Last Christmas my mom gave me a fun carrot peeler.  She learned how to make veggie bouquets at Relief Society, then became veggie connoisseur to me and the granddaughters during our family Christmas party.  She gave us a fun tutorial, then slipped in the secret peeler into our Christmas stash.

The blah factor of winter always gets an uplift in February.  Just as I was contemplating a fun toy or goodie to make for the kids school Valentine's, the kids started coming up and asking: "Mom have you done my Valentine yet?"

Because we chose to hire a Certified Nurse Midwife with a Birthing Center over 100 miles from my little valley, I have taken lots of little day trips to The Great Salt Lake. One of the bonuses of these trips, and because I rarely leave home otherwise, has been reconnecting with old friends.



Here's Paula with her latest offspring {insert longing female sigh here}. When I called my old high school buddy Paula and said I'd be in the neighborhood, she offered to make me lunch. "Oh, you're doing your salad thing! My husband made some awesome smoked salmon...does that sound good on a salad?"


"YES" I said truthfully. Though excited, I felt a little guilty.

I hate salad right now. Wait, let me rephrase that...

I ate an entire package of Girl Scout Cookies yesterday, and the thought of rinsing, draining, chopping, & layering fresh greens seems like an undue chore most days.

What with my blogg-y pronouncements of keeping up with the greens until the end of this pregnancy; with my holiday sugar buzz leaving me resolute to walk (not even jog, skip, or run) the 3-mile-loop three times a week during my last trimester; my intent to infuse this child with a love of vegetables in the womb and because I was already on a roll...I'm not sure why I have turned into my own worst enemy. Perhaps I'm finding a reliable scapegoat in these hormones. The truth is, I stuck my middle finger to my green leaf resolution and I feel awesome/horrible about it.

And yet, fix me a salad, especially like the delicious one Paula gave me (with a golden fork no less!) and I'm in heaven. It tastes delicious to me, and deep down I know that I still crave it.



What is up?!

Not only did Paula's visit give me a guilt trip about not keeping my word, it gave me clarity that salad is still a huge part of my future. More importantly, the visit gave me some cute, clean, non-stained hand-me-down baby stuff for the little mutt growing in my gutt. Check it.

Paula is super creative. I had no idea she could sew in high school, but she seriously makes the cutest stuff! Check out her craft blog here.



The outfit and bib she embellished with fabrics from the awesome custom car-seat blanket. The reversible car-seat blanket is in place and waiting for my baby son.

As a bonus of going through bins of baby stuff, I found the doll that was crocheted by my Grandma Anderson. I'm pretty sure every granddaughter received one. I remember her invitation to come and pick a doll, where there was an array of color combinations you could choose from. I used to love to wrap this doll up in her never-to-be-lost blanket.

For now, this little doll, a labor of love, is a place-holder inside the soft, clean, and longing to snuggle my son blanket from Paula.

A little over 3 weeks to go!

There's something to be said about using your childhood years, even into college, to developing your talents. There's no other time to be quite so focused, and even a little selfish. My ma and pa paid for me to take lessons in piano, clogging, gymnastics, and skiing. Later when I played athletics, they paid for volleyball and basketball camps, which weren't cheap. They also watched every single boring game I ever played in (I think my high scoring game in basketball was 6 points. Woo!)



The lessons and hard work during those years helped me play the piano for congregations throughout The South during my missionary service. The tinkering of a few guitar cords from my buddy Kristi helped me woo The Mister of the House with a simple song. The dad as a wise coach, plus the cost of volleyball camps helped me to play with a State Championship Winning Volleyball Team in High School.

So I remember having the very clear thought when I became a wife and mother, that it was now the time to be the beneficiary of those lessons and that season of "developing talents", and that my progression had ceased. Yet I was to be grateful at the same time. Why would I spend $50 a month on guitar lessons when I could use that money for diapers?

I had a good season of talent building, but the transition to mother would mean all resources would now be poured into my offspring.

This was my take on it for many years. But then my little sissy, a mother of three kids and the wife of an overworked medical student, composed a hymn!

She sent it to me to look at and play through. I was blown away! How dare she progress in the piano department when I had become a martyr to my own kids development!

Yet this hymn was the first of many songs she has composed. I love that she is disciplined enough to sit down and do this. I love the creativity she channels, and I love the message of her music.

Recently, her oh-so-proud mother entered her hymn into a showcase event at BYU-Idaho. Though little sis was thousands of miles away, an auditorium of people sang along to the hymn she composed. It's based on Helaman's Stripling Warriors, and is called "Warrior Families".

So apart from having occasional neighbors that hardly know you think you're a freak for posting your life on the interweb, there is a draw to blogging that keeps you coming back (amidst possible scorn?). It is this: you learn so much about family and friends that you thought you already knew.

In the case of little brother of The Mister of the House, all I knew was that he and his lovely wife were moving far away to teach for a couple of years before settling into Law School. Back in them old 90's, we would have said goodbye, let us know when you're pregnant, and we'll see you at Christmas!



But now thanks to the interweb, and blogs, it's amusing to realize how kids can be clones of their parents when you didn't see it coming (as is the case with little bro-in-law). Or really watching someone come into adulthood since little bro was 14 when I married into the family.

And then there's the realization that as a former student, and English Major, I secretly longed for the teacher that would think I was special, mentor me to greatness, and think I had something to offer the world (although you are never quite sure what that is or was). If you grew up in the 90's, and absorbed the ever-loved movie Dead Poets Societ , you wanted O Captain, My Captain!



And it appears that Jackson & Celeste are El Capitan's to many students in one of the lowest performing public schools in the nation. As part of the Teach for America Program, they have been sent into schools with high drop-out and poverty rates, and from what I can tell, they are making a huge difference.

That is why I couldn't help sharing Jackson's (little bro) recent take on the Gettysburg Address. I'm pretty sure my mom has already shared it with all of her friends. It's inspiring to all levels of learners and teachers.

Enjoy!

Considering the fact that it has taken me almost 4 years to get pictures of our extended family on the wall, and since I was on a roll, I decided I would work on the kids valentines this week.

First of all, I hate rip-me-apart Dora the Explorer crap valentines. Second of all, I'm way too cheap to make over-the-top crafty Valentine's for 45 kids this year.

So inspired by last year's cards,



I perused my photo files and decided to tinker around in Google's free photo software, Picasa. It was fun, clean, and my end cost was around 12 cents per valentine. Cheap mothers unite...


I can't recommend Picasa enough. There are 2 available options to download (both FREE). One is a photo software for your computer that allows you to crop, add text, tint, skewer, whatever...and it's perfect for those that aren't savvy enough on photoshop and/or don't want to spend the money.

The second Picasa download allows you to upload your photos online. Anyone who has lost their photos from a computer crash can appreciate that (that would be me....twice).

Lastly, Picasa is awesome if you love to blog! It makes adding pictures a bagillion times easier than the stupid standard blogger photo system.

Nuff said. Here's me waxing creative for once.



Here's one of my favorite pictures of The Buddha Baby. He used to give me kisses on demand, but I think I'm in overdraft (SEE EXHIBIT: Talk to the hand). I saved 2 copies of this print then merged them as a collage in Picasa. I added the text after making it a collage. After printing them up as a 4X6 print, I cut them in half and inserted a Valentine treat. Here's the end product.



This next one is for my middle child. Once again, I created a collage but added a thicker red border around it. We made 2 different Valentine rhymes for variety, and had fun making it a little on the grody side.



Cut them apart, insert a wrapped treat (and make sure to tape it on the back) and you have this:



For Rainbow Girl, I took a picture and tinted the whole thing green. This one turned out okay, but was probably a bit of a stretch. I added characters and symbols to make her more alien-like, but in the end, I think the picture was too dark. I will admit Photoshoppers would have dominated this project better than I...but the kid likes it so we're all happy!

Here's the image sent to the printer:



We punched a hole and added black pipe-cleaners to make her an alien...and here is our end product.



For more Valentine inspirations, visit these blogs:

"Cute Valentines"
Loved this healthy (and simple) valentine inspiration here.
Here's a short YouTube video about Picasa.

Happy Loveliness!
Mrs. Olsen