a bit of this and a bit of that

{misc stuff :)}

2009-12-19T11:10:00.005-07:00

i know i'm supposed to be "gone" but i can't help but share this. :D gotta love the twilight saga and anything and everything about it.

and you gotta watch this too! :D

{merry christmas}

2009-12-18T22:02:00.001-07:00

merry christmas everyone!

i think i'll take some time off now to celebrate the most special time of the year.

love you all.

{christmas crafts}

2009-12-18T02:20:00.008-07:00

www.familyfun.com

cuter than cute!
www.myfantastictoys.com

www.myfantastictoys.blogspot.com

multiple postings today. it's 2.27am (yep, in the middle of the night) and i can't sleep. i fell asleep on the couch earlier today and now i'm paying for it. we'll see if i'll be able to function tomorrow.

{inside lds temples}

2009-12-18T01:47:00.017-07:00

washington dc temple at christmas time

san diego california temple. one of my favorites.
pian paasen vihdoinkin itse nakemaan sen! tuskin jaksan odottaa.

what the ancient solomon's temple looked like

the jerusalem temple

a baptism font in a lds temple.
latter-day saints perform baptisms for their ancestors in their temples. we believe that everyone needs to be baptized in order to go to the highest of God's kingdoms - the celestial kingdom. many people died without having a chance to be baptized, for example. we perform baptisms for them by proxy. they get to choose whether they accept the baptism or not. no one is forced.

1 Corinthians 15: 29 "else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?"

other christians don't seem to know what this scripture is about. we do.

the twelve oxen represent the 12 tribes of Isreal. i'm a benjamite, by the way, but i have some manasse in me too. but that's another totally different discussion. ;)

ps. apostle paul was of the tribe of benjamin too.

a celestial room. a wonderful place to go to. no outside noise. you forget earthly troubles and stresses. you get a break from every day life. our edmonton temple is right next to a busy highway, yet no noises are heard in the temple. you go here to pray, to ponder, to meditate, to seek for God's guidance in your life. you feel renewed when you leave.
Y

more celestial rooms

a sealing room. this is where lds couples go to get married. they are sealed for "time and all eternity". we believe that families are supposed to last forever. children born to those parents who have been married in the temple, automatically are sealed to them. we took sienna to be sealed to us when the adoption was finally legal. she was 13 months old. a very special experience.

i think this is a sealing room in the salt lake temple.

if anyone has been to a lds chapel, our church building, you know that they are very simple, plain structures. our temples are built to highest standards. everything has to be done perfectly. the temples are cleaned thoroughly daily by volunteer church members. everything is cleaned, even when it already looks clean.

everything in the temple is symbolic of something in the gospel. it's a beautiful way to learn the gospel deeper.
i have never been anywhere in the world where i have felt more at peace and closer to heaven. it feels like home.
Y

this is what the lds bible dictionary says about temples:

A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness.

Whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth who will obey his word, they have been commanded to build temples in which the ordinances of the gospel and other spiritual manifestations that pertain to exaltation and eternal life may be administered. In cases of extreme poverty or emergency, these ordinances may sometimes be done on a mountaintop. This may be the case with Mount Sinai and the Mount of Transfiguration. The tabernacle erected by Moses was a type of portable temple, since the Isrealites were traveling in the wilderness.

From Adam to the time of Jesus, ordinances were performed in temples for the living only. After Jesus opened the way for the gospel to be preached in the world of spirits, ceremonial work for the dead, as well as for the living, has been done in temples on the earth by faithful members of the Church. Building and properly using a temple is one of the marks of the true Church in any dispensation, and is especially so in the present day.

The best known temple mentioned in the Bible is that which was built in Jerusalem in the days of Solomon.

{temple square}

2009-12-17T16:08:00.013-07:00

i wish i could visit this place every christmas - salt lake city's temple square. the most magical place on earth at christmas time. Y

(all images via google image search)

watching sienna frolic in the snow today (only -1C today) - priceless. Y

i doubt anyone will do this, but i thought i'd open this posting for questions about the "mormon" temples. does anyone have any questions you've always wanted to know about "mormon" temples but never dared to ask? you can leave a question in comments (anonymous is ok). i'll try to answer them the best i can. for example: what is that golden statue on top of many of the lds temples?

{vintage christmas cards}

2009-12-17T10:10:00.007-07:00

(all images via google image search)

ps. angels don't have wings. :)

{how times have changed :)}

2009-12-15T15:54:00.003-07:00

have you hugged your vacuum cleaner today? :D

ooh! aah! :D

{faith hill - a baby changes everything}

2009-12-15T09:18:00.002-07:00

love this! Y

tears running down my cheeks

{simppelia}

2009-12-14T09:55:00.005-07:00

en ole paljoa askarrellut tana jouluna. pikku kortteja lahjoihin. simppeleita nekin. tana vuonna paatin etta taman joulun puuhat on simppelia, simppelia ja onpa ollut ihana olla stressaamatta mistaan. sen sijaan olen miettinyt henkiloita joita yllattaa jollain yllarilahjalla (kuten eras nuori aiti jota opetin aikanaan pyhakoulussa, eronnut, kaksi pikku lasta) ja nauttinut joululauluista (se david archuletan ihana cd, pistaa mut joulutunnelmaan joka kerta), en ole leiponut (torttuja kylla alkoi tekemaan nyt mieli), en ole ihmeemmin edes siivoillut (pakolliset vaan). olen sanonut ei moneen tapahtumaan jotta saan vaan nauttia. tallaisen joulun haluan taas ensi vuonna vaikkei mihinkaan oltaisikaan menossa jouluksi.
tassa vihdoinkin kuva siita snowman soup pikku lahjasta joita tehtiin. mun versio on simppelimpi kuin mita muut teki. muuta liimaili nauhaa purkkiin ja muuta. mina paatin jattaa sikseen jotta purkkia sitten voi kayttaa muuhunkin. purkissa on kaakaojauhetta ja mini marshmellows. teksti sanoo:
snowman soup
was told you've been real good this year.
always glad to hear it!
with freezing weather drawing near,
you'll need to warm the spirit.
so, here's a little snowman soup,
complete with stirring stick.
just add hot water & sip it slow.
it's sure to do the trick!
***
meilla on ollut ihan alyn kylmaa. ennatyspakkasia. eilen oli jotenkin ihan satumaisen kylmaa. ensi viikonloppuna kuulemma jo nollassa taas keli. ei edes viikkoa enaa ja me mennaan etelaan lomalle. sienna jo innoissaan odottaa etta paasee vuoristoratoihin. :) paljon lomakuvia tulossa, i'm sure.
eilen syotiin kalkkunapaivallinen jayn vanhemmilla ja katsottiin vanhoja dioja. lapset leikki tosi kivasti. jayn veli + perhe toi niiden ison bernardilaisen koiran mukaan eilen. suloinen kuin mika. itse en moista isoa koiraa ottaisi ikina mutta kiva kun saa muiden moista koiraa paijailla joskus. niin iso ja sode.
mulla on vatsa sekaisin tanaan. tosi yoks olo sun muuta "kivaa". plaah.
i'll come later and write this in english too. i'm feeling too nauseated right now to continue writing. no, i'm not preggo. just a stomach bug. ;)

{my favorite}

2009-12-13T14:19:00.002-07:00

i know i shared this last christmas too but maybe some of you missed it. our church's nativity video plus amy grant's breath of heaven song. absolutely beautiful! touches my heart every time i watch it. Y

{mary did you know?}

2009-12-13T14:09:00.001-07:00

{help!}

2009-12-10T09:16:00.007-07:00

www.velvetstrawberries.typepad.com

sewing pattern twinkle lights

ei olisi pitanyt katsoa saatiedotusta viikolle. luvassa -30C saata joka kuulemma tulee tuntumaan -39C:lta. apua! :)
i shouldn't have checked the weather forecast. they've promised -30C weather that'll feel like -39C. help! :)
oli ihana nahda erasta suomalaista ystavaa eilen jota en ole nahnyt tosi pitkaan aikaan. tutustuin haneen kun olin asunut kanadassa vaan pari vuotta. sitten muutimme ja yhteys loppui. facebook:n kautta loysimme taas toisemme ja eilen tavattiin tim hortons donitsi paikassa ja juttelimme melkeen pari tuntia kuulumisista. sovittiin jo etta tammikuussa taas tavataan. facebook on kylla ollut kiva juttu. oli aika hupaisaa yrittaa puhua suomea taas. jotkut jutut oli pakko puhua enkuksi. toivottavasti nyt saan sitten suomen harjoitusta saannollisesti taman ystavan kanssa.
it was wonderful to reconnect with an old finnish friend whom i got to know when i first came to canada. facebook has been awesome to help me reconnect with many old friends. we met at tim hortons ( :) ) and chatted for almost couple of hours. made plans to meet again in january. it was quite funny for us both to try to speak in finnish. certain things we just had to say in english. but hopefully i'll get lots of practise with my finnish from now on.

{jouluenkeli}

2009-12-09T18:36:00.003-07:00

kiitos tuikulle (tuikkuvat) tasta ihanuudesta. olen tosi otettu.

Y Y Y

Anna tämä tunnustus kaikille blogeille, joille haluat toivottaa joulumieltä sekä hyvää joulua!

1. Tunnustuksen saaneet saavat laittaa kuvan blogeihinsa.

2. Linkitä blogiin jonka pitäjältä sait tunnustuksen.

3. Nimeä haluamasi blogit (määrä vapaa) joille haluat tunnustuksen antaa ja linkitä heidän bloginsa.

4. Jätä viesti heidän blogeihinsa, jotta he tietävät nimeämisestä.

Enkeli lentää liihottaa... seuraaville blogiystäville toivottamaan lämpimän joulutervehdyksen:

hanna's lifestyle

tanaan laitan taman jouluenkelin vain yhdelle henkilolle, hannikselle, silla tama henkilo on ollut koko paivan mielessa kuultuani etta hanen pikkunen eetu on sairaalassa todella kipeana.

toivon koko sydamestani etta hanniksen joululahjatoive (saada eetu terveena kotiin) toteutuu ja siksi haluan lahettaa hanelle taman enkelin tanaan. joulun sanoma voi tuoda rauhaa sydameen kun elama koettelee. haleja!

Y Y Y

ps. tottakai toivon kaikille muillekin blogiystaville joulumielta ja hyvaa joulua. paitsi mizyenalle - sulle toivon ihanaa jalleennakemista lentokentalla mahdollisimman lahitulevaisuudessa.

love you all mun blogiystavaiseni.

Y Y Y

{one wintry monday}

2009-12-07T21:26:00.013-07:00

puut ja taivas oli upeita kun lahdin ajamaan siennaa leikkikouluun.

gorgeous sky & trees when i took sienna to playschool.

-22C

kaunista jaata auton tuulilasissa.
breathtaking frost on car's windshield.

nopea reissu ostarille ostamaan uusi talvihame kirkkoa varten.
quick trip to the mall to buy a new winter skirt to wear at church.

alyn isot seinankokoiset kuvat. mietin etta olisi kiva laittaa joku alyn iso kuva omaan kotiin jonnekin "tapettina". tai sit ei.

huge wall pictures. i was thinking it would be kind of cool to use an artsy picture as wall paper at home. or not.

liikkeiden sisustus on aina kiinnostanut mua. nayteikkunoissa aina jotain kivaa.
i love checking out the window displays in stores.

ihania lasikuplia.

love these glass bubbles.

tama naytti kivemmalta luonnossa. ihanan punainen ikkuna. muistathan halia lahimmaisiasi joka paiva.

this looked better in real life. so red and warm. don't forget to hug your loved ones.

loysin taman enkelijutun! olisin halunnut sen hopeisena mutta pakko oli ostaa jopa kultaisena. tulee niin mieleen joulut mummon luona kajaanissa. ehka spreijaan sen hopeiseksi myohemmin.

my grandma used to have one of these. i spent many christmases with her so this is a very nostalgic thing for me. i even bought a gold one as silver isn't available. i wonder if i could spray paint it silver.
muuta:

nukahdin siennan ja robinin leikkiessa ja ruuanlaitto meni mossoon. jay haki grillatun kanan ja pakastepizza myos uuniin.

en suostu enaa ottamaan tiettyja laakkeitani jotka tekevat mut ihan alyn vasyneeksi. olo on kuin joku olisi huumannut mut. en saa mitaan aikaiseksi. en todellakaan halua olla tallanen joululomalla. enka muutenkaan. onneksi huomenna on aika laakarilla ja toivottavasti saan laakkeet sumplittua. pakko!

i fell asleep while sienna and robin played and woke up too late to make supper. jay brought a grilled chicken on the way home. plus frozen pizza. leftover nachos for me.

need to adjust my meds. they make me feel like i've been drugged. i feel like falling asleep all the time and don't get much done. hopefully i get it all sorted out before our christmas holiday. have to!

{night in town}

2009-12-07T08:47:00.003-07:00

kuvat napattu nopeasti auton ikkunasta matkalla jayn luokan joulukekkereihin. siella hienossa ravintolassa ihmettelin laheisen poydan naikkosia joilla oli paallaan "hyvakunpepunedespeittijarinnatpursuaaulos" mekkosia. mietin etta onkohan tuo normaalia pukeutumista nykyaan mutta sitten yksi jayn luokkatoveristakin mainitsi etta onpas noilla asut. nayttivat strippareilta. ravintola oli hieno ja ruoka tosi kallista muttei minusta yhtaan sen kummempaa kuin muissakaan ravintoloissa. oli kiva tutustua jayn luokkatovereihin. kivan tuntuista porukkaa.

eilen illalla laulettiin joululauluja ruuan jalkeen. me ei olla musikaalisesti taidokkaita. lauletaan aina cd:n kanssa niin oma laulu kuulostaa vahemman karseelta. ;) sienna tietty laulaa tosi suloisesti.

meilla on ihan alyn kylmaa nyt. yolla oli -28C, paivaksi luvattu -18C. hrrr!

went to a fancy restaurant to enjoy a christmas party with jay's school friends. the food was so expensive (who on earth decided to go there, students don't have big budgets) and i thought it wasn't anything better than in a regular restaurant. fun to get to know jay's school friends. i was shocked at a group of young women who wore "barely-cover-their-butt-or-boobs" dresses. i was wondering if i was so out of touch what people consider normal dressing nowadays when one of jay's friends said "hootchy". i kept wondering the whole night if they were strippers.

last night we sang christmas songs together. we are not musically gifted so we always sing accompanied by a cd. that way we sound quite alright. ;) sienna of course sings beautifully as children always do.

{rakas suomi}

2009-12-06T13:29:00.006-07:00

rakastan sinua Suomi! Y

ja muistan kaikkia heita jotka uhrasivat niin paljon etta Suomi saa olla vapaa ja itsenainen maa. Y

tassa on mummoni veli Leo joka kaatui talvisodassa vahan ennen sodan paattymista.

ote hanen viimeisesta kirjeesta kotiin, 13.7.1944:

Koettakaapa kuvitella miltä tuntuu, kun nälässä on taistelun jälkeen marssinut 46 km yhtämittaa ja sitten perille tultuaan saa oman äidin lähettämät puhtaat sukat ja ruokaa!! Se oli kuin taivaaseentulo. Nyt on taas kaikki hyvin. Saamme levätä varmasti ensi yön, ehkä kauemminkin. Täällä satoi monta vuorokautta yötä päivää. Me tietenkin kastuimme, sissit, aivan läpimäriksi, eikä kärsinyt tehdä tulia, paremmin kuin nukkuakaan. Hampaat mulla ärtyivät, mutta huomenna otatan pois pahimmat. Pääsen siis muutaman tunnin komennukselle kenttäsairaalaan, jossa on hammaslääkäri. En tiedä tässä hammastuskassa nyt muuta kirjoittaa. Ryssiä olen tappanut paljon ja yrittänyt tehdä velvollisuuteni parhaani mukaan. Tulkoon mitä vain, niin omatuntoni on sentään puhdas tuossa asiassa.
Y

Leo kuoli neljä päivää myöhemmin 17.7.1944 Korkeavaaran taistelussa.

Ohessa ote sotilaspastorin kirjeestä sankarivainajan omaisille 25.7.1944.

Leo (luutnantti) kaatui joukkueensa edessä yhdessä lähettinsä kanssa hyökätessään vihollisen asemia vastaan. Kuolema oli seurannut heti: vihollisen konepistoolimies ampui ihan edestä. Leossa menetimme hyvän toverin ja miehet rohkean johtajan, jota seurattiin.
Y

ennen sotaa Leo soitti viulua ja voitti mitaleita nopeusluistelussa vanhoilla, huonoilla luistimilla.

{parit idikset muistiin}

2009-12-05T10:24:00.010-07:00

lahetin blogifrendille mun creative keepsakes lehden ja ajattelin ottaa kuvat muutamasta jutusta jotka haluan muistaa siita lehdesta.

ali edwards ei tule jatkamaan ck lehdessa enaa. saa nahda tuleeko lehdessa sitten olemaan tarpeeksi mika kiinnostaa. monesti alin jutut oli melkeen ainoat mika mua kiinnosti. kaipaisin muutakin kuin traditionaalista skrappaysta naissa lehdissa. en usko etta tilaan lehtea enaa itselleni mutta katsotaan mita uusi vuosi tuo tullessaan.

meille on tullut a-l-y-s-t-i lunta. talvi on tullut kaikin voimin. ajaminen on taas "mielenkiintoista". ei mua talviajaminen pelota. pitaa vaan ajaa varovaisesti ja pitaa etaisyys seuraavaan autoon. ei saa jarrutella nopeasti.

tana iltana mennaan jayn luokan joulutapaamiseen. jossain hienossa ravintolassa kuulemma. taidetaan menna pakettiautolla vaikka se nyt ei kovin hienoa ole. mutta parempi niin ettei sitten juututa lumeen iltamyohalla. seuraava auto mika ostetaan on nelivetoinen.

nyt alkaa jo joululoma kaliforniaankin tuottaa matkakuumetta. palmuja jouluvaloissa. ah! :)

sitten olen miettinyt edelleen etta mihin muutetaan jayn koulun jalkeen. :) talla hetkella tuntuu etta haluankin jaada edmontoniin. mietin etta on se tarkeeta olla perhetta ja ystavia lahella seka juurtua jo johonkin paikkaan kunnolla. saa nahda kuinka monesti muuttuu mieli viela. :)

{let's talk about hair}

2009-12-03T12:19:00.022-07:00

i bought the hair show 2010 magazine and thought i'd share my favorites of the 1400 styles shown.
i love long, straight "hippie" hair. thank goodness for straightening irons.

love these braids!

would be fun to get a makeover by amazing hair stylists/make up artists.

every once in awhile i wish i could have cute short hair. but i can't. my hair is too wavy. it's a real pain to try to style it when it's short.

this lady forgot to put her clothes on :)
love the hair

looks angelic

to have such thick hair!

a bit too much almost, yet so funky

love the ponytail and the color

fun :)

this is the reason why i bought the magazine.

i want t-h-i-s hair!
the problem?

* i don't trust my hair stylist to do the exact color.

* i'd have to put more effort into make up every day. you need stronger make up with a stronger hair color.

* i'm worried i'm too old looking to look good with this. it worked when i was 18 but would it be too much when you're almost 42 and look tired all the time...
but oh how i love this hair!

{gotta love snowflakes}

2009-12-02T18:16:00.015-07:00

catmil/flickr
don't forget to decorate your work place as well
emilysnyder/flickr
www.flotation9.net

www.marthastewart.com
lace doilies as snowflakes

www.bugsandfishes.blogspot.com

vikabash/flickr

i just had to bling my creative notebook :)

i got rid of that pussy willow tree that we've had for a few years now. so i had to come up with another way to hang my rusty metal snowflakes this year. i like this better.

i usually make ton of white snowflakes for our front windows. this year i came up with something different. i used old ikea wrapping paper and made b-i-g ones. less work. i kept the pattern simple too and they're all pretty much cut the same way.
yep - i Y snowflakes!

just when i was complaining about our yellow wall color... today was a good wall color day. the yellow was just right and looked gorgeous in the sunlight. i guess i just have to find different light bulbs for our lights so they won't distort the wall color.

i have been so totally in the christmas mood lately. i think it's because i've loved listening to david archuleta's christmas cd. i keep listening to it over and over again and keep getting more and more in the mood. i don't remember ever being so excited about christmas. :)

i had a pretty heated discussion with "my" jehovah's witness ladies today. last time they gave me an article from one of their magazines that discussed my church. when i read it, i got so miffed. it was about 90% truth but the rest was so way off it wasn't even funny. and even though lots of it was true info, it was so twisted and out of context that it gave such a negative impression about our church. i should be used to stuff like that already but i couldn't help but feel miffed. so when they came i ended up trying to show them all the mistakes in the article and told them that some of the respect they had earned with me was lost due to the article. usually we discuss things quite calmly and nicely but today was a bit more forceful on my part and my miffyness showed. i asked them how can they feel good about a church that blackpaints other churches. they just tried to convince me that that was what our church believes and they had heard so from some other "mormons". as if i don't know what our church teaches! i'm still getting miffed thinking about our discussion. so, whatever, i guess. it's not the first time and won't be the last when people believe weird stuff about my church. but if someone thinks i won't defend my beliefs, well, they are wrong. my name sanna means "defender" and it suits me 100%. ;) so there. :)

{finnish a cappella music}

2009-12-01T19:13:00.002-07:00

{this & that}

2009-12-01T08:36:00.018-07:00

love these!

www.oncewed.com

this was so funny! :D

we decorated our tree last night while listening to david archuleta's christmas cd and eating homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and wearing santa hats.
i'm finally getting tired of the yellow walls. i love them when they look warm, deep yellow but sometimes our light make them look too bright and "cold yellow".
i'm up for a change when jay is up for painting. :D he said it won't happen for another couple of years. oh well.

i made this santa million years ago.

this is the first thing you see when you come to our home. front closet doors are full of sienna's art. i rotate them. old ones go to an ikea storage box.

my art/crafts inspiration book is getting more and more finished. one of my nicknames as a child was "lintu sininen" = blue bird.

what goes inside? anything and everything. :)

things that i see that i want to remember...

gotta love cute scrapbooking paper.

so - happy december everyone! what a magical time of the year.

now if i can drag sienna away from her tooby and binoo dvd, we'll go open #1 in the calendar.

{matkakuumetta}

2009-11-30T13:22:00.006-07:00

i Y these dot paintings!

i'd like a cartoon painting of sienna done with this technique. or a twilight picture! yeah, baby! :D

www.giddycrafts.blogspot.com

sitten...

voi etta mulla alkaa olla jo matkakuumetta. luulisi etta meidan joulureissuun kaliforniaan, mutta ei - suomen kesareissuunpas! jayn vanhemmat tulee meidan kanssa myos. vahan paniikkia silla tuntuu ettei kolmessa viikossa tulla ennattamaan tehda ja nahda kaikkea mita haluaisin. eika ole tarpeeksi aikaa viettaa mun perheen kanssa myoskaan. nyyh. ehka mun olisi pitanyt suostua jayn aikaisempaan ehdotukseen etta mina ja sienna oltaisiin jaaty sinne pidemmaksi aikaa. mutten halunnut yksin lentaa siennan kanssa sitten kotiin.

tekemislistalla on jo (ei missaan tarkeysjarjestyksessa):

suomenlinna & piknikki

kajaani & mokki & sauna & sukulaiset

(mahdollisesti kuopio siina matkalla, mita nahtavaa on kuopiossa?)

(tietaako kukaan onko vuokatinvaaran kelkkamaki viela toiminnassa? se olisi tosi hauska juttu.)

linnanmaki: sienna + serkku laitteisiin hyorimaan

isosaari (missa asuin pienena)

tallinnan vanhakaupunki

porvoo

espoon laivaristeily

pori & iska & sukulaiset

muumimaailma (siennallekin jotain kivaa puuhaa)

siita se lista alkaa. nyt tarvisin sitten vinkkeja kaikesta mahdollisesta mita pitaisi ehdottomasti nahda ja kokea. mita kivoja putiikkeja hesasta nykyaan loytyy?

pliis kertokaa ihmeessa mika teista on ihana paikka suomessa? vaikken ennattaisikaan sinne talla reissulla niin sitten paasen jo unelmoimaan seuraavasta. :)
aion syoda juustonaksuja ja karjalanpiirakoita joka paiva niin paljon kuin vaan maha kestaa. yksi matkalaukku pitaa ottaa mukaan pelkille juustonaksuille. :)

nyt esiin suomi esitteet ja netista loytamaan tietoa. karsee matkakuume! :)

{creative note book}

2009-11-29T15:57:00.015-07:00

the beginning of my new art/crafts idea booklet. haven't even done a cover yet or anything. finally i'll have a place where to put all my ideas and inspirations instead of finding little notes here and there. i'll use the thick yarn to bind it but first i have to add all my pages in it. i used light blue regular paper too. just folded each in half and punched holes on the open side. i'll take more pictures once the project is more done.

our home smells so wonderful thanks to scentsy (www.scentsy.com). and yep, one of our bathrooms is lime green. i love it. :)

africa. our little black boy. my baby. Y

it's hard to get pictures of him. he'll look anywhere but towards the camera.

on saturday we had our relief society (our church's women's organization) christmas party. i'm part of the enrichment committee so i got to help. the food was delicious and the music and talks wonderful. this always really gets me in the right christmas mood.

then i just had to snap this picture on my way home. i was thinking how i've got used to seeing these kinds of christmas decorations on people's yards. when i first got here, i couldn't help but shake my head. but now i love it all. it's fun to drive around and see who knows what on people's yards. sienna doesn't like the dark and it's great to be able to point out various lights and decorations and take her mind of the darkness. really fun for the kids even though it's not "tastefully decorated".