It's been a while

So, what have we been up to?

Not much, but let me make a short story long...

Unfortunately, when I have an obsession there is no time for anything else. Latest obsession, yes I confess... I read all the Twilight books. I just finished the last one today. My friend brought it over for me to borrow on Thursday night. 2 days, 3 nights and a neglected family later, I'm done. I really enjoyed the reading, but I didn't like that I spent so much time reading it. When I read I have to read consecutively or I forget what is going on. If I read and then I watch a tv show, all of a sudden both plots flow together and I have to reread the last chapter. Anyway, obsessions like that are not healthy for me. It was fun, but I shouldn't have sold my soul to the books. Definately a fun story, and if I ever get to where I can read a little, set it down and walk away, I would love another series.

Gratefully, I did have some distractions.

The best one was that my mom visited! While she was here she took on the project of teaching me how to can fruit. We canned some beautiful peaches and the most delicious applesauce. (Side note: Mom can you send me those pictures to post on my blog? :o) I'm sure everyone is dying to see a peach.
That was actually REALLY fun. I don't think I'll ever have the motivation to do it on my own, but it was great project and I feel like a better woman having had the experience.

For those of you who are wondering about cost effectiveness of canning, what we learned is that applesauce is only worth it if you wait until late Sept or October to get apples when they are cheaper...then you save money as compared to the grocery store. (Even though we probably didn't save money, I'm still counting it as worthwhile because it tastes SOOO much better then the store stuff.) As for the peaches, as long as you don't factor in time (you have to consider it a fun hobby, not a job purely motivated by $$) it was totally worth it. The peaches taste so much better and it costs about the same to can a quart as to buy a pint. BUT, if your time is money you're better off at work and then buying the peaches from the store.

Oh, but those of you who have no self control...this may not be for you. I've decided to kind of pace myself so that I have peaches all through the year. Without restraint half of all that work would already be consumed :o) Yummmm...
And half of the applesauce wouldn't have ever made it into jars.

Big thanks to Momma for her sportsmanship and dedication. MVP for sure.

All that freshness and estrogen got me inspired, so then I tried my skills at homemade salsa. The first batch was delicious, the second I still need to fix. (When making salsa, don't forget garlic and salt or it will taste like, well, it won't taste.)

In addition to my domesticated skills, Madi has been working on a few skills too.

She's been practicing her big smiles... and her super pouty face



She's officially found her fingers...

and I can't get them out of her mouth for a single picture.

Beyond that, I went to a Lia Sophia party that was super fun. I'm not a big jewelery person, but it sure was fun to put it on and pretend I was that sassy.

Oh, and one last thing. MADI ROLLED OVER TODAY. Poor Kevin didn't see it because he was Home Teaching, but I'm sure she'll do it again soon enough. Cool thing, it wasn't even a roll over out of hatred of being on her tummy, it was just her playing and then all off a sudden she found herself on her stomach. It was actually pretty funny to watch the process and then see the confusion when she was turned over and I hadn't touched her.

Cute baby!

Mommy and Madi

This was a couple of weeks ago, but I thought some of you would appreciate it (namely my mother :o)

We just snapped this before church.

I love this girl!

MK Update

So I just thought I should let you know, I am NOT going to sell Mary Kay. Nothing against Mary Kay, I like their products, but I think it would be a little false for me to sell makeup and promote buying a lot of makeup when I wouldn't do it myself. (I've had the same eyeliner since high school! I'm sure that isn't sanitary.)

For now I think I'll stick with the thrill of my life - home, Kevin and Madison. I need to get all that under control and then MAYBE I can consider income opportunities.

Mary Kay anyone?

Hello to the few and faithful! Thanks for visiting our blog.

I have a question today and would really appreciate feedback. If you only have 30 seconds, I don't mind bulleted lists or incomplete sentences, I just need some thoughts.

I am considering becoming and Independent Consultant for Mary Kay and want to know your makeup preferences and purchansing prefernces. I am wondering of you readers, who uses Mary Kay and why. And if you don't what is your reasoning (cost, accessability, brand preference, etc) Also, do you already have a Consultant or can I be yours :o) ? If you have friends or family (or yourself) that have sold Mary Kay and you'd like to tell me their experience, I'd appreciate that too.

I think my biggest goal in possibly selling is to prevent the Letting Go syndrome. If I were selling Mary Kay it would be in my job description to look nice. Right now I have the tendency to wear pjs all day and never wear any makeup, so I want some motivation to look decent. I feel frumpy and need more than just a self discipline boost. I also think it would be really good for my psyche to meet new people and help them feel beautiful and motivated. I also just love the idea of seeing and talking with adults on a regular basis and hopefully can make some friends in the process. Of course, the income would also be helpful, especially when Kevin is back in school and we have no income, But for right now, my goals are mental health centered. I know I can't and won't be the pushy sales type, so I'm not planning on big profits.
(Oh, and I just learned that they have a satisfaction garantee on all their products, and I know I can stand behind something with a garantee. I have a few of their products that I really love, so I am excited to experiment with some others knowing I can return things I don't like.)

Any opinions? Please feel free to be completely honest. I won't be offended by "Kristen, I hate your stinking guts and with the way you look I'd never buy makeup from you." Those are the kinds of things I need to know. Right now I feel kind of excited about this and need some bubble bursting or ideas of how to be successful.

If you want to just post a comment on here, great. Otherwise, I'd love to get an email (kristenskeen@gmail.com) with your thoughts. I really appreciate this. Thanks!

Burley Idaho

On Friday Kevin, Madi and I got to take a day trip to Burley, Idaho to see our dear friends the Mellings who were visiting Burley from New York.

We spent the early afternoon at the Fair watching the locals show steeds (not cattle, not cows, not beef, I learned). It was actually really fun. I love seeing the activities that others have participated in. I am such a pavement girl, but given the chance I bet I would have been pretty into this livestock, 4H, FFA stuff. So cool.

Then we went to John's parents' house to visit and let the babes get some sleep. These pictures are from when cute little Janelle crawled over to visit her new friend Madi who was just waking up from a cat nap on the floor. Janelle is almost 9 months old and the daughter of my childhood best friend. We became friends when our families both happened to move to Washington from California. We have been close ever since. Although we are very far apart now, we hope our lives will bring us closer together and our girls can be friends like we have been. Mellings, we love you guys! Hope to see you again while the girls are little.