find joy in the journey

countdown tag

10 years ago -- let's see, february 1998 . . . I was a sophomore in college, had just broken up with my boyfriend in January, and was living a lonely existence.  All of my roommates had boyfriends and I was left, well, alone.  Not my favorite semester of college.  But happiness would come 3 months later when a certain boy from Idaho moved into my ward.

9 daily uses -- computer. toothpaste. tweezers. cell phone.  shampoo. hair dryer. dishwasher. scriptures. tv.

8 things on my to do list -- laundry, take sheets off guest bed & wash, blog about parents' visit, wipe Anna's nose, pre-class assignment for Library of Memories (organize digital photos), try to shake off this sickness, ironing, catch up with blogs on google reader.

7 places I have lived -- Gustine, CA.  Deseret Towers @ BYU.  Helaman Halls @ BYU.  Regency Apartments in Provo, UT.  Wymount Terrace in Provo, UT.  Beaverton, OR.  Here.

6 things I enjoy -- starburst, a clean kitchen, good-smelling home, a cool & fluffy pillow, happy family, completed projects.

5 facts you don't know about me -- When I was 9 or 10 I wore a mermaid fin and sang "Part of Your World" in a ward talent show.  I watch SNL every week.  I have a dress from 1995 that I wear to church occasionally (haven't been ticketed by the fashion police yet).  I wear earrings 3-4 times a month.  I have a box full of my Cabbage Patch Kid and Barbie clothes from back in the day.   

4 jobs I've had -- paper route, receptionist, receptionist, stay at home mom.

3 bad habits -- picking at my face.  aimlessly surfing the web at night.  uncompleted projects.

2 books I last finished -- The Kite Runner.  Eclipse.

1 favorite -- The Pioneer Woman's pico de gallo (minus the jalepeno seeds).

And I tag anyone with an "E" in their name.  :)

casting

Say hello to the Cullen family:

(thanks Michelle for cluing me in -- it made my day!)  What a great sneak peek.  Although, I do have to say I have mixed feelings about the casting choices.  My quick thoughts:

Emmett -- No/Maybe.  I don't think he's beefy enough.  And he looks too mean here.  In the books he had a playful side to him and I'm not sure I see any glimpse of that here.

Rosalie -- No.  Not pretty enough.  Rosalie is supposed to be stunningly beautiful, the kind that stops people in their tracks.  Bella frequently talks about being in awe of her beauty, and feeling insecure around her (well, for multiple reasons).

Esme -- No. No. No, no.  Maybe they think they nabbed the "look" with this one, but I can't stand this actress.  She was in several episodes of Grey's Anatomy (Ava) and I never cared for her.  She talks with her teeth closed.  I hate that.

Edward -- Not my favorite picture of him, but I'm holding out hope that he will do the part justice!

Carlisle -- Yes. Yes.  Good job folks. 

Alice -- Yes!  Right on - petite, the dark spiky hair, I just hope she has the fun personality to go along with the look.

Jasper -- Yes.  He's got some pretty impressive hair.

Some of my opinions are probably due to the fact that I spent the latter half of 2007 gawking over Stephenie Meyer's actor picks.  So it's hard to wrap my mind around another person's vision.  We shall see.  Thankfully, Esme has a small role so I won't have to see too much of her in the movie. 

{here's a link to the press release - february 19th}

chased by angels

Yesterday I attended our Stake Relief Society Women's Conference and I have to say one of the highlights was listening to this older woman speak to us in the most delightful English accent.  She was just one of those women who had a never-ending smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.  There was one thing she said that I particularly enjoyed.  She says that when she thinks of us women and mothers and just how busy we are -- running around, driving kids here and there, cleaning, and just busy, busy . . . . She imagines that there is a little group of angels following each of us around, just waiting for us to slow down long enough that they can give us some revelation! 

How true!  And this is something I've been thinking about for a long time.  Needing to carve out time in my day to just slow down, be still, and listen. 

I brought along a little notebook that I use for multiple purposes:  lesson notes, gratitude journal, favorite quotes, happy things in my day, etc.  And I flipped back in the pages to find some notes I jotted down in May 2007 from a Deseret Book pamphlet titled "Quiet Moments", by Patricia Holland.  She says so many good things.  All about the need to make time in our lives for peace & calm so that we can have a chance of connecting with God.

To connect with God and be filled with his fulness, to resist conforming to the world (Romans 12:2), requires a settled, calm mind, a spirit of contentment, a willingness to surrender to God's will.

She speaks about finding quiet - turning off the tv, unplug the phone, read scriptures, pray, meditate, focus on mind & will & presence of God.

By investing time in this kind of communication you may offset untold hours, days, weeks, and months of struggle or sorrow or pain.

"Meditation is the language of the soul."  David O. McKay

We need to simplify and spiritualize and celestialize.  If at least some portion of our day is not turned to heaven, then we have emptiness awaiting us.

When we connect with God, then we will connect with others honestly and compassionately.  When we pay the price to see God, we become aware of how closely connected we are to each other.

Allow yourself to turn a few things down and turn a few things off.  Stop what you are so frantically doing and go into your private wilderness.

Just perfect words.  I love the imagery of going into my own private wilderness.  Does such a thing exist?  I'm looking for it.  Like I said, it's a goal of mine to find time in my day to let those angels catch up to me and take a little breather.

v-day

okay, I've just got some more valentine's day stuff to share.  And to my defense, all the photos from my last v-day post were taken the day before actual valentine's day.

Anna says, "Happy Valentine's Day!"  Doesn't she look so cute!  And I am absolutely shocked that she kept that headband in her hair all day long!  It's a Valentine's Day miracle!

Conner had a v-day party at school and claims "this was the best day of my life."  He also told us on the way home from school:  "Valentine's day is not just about chocolate and cards.  It's about showing love and kindness."

Payton was happy to get Monsters Inc. on DVD (our old VHS copy died a long time ago).  Since v-day he has watched it 5 times and laughs in all the same places.  And his favorite word is still pickle.

I had this great plan of setting up the chocolate fountain after school for us to snack on all afternoon/evening.  Marshmallows, rice krispie treats, strawberries, bananas, Oreo Uh-oh cookies.  We melted the chocolate, poured it into the pre-heated fountain, turned on the motor, and  . . . . .nothing.  Several minutes later, still no waterfall of decadent chocolate.  We scooped the chocolate out, took the thing apart to make sure I assembled it correctly, tried it all over again.  Still no luck.  Our diagnosis:  the heating element was dying as confirmed by the chocolate getting thicker and thicker right before our eyes.  Oh well.  It has been over a year since I used the thing (yikes!), so I shouldn't be too surprised.  But don't worry, the chocolate did not go to waste.  We I hovered over that bowl of melted chocolate until our my belly was so full that the plans for cooking Alaskan King Crab (a holiday gift from Scott's employer) were scratched.  The kids were served Fruit Loops for dinner and were smiling from ear to ear.

Scott came home from work early.  I had no idea because I was at Conner's v-day party.  While I was away he dug around in my scrapbook supplies to make a card and set up this incredibly thoughtful Valentine's Day gift to surprise me when I got home.

For the longest time I've been telling him that I was craving an Italian Soda.  So he went all out and we are stocked for Italian Sodas for the next 5 years.  10 bottles of Torani syrup (2-strawberry, 3-raspberry, 2-mango, pineapple, coconut, peach), a case of club soda, and a half-gallon of half-and-half in our fridge that won't expire until April something.  And did you see that he arranged it all in the shape of a heart?!  How cute!

Also, Payton brought home a project from pre-school with 3 hanging hearts that reads "Jesus loves you."  As we were going through his papers I read it to Anna and that has now become her favorite phrase.  Anywhere we go she randomly yells, "Jesus loves you!"  It is hilarious, and oh so cute.

shannon brown

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 2,026 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

2026 people in the U.S.A. are also named Shannon Brown.

Statistically, Shannon is the 190th most popular first name.  And 81.4 percent of people with the first name of Shannon are female.  Even though I've heard of men with this name (mostly on tv), I can't help but feel sorry for them. 

Statistically, Brown is the 4th most popular last name with 1.8 million people in the U.S.

So I plugged in my maiden name just for fun, thinking Andersen is also a pretty common name.  But surprisingly it dropped waaaay down on the list to 962nd most popular.  I think it was the -en that did it.  Which is okay with me.  I always liked that we were different, even if it meant always saying my name "it's Andersen, with an -en."

Now how's this for original -- there are only 39 people in the U.S. with the name Shannon Andersen.  I always knew I was special. :)

And as for the accuracy of this information, here's what the website says:  How accurate is this program?  Well, more accurate than a Magic 8-ball.  Less accurate than distributing and collecting 300 million surveys.

And for anyone who, for personal safety reasons, might worry, "oh my gosh, she's advertising her full name all over the web!"  I don't worry, because . . . . it's already there.  Just look at your web address bar.  And it doesn't take much to click on the "mom" link and see my maiden over there.  The secret's out.

it's all about the pink

Valentine's Day always sneaks up on me.  And  inevitably it passes with me kicking myself for not taking advantage of a perfectly good reason to adorn anything and everything (my home, homemade treats, the kids) with pink.  And red.  And glitter and hearts.  So the last couple years I've tried to do better.  Nothing crazy.  Just enough to feel lovey.

 

(Anna made this bracelet in nursery on Sunday)

and now, modeling the surplus treat bags I made for Payton's pre-school party our resident clowns.

sorry, no funny faces from me.  Happy Valentine's Day!

victory!

Three weeks ago, two small boys embarked on the ultimate journey.  A journey that would require courage, diligence, patience, teamwork, and a steady hand.  The challenges presented by such a task would make most grown men cower in defeat . . . .women, mothers, have been brought to tears just by the shear enormity of the task.  Would this be too great of an undertaking for a 7 and 5 year old boy?  Only time would tell. . . . .

After 11 hours and 53 minutes the last piece was placed at 3:40pm on Saturday, February 9th.  These two boys have reigned victorious and will forever be remembered for their mastery in constructing Lego set 6211:  The Star Destroyer!

(notice the Doritos dust on Conner's face?  I told you.)

many happy hours of play to come.

_________________________________________________________________

and what was Anna doing during all this building?  Looking cute.  In her hooded sweatshirt dress with "two pockets."

saturday a.m.

5:00am -- the alarm goes off.  I think to myself, "I am not getting out of bed."  Thankfully it was not for me.  Scott quietly retreats downstairs to engage in a World of Warcraft quest with his brother.

6:30am -- From down the hallway, "Mooooom, is it time for me to get up?!"  From the opposite end of the hallway, "A time to get up?!"  "Mooooom, is it time for me to get up?!"  "A time to get up?!"  "Mooooom, is it time for me to get up?!"  "A time to get up?!" 

You get the picture.  This continued until . . . . well, who knows how long.  10 minutes, maybe.  20? 

7:00am -- At my bedside it's Conner, "mom, can we get up now?"  "YES.  It's Saturday, you can get up and go watch tv.  Now go out."

7:05am -- Conner, with arms making large expressive gestures:  "Mom!  I miss our old house.  Because in our old house I knew where everything was!  And I knew how to work the remote control on the tv and push all the buttons.  And now I can't figure it out!  I push the 'on' button and the blue circle light turns on but the tv won't turn on!"  "Conner, you just need to lift your hand up real high and push the on button."  Giggling in relief, "Oh, okay."

7:06am -- "Mom, I turned on the tv but how do I change the channel?"  "This button." 

7:07am -- "Mom, I changed the channels but all I could find was football.  I don't know how to get to the WB."  "Why don't you try channel 32."  Walking out of the room, "Oh wait, but how do I  . . . ."  "Push 3, then 2."

7:08am -- I give up.  It's time to get out of bed.

So is it obvious that we never let our kids touch the remote control? 

The rule has always been that the kids can't get out of bed on saturday until 7am, but on this particular Saturday morning they have forgotten everything.  As annoying as it was to hear Payton yelling at 6:30am, with Anna as his echo, (both from their beds) I have to admit that it was pretty entertaining.  And Conner's sad, sad, story probably would've had me cracking up if I wasn't half-asleep. 

I have to think that these are the days we'll remember.  All I have to do is look back on this crazy, disfunctional morning (I can still hear Payton & Anna's voices in my head) and I smile.  It probably helps that I'm an all-right morning person. 

This can be a pretty crazy house.  Filled with noise, running feet, legos, spirited renditions of the "Super Why" song, wads of un-rolled toilet paper on the floor, big imaginations, and faces & fingers caked with Doritos dust.  Amidst all the chaos, every once in a while they slow down (usually to watch Clifford or Super Why) and I get to capture sweet moments like this.  And it gives me a chance to take it all in and realize just how lucky & blessed I am to be living the life that I have.  Albeit messy, loud, and sometimes sleep-deprived . . . . These are the days we'll remember.

book tag

I was tagged by Lisa.  I think this is such a unique tag idea.

1. Pick up the nearest book (one of at least 123 pages)
2. Open the page to 123
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 3 sentences
5. Tag  5 people.

The book nearest to me right now is The Big Picture by Stacy Julian. Not nearly as exciting as Lisa's book - Modern Iraqi Arabic.  But here goes:

Design Notes:  The formality of the left side of this layout works with the bulletin board collage because the bulletin board communicates school - it is in harmony with the subject of the page.  There is a visual triangle of dot patterned paper that also acts as a visual connector.  Design Notes:  Little touches can make a big difference!

So now I tag . . . hmm, how about:  Paige, Rochelle, Sheila, Tamra, and Tiffini.

twilight updates

acckk!!  I'm so excited.

A release date for Breaking Dawn has been announced!  12:01 a.m. on August 2, 2008.  {can you say midnight party?}  Mark your calendars and scratch out the rest of the week for some intense reading.  Okay, maybe just 1 or 2 days for some of you.  But I need a whole week to really savor it!  And get this, you can already pre-order your copy of Breaking Dawn on amazon.com.  That is crazy.  But it looks like we'll be able to get a taste of Breaking Dawn on May 31 when a sneak peek of the first chapter becomes available.  Go here for the official press release.

Get the Breaking Dawn count-down clock here.  I'm thinking about it.  But also considering how much of a dork I want to look like.

Also, here's an interview with Kristin Stewart (Bella) about the new movie.  It sounds like they are doing a great job with it -- the way she talks about their Edward (he's really getting into the character), and the stunts (running through actual treetops - no CGI).  And she talks about filming books 2, 3, and 4 like it's a done deal.  We can only dream.  This movie is set to release on December 12th.

Oh, and if you haven't heard already, here is Edward. (scroll down to December 11, 2007)  Here's a good photo of Bella and Edward side-by-side.  I think they go together pretty well!

Here's another article about other casting announcements.

And that's all I got.  Well, I think that any hope I had of not appearing like a dork has been dashed to pieces with the compiling of this post.  What the heck.  Check out my sweet Breaking Dawn countdown clock on the bottom right!  176 days to go!

BBQ pulled pork

3 lbs. boneless pork roast, well-trimmed

1 package McCormick Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork Seasoning

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1.  Place pork in slow cooker.

2.  Mix all the stuff together until blended and pour over pork.

3.  Cover and cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH.

4.  Remove pork, shred it using 2 forks.  Return pork to slow cooker, mix and heat with sauce before serving on buns.

These are really, really good pulled pork sandwiches.  Pretty much just amazing.  We love 'em!  In fact, it's sitting in my crockpot today.  Safeway had pork roasts for .99/pound (with bone-in) so I could not resist.  But beware it does make a ton - 10 servings.  I wonder if you could put some of the leftovers in the freezer for another time.  I have no idea - I am not trained in the ways of freezer meals.

To get the little photo above I hopped over to www.mccormick.com and discovered that they have a website full of recipes.  Something to keep in mind!

february 2nd

The groundhog did not see his shadow.

It snowed (hard) from 6:30am until 4pm.

And we celebrated the 5th birthday of this handsome little boy!

To say that he was excited about his birthday would be an understatement.  He's been counting down the days for the last 2 weeks.  The first slurred words that come from his groggy body each morning are, "guess what, only ___ days until my birthday."

On the kids' birthdays I like to do a little decorating, so it feels festive-like.  There's the Happy Birthday banner I put up each year, maybe a few streamers, and usually balloons.  I try to get things up the night before so they can awake to the celebration and feel all special.  And the kids quite like it, and plan on it.  The day before the birthday bash Conner whispered in my ear, "In the morning when we wake up I'll keep Payton busy in our room so you can get the party ready. Okay?"   Okay Conner.  Thanks for the assist.

This year Payton also got to have his very first birthday party.  Because he loves writing his name and the letter P, and the fact that for a very long time Anna called him "P", the theme of the party was The Letter P.  So everything we did, ate, and gave away started with the letter P.  We made paper airplanes, played with the parachute, went on a picture scavenger hunt to find things like piano, potty, pineapple, popcorn, peter pan DVD, pennies and pillows, played walk the plank, and whacked a treasure chest pinata.  We decorated a giant cookie pizza with frosting and toppings (gummi worms, M&M's, and sprinkles) and drank punch.  Ahead of time we made P's on paper and with vinyl and plastered them all over the place for decoration.  There were presents, which Payton loved.  And I have to say this was the most entertaining part of the party.  Imagine a bunch of 4-5 year old boys huddled closely together and most of them want to tell Payton what their gift is before he even opens it.  Payton got a little frustrated and said, "don't tell me what the present is, okay?!"  Scott and I had a good laugh.  Oh, and don't forget goodie bags filled with pez, play-doh, and pirate eye patches.

Here's that snow I was telling you about.

No snowmen or snow angels today.  But there were Hot Wheels tracks to assemble and test repeatedly, a Whac-a-Mole Tower to beat to death, watercolor paints & paper and plans for the perfectly drawn pickle, and a Leapster to steal away every ounce of attention left in this boy.

5 is big kid business and Payton knows it.  When it was time for cake and he was handed the usual small fork he said, "Actually, I can have a big fork because I'm a big kid now."  He is getting to be a big kid and it's hard to believe that he is growing so fast.  Thankfully he still likes to cuddle with me, and he still has squishy arms, and he has the best excited face/voice/eye-popping reaction.  We love him and are so glad that he is our 5-year-old boy!

birthday dinner:  pepperoni pizza

birthday cake:  chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, so it could be "camouflaged."