We have had a pretty nice weekend so far. Not much going on, which I love. On Friday evening we went down to the beach. All this Chicago talk has made me really appreciate all that I have here. Speaking of Chicago, it looks like it's a go but we will know for sure this week. I'm SO EXCITED but it's a bitter sweet feeling. Such is life, right? Anyway, we went down to the beach and I took some photos of my two favorite people. This first one is my favorite. I love the holding hands, the wedding ring, the goose bumps on her arm and the little hairs on the back of her head that are wet from a wave that crashed into them. (And I love her dress-thanks Grandma!!)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I had an interview in Chicago yesterday that the company flew me out for. I didn't know what the details were until I got the itinerary the day before. It was quite a shock to see that I was staying at the Four Seasons, but not as shocked as when I got to the airport and realized that my seats were first class. More shocked I became during the flight itself. I had never flown first class before, but I was really impressed the entire time. For those who haven't flown first class let me share my experience with you:

I sat waiting for the attendants to start the boarding process. Over the intercom they announced, "Now boarding First Class passengers only", so I stood up and started to walk down the skyway. As I strolled towards the plane I heard someone yell at me to stop! I looked up in surprise to find an attendant running from behind to catch up. "What gives you the right to walk down here?" they asked. "I am going to the plane!" I replied. The man then changed his tone, "No! What are you doing WALKING? Haven't you ever flown First Class?" I shook my head.

Then appeared a rickshaw pulled by small asian men. "Hop in! Ret us take you to the prane. Warking is for suckels." I knew that, so in I went, for the remaining 20 feet to the plane. So far so good.

Once in the plane I was directed to the left, behind the velvet rope and silk curtain to room that I could only describe as sophisticated. The walls were paneled in aromatic cedar with frescoed paintings on the ceilings in which depictions of rich and powerful people were being carried through the heavens on the backs of plebeians. The chairs with high backed and leather with wonder reclining features.

Now in my seat, and with the other people that shared the plane with us now aboard they commenced the emergency procedures, only this time it was different. There was no video of a ethnically diverse group of passengers joyfully enjoying the free flowing oxygen that arrived through plummeting face masks. Nor was there instruction on how to properly inflate a life vest.

The instruction was much different. We were told that we would be warned before an emergency, at least 5 minutes before hand allowed to board the emergency plane that was kept in the belly just under our seats. Our safety was guaranteed.

The dinner was delicious. I had the Bald Eagle egg omelet with White Rino steak. Jeeves cooked my food on a stove with no visible fuel source. I was informed that the stove ran on the heat generated by the contempt, jealousy and despise of those forced to turn right while boarding the plane. I applauded their "Green Energy" stance. My drink was a concoction of juices from rare berries grown only in the remotest of regions of Nepal (usually requiring a 2 week journey by expert Sherpas) and chilled with the ice chipped from a newly detached iceberg that had separated from Greenland due to global climate changes. It was delicious.

My sponge bath was fantastic too. I mean, how else are you supposed to get clean on an airplane after a relaxing warm mud treatment. I couldn't dare get my recliner filthy.

We landed safely in Chicago, however the weather was terrible and the plane had to stay at the end of the runway for a few hours until the tarmac could be cleared of snow and ice. Man, I am glad that they let us First Class people get on the heated snow cat that hooked up to the hidden exit in the floor.

We got to our terminal and waited to jump aboard our rickshaws again. (I knew the drill now).

So now that I have accurately described to you the First Class experience, I encourage you to land interviews at killer companies that will pay for it.

John had an interview at this ridiculously awesome company in Chicago yesterday. I'm talking awesome. If you heard about all the things they give their employees you would want to switch careers and work for them. John will tell you all the details about his trip out there, probably later today or tomorrow. Now we have to wait to hear if he got it. I'm sending out lots of positive thoughts into the universe in hopes that the answer is yes, and would appreciate it if all of you loyal readers did the same for us! We would love you forever.

In the meantime, I've been making a list of the things I would like to buy one day when we can afford them. Here are a few.

1. Aquafina water. I know, this is not an unattainable luxury. This is hands down my favorite water. And yes, I can taste a difference. A big difference. I just can't justify buying it week after week when we have water at home. But if I were rich...

2. These daily systems (in white) from Pottery Barn. I've been eyeballing these for quite some time and dream of the day that my life can be moved from a pocket calendar to this!

3. This bed from Ikea. Again, certainly not a splurge for the already rich. However, considering I bought Devan's last bed at a garage sale for well under $50 and found her crib on craigslist, spending nearly $400 on a childrens bed definitely warrants putting it on this list. And I hope that when I'm rich I still think that $400 for a kids bed sounds absurd. Does that make sense?

4. Whole Foods. You should try their homemade corn tortillas. When I am rich, I will definitely be shopping here a lot more often. I can't justify spending twice as much on groceries right now, but when I'm rich...

I also look forward to donating more when I'm rich. I love volunteering and donating to all the service projects that the church puts on, but always wish I could donate more. So thats definitely on my list.

On a side not, how many of you saw the Oprah show about Freegans? I still haven't decided how I feel about it. Check it out.

And please, prayers for the job in Chicago, if you have them.

The other day I was playing with Devan on my bed and she asked to smell my hair. I leaned over to let her get a whiff and afterwards she said "Mmmm...smells like fruit snacks!!"

Today marks the birth of a great man and one of my favorite people. Stanley I. Wallet, aka My Grandpa, Devan's GREAT Grandpa.

Stan Wallet was born this day in Brooklyn, New York. He lived there for 50 years, and in 1976, he moved to Los Angeles. In between, he served in World War II as of April 12, 1944, then on Okinawa, and was recalled as an officer and a reservist in the Korean War. He got two degrees from Long Island University; in 1949, and 1976. After 15 years in California, he moved to Florida and will be here forever.

Yesterday we went to the library. Devan picked out a book and sat down in one of the neat childrens chairs. She looked at her book and began singing "think, think, thiiiiiink. Use our minds, step at a time, do anything we wanna do..."

One night after taking her out of the bath, she ran down the hallway naked with her arms flailing behind her like a cape and shouted "To the rescue!!"

I took Devan to the mall the other day and let her play in the playground. She got stuck climbing on one of the toys and shouted, "Help help! Ayudame!"

Okay. If I ever wondered whether or not she was watching too much tv, these recent experiences have definitely confirmed it. Although, in my defense, she is a very quick learner. Definitely takes afer her father. She picks things up right away and only has to see something once to remember it. And she has a great memory. If you ask her what she ate for lunch at dinner time, she can usually remember. However, I'm still going to seriously cut back on her tv time.

I need a little advice about strollers. This might get long, so consider yourself warned. Here is my dilemma: I have three stollers. Two umbrella, and one big one that came with our travel system. I love all of these strollers and love having the option of picking one that best fits my need when I go out. However, as Devan has gotten older it has gotten harder for us to do outdoorsy things with her because a) our strollers are not all terrain, and b) she no longer fits in any type of carrier. This means that things like hiking and camping are out of the question. SO I decided to look at some jogging/all terrain strollers. The more I looked at them, the more I realized that if I do buy another stoller I will have 4 strollers for only one child. I also realized that we do plan on having another child sooner rather than later and then I will have to buy yet another stroller, only a double stroller. Then I would have 5 strollers! I don't think I can handle having 5 strollers. So then I got to thinking that maybe I could just buy a double all terrain stroller which solves both of my problems. Is it silly to have a double stroller when you only have a single child? And will an all terrain double stroller be okay when doing non all terrain activities, such as walking through the mall? If there is anyone out there that has a double stroller or an all terrain, or an all terrain double stroller, please let me know what you think. This is the one we looked at. Thanks!

It usually goes without saying that, "A bad day snowboarding is better than a good day at work"; but in this case I am not to sure about that.

A few weeks ago I came down with the 24-Hour Snowboarding bug and had to ditch work. I went with my buddy Vaughnster up to Mt. Baldy because we had won some tickets at Ski Dazzle, like we normally do (that's another story).

So we get up there and ride the rickety lift up to the top of the hill. What I mean by rickety is that the chairs are made of wood, with some of the wood being broken. The liftees are all toothless tweekers from Fontucky (allegedly) and the ticket booth is a wood shack that doubles as a meth-lab in the evenings (again, allegedly). By the time we get to the top I have repented of all my sins in anticipation that I might not survive the lift ride up.

We get to the top and we go in to phone our wives and call in sick to work, you know, the usual. We stick our boards outside the lodge and go in to use the public phones because our cell phones don't get reception there (of course).

We walk over to the bleach blond girl in a tank top (who is crying for some reason) at the gear shop, which consists of Zinka, circa 1993, some chapstick, K-Mart Brand snow gloves and some batteries (probably for use in the methamphetamine production process that goes down on the premises) and get change for the pay phone. After using the tin-can phone we begin to walk out to snowboard.

No sooner are we about to leave the building than these 2 guys come in and yell, "Someone's board just blew off the mountain"! Well of course it was mine...and of course it was before I got one run in. And just like that $500 worth of gear, gone.

So Vaughn and I spend the next 2-3 hours hiking the steep precipice that absconded away with my board, to no avail.

I would go into more detail about the search for my board, but it just pains me too much still.

There is a happy ending however. I bought a new board. The Omatic Wig-Out 161! Rated as one of Transworld's 2008 Good Wood. A $400 board I snagged for $150!


The moral of my story is NEVER go boarding at Mount Baldy! EVER!!! NOT EVEN FOR FREE!

Our original plan was to take Devan to The Happiest Place on Earth on the way home, but it was raining and we had already been to Balboa Park that morning and decided we would try Disneyland another time. Devan did pretty good on the car ride home. And even though she didn't get to go to the happiest place on earth, she did get to come with me to my happiest place on earth: Ikea! They have a brand spanking new one in Costa Mesa. We had lunch and did some shopping, but not as much as I'd liked. I told John that for Mothers Day I want to go back to Ikea. Alone. All by myself. No husbands or children allowed. And shop, for as long as I want. He said that was fine, and I'm gunna hold him to it.

We've stayed pretty busy since we came home. Today we ran lots of errands, John had a basketball game, we met John's Dad and sister for sushi and then went to a friends going away party where we stayed until 9pm! (ps- to my friends that are moving away- you need to start a blog!) Devan had such a blast playing with all her friends. She would literally stay up all night if we let her. Oh, and I got new shoes!

A friend recently told me that it's been over four days since I posted last, so I thought I'd get some new material up here. However before I do, I'd like to mention that my wonderful hubby is also a contributer on this blog, so he is much more past due than I. He still has a snowboard story to share.

Today was a good day. I got a big box on my doorstep from Crate and Barrel. My awesome sisters in law got me a gift card for Christmas and I just recently got around to using it. I got some great items, including this tray. During the summer we usually eat outside almost every night, and this tray will be perfect for carrying things to the table. I also got some cute soup bowls, and cupcake stencils. It's time for me to go take my little one on a walk, but later I will post a story about her chipped teeth and subsequent trip to the dentist! Stay tuned.

Today was a good day. First, this morning, Devan got a visit from her Grandma, who didn't come empty handed. My Mother in law came with a balloon and chocolate. Devan heard the door bell and came down the stairs to see who it was. As soon as she saw the balloon she exclaimed "My balloon!" as if she had been searching all over for it. (Devan is obsessed with balloons, and assumes any balloon in sight is automatically hers.)


Next, I spent all morning baking. More like all day. I love baking. It's more like a hobby for me I find, however I just wish I didn't eat everything I bake. A Valentines cake:

I also made some lollipops. I used this recipe, however my candy thermometer is broken and I cooked them a little longer than I should have. They came out OK. I wish they were better, but I think I will try another batch one day. I'm sure little kids would love them, Devan didn't seem to notice they didn't come out right. Now if only I had 19 more kids so I could get rid of them.

When John got home from work the day got better. First, his new snowboard came. I wish I could say that I bought him a snowboard for Valentines day, but I didn't. He bought it himself, only after the devastating loss of his old board. Maybe he will blog about it one day. So he got a new board and he also bought a rose for both Devan and me! What a sweet guy. Devan is so lucky to have a father who has set the precedent for all her future Valentines days!

Next we went out to dinner at Wood Ranch. We went early enough to beat the crowds and had a tasty meal. After dinner we visited with John's family. John's sister is home from college for the weekend and brought Devan a nice Valentines day gift. She works at Gap, and got Devan some super cute clothes. Shout out, Adrienne! I don't even know if she reads the blog, but thanks again for the awesome gift!

We had such a great day. We were so lucky to share the day with our wonderful, generous family members. I can't even express how grateful I am for our awesome families.

Now, since this post was so full of lovey dovey-ness, I feel like I have to dedicate it to our dear friend who will soon be moving away, Mr. Annonymous. I know how much you love hearing about things like lollipops, roses and heart shaped cakes, so this one's for you!

It's been warm here. All you local readers know this. I'm talking warm. Warm enough to go to the beach, warm enough to have a picnic, and absolutely warm enough for homemade lemonade.

Yesterday my awesome in laws came by in the morning to pick up Devan. They had her all morning, which left John and I with some free time. We decided to go to the mall. We did some shopping and even got to go into places we normally wouldn't when we have our little one along with us, like Pottery Barn. Thats where I found the mugs for my lemonade. They were on clearance so I bought four. I'm regretting not buying more and I think I might go back tomorrow.

We didn't stop enjoying the warmth with just lemonade. We blew bubbles, wore shorts and colored the backyard with sidewalk chalk. Devan was happy to get out of the house for a while. I know it probably won't, but I hope this weather lasts until the real summer comes!

Here is the only problem: She doesn't sleep in it. If anyone out there has any advice on how to get an almost 2 year old to sleep in her own bed at night, let me know. And just so you know, I've tried almost everything including the "cry it out" theory. She cries it out, alright. She cries it out ALL NIGHT LONG.

Anyway, on to a happier subject. Devan has become quite the problem solver. This morning when we woke up she asked for a bottle. She hasn't had a morning bottle in quite some time. In fact, the only time she has a bottle is before bed. So this morning when she asked I told her that the bottles were all dirty. She looked at me and said "Wash 'em".

Later, when I was asking her what she wanted for breakfast, she replied "Rolls". (A few days ago I made some rolls.) I told her we didn't have any more because we ate them all. She then said " Cook em!" What a little problem solver. Now if she could only solve the problem of her not sleeping in her bed!

(The 'G' on the card does not stand for girl.) I love it when the things I make come out they way I think they will. The opposite it true as well. I've had many "this is SO not what I pictured" projects.

On a side note, I bought Devan a pack of six plastic cups yesterday at where else but Target, and she LOVES them. She played with them all night. Cups. Seriously, who needs toys?

Lately I've had this yearning to make trifle. The only problem was that I didn't have a trifle bowl. So I began looking when I was out but never found one that I loved enough to justify spending 20+ dollars on. I came really close to buying this one but I was able to talk myself out of it, saying that I surely could find one cheaper. And I did. I was at Ross the other day and came across this bowl. It wasn't exactly a trifle bowl, but I knew it could serve the same purpose. I got more excited when I picked it up and noticed it's weight and thickness. I was feeling more and more like this was the bowl for me. Then I looked at the price tag and knew this was the bowl for me. 99 cents! How could I say no to that? It's like it was meant to be. I always get this great sense of triumph when I know that my thriftiness has paid off. Needless to say, we made trifle. We meaning I started it and got sidetracked with making dinner so John finished it for me. If I haven't already mentioned it, I have the best hubby! Here is our creation:




We used this recipe only because I already had the ingredients. There are better recipes, I'm sure, but this one came out really good.


On a side note, I 've been working on more Valentines decorations. I haven't been that diligent, but I have made a few things including some heart garland for our mantle and some of these little ornaments to hang from our kitchen window. I like these because they require no sewing and are super easy.



Have a great weekend!

Lately I've been trying to enforce the "No TV on Sunday" rule with Devan. It's been hard this year with church starting earlier, because now she doesn't nap before church, which means we don't really have time to get ready without her around. I have been letting her watch some cartoons while we get ready but this past Sunday I decided that there would be no cartoon watching for the entire day.
After breakfast we sat down on the couch with her and some books and toys and had a little conversation that went like this:

Devan: "Watch a tv?"
Me: "No."
Devan: "Watch a tv, mama?"
Me: "No tv, it's Sunday"
Devan: "Watch a tv, pees?"
Me: "No tv today, Dev."
Devan: "What else??"

Maybe we should cut out more than just Sundays.

So the other night I was playing some Call of Duty 4 (henceforth to be referred to as COD 4, because only Noobs call it by it's full name) with "Pa" & "Xcel" and I noticed that I had leveled up quite a bit! I am a decent player, but my stats never got so good so quickly. It was very confusing... At first I thought to myself, "Well, Mr. Wallet (I always refer to myself in the third person)... you must be as good as your stats say! You do have cat like reflexes and a hair trigger. And you are pretty handsome (not that that has anything to do with video games)! You must have improved without even noticing." So, I felt pretty good about myself.

Then the other day I faked like I was really sick so I could get out of work early and play some COD 4. When I got home I set down my leather briefcase and hung up my derby and slicker and let out the obligatory, "I'm home!" There was no reply. Morgan was napping.

That's when I went into the family room and discovered the truth about my stats. It was then I heard the guttural outbursts of , "Ya, take that and like it!", "Oh, snap", "Woot" and "Where did that guy come from?"

It was Devan Grace, and she had been sneaking out of her bed during nap time to get her fix. I was shocked, confused and mostly mad... because how did she learn to snipe like that!

Here are the first few projects finished in 2008!

First this blanket, that was inspired by this one:


Next, a sweet flannel baby blanket and matching onesie for a little boy that will arrive sometime next month:

And last, and little something I whipped up today to add to my Valentines decorations. I saw this on this site.

Happy Tuesday!

The other day I asked Devan (who's not even two) if she could count to ten for me. Apparently ten was too easy because she counted to 17 all by herself! She's definitely John's daughter.

Devan got so many great gifts this year, but there are a few that she really really loves.

Her mail box set. She loves getting, receiving and sending mail. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa W!

Her easel. We got her all kinds of markers, crayons, paints and stickers to go along with the easel. She has created many masterpieces, and we have spent many hours drawing things like " appy faces" and "moon stars" for her.

Her Doodle Pro. Bigger and better than her old small doodle, and this one includes cool shapes, too. Thanks Q!

Her baby stroller. Devan loves to push around her babies in this stroller, sometimes very quickly resulting in collisions, or even worse, her babies being ejected from the stroller. This doesn't seem to bother her. Thanks, Grandma!

This week, Vons had their Keebler cookies on sale for $2 a bag. I happened to stumble upon this little treat while planning my weekly grocery list. That's a coupon for one dollar off, which Vons doubled to two dollars off which means the cookies were free. I printed two coupons and got two bags of cookies for free! Now that's a sweet deal.

Last night John's parents called to invite us to dinner with them at The Cheesecake Factory. When we arrived there was, as usual, a long wait. So we walked right into Sisley and they seated all eight of us right away. We had a delicious meal and I even kept my resolution and refrained from having any dessert! So this morning we were out running errands and John's Mom called and offered to pay for us to take Devan to Fo Fo Figily's since it was a rainy day. She had so much fun running around with all the big kids and going down big slides and what not. Devan is so lucky to have such generous grandparents!

On Christmas day after we dropped off my sister at the airport we stopped by UCLA to take Devan on a little tour. John had a fun time showing her around his alma mater.

Most of the photos we took looked something like this:

However we did get a few good ones including some of the beatiful architecture:

This morning, while my family and I were gathered in the kitchen eating pancakes for breakfast, my Mother asked a fun trivia question.

Mom: "Does anyone know what George Washington called pancakes?"

John: "Hotcakes"

Me: "Flap Jacks"

John: "Freedom Cakes"

Mom: "No. Hoe cakes."

Everyone: "Hoe cakes?"

Me: " Ho cakes, as in, skanky ho?"

Devan: "Skanky ho!!"

Lots of loud laughter ensued with Devan's comment. My Mom then explained that George Washington used to cook pancakes on a hoe over the fire. And then, just for kicks, Devan shouted "Skanky Ho!" again. What a wonderful way to begin the Sunday before Christmas.

I've been feeling very festive these past few days. It actually rained a bit here which made it feel more Christmas-like. Devan even got to try out the raincoat I bought her last year . I haven't gotten around to making as many gifts as I'd like, but I have found time to squeeze in a few little crafts, like this ornament I made for Devan. Nothing fancy, it was the first time I had embroidered anything since I was about ten. My sister came into town with her friend Misty who has been known to read our blog. Shout out, Misty!

I've also been baking like crazy. So far I've made cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, chocolate covered pretzels and christmas tree shaped rice krispie treats. Making treats is much more fun when you have a child old enough to eat them!

I think once Christmas is over I am going to start right away making gifts and crafts for next year. Have you seen Sew Mama Sew? There are so many cute tutorials over there I think if I start now I will have some ready for next Christmas!

The other day I asked Devan:

"Who is your favorite, Mommy or Grandma?"

Devan: "Quinn."

Me: "Who is your favorite, Mommy or Daddy?"

Devan: "Quinn."

Me: Who is your favorite, Grandma or Grandpa?"

Devan: "Quinn!!"

And just to be sure it wasn't a fluke, I asked her again later that night.

"Who is your favorite, Mommy or Grandma?"

Devan: "Quinn!!"

After looking around in some old files of pictures I found this little video that Quinn took when Devan was just a few weeks old. Then I realized that Quinn has been brainwashing Devan since she was born!

We finally got around to putting up the lights this weekend. Nothing fancy, but at least were adding to the Christmas spirit.

I love Christmas lights. Devan is beginning to love them too. We take her out each night when the sun goes down to look at our lights and she never wants to come back in. Also, she's discovered new places to play in the front yard after we put up the lights and were climbing around in bushes and what not. I love the lights, and I always feel a little sad when people start taking their lights down. It makes the neighborhood seem lonely and dark.

On a lighter note, the leaves are finally starting to change color and fall! The best part about this is that it is still so warm that we get to play in the leaves without them being muddy and wet and cold. Hurray for fall!

Today in the mail I received a card for $10 off any purchase at Victorias Secret. So, when John got home from work we took a little trip to the mall. I finally decided on this product.

I didn't get all of those, only the body mist, which was $12 and so I only ended up paying $2 for it. I am a sucker for anything that smells edible. I have collected over the years many lotions, perfumes and body sprays ranging in scents from cotton candy to apricot. I wanted to find something a little different, but this one smelled so stinking good I couldn't resist. It is called strawberry fizz and it smells delicious. Here are some other of my favorites.

As we were leaving the mall I saw someone eating the Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes at The Cheesecake Factory. Again, I couldn't resist. ( I usually have more self control. I don't know what happened tonight). SO delicious!!

This year I made a Thankful tree. It turned out pretty cute:

I picked some old branches from a tree in the back yard and cut out leaf shapes from some card stock.

Every time I walk by it I pick up a pen and write something on a leaf and hang it up. This picture is the first day I made it, it has lots more leaves now! Happy Thanksgiving!

PS Any Carrie Underwood fans out there? I just downloaded the new album and its a keeper!