Being Mrs. Wresh

New Posts at www.mrswresh.com!

2012-03-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

I have moved!

www.mrswresh.com

This site will stay so all the fun things on it are not lost but look for new posts, more frequent update, and other cool stuff at www.mrswresh.com!

New Products, Projects, and an Easy Wired Ribbon Flower Tutorial

2010-10-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

FEELING CRAFTYI was feeling a little crafty this week so here are a few of the things I made.

In all honesty I am not a huge fan of yellow but I have a grip of this left over from a church activity and couldn't bear to see it just sit there.

Using about a yard wired ribbon, pull the wire all the way through until one side is it totally gathered. Bend the ends of the wires back and forth so it doesn't come undone. It won't show.

Cut out a round piece of felt. Using hot glue start gluing the gathered side of the ribbon to the felt going around and around the circle.

Keep going until all the felt is covered. In this example I ran out of ribbon. I just cut another piece, gathered it again and started gluing it down again.

I sewed a little pearl in the middle.

So cute on a cardigan with some jeans!

I have been wanting to make one of these tassels for awhile now.
I used the tutorial found HERE. I am loving it and it was way easy!

I finished up my NOEL banner for Christmas. You can still order the iron on lettering. Check out the post HERE. Scroll down until you see the Fall Banner too!

NEW PRODUCTS
I am pretty excited about my new releases at TheDigiChick this week. I have been playing with my cricut more and decided to release some designs that are also saved as .svg files!

Each DigiCuts file includes the image saved as a .svg, .png., and a .bmp

The are all CU OK No credit and value priced!

All have been tested in SCAL

Check them out HERE!

Have a great night!

Texas Caviar for Sissies and the sweetest 3rd grader ever!

2010-08-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

THIRD GRADE
I didn't even cry once. You would have been so proud of me!

My baby boy on his first day of school.

Ryan and one of his best buddies Nicholas. Ryan was so excited that they were in the same class.

TEXAS CAVIAR
When I was at my Aunt and Uncles last weekend my cousin Tricia had made Texas Caviar...and it was really good!

I went home to find the recipe online but could only find recipes with jalapeños and tons of chopped onion. Not my favorites. Well, actually I ate jalapeños like they were jelly beans when I was pregnant, but that's a different story.

I found several versions of the recipe and sort of combined them into one that suited me!

It was perfect if you like it a little more mild and I thought I would share it with you.

TEXAS CAVIAR FOR SISSIES

5 Roma tomatoes chopped
2 avocados cut into chunks (maybe even three avacados if they are small)
2 cans summer crisp corn drained
2 cans black eyed beans drained
2 green onions diced into small piece
1/2 bunch of cilantro chopped into small pieces
6T olive oil
6T red wine vinegar
1/2t salt
1/2t pepper
1.5T ground cumin
1/2t garlic powder
1T oregano

Mix the first 6 items in a large bowl
In a separate bowl combine the last 7 items
Mix the dressing in with the large bowl

It was a very good dish. You can serve it with corn chips but I think the next time I make it I will serve it over fish. Enjoy!

FUNDS FOR FAITH
I received this very sweet t-shirt from Leda who is still trying to raise funds to being home her adopted daughter from China.

The shirt says "I helped bring Faith home." I cried when I got it. So sweet.

Please visit their blog and make a donation. They are just $3925 away from bringing Faith Home!

NEW PRODUCT
These were just released at my store at TheDigiChick

You can pick up Collage It here!

Have a great weekend!

Lying makes your lips curl, getting ready for school, and a REALLY cute wreath!

2010-08-10T15:36:00.003-07:00

I feel so much better. I crafted this week, spent time with family, and we are pretty much ready for Ryan to start the third grade!

LYING MAKES YOUR LIPS CURL
This past weekend I went to a BBQ on the Rohn side of our family. I don't see them very often as they live in a far away place called Scottsdale. I need to haul my cookies up there way more often though because we had a BLAST!

Traci told us about a conversation that she had with her friends about how funny it would be if every time a person lied their lip curled up and under. Of course we sat around telling each other lies until we looked like this!

My cousins Traci, Tami, Tricia and I.

Tricia's sons, Matt and MJ. Such sweet guys!

Lots of cousins!

GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL!
Ryan has not been all that jazzed about school starting. Neither have I. I like having my kids home with me. We headed off to Meet the Teacher night...and that is where everything changed.

Ryan realized his favorite friend Nicholas was going to be in his class this year and now he cannot wait for school to start!

Mama and Ry heading into Meet the Teacher.
This picture is a reminder to me to always wear face powder. Holy Freckles Bat Man.

Ryan and his new teacher Mrs. Smith. Darn blinds!

I have been going through lot of old pictures lately...in an attempt to sort the bajillions we have and I found this one:

I remember this day like it was yesterday. I was deliriously happy to be welcoming this baby.

I can't believe that almost eight years have almost passed and my sweet babe is starting the 3rd grade!

I love you Ry. I know you will be the best 3rd grader ever. You always make me so proud.

THE WREATH!
So I was window shopping at etsy the other day and found this:

I wanted it bad...real bad. But alas, the crafter wanted $75 bucks for that mutha.

I decided with a little searching through my own craft stash I could make my own.
I had everything but the yarn which I bought for about $4. Everything else was in my crafting stash.

Do you LOVE it?
I LOVE it!

Here are some shots of my process. Not a full tut but you know...a little something to get you started.

Basically wrap the wreath (straw would have been better) with bunting.

Then choose yarn to wrap it with. I choose the fun thick brown yarn and then went over it with strands of black yarn.

Take out your stash of felt. Then go online and google tutorials and templates for fabric and felt flowers. There are tons. Pick the ones you like and make them.

Make lots of felt leaves and stitch them in a variety of designs.

Arrange your flowers and attach with hot glue.

I love my new wreath and it was therapeutic to craft a little too!

NEW RELEASE
I released this new template at TheDigiChick last week.

Head on over to TheDigiChick to pick it up.

Also, my retirement sale is still going on...dozens of soon to be retired products for just $1!

BACK TO SCHOOL TEACHERS GIFTS
Check out this inexpensive and cute way to start the school year!

A quick and easy craft. Pick up a 12x12 tile from the Home Improvement store for about $1.

Order the vinyl decal here for just $8 and that includes your shipping!

Hope all is well with you and yours...have a great week!

MS - just an FYI. We know you come on the blog regularly.

Today Granny and Bammer are together again

2010-08-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Bammer passed this afternoon.

We love you Grandpa. So excited for you to be with Granny again.
Give Courtney a big hug for me.
I know she was there to greet you with a smile.

A Bittersweet Week

2010-08-03T17:17:00.003-07:00

This week was a bittersweet week. Lots of love and laughs and some tears too. Let me tell you about it.

12 YEARS!

On August 1st Mark and I celebrated our 12th anniversary!

My mom made us a yummy dinner and Grandma and Aunt Jo came over to celebrate with us.

Mr. and Mrs. Wresh

Mom and I...in some very weird lighting.

Fixing dinner with Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Jo.

She is making that face because she refuses to smile for pictures.
Sorry Jo - I can't photoshop a smile! :)

I love a table full of family!

Dinner was Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with cheese, chives, and tomatoes on top. We also had rice and salad with avocado...thanks mom!

Aunt Jo made this Lemon Angel Food Cake with Whipped Cream.

She doesn't horse around folks. She even made the lemon filling from fresh lemons off of Grandma's tree.

On the top she had tried to write "Happy 12th Anniversary" with red icing. It kind of melted and slid down the side of the cake. I totally tried to take a picture of it but she would not let me. I mean I really tried. We were actually wrestling in the kitchen. She might be small but she is feisty. I didn't get the picture. Drat.

Baby Margie thought that since we were having cake we should have candle too so she could "phew" out the candle! So she got a candle and she sang Happy Birthday to me! LOVE HER!

After dinner Margie gave me some snuggles...

...and Aunt Jo helped me hang up more pictures (she has a knack).

GRIEVING WITH A FRIEND

A dear friend of my sisters son passed away this last week.

Mom, Margie, and I went to the services to represent Courtney. She would have been there for her. So went to show her all the love that Courtney would have.

Her son was only 15. It is so very sad. I am glad that she is a woman of faith. I cannot imagine getting through the kind of sorrow I know she is going to face without our Savior.

After the services with Courtney's best friend Lis and her fiance Kevin (who is sooo darling!)

Margie and Elisabeth. Courtney loved Lissy so much that Margie's middle name is Elisabeth.

Lissy was the most loyal friend that Courtney had her whole life...and continues to be...even after her death.

Love you so much Buff.

JOEL IS A SENIOR

I cannot believe that Joel is a senior. What I cannot believe even more is that for the first time ever ever ever I did not get a picture of Joel before school on the first day of the year. I was distraught.

I did get this shot of him when he got home and came into my bedroom to tell me about his day. I told him to smile or "do something" so I could take a cute picture. He decided he was going to go for smoldering.

I have to post this picture of Joel's friend (who happens to be gorgeous) Sierra. She is doing a little modeling and this is one of the shots. I think she is just so adorable!

Cute, cute, cute!

ORGANIZING

Maybe by Halloween I will be done organizing this house. Maybe.

I did organize this cute space in the loft with some of my crafting and scrapping supplies.

Loving it! Some of Mr. Wresh's discarded peg board and I have a mini-scrap store!

LANCE

Lance was Courtney's boyfriend before she passed away. They met just before she left for Florida and talked everyday that she was there. He even flew down to Florida to see her. I remember Courtney being on the phone with Lance when we were there for Christmas. She would laugh and laugh. He sent her presents and love letters...and for treating her like a princess for the last year of her life...I will be forever grateful.

We had Lance over for dinner this week. There were lots of tears while we remembered Courtney. He told me that Courtney told him one of the things she missed the most about Arizona was being near me. Hearing that was bliss. He had saved some of her voice messages and played them for me. Oh how I loved hearing her voice.

I miss my sister so much. I only learn how to be a better faker every day and to put on the smile on my face that everyone wants to see so that they don't have to feel uncomfortable. I am sick with grief. I miss our family so much...the way it used to be.

Lance and I after dinner and lots of tears.

TIME WITH MOM AND MARGIE

Mom and Margie have been here visiting and it has been wonderful. I am so sad that their trip is being cut short. My grandfather "Bammer" is under hospice care and is not expected to live more than a few more days. Mom and Margie are returning to Florida early to be with our family down south.

Here are some fun pictures from this last week.

Watching a movie with the kids

Such cutie pies all ready for church. When I saw Margies new church dress I whipped up a new bow to match it!

Playing on the fort in the backyard

All ready to head over to Great Grandma and Jo Jo's house for the day!

What do you mean you don't have a bow to match that outfit? Here...let Aunt Kimmy make you one right quick!

This is Margie's new favorite goofy face...and yes. I took her to Wal Mart in her bathing suit! We have been swimming a lot!

Speaking of swimming...this little girl is such a fish! When she saw Joel go off the diving board she had to do it too! Then she did it over and over and over and...well...you get the idea.

All summer long I have been trying to get Matty to swim. When mom came down she said, "Oh, that's OK. I will teach him today when we go swimming."

I was all, "Whatev moms..."

And then she did teach him to swim. That same day.

More than 50 Retiring Products - most for $1 each!

2010-08-01T10:33:00.002-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SALE!

Margie is a Georgia Peach!

2010-07-26T22:21:00.001-07:00

My parents live in South Florida and have a getaway in Georgetown, Georgia.

My dad loves to go there and occasionally can talk my mom into going too :)

This past week my parents, Baby Margie, my sister Corinne and her family all headed up to Grandpa's Hideout.

Margie was totally in her element. She loves being outdoors and she LOVES animals. She loves all kinds and has no fear. She especially loves horses. Grandpa bought her two different stuffed horses and mom says they go everywhere with her these days!

Corinne sent me 320 pictures of the vacation and I thought I would share some with you of our precious Baby Girl!

The long dirt road to Grandpa's Hideaway

Grandpa's Hideaway

My nieces playing in the huge yard...look at all those yummy green trees!

Redneck Limos. The red one is my dads and the green one is his friend JT's who lives down the road.

Grandpa in his Redneck Limo.

Margie driving Grandapa's Mule (not really!)

The girls with the horses.

Grandma with the horses and her granddaughters.

Baby Margie and Grandpa trying to pick out a horse to ride!

My nieces Jenna and Margie heading out! Of course Margie is wearing a UM hat...natch!

Grandpa, Margie, and Grandpa taking a little rest in the shade.

With Grandpa after a nice ride! This girl is wild about horses!

Margie helping Grandma put on her face.

Margie with Grandpa down by the river!

Run Margie, run!

Oh how I love and adore this Baby Girl.

Maricopa Stake Girls Camp 2010

2010-07-25T17:32:00.002-07:00

Maricopa Stake Girls Camp 2010 on PhotoPeach

BACK FROM CAMP
It was a very good week. I was bummed that I could not ride up with everyone Monday morning because I had to work until 2pm. I was surprised to see how much I actually enjoyed the solitary ride. I had the windows down and the sun roof open and was blasting tunes all the way up.

It is not very often that I feel so free. All by myself and accountable to no one...at least for the two hour ride to Mt. Lemmon! When you are a mama you have to enjoy those rare moments!

When I got up there my cousin (the cook) Greg had saved me some dinner and then it was time for Family Home Evening. Sister Miller gave a very personal and wonderful talk. It was very uplifting and I appreciate her willingness to share.

My cousin Greg!

On the first day only the leaders come. Day two is when all the campers arrive.

Tuesday morning was so much fun! We have to use walkie talkies to bring the cars in and out because it is a single lane dirt road. Seeing the MAV's (Mormon Assualt Vehicles...you know, mini vans, Suburbans) come in with load after load of girls was a blast!

Molly and I directing traffic into the campsite!

Tuesday afternoon was camp orientation. You know, rules and stuff. Booooring!

What wasn't boring was Molly's entrance into the orientation meeting! She was our camp theme lady this year and she was our Fairy Good Mother! She came in on a zip line in leopard print heels. No really, she did!

I told you she did! (In case you didn't know...Molly is totally my bestie!)

At camp this year it seemed like there were TONS of bugs, spiders, and most disgusting of all...giant flying beatles. They were so so so gross!

This disgusting creature almost looks like a mutant roach....ewwww

Part of our theme this year was "The Joy is in the Journey" which is something I need to remember more.

Here I am in my camp shirt with my flower clips. I know...you think they are darling right?

The lodge

This is the lodge that some of the leaders from the stake stay in. It is also where the kitchen is and where they girls eat their meals and hang out if it is raining.

I say to my fellow shrimps...it is OK to be a shortcake!

Molly and I on skit night.

The Princess and the Pea Skit.

My cot in the loft of the lodge. Not the comfiest ever. I think next year I will bring a blow up mattress!

Sorry it took me so long to update! When I got home there were orders and paper work to get caught up on. Gotta do the dishes before you can play!

I am thankful for all the wonderful experiences I had at camp. Getting away from the heat and being someplace green did my heart a world of good. I loved being with the girls and loved spending time with the other leaders. What an amazingly talented and funny group of women they are. I nearly laughed my head off!

Hope everyone else had a great week too!

Hugs, Kim

P.S. A few months ago our Stake YW Presidency visited the Ajo Ward about 80 miles south of Maricopa and right near the Mexican Border. Don't tell anyone but they were my favorite ward to visit this year. So close knit and loving.

One of the girls there, Charlee, was so excited to be going to Girls Camp for the first time. I asked her if she had her Snipe Vaccination yet. She had no idea what snipes were...so I filled her in on every detail of snipes and how one her requirements as a first year camper would be to go on a snipe hunt.

Apparently this turned into a huge joke with many folks playing along. Charlee had to get a Tetnus Shot and her funny Mom even convinced the nurse to tell Charlee that her snipe vaccine was in the shot too.

Here is the picture I got of Charlee after her snipe shot vaccine...all ready for camp baby!

I am still at Girls Camp but I have new product for you at TDC!

2010-07-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Get this fun new template today at The Digi Chick!

Getting stuff done around here & leaving for Girls Camp ::sob::

2010-07-18T20:26:00.001-07:00

FAITH
I am so excited about the vinyl's we have sold so far that are benefiting the fund raiser to bring sweet little Faith home!

Leda, Faith's Adoptive Mom, asked me if I could make a car sticker about adoption. She told me how she would like it to look and I designed them for her and sent it to her in San Diego along with about 2 dozen to sell. They are selling so fast that I am making her a new batch this weekend!

Here is the the car vinyl:

You can get one on Leda's (Faiths Forever Mom) Blog for $5! Go snag it or just go and make a donation! Sweet Faith deserves to come home, settle down, and enjoy her forever family!

http://adoptionoffaith.blogspot.com/2010/07/blessed-by-adoption-auto-vinyl-5.html

GETTING STUFF DONE

I keep stuff. Lots of it. If it has meaning to it I hold on to it.

I set up the guest bedroom (also known as Mom and Margie's Room!)

The bedding is a chenille bed cover my mom gave me, the bedding was sent from mom too. The white pillow in the front with the embroidery was done by my Great Grandma Norton. The rocking chair was also my great grandmothers and the sweet little yellow quilt is one of many that she made for me when I was a baby. The yellow pillow in the front of the bedding was one my mom made for me when I was young. Everything for me was yellow and everything for Courtney was pink!

The picture hanging over the bed is Courtney's. It hung over every bed she ever slept in from the age of 16. The clock was Courtney's too. Mama said we can watch the time pass on it until we are all together again.

I think what I love best is the mirror in the pine frame. Once upon a time it was mine and Court said she wanted it, so I gave it to her. She used to prop it up against the wall near sunlight to do her make up. I don't know how many times I watched her fix her make up or do her hair in that mirror. I love it being there.

So here it is...Mama and Margie's room. It is almost done. Just need a side table with a reading lamp for mom. She likes to read trashy magazines before she goes to sleep! ;)

NOTE: I got an email from mom saying that People Magazine is not trashy!

Do you like it Mama? :)

STUFF WE MADE THIS WEEK
We used up most of our haul from Bountiful Basket making yummy and mostly healthy things!

With the corn I made corn chowder. Ryan had fun learning how to shuck corn and the chowder was yum!

We made Banana Bread with Brown Sugar and Oatmeal too!

We also have been making smoothies, roasted brussel sprouts (strangely enough I was the only one who liked those), spiced peaches, and salads. Still wasn't sure what to do with white asparagus so I will freeze that until the next time my mom comes. She'll know!

JOEL IS 17
And this is who he spent the weekend with.

He obviously had a good birthday! We love you Sierra!

AROUND THE HOUSE
Minor changes in the front dining area.

In this one the shelf is too high and the little light is kinda ugly!

Lowered the shelf and changed out the light fixture. I am thinking a big rug under everything but that will have to wait awhile. It is pretty low on the wish list right now.

CUTE NEW WALLS!
I am loving this wall! It is our "Disney" wall space in the loft. We have so many pictures and silhouettes from all the years going to Disney and the littles just love to look at them over and over...so I made this wall with shelves!

First I cut out a bunch of mouse shapes and then added the wording Magical Memories and cute little mouse.

Next I painted a set of shelves that I already had with acrylic paint. I chose white. Then hung the shelves.

Then I added little hooks underneath the bottom shelf and on the side nearest the wall.

Finally I added our favorite silhouettes, pictures from rides over the years, and our pressed coin collection.
On the hooks below I hung the boy's ears from different trips and their lanyards with all their trading pins.
We all love it!

Want your own vinyl set to create a magical wall too?

Use the paypal button below to purchase this magical memories bundle.

You will receive 2 sheets of the red mouse shaped heads, the magical memories lettering, and the cute little mouse!

The bundle arranged on my wall is about 28 inches long and about 20-22 inches high.

The total cost is $25 and that includes shipping!

We also did another wall in the loft. Using a curtain rod that we had but were not using and another fun quote!

There are little rod clips on the rod that you can get over in the window treatment center wherever you shop.

I picked some of my favorite scrap pages and hung them on the wall! I can even change them with the seasons! When August rolls around I can put up pages of past school days, Halloween layouts in the Fall, you get the idea ;)

What I really love is the quote I choose to hang over it all!

"Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun."

The loft is our place to be creative...lots of books, crayons, pencils, scissors, glue, tape , coloring books, glitter, pipe cleaners, and all our crafty things will be created there!

Want your own vinyl quote about imagination and intelligence?

Use the paypal button below to purchase this imagination quote.

The quote is approximately 55-60 inches long.

The total cost is $15 and that includes shipping!

GIRLS CAMP
...sigh...

I am leaving for Girls Camp tomorrow and I am so stressed! I get so weepy every year before I go because it is the only time I am away from my kids.

Once I get up on the mountain I am fine and I really enjoy Girls Camp. This year I am the photographer and am doing a slide show on Thursday. Ya'll keep your fingers crossed because I don't use our laptop very often so I am not very familiar with it. We won't have internet access either so I am hoping the program I downloaded doesn't fail me!

Our Theme is Renaissance which I think is so much fun!

There is going to be a zip line at camp this year.
Leave me a comment letting me know if you think I will try it or not!

I'll be back at the end of the week...bruised, battered, and probably pretty stinky.

See you then!

Soo much to tell...pull up a chair...this is going to be a long one!

2010-07-12T01:55:00.001-07:00

ADOPTION OF FAITH
I want to say that I believe this is worthy of a post all alone. Alas, I know I get way more visitors when I post a freebie. So I wanted to post this on the post that has a blog treat. The hope being you will be as touched as I have been by this special family in California who want so much to bring their little girl home from China.

You can read all about this neat family on their blog about trying to get to China to bring their daughter home forever!

http://adoptionoffaith.blogspot.com

I was in tears after learning about this wonderful family and wanted to help too!

I created a special vinyl rub that will benefit the families massive undertaking to raise almost $10,000!

You can get it on the families blog for just $10 and that includes the shipping!

This is what it looks like:

And here is where you can get it!
http://adoptionoffaith.blogspot.com/2010/07/custom-faith-wall-rub-just-10-donation.html

Order it off Leda's site and she will forward me the order. She will get the donation and I will send out the vinyl rub design.

If you are not interested in the vinyl rub and just want to make a donation you can do that on their adoption blog too!

Please donate in one way or the other. This sweet girl deserves to come home to her Forever Family!
http://adoptionoffaith.blogspot.com

Adoption is close to my heart and has been a defining act in the lives of my family members and many of my friends. Love you all!

Forever Lily: An Unexpected Mother's Journey to Adoption in China

OUR FIRST "DONE" ROOM
We have been busy bees getting the house unpacked...it is A LOT to do in addition to all the things we do in a regular day.

Tonight I finished the first room. Everything that is going to be in there is pretty much there. It is the front dining room and I just love it. The table and chairs were my sisters. I love having her things in my home. There will be touches of her all over.

I got my little Shabby Couch on Craig's List for a song!

The shelf, accessories, and curtains I already had.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

I am loving it!! Very simple and comfortable...just like me!

I might need to lower that shelf a little. What do ya'll think? I can't stand it when pictures and other decor is hung too high!

The Comforts of Home: Thrifty and Chic Decorating Ideas for Making the Most of What You Have

NEW HOME = NEW NEIGHBORS
...and their habits. Ugh.

Saturday night I think the parents of the teenage boy that lives next door must have been out of town because homeboy had a par-taaaaay!

There were a kajillion kids in their backyard smoking, drinking, and listening to very very loud music. But whatev...I had a few parties in my day and I certainly would not have wanted some old farts butting in. So we turned the TV up and went to bed with noise blasting all around us.

It didn't make for the most restful nights sleep and I wasn't quite as willing to be cool about it when these kids were still partying at 5am and woke me up with drunken screaming and laughing. Very uncool.

Mr. Wresh is a pretty laid back cat and didn't even care that they woke us up so early.

But that all changed when we went outside and there were broken beer bottles in our driveway. Now my homeboy was ticked. He actually swept all the broken glass and swept it right over into their driveway.

YO! WRESH'S IN THE HOOD!

Lego SpongeBob: Good Neighbor's at Bikini Bottom

GOOD NEWS!
We sold our old house! We got three cash offers in one day! Yay!!! It was on the MLS for less than a week!

How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days: Third Edition

FOURTH OF JULY
We had a nice Fourth of July. Joely didn't hang with us. Apparently we are not nearly as interesting as the cute girl he took to see fireworks. Hmpf.

Big Daddy and The Littles at the park getting ready to watch the fireworks!

You won't be seeing me in any posts until I find my make up. I know I saw it around here somewhere..just not sure what box it is in. I hope I find it soon. It is the end of week two with no make-up!

SPEAKING OF BIG DADDY
I have to take a moment to brag. There were a few issues with the plumbing and electricity in certain rooms in the new house. Usually Mark just calls someone to fix it. Times are tough though...so he decided this was a good time to do a little DIY-ing.

He fixed the electrical issues and the plumbing with a little help from google and the guy at the hardware store in town.

Then we realized there was a switch missing in the guest room. Because of his recent sucesses he decided he could take this on too.

He learned a couple of things this weekend.

#1 If you are fooling around with live electrical wires and metal tools there is a high probability that you are going to get electrocuted. In this case it happened five times.

#2 When working on electric issues in the house it is probably best to turn the breakers off before you actually handle the wires. Just saying.

The good news is Mr. Wresh survived being electrocuted 5 times and the switch is now working! Yay!

A MARGIE MOMENT
Margie has been having a wonderful summer with Grandma, Aunt Corinne, her cousins, and her play groups. She is fearless like her mama and she love love loves to swim. As you can see she swims everyday and has a huge bathing suit collection. Me thinks Grandma spoils the crap out of her!

She is so precious and darling and so much like in her mom in both the way she looks and her wild personality! Love you Sassy!

BOUNTIFUL BASKETS
I used to participate in this produce CO-OP but stopped for awhile. Mostly because I kept forgetting to place my order!

I remembered this week and look at this haul for $15!

Yay for organic fruits and veggies and yay for co-ops!!!

Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long

MOVIES
We don't go to the movies often for a couple of reasons. The first being that to take a family of five is pretty expensive and the second being I am a little too ADD to sit still for that long. Movie theaters are not my favorite. Personally I would rather wait for it to be on Pay Per View.

That being said we went to the movies not once, but twice this week.

We saw Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. Both were darling!

Please take note that I smuggle in my own bags of popcorn and water bottles. I will feel guilty for doing just as soon as the theaters feel guilty for charging $8 for a small popcorn and a small drink.

I guess that is 3 reasons to not like the movies. The concession stand in redunkulous. I am not having it!

I actually remembered to bring change so The Littles could play a few video games before we left.

Check out the rating on the video game. You know, cause we are quality parents.

Toy Story 3 The Video Game

Despicable Me

SURPLUS VINYL DESIGNS
From time to time I have some surplus vinyl designs that I need to get rid of. I either cut too much on accident, the customer changed their minds about what they wanted, or never sent payment for the order.

SOOOO...this means a great deal of savings for you!

These are all from orders that were for group activities (think church activities, craft group activites, Super Saturdays, etc.) so they are being sold in lots. I will list how many there are of the same design and the price for them all. Great for crafts nights with your friends, activity day, mutual, or to make early Christmas gifts on the cheap!

I have 10 of these "Daughter of a King". They are 11x11 and were cut to fit on a ceramic tile. All 10 are in black. You can make all sorts of crafty things with these vinyls or simply put them on the wall.

Regular price for 10 of these designs would be $50 plus shipping. Get all 10 of them for $25 and that includes shipping.

I have 4 of these Dr. Seuss Quotes. They are 18" wide by 3 " high. All 4 are in white.

Regular price for 4 would be $56 plus shipping.

Get all 4 for $25 and that includes shipping.

I have 10 of these Christmas designs in black. They are 11x11 and cut to fit 12 inch ceramic tiles.

Regular price for 10 would be $50 plus shipping. Get them here for $25 and that includes shipping.

Buy them now and get 10 ceramic tiles at the Home Depot or Lowe's for $1 each. Now you have 10 easy and wonderful Christmas Gifts for a total of $35. That's $3.50 each! Score!

MAKE A SMOOTHIE
I made this today and it was super duper good!

I even got to use some of the fruits from my Bountiful Baskets haul!

Kim's Delicious Smoothie
1 mango
1 banana
4 strawberries
handful of raspberries
handful of blueberries
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1 cup ice
2 splenda packets

Put everything in a blender or food processor and blend it all until it is smooth. So yummy and totally healthy!

Smoothies for Life! Yummy, Fun, and Nutritious!

VISIT MY STORES
Have you seen all my goodies?

Please visit my stores!

Digital Scrapbooking TheDigiChick
Vinyl Quotes and Designs Remarkable Walls at Etsy

BLOG TREAT
It's been awhile since I posted a blog treat!

Here you go!

BLOG TREAT GRAB BAG
All the previous links for freebies have been removed. You can get a sample of them in my Blog Treat Grab Bag for just $2.

This collection has 9 one page templates, 1 two-page template, and two text paths.

Your link will be emailed to you within 3 hours of making your purchase. I will send it to the email listed on your paypal order.

Thanks so much...have a happy Monday!

Making our house a home - Wresh Style

2010-07-01T14:11:00.001-07:00

We have just barely started what seems like will be months of unpacking...so in an effort to make our house feel a little more like home we decided to make some HOME made cookies! You know, any reason to make chocolate chip cookies...plus I promised Matty if he would practice going underwater I would make them...so we broke in our new house!

Joel's SCUBA trip to Catalina Island

2010-06-30T16:32:00.001-07:00

:::sigh:::

I have never had the bug to be SCUBA certified or to do anything like that. I have to say after hearing Joel tell us about his trip to Catalina Island with the Youth from church...I WANT TO!

Joel got his SCUBA certification last year in Scouts and this trip has been planned for a very long time. He was so excited to go and we loved hearing about everything he saw and got to do!

He said the water was very clear and the colors of the fish were so bright that they looked like electric lights! Dang I wish I had sent him with an underwater camera!

They also did a night dive...in kelp...that part does not sound like so much fun. Joel said he couldn't see anything beyond the little bit of light that his flash light provided. Everything else was just darkness. Joelly said that he would just bump into things underwater and have no idea what. That would totally freak me out. I think I want to only be a day time diver!

I wish we could move to California. It is where Mark is from and it is just so pretty and green. I hope someday I get to live somewhere green again.

Of course Joel didn't take any pictures but I snagged these from one one of the girls facebook pages who went too (Thanks McKenna!)

Look how shocking...Joel is texting on the boat...

Thank you so much to the Youth Leaders who planned and executed this trip. I know it is one that will always be remembered!

We're alive...and under this massive pile of boxes!

2010-06-29T19:22:00.003-07:00

MOVING
The close date finally came last week and we are about 1/2 way done moving. My cousin Sonya, who was also my realtor (thanks So So) came to give us the keys and we took our little monkeys to McDonalds to celebrate the end of her first and probably last short sale experience.

Aren't they darling?

To save money we are moving everything ourselves. We had a little UHaul for 24 hours to do loads back and forth (we only moved 1/2 miles away) and the rest is being brought over load by load in the mini-van. We are gassed.

We wanted to move the frig over a few days before we were going to have the moving truck. Our friend Erick came over with his truck to help. Just in case you didn't know, you can't tip a frig on it's back...I dunno why...so Mark and Erick were stumped as to how they were going to hoist the frig on bed of the truck without a ramp.

Of course, because I am a genius, I came up with the solution. I told them to strap the frig to the dolly and have Mark sit on the tail gate of the truck with the frig tipped at an angle. Then Erick could drive very slowly to the new house just a few blocks away.

They both looked at me like I had bumped my head.

It might have sounded crazy...but it worked!

Before we started moving in the house was cleaned top to bottom and we cleaned up the yard. The yard was ridiculous. They kept the front yard up OK but the back yard was a hot mess!

See for yourself.

BEFORE

AFTER

The grass is deader than a door nail (did your moms say that too or was it just mine?) but with a little water and seed we should be back in business!

I tried to take some "before" pictures of the rest of the house for you. Hopefully the after ones will look much better! I can't wait until the next time my mom comes to visit. She said she would make curtains for the family room and kitchen. I am so excited because my walls look naked as a jay bird!

Family Room

Kitchen (excuse my mess!)

Pantry

Living Room (Hi Ry!)

Stairs

Loft

Master Bedroom

Master Bath (don't you love the hooker red paint job?)

In addition to the Master bedroom there are three other bedrooms upstair. I won't bore you with pictures of all three because they all pretty much look like this right now.

Boys Bathroom Upstairs (I know...you are all impressed that I have actually hung a few things on the wall already!)

The cut outs in the Family Room. On the far right is the downstairs bathroom. In the center cut out you can see the door to the den, which will actually be the toy room. In the cut out on the left you can see the door into the laundry room.

Room by room we will turn it into our home!

AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR OLD HOUSE
Dear Old House,
I know that you are not really a living thing. You are an inanimate structure to most people, but not to me. I remember when we moved into you.We shared some of our best memories and worst moments inside your walls.
I remember hours of nursing my new little baby sitting in the recliner watching countless episodes of Law and Order on the DVR. In those first days after we moved there I remember hearing thumps and thuds coming down the stairs and when I ran to see what it was...it was Ryan, riding moving boxes like a sled down the stairs. I remember Chase receiving the Priesthood in our living room and how proud his mom was. I remember too many family dinners and holidays to even be able to recall them all. I remember our Christmas Tree with packages bursting out from underneath in the good times and Christmas with just a few packages underneath when times were a little tougher. I can't say that one of them was a better Christmas than the other. It didn't matter if there were lots or not so many...it was Christmas and that was wonderful enough. I remember the Easter Sunday that we had all of our friends over who didn't have family in town. That was the Easter that Courtney told us she was expecting a new baby. Even though she knew it was going to be hard she was so excited and rubbed her belly all afternoon. I remember little boys jumping on the trampoline in your backyard and making mud pits in what was supposed to have been the vegetable garden. They were happy. What's a little mud right? I remember Joel coming home from countless Scout campouts dirty and stinky. We would sit on the floor in the loft while he told us about his outings. I remember getting my little Ryan ready for his first day of kindergarten in the bathroom there and sobbing hysterically. Not wanting to believe my little boy would be gone for four whole hours every day! How would I survive? I remember kissing my husband under the mistletoe I hang up every year at our Christmas Party. I also remember kissing him in the kitchen, the family room, the downstairs bathroom...well...you get the idea. I remember the hours and hours we took painting the cowboy mural on Ryans bedroom wall only for him to decide he didn't want a cowboy room after all (too bad!). I remember the most horrible night of my life. I remember getting in the shower as soon as I got home after getting that call. I don't know why but I thought I could wash it all off. It wasn't true, I could scrub it away. I cried in the shower that night, harder than I have ever cried. I wanted to die too. I remember sitting in the loft writing the program for Courtney's funeral and making call after horrible call. I remember the days, and weeks, and months I would wake up there feeling like I had taken a blow to the stomach everytime I realized it was still true. I remember saying lots of prayers there...and many stubborn nights refusing to get on my knees before bed because I was so furious with God. SO FURIOUS. I remember lots of friends coming and going and looking back being so amazed at all the people our lives have been blessed with. I remember painting the bedroom furniture with Mark. It was what I wanted for my birthday, for him to help me paint that barfalicious furniture because we were too broke to buy new furniture and I could not stand to look at that ugly 80's furniture with gold trim, not one more day. I remember going through papers with mom and dad, getting ready. I remember the day we got the news. The joy and peace we felt that day. I remember the dreams I had of my sister there in my room, knowing with all my heart they were more than just dreams. I remember Joel getting ready for his first date there and helping him get ready for prom there. I remember Ryan screaming in the bathroom when his first tooth fell out. He lost his first one when he was just four so I had not told him about losing teeth yet! I remember how the tooth fairy left some fairy dust on the window sill where she had squeezed herself in to collect his baby tooth. I remember when the fairies moved in and all the magic they brought into our home. I remember making lots and lots and lots of chocolate chip cookies with my boys and the happy look Margie had the first time I gave her a spoonful of cookie dough. I remember hanging every picture and pressing every curtain before it was hung. I remember a thousand meals cooked there. I remember learning in that house that our trials are given to us to refine us, to humble us, to teach us, to make us seek out our Savior for the comfort that only He can give us. I remember so many things good, bad, and bittersweet that we shared in your walls. Thank you for keeping us safe and dry while we experienced them all. I will miss you. You are a very good house.

Love Kim

A SUPER SPECIAL BARBIE
Before I tell you about the super special Barbie I found I have to start by telling you that Courtney's nick name was "Red" for the gorgeous (and I mean GORGEOUS) mane of red hair she had.

I was so excited when I found this Barbie. It is a retro doll that you can't find in the stores any more so when I saw her...I just knew I had to have her for my Sweet Baby Margie.

NEW PRODUCTS
Amid all the business I have also had new releases at TheDigiChick!

There are also more than 20 new vinyl designs in RemarkableWalls Etsy Shop! Check them out!

All of the items in the "Tiles" section are value priced at $5 each - great for making gifts and home decor!

I posted few examples of what is new!

Happy Fathers Day, Vegetables, and a couple of Mall Rats!

2010-06-21T08:54:00.001-07:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
We had the best Fathers Day weekend! Saturday all five of us went swimming. Mr. Wresh, Joel, and I had a contest to see who could tread water the longest.

I won.

They were such poor losers. They were dying out there, sweating (no going under water during the contest), and so mad that I was beating them. Of course they said it was because I was more "buoyant" than they are which I thought was so rude! I beat Joel easily but Mr. Wresh held on and did it for about 20 minutes with me before he gave up.

No props...nothing...just a bunch of whining about how muscle sinks faster than fat and that I have boobs and they don't. Babies!

We went for several long walks and the little rode their scooters.

On Sunday we fired up the grill and I grilled steaks for Mr. Wresh and the boys all helped make a nice dinner.

Happy Fathers Day Mr. Wresh!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad (I hate using the term "stepdad") He is wonderful, generous, compassionate, loving, protective, and everything a girl would ever need in a Father.

I am beyond blessed that he is in my life and loves me like I love him.

CHH CHH CHH CHANGES
In the refrigerator.

The Wresh Family is trying to create some new habits! We want for our children to be healthy and strong and that means creating habits now that include healthy eating. Crackers and chips have been replaced with fruits and cut up vegetables.

The littles are not complaining so much about the lack of their old snacks so much as they don't want to eat fruits and vegetables.

Here is what I can get them to eat so far:
Apples
Bananas
Broccoli
Green Beans
Corn

I can get them to eat other stuff but it involves tears and sitting at the table for a very long time. I don't want healthy eating to traumatize them! Any moms out there have tips on getting little ones to actually enjoy their fruits and vegetables?

Please note amid all of the new healthy items in our fridge, Dr. Pepper is still there. It's all about baby step people!

A DAY WITH THE LITTLES
Last week we had to go to town, something we rarely do. After we were done with our errand it seemed a shame to not make a day of it so we headed to the mall! My boys love the mall. Go figure!

Ryan and Matty Boy in front of the Aquarium

Trying stuff out at the toy store

Putting on fake tattoes is always fun. Even if they never did stick to their arms!

The snake in front of The Rain Forest Cafe. Chase was scared to death of this thing when he was little!

Matty was trash talking the gator outside Rain Forest Cafe!

With the tree frog!

Eating a slice of pizza that is bigger than you head for dinner? Heck yeah!

Playing old school video games? You betcha!

Easy Riders

I always have the very best time with my boys and I don't even mind the whining when it is time to go too much!

THE MOVE

I have been trying to be positive about this whole mess of a closing and mostly I have been down right pleasant about the whole thing. I don't even think my inside voices have called the Under Writers bad names...yet.

As you know when we were supposed to move earlier this month we had everything scheduled perfectly. Mr. Wresh was taking two days off of work and had the whole weekend off, Joel was home and his summer college classes had not started yet, and I had everything from cleaners to exterminators scheduled like they were doing a perfect waltz.

Now. Not so much.

We close tomorrow and get the keys but this time it is much different.

It is end of month for Mr. Wresh at work which means not only will he be unable to take any time off, he will have to go into the office on Saturday AND Sunday. Ugh.

Joel is leaving for a Scuba Trip to Catalina. I asked him if he would rather stay home and help me with the move. He politely declined to cancel his trip.

And so...this will be a long move. I will do what I can until Joel gets home this weekend and Mr. Wresh will move what he can when he is home. Thankfully we are moving less than a mile away...which reminds me...I have not rented a truck yet...better get that on the list!

Wish us luck...we are stressed. It will be good to see our pots and pans again. They have been packed up for weeks and we have been using the same pot for everything!

REVELATION 12:14

For those of you who study The Bible, what does this scripture mean to you? I know how I read it and understood it as it pertains to Gods Church. Is there more to it? I would love to know anyone's thoughts on this scripture.

SWEET BABY MARGIE

She has been enjoying summer so much. My mom and sister Corinne send me pictures all the time. This is my newest favorite picture of her...I am so crazy about this little girl!

Margie and Ryan just tan up and have the most beautiful skin. The rest of turn pink, peel, and go back to white. Life is never fair!

YUMMY SALAD

I made this salad the other night and it was very easy and good although I don't think this picture makes it look very appetizing! It is my Greek Asian Fusion Salad!

In the morning I put a flank steak in the slow cooker with about 1/2 a jar of Lighthouse Ginger Sesame Dressing. It is good and low in calories!

Then when it was time for dinner I tossed the following together:

Red Leaf Lettuce

Thinly sliced cucumber

Red Paper Strips

Tomato (I used Roma's)

Feta Cheese

Extra Dressing if desired

In the picture I just slapped the flank steak on there which is why I think it looks kind of scary. Take the flank steak out of the slow cooker and chop it up into bite size pieces before you serve it. Much better.

This was a yummy salad that was low in calories and high in protein. Let me know if you try it!

Hope everyone is enjoying summer!

My Littlest Nieces...Mermaid Style!

2010-06-17T08:01:00.002-07:00

My Mermaid Nieces!

Lazy Weekend

2010-06-14T14:27:00.002-07:00

LAZY WEEKEND
What should have been a crazy busy weekend moving turned into one lazy weekend. Our close date was pushed back (aaaarrrgh) and it was nuts! I had scheduled water, electricity, phones, tv, and internet all to be turned on. I also had scheduled a house cleaner, carpet cleaner, and landscaper. I had to call and cancel everything.

I remained surprisingly calm. I was pretty proud of myself!

I just hope I can get everyone scheduled and in sync for the next time. You know, cleaners before carpets, landscapers before, exterminators...you get the idea. I should have known when we got an email from the title company saying they were anticipating a smooth closing it was too good to be true!

So...instead of moving we napped, Mr. Wresh cooked for us all weekend (thanks babe!), and we watched Alice In Wonderland - the one with Johnny Depp. I thought it was very meh.

Alice in Wonderland

If you want to watch something good (and romantic...sigh...) watch The Young Victoria. We watched it last weekend and I la la loved it! It was romantic and a sweet love story...I would have watched it just to see all the costumes! Mr. Wresh was less impressed.

The Young Victoria

This week we are waiting to be told when the new close date...which is super fun (not). In the meantime we are keeping busy watching Star Wars movies over and over and swimming!

MASTER DEGREE
My youngest sister Corinne graduated with her Masters Degree in Education Administration! She rocks so much! I only wish we had someone as dedicated and fabulous as she is in our own school district!

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER
Finally! Joel has been out for weeks but Ryan's school was still under construction so they started late which mean ending late. It is finally over and I love having all my boys home! On the last day of school Matty and I went to Ryan's class party. We had pizza and played games. At one point Ryan seemed a little quiet and I asked him if he was sad second grade was over. He looked at me like I was nuts and said, "No way mom, I am ready for summer!"

Ryan started the year with Mrs. Vega. She had family that needed to be cared for so she had to leave half way through the year. The kids were so happy that she came to the end of year party!

Mrs. Martinez took over Ryan's class for the second half of the year and she was great too!

Thank you wonderful teachers!

MY SWEET PRINCE MATTY
My little Matty Boy is so happy to have his brothers home during the day to play with. I think I might even get a little jealous. All year long we spend the days together and now I am left in the dust!

I scrapped some cute pictures of my little one and I. He is not so little anymore ::sob::

I snapped this picture in the car the other day of my pretty boy. He is just so adorable! No worrries, we are at a long red light! I almost always have a camera handy!

SPEAKING OF BEING IN THE CAR

I haven't been as much lately as a certain teenager has been taking full advantage of his license. I had no idea how many things Joely would need to do once he was licensed. Apparently he has been saving it all up until now! I won't complain though. Our boy got straight A's on his report card with the exception of Calculus and I mean what kind of FREAK gets an A in Calculus? He is taking college courses this summer too so he is off to Casa Grande to attend classes a few nights a week. We are pretty proud of him.

Now that I have bragged about him we have to poke a little fun at him. I took this picture of Joely out by the pool the other day.

Would you look at how white this kid is? Seriously he is white like a white crayon. When he was laying there the dog came over and started licking him. I told him it was his own fault because he looked like a big old bowl of milk!

SWIM MARGIE SWIM

Margie started swim classes today...even though she doesn't need them anymore. She and grandma go swimming pretty much everyday and the little cutie already taught herself how to swim! Grandma wanted her to take the classes anyway so here she is with my neice Emma at swim class! Swim Margie swim!!!

Emma and Margie

Margie and her swim teacher

Apparently Grandma bought her another swimsuit. You would not believe the collection this child has!

ABOUT THE BREAD

I know I promised you a recipe for bread. I failed you all. I was trying to find a short cut for bread making and I found a recipe that uses rapid rise yeast and you put it all together in the food processor. No need to add water to the yeast to activate it...or so they claimed.

I made the dough and nothing...didn't rise a bit.

The yeast was not old but I had another brand of rapid rise yeast on hand (don't ask me why) so I thought I would try the recipe again and see if maybe I just had a bad batch of yeast.

Nope. the second one turned out the same as the first. Neither of them would rise. They just laid there...like a lump of dough :)

So sad.

Lesson learned though...no short cuts to homemade bread. Drat.

Bread Matters: Why and How to Make Your Own

Strawberry Freezer Jam

2010-06-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

JAM!
I am stressed...so I decided to take it out on some strawberries!

It is strawberry season and I got them on sale for $1/pound! Boo ya!

This is by no means a secret recipe. It is the recipe that comes in the box of pectin that you use in the jam. I just thought I would show ya'll how easy it is to make if you never have!

2 cups crushed strawberries
4 cups sugar
1 box pectin (near the canning supplies at the market)
3/4 cup water

Yes it has a lot of sugar. It's jam. Chill out. Life is short. Enjoy.

$1 a pound!

Wash them and hull them. I was too lazy to hull so I just cut the tops off.
I put mine in the food processor because no one likes anything "chunky" around here unless it is me!
If you want chunky jam use a potato masher to crush your strawberries.

Your measurements need to be exact. I found that I needed about 1.5 pounds of strawberries to equal 2 cups of crushed strawberries. You may need a little less if you are making chunkier jam.

Yep. They are crushed alright.

Set the strawberries aside in another bowl so you can measure them back in.

Pour all four cups of the sugar into your processor. Do not email me about the amount of sugar in this. Seriously.
If you are making chunkier jam do not use a processor. Hand stir it in a bowl or carefully pulse it.

Pour exactly two cups of crushed strawberries in with the sugar.

Sugar meet strawberries. I know you two will be dear friends.

Put your 3/4 of a cup of water in a sauce pan and set it to medium heat. Pour in the pectin (the whole package in the box) and bring it to a boil.

Whisk it the whole time and once it reaches a boil let it boil for one minute (keep whisking!)

Pour the pectin syrup in with the sugar and strawberries and stir it for 3 minutes (blending or by hand)

Put the jam into containers and let it set for about 24 hours on the counter. Then put it in the freezer.
When you take it out to use it it will be good in the frig for 3-4 weeks. It won't last that long though!

Use it on toast, ice cream, to make strawberry shakes, etc.

Even had some left over to freeze! Yay!

Now that I made jam I will have to make some homemade bread tomorrow! I will post my Amish Bread recipe if I actually do make the bread...it is very vey gudt!

Enjoy!

A Gospel filled with promise.

2010-06-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have struggled so much over this last 18 months since my sister has been gone. But I guess you all know that.

I want you to know that I know that it truly is God's will that Courtney is with Him and not us. I think that enough time has passed that I would not be so selfish as to wish her back. I know that she is safe, and happy, and well. I know she is in heaven with our Glorious Savior.

Knowing all of this does not keep me from crying everyday. I miss her. I miss the way our family used to be. It is different now. Things have shifted, they are not the same and they never will be again. Not in this life. I am at the point in my grief that I am having to come to terms with this reality. And just like every other horrifying realization I have had to face...it hurts so much.

My sweet friend Leslie, who I have known since I was a child, sent me this quote from Sister Patricia Holland. It brought me great peace and I wanted to share it with you all.

Thank you Leslie...

"Not all of our prayers are answered as directly and positively as we might want. But every answer--or lack of answer--from the lord is such that it will lead to greener pastures. This gospel is filled with promises, and I am grateful for them all. I hope you recognize and believe in the promises; there is a green pasture for each and every one of us. And do not be deceived into thinking that even though there are different and seemingly unfair paths in life, that in the end we all get the same pasture. Your pasture will compensate for your path, and my pasture will compensate for my path. Whether in this life or in the next, and it is always in both. When the lord opens up the windows of heaven, there will be a pouring forth of blessings that directly heal and repay for every individual pain and sacrafice you are experiencing. He will throw open those windows for every child who has enough faith to obey and believe that He is good. Believe me when I tell you God is a God of goodness, mercy and justice. Ultimately, He cannot treat His righteous children differently. Whatever blessings you have gone without will be made up to you in divine and glorious fashion. I give you every assurance, they will be made up to you to the point you will not be confident that God treated you fairly but embarrassed that He treated you so very generously."Patricia Holland

There is my manicure stick...

2010-06-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

I was looking for this the other day...should have known the boys turned into some sort of weapon!

Stuff I like, a paint job, burnt up roast, and lots of cuteness!

2010-06-01T14:30:00.001-07:00

STUFF I LIKE - THE GETTING CUTE EDITION

While I would love to be able to head to some Scottsdale Spa and get the works...it just isn't in the budget...so I do my sprucing up CVS style. Ya'll with me? Hooty hoot!

Most of the beauty items I purchase are inexpensive drug store items, however, there are a few items that I splurge on and I implore you to as well. We will start with the cheap stuff before I bring out the big guns.

DRUG STORE FINDS
Biore Face Strips - love them, got to have them. If you have never used them before they are very easy to use. You simply wash your face and while it is still wet you put the strips over your nose, chin, forehead, or anywhere else your pores need a good deep cleaning.

Once they are dry you peel them off. If you have a weak stomach just throw the strips away. If you want to see what a good job the Biore Strips did take a look at the side of them that was against your skin...look at it in good lighting...GROOOOOSS!!!!

I always look.

I started using the strips every other day for about two weeks and the change has been really noticeable. All for an $8 box of strips.

Hair Things - you know a messy head of hair can be easily turned into a cute "messy bun" or up do with the right hair hardware. Throw aside your banana clips (kidding...I know none of you would actually use a banana clip for heavens sake) and check out these new goodies from Goody!

My hair is pretty thick and I am growing it out long again so I often need some way to put it up right quick. These new hair toys are my new favorites!

Face Soap - I am not even going to lie. I use Dove Soap on my face and I love it. I mainly love it because it smells good, it is inexpensive, and my skin feels good after I wash with it. I am sure there are many other facial cleansers that you might say are better. I love Dove.

I also love Dove because they use chubby girls in all there "Real Women" commercials. Go ahead with the big girls Dove...makes me love you all the more!

Lips - Personally I am hooked on Burts Bees line of lip care. Smells good, organic (not that I care), lasts for a long time. I have the lip sun screen (which tastes yummy, like oranges), the honey lip balm, the pomegranate lip balm (this is great because it is tinted...pretty color) and they have a new glossy product that I am digging too! They are all $3-$6

And there are more that I will save for another time...mostly because this could get boring :)

THE BIG GUNS (WHERE I SPEND THE MOST)
Face Make Up - Let me start by saying I am not a fan of face make up. Usually I just use a little powder and I am done. I have not worn liquid foundation for probably 15 years. Way too much effort and it feels so gross on my face.

For a long time I used Clinique's loose powder...and was a happy girl...and then my mother had to butt in and show me her new Bare Minerals Make-Up. It was like crack on my face. Once I had it I could not stop. I love Bare Minerals Make up and I will say, to me, your foundation is worth the extra money.

I tried the drug store brands of mineral powders...not the same...I just ended up going back to get more Bare Minerals. The drug store brand made my face feel itchy too. Not sure what is up with that.

I guess I like it best because it never feels like I am wearing make up and the coverage is exceptional. I am one of those girls that comes home and goes straight to the bathroom to wash any make up I have on off my face...this I will actually keep on until Mr. Wresh gets home. He can see me cute for a minute and then I go wash it all off!

Shampoo - I have never been one to use expensive salon formula shampoos. I think they are RIDICULOUS

Now I am scared that I have become addicted to one and it is going to cost me.

I may have to start selling my blood if I want to keep up with this habit because it is a tad outrageous. By the way, can you sell your blood if you are anemic? Just wondering.

Anyway...Pureology Shampoo...it is divine. I swear my hair feels like it is more hydrated. It is just really soft and feels like it does when I leave the salon. My stylist, Karla (who is fabulous) tried to explain to me all the scientific reasons why Pureology is so great, something about no sulfates or whatever. Like I care. What I do know if that this shampoo rocks and I feel very very guilty buying it. But I will again.

OK - That's it for this edition of stuff I like. What stuff do ya'll love?

A NEW PAINT JOB
As we get ready for the big move decorating is on the brain for me.I decided that there are going to be several "paint jobs" around here and the first one was going to be Joel's bedroom furniture. Aw yeah...

We did it in one morning and it looks so awesome. I picked out a Navy Blue Paint that looked very Pottery Barn-ish to me and it looks FAB!

Joel and I painted the whole set Monday morning and I am so excited to get it to the new house. Grandma Margaret is making new curtains to match everything!

Dresser before after a little sanding for water marks (use a coaster for Pete's sake!)

We were up and painting at 6 am to try to avoid some of the heat!

It looks gud, no?

We painted the dresser, desk and hutch, head board, mirror, side table and all the drawers...whew.

I want you to know that I blame Kim over at Todays Creative Blog for doing this to me. She has turned me into an upcycling, do it yourself, nut ball!

When we get into the new house I will post pictures of his new digs!

WHY I AM NOT GIVING UP MY SLOW COOKER ANY TIME SOON
Here is why. One burnt (yes, I said burnt) up roast.

I forgot to put the roast in the slow cooker in the morning last week...dinner time rolled around I panicked. I remembered my mom would brown her roasts and then let them simmer...so I decided I would just do that. Apparently you need to add a lot more beef broth and worstishire sauce for it to simmer in than I did...cause this is what my roast looked like. I am here to tell you that burnt up (yes, darn it I said burnt) roast is STINKY!

The littles thought it was great. They got cheese quesadillas for dinner instead of roast with vegetables. Weirdos.

What was funny was I having the crappiest day and when I found the roast all burned (there...happy) up I just kind of shrugged and thought, "Yeah...that's about right for today." :)

MARGIE CUTENESS
I haven't posted a picture of Princess Margie in awhile! Here she is in all her Diva Cuteness!

This baby is a water monkey and she wants to swim ALL THE TIME! She is going to school and loves it. This summer she is taking swim and dance lessons. She loves to talk to her Aunt Kimmy and all her cousins on Skype. She thinks it is so funny we are on the computer! Isn't she a delicious little nugget???
I LOVE YOU BABY MARGIE!

WHEN MRS. WRESH WAS FIVE
One of the things I love about facebook is that I have reconnected with so many of the kids I grew up with. My friend Allison posted pictures of one of her birthday parties when we were all five. It was a baking party. Her mom made all of us those cute little aprons and we made cookies! Allison wrote under the picture, "Once a little baker, always a baker!"

SUMMERTIME BABY!

The Wresh boys cooling off! We love summer days!

When it was time for Ryan to learn how to swim it took one lesson. He was a natural fish. Matty is a little more fearful. I have spent several afternoons trying to get Matty the see that I would not let him sink!

We bought one of those little swim school vests (it keeps the child in the correct postion for swimming) and after two days of begging, pleading, singing, sshing, and finally making a deal for a Happy Meal Matty can swim in his little helper vest! Once he got the hang of it he loved it and wanted to do it over and over! Joel and I would swim next to him but not touching him...he did so well!

Last night he asked me if we could make another deal. He wanted to know if when he can swim without his vest on, if we could go to Chuck E. Cheese. Deal kid.

I am in the Designer Spotlight at TheDigiChick!

2010-05-29T07:30:00.002-07:00

Go check it out and leave me comments so people think I am loved!

http://www.thedigichick.com/blog/

Reality Show Musings

2010-05-26T20:57:00.001-07:00

REALITY TV
I watch Reality TV. Lately it has just disgusted me to no end and I need to get a few things off my chest.

I watch the stuff like Flavor of Love and The Jersey Shore, not just the light weight stuff that isn't too bad like Survivor or The Apprentice. I am hard core.

Did you know that a girl actually pooped on the floor in one episode of Flavor Flav? I mean, I hate to let you all in on how immature and gross I am...but that was good TV.

THE JERSEY SHORE
I watched The Jersey Shore despite my best efforts not to.

There was a day that I was sick and they were playing the entire season in one day. I was laying on the couch doped up on cough meds and I got sucked in. I felt so dirty and disgusted with myself but that didn't stop me.

I just could not get over how RIDICULOUS they are.

I will say I love the acronym GTL. If you don't know what that means...well...you wouldn't understand anyway.

If you haven't watched it, don't. And can we please call it what it is? It is soft porn. Those girls are grody to the max! What is up with Snookie's 1988 clamp that she uses in her hair? Do they even still sell those?

The boys are meat heads although I am pretty sure they would not find that insulting. The fact that they put enough product in their hair that it looks like it is shellacked is mesmerizing to me.

SURVIVOR
So bummed to see how past players that used to be entertaining are so boring now. The two biggest disappointments were Rupert and Colby. I used to love Rupert. He was jovial and didn't take anything too serious...he had fun. Nowadays he like an old fart yelling at kids to get off his grass. Then there is Colby. Holy crap he was so dang lame this season. I wasn't mad at him at first though...it's ten years later...he's a little long in the tooth. I get it, your older, slower, it happens to the best of us, so I really wasn't trippin on Colby too much until his brother came to play in the challenge. He was such a titty baby I could not even believe it.

I am so bummed that Sandra won. I mean, she is cool and whatev...but she played such a boring game.

I know a lot of people think Russell should have won. He is obviously a Survivor Baller but I think deep inside he is a woman hating little troll. He was so much more aggressive with the female players than he was with the men. Hairy little punk.

My vote was for Pavarti. She just seemed to have so much fun playing and was not intimidated by Russell at all, which pissed him off to no end. I thought it was hilarious!

CELEBRITY APPRENTICE
I don't want to seem heartless here but making Brett Michaels the winner was weak.

Yes, he came back from the brink of death and all but apples to apples Holly Robinson Peete was obviously much better. She was just unfortunate enough to not have a major medical issue two weeks before the finale.

Not really her fault is it folks? Granted she was booooring too...but she was the best of the two.

Side notes: Sinbad is ADD, I love Sharon Osborne and think she is a riot, and Cyndi Lauper is a nut job.

AMERICAN IDOL
Such a shame that the best part of this is the audition episodes.

This season was lame-o.

Looking at the last three standing I cannot believe that they scoured the entire nation and this was the cream of the crop. All I can say is I hope Crystal wins. Lee looks like a chubbier version of last years winner and I have no clue what his name is anymore. I think all he does is Ford commercials. A very sad fate for an American Idol, no?

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY
I love this show. They are insane in the membrane...I think we all know who the star of this little show is though...Danielle.

You have to watch her in the same sort of way you look at a traffic accident. You know you shouldn't look. It is going to be a gruesome sight...but you just can't help yourself. She does that to me. While I enjoy watching her I find myself deeply concerned for her too. I hope she gets some serious psychiatric care because she is bonkers.

I have to say that I just adore Teresa. She is just such a ding dong. The way she indulges her little girls just delights me. I go ga ga over all their cute little outfits and hair accessories. Man it is a good thing I don't have a little girl, I would be in the poor house.

Just when you think she is harmless she will go ape turds all over you like she did at the end of the last season. I loved it.

Speaking of apes...I found this comparison picture online. Personally I think Teresa is super cute...but this was too funny not to share.

IN SUMMARY
At this very moment I am doubting if I should even post this blog...afraid that you will know a terrible truth about me. I watch bad TV and I can be catty. Please forgive my weakness.

I hope that you all will still respect me in the morning now that I have outed myself.

Here's hoping for a good season of Big Brother!

Seminary Honors Dinner, Happy Birthday, and an "orgasmic" discussion.

2010-05-23T21:41:00.001-07:00

OK, before I even start I want to apologize for using the word "orgasmic". I will be using it again later in the post. Don't say you were not warned.

SEMINARY HONORS DINNER
Joel goes to Early Morning Seminary every day before school. Joel gets up at 5am every morning to attend class to study scriptures at 6am. He does this every school day. His dedication to learning the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an example to our whole family.

Not only does Joel attend Early Morning Seminary...he excels at it...earning an honors rating for the year. This means that among other requirements Joel memorized 25 key scriptures this year. Obviously we are very proud.

There was a dinner for the kids that achieved these special goals on Friday night.

TURNING 38
Was traumatic. It is just that much closer to 40...which is really old. I never thought I would be one to worry about age too much, but the thought of it is not particularly exciting. My friend Rashidah says when your worried about getting older, think about the alternative.

All in all it was a nice birthday. I got up early...because for whatever reason I wake up at 5:30am every morning regardless of if I need to or not. After making the kids some breakfast I decided to take a birthday nap. The house was relatively quiet and I went back to sleep until 11:00am. It was pure awesomeness.

I hogged ALL the pillows!

Later we went for the first swim of the summer. Ryan is a little fish and jumped right in. Matty is not quite as sure about swimming yet, which explains why he has me in a choke hold. Mr. Wresh refused to get in. He said it was still too cold!

Hopefully this will be the summer that Matty learns to swim!

I got my VERY SUPER COOL birthday present earlier in the week. I am going to keep it a secret but suffice it to say I loooooove it!!! Thank you Mr. Wresh. I know I am more spoiled than I deserve to be!

The Wresh Men Folk made me a yummy dinner. Turkey Burgers (a favorite) and they even baked me a cake with lots and lots of sprinkles courtesy of Matty!

Later we played games and Matty gave me lots of birthday snuggles.

Thirty-Eight was not all that painful.

PLEASE DON'T EVER USE THAT WORD AGAIN
The other night Mark, Joel, and I were going into the market and we ran into a young man who is a few years older than Joel. We have known him for many years and love and care for him.

I went to give him a hug and he looked very sad. He told us that he was going to be a dad soon. He tried to explain unnecessarily that it was not something that had been planned. He looked scared. None of us knew what to say. For a few seconds there was silence. I patted his shoulder and told him that he would be a good dad. Mark offered him a few encouraging words and then we said good bye and went into the market.

My heart was broken for him. I know all of the difficulties that lay ahead of him and I said a little prayer for him.

As we walked through the store I couldn't shake the thought of all that our young friend stands to face. As we walked back outside I asked Joel to please remember to always make good choices (which to us means no premarital sex). He smiled at me and assured me that he had no intention of making any bad decisions.

Before we got into the car I looked at him and asked (in all seriousness) if there was anything that looked orgasmic about our friends face. He shuddered and said, "No, and please never say that word again. EVER."

TOUCH GOLD
Being in the Stake Young Womens Presidency means that I get to attend all of the ward conferences. The women in our presidency take turns teaching the Young Women's class when we go to visit. This past week it was my turn.

Part of my lesson I adapted from a talk I found on Sugar Doodle. You can read it here.Be sure to click on the "CLICK HERE" to open the actual talk in word or .pdf format.

In the lesson the story was told of a high school that adopted the saying "Touch Gold" as a reminder to always do and be their best. I made a gold vinyl lettering for each of the girls to put over their doors (read the story to see why it goes there!) and I have 3 left.

If you decide to read the story and would like a "Touch Gold" sticker of your own please leave me a comment and let me know what you liked about the article. The first three people to leave me a comment regarding the article and to let me know they would like the sticker will have it sent to them in the mail as a little gift from me.

NEW PRODUCTS
I could not get the pictures of my new products to load last week so here they are!

My birthday sale is still on at TheDigiChick and will be for a few more days. Load up your cart in my store and when you check out you will get 38% off your total order! Hurry. Only a day or two left!

BLOG TREAT
I scrapped this page of Joel's Seminary Honors Dinner and made it into a little template for you!

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