Pièce de résistance!!!

I meant to post this at the same time as the last post, but it took me a long time to figure out exactly how to layout the post.... so here it is!

OUR FAMILY CHRISTMAS VILLAGE! *2008 edition

This style of our village began some where around 1990, when my dad bought Momma a starter set of a Dickens' era village. Before that, she had a little tiny one made of cardboard buildings with colored-cellophane windows, I remember playing with the little tiny houses, pipe-cleaner people and the pretty church with "stained glass" windows.

Though the village started out small, it has grown to a wonderful size in the last twenty or so years! We have seven homes and cottages, a Church, a ski hill, two gas stations (to keep the prices honest, lol), eleven various businesses; including several restraunts and a Micheal's craft store! In past years we have had two trains, this year however, we only set up our HO-scale track and a few well loved train cars. (Our other train is an O-scale North Pole train with Santa and his elves ready to fill the stockings of all the good little girls and boys!) The HO train runs under a fantasticly engineered tunnel, which is topped by Nana's little cottage with greenhouses full of pretty flowers. A favorite place for the 18 grand- and great-grandchildren, her yard is the perfect place to have a snowball fight, test out your daring with a ski session down her steep hill. The children made sure Papa was included in thier fun by errecting a snowman in his honor over by the Snowangels. The older kids love to hang out in the sturdy treehouse, which they decorated with lights from the outside of the house!

As I said in my last post, we normally have a river that includes a waterfall. It spills into a 'lake' and then fades into a little pond that we use for iceskaters. I haven't been able to put this up yet, but I will post a new slide show when we get it done. I will give an explaination of the process then, just know that glycerine looks really cool when you pour it on a mirror! Anyway, down in front of the tunnel, there are several lakefront businesses. One is a coal depot for the train, it really is a cute piece that my brother gave to Mom a few years ago. There is a fishing rental shack, a seafood restrant, a doctors office, and a toy shop. On the other side of the track is a covered bridge that will span the river . The park is complete with a clock tower and a holiday carosel that plays carols. We also have another green house down there. We like little plants I guess. I was going to write a little more about each piece, but I had a hard time getting Blogger to obey, so I guess we have to settle for a slideshow! LOL

Picture Perfect

We haven't put the finishing touches on just yet.... the hills need trees and the village usually has a river>waterfall>lake>skate pond but we haven't 'built' it yet. That is on the agenda for this week....
Anyway, here are my pics! Enjoy, we sure do!


It's hard to believe that the mess that was my living room could turn into ... THIS!!!!

The piano is beautiful, so simple and elegant I think. I bought these candle holders for my mom last year and they are so fun to decorate for the different seasons.

The little tree is a musical cookie jar! The little trains on the base go around the tree.
What a perfect fit for our home!

This little piano belonged to my brother when he was a baby, every grandchild has enjoyed it's precious music. As you can see by the lack of the right leg, it has been well loved in it's 34yrs!
I bought this Santa's Advent calendar last year and really think it's cute. Putting it on the "little piano" means that it is just the right height for getting out little treats as we count down the days until Christmas! I made the Family picture at a Super Saturday for our ward (congregation) last month. Above that is a plaque that simply reads "Pray".



My mother's curio cabinet is full a beautiful things, but nothing is more precious to her than the collection of Napoleon hand crafted porcelain flowers that my father used to buy for her each Christmas. Always wrapped in a special package; no tag necessary, everyone in the family knew exactly who the beautiful gift was for. She placed this one at center this season. It is remarkable.

Close-up pics of the top.

"The Littlest Christmas Tree", it's just right for us and with the 'stars' to light the night, who could ask for more ?

AND NOW..... The Pièce de résistance!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere you go....

Well, it's deffinately Christmas time at our house. We have had the tree up now for exactly 2 weeks (yet to decorate... but we will soon), the Village* has been up now for a week and a half. The mantle and piano-tops are beautifully decorated, as is the entry and stairway banister. We started putting things together for decorations around the 16th... I know, that's early... I was getting dirty remarks from people in my classes and remind them that there were only 39, 38, 37... count 'em 26 days until Christmas! What can I say, I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!! I had carols on in my car on Nov. 5th, as soon as the elections were over!

Oh, funny side note story. I had to have some work done on my car (to repair the crunch when I was rearended this summer) and when all was said and done, I had to return the rental car, ect. Well, the man who drove me back to the collision place was teasing me that I had Christmas cd's in the stereo (it was Nov. 18). We were listening to a special cd that my family made as gifts one year. It has all different carols that are favorites of my parents and siblings. Anyway, I told this man about why I made it and he laughed and said, "That's a great gift idea, are you going to give me one?" I smiled at him and said "Absolutely! You can have this one in fact!" I had the case in my purse and pulled it out, took out a pen and wrote "Thanks for the ride! It was nice to meet you. Happy Holidays From Jessica Worley and Family, 2008" and then I took out the CD and handed it to him. He was SO shocked! Then he got excited, he said his wife was going to be so thrilled and that she loved carols too. He was all smiles when he dropped me off, he thanked me agian as he shook me hand and then he gave me a hug and wished me "Happy Holidays!" It was really awesome! I love when I get the chance to spread Holiday Cheer!

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!" ~Buddy the ELF

HI!!!!

Ok... I've been AWOL... but I've been checking on my fave blogs and there is a FANTASTIC give away at MomOf2Dancers - she's giving away a $25 gift cert. to Maiden America. Maiden America is a great company owned by a gal who wants her children to actually be CHILDREN! How refreshing! Plus, she makes super cute hair clips for girls AND dogs.... *sigh* I think I've found another wish for my miles-long list. Doggy bows to keep the hair out of Sabrina's sweet little puppy eyes.

** Also, Ginny (Momof2Dancers) is doing a holiday gift guide, the link is on my sidebar, check it out!**

We Thank Thee, Oh God, For A Prophet!

I'm so grateful for Conference! I was so thrilled to see precious Primary kids in the choir today it was great. My girls are pretty good about sitting through the sessions when we are home, and today's choir really held thier attentions.

I really enjoyed the talk from David A. Bednar, I have long struggled with making my prayers personal and meaningful. I appreciate the admonishment to make sure our family members can feel our love for them through our prayers. I want my children to know, without a doubt, that I love them. I want them to know that I am trying to be the best mother I can, and that I rely on the Lord to help me make up the difference. I have faith that the Lord can give me all that I need, and that he can make me all that they need me to be. I want them to hear the blessings I see in my life, and to feel the truth of that through the Spirit's soft whisperings to their hearts. This was a very important talk for me personally.

I am excited to hear the Prophet speak tomorrow, I will be taking my children to the Chapel for the morning session, mostly because I want them to know that eventhough we aren't in Primary, we are still following the Lord's commandments by worshiping in His meetinghouse each week.

I have posted the song about the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I really think it's a cute way to help the kids learn the names and faces of our blessed leaders. We are so blessed to have Godly men to guide us at this time.

Are you a smarty-pants?

On the way to "HeadStarts" (as BuggaBoy calls it) for the last week, BB and I have been playing "I Spy".

We love this game at our house, it's a fun way to pass the time and I get a chance to see how my babies view their world. Well, I've learned a lot about my little man on these recent rides, I had no idea he could be so tricky! But also that he really enjoys compliments and is learning to give them as much as receive them. I think it's such a great lesson for him to be learning, it's also VERY comical!

As he guesses, I tell him how smart he is and how fun he is. He always responded with "You so smart too, Momma!" Until Friday... you see, durning this time he's also been potty training... we've been talking a lot about underpants. Well, BB combined them on Friday, "Momma, you is a Smarty Underpants!" HA HA HA! What a PERFECT little phrase!

It's been a running joke this weekend anytime someone does something profoundly intelligent. But BB wasn't going to let his glory fade into a cliché Oh no, he had another fabulous tag up his sleeve. Tonight as he was getting ready for bed, he was playing with Nana and in the course of their time, he told her she was a... Smarty-Pajammies! LOL I'm amazed at his quick wit! What a pumpkin

the logo belongs to smartypants.com

Addicted to HAIR....

I like to think I'm creative, I love to craft and crochet and am starting to get a decorating bug... well, I have found a new creative addiction!!!! YAY!!!!! It's HAIR!!!!

My girlies' hair to be exact (I'm just starting to get ok with straightening my hair, but these girls are FUN to play with!) SO, there are tons and tons of hair blogs out there and boy am I learning a lot. Now, I'm not completely new at experimenting iwth other people's hair LOL I did a lattice thing on my girlie's a few years ago and got bunches of complements, it was the first time I realized some of these styles aren't that difficult. Some are, at least for me (read: I can't french-braid lol), but these sites are fantastic about tutorials, so I'm confident we'll try some hard ones soon.

Now, unfortunately, I was dumb and didn't take pics of my girls the last two days. We actually got up early *shock* and the princesses let me DO thier hair *double shock*! It was so cute, the first day I did this in Sister Suzie's hair and this in Itty-Bitty's, then yesterday I did variations of this to Itty and this to Sister.

Here are some awesome links: Girly Do's, She Does Hair, Babes in Hairland, Hair's Our Life (click for details on her fantastic giveaway), Hair 4 My Princess, Piper's hairdos... there are SEVERAL more, but Sister is sitting here waiting for me, so I can't play no more! LOL

Today I want to do THIS to Sister... but we're in a hurry and I've wasted time blogging and geting my "hair-fix" so she's only gonna let me mess a little bit. DANG!

Competition can be the greatest motivator....

After my recent post about the lack of excitement I have for exercising, I got off my duff and went to the gym. YEAH!!!! It was AWESOME! I felt so good about getting out there and doing something. While I was checking out all of the services that the fitness center offers, I saw an announcement for their own Biggest Loser contest. I thought "hmm, that's interesting...Laura did great with her's, maybe I should think about that." That very day, we got our local paper and what do you know, there was the info again... "$10 reg. fee... $150 in fitness center prizes... Lets think this over some more."

So I go Wed. to do my interval and decide I am going to do it. I have a fitness challenge coming up for MomentumFS, so why not combine the two? The initial meeting is Sept. 30, then weekly weigh-ins through December. It's not a huge one like my old gym hosts, but not bad for a small town. I'm sure the future competitions will be bigger, longer, ect. But I'm looking forward to the nitty-gritty and seeing the progress I can make in the next 3 months. This is gonna be good guys, this is gonna be SO good!

Just and old fashioned girl...

I have always loved Eartha Kitt. Santa Baby has been one of my favorite Christmas "carols" since I was a preteen, the best time I ever had was singing it at a Nursing home in 10th grade. LOL But in searching YouTube this spring for some clips for a Music Appreciation class, I came about the live recording of this fabulous song. It's completely facetious and I LOVE IT! Now truly, I'm not this concieted, but boy oh boy, I'd like to be some days! All in all, I'd just love to find the perfect LBD (Little Black Dress) and some killer heels and sing this at a singles thing one day!!!! HEE HEE HEE!

Ok, I'll go return the horns and pitchfork to the closet and put my halo back on... in the meantime, watch the video and smile a little! I do!

~J~

Motivation... get some!

So I was having a convo tonight with a friend about my motivation (or lack thereof) to get "fit". I really believe that I have to be the motivation in my own life, so why can't I do that? I have so many things I do every day that I really feel are important, most of them are for my family, but isn't being "fit" also important for my family too?!

I read the scriptures and say prayers because I want to show my kids on a daily basis how important it is to bring the spirit in to the home. I want to show them everyday how to notice the spirit by how they feel. I fix meals with and for my kids most every night, we eat together at the table, we talk, we use manners. I want to teach my kids daily to eat right, to respect their table-mates, to make connections with their siblings that will last a lifetime. I want to do the same thing with them about health and fitness, but why is it that I don't get fired up about it like I do with other things?

I think my answer lies in perfection. I know that my kids are going to lay all over the couch when we read scriptures, my ds is going to run in and out the whole time... I expect it. I know my girls will tussle about who gets "the pretty fork" before dinner, I know someone will inevitably fart or burp at the table which will create peals of laughter and indigestion... I expect it. But when I have a long day and take too many hours chatting and surfing the Internet and then look at the clock and realize that it's already tomorrow... I think "Dummy, you could have worked out... now you're too tired." When I want to sleep in after the aforementioned late night, I think "Idiot, serves you right, now you can't workout because you are too tired." When I drive passed the gym after taking the kids to the pizza parlor for dinner.... I think "You are so lazy, you didn't even go to the gym and you couldn't manage to make a decent meal, how ridiculous." I kick myself.

It's perfection... it's paralyzing my life. As I came to this conclusion, I did something I haven't done all summer, I turned on a Jonathan Roche show and started listening to last week's show. What was the first topic? MOTIVATION!!!!! How much time do you spend in front of a screen each day? How much of a workout could you have gotten in that time? DUH! That's IT! I just need to DO IT!

I'm logging on to MomentumFS now, I'm signing up for the Fitness Challenge, I'm writing myself an appointment with the gym for tomorrow. The dds get on the bus at 8:30, I can be at the gym and busting out that interval by 9:00AM! I WILL be at the gym and busting out an interval by 9:00 AM!!!!

Today is my January 1st! Go Me!!!!!

~J

New Pics...

Yes DAN.... new pics!!!! YAY!!!!







Rock and Rollin' Jessie!!!!



Thomas talks with R2D2 at Downtown Disney, Awwww!

FRUSTRATED!!!!!

I am slowly but surely becoming disenchanted with my new laptop...

First of all. whatever "they did" when "they" uninstalled my wireless card from my desktop freaked something up and now we can't access the internet from the regular pc... which brings back all of the bad stuff about a shared computer. The sighs and attitudes about not being able to use it when they want.

And then there is the fact that I don't have the Office 2007 pack on my laptop, which means I can't use Excell, Word, or my constant companion Outlook... OI! You get a total of 25 unregistered uses of Office programs before you are locked out completely. So, since the disk I previously used has moved to Tri-cities...shhhh! LOL I have to bite the bullet and go buy it at the college this week.

OH, yeah... let's not forget the several things that won't run on my new system... CSI games, my dinosaur of a digital camera (Yes Dan, I had pics to post even), my dd's mp3 player... oh. and the new Barbie game I bought the DDs as a reward for homework/piano practice complete. I've downloaded drivers, patches, installed various whooziewhatzits and still can't work them. UGH!

I'm beginning to think this Laptops are the Future stuff is just a bunch of hooey! HMPH!
~J

I went to the animal fair....

the birds and the bees were there.....

So 'Itty-Bitty's' class went to the County Fair today. SO CUTE! They are so sweet at this age, so excited about ducks and turtles, the part all the kids loved were the Goats who kiss and eat from our hand. They also liked the logging show, shopping wood is super cool at 6! I just love going on fieldtrips! I walked around with "my kids" and just relished in the simple things today. We petted a turtle and a kitten, and we won free goldfish from the petstore. We ate FABULOUS Chicken for lunch. We got faces painted and brought home souvieners. Oh the joy of a BIG rainbow hawiian shaved ice on a warm fall day! It was bliss I tell you, utter bliss! I'm so grateful that they enjoy Mom being wiht them... I know it will get few and far between in the future. I want to live in today. I love today! It was a very good day!








Oh, and for the record... while I love honey, I HATE BEES! One got in my car and stung me on my back and now it hurts. Nasty ole thing....

Technology

Ok, so I LOVE technology! I'm sitting here listening to Kate Nash and blogging..... in my LIVINGROOM!!! Yup! I did it, I bought a laptop. I'm going to use it for school, since all of my Accounting homework is internet based. But while I'm waiting for school to start, I'm having fun learning how to use it! YAY!!!!! Nancy Drew games are fabulous on here, yesterday I played with my headphones on while DS was taking a nap beside me. I can go to the local pizza parlor and use the network, I set up on a public network tonight while I was sitting at an accident waiting for the road to reopen. It's fabulous! No more fighting over the use of the PC... no waiting for someone else to finish up... or get *sighs* from those waiting for me to finish my work (read:my game) LOL

~J

To Bid or Not To Bid...

That is the question!

I've started looking on Ebay this week. (Thanks Joni!) LOL I think I've been pretty picky about what I am bidding on. Looking at the bid price + the shipping total = "would I pay that at the store?" (Again, thanks for the tip Joni!) ;)

So I have made a few purchases tonight and now I have to stop looking... But I decided I like this Shop From Home thing.... as long as I ONLY shop for what we need. THAT'S THE HARD PART!!! There is the CUTEST pair of cherry print skimmers that I want like no tomorrow. I don't need them. I have a perfectly fine pair of black and red casual shoes.... and I DID just buy a fabulous (impluse purchase) RED purse on Saturday... But I WANT THESE SHOES!!!!!!!!

Ebay is a dangerous place I've decided. I think I'm going to have to limit myself ... only what we need.... and only one peek-session a week.... moderation in all things... Thou Shalt Not Covet (thy neighbors' cute footwear)...

Ok... ok... I x'd out of Ebay... but I got some CUTE little buys!!!! Yay Me!!!!! Take a look!

SO CUTE! These will go great with DD1's plaid pants and skirt!

I couldn't bear to lose these, so I skipped bidding and paid the $10.00 Buy Now price. TOTAL:$16.00

A Two-fer! These are great for DD2's first grade wardrobe! Bid:$4.00 Shipping:$8.25 TOTAL:$12.25

The best deal I got tonight! DD1 is going to be so stylish! LOL Bid:$0.99 Shipping:$6.95

TOTAL: $7.95!!!

*SIGH*

I haven't gotten any votes for my template question, so I'm taking down the poll and choosing for myself. Thanks jackbook.com for the AWESOME template!!!!!

I'm having one of those super sureal days.... you know? First of all, I found out that I am ranking 79th (tied with several other users) in my fitness challenge at Momentumfs.com. There are something like 2000+ people involved and that makes me feel pretty dang good!


ChallengeParticipant Status Total # of Workouts Avg.Workouts/Week Current Place
[JessieMomma] Active 36.00 3.28 79

What and awesome feeling, I was sure I hadn't even gotten 13 workouts in!!!! YAY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

So the other big WEIRD part is... my ex-finance (who recently got married BTW) RE-sent me an email he sent me only weeks after his wedding. WHAT?! Yeah, he emailed me to tell me all about his life; sans fiance, wife, or marriage info., and asked about my kids... wanted to make sure we could still stay in contact.... misses our converstations........ WHAT THE HECK?!?! DUDE, you are MARRIED! MARRIED.... does that not ring a bell with you???? And you wonder why I sent you packin'??????????????? Some people I swear!

What is it about my life? Do I just have a sign that says "Desperate; Idiots need apply"? *sigh*

Well, I know what I need tonight.... a good snuggle with my puppy dog and an episode of CSI. I'm outta here! Night night!

~JM

New Templates...

So again with the playing around with Blogger...

I have found templates that are BEAUTIFUL... I wish I knew how to create my own! Anyway, I want your opinions ... which template should I use???? Thanks!
~JessieMomma

So, who DID agree to let China host the Olympics?!

Dr. Laura Schlessinger has a wonderful blog, I have to say that I am very drawn to her principles and I trust her opinion very much. She is a beacon of values in a world that is terribly mixed up about right and wrong. Her entry today rang true to my values. I've thought all along that sending the Olympics to China was a bad idea, my mother has said for years that we need to be careful. Weren't the Olympics supposed to be hosted by countries that upheld values of human preservation and honesty? Aren't we supposed to look at the countries(and cities) and marvel at how they've overcome struggles and contentions, how their governments are working to hopefully better the lives of their citizens?
Trust me I am not saying that our government is perfect or that we've got all the answers. But my goodness, this is outrageous, there are Olympians who are not traveling directly to Beijing, but through other countries first, or wearing face masks, to avoid prolonged over-exposure to harmful pollution in the air. Pollution which China promised in 2001, to remedy prior to the opening of the Games... don't you think waiting until the week before is a bit of poor planning? Instead, they've uprooted peasant families in order to build new state of the art arenas, continued to disregard the civil rights of their citizens, and limited the ability of foreign newscasters. Please tell me, HOW is this a good thing??? Why haven't these games been boycotted??? What as citizens can we do now, with the games looming a few short days away???
I don't know the answers, but I think we've become too complacent. I'm feeling a pull in two directions, I have been for a while now. On the one hand, I now have two children who are old enough to watch some events and understand why we hold these special events every four years. I want them to see these spectacular athletes and gain appreciation for their dedication, to look up to them as I looked up to Mary Lou when I was a little girl. I want them to be inspired to choose a sport or activity and really learn and grow in the joy of perfecting it. And yet, I want to show them that I don't agree with our involvement in events that bring gain to this country who can be very dangerous to us, who does not even uphold the promises it has made in order to receive the honor of hosting the Olympics.
I am torn. Will not allowing my family to participate in viewing the Games really show anyone anything? Or is this a time to sit my kids down and explain to them why we watch and support our athletes, and teach them WHY we are so lucky to live in our beautiful land? It seems that I have a decision to make soon. One that I am unfortunately certain will not be that last of it's type. Which happens to be exactly the reason I am grateful for people, like Dr. Laura, who have the voice and means to speak publicly about the morals and values that are being degraded by the popular culture. We would be blessed if we had more people like her in the media.

Figuring out "Blog"

Ok... so I know there is a way to add music to my blog..... because I'm listening to the coolest songs on my firend Laura's blog. She has a friend who sets her up with awesome music.... something called Project Playlist. I'm going to figure out how to use it.

I'm going to figure out how to do a bunch of stuff... one day! LOL. Today I have to figure out how to get ready for Silverwood (bday for my dd) and take my kids swimming... AND do the laundry.... AND save the whales too.... :-P

Alright. Time to start on the figuring out stuff. BYE!

Intro

Hi! Ok this is the first time I've really done these... I have set up a few... but I never remember the link or passwords... so i can never go back and update them! LOL

I mostly joined so that I could leave comments for my friend Laura and at least have something interesting for her to read, even though I'll have probably already told her about it over the phone first anyway!

So... single with kids. Kinda complicates things a bit, huh? I was thinking the other day how different my life is from those of my married friends. How often do we just want someone to fix the dinner, or do the laundry. How great would it be if we had someone else to deal with 'clean-room duty' and what about trying to find a sitter so you have more than 10 minutes of adult conversation without ear-splitting screams of elementary school girls in the next room? Heck, forget a sitter, single parents can hardly affordto buy gas anymore, let alone a regularly scheduled night out.

I just have four words in regards to this: "THANK HEAVENS FOR NANA'S!"