Goodbye Kyler doggie

Sunday was our last day with our dog, Kyler. He wasn't feeling well so the kids pampered him, gave him a good brushing, really enjoyed him. Who knew that would be his last gift to us? One great spring day in the shade with the people who loved him was a great last day. He fell asleep that night and just didn't wake up. Kyler was old, like 14 years old, and was around before I was. I met Kyler when I met Dave. He watched Dave add me to his family and then we added 4 more. He was all the girls have ever known as a best bud and snow dog. They sobbed and sobbed when Dave told them he was gone. We made a stepping stone to put on his grave with his collar and some stones in the shape of a dog paw-print. They went with Dave to bury him in the mountains where he would love to be. We will sure miss our good friend.

My groove

I think I'm getting my groove back! It's been a long time but I am feeling more like me and ready to take on the world again. I am exercising everyday, taking my vitamin D, watching what I eat and don't eat ...who knows, I may just look better soon too! That might take a while so for now...I'll take some feeling good inside and run with it, literally!

Yummy Dinner

So...it's April Fool's and Izzy just needs to do a "joke". So, with the help of Family Fun magazine, we put together a yummy dinner and decided to serve dessert first. We made cupcakes...only they were meatloaf with pink mashed potatoes on top! For dinner we made peas (green airheads rolled into tiny "peas"), mashed potatoes (vanilla ice cream with caramel topping), and meatloaf (cocoa krispy treats)!

It was so much fun! Brig loved the ice cream potatoes...he licked the plate clean, literally!

"You can't handle the truth!"

So...I decided that actually you could probably handle the truth....

I really do have good intentions of blogging but it's hard to blog when the world is closing in around you and the best you can do it read everyone else's blog and check facebook once and a while.

It's been a hard couple of months. Actually a hard 6 months. Here's the update and then if you don't want to check up on my blog, I understand. Maybe it will make you feel better that although I may appear to handle whatever life throughs at me...I don't always handle it so well. Here's a few answers to your questions...

No, I don't have cancer again - thank heavens!

Yes, I do still have MS and it sucks! There isn't any magic remedy so I am dealing as best I can right now. It's evil!

Yes, I've been in a fight with my anti-depressants. Increasing the dose, developing a lovely allergic reaction and then quitting cold turkey has been truly tough. (Why do they call it cold turkey? Do I seem that overweight, pasty white, and frigid? - apparently, yes!)

Overall, life isn't a bed of roses right now and hasn't been for a while. I have good intentions of posting but as they say...the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We'll see how I do!

Black Wednesday!

OK...so you have all heard of Black Friday and the day after Thanksgiving sales. Well, I am having a Black Wednesday sale on all Stampin' Up! Consider yourselves way lucky that I have been busy with Isabel's birthday and some deadlines!! This sale begins Wednesday, November 26th and is online only.

It's 50% off EVERYTHING!!

Yes...I did type 50% off! You will need to pay shipping on tax on the regular prices but that is a killer deal! It ends on Black Friday, November 28th. You can order by commenting here or you can email me at tiffstamp@hotmail.com and order there.

Hey...Stampin' Up! liked my idea and they have bundles of really great stuff for 50% off! If you add on my 50% off...they are pennies!! Email or comment for a copy of the flyer or you can see them at www.stampinup.com under Holiday Extravaganza.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Yummy fall recipes

So I am still feeling guilty because I really need to update you all on our crazy little life but alas...busy would be the title. I decided to take the easy route and post some of my most favorite new recipes this fall. Serious yummy!!! This one is from my BFF Dana Lyman and it may just replace the pumpkin pie as a must have for Thanksgiving dinner!

Dana’s Pumpkin Cobbler

1 box yellow cake mix
(set aside 1 c. dry mix)
1/2 c. melted butter
4 eggs
1 lg. can pumpkin (29 oz.)
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. soft butter
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. chopped pecans

Combine yellow cake mix (minus 1 cup), 1/2 cup butter and 1 egg.
Then spread into 9x13 inch pan.
FILLING: Combine pumpkin, 3 eggs, brown sugar, milk, vanilla,
and cinnamon. Pour over crust.
TOPPING: 1 cup cake, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar, nuts,
(may use a little more butter). Mix together, sprinkle over top
of filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.
Chill and serve with Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream.

This one is from a recipe swap last year so I don't know who it came from but it was the hit of Thanksgiving. I admit I just tasted a little cuz I hate baked raisins almost as much as eggs but I trust the fact that someone may have tried licking the pan.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 c. sweet potatoes mashed (canned yams work)
1 c. sugar
1 stick margarine
2 eggs (beaten)
1 t. vanilla
½ c. raisins (optional)
1 c. mini marshmallows
Mix all ingredients and pour into a buttered casserole dish.

Topping:
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. flour
1 stick margarine melted
Mix all ingredients and sprinkle on top of potatoes.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

And finally...who can go wrong with this recipe from the creative Margie Aslett's blog. It is serious happiness in the shape of a muffin!

Margie's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 C oil
2 C brown sugar
4 C sugar
MIX
8 eggs
1 1/2 TBS baking soda dissolved in 1/3 C warm water
MIX
4 C pumpkin
MIX
7 C flour
2 TSP baking powder
2 TSP salt
1 1/2 TSP ginger
2 TSP cloves
2 TSP nutmeg
4 TSP cinnamon
MIX WELL
ADD:
3 cups Chocolate Chips semi sweet or milk or both
1 C warm water
This makes 80 muffins...So can easily be cut in half!Bake at 350 for 10-15 mins.
until cake like
ENJOY!!

Happy fall!!

Neglected

Oh my sad little neglected blog! I have been so busy chasing children, organizing food storage, and escaping to Disneyland...I have just plain ole' neglected you! I promise to update you as soon as the Halloween costumes are put together! So sorry!

Check me out!

OK...so I recently got a dream job! I get to create for Lisa Bearnson and QVC!! YAHOOOO!!! Check out her blog at www.lisabearnson.com go to the blog section and see the page for Sweet Life. It's Brigham on one of my pages. Cool, huh?

She'll be on air tonight from 10-12 (Utah time), and then again tomorrow from 8-9am, and 11-1pm. I'm not sure which segments will have my creations but I know there are some great kits! I LOVE the Halloween kit! Darling cuteness. When I get a second I'll post my pictures of what I created but for now you might just want to tune in!

And just in case you read this Lisa and Angela...thank you for believing in me and my creations. You are both AMAZING!! This is truly a dream come true and I don't just mean the making part...the gettting to know you both is part of that too! Love ya!

Craft Prizes

OK...so I just found out about this way cool contest that goes on everyday for a week and the prizes are KICKIN'...if you're a crafter. Check it out! http://www.vanillajoy.com/ They have some really great ideas for all kinds of family stuff too. Check out the face painting at the following link...http://www.vanillajoy.com/kids-face-painting.html. Cute stuff!

Want some stamps?

HELP!!! We are desperately trying to pull together some money so we can go to Disneyland at the end of September and while I was racking my brain I thought of a few cool things!

First, watch for some upcoming news on a Stamp-A-Stack of cards class. You'll want to come do this! WAY FUN!! More details after I get some dates pinned down.

Next, I am doing one last open house for Uppercase Living. I'll get you some more details about that later as well. Long story, no energy to go into it right now!

So I am thinking...hmmmm...what can I sell right now....of course, stamps! Not the regular priced ones in the catalog...the ones I have used and just need to sell. Everything is buy one get one half off and I have a bunch of really good ones. I have a list if you want me to email it to you or you can come by my house and check them out.

I also have some card kits that are all ready made up. You can check older posts to see them. They are pre-stamped, paper cut, just need assembly and they include 6 cards with envelopes for $10. Check out the cute fishy card!

So....stay tuned for some upcoming classes!

They'll be comin' round the mountain!

Just 2 weeks until my mom and step-dad come home from their mission. WE CAN'T WAIT!! I made this cute countdown calendar. It's really for Christmas but I modified it for a bit...check out the magnet truck driving home and marking the days. It's on a pizza pan with vinyl letters from UL. I even punched a couple holes and set eyelets to hang it with some cute ribbon.

Kind of fun huh? Sydney is really excited about moving that truck because they are coming home on her birthday. Best gift ever huh?

Back to School

Check out this cute third grader!! Isn't she adorable? I miss her so much during the day, but I love all that she learns and all that she gets to experience...same for this little chickie.
When did she grow up anyhow? She's in 5th grade this year and so blasted fun. Check out the cool bag! She picked that out and payed for it all herself.
Off they go for another year of learning and adventure. I miss them so much during the day and like every single year since Kenna started Kindergarten, I cry on the first day of school. Silly, I know, but I think it's just part of my mom job to love them so much I miss them.

Food storage!

I keep promising to post about this and I forget...

Although I like the whole rocker image I must admit that I am very much the mormon mom. It's a good thing I guess. I make homemade wheat bread and strawberry jam. I make scripture totes and teach primary. And...I have become the queen of food storage.

Twice now I have gone to Wal-mart (hate that place but love that they price match!) and come out of there with 2 FULL SHOPPING CARTS and I paid between $150 and $175! Can you believe it? I signed up for the list of deals at www.myfoodstoragedeals.com and then I price match everything we need at Wal-mart. It takes a little time but I love the deals. I even made up an excel sheet of what we need, what we have, and what we still need to buy. I can email that to anyone that wants it. You'll just need to change the numbers or then again, you can just use mine and pretend you have that! Let me know if you want the secret to easy price match but in the meantime let me tell you that my happiest buy this week was Crest Toothpaste for $1 each! I am talking happy teeth for at least 10 tubes!

July!!

So July has come and gone...I thought I should show you a few pics and give you an update. Brigham loves climbing into any basket or box he can find. This is supposed to hold shoes but he had Izzy join him and they found a perfect hang out!

Speaking of shoes...can you believe these are on Dave's feet? I KNOW!! Maybe my love of bling has worn off!
Seriously, he ran the Wasatch Back and then recruited McKenna to run the Freedom Festival run. He is amazing. He looks great and has really stuck with it. Given he threw a temper tantrum before the Wasatch Back because "running is so stupid and you would have to be a psycho to keep running. The thing is, if you want to take a break when you are biking you just coast but if you need a break from running what do you do? You keep running!" All that said...he is still running.

We went to the Balloon Fest and then the parade on the fourth. It was a bit of heaven to see all those balloons taking off.
We did a shopping day in Park City with my cute sistahs. Yah, they are adorable! Meg had already headed home so she is missing but we had a blast.
We had a week of swimming lessons which was a bit of heaven! Izzy actually stayed in the pool with very little screaming...

Then again, there was some persuasion! I gave the camera to McKenna and found this picture. It is perfect! It really is true life! Here are the details she caught of film....Izzy always, and I mean always, needs a little pep talk, much to my frustration...check out the hands! That's my cute friend fixing the swimsuit, don't we all do that over and over? Then in the background is Sydney carrying Brig away from the pool...TOO TYPICAL!!

Sydney loved the whole swimming thing, especially the slide after lessons and then there was McKenna my expert diver...So...that's July in a nutshell

Custom card kits

My great friend Janet made up this card idea and I think it's the best! The card size is 3x6 so it's a little unusual. You can order these card kits with whatever image and saying you would like on the front. The cute little elephant is perfect for a baby card - congrats or thank you. The flower is fun for thank you cards and you can see the present and cake. I also have a variety of colors for the actual card...you can choose! Everything is cut and ready for you to assemble. You'll need to finish the coloring on these but the watercolor pencil will already be drawn in. You'll just need a wet watercolor brush to drag the colors. These are special priced at $8 for 12 cards. Envelopes are $4.00 for 12. Let me know which colors you want and how many.

More card kits!

I have to show you what my stamp club members have been up to!. They all turned out so cute and really pretty simple. I have kits made up for purchase if you are interested in making some for yourself. I have pre-stamped everything and there are 6 cards in each kit. 1 is assembled so you can copy it and the others just need adhesive and scissors. The kits are $9. I have limited numbers of kits so let me know if you are interested.

These are blank on the front so you can have them stamped with Thanks or Happy Birthday or whatever you want.

These are perfect for young men. They seem to be the hardest bunch to make cards for so they are good to have on hand.

I am MIA!

Sorry I've been having such summer fun with my kiddos that I have been missing in all the summer action!

I need to update you on all kinds of stuff but for now just know that I am great and well, busy!!

Seriously...I ROCK!!

How stinkin' awesome is this card? I have been thinking of this one for about 3 days and finally decided I didn't care how dirty the house was...I was putting the idea to paper! You can't tell very well but the grey paper is glittered and looks amazing. The Seriously stamp is embossed on vellum. The U and Rock are also embossed. It is absolutely kickin' even if I say so myself!

I loved the color challenge from Kristina Werner a couple weeks ago but didn't have time then. This was the challenge and part of the inspiration...

I love it!! What do you think?

Just call 9-1-1!

So... I'm trying to do that good mom thing and take each of the kids out individually on a date with mom. We drew names and Sydney came up first so we went to Target where she picked out a stuffed dog and a couple mini-dogs with her money. Who'd have thunk it huh? She is such an animal lover! We went to lunch at her favorite place - Cafe Rio, picked out a treat for her sisters and headed home. It was way fun. I love some one on one time! No prob!

Yesterday was McKenna's turn. We headed to Old Navy where my cell phone rang about 3 times. Sydney was babysitting with her friend Emilia. Brigham was asleep so they really only needed to watch Izzy. I was getting frustrated that they needed to call so often, until Sydney called and told me that Izzy had dialed 9-1-1! I kind of didn't believe her because Izzy hasn't ever called anyone and I figured maybe she had dialed some random numbers then hung up. I was wrong. She then called after the police had left. EEK!! I am just waiting for Child Protective Services to show up. So McKenna and I hurried to figure out which clothes she wanted to buy with her money...by the way, she picked the cutest outfit! We hurried to Target and she got some flip-flops then rushed to Smart Cookie where we got the yummiest treats and a few sugar cookies to bring home. So when I get home I tell Sydney she had obviously tried to be a good babysitter and could have a cookie to share with Emilia while I talked to Izzy about "crying wolf". Isabel is heartbroken she can't have a cookie with pink frosting and amid the tears she tells me that Syd had told her to call.....wait just a second!!! Are you telling me you were doing what you were told??? So to make my long story a bit longer...Sydney got frustrated and sarcastically told Izzy that maybe she should dial 9-1-1 if she was so upset and well, Izzy did what she was told for the first time in her cute life. So neither of them got cookies until much, much later. They got a strict lecture and a memorable experience! My mom said I would laugh later but the truth is I was laughing at the time! I just had to put on the so serious face and let them know what was up then laugh my head off later. Can you just see sweet Sydney's face when she answered the door for the policeman?

Now Izzy is wondering when her date is? I'll fill you in on where we end up for that one!

Mommy Tag

Sydney was tagged by Ainsley and Quaid to answer 20 questions about my mommy. Isabel had to join in so here's both of their answers. Sydney is listed first, then Izzy.

1. What is something mom always says to you? Do your chores. Get into bed.

2. What makes mom happy? When I give her breakfast in bed. Give her roses.

3. What makes mom sad? When I use her paper that I am not supposed to use. When I run off

4. How does mom make you laugh? When mom tickles us. Tickle me.

5. What was mom like as a child? She had curly hair. Playing soccer.

6. How old is your mom? Something in the 30's or 20's. 16

7. How tall is your mom? 35 inches. 15

8. What is your mommy's favorite thing to do? Stamp. Play Mario Galaxy and help people make ice cones with McKenna

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Go on a date with Dad. Get scared.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Singing. Dancing.

11. What is your mom really good at? Stamping. Playing soccer ball when she was little.

12. What is your mom not very good at? Fighting. Playing football.

13. What does your mom do for her job? In unison they said Stamping.

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Cheesecake. Bacon.

15. What makes you proud of your mom? When she does my chores. She's out of school.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Daphne on Scooby Doo. Cinderella.

17. What do you and your mom do together? Go to the mall and get chicken nuggets. Shopping.

18. How are you and your mom the same? Our eyes. Our clothes.

19. How are you and your mom different? She has black hair and I don't. My hair is yellow and her hair is black.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because she buys me lots of animals. So much.

We tag Payson Schneider, Hatch Carter, Ethan White, and Lindsey Jordan