Tale of Despereaux

I just finished a book that I really loved! It was a quick read, I read it in a few hours. I have not seen the movie (which I heard wasn't very good), but the book, WOWIE! It was amazing and a fairytale worth reading.

Mountain O' Laundry

I had to take this picture for posterity's sake. See what I had to do when you were kids, type thing....

This is all the kids laundry and a little of mine. The stain remover bottle is for scale purposes. Steve does his own. What a wonderful world!

Maybe we could hike Laundry Mountain sometime. May take a while to get to the summit.

Playing on a Spring Day

This (first picture) is what it looks like to go outside and play today. I probably should have added gloves and a scarf. Typical Utah Spring.



The second one is what the weather was like a couple days ago-- notice Kaylee glowing in the sun in her dress up clothes, also typical. I can't figure out if she's trying to shade her eyes from the sun, hit Matthew, or push him on the swing. It really could go either way. By the look on his face, he's not too sure either.

American Idol

I have to say I am a shameless American Idol fan. I have watched all of the seasons except for the first one. Last night, my favorite was Adam Lambert, with his cleaned up look, and song, "Tracks of My Tears." I had heard that song before, but never really listened to the words and I loved his stripped down version of it. WOW! I hated his song last week, so I feel it was a big improvement. I think he has a shot of winning. His song rivaled Carrie Underwood's song by Heart called "How Do I Get You Alone" for my favorite of all of the American Idol songs so far.

A Long Way From Chicago

I really enjoyed this youth fiction book by Richard Peck that a neighbor loaned me. I loved the character development and the author's writing style. It has a real light and funny feel to it... perfect reading for a Spring day or a book club choice. It's a fast read and has a sequel set around the Depression times, that I found quite moving and applicable to today's economic times. The sequel is called, "A Year Down Yonder". I actually liked it better than the first too.

Mormon Mommy Blog

I just stumbled across this amazing blog. Check it out and add yours to it. They apparently do amazing giveaways.

http://mormonmommyblogs.blogspot.com/

Great Book I Just Read

Steve and I were both given 2 copies of a book from my aunt (so we could each read it at the same time) when he quit his job. It's called, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. At first, I didn't think I would like it--mostly because of the title and because I prefer novels. I also thought the idea of "winning" friends was somewhat disturbing, because shouldn't friends just like you because of who you are? However, after she prodded me several times, I did pick it up to scan it.

After reading a chapter or two, I found the book extremely compelling and useful. Winning friends really has nothing to do with it, it's more about being a better person. I can apply it to work, home life, church callings or leadership positions, changing negative situations into positive ones, and just dealing with people in general.

I found it to be one of my favorite non-fiction books because of the simple manner in which it was written and for the plethora of stories used to illustrate concepts. I think it would be a great choice for the book group I attend as well.

Anyone want to borrow it? I have two!

Tender Mercies

After a BAD couple weeks of all of us being sick, strep and a doctor's visit with no insurance, me being denied health insurance, car issues, washing machine issues, and just not much going the way we wanted or planned... The check engine light went off in Steve's car (meaning it doesn't need to get fixed-whew!) and I got a large dress up order, and a few other orders including selling 10 dresses on KSL on Friday.

Sometimes when I feel down, I just need a little pick-me-up, just something small to happen that's good. It ended up being a pretty great day and that makes me thankful that my prayers are heard. It was especially good that I stayed home from Church today because I didn't want to pass my germs to the kids in the nursery and apparently, they didn't want to pass theirs to me either because the toilet backed up and overflowed while I was away. Tee Hee. Sorry to my substitute!

Medieval Adventure for Dads and Boys

I thought this event at the Provo Library looked really fun. Too bad Matt is under the age requirement. The admission is only $3 and they give you lunch.

See here: http://www.provo.lib.ut.us/kids/kids_bigguy_littleguy.html

Birds and Bees (or Flies)

Isn't it wonderful to hear birds chirping now that it's Spring? I think it is especially nice in the morning when the world is quiet.

Unfortunately, we had a fly in our house yesterday. Seems they don't want to miss out on the warmer weather either. I wish for one year they would!

Article Marketing & Funny Story

I have been doing marketing for my cute dress ups through articles. A friend has helped me get started and taught me how to do it. I think I have written about 20 articles so far. Anyway, I try to come up with topics related to princesses or dress ups so google will associate the keywords I use with my link in the author bio. I have written articles on etiquette, manners, birthday parties, spending time with your kids and dressing up with them, etc, etc, etc. Basically, just a bunch of nonsense to get my key words and link out there.

So the funny part is that people actually read the articles, lots of them. I used to be a writer for Novell and graduated in Communications which requires a whole lot of writing. I know how to write good articles which requires research and relevant quotes and so on. These ones that I have been writing take about 15 minutes of me rambling on about dressing up in any new way I can. They are not good.

The even funnier thing is someone contacted me the other day and asked if he could use my articles on his parenting site. I had to laugh out loud. Are you serious? Ok, I guess.

Anyway, all this marketing I've been doing has TOTALLY changed how I see things on the Internet. Most everything you see is a marketing plea one way or the other. It's kind of a sad realization.

If you must have a good laugh, here's an article of mine: http://ezinearticles.com/?Dressing-Up-in-Costumes-and-Dress-Up-Clothes-Can-Help-Children-Build-Social-Skills&id=1969709

Book of a Thousand Words

I finished Shannon Hale's, Book of a Thousand Words today and loved it! It was based on a Brother's Grimm fairy tale called "Maid Maleen". The story was familiar to me because my Mom read me those fairytales as a child. Although it wasn't Hale's typical writing it was still enjoyable and I would recommend reading it. Next on the reading list, Tale of Despereaux.

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

If you haven't read Shannon Hale yet, you are sorely deprived. I love her books! She has a series of award winning books called Princess Academy, Goose Girl, Enna Burning and River Secrets. They are sort of like a modern fairy tale and slightly fantasy-ish.

Make sure to start them when you are not that tired, because you WILL be tired when you stay up all night trying to find out what happens next :). When I signed up for River Secrets, the last one I haven't read yet, I was number 48 on the wait list at the library if that tells you anything.

My neighbor loaned me Hale's newest book about called "Book of a Thousand Words". I'm sure it's fantastic, but I'm kind of tired from staying up all last night reading Enna Burning, so maybe I'll start tomorrow!

Mom, we're a store

Yesterday Kaylee and I were downstairs packing up some dress ups to mail and on the way back up, we stopped off in the food storage room for some vitamins, and canned foods to bring up, then stopped in another storage room to put away a box of toys. On the way back upstairs, she said excitedly, "Mom, we're a store, our house is a store!" I said no, it's just a house. She insisted, and I relented. I guess she is sort of right. We have a lot of things a store would have. Call us "Meyers Mart" or something like that.

The Fire Starter

Yesterday I was trying out a cedar plank for the first time on the grill with a lovely recipe called Sun-dried Tomato Salmon. I followed the instructions to a T on how to use the plank and how long to cook the salmon. Not sure why the recipe says put your grill on high heat as my grill gets up to EIGHT HUNDRED degrees. Nevertheless, I did as the instructions said.

However, when I went to check on it after the allotted 15 minutes, the cedar plank was burnt to a crisp and was on fire (you are supposed to be able to reuse the plank several times), and it broke into little tiny pieces upon touching it with a spatula. Worse than that, the sun-dried tomatoes were burnt to a sad, sad crisp.

Luckily I was able to salvage most of the salmon as it was stuck to the wood like a piece of gum on a shoe. The salmon tasted ok, if you like that sort of thing, blackened that is.

Yummy Crock Pot Meal

I have been following "A Year of Crockpotting" blog. I made this recipe last night and it was fabulous. We really liked the herbs and spices in it. Several people came to the house while it was cooking (including the kids friends) and said how wonderful it smelled. Kaylee's friend even asked if she could stay for dinner! http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/03/crockpot-hirino-psito-slow-roasted-pork.html

Instead of the pork, I made it with a brisket I got on sale for $2 at Target and it will last 3 days. Did you know if you go to Target early in the morning, you can often get meat at an awesome price, sometimes free with the peelie coupons on top of the package? I got 5 pounds of Turkey cutlets for free the other day.

Anyway, I think this recipe would also taste wonderful with a turkey breast. Then shred and put on a sandwich roll and spread with cream cheese. Maybe sweet potato fries on the side.

The only problem was I was hungry all day because the house smelled so good!

Dang Those Girl Scout Cookies!

First of all, we only ordered 10 boxes (our idea of being "recession savvy") before Steve's job ended and had to pay for them after. Not good.

Second, I can't stop eating them!!! Dang it! I would like to get a T-shirt that says I {heart} Samoas. Anyone know where to get one?

Third, I may need cookies anonymous because they are really addicting. Last night I got out a seemingly "new" box after the kids went to bed and I was heard from the pantry frantically asking why we got a box that was already opened and what steps I would have to take to rectify the situation. When I didn't hear an answer from the couch potato, I knew something was up. When I saw the guilty look on his face, I instinctively smacked Steve on the arm for eating 6 without sharing with me! How dare he.

Which Girl Scout Cookies are your favorite?

Whole Wheat Bread 101

Things you will need:

1. Bosch Mixer: $389
http://www.mykitchencenter.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=1192
2. Electric Wheat Grinder (I have a Whisper Mill):$179
3. Bread bags: $5.99/for 100
4. 7 Norpro teflon waffle pans: $10 each
Don't skimp on these, I have tried a lot of pans, and these make the crust perfect.
5. Good quality White Wheat + ingredients for the bread

These prices are taken from the Bosch Kitchen Center website, I'm sure you can find them online used or cheaper. I know it seems expensive, but we asked for the big things for Christmas and in a couple of years it will pay for itself. Don't skimp on not getting the Bosch blender. It's worth it! We make yummy smoothies all the time in it. More on that in a later post...

If your family eats one loaf of bread per week at $3.99 each (comparable quality and taste to the home made bread), you will spend $200 a year.

If you make your own, you will spend $16 a year at .33 cents each. It takes about an hour a month from start to finish.

You can also make bagels, pitas, tortillas, pizza crusts, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, rolls... whatever. It's not only for bread, it's a traditional mixer too. However, I still love my Kitchen Aid and it's physical presence in my kitchen. The Bosch gets stored in the pantry for bread making and smoothies only and the Kitchen Aid is on the counter for every day use.

Here's the recipe: http://www.mykitchencenter.com/recipes.cfm
Here's some additional recipes: http://www.spoilthecook.com/bosch/Include.php?page=recipes

I have made the 12 grain bread many times and it is really good. It costs about .50 cents a loaf. I deviate a little from the recipe as I grind the 9 grain cereal with the flour, because it's just too crunchy for me the other way.

Give it a try, it's fun and satisfying!

Artisan Pizza Crust

WARNING! DON'T READ THIS IF YOU ARE HUNGRY!

I have been wanting to develop a whole wheat pizza crust that can be frozen for later use (I know, I'm weird, ok, no need to rub it in). It just seems like everyone in our house likes pizza and I can put things on top that the kids (a.k.a. Matthew) would normally not eat otherwise (like carrots or caramelized onions). Yes, shredded carrots taste amazing with tomato sauce. Not to mention, pizza is easy and fast to prepare and bake. With the whole wheat crust and the right topping, it's very healthy too.

I had been making bread and noticed on the recipe that the dough can be used for pizza crust. I put my own spin on it and it turned out better than I anticipated. The smell of rosemary in the kitchen was out of this world too!

Please tell me everyone out there interested in Food Storage or baking breads has a Bosch mixer.... It's a must if you are going to make your own bread, because you can make dough for 6-8 loaves at ONE TIME, no kneeding or mixing by hand. It seriously takes about 20 minutes to make 6 loaves of bread! Then after it's baked, just pop in the freezer for a month of yummy goodness. Even picky Matthew will not turn his nose up at it.

So in my "Bosch" I made 4 loaves of 100% whole wheat bread and 3 pizza crusts. The dough was super easy to work with and I just mounded it on a pizza pan and used my handy dandy small rolling pin to stretch it out to fit the pan. Rolling pin: http://www.mykitchencenter.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=519

Then the magic. mmmm... I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. I love a good olive oil. So I took my olive oil infused with Italian seasonings (you just buy it like that at the store, you know, to dip french bread in or whatever). So I slathered the unbaked crust with that, threw it in the oven for 7 minutes at 425 and, presto, perfect pizza crust. I slightly undercooked it so when I bake it with toppings later it won't be over cooked.

Here's a link to the recipe from the Bosch Kitchen Center http://www.mykitchencenter.com/recipes.cfm (in Orem across from Target on Center Street). It's the basic whole wheat recipe. They have free classes that are fantastic and best of all they serve free samples at them. I also bought my stainless pizza pans there and they worked out great. I have two, although, I wish I had 3 so I could get a good rotation going on.

I think all in all, I made the bread and pizza crusts in about an hour including cooking time. Each loaf and pizza crust comes out costing a mere .33 cents. Can't beat that when you are on a budget like us.

I'd like to try a chicken alfredo pizza or prosciutto and caramelized onions.

Cars

Matthew became obsessed with Lightening McQueen (the one from the movie, "Cars") yesterday. He has never seen the movie and I think just because it is a car and he loves any vehicle. Just mention Thomas the Train and he's all ears.

Anyway, I bought him some Lightening McQueen crocks for summer and they were too big, but he refused to take them off so that I could put them back in the box. He has been wearing them during his nap, all day, and all night. I left the tag on so I could sneak them away when he wasn't looking, but that didn't work either because he also became obsessed with getting that tag off, so now he's walking around with the too big shoes on with that clear plastic tag hanging down. He knows what I want to do with his shoes, so he won't let me come near them with a ten foot pole. I guess we're keeping them. Hope they fit by the time summer is over!

Savvy Shopper

Since times are tight around the Meyers home, I'm contemplating cutting coupons again. I did it for a couple years, and saved a lot of money. I had a giant box of free stuff that I didn't end up using that I was able to donate to the Women and Children's crisis center.

The planning takes a couple hours a week. The trick is to find things that are on sale and then use your coupons on them. Sometimes, they even have coupons for over the sale price, so the store ends up paying YOU to buy their product. Savvy shopper emails the sales at all the local stores based on your zip code and then I go price match at Walmart once a week, so I don't have to go to several different stores. Let me tell you the people in line behind you HATE you, but the checkers are in shock that you can have a whole cart of food for $25. Anywhoo, the site (or forum) is http://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

The other trick is to order only the Sunday paper, and order multiple copies. You can get 5 Sunday papers for $16.40 a month. I think I got 3 when I did it, and that's $12.40. There's no clipping until the weekly planning session. You just put your whole packet of coupons in an expanding file folder sorted by date each Sunday. Then savvy shopper tells you what's on sale and what date the coupon was in. It's pretty easy.

There's also this free site called coupons.com where you can print up coupons and take to the store. They have a $5 off Huggies right now and you can print up 2.


I'll let you know how it goes this time around.

New Look

I wish I had a new look, but I don't... My website does. Doesn't it look so much better?! http://www.mycutedressups.com/. The home page is the only thing Steve has had time to put up yet, but the other pages are going to be updated as well probably this week or next.

I had it professionally redesigned by someone I found on Craigslist. His pricing was extremely reasonable and as you can see, he did a really good job and I was a tough customer! I think I had him change things around about a hundred times. If you need some design work done, here's his contact info: Rich Poulsen 801-592-9245. I want him to do my photography site and my blog as well. Ah, to wish for someday!

Maybe we should give him back

Tonight as usual, Matthew was throwing a fit about eating his dinner. Kaylee said, "He's being naughty." My response was, "Yeah, it's not good to be naughty." She said, "Mom, maybe we should just put him back where he came from."

My response, "Ouch."

Organic Housekeeping

My aunt sent me a book about a year ago called, "Organic Housekeeping." When I first got it, I thought... What do I need to know about cleaning, I've been doing it for my whole life just fine? But she kept encouraging me to read it, not to mention it's beautiful cover in my favorite color! Long link alert: http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Housekeeping-Non-Toxic-Avenger-Improve/dp/0743256204/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236453879&sr=8-2

Anyway, I took her advise and read it. It was actually quite enlightening and I enjoyed the book so much I read it cover to cover instead of skimming it like I had originally planned. I had been wanting to switch from the traditional chemical cleaners like 409, comet, and scrubbing bubbles to something a more natural because of health issues, but I didn't think there was anything out there that would actually "work".

However, I have the new wonder cleaner and you won't believe what it is... Vinegar! Yes, regular old vinegar. It really works and you can use it on nearly anything (my husband jokes that I use it like the crazy dad in My Big Fat Greek Weeding uses Windex). You can use it to clean fruit, counters, windows, plastic, stainless steel, bathrooms... pretty much whatever and it's totally safe. I used to catch Matthew sucking on the sprayers of cleaners when I would put the can on the floor (because it smelled good), but now, no way sistah... He took one sip of that vinegar and nope, never tried that again! You should have seen the look on his face, poor kid.

It costs under $2 a gallon. Put it in a pretty spray bottle and Voila, refillable cleaner for a year. I put straight vinegar in it, but the smell is quite pungent so beware. Could be a bonus if your sinuses need clearing :).

Results, you ask? My health, still the same, but less allergies. More money in my pocket book-check! An added benefit that I wasn't expecting was the help with the girls excema. Nothing, I mean nothing could make that nasty bane of my existence go away. We tried everything from steroid creams to pills to lotions... (sorry kids!), then we just gave up for a while. Vinegar+Excema=GONE! Please note: I did not put vinegar on the excema, just used it instead of other cleaning products... got it?!

Another big thing that helped with the rashes was switching to "All Free & Clear" detergent and dryer sheets. Another good thing is fragrance free shampoo, soap, and lotion. In fact, everything in our house is fragrance free, not to be confused with unscented which you can look on the ingredients and sometimes see "fragrance" on the back. It does make a big difference.

Anyway, give vinegar a try, you might turn into the crazy dad too!

Peas {pause} Mama

I just have to post about this before I forget because it's SO cute! Whenever Matthew wants something, I am trying to teach him to be polite and to say, "Please, Mommy". He is so adorable and the way he says it is, "Peas... pause for a few seconds... Mama!" I just want to hear him say it, so I ask him lots of times during the day and then have a little chuckle.

I guess I need to remember how cute he is even when he smears yogurt all over himself because I have taken too long to get him out of his high chair. Mom's have the hardest job, I'll tell ya!

Mama Mia!

My mom announced on Monday that she quit her job and will be moving from Seattle to Utah. I am an only child, so my kids are her only grand kids. Wow! We are so excited and we love you and can't wait to see you Grandma Shelley. She will be staying with us until she can find a job and an apartment. YEAH!!!

Enrichment Night

Last night we had enrichment at the church (a meeting for women) and we did a service auction with points, not money, for good things you have done. It was really fun! There was everything from a knitted afgan to free haircuts to gift certificates. I brought dress up clothes to auction off. My pink pauper dress and matching doll dress tied for being auctioned at the highest price. Someone bid 500 points on the dress ups and then someone else bid 1050 and then that person got them. So it only got two bids. It was kind of funny how it all played out and we all got a good laugh out of it.

I got a plate of pumpkin cookies, and a gift certificate for home made bagels. Yum!

The best part was coming home after it was over and Matthew (age 2) screamed in delight "Mommy!" when he saw me and jumped off the couch and ran as fast as he could with his arms out to give me a hug, then proceeded to give me tons of kisses all over my cheeks. I have never seen him do that before and it was so sweet. He's such a cutie, and I am becoming quite a softie when it comes to him.

It was nice to go out and do something with friends. I haven't been able to do that much because of health problems, and I feel like the biggest hermit. So I am glad my friend Sacha invited me to go with her as I probably wouldn't have gone if she didn't ask. Thanks Sach!

Steve got a Job!

It's only part time, but it's something to get us by. It's at a company called Avantar and they are in Provo. They do cell phone aps and are trying to get a forum/community going for Mom's. Should be interesting.

Glasses

Steve noticed Megan couldn't read things on the TV so we promptly took her to the eye doctor while we still had a flex plan. She indeed needed glasses (I'm sorry Megan, I'm afraid you have my genes) and since we were trying to spend as much money on health things that we could, we bought her 3 pairs including one that the lenses turn into sunglasses outside. The has pink metal, hot pink plastic, and brown frames with flowers. They look really cute on her.

She was mortified that she had to wear them to school. Meanwhile Kaylee was whining, begging, and pleading with all the energies of all of her heart to have some cute pink glasses. When I said no, that just made matters worse.

Anyway, she wore them to school and her friends thought they were super cool and now she won't take them off. They look really cute on her.

Cougarboard

Steve runs a company called Cougarboard. It's a BYU sports forum/community that is quite large. We found out last night that the company that finds and places ads on it was dissolved and no longer exists, therefore not paying clients. We were planning on living on that money until Steve finds a job. Luckily, we also have a 6 month emergency fund (thanks Pastor Ramsey), but we were hoping we wouldn't have to use it.

Sometimes when things don't go the way you are planning it's easy to get discouraged. On the other hand, the current situation has encouraged me to be thankful for the little things we have and for the loving relationships in our life. These are the things that really matter.

Today I was feeling thankful that I could run errands by myself. I got a lot done by myself :). All of you Moms out there will understand this!

I was also thankful that we didn't find out this advertising information until after we got back from our anniversary vacation. I think it would have put a damper on the relaxation facor.

I think experiences like this strengthen our faith and resolve. However, I hope it doesn't need to be strengthened too much more, this is about all I can handle right now!

Thift Store Finds

You probably don't know this about me, but I love to shop at Thrift stores, consignment stores and yard sales. I love Value Village (called Savers in Utah) and Kid to Kid. There's another one in Seattle that I love called Lollipop's. It's kind of like Kid to Kid, but they have (really nice) women's clothes too. Here's their site if you are ever in the area. It's kindof in a slummy area of town, but it's a cute little shop: http://www.shoplollipops.com/. Anyway, at Savers today, I got a really nice dress for Megan, 7 shirts for Meg, and 5 pairs of shorts for Matt all in like new condition for $25.

A couple Sundays ago I was in the nursery and someone asked where I buy my clothes. When I told them they were second hand, they were in shock when I said the outfit I was wearing was about $5. I buy most of my clothes at thrift stores when I go to Seattle. People there tend to donate really nice name brand clothes. It's a little harder to find the same quality here. They also have great sales, like 50% off. I bought a Gap leather jacket last time I was there for $6 that I wear daily.

I also love Craigslist and KSL. I have found some awesome deals on there too like our Pier 1 rattan kitchen table with 6 chairs at a real bargain price, our desk, sleep number bed, love seat, etc. I could go on and on...

Hub Pages

I have had a lot of complaints that you couldn't see my hub yesterday. Ok, only one complaint. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! They emailed me and said it's published now for your viewing pleasure.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Family-Friendly-Las-Vegas-Guide


Yeah! I did a hyperlink. Thanks Kim!

Freezer Cooking

I found this great site, maybe you can start a freezer cooking group in your area. It's so worth it!

http://freezerchicks.blogspot.com/

I'm a blog idiot and don't know how to make the link be a link and not text. Help?!

A Clean Las Vegas Travel Guide

We had a great time in Las Vegas, but we decided we don't really want to go there again, just too much smoking and girly stuff. I have some friends going there soon and have had a ton of people ask me what there is to do there besides gambling, so I have made a hub page about what we liked and didn't. I love hubpages.com. I use it for my dress up business and it's wonderful. You can make a webpage in an hour! It may take a while to get published/approved so try back in a day or two. Anyway, here's the link:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Family-Friendly-Las-Vegas-Guide

My pen name for the articles I write and other web and marketing things I do is Shelby Strong. Just in case you were wondering who that is, it's me :).

Home at Last

We had a wonderful time on our vacation, but it is so nice to be home. I think since I have been gone I feel a lot more thankful for the things I have, including my kids. It was nice to have a little break, but I missed them a lot and was anxious to get home and see them again. It was a beautiful and relaxing drive home too.

On the job front, while we were in Las Vegas the Provo company called and asked Steve to come in for his fourth interview tomorrow, but they told him they can't afford to pay him much. We're not sure if it will be worth it in that case. None of the other jobs have worked out that he has interviewed for, so we'll see. We went to the temple while we were in LV and we both felt peace about the direction our life is taking right now.

We may buy a web hosting business if we can get a business loan.

Thanks to all of you who have supported my dress up business and have referred me to your friends, I really appreciate it!