway, it was exciting to Chritsa. Dang it! I did it again.

Spartan Spirit

Thanks to Michigan State, my bracket is now totally shot. I had U Conn winning the whole thing. Boo Michigan State. However, I did get 43 games right and Ryan only got 41. Take that Ryan.

*By the way, remember to leave a comment on my "Happy Birthday Blog" post to be entered in my drawing to win a set (that's necklace, bracelet & earrings) of jewelry from Rustic Mama Jewelry. Your choice. You can have whatever set you like. Aren't you just so lucky?

Happy Birthday Blog

Today is my blogs 1st birthday. I can hardly believe an entire year has passed since this little piece of blogdom came to be. I know it has enriched many, many lives. Mine. I'm so very grateful for all that it has given to me, taught me, the people it's introduced me to and all the time it has sucked away from me. Yes, I really am grateful for that.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I've decided to have a giveaway. Big surprise, right. I'm going to give away a set of jewelry from Rustic Mama Jewelry. (You may have noticed my attempt at a link at the side of the page.) I'm not going to choose the set for you. I will leave that up to the winner. (Although, I am personally leaning toward the Forest Bliss set, but that's just me. I'm not going to tell anyone what to do.) That's right you can have (1) any full set that you want. All you have to do is go to her site and choose which one you would like. If you win let me then know your choice and I will make it happen for you.

I guess I will make the "rules" similar to what I've done before. I don't want this to be too complicated. Here they are:

1. Leaving a comment congratulating my blog on it's big day = one opportunity to win.

2. Posting about this on your own blog, or Facebook (yes, I'm still using it) = a second opportunity. Just be sure to let me know about either one.

3. That's it.

Easy peasy. I will allow comments to be left until 10:00 pm MST on Saturday, April 11, 2009. I'll choose the winner after that and let everyone know within a day or two.


Happy Birthday Blog!

Always the Queens ways

Avery, excuse me, The Most Special-est Queen Avery, had a very special morning today. We were a little pressed for time (today was a preschool morning and I was running a little behind) and she knew it. Yet, she kept making crazy demands and wanting impossible things done. I kept telling her to knock it off and that I needed her to leave me alone so I could finish getting ready. Finally, after saying yelling that for the 500th time, this was her reply. Said in a sickly sweet/extremely snotty voice: "No. I want you to do everything I say. Everything will be better if you do." Yes, she is a brat sometimes.

I watch my kids like a hawk

Yes, playing in the bathroom sink is a normal occurrence at our house. I say whatever makes them happy is fine with me. I guess I'm a very liberal parent. Yeah, I had no idea he was even in the bathroom. I was downstairs doing laundry and Avery had to come find me so I could get him out.

I don't know what will come of this

Yes, I am an encyclopedia of scrapbook knowledge. ☺

Ha, ha, ha....I just made myself laugh

because that statement could not possibly be further from the truth.

Several months ago, my aunt asked me to teach a scrap booking class through the Granite Peaks education program. The first classes were to start back in January (on the day I was serving jury duty), but didn't happen because there were not enough people signed up. I can't remember how many must in order for the class to happen. I want to say there has to be at least 5, but don't take my word for it. Anyway, I was really relieved and not at all disappointed that it didn't happen at that time. There was no way I would have made the first class.

Well, fast forward a couple of months and it's time to register for classes again. Now, I'm not a scrapbook expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, I do enjoy doing it and "teaching" a class about it would be a good excuse to do it more often. The classes will be on Thursday's from 6-9 pm and will be held at Hunter High School. The tuition for the class is $65 and supplies will be extra. I have plenty of my own stuff on hand that I would be willing to sell (most likely, I would give most of it away). Oh, yeah, they're scheduled to begin on April 16th and will run for 6 weeks. I haven't totally worked out exactly what we would be doing, but I have a pretty good idea. I'm thinking that we will do some theme pages. Like: birthday, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc. I'd like to try and get in most of the major holidays.

This isn't a plea for people to register. I will be just fine if it doesn't pan out again, but if you would like to tap into my vast scrapbook knowledge, you can register for the class here. I'm pretty sure there is only one class available, but if there is more that one, it's the one being taught by Christa Hendrickson (Hendriksen). They spelled my name wrong. Oh, and I didn't write the description for it.

*Update* I thought that I should say that if you want to sign up for the class, here's the way to do it. Click on "courses" on the left of the page. Then click on "Crafts" in the "Arts" section. The "Scrapbooking" class will be listed there and there is only "one". It seems I have used an over "abundance" of "quotation marks" in that statement. Deal with it.