How to Pretend You're on Vacation

1. Chop 3 medium potatoes

2. Boil unattended for at least 20 min or until they burn

3. Open all the windows in the house even though it's cold outside

The resulting smell will match exactly that of a hotel room.

Now, go to bed and pretend you are going to Disneyland the next day.

No? You'll just have to take my word for it...

We're silly.

What I Wore

Cardi: Kohls, Dress: Target, Necklace: Old Navy (refashioned by me), Shoes: Payless

This is what I wore Easter Sunday. No new Easter dress for me this year. : (

Jacket: Kohls, White shirt: Express, Pants: Aeropostale, Boots: Steve Madsen, Necklace: Yellow Blackbird

This looked a lot better in my head.

Shirt: Old Navy, Cardi: Old Navy, Skirt: Old??, Shoes: Forever Young Shoes, Necklace: Old Navy (altered by me)

I stole this look from my SIL. She has this same top in a different color and wore hers in an outfit like this so I did too.

Top: Rue 21 (hand me down!), Jacket: Old Navy, Jeans: Old Navy, Shoes: Target

This is what I wore on Easter Sunday after church. Man, I love these sandals!

Shirt: Old??, Jacket: Kohls? Pants: Aero Shoes: Hand me down from Dress Barn

Not a great outfit, but great shoes!

Dress: Ross, Jacket: Ross, Necklace: Charlotte Russ, Belt: Ross, Shoes: Steve Madden hand-me-downs

I love this dress. I get so many compliments on this dress every time I wear it.

Cardi: Forever 21, Pants: Old Navy, Shoes: Payless, Necklace: Gift (Aero, I think)

Wahoo for rockin the $2.50 pants. If only the snow would stay way so I could wear them more.

I hope you are having a GREAT week! It's almost May! School is almost out! It's going to be warm!

Real Simple Workouts (reviewed)

You know how you always see those workouts in magazines that claim to be the best moves that only take a short amount of time? The other night I was flipping through a copy of Real Simple from April 2011 and it had a 15 minute workout in it with all sorts of moves to strengthen some part of your body- I didn't pay that much attention. But later I thought, "I wonder if those workouts are any good..." I looked it up online and found that Real Simple has several of these "15 Minutes and You're Done" workouts. I decided to try them out on the jr. high exercise class I teach.

#1 Trim Your Inner Thighs

I actually liked this workout. It has several types of squats and some exercises I had never done before. The last one burned! The majority of the students gave it a thumbs up. It's worth your time.

#2 Work Your Abs

If you already know ab exercises you can skip this article. It's pretty much the same old ab moves you are going to get everywhere else. It may be a good workout but is nothing exciting if you are a regular exerciser.

#3 Strengthen Your Lower Back

There were some very unique exercises in this article. The scorpion stretch felt really good. I go through phases of having back problems and will totally use this again. The students didn't like it as much because they couldn't "feel" it like they can in their muscles.

#4 Tone Your Shoulders
This was a pretty good workout. The warm up and cool down were just as hard as the workout!


There are a few others. I didn't do the glute one with the kids for obvious reasons...

I don't like the "and you're done" part. Doing one of these workouts in a day is NOT going to cut it. Adults need at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity at least 3 days per week. But when we put all four together it made for a pretty nice strength and tone workout- especially to get out of a rut of doing the same workouts over and over.

A Glimpse of Easter Weekend

My mom made this cute centerpiece.

She made these baskets on her Silhouette machine.

I made these delicious ham and egg cups for breakfast.

Find the recipe here.

Husband's Easter basket. The bunny visits him every year!

Some men in our neighborhood did a service activity to trim trees. I collected a few of the branches from our trees and put them in a vase.

I love the bit of spring it brings to our house.

I cut some tulips to take to my grandma. She has been very sick in the hospital. However, she is doing much better now and I am so happy! I love her so much!

My mother-in-law made this cute display.

She also made this incredible cake.

Susannah is hiding eggs.

Husband has too much fun hiding eggs

The kids are so cute!

This one can't get enough eggs fast enough.

Grandpa is helping get the hard to reach eggs

Two of my cute nieces

I love this shot.

I love this one too.

These two are worn out.

Precious.


I love Easter because we make a bigger effort to remember the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. His sacrifice for our sins and pains gives me so much hope. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much and wants us to return to him so badly that he sent his Son to pay the price of our sins. I know that if we repent and come unto him, we can be forgiven and return to live with God someday. He can also ease our burdens because He knows what we are going through. He is ready. We just need to let Him in our hearts.

Happy Easter!

A Few of my Favorite Shoes

The girls over at Sisters 4 Say More is More are having a shoe linky party this week. I thought it might be fun to play along. Here are a few shoes from my closet.

If you have read my blog at all, you know all about these boots. But how could I do a shoe post without including them? They are Steve Madden from DSW.

I bought these white wedges from Payless to wear to my brother's wedding dinner, at which I ended up looking like a clown in my brightly colored maxi dress while everyone else wore really class clothes. Oh well...

I have had these wedges since 2005 and still wear them all the time. Love them! They are from Kohl's.

My yellow "wedgies" (as my grandma calls them) are getting a little worn out but I still wear them and love them. I love yellow shoes! I think I got these at a store called Forever Young Shoes.

These beauties were only $4 at the thrift store. They remind me of the shoes worn by Danielle in Ever After. Love that movie. Had to have the shoes. I don't wear them very often though. For some reason I have a hard time mixing them in the wardrobe...

I just got these new sandals from Target. Aren't they amazing?

Of course, I had to put my red heels in. They were only $5, as you have already read here. I should wear them more.

I bought a new pair today but I have to let shoes sit in my closet for awhile before I decide for sure I want to keep them... Actually I have 3 new pairs sitting in there waiting for me...


Go link up your shoes! Hurry, I think Monday is the last day!

What I Wore

I tried a lot harder this week...

Cardigan: Old Navy, Skirt: JC Penny (old!), Boots: Steve Madden, Necklace: Made by me

This is what I wore today! It was a fun remix for me, I haven't worn this skirt in a very long time.

Shirt: Wet Seal, Necklace: Charlotte Russe, Pants: Old Navy ($2.50!), Shoes: Forever Young Shoes

I am so excited about my new crop pants! Only $2.50! I thought this was a fun spring outfit.

Dress: Ross, Cardigan: Papaya, Shoes: Target, Necklace: Made by me

I just got these new sandals at Target. Oh how I love them! This is my spring version of this dress. Click here to see the "winterized" version.

Cardigan: Old Navy, Jacket: Old Navy, Pants: Aeropostale, Shoes: Target, Belt: JC Penny, Necklace: Charlotte Russe

So I have heard that denim with denim is all the rage this season so I tried it out. Does it work for me?

Shirt: Ross, Jeans: Wet Seal, Jacket: Target, Shoes: Mervyns

You can't see all the embellishments of this shirt, too bad. It is covered with all sorts of hardware. I guess I was trying to look edgy here, ha ha.

Shirt: Old Navy, Jacket: Target, Jeans: Wet Seal, Shoes: Ross

This was a simple Saturday look. This t-shirt was only $1.

Linking up with Pleated Poppy!

Quick and Simple: Wood Bead Necklace

The other day I thought my outfit could use some type of wooden necklace. With church starting in 30 minutes I didn't have too much time. I grabbed some wood beads out of my stash, strung them on a chain, and voila! I wood necklace for the outfit. Quick and simple.

Come back later tonight to see the whole outfit in my "What I Wore" post... Happy Tuesday!

In bloom!

I finally have tulips in bloom. Spring has now officially sprung.

Fully open at mid-day

Pretty soon, the entire row will be in bloom.

Pink tulips are so pretty!

Husband was hard at work fixing the doorbell while I was playing with my camera. He is such a hard worker. He teaches school, own his own flooring company, serves others all the time, and is always doing chores around the house. Truth be told, he does more housework than I do... love you!