{Archives un-bottled}

2005
River's favorite treat was the "dirt-n-worms" dessert.
(chocolate pudding, Oreo cookies crumbs, and gummy worms)

I thought this stage should be bottled and saved forever.......
Little did I know, I would have missed out on so much life, beauty and amazing experiences with my boys if I could have capped their ages.
(Jax 5 River 6 1/2)

You can't bottle time.
You just feel grateful to have it.

{Blue light special}

I'm selling a few pieces of furniture to make room for my new purchases.  Let me know if you are interested.

Thanks for shopping at J-Mart and have a nice day!

Sofa and love seat.

(The pics make the couches look like different colors, but they are matching....just took each pic in different lighting.

Cleaned and conditioned with leather creme monthly.

Great shape!)

KSL listed $550

to you $500 or offer

TV Armoire

(actually looks better in person)

KSL listed $325

to you $250 or offer

Solid oak desk with locking file drawers.

Very nice. Quality made.

KSL listed $225

to you $200 or offer

{does our insurance cover chiropractors?}

even big boys still need car ride naps.....
but the size of the body vs. the size of the back seat,
now involves sleeping in a contorted pose.
he woke up with numb arms :(

{Violated by the Jimmy and Johnny webcam}




Three days a week Jax has a specialized online class with his teacher and a couple of other students that need extra help.
This is a specific class that Jax looks forward to. 
This addition to his curriculum has made homeschooling positive and fun.
Jax had been requesting a day that everyone in the class use their web-cam.
The teacher kept putting the web-cam off until finally caving to the idea the day before Thanksgiving.
(maybe thinking this could be a special treat for the kids for the holiday)

It only took 1 minute and I understood why the teacher chooses NOT to use the web-cam everyday.

(Names of students in this story have been changed for privacy.)
(I don't know their real names anyway.)
(It doesn't matter because I don't have their picture to show you anyway.)
(Privacy in this story is stupid anyway.)

Jax is the first student called on to read in front of the class on his web-cam.
The others (teacher and students) were excited to see Jax's face for the first time.
Teacher complimented Jax and told him how handsome of a young man he is.
Jax was happy :)

Next person called to read was Johnny Joe Bob.
The square containing his web-cam debut popped up on our computer.
In gagging shock, we see Johnny Joe Bob's index finger  3/4 of the way up his nose hole digging for gold.
Before Jax and I could even say, "OMG!!!  That kid is picki......."
Johnny Joe Bob reeled in the catch and scooped it up in his MOUTH!!!
Yes, he picked and ate his boogers on WEBCAM!!
AND WE HAD TO WATCH IT!!!!!!
Immediately after the offense, the teacher told him to turn off his cam.
Thank God!

Next up was Jimmy Ray Cyrus.
Jimmy Ray Cyrus has his computer set up in his living room.
Jimmy Ray Cyrus is a nice looking boy and I have hope that this cam experience will be a much more positive one from the previous.
Things seemed great until we see his little brother running from a hallway behind Jimmy Ray Cyrus to attack his head.
Screaming and devilish laughter was involved.
Jimmy Ray Cyrus is flailing with his arms hyper-extending behind him to get a good return punch to his brother.  His headset is barely hanging by an earfoam.
Then we watched as Jimmy Ray Cyrus' mother entered the room.
A large, unkempt woman with a slipper shuffle, took her bowl of food and her big momma ass and flopped down on the couch.
The chaos of her sons were background to her morning talk show.
Yelling and octopus arm fighting is still continuing as the online teacher finally tells Jimmy Ray Cyrus that he will need to be done with the cam too.

WTF!?!?!?!?

Jax turns to me with a freaked out expression and said,
 "Mom, what kind of class is this???? 
These kids are weird!"

Yah, maybe the web-cam wasn't the best idea.
Jax and I are still recovering from the chilling visions we witnessed.

Homeschooling:  Not for the weak!

{Happy Thanksgiving 2010}

{A  forecast that went limp}

So "The Blizzard of 2010" hit last night.
The winds were forceful and the temps were just above 0 (zero!!!).
The snow turned to ice on the roads and then storm just kind of pooped out.
I'm sitting here saying,
 "I've seen waaay worse storms in my life. 
Blizzard Shmizzard!"
The weathermen had a bit of "over stimulation" regarding the severity of this storm.
I won't complain about a turn of better forecast!

But since there are icy roads and unpredictable weather, we have decided to stay in Utah for Thanksgiving. 
I called Amie (in Colorado) to give her the 411 on our non-visit.  Amie said she understood, and valued our lives too much to have us drive there with white knuckles.
hmmmmmmm...?!?!?!
I sensed some sarcasm in her voice when she talked about valuing our lives and friendship.
I'm not sure if it was when she laughed after saying the phrase,
or if it was when she asked if I could tell she was lying to me and she was just saying something to be nice because it's the right thing to do!
HA HA!  Very funny Amie!
I guess I will save the cyanide I was going to whip in my sweet potato dish to serve at your house....
I should be able to use it at another time....maybe your birthday cake!!!!

Ah Holidays........
showing love, kindness and gratitude to the ones you love

{The Blizzard of 2010}

Definition: Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy snow.

Anyone living in Utah has heard the news screaming for everyone to stay inside by 5 pm.
Weather warning alerts are all over the radio and TV advising of the fast moving storm.

The storm that they are calling,
"The Blizzard of 2010".
I'm pretty sure that when they name the storm and follow it by the year, they are expecting it to go down in history.
I'm starting to get a little freaked out.

Yes Chelise,  I can hear you yelling at me!!!!!!!!!!! 
I know! I know!! get out of UTAH.....follow the sun.

{Beautiful}

I am pleased to announce that Paula and Baby Girl are doing great.

Out of respect for Paula's privacy, I won't give intimate details or show a picture of the baby.

But trust me......she is a gorgeous little doll.

I'm so proud of Paula....she's a spectacular momma.

Yay!!!  Baby Girl is here!!!!!

{Fall/Winter Fashion Trends of 2010}

The military - trench designs are a huge staple for fall/winter.

I'm sure you could understand my excitement when I happened on to a mega sale at Rue 21 and got the

red trench for $3 and the

black military jacket for $6.

Don't hate me.

(the red trench is possibly my new favorite piece in my closet right now.)

{Aloha Winter}

The first real winter snow storm of 2010,  laid down a foot in one night.

The boys raced out of bed Sunday morning to start on their giant snowman.

Somewhere along the way, the 10' snow tower started looking less like a snowman, and more like???......

something that wasn't a snowman.

In the end, it became an igloo hideout from the neighbor boys'  Nerf gun bullets and pelting snowballs :)

Boys + snow = hours of frostbite fun!!!

{It's time}



I'm so excited for my lil friend!!!!!!
Her baby girl will be making her first appearance within hours from now!!!!
Please keep her in your thoughts~
sending love and energy to
rock(et) this baby out!!
I will keep you all posted!

{Hey Mom!
Cover up and put a bag on your head when you leave this house!}

This is me.
This is me in Arizona sitting on a half wall on the corner of where two fairly busy streets meet.
I was on this corner so that my Aunt Elise would easily see me as she was coming to give me a ride to her house from Carol's apartment complex.
River was stumbling out mumbled words that I couldn't understand.
He was nervous to tell me something.
I said, "just spit it out boy!"
He said........

 NO...wait!  Are you ready for this?

He said, "Mom, I don't want to hurt your feelings.....BUT you kind of look like a hooker waiting for a guy to pick you up.
I say, " What are you talking about????  I'm sitting here with you two dough heads!  What kind of hooker would take their burly sons with them to a corner looking for work?!?"
He responded, "I know, it's just that your sleeve is off of one shoulder showing your bra strap*, you have make-up on, and your hair looks pretty."

Thank the good hooker lord that I see Auntie E come zooming by in her lil KIApet because I was left speechless after Riv gave me his sermon.
Maybe it didn't help the hooker looker situation b'ins I was standing by the "Speed Hump" sign. wink, wink.

*totally the 80's off the shoulder look in style right now! 
 I was just trying to be an old lady in style and I get called a hooker?!?!?!?!?
By my own son?!?!?!?
Both boys are at an age that everything is embarrassing.....
especially their mom.
Their eyes are aware of the way men look at women.
They don't like men looking at their momma!
They would love me to be in turtle necks, no makeup, bun head, and ankle floor skirts.
Yes people....they want me to look like a Pilgrim.
I guess it would make Thanksgiving kinda fun to have a Pilgrim mom?

{L.L. cool R}


Lexi, Lyrik, and Riv

They all had laid there laughing with their heads on the pillow for five minutes.
Of course, Lyrik being the center of the attention.
Will the younger cousins even realize how smothered with love they were by the older cousins as they grow to adulthood?

They are the cherries on top of a multi-layered sundae :)
ooooo so sweet

{Arizona rated XXX}



In Utah, we call the "slow down" bumps in the road speed bumps.
Arizona on the other hand calls them speed humps.
I consider a speed hump something you do in the afternoon when you have an opportunity and little time.
Apparently, Arizona encourages you to do this at 20 mph....
and this sign is posted near the retirement community!!!
What a way to make someone break a hip people!

{boobin' like a Britney lover}

I've been back from Arizona a day, and all I've done is whined about how down right ridiculous this Utah weather is!!!!

Hey! You would be whining too if you left 74 degree bliss

for 40 degrees

 and winds 90 mph

and rain

and sleet hitting your face diagonally to give the feeling of a knife slashing your top three layers of fragile skin which Oil of Olay can't even begin to repair.

Our trip to Arizona was a good one in spite of the sad reason that led us there.

Ralph's funeral service was everything he wanted it to be,

 (he had it pre-planned with specifics to be followed through).

Carol held strong at moments, and weakened at others.

There was a great deal of organizing and sifting through their shared apartment.

Ralph's children came to get his belongings right away.

Randy worked diligently to put the apartment back to order and comfortable for Carol.

We asked her to come to Utah with us to spend some time with the family and enjoy the Thanksgiving ritual.

She chose to stay put for now.....

"a grieving process that I need to go through on my own", she said.

We understood.

~~~~~~~~~~~

While out of town, we celebrated Damon's 35th birthday

on Saturday, November 13.

I think this is around 1978. Jolie 7, Damon 2

See the little blue bump on his head :(  he must have toppled over and bonked something.

His head  was bigger than is body at that time.  Poor bubby

I made sure to live his party for him.

One drink for you, one for me, another for me, and then I'll even drink yours too, and then maybe one more for me!!! 

 OK!  Woo Woo!

I made sure to live his hangover for him too ;)

It was a doozy!

But hey, what are sisters for?

P.S.  Thank you to my AZ family that gave us love, support, laughter, hugs, food and accomodations.

You all Rock My Heart :)

{There's a hole in my bucket}

At close to midnight last night, I was reading the "bucket list" that my good friend Amie posted on her blog.

She had 15 things listed. 

All of which I could actually see her accomplishing someday.

As I logged off the computer and went to bed, I asked myself, "what would my bucket list be?"

Sadly,  my first thoughts were what I DON'T want to do in this life, the close second thoughts were, what I want to do for others to fulfill their bucket list and accommodate their life.

I see this as a problem.

(duh!!!  I'm just catching on)

My bucket can't be full when I'm filling other peoples buckets with MY water.

AND.....AND

Why am I only allowing my bucket to be half full by thinking of only of the things I don't want to experience???

Answer:  Because what I do effects so many others. 

Even if it's something I enjoy to the depths of my core,

it could be detrimental to someone I love.  

Example:  Traveling to a dream destination. 

What if I die, get arrested, get mad cow disease,  spend too much money, have too much fun, decide not to come back.

I can't get past the infinite responsibility I hold to people outside of myself.

It's a pretty harsh sleepless night realizing that you don't even know what you drive to see, do, or feel because there are too many "what if's" involved.

But what you do know, is that you are living life through others and in fear of your own.

Maybe this all comes down to the simple complex fact that I am a mother.

Jolie's Bucket List

#1~Delve into mind, heart, and soul and find a passion that has nothing to do with anyone but me.

#2~Add lines to this bucket list.

{What are you doing on Saturday?}



What are you doing Saturday November 13th????
Do you want my Scott Stapp tickets??
Great seats!!!
I would love to have someone I know be able to go and give me the full details.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, I am unable to see Scott in person as he rocks out and sweats and sings the words I love.
ahem.

Lemme know if you wanna go!
before noon tomorrow!

{Ralph}

Carol and Ralph
(Randy's mom)
Carol's husband Ralph passed away this morning in their home.
Carol is surrounded by the support of friends and family.
She is comforted in their religious beliefs that Ralph is now at peace.
She says she's doing ok, and would go through this experience all over again because the love they shared was beautiful.
She was a dedicated wife and nurse to Ralph in his last days.
A true woman of her word and of her heart.

Goodbye Ralphie

{Oh!! It's you!}

Jax and Mrs. J.

Friday, we had an outing for school.

Ahhhh, an outing!

AN OUTING!!!

I'm talking, OUTSIDE of the home classroom!

Do you understand how exciting it is for us to get OUT?

We met up with other homeschoolers at

The Utah Museum of Natural History.

Jax met his online teacher for the first time.

They recognized each other right away.

Mrs. J. said, "Jax!!!  It's you!!"

and sealed it with a hug.

She was kind, generous with compliments, and fun to get to know.

Jax was beyond happy :)

Jax impressed himself with how hard he could jump on the round marker to create a simulated earthquake.

Digging for dinosaur bones, or flicking sand across the museum with a brush, is way fun!

  

The museum employees acted out a dinosaur environment.

They did a great job keeping the kids active and interested in the history.

Jax was laughing and tapping his hands to his knees making the sound of rain.

It was a great day to be out.

p.s.

thank you creater of hanitizer!



{Fall Trends of 2010 vol.2}

Luckily for me.....

The Messy Bun is a fall trend for 2010.

I'm finally walking the streets in style!!!

I've been doing bun head for years.

I do not discriminate it's position.

Top, middle, bottom, side bottom......

It really depends on the style my hair was the day before, as to where I place the pile.

Bun head usually turns out best using "day after" hair.

"Day after" means hair that was styled, hair sprayed and slept on from the previous day.

Super easy to create!!! 

1) Gather up all of your hair into a pony tail high up on the back of your head. If you have layers or bangs, leave a little bit of your hair down around the front of your face. When pulling back your hair try not to smooth all of it down on your head with a comb. The messy bun can look "messy" all around and still look like it was designed that way.

2) Scrunch up your (pony tail) hair into a "bun-like" mass on the top of your head. Don't twirl it around the base like you would for a classic bun.  Bunching on top of your head will feel sloppy, but that's how it is supposed to look. Using one hand to hold your hair up there, use the other hand to grab a second pony tail holder and use it to secure the mass on top of your head in the basic form of the messy bun.

Tighten some pieces, loosen others.  Any hanging strays can be tucked and looped under a piece of your elastic or left out for more of a wild feel.  Bobby pins help if you have a hard time keeping all the hair set with just an elastic.  But remember....the goal is to make it look

NOT perfect and crazy-chaotic.

The thing I like about the messy bun, is that it plays well with any look you are trying to achieve.

formal

rock'd out

athletic

chic

The hair off of the neck and face accentuates the jaw line, lengthens the neck and shows a feminine softness.

I like to add a pair of statement earrings to finish the look.

This will most likely end up being one of my favorite

 Fall Fashion Trends of 2010.

It's about time people fell in love with the bun head!