It's official!

I am going to be in my first ever triathlon! I am doing the swimming, Susanne the biking and Natalie the running. I am so excited!

We had an amazing trip to Great Falls this weekend. It was our first across the border with Tanner. I forgot my camera (Bad me!) but it was fun, nevertheless. We went down to celebrate Matt's birthday and my cousins husbands birthday. They share the same birthday. We went on a progressive dinner. We ate appetizers at a Mexican place, the main meal at a Cajun place and dessert at an old fashioned place. It was so much fun and we are absolutely going to go down in the next little while and do it...but at different places.

I was able to dry my laundry on my clothes line outside yesterday...which means summer is close. We have a busy summer already. I'm excited.

Life is great!

Happy Birthday to Me!

My super funny sister, Melany




The Easter Hunt




My super cute nephew, Emerson. Isn't he a doll?? LOL




Melany and Chris




Another one of my super cute, fun nephew

As I get older, my birthday's seem to get better and better. Maybe it's in part because I don't live in Calgary anymore. Last year was the BEST by far..because it was my surprise 30th that I honestly didn't think I was getting and this year was another year that will be hard to beat. It comes in as a close 2nd to last year.

I love having birthday's with my family but I also really enjoy "social" birthdays with my friends.

This year I decided I really wanted to go quading. Yes, you read that right. It's not that I hate quading but it's NOT my passion. Lucky for us we know someone who is very passionate about quading and they were happy to take Matt and I out. But first thing's first...

For Easter we went to Calgary for Easter/Conference/my birthday/Tanner's yearly Cleft Clinic appt. Let's just say that Tanner's life get's a little more complicated/involved in the next few years and that he is no longer mine only. I have to share him with the Doctor's again : (
We have had him to ourselves for the last few years without thinking about surgeries that involve lengthy stays in the hospital. But that's about to change and I'm totally ready for it. I knew it was coming eventually. Tanner is so strong and he is lathered in love lavishly. I know the Lord looks out for him constantly, as do the people who love him. Anyway, that's what came from his appointment.

On Friday we went out to Canmore for my birthday. My sister and her husband had rented a condo out there for the weekend so we drove there to be able to celebrate together. AND!!! My sister Melany and her boyfriend, Chis, came too!!! That made my birthday all the better. Melany has a work schedule that does not always allow her to be at every family gathering. So I was really stoked that her and Chris came. My oldest sister was in Utah and I missed her but she needed the get away more than I needed her to be at my birthday. We ate at Boston Pizza for lunch and then we went to a park there and hid candy for Tanner and Emerson(my nephew). They seemed to enjoy it. Then we went to the condo Megan and Dean were in and had Dairy Queen ice cream cake and opened presents.

I got the Hannah Montana Movie, plus the CD to go along with it, Miley Cyrus' breakout CD, some amazing jewelry (not anything fancy...more chunky than anything), a bucket of honey and Matt and I got a combined birthday gift of East Side Mario's GC and movie passes for a date night, an Ipod (story for this is later), curlers from Susanne, the HSM dance Wii game from Sharon, a glue gun from Jenn, and some paper and craft things from Shelby. I am so very lucky to have so many people who love me and spoil me not only on my birthday but every day with their friendship.

I went with Erica to the movie "The Last Song" which was really good. It was kind of sad at the end but surprisingly I wasn't as emotional as I thought I could have been. I think it was because I was having a really difficult week the week before with missing my Dad and I cried all my tears out that week before so it was fine. It was a really good movie. Really clean. I don't remember any language either. So I would recommend it. I had a really nice visit with Erica...thanks : ) who I don't get to see very often.

Conference was SO good. I loved that it was a lot about families. It was really enjoyable and I can not wait to get my hands on the Ensign to read them over and over.

For my actual birthday I went with my childhood friend, Meghan, to the movie Avatar. it was "totally AWESOME"!!! I loved it! My first 3D movie ever and now I really want to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. It was a really neat experience and I am so glad I got to go with Meghan. We don't get to do much just her and I together. We use to hang out ALL the time as teens. In fact one summer we spent at least 3/4's of the summer sleeping at each other's houses all summer. That was so much fun. Anyway, then Tanner went to her house to play with her son and Matt and I went for Chinese food and then we watched Pirates of the Caribbean 1&2. I've never seen them and I really enjoyed them.

On Saturday, Kelvin took Matt, Susanne/Chris, Natalie and I out quading. It was a lot of fun but very painful now. It was so worth it and I would go again for sure. I really wanted to get really muddy, but I only got slightly dirty. Next time I'm going to get really muddy...lol.

So overall, it was a great birthday. I am so thankful for all the birthday wishes and kind words that people wrote about me on Facebook.

We didn't do too much for Spring Break. Tanner had a couple of play dates and that was about it. We hung out for the most part.

OH! the Ipod story....so funny! Melany gave me her used Ipod because she thought she lost her Ipod and so she went out and bought a new one. Then a few weeks later she was making her bed and Chris found her old Ipod. She was going to pawn it off but then they talked about giving it to me so now I am the VERY proud owner of a used but new to me Ipod which I absolutely love. I had to erase some of the songs off that she had on there because of foul language but for the most part, the songs are good. She even has some really old songs that I love...mostly dance stuff. I'm such a nerd...lol. The reason that this is funny to me is because for Christmas she gave us her Wii because she said she hardly used it. I just need her to get an Iphone now so I can have it when she gets a new one...lol. She is such a good sister. All my sister's are. I love my sisters a lot.

We are heading to Great Falls for Matt's birthday. We are going to do some grocery shopping before we come home too. Butter is so cheap there as well as cheese.

So life is going along great for now. Busy, steady and constant but it's good. I feel surrounded by love lately and am happy to be in the place that I am. I think life has a lot to do with how you choose to feel. I try to choose happiness for the most part because being unhappy or annoyed or mad or any other negative feeling doesn't make life any easier. When life is hard, sometimes being hopeful or optimistic is the best we can do. But it's better than moping around feeling sorry for ourselves. We can all be better and do better but there's no sense in beating ourselves up for not doing all that we want to do at the moment we want to do it.

Have a great day!

Scarlett red

This Sunday and last Sunday were the best Sunday's I've had in forever! I went last week and this week to the ward that meets at 9am because Tanner's been sick and so I wanted to make sure I got to take the Sacrament but then I got there and everyone was so welcoming so I decided to stay for all the meetings. What a great treat! I wish I could do that every Sunday but I don't think I'm allowed....am I?????

Tanner has Scarlett Fever. It's basically strep throat on his body...or so I've been told. So today is his last day of isolation at home and then tomorrow he gets to go to school. YeaH!!! We are all very excited. He LOVES school and is quite sad when he has to miss it. He's been on an antibiotic since Thursday night so thankfully that has helped him. You know, I'm all for natural, holistic care but I do believe that there is a time and place for "real" medicine. I try not to run to the doctor for a prescription at every little cough or cold. Tanner is more susceptible to respiratory things because he had RSV when he was 12 1/2 months old, but we've been pretty fortunate so far. He's in pretty good spirits and was only really miserable on Friday. Well, not miserable, but grumpy and "naughty"...for lack of a better word.

Side note: Yes, Jamie, poundage is a real word...it's MY real word ; )

We attended the 4H basketball tournament on Thursday night and then I went on Friday to watch our senior boys loose. I will not discuss my opinion about small town sports on my blog because I have to live and work here. Let's just leave it at that. If you really care to know, then e-mail me ; )

I ran in the Moonlight run on Saturday. I did not train AT ALL for it. I haven't been on my treadmill for about 2 months and boy did I pay for it! My legs were so sore that I could barely walk yesterday and today. Luckily I have a great Chiropractor that adjusted me and now I feel like a human being and not a robot walking blob. Anyways, my time was 52:48. Not as good as my last one, but all I wanted was to come in under an hour. I did it mostly for fun (even though now, I am thinking it wasn't fun because of the pain...but that's my own fault). I knew lots of people who ran in it this year and I am so proud of them...especially Sharon and Susanne. They did awesome and it was so nice to share the night with them.

Well, I think that's about all for now. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

No Title

2 post in one day is H-U-G-E!! Lucky you...lucky me...

I was pondering as I was reading through my blog list today about self image.

Recently I said to someone that I'm fat in my pictures and they told me I shouldn't say that. For me, I don't believe in lying or deceiving oneself for any reason. BUT just because I'm fat (according to me) doesn't mean I perceive myself as fat. Now this may be confusing to some so let me explain. Fat is a relative term to me. I'm fat but that's okay. When I look in the mirror I do not think of myself or even see myself as 'fat'. But when I look at pictures of myself that's what I see is me-fat. So what if I'm fat? That's my problem.

Now this may sound like a "poor mandy, she feels bad about herself" or "what is she talking about? why is she saying such negative things?" kind of post but it's not meant to be that.

To me, it matters more about what's inside than outside that matters. If I was really worried about the fact that I'm 'fat' clearly I need to take some action. But I don't really care if people see me that way because I know inside I'm a good person and I'm doing my best.

I certainly don't mope around all day thinking about me being fat. I have way better things to do with my time. But if someone asks me why I don't like looking at pictures of myself it's for that reason.

But I wonder if other people out there are the same way. Do you look in the mirror and see yourself differently than you do in a picture or video of yourself? It makes me think of that cartoon that I've seen in the New Era (or maybe it was a different publication) that shows a normal looking person looking in the mirror and the reflection back is thin and frail. It's supposed to be a representation of the difference between being physically healthy on the outside, but starving spiritually on the inside. I may be 'big' in my pictures, but I do not perceive myself that way when I look in the mirror.

I don't live in a dreamworld and think that I'm thin. By no stretch of the imagination am I thin but I don't think that I'm big like Reta McNeil. Of course I could afford to loose some weight but I choose not to be consumed by weather or not I am or not losing weight. If I gain some poundage, fine, if I loose, then great. But I am not trying to be negative when I say "I'm fat". I just don't believe in lying to myself.

I always think of the skit from SNL where the character sits in a chair and looks at himself in the mirror and says "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me". I do not recite that to myself in the mirror but my attitude in life is something similar to that. Saying I'm fat/big...whatever... is not, in my mind, a negative thing. It's simply stating a fact...lol. How I look on the outside doesn't hinder or control what I think about myself on the inside. And for me, that's what's most important.

Sickness

Matt and Tanner and I have all had a period of sickness...okay really...I had a day of the flu (which I haven't had in 7 years) and Matt was/is sick with a cough that could last up to 2 more weeks and now Tanner has a cough along with the cold he got. It seems to not end right now. I am hoping this weekend will be a restful, relaxing weekend. It should, because we have nothing planned. That's a first in about 2-3 months.

I am looking forward to General Conference. It's a great time of the year! It's such a blessing to be able to hear the prophet speak to us and guide us.

The weather here had been nice up until today. Doesn't mother nature know that spring should be here? Maybe she didn't get the Memo.

We had our annual Relief Society party last night. It was really fun and very uplifting. I was so happy to be there and I sat at a table with some ladies that I don't normally hang out with so it was really nice to get to know some other sisters in the ward. I think it's important to get to know other sisters and step out of your comfort zone. We have such a great ward and I am very blessed to be part of it.

Spring break is coming up for Tanner. We are doing a scavenger hunt for him and Emerson instead of trying to find hidden eggs. They'll just be lead to a big treasure this year. I got Tanner a watch to put in his basket. It's a Spiderman one. I think he'll love it. He is really into the Magic School Bus as well as the Magic Tree house. He just loves to read the books and watch the movies. They are so well done for kids and they're easy to follow.

Tanner also had his final skating performance. He did great. The theme was Candyland so all the music had something to do with Candy.

We've decided not to put Tanner in anything for the spring. I think it might be too much. We're waiting to hear back from a couple of places for Matt to get a job. I think from now until September will be the hardest because if Matt works in the summer while Tanner is out of school, we'll have to find someone to watch him. I know the Lord will provide the way.

Anywho, life has calmed down a bit and it's been nice.

A birthday gift

Last night I received my first birthday gift. Guess what it was....no really guess...your guess is as good as mine because I am not allowed to open it. When? Well my birthday is over a month away (April 9th) and I am not allowed for one month and 6 days to open it. I am only allowed to look at it and yearn after the beautifully wrapped gift that sits in my house. I know it will be a really good gift...after all it is from one of my dearest friends. Ahhhh...the agony of having to wait. For those of you who want a list of things (no, I am not assuming certain people will get me a gift) that I would like here it is:

Hot Rollers for my hair

A stock pot

A glue gun(I don't even own a little one)

High School Musical 1,2& 3 on CD

Miley Cyrus' CD breakthrough (or is it breakout???)

Carrie Underwood's last CD (I have Play On, her newest one)I think it's called Carnival ride.

Movie passes

fun, everyday bracelets/necklaces

Knee socks-I like wearing them at night to bed

So, nothing too fancy. I will be celebrating my birthday in Calgary with my family during Easter break.

We have had Tanner sleep without pull-ups this week and for the last 2 nights, he has been dry in the morning! It's kind of a big deal because we told him he could sleep in our bed when he was dry through the night. Matt is sick right now so Tanner and I will sleep on the guest bed so that we don't get sick.

I have had some really good study sessions the last couple days. Really good for answering questions that I have had for a while and also at provoking (for lack of a better word) more questions. I am grateful for people who know the answers or for finding the answers through reading more. It helps me to understand the principle of line upon line, precept upon precept.

Life feels a little crazy right now. We are so busy babysitting, me working, delivering papers and cleaning that it keeps us out of trouble and from being slothful.

I haven't been feeling overly great lately. I've been getting a lot of bad/migraine headaches. The doctor wants me to get some blood work done but it's a fasting one so I'm waiting to do it next week when I have time to do it. It could just be that my migraines are changing...which kind of sucks because after having braces I got one maybe once a year...if that. Life goes on, though.

I am running in the Moonlight 6k run in 2 1/2 weeks. I'm excited to do it. Sharon, Susanne and I are all going to do it. Well, Susanne and I are doing it together while Sharon gets her goal time...which will be at least 5 or more minutes before mine and Susanne's ; )

We are looking forward to our trip to Salt Lake in the summer. This will be our first family trip together. It's kind of exciting!

Well, things are good and we are looking forward to spring.

Word of the week...

B L U F F

Those of you who are familiar with my life right now, know why this word would be a great word for the week right now. Enough said...moving on...

L O V E

Another really great word right now. The things I love the most right now in life:

-Matt. He made his first loaves of home made bread last week and they were by far better than any I've ever made. He loves me for me and I know some days that can be really hard...it can be hard for me to love me some days ; )

-Tanner. If you had told me 7 years ago that a child could bring a person so much joy and sheer happiness, I'm not sure I'd believe it. It's something you have to experience to understand. Tanner is a very very very bright spot in my life...constantly...even when he's being a pickle, he is my pure joy in my heart. I know that the way I feel for him is only but a small particle of the way Heavenly Father feels for us. That is unimaginable to me...incomprehensible. How could anyone love me more than I love Tanner? I don't know how, but I know it's true.

-Friends. I love love love my friends. They are a strength to me every single day. They are a constant source of forgiveness, understanding, laughter, joy, happiness, and most of all love in my life. I don't have a huge circle of friends. I have but a small handful of friends that I trust with my life and heart and that's good enough for me. I'm not one of those people who needs to have lots and lots of friends to feel good about themselves or to feel a certain way. I know my friends love me for me, no matter what.

-My job. I adore my job. I love getting up and going to work and meeting people everyday. I have amazing employers and I am grateful every day for the opportunity they have given to me.

-My sisters. Word cannot express how much I love those girls. I love them. All my sisters are unique in themselves and there are certain things that I know I can talk to each sister about. For example, I can talk to Megan about marriage and kids because her and I are the only ones with children. It's something we understand with each other. Amy, she is a movie nerd (a good thing) and she can tell me what movies are worth seeing. She is also really good at talking about real life and political, deeper subject...especially the gospel. She is so stinkin' smart when it comes to the gospel. Melany, she has a quiet strength all her own. She listens when you don't think she is and she can make me laugh like no one else can. I love my sister a lot.

-My Mom. What can I really say but good things about my Mom. She is amazing and awesome and loving and kind and understanding and forgiving and patient and charitable and generous and strong and just a really really great person/mom/friend. Sometimes the way I feel about her is too much for me to put into words. The love I feel for her is forever.

-My Dad. Although my Dad died in '91 I still love him and am grateful for all the things he taught me. He was a great great man/leader and I still look to his example.

-My Savior. I love the Savior. Enough said for now.

-Music. I can not live without my music. I am very frequently plugged in. I don't listen to hard stuff. Quite often in the house I play the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or Tanner's Children Songbook C.D.'s. Music can change a mood or emotion so quickly and can calm and relax or liven up or make me run faster.

-Time. I love the time that I get to enjoy each day and each moment with the things and people that I love the most.

I just love life!

In a lull

My life is in a bit of a lull right now. Things are going fairly well and smoothly. Same old stuff. Matt and I went out to the Firestone Grill last week. It was really yummy. I had this pomegranate chicken on a bed of leeks and pomegranate sauce with goat cheese on the top...it was super yummy. Matt had the rib roast (insert eye roll...such a man). Matt's Mom sent us money for our anniversary and so we decided to go out for dinner with it. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to try something new. I'm a bit of an adventurous eater. I like to try new things and I am not afraid to try anything at least once. There are some things that I've eaten that I wouldn't choose to eat again, but I do like to try new things. Tanner is a little bit the same way. He'll try most things for at least one bite but if he doesn't like it, then that's it. Matt is a mediocre eater. He eats most things but he doesn't like to eat vegetables if there's something better like meat or potatoes. He's not super picky but he's the kind of person that has to be in the mood for certain foods on a particular day. I could eat rice or spaghetti any time, every day for all meals (same with Tanner) but Matt has to be in the mood to eat that. Otherwise he doesn't like to eat it.

Anyways, enough about food.

We are going to the Temple this week. We will be eating in the cafeteria afterwards...mmmmm...soooo yummy. The food in the Temple is like food from Heaven.

Tanner is getting ready for his skating carnival in a few weeks. He's done so well in skating. He was also officially published today. The local paper had a picture of him and a friend riding on GT's behind a quad on Saturday at the fun Elders party. It's a picture of him from the distance but we know it's him because of his coat. It's kind of exciting.

Matt is such a homemaker. He made his first loaf of homemade bread this week. It was much better than any bread I've ever made. Tanner had a bad habit of burrowing the bread when it's warm and it wrecks the bread so we have to be careful not to leave it out on the counter without maximum supervision. He burrowed in one of Matt's loaves and so we told him he couldn't have the "good" bread until he ate the hole-y bread that he made. He was totally fine with that. He continues to bring us much joy and laughter every day.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Life is just chugging along, which is fine by me ; )

CAN ANYONE HELP THEM?

There's a family in the states that needs some immediate help and I hope that by posting this someone, somewhere can help them. She babysat us when we were kids and his Mom is in our ward.

You can read their story/situation here

We had a really fun start to the weekend. Matt and I went to our Celebrity party on Friday night and it was SO much fun! I think I would have had more fun if I hadn't been feeling crummy. I had a bit of a head cold and so I was suffering, mildly. Then on Saturday morning Matt and I had plans to go to the Temple and when I woke up, I could barely open my eyes because the light hurt my head so badly. So I went back to bed and Matt went without me...which was fine. We're going again in 2 weeks. We are going on our first date this Friday. We're going to dinner. I don't know where, but I'm excited. We have made it a goal this year to go on a date every month. It's hard when life gets busy and you have other commitments to add that to your plate but I know that it's important and so we are making time for what's important...dating! Last year our goal was to go to the Temple every month and we did it and it was surprisingly easier that I thought it would be. We just marked down the day every month that we were going to go and that's when we went. This year we marked down in the calendar our date night every month, plus our temple day. Even though going to the temple is a wonderful thing, it's not the same as a date. We may go on 2 dates this month because I still haven't seen Avatar and I really want to.

I'm usually really against and I strongly resist going to movies that are so hyped up because they usually end up disappointing me...plus they're mostly boring for me (ie Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter) so I just don't go. But my sister said that I would really like it and so I am putting my trust in her and hoping it will be what I expect it to be.

January really flew by and I know that this month will too because it's a short month. That means we're closer to spring...my favorite time of year. Spring always brings newness and it reminds me so much of the Resurrection of the Savior. I always look forward to Spring.

Kristi wrote on her blog recently that she is "head over heels in love with her life" and I thought to myself, what a wonderful thing it is to be so happy and in love with your life. I only wish more people were like that. I believe that being happy is a choice and that happy people exemplify Christ like characteristics. I heard recently that being healthy affects how a person is happy and I think that is true. Some may disagree with that, but for me I think it's true. Even though we are all given challenges and tried and tested, we can choose for ourselves how we're going to let those things affect us. We can choose to let those trials make us stronger and happier or we can allow them to tear us down and make us miserable and unhappy. I hope that we will all try better to choose happiness because there really isn't anything like being truly happy.

Now I know why...

Erica, you always forward some really great stuff. This is one of the best yet : )

Glancing through the hymnal last Sunday I noted that as sisters in
Zion, we who are called to serve are all enlisted to go marching,
marching forward because the world has need of willing men to all
press on scattering sunshine. We wonder if we have done any good in the world today because we have been given much and want to do what is right, keep the commandments, press forward with the Saints, choose the right, and put our shoulders to the wheel going where He wants us to go. However, as the morning breaks high on the mountain top, truth reflects upon our senses, and while we still believe that sweet is the work, we also realize that we have work enough to do ere the sun goes down.
And thus we ask Thee ere we part, where can we turn for peace?