Pumpkin Spice Scones and Early Autumn Mornings

For Breakfast I'm making Pumpkin Spice Scones.

Don't they look yummy?!

They are. Very.

And you can make some too!

Get the recipe Here.

(Shhh! They're SO Easy!)

Make them this morning and we'll eat breakfast together and catch up on each other's news.

I love the time of year when the sky stays dark longer. It makes me feel like I'm up earlier - I love mornings! Although my night owl tendencies usually mean that I miss the early morning all together and I end up greeting the world at eight. I love the sense of the world waking up - it does, you know - and starting life again - The Bustle of people going to work, grabbing their coats and their coffee, greeting bleary eyed, yawning others.

And now that I'm a mom of small children, the later sunrises mean that my kids sleep in longer. Which I love because I don't wake up to them crying or yelling MOM!

Quiet, reflective mornings are the best, curled up with my herbal tea and Pumpkin Spice Scones - Which I'm going to make right now, since the family is still asleep and the house is still quiet and all mine!

Good Morning!

Who is Anah?

Some of you have asked why I sometimes use the name Anah.

Who is Anah? Why does she Rock? Does it refer to my daughter Ana?


Contrary to convention I'll answer the last question first.
Does Anah refer to my daughter?
No.
And there you have it.

Anah came into "existence" long before Ana was born. Also before Jack was born. But not as long before.
She actually started out as Ana Ng, the name taken from the TMBG song Ana Ng. Ana was the first character I created (with a lot of help from "Pete") and then played nearly weekly for the next two years with my GURPS friends. (GURPS = Generic Universal Role Playing System)

Why does she Rock?
She's way pretty. And she's got "Mad Skilz". She is super awesome with a bow and spear. She once shot someone in the eye - in the dark - with an arrow. She's got combat reflexes, sadism (fun to play!) and most fun of all, she's a weirdness magnet. And with Jonathan as GM, it was weird. And tons of fun. She's also way cool in other ways, but I won't bore you with details.

"Anah" is my open ID name, taken from Ana Ng and the H added to distinguish between my character and also Ana was taken (go figure).
I kept the name because Ana Ng was my favorite character of all and the campaign was also my favorite of everything I've played in the RP genre.

Happy Memories.

And that's the truth.

Lucy, I'm Home!

A big thanks to all who expressed interest (some of it great) in reading my blog! I've been encouraged by you all to post more regularly and keep you updated on my joys and frustrations, success and failures, my goals, hopes and dreams.
Hopefully along with my interests and what I'm doing I'll post a bunch of photos - which I take anyway and never seem to post.
Please check out my links if they interest you; I'm rather selective in the links I choose for my blog - only my favorites and all of my friends. If you don't see your blog address and would like to, please email me and I'll add it. You can also opt to not share your bloglink, and I won't be offended. Again, email!

ALSO!!! Every now and then I have a GIVEAWAY on my blog. IF you're interested, please respond as instructed and I'll choose a random winner. For my part, I'll have a specific treat in store, rather than my usual "I'll make you something cool" which usually refers to me sewing something personal for the winner. (And which I have never yet had the opportunity to do :).

So that's that. I have some fun (at least for me) ideas of things to post so that you can more properly delve into my personal life - and since you all like me I'm sure they'll be interesting to you, too!

Hearts!
Teah

Is Anyone Out There?

Since I rarely post, and people even more rarely comment, I'm forced to conclude that nobody reads my blog. So I'm considering not posting anymore in the forseeable future. This blog would turn into a place for me to keep all of the other blogs that I check on and links that I visit. So, if you do read my blog (when I post), please comment on this, and I may reconsider my decision. Thanks, It's been....fun?

Teah

Ah, Snap!

In trying to edit the scribe html (which I've never done before) I've accidentally deleted all (or most) of my links. I'm so VERY sorry! I am trying to fix it as soon as possible, but with my limited knowledge it will probably take a few days, or weeks in the worst possible scenario. Also, Unfortunately, I don't remember all of the links I had. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that I will find them in my bookmarks. :)

So bear with me and I should have it back up (and simplified) soon.

Hearts!

In the Family Way.... No I'm not expecting.... BUT!

JACK Turned 5 On May 6th! He is growing up so well and turning into a wonderful, joyful, obedient, very tall boy. He's as tall as the kids who turned 5 last year. He starts kindergarten this year and he's so excited! He asked for a Star Wars cake this year, and it was the easiest birthday cake I've ever done. I made the cake and the frosting and Joseph decorated the chocolate pan cake with black frosting, white stars and some of Joseph's little Star Wars Micromachines as decoration. Joseph wrote May the Force be with You Jack on it with white frosting and I put angel candles the color of light sabers on the cake. (I'm glad the kids caught on to the light saber candles :) ) (Angel candles are candles that have different color flames, like red, blue, purple, green, orange, etc. ) Joseph designed and cut out his Jedi costume and I sewed it together. All of the guests came as Jedi characters with their light sabers. After cake and ice cream and presents I sent them all outside to play at the playground in our back yard. It was a fun and very easy birthday. I am so grateful for Jack. He is one of my favorite people. I love that he is in my family. His heart is so pure and he tries so hard to be obedient and to do the right thing. His spirit doesn't crush easily. And he's so happy most of the time. And always so loving. I'm happy just being around him. He's a great big brother to Ana, he plays with her and loves her and hugs her and takes care of her. And he fights with her sometimes, which is natural and good for both of their character development.

Ana is teething and therefore, grouchy and not sleeping well. Both of her first molars are trying to poke their way through on the bottom, there's a first molar on top that's halfway out, both lateral incisors on the top and bottom are working their way out, and more are visibly forming. For two days this week all she wanted to do was be held while watching the world go by. She is also testing tantrum boundaries, i.e. how far can I go before I get in trouble? (Not very far!) So it's been *fun*!

And to top it all off we all have a cough that borders on sounding like croup.

I've got a bit of time left (I hope) before Joseph, Mor and the kids come home from the park, so I'm going to see how much sewing I can get done and start a bit of dinner. It's better to blog when no one else is around!

Ciao!

Moving On...

Right, so,  lately it's so quiet on my blog....sorry about that. I've been busy with the kids and Joseph and I've been mostly lazy with blogging, having wasted my blogging time on Facebook. But now I'm caught up with friends and relationships have been resurrected and established. So I feel less lonely now, which makes me happier to do my housework and do the mom/wife thing. 

Joseph's Spring Semester at SUU is over and we're entering the summer semester soon. It's both really nice and disconcerting to have him home all the time. The marriage thing is working well and we're still ironing out the kinks and getting to know each other and how we work together. If he were still in the Army it would be about time for him to be deployed again. Not because of the date, but because it's usually at this point in our relationship that his unit deployed. So then I'd have to get used to being a married/single mom and then just as I got used to that routine he'd come home and we'd have to start at the beginning again, getting to know how we both had changed and how those changes affected our marriage, our kids, ourselves. BUT, this time we get to move past that point together and move on together and it's both strange and wonderful and frustrating and a joy. 

We've decided that I get to go to SUU this Fall. I'm really exited and overwhelmed by the whole thing. I love to learn and meet new people and expand my intellect. I've gotten so used to my own little universe inside my flat with my kids and my husband who flits in and out on a whim that the World of Academia seems rather frightening. I've decided to get an English degree, grammar emphasis (at SUU they call it a Teaching Emphasis, but the only teaching I'd prefer to do is at the collegiate level. And really the only difference is the inclusion of intense grammar courses).  I'm going to start out with one class in the Fall so that I can get back in the habit of going to school while still being a mother/wife/homemaker. So yay for school!

I've also started getting a routine again, keeping up with the housekeeping and the kids and meals, all while Joseph is around and changing my plans. Now that I'm mostly back on schedule I'll be able to vanquish the black holes of clutter, namely the hall closet, and the two chairs in my bedroom. From there I'll straighten my bedroom closet and my two desk drawers. Maybe I'll even get to sell my stamps on ebay! Small flats can be a blessing! 

I'm also picking up sewing again, now that my machine is back from the shop. So all of you who commented on my Facebook note 25 Physical Real-World Things, I have been thinking of things for you! And I also have a surprise for my lovely (and one of my fav. people although she probably doesn't realize it) sister in law Gretchen, who has been going through a bout of cancer treatments with sunshine in her heart. 

So if you haven't yet, follow the link and comment - Only four people have so far! 25 Physical Real-World Things

Also, go check out my give-away and answer the quiz on my post New Year, New Plan, New Teah! - You only have until May 16th!

Where am I?

It's still February?! Time seems to pass and stop simultaneously. Crazy.

Hmmm......

New Year, New Plan, New Teah

WARNING: This is a very long post.

Hello, My Treacherous Friends

So this is how things should go.

I figure if I tell all of you that I'll feel more inclined to stay on target. So please feel free (and I encourage you to please) offer encouragement and friendly reminders.

No Negative Comments or Criticism! Otherwise you'll be in my black book and I'll erase your comments and perhaps even block you from ALL of my websites. Get Over It.

Constructive Criticism given with love is accepted.

OK Go (ha ha):

You're So Damn Hot

I will lose two (2) pounds a week from Jan. 25 to Sept. 19. At which point I will decide if I want to lose another 4 lbs to be at 140.
Starting weight: 214
End weight Sept.: 144
End weight Oct. (opt.): 140
That's a total of 70 (74) pounds, people!
That's not so bad, right? (I weighed more than 145 when I was 12!)

So far I'm right on schedule. (Go me!)

What To Do

I'm following the Perfect Weight America plan.
It keeps a balanced diet and proper serving sizes. It's the only one I've found that works and I don't get the weight back. It also integrates exercise and proper drinking of water. And other helpful stuff.

My exercise schedule includes
MWF - Yoga/Pilates (or a mix - Yogilates!)
TThS - Weight Training
Daily - Walking

(Andrew or Lydia, if you read this, let me know if this sounds like a good plan.)

So that's my Beautiful Me C-C-C-Cinnamon Lips plan.
*If any of you out there would like to join me, I would love the company. We can cheer each other on.*


The House Wins

Monday:
Weekly Home Blessing (10 min. tops for each)

• Change Bedding
• Empty all trashcans
• Shine Mirrors/Glass Doors
• Vacuum (middles only)
• Dust
• Sweep and Mop
• Cull Magazines/Newspapers

Tuesday:
Plan and Play

• Menu planning
• Activities planning
• Date Night and Family Fun Time planning
• Wardrobe planning
• Relief Society Hymn Planning (I'm the new chorister - yay!)
  
• And anything else you might need to plan. There are tons of things we can do to save ourselves time later!

After Planning we get to Play!


Wednesday:
Anti-Procrastination and Semi-Desk Day

Today is the day to work on whatever you've been putting off.
Self-explanatory, really.

Also, it's a day for updating blogs (I know, today is Monday!), writing thank-you notes, Christmas cards (I'm so sorry that I haven't sent them out yet. And it's February!), and balancing the checkbook before grocery shopping tomorrow.


Thursday:
Errand Day

Groceries, Post Office, Library, etc.


Friday:
Desk Day

• Pay bills
• Balance Budget
• File/Shred things
• etc.

So much for the chores!

I'm not putting the weekly zone deep cleaning, it's too long a list. But broken down it's not so daunting.

Do What You Want

Here's a daily schedule I'd like to follow:

A.M.
6 or 6:30 Exercise
~7 Breakfast & Start housework
10 Chores are done!, Start Jack's School work
~12:30 Lunch
~5:00 Start Dinner
6 Dinner
7:30 Start Bedtime Routine for kids
8:30 Bedtime for kids
9:30 Start Bedtime Routine for Me (yay!)
10 Asleep!

You'll notice big chunks of unscheduled time. This is good for me. I get to fill it with things like sewing, going on walks, playing with the kids, whatever I want!


Shortly Before the End

So this is what I've been working on/thinking about, for a while. I'm glad to have it on my blog so that I can refer to it when I need a reminder, and also so that you, my dear friends (if you're still reading), can offer encouragement and reminders to stay on track.

Thanks for all of your friendship, it really is in my top 5 most dear things.

And a special something for those who read the whole thing: I will sew you something if you can tell me the band, which songs I used, and which albums the tracks are on. (I made it kinda obvious). Also, you can see the videos on youtube.

Bye Bye Baby !

Happy Birthday, Ana!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I was in a lot of pain. Some time in the night I had taken Tylenol PM to help me sleep. Later, I used a bengay-type topical ointment on my stomach. That night I slept soundly for about three hours. The rest of the night I laid on my stomach in strange half on the bed-half off positions.

I spent the morning between my bed and the bathroom - I thought I was constipated. Somewhere in my head I knew that if I pushed, the baby would come out. (The baby wasn't due until Sunday. Today was Tuesday. It wasn't supposed to come today.) So I didn't push.

I called my sister-in-law and as usual left a message. On each breath out I could say a word. Maybe two if they were short. It went something like this: Hi. (pause) Could (breathe, breathe) youplease (pause) comeand (breathe, breathe) getJack? (pause, breathe) And (breathe, breathe) could (pause) youplease (pause) bringsome (breathe, breathe) Metamucil (breathe, breathe) or something? (pause) Thanks."

Every time I was checked within the previous six weeks or so I had braxton-hicks for a while that evening.
I swore it was braxton-hicks.
It wasn't.

I finally called Joseph around 11:40 a.m. after his second class was over. I said, "I think I'd like to go to the hospital now."
I had learned, in the course of the morning, that if I kneaded my lower back with my fists, it helped to ease the pain.
When Joseph got home it took me ten minutes to get to the car. I stopped five times on the way to the car - about every five steps. Joseph had to rub my back every time I stopped so that I could keep walking.
Luckily the hospital is exactly two minutes away in traffic. (Okay, so Cedar City doesn't really have "traffic" - just other cars on the road.)

Here's the punch line. When Joseph wheeled me in to Labor and Delivery I said "I'd like a stool softener and maybe some painkiller. Tylenol or something. And could you just monitor me for a few minutes to see if I'm okay?"

The evening before (on the 8th) I was dilated to only a 2+. This morning when the nurse checked me I was a 9+.
She said, "I'm going to call your doctor."
I thought, "Okay, but I don't know what she's going to do. The baby isn't due until Sunday."

They didn't even have time to check me in. My doctor arrived within 10 minutes. And Katherine Anastasia Elizabeth arrived at 11:57 a.m. on January 9th, 2008.

Here's a picture of Ana at 3 days old and a picture of Ana now. In the photo where she's eating you can see her 3 (almost 4) teeth.