My 100 things

I thought it was cool to read about Mindy and Marie's 100 things and thought it would be cool to do. So here goes...wish me luck!

100. I am afraid of the water
99. Floss my teeth several times a day {and brush anytime I want to eat and it's not time}
98. Love dark chocolate raspberry chocolates from See's
97. I met my husband right across the street from where we live now.
96. I am disorganized when it comes to my scrapbook stuff
95. Have a goal of being able to run 5 miles in a row {some day}
94. Total night owl - at 1am I am just starting to unwind
93. Love to sleep till 10am on Saturdays
92. Used to play the piano
91. Wish I could find my talent
90. Insecure in just about any way possible
89. Always trying new hair products from the salon
88. Worrywart
87. I have 1 half brother
86. And three step brothers once removed
85. Have always wanted a big family
84. Goal for now is to watch a few movies a month and get caught up on all the cool movies I've never seen
83. Just saw Dirty Dancing for the first time
82. I love warm weather
81. One day John and I will have our own slice of heaven- in Montana
80. I think Vince Vaughn is hot! { I have an ex boyfriend that looks like him}
79. I am almost 9 years younger than John
78. I have been to the Bahamas twice
77. Gained 60 pounds with Chastin
76. I change my hair color ALL THE TIME!
75. I need change- move furniture, rearrange counter tops and so forth
74. Have a tendency to over think things till I go crazy
73. Watch HGTV constantly
72. I like new recipes, so we don't have to eat the same thing over and over every month
71. I receive a new magazine almost daily in the mail
70. I feel the need to recycle all the time, paper, clothes, toys, furniture, bags, whatever
69. My favorite treat is Cold Stone Creamery- birthday cake remix is the best!
68. I have terrible morning sickness for the first 4 months of being pregnant
67. My second toe is longer than the rest of my toes! On both feet!
66. I mostly wear t- shirts, nothing fancy
65. I am really going to need a tummy tuck when I am done having kids
64. I hate my nose
63. I would wear heels every single day if I could
62. I am a major list maker- my whole life revolves around lists- I have lists of things that need to happen, things i wish would happen {like my step daughter living with us} grocery lists, never ending Costco lists, DI drop off lists, thank you card writing lists.... and so on
61. I never wore jewelry till I met Paige
60. The month I got pregnant with Chastin I had just purchased a whole new wardrobe for working at the salon -$1,000 down the toilet!
59. I make more money staying home with other peoples kids than I ever did at any other job
58. I miss feeling needed like you do when you go to work
57. I always worry that I over shared or offended someone
56. Together my in-laws and us make more than 2,000 dozen cookies at Christmas time
55. I like to cook
54. Hate to clean up after
53. In the ten years John and I have been together we have been alone- away from our kids for a total of 15 days! 7 of the 15 we were in Hawaii with John's sister and her husband, so not technically alone
52. My favorite church songs are: Called to Serve & Give Said The Little Stream
51. I can't spell to save my life!
50. I always wanted a big family, but never thought any one would want to marry me,{ I still struggle this}
49. I LOVE OPRAH I just think she does so much good in the world- new schools, teaching people to be "GREEN", giving cars away to the needy and building homes for the Katrina survivors. She is open to so many new things, and has struggled with a lot of the same things average people have, and she doesn't hesitate to share
48. I have been listening to The Police every day since we went to the concert last June
47. I get my love of photography from my grandfather who was a published artist
46. I could spend endless amounts of time in museums... the J Paul Getty museum in Ca. is my all time favorite! I can't wait to go back
45. All told I have been to Disneyland more than 20 times
44. I am looking forward to The Farm Chicks show in June at the Spokane Fair Grounds! Yippee! { I pick up free stuff on the side of the road a lot, and use it to add to my love of Shabby Chic furnishings}.
43. I wish my friend Crystal could do my hair every morning
42. And that my friend Laura could clean my teeth every day too
41.I have a diet coke addiction! { i get it from my mother } my addiction is so bad now that I carry my own limes with me to add to my diet coke- and the coke must come from McDonalds!
40. I need crushed ice in my life - from Dicks and Taco bell is the BEST!
39. I like to do puzzles with Alex - it drives John nutty that I pull them all apart and put them back in the box
38. Fettuccine Alfredo is my favorite food
37. I feel like I am always saying " that's not the job for me" with a smile on my face
36. I made a deal with myself to try to not say "I'm tired" constantly
35. I go to Old Navy a couple times a month
34. And Target a couple times a week
33. I like Stephens hot cocoa
32. I wish I had a sister
31. I am positive that Mathew McConaughy is NOT gay!
30. I never want to be rich- i think you lose your values and struggle more in life
29. I have been offered many chances to receive a massage, but have a fear of being naked, so i always decline the offer
28. I just signed up for Netflix and love it!
27. I wish that just once I could beat John at the gift giving/surprise thing - he always goes all out for me
26. Speaking of the number 26, I always thought that 26 would be the best year of my life {I don't know why, it just sounded good I guess} and it turned out to be the worst
25. Thursday is my favorite day of the week ~ no reason ~ just really like it
24. I like even numbers - hence the last two digits in my cell number-32, any time I can pick an even number I will
23. I have a HARD time NOT picking even numbers- if John sends me to the store for 3 cans of something I have to get 4, if I need just one new tire-I have to get 2, if the deal is buy 2 get the third free- I have to get 6...
22.I sleep on the wrong side of the bed to me, but John got there first and so I was left with the other side :)
21. I think short hair is much more flattering on women than long
20. When I travel, I have to bring a hair dryer and Paul Mitchel freeze and shine, or the whole trip sucks!
19. I tried boogie boarding in Hawaii - check #100- that was a big deal! I even went out on a boat and got dropped in the middle of nowhere to snorkel because I believe you only live once, and had I not tried it I would have regretted it forever.
18. I really, really, dislike having my picture taken, but I know one day my kids will want to look back and see what grandma Barnes looked like.
17. referring to # 18- I can't wait to be a grandma
16. my goal for right now is to either be a single digit size or be pregnant- but no more of being in between
15. My kids are dying for me to go make dinner right now
14. The wedding ring i wear is not my real ring, the real one is too big for my finger right now
13. I need water by my bed side table every night, and if I run out- John goes down stairs and gets me more so my feet don't get cold
12. I love bamboo sheets!!!!!!! I will sleep with nothing else on my bed anymore. It must be bamboo!
11. I personally sleep with roughly 5 pillows
10. This was easier than I thought it would be
9. Method Cleaning products are all we use to clean anything any more
8. I have an addiction to chap stick, plain black wrapper chap stick
7. I am allergic to all lipstick * see number 8
6.I had my first cavity at 24 years old { probably due to all the flossing & brushing}
5. I go to Mariners games to eat and people watch- NOT BECAUSE I ENJOY THE GAME!
4. I didn't wear glasses till I was 25
3. I never found the joy in reading as a kid- it took till I was about 22 or 23 to start to read all kinds of books that people suggested. {f.y.i I used to only read short stories and non fiction, so I'm glad that I have branched out or I would have missed several good books lately- such as: the secret life of bees, the mermaid chair, a million little pieces, the twilight series, and the Amish books I just finished}
2. I collect Nativity Scenes
1. I can not NOT not stand ungroomed eyebrows!
I just want to pin the person down and wax & tweeze the daylights out of them! I tweeze my husbands and oldest sons brows so they aren't the men you see on the road that have unibrow!
No straggly, straight, sticking out every where ungroomed brows! Yuck-O!

I think the challenge should have been to list something like 125 or 150 things about yourself.
So I have just a few more to add...if your not too bored..read on.
~ would like to learn to sew or be crafty in some matter
~ feel like if my bed is made, the room is 'clean' to some degree
~when I grow up I want to be a mortician.... let that sink in for a moment..yes that means I want to do dead peoples hair and make-up
~I have a bee in my bonnet about wanting to go to N.Y for our wedding anniversary in June, because hopefully I will be home with a baby next year at that time:)
~ I think the Amish are amazing
~A boyfriend asked me to marry him when I was 17, I left him at the Olive Garden in Lynnwood, and no, I don't feel bad.
~ I call my 89 year old grandma every Sunday night
~~~and last but not least~
I sleep with a baby blanket that my Mom in law gave me when I was pregnant the third time, it seems to comfort me to sleep each night.

Christmas Eve

PJ'S ON CHRISTMAS EVE
our kids always get new pj's to open on christmas eve
the tag reads' open me christmas eve'
christmas morning kids are all in new pj's for moms pictures!

ISLAND PRINCESS FOR SHILO

FLANNEL BOTTOMS FOR CHASTIN x2

waiting for Santa

homemade cookies

ice cold milk in a snowflake glass

cards from chastin & shilo thanking santa...

all through the house christmas lights glow

candles are lit

stockings are stuffed

mom can't sleep~she is more excited than the kids....

Our Silent Night

So here it is...

Our Christmas card front...

It took forever-

1st time- camera battery dies 2 shots in

2nd time around- card dies, won't write to the card

{go to Costco for new 4GB}

3rd time- camera says card needs to be formatted

finally break down and use Jordan's Canon-

At least it's done, and if I do say so myself, it still is pretty cute:)

The bottom reads ~
May Your Night Be As Silent As Ours...2007

{note- for the final card it was cropped closer, the background is almost pitch black and all red eye was edited, then printed on matte paper with a white border}

Christmas Wish List

so i was wondering 'what's on your christmas list'?

it's that time of year, and when i was a kid we made wish lists, and then somewhere between then and now i quit. so for the first time in a while i made a true christmas list and e-mailed it to family, and wrote one out for john.{ don't worry- i asked them for their lists too!} so i thought it would be fun to see what's on your list...post & share away!

• meet the fockers dvd
• oprahs new book
• crop- a- dial
• nick & nora pj's
• steve madden slippers
• newest book by dr.oz

i seem pretty easy to shop for i think,

no expensive camera equipment or concert tickets to ask for as in years past

although i would really love to have a baby if i could ~ that would be a GREAT christmas gift!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS !

Robbery

Holy cow!
I just got back from safeway on 175th and 15th. still shaking! i'm done grocery shopping i come out to the car and a flood of people come running out after me! i am shocked! safeway is being robbed! i was just in there! i haven't even gotten in my car yet, just returned the cart, checking my receipt, yelling screaming all coming from the people who are running for their lives out of the store.
it's being robbed! right now, as i get in my car, the people who were in line right behind me didn't come out... what was happening? i was instantly shaking and dialing 911. there was an old couple who were hiding behind the cart i had just returned. people were getting in their cars and speeding away. i looked behind me to see a group of boys and girls all running into the 15th side of safeway. 16-20 years old. i still can't believe it! 5 guys stand outside arms folded guarding the door, people run in with guns held above their heads, tall black girl dances outside the store like this was no big deal! smiling and waving her arms! What! What in the world! i take off out the 175th side exit, turn right, wait on hold, back up back into the parking lot, head towards the light at 15th and 175th, what will i say to the 911 guy, what did i just see? i can't process what to say. i tell the operator that something was happening in the store and i wasn't sure just what. i told him people came running out terrified and if he could send someone out to see. he told me to wait, then confirmed what i thought i had seen, safeway was being robbed.... and i was just in there, talking to the young guy who was ringing me up, last thing i said was have a good night, and he said you too! what would have happened had i stayed to look at my receipt like i was going to, when i decided to get in the car because it was cold. i even checked beside my car, as i was taught as a child growing up in l.a.
the choices we make- strange how things turn out. i was going to park by the 15th st entrance when i thought it was getting late they might be closing that side soon, and i don't want to have to walk across the dark parking lot, by myself so i parked at the other entrance. i will never forget the terror on the old couples face as they huddled together behind the carts and a small bush.
was it really worth it? how much could they possibly get? $300 or so? was it worth scaring all of these people? why? Why? why would you even think this is a good idea! the operator told me to get away from the store so i drove slowly by where the robbers were to see if i could tell them anything else, but i couldn't, nothing more.
was the car next to me that a man came running out to and sped away part of this crime? was the next car the pulled away at the same time part of it? was i in the store with the robbers, casually doing my shopping, were they watching the place?
was the cashier that i was talking to o.k? how about the old couple? the look on their faces will not leave my mind. as they hold their little table top christmas tree, innocently spending some time together. just as john and i might have, we could have asked mom and dad to watch the kids and gone together and been trapped inside with the gang members fit of rage. i don't know what kind of place we live in where you can't run to the store in a small suburb and be safe.... just makes me sad. i guess i wouldn't have been so surprised if i had been there in the middle of the night, but it was 7:45pm on a mon. night.
it's all so sad to me.
and to think that lately i have been kind of short with my family because i have taken on too much- i could have left my family with that feeling this night, and never gotten to tell them that i was sorry for being impatient for my own short comings. i have learned a lesson tonight. more than one lesson.
john is always so strong. i came flying in the door after finally getting my shaking key into the door, and was shaking and just scared to death, and he was strong and comforting as usual when life throws me against a wall. thank you john, for that. and i thank my heavenly father for watching over me again, and again.
i am sorry for my rambling, it might not make sense, but it's out. and maybe i will feel better, knowing that you too can pray for the people in that store, the old couple buying a christmas tree, the mother & daughter buying baking items for cookies they were laughing about making together, the young guy who rang me up, the other young checker who waved goodnight when i wished them a good night. the store manager who helped me look for almond bark, tonight i pray for them. for their safety and their peace of mind.

catch up

I have a few things I wanted to share.



Shilo calls Eggnog Eggmilk, I think it's funny...



Chastin told Shilo that on Christmas Eve 'virgins of sugar plum fairies will dance in our heads'
that too I thought was pretty funny!


my new favorite drink is something my grandpa use to drink on cold winter mornings-
i mix decaf instant coffee granuels with dry non fat milk and add boiling water. i love all things flavored coffee, coffee ice cream from b&r, coffee flavored nipps, and so on. i figure that it must come from my grandpas love for the flavor, because he use to give me the nipps and coffee flavored italian sodas. but my all time favorite coffee flavored treat is tirimisu.
i know, i know, i can hear a few of my friends telling me about the caffine in some of the treats, but really it's not any different than a diet coke or a pepsi or even a dr. pepper or mountain dew. so there you have it, my not so secret treat.






My new favorite shoot-













this was the easiest family to shoot!
their personalities shine through each photo! it was such a pleasure to go with them to Kerry park and spend some time capturing them in some candid moments. i am not going to post any that they might use for their christmas card, but i will post some of the girls in the family soon. paige did such a great job picking the colors for them all to wear, i wish i had thought of pink and grey myself!
thanks for the invite paige- i had a ton of fun & am glad that the weather was so nice and that eric had the perfect park in mind! it fit right in with the seattle backdrop idea you wanted.
{if only sarah and bretts shoot turned out this good}.

Checking off my list

So as many of my readers know, I have had one very busy weekend. I really enjoyed all of the different events the weekend held, but I'm glad it's over. I am actually sad at the same time that the weekend went by so quickly. I don't feel like I actually ever took the time to soak in all that it had to offer. I am sure that we have all had weekends that left us feeling blurry headed and exhausted. My exhaustion stems more from an emotional standpoint than a physical one.
Right now I feel as though I hurried through each event to keep on schedule, and now I regret it. So to fill you in- the weekend went a little like this...

Thursday

• Rush to get Chastin & Shilo's hair cut and mine colored
• Tell Chastin I ordered him a cake because I don't have time to make the cake he picked out after all. Upset 8 year old- upset mom= failure
• Thursday night wait in dumping rain for Great Grandma to arrive on the train, run into Burlington Coat factory to see if they have suits in Chastin's size. Which they did, and I never made it back to buy him one to wear after the baptism. Another failure.

Friday

• Start work at 8:30, take Shilo to dance, get yelled at by a dance dad for using my cell phone in the hall to make a schedule with a daycare mom, walk/run on treadmill during nap time for 70 min.
• Friday night get to have dinner with good friends and enjoy some girl time!

Saturday

• Go to work for Ballard Camera from 8:45-1:30
• Drop Chastin and Shilo off at church for primary service project
• Miss Jordan's last soccer game where of course she wins for the second time in the season. And to top it off- against an undefeated team. Defeat for mom
• Rush home- set up for Chastin and Shilo's Birthday party
• Take Shilo to Urgent Care in downtown Seattle from 7-midnight,to find she has a fever of 104 and a UTI. Another point lost for mom. I have let my 4 year old daughter get an infection.Uhhh. I don't know how much more I can handle by this point. Shilo sleeps in the car on the way there and on the way home and stays awake in her bed talking to her new lions she got for her birthday till the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday

• Another day of going to bed last and getting up first.
• Late to Sacrament Meeting, Shilo stays home with John and Great Grandma.
• Run home during Sunday School to retrieve plates for Baptism and pick up Great Grandma.
• Panic about being prepared for Chastin's Baptism- and due to lots of help from my wonderful husband and great friends all ran smoothly. Big thanks to them! Score for mom!
• The most important piece of the whole weekend went the best!
• Come home, unwind for once in two weeks, finally get some sleep.

I feel like every time I achieve something, the first thought that goes through my mind is "something off my list" and I have decided to not live that way anymore. When someone says " can I help you?" I vow to say "Yes" I am choosing to let go of some of my control. I know it will be hard, and that some of my grand ideas will have to wait for another chance to be put into action. But I am willing to give it my best, for a better quality of life. I want - I deserve to enjoy each moment that I am given; to experience the lesson, the joy the moment has to offer. Maybe I need to give myself some credit and treat myself as I would someone else. With kindness and love and patience. I don't have to do it all, and I don't have to plan so many things that I have to have a list to check off.

So there... Another thing off my list- {update blog:)}