My Solitary Book Club

I have a goal this year to read one book a month (trust me, it's a lofty goal). A few days ago, I realized that the deadline for May was fast approaching and I knew that I wouldn't have much time to devote to reading, so I chose a fun design book that I thought would be useful.

The book I chose was Storage and Display put out by Pottery Barn. Now I know that reference to Pottery Barn is beginning to sound a tad bit cliche and "unoriginal" in the popular world of design, and furthermore, claims to "Pottery-Barn-style-furniture" is the rage of Craigslist even though such items never look anything like what I would find at Pottery Barn (just my opinion). I feel a little bit embarrassed to admit my secret obsession...but it's true, I love almost everything they put together.

Anyway, I'm dancing around my point. This book has taught me so much and given me so many new ideas that I feel rejuvenated and excited to organize and beautify every space in my house. Sure, I can't go out and buy a bunch of new furniture, but even just a simple idea about how to arrange books has created an intriguing corner in my small living room. Warning: I am completely blowing this way out of proportion and any ordinary person will probably browse the pages of this book and find that they already knew all that stuff. I have very little talent when it comes to simple presentation or even how to store everyday items efficiently. I organize, but have always felt like there must be a better way than what I come up with on my own.

So if you happen to have an urge to do some "spring reorganizing" ( I have this urge about every other month), you may want to check it out at the library. It's a fun read. I actually haven't read a bad book yet this year. If you need a good book to read, might I suggest:


January: The Giver. Yeah, I've read it several times before, but I wanted to start off the year with something I knew I would enjoy.

February: The Alchemist. A favorite.

March: The Screwtape Letters. I have always heard excerpts from this book but never read it in its entirety. Very insightful.

April: The Secret Life of Bees. My friend/mission trainer suggested this one and she might be one of the most well-read people that I've ever met (along with Andrew's mission trainer....what is it about our mission trainers being the most genius people in the world?). Great suggestion.

I'm open for June suggestions. However, I might be reading the other books in the Pottery Barn series first!

We Miss You Already

My sister Erin came to visit this weekend. We took a road trip to Kirtland and Palmyra to see some church history sites. What a good lookin' pair!

After we drove almost 3 hours to Kirtland, I realized that I forgot Luke's suitcase. I didn't even have a diaper! Sometimes I wonder if I'm losing my mind. But it was a great excuse to buy some new outfits. I should forget his suitcase more often!

One of my favorite places to visit in Kirtland is The Quarry. It is a few miles away from the Kirtland temple and is where the Mormon Saints performed the arduous task of chiseling the huge stone blocks that were used to construct their temple. Somehow, looking at those chisel marks makes me realize how my challenges pale in comparison with what others have experienced and overcome. It's a good place to go when you need to think or need to quit feeling sorry for yourself.

Luke is still getting used to grass. When we put him on the grass in this picture, he kept his arms really high off the ground and wouldn't relax and put them down. It was funny.

Here we are in the Smith's log cabin.

The Palmyra temple overlooks the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove. It is so beautiful there.
The highlight of the trip was definitely being able to walk through the Sacred Grove. It was so peaceful.
The Hill Cumorah

Luke is still trying to figure out that grass stuff.

Luke misses his friend. We can't wait to see you again Erin!

For Anyone Else Who Saw the Last 15 Minutes...

All I can say is, they both deserve to win for having to sing that terrible song! Yikes, it was torture to watch. Sometimes I have nightmares that I try out for American Idol and sing a Primary song ... almost the same degree of embarrassment.

Out of the Loop

I have to brag about my sister-in-law for a minute. Andrew's sister, Jessica, is an amazing graphic designer. Actually, his other sister Marika is also an amazing graphic designer too...it must run in the family. Anyway, she designs cards and invitations (particularly wedding invitations) and she is really really talented. Her business is being featured on crazibeautiful.com and I have to recommend that you take a look AND be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win some free, custom designed Thank you cards.

www.crazibeautiful.com/SharingDreams/

On a totally different note, I'm completely out of the American Idol loop this year. I can only be involved with one show at a time (it's like a relationship) and this year I chose Lost. It was kind of a frustrating season for me with all the dumb sci-fi stuff but the finale made up for it. I'm officially a Lost geek to the end. I kind of like watching a show that is so complex that it actually takes work to keep up and know what's going on. Wow, I promise I have a life.


Anyway, I know enough about American Idol to know that Adam and Danny have been the favorites for a while. I can understand Adam...but why Danny? I'm sure he's a great guy but I'm kind of surprised that he was such a favorite. If anyone wants to clue me in, please do. It seems like Kris has chosen better songs and it doesn't surprise me that he's in the final 2. I think I might actually be a Kris supporter over Adam *gasp*. As entertaining as Adam is, I think I heard him say (probably while Lost was on commercial) that he doesn't like sports. WHAT?! Who doesn't like sports? (besides my friend April, who I've forgiven because belly dancing might be considered a sport). The Stacey rule in our house is that you don't have to like sports, but you have to try them (and who honestly wouldn't like them after trying them!).

Well, I've probably alienated about 10 of my friends by now. I do have compassion for sports haters...I just figure they've had negative experiences. So maybe I'll be an Adam fan, who knows. Any thoughts?

p.s. Happy Birthday Greg!

Family Pictures

Here are some family pictures (mostly pictures of Luke:)) we took at the end of March. We were really surprised at how well they turned out considering that Luke had his head down most of the time along with this look on his face:


I think he was a little cold. He also is still getting used to being outside and in the sun, so he spends a lot of time squinting (thanks to those cloudy Ohio winters). He started looking up more after we took his shoes off. Before that he was way too interested in his shoes to even notice us jumping up and down behind the photographer and acting like nerds to get his attention. Our photographer was amazingly able to capture some rare moments of a happy baby. So we definitely recommend her as a good Columbus photographer with reasonable rates. Check out her website for more information.


Here is the family picture winner (as previously seen a few posts ago):

Here is the shot that captures Luke's personality the most:

And here is that token funny picture that would have been perfect if your nose wasn't shaped like Gonzo:
Anyone else see the resemblance?

Bad Mom

Tonight I was cooking dinner and heard Luke yelling/fussing in the other room. I knew he probably wanted me to hold him (as he is a little clingy in the evening) but I had dinner on the stove and didn't want it to burn. I kept yelling out to him to just hold on for a few minutes. After a while, it got quiet. I came out and discovered that he found a way to sleep in the jumperoo. Poor kid. It kind of reminds me of college when you are so tired that you find ways to sleep in really uncomfortable places. You think that if you get you arm in the perfect position, it might just be a suitable replacement for your pillow.

Just as a warning, there will probably be an overload of Luke pictures for a while. I'm feeling super guilty that my family can't see Luke in person at this stage because he is SO fun. I blog with lots of pictures of him to help relieve my guilt!

That's right. He's a tough kid....playing with a pink Easter egg.


Luke usually wakes me up every morning by blowing out of his diaper (I'm awake before it happens, but I'm really awake after it happens). I am starting to get so tired of all the laundry that sometimes I put those plastic diapers (that they use with cloth diapers) around his disposables to help contain the explosion. It seems to help.

He started off a little wobbly...

But has really seemed to master pulling himself up to a standing position.

And he couldn't be prouder

Anniversary, etc.

Happy Anniversary to us! Yesterday was our 2nd wedding anniversary. Only two years!? It feels more like 9 (read here to find out why). 2 years sounds so puny. I can't wait till we get to the meatier years like 12 and 13. To celebrate, Andrew mostly took a day off from studying for his board exams. He made me breakfast in bed, cleaned the house, and was basically wonderful as usual. I'm still in the process of making his gift so I'll have to post about it later. Andrew's Dad drove from Cleveland to babysit for us so we could go to the swanky restaurant, M, which we have been looking forward to for a year (we won a $75 gift card from a photo contest). We feasted on lobster, dover sole, scallops, lobster ravioli and banana bread pudding..mmmmm...my mouth is still watering. To finish off the night, we went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (kind of weird, kind of cool...definitely different).

Anyone who knows Andrew knows that I am the luckiest girl in the world. When I was about 10 or 11, I figured that if I was ever going to get married it was going to take quite a guy to put up with me (and he'd have to like freckles which my 11 year old self thought was impossible), so I started praying for it every night. My only requirement was that he be a really good man to the core (and it wouldn't hurt if he was a sexy little sucker). I don't want to sound like I was obsessed with getting married because I wasn't. I just knew that I needed extra help to find someone extra fabulous. Well folks, prayers are answered because I married way above me (which is a great feeling). He's not only good to the core AND a sexy little sucker, he is also full of energy, love, humor, patience and fortitude. Happy Anniversary!

Below are some pictures from Easter:

Luke is discovering grass (he hasn't spent much of his life outdoors...yet)
Here are some shots from our Easter egg hunt. I helped him this year but next year he's on his own.
Luke really loved the plastic eggs. They've been a big hit all week.
We thought it was a cute idea...he just thought we were crazy. I can hear him now, "Come on guys, I'm too old for this stuff!"
Luke didn't get much for Easter. This ball was pretty much it. But he's happy with the simple things in life. I love his nostril flare in this picture.