Wordless Wednesday

Couldn't wait until Wednesday to post this one

This made me laugh. I love the Beatles and I love Shakespeare, so this is a perfect fit.

P.S. Just ignore the DVD advertisement during the last 1-1/2 minutes of the video.

Drama Queen's new do

Drama Queen has been cast as Peppermint Patty in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, her final high school show. The drama teacher asked her if she'd be willing to cut her hair for the part. She's had long hair her whole life. Whole life. She was a little nervous about it, but it turned out really cute.

Before:

After the majority of the cut:

The hair on the cutting room floor:

Flat irons are our friends:

The finished look:

More evidence that Psycho Wunderhund has earned his name

Don't get me wrong. We love our dog. He is very lovable. And even though we have grand plans of the dog we hope to have one day, in the very distant future when Psycho Wunderhund has gone on to his grand doggie reward in the next life, we have no plans to hastening that day. That said, here he is showing why we will not be buying him anymore toys with squeakers in them. No matter how big the manufacturer's promises are about double and triple stitching. I've cleaned up enough fluffy stuffing and completely destroyed squeaker globes for a dog's lifetime. To give you a time frame of his destructive abilities, he's been playing with this toy for about two weeks.

Who couldn't love that face?

Wordless Wednesday

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes!

Got phone envy?

I don't any more. This is now what I get to make calls on.

Oh, yeah, it also connects to the internet, plays music really well, and keeps texting conversations together so I don't have to switch back and forth between the in and out boxes. That and Angry Birds are probably my favorite things about this phone. Phone. Makes me laugh. It's really a mini computer. Isn't technology amazing, and not a little scary?

Mr. Perfect's latest Lagoon offering: Air Race

Okay, so he didn't design the whole ride, just the concrete footings that keep in grounded, but hey, that's something. It looks like a lot of fun. Can't wait to ride it!

YouTube Video Link Wednesday

New Wednesday post type: the YouTube Video Link. Needless to say, I will only be posting videos that make me smile, laugh, glow with happiness, or go "what on earth were they thinking? oh, maybe they weren't." There will be no nudity, fowl (ha ha ha, I mean foul -- ducks can find a voice here, if they can figure out how to type) language, or other obscenities. If you want your video posted, send me the link and I'll consider it.

Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

So I can finally disclose my secret

A little over a month ago, Mr. Perfect and I were called into the Bishop's office for an interview. It wasn't just a plain-jane, "How are you doing?" interview. It was a new calling. For me. And it's more than a little overwhelming. They asked me to be the Young Women's president in our ward.

For anyone reading this who isn't LDS, the Young Women's organization is for all girls ages 12 through 18, LDS or not. There is a religious class each Sunday, activities each Tuesday, youth dances, and special activities like a week-long camp each summer and occasional youth conferences or pioneer treks. In our ward, we have five to ten girls who come each Sunday, and twenty to twenty-five who come to the activities on Tuesday nights.

Why am I more than a little terrified of this calling? I have never worked with the Young Women. Never. No callings as a counselor, adviser, camp coordinator, nothing. As a young woman, I was never in a class presidency (there were fourteen girls my age who were active in church while I was growing up -- yes, fourteen, my age alone). I went to Oakcrest as a Beehive, but didn't do the regular camp the other years because it was always the same week a Granite Youth Symphony tour.

I am excited for this experience. I think the Young Women's program (and also the Young Men's program) is vital for teenagers. It's such a turbulent time in life. Teens are trying to figure everything out. They are trying to figure themselves out, and who and what they want to be for the rest of their lives. It is so important for them to have parents and leaders (both secular and religious) who are supportive, loving, and encouraging. When we empower teens, it allows them to become empowered adults. I know that there are many people in the world today who want the youth to believe that relying on Heavenly Father and the teachings of Christ will bind and control them when the opposite is actually true. The freedom you have spiritually, emotional, and physically when you follow the commandments gives you the courage and strength to do amazing things and become an amazing person. I've seen it in my life and the lives of friends and family members.

If you have advice or suggestions for lessons or activities, please, please, please come and rescue me. I am in the tall tower of Swamp Castle.

Easter egg cookies

Remember a few posts back when I made cookies for Mr. Perfect to take to a Young Men's activity and we had enough dough left over to make a huge egg? Well, we decided to make big egg cookies for Easter. The only problem was that when I wen to Orson Gygi to buy a really big egg cookie cutter, they didn't have one the size I wanted. They had normal sized ones and one HUGE one that had cut-outs already in it. We didn't want that. So I went on a search and found this lovely egg stencil:

Through the magic of computer stuff, I was able to print it the size we we wanted, and there you have it. The Huge Easter Egg Cookie Experiment could progress. We did two sizes of eggs: really big and normal. We decided on three colors for our eggs: green, yellow, and purple. I know, I know. They aren't exactly the Primary colors, but hey, they work for spring.

We don't have decorating bags for frosting, so we improvised and cut the tips off corners of baggies filled with frosting. They worked great, because all we really wanted was straight piping, not the fancy star-tipped stuff. Here are the results. Please vote for your favorite.

Which do you think is my favorite?

I have discovered

Mulch. Mulch is a beautiful thing. It takes tired, dried-out-looking flower beds and gardens and makes them look healthy and lovely. And the best part about it is that the mulch actually makes them healthy and lovely. With the help of our dear neighbor, King of England, we became the proud owners of a huge load of mulch from the local landfill.

Pre-mulch:

Post-mulch:

It's even more spectacular in natural sunlight, but we didn't finish until about 9:00 last night.

Here's Mr. Perfect showing off his amazing muscles.

Now, isn't that worth all the hard work of shoveling and grating and weeding? I think so, too. Just wait until the tomatoes start ripening in August. Yummmm!

(Yeah, we know that the last picture looks like it's snowing. It wasn't. The lens just needs some serious cleaning.)

Announcement about the announcement

I will be able to tell you everything you want to know about my "big announcement" after church on Easter Sunday.


That is all.

(Hey, at least it's a week earlier than I originally thought -- and now it's only three days away.)

Wordless Wednesday

More evidence of the end of bathroom construction

We haven't had a place to hang our wet towels for over a year. I've missed towel racks more than I care to say. But no more. True evidence that the bathroom construction is winding down. And it's a beautiful thing.

Thank you, Mr. Perfect!

Master bath                                                  Other bathroom

Are we human or are we dancer?

 I'm just saying...