Wednesday, July 20, 2011

More Thoughts on evo '11

I'm still smiling as I think of the gorgeous view from the Canyon's gondola ride up the mountain.  Besides the scenery, I'm missing the Park City weather - especially as we deal with muggy temps pushing 110 degrees.

I know evo '11 made a Friday Favorites and a Top Ten list, but I'm still go through my notes and working on all that I learned.  After digesting some of what I learned, I posted more reflections over at Arizona Mama.


Check out other conference attendees summaries and you won't want to miss out on next year's conference!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Photography Club: Wild

Our new and improved Photography Club was a success!  Thanks to all of you who voted. The photo with the most votes was Bright Flower.
The theme of our next challenge was wild.  We each had 10 minutes with the camera in Bass Pro Shop because you can't get much more wild than that! 
All the Better to Eat You



Deer Wild





Food Please!



Masked Bandit


Please leave a comment to vote for your favorite Wild picture!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Family Home Evening: Patriotism

While we were on vacation, we were able to have a Family Home Evening with my in-laws and some of my husband's other siblings and their families.  It is so comforting sharing spiritual experiences with my extended family.  My mother-in-law shared a lesson on patriotism.  We talked a little about the Constitutional Convention and she read a few stories of her ancestors.  We finished it off with reading some funny kids quotes. 


We finished off the evening with a couple of kinds of cookies.  It was a very simple and informal evening where enjoyed being together and celebrating our faith.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Saturday Sentament: Inspiration

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dutch theologian

Friday, July 15, 2011

Friday Favorites: July 15

It's been a big week for our family as we entered a new stage of life!
  • My favorite of the week (OK, the year) is being a grandma!  So much fun and way less pain involved than becoming a mother.
  • Settling back into being at home; including my sleeping in my own bed and using my own shower.  It's the little things that comfort me.
  • My awesome neighbor taught me I should have harvested my lettuce sooner; that's why it tasted bitter.  Then she showed me how to harvest the seeds.  I'm ready to try again after the summer heat breaks!
There's other cool things going on in the blog world too.
  • I love this all purpose card at Think Fast.
  • Check out these black and white parfaits Celebrations at Home shared.
  • I Heart Faces has a great post about cake smash photography.  I started reading Your Baby in Pictures by Me Ra Koh.  The post and the book go well together.  I was fortunate to hear Me Ra Koh speak at evo '11.  I enjoyed hearing her inspiring story.  It was empowering to realize creativity, in all its forms, is therapeutic. It helps us to make sense of the world around us and our place in it.  I've always enjoyed photography, and now its more meaningful to give it a purpose and direction through my children and grandchild.
What are you loving this fine Friday?

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Lettuce Harvets - and Carrots Too!

Now that the full summer heat is here, the lettuce sprouted flowers and is getting a little tough.  I realized I don't know when I'm supposed to harvest my little garden. This morning I picked the biggest leaves. There was enough for last night's Taco Salad dinner. We had to comb the leaves carefully to make sure we didn't eat any green caterpillars.   

I thinned the carrots and pulled the ones that fell and were growing between the lettuces.  They still need more time to grow, but it's exciting to see (and eat) those little beauties!


We have a lot to learn about growing a more productive garden, but I'd say our growing experiment was  a success - even if our potatoes died suddenly and I don't know why.  The green beans are still growing so we might get a handful of those out of the deal too.  I'm excited to try again after the heat passes.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Top Ten Things I Loved about evo '11

Sorry for the sporadic posts.  I meant to have some lined up before I went on vacation, but that obviously didn't happen.  I also meant to write more while I was on vacation; that obviously didn't happen either.  I was too busy having fun!


Since I'm still digesting my super fun evo '11 experience, I'll give you a more complete summary via It's a Crafty Life's Ten on Tuesday
  1. Beginning WordPress class by Jennifer Stuart.  I learned so much.  I'm hoping to make the switch within the next month.
  2. Progressive Dessert Party.  Imagine strolling through 10 super fancy suites, eating a variety of desserts.  Fun and food - my favorite.
  3. Early morning exercise classes to help offset all the yummy food.
  4. Growing Your Blog workshop by the folks from Baby Center.  This was a perfect example of the willingness of those more experienced with the rest of us.  Not only were they knowledgeable, I felt very comfortable talking to them.
  5. Bush's Beans Party at Park City Mountain Resort.  I loved the international menu and the rides down the Alpine Slide.
  6. The Syndication class was enlightening.  Again, awesome people who are easy to talk to and willing to share.
  7. The Business of Blogging workshop was empowering.  There are too many bloggers willing to give companies valuable advertising without getting anything in return.  We bloggers have power and should remember our worth.
  8. Me Ra Koh was the closing speaker.  She has an amazing story!
  9. BBQ at the Red Pine Lodge.  The gondola ride was breath taking.  The only downside was saying goodbye to all my new friends.
  10. I know I mentioned it on Friday, but the swag was amazing.  The sponsors were good to us.  The picture above is just what we received when we checked in.  We were continually showered with more gifts and perks throughout the conference. My husband commented on how much more expensive his training conferences are and there are no swag bags.  I guess he needs to hang out with more fun peeps!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Friday Favorites: July 8 - evo 11

Welcome to the late edition of Friday Favorites.  I'm loving evo '11!  Not surprisingly my favorites are evo related.
It's so much fun! 

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Bass Pro Shop Family Summer Camp

This is the final week of Bass Pro Shop's Family Summer Camp.  We went last week and had a blast despite a huge power outage.  Read about our fun at Arizona Mama.

Monday, July 4, 2011

June Numbered

I'm not sure how it happened, but 2011 is half way over.  For now, I'll focus on June's accomplishments.
  • .6 pounds lost.  So much for the stomach flu weight loss program.
  • 1 Toy Store themed baby shower.
  • 2 Wood Badge beads received.  It feels so good to have my ticket goals done and the beads around my hot little neck.
  • 3 books read - Pushcart War, Sarah's Quilt, and Star Garden.
  • 4 Scrapbook layouts completed.
  • 7 articles written for the Homemaking Cottage and Arizona Mama.
  • 26 Challenge projects completed.  I guess I know why June felt so busy!
  • 27 Blog posts.
  • 43 Comments!  Thanks for the input.
  • 1161 page views.
What amazing things did you accomplish in June?

    Saturday, July 2, 2011

    Saturday Sentament: Happiness

    Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ~ Mahatma Gandi

    Friday, July 1, 2011

    Friday Favorites: July 1

    Happy July!  What happened to June?  I can't believe it went by so fast.  For most of us here in Arizona, summer vacation is half over even though the heat is just really getting going.  Come on monsoon!  The 116 degrees aren't my favorite, here are some things I'm totally digging.
    • Bass Pro Shop has a fun Family Summer Camp on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.  We went yesterday and they had workshops on Fishing, Bird watching, Hiking, and Archery.  The kids were also able to shoot a compound bow and a BB gun.  They even let me try the compound bow.  It was so fun!
    • Library Summer Reading programs.  The kids redeemed their prizes.  The older ones got movie tickets.  Harry Potter here we come.
    There's some fun stuff on the web too.
    Now it's your turn - what are you loving today?

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