Bries Bloggings

Hello Seattle!

2012-01-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Wow its been a whole month since I have blogged. Things got pretty busy with the holidays. Then at the start of the new year I stopped my steroid treatment. Its been 8 very rough days! I knew I would have to come off of them, but I didn't know I was going to have withdraw symptoms and pain and depression. I know Ive been under attack of sorts emotionally as well. I'm feeling overwhelmed with my duties as a mom, a wife, in ministry and I don't know what the future holds for me in ministry either. I know its changing but how? Its all very stressful right now and I'm sure the pain is not helping, but man it plain ol SUCKS. No better word to describe how I'm feeling.

What I am looking forward to are a few things. First is we are taking a last minute trip to Seattle! My kids and Husband have never gone and it was a quick decision, its been a while since we have taken a family vacation, but we are very excited. Michael and Ashleigh are coming with us, so that will make the trip way more fun. We get to experience it as a family. I can not wait to breath in the "ocean" air...( its the sound and not looking forward to the Tacoma Aroma) and see the beauty and feel like perhaps I can finally decompress. Decompress from the semester, the holidays, the steroids, all of it. I need to breathe.

This song has been so fun to sing while we wait, and Sam loves looking at the photos, deciding what will be his favorite thing.

Also coming up in Feb, I get to go to Texas to see my little brother Graduate from the Air Force. I miss him a lot ( I think Sam misses him more) and even though I know I will be a bit stressed for the trip, I'm looking forward to seeing him and the new man I'm sure he has become. It will be a proud moment as his big sister.

Also, Tom and I received two date packages from our parents for Christmas. One to Tahoe to see a show and stay the night on our Anniversary. And another at the Peppermill here in town..did I mention both include babysitters! SCORE.

These are things are keeping me excited when I'm feeling BLAH. Im trying to spend time in the Word as well. But Im finding music is for now, my peace. If you liked this song, check out some of OWL CITYs other songs, They amaze me

Its things like this....

2011-12-10T01:07:00.000-08:00

This blog post is about Christmas. This has been a particularly hard year for me as a mom. Not in the financial sense that you see most people talk about, but the truth of it all. I have tossed and turned and even had some anxiety attacks. Yes true anxiety attacks over this.

First I want to say that I grew up very very lucky, I was always spoiled at Christmas and I never really wanted for anything. But I also didn't really get it either. I kinda of knew that it was supposed to be Jesus birthday and all but I did not grow up as a Christian so I didn't really care to listen about that end of things. Now that I am a Christian and mom of two children, I'm struggling with how to handle Christmas.

I have people in my lives that are on two ends of the stick. The ones who refuse to celebrate Christmas at all, think Santa is SATAN and anti Christan and trees are pagan and blah blah bah... and then on the other end I have those that believe its all about the presents and what they will get this year. The materialistic people. YOU ALL have some of them in your life too...

but where does it all fit with me and my kids? I think I struggle with the materialistic end more than the Santa is the devil end. I don't want to demonize Santa, but I don't want my children growing up with thinking he is real either. I also don't want them thinking Christmas is all about presents and how much they can get. It breaks my heart when we go to Target and my kids say I want I want I want I want.... I want to teach them how actually lucky they are. I got an incredible opportunity in church this past weekend when we showed the compassion international photos and Sam sat in on that service. It opened up the door for us to have that conversation about other kids and how they live and why we should be so so so thankful what we have. Sam was very into learning about these kids, he asked why people don't just give them food and I can tell inside he is struggling for it to make sense. I know he is only 6 (as of one hour ago) but he is definitely putting a lot of though and logic into it.

We all know that we are super geeks, we love star wars, Doctor Who, Star Trek. Lord of the Rings... etc.. and so were always talking about whats real and whats not... or what could one day be real * like space travel. So we decided to tell Sam that there was a man named Saint Nick who lived many many years ago and he is not alive today, but we still carry on the tradition of him. I tell him its like we know that Doctor Who is not real , but its really fun to play with our doctor who toys, or dress up like him and go to conventions etc.. to play pretend. ( we love to let him use his imagination.....GOD gave us that too! ) I think he pretty much gets it. But am I doing it right? I dint know? I know I have my goals and values that to me are far more important than gifts and trees and lights...

A friend mentioned tonight that we teach our kids about Santa, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy and Jesus. Then we take away the reality of Santa, the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy but expect them to believe in Jesus. That's a tall order.

I guess I'm struggling with finding the balance between the two ends. Half of my family are believers, the others are not. So I cant keep him away from the materialistic end completely either. I just want more for him, I want him ( and Delilah when shes old enough to get it) to really understand. So for tonight I go to bed asking God for guidance and clarity when it comes to the Christmas Season.

What do you guys do? Any advice, tips or stories?

** also, as soon as I'm off the steroids I will do a health update blog!

So Sick

2011-11-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have blogged. And I wish I had some amazing photos to share with you but I dont. It's kind of boring. Ive just been sick and busy. The prednisone knocks out your immune system and of course of all the seasons I had to have mine knocked out during cold/flu season. So I just keep getting sick. But the good news is that while Ive been so sick, Ive spent a lot of time in prayer and reading the Word. Which is nice for me. I have fallen behind in school a bit because I have been so sick, hoping to catch up this week. I miss my life.

well thats all the sob story and complaining I have for this post. Off to steam and hopefully feel better soon.

2011-10-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

So, its 11pm and I am up writing not because I'm bored but because I feel on fire. Not the angry fire but the God just revealed something in me kind of fire.

A little background is that I have been praying for someone to come to church for many many years, a few weeks ago this person came to church on their own and it was awesome and I was so excited. I know that God is using me to help her. I take every opportunity He provides to do that. Today was something special. She came into town and we were talking and I offered to go to recovery with her. She gladly said yes. So I went to school then met her at the church. The whole time before hand I am just praying that God speaks to her and through Steve and that if its His will, this is where she will find her peace and comfort.

But then in the midst of the teaching I found that I had stopped focusing on God speaking to her and found that God was speaking to ME! I was blown away by the vulnerability of Steve and not just the truth about himself but the sound biblical BIG TRUTHS he was teaching. These were truths that I needed to hear, things that I myself was doing everyday. I couldn't believe it, here I am going into this thinking " I have nothing to recover from" and I'm here for support because its what I'm supposed to do. Only to now realize that God was using her to get me there too.

And to be honest, I'm also a bit scared of that. If I admit that this is something that I want to do, I want to keep going, then people will see weakness in me. Will it look as though I'm too weak to work at the church? Am I allowed to attend recovery while on staff? Will it look like I'm not "spiritual" enough? I don't really know if I'm even "recovering" from anything right now, but I know I'm not perfect. I have anger issues, I have resentment issues, I am still flesh.

I came home and I told my husband this experience and turns out he too has been in prayer about checking out recovery for his own reasons. There are no coincidences with God and I feel like He is telling us that we need to be there. This has been a big week spiritually, I have seen so many answered prayers that I probably cried 3 times with joy. With my own fear layed out on the table, I go to bed tonight in prayer that I listen to what God is telling me and do what He will have me do and that I do NOT ignore His revelation to me.

If you are reading this and you wondering what the heck recovery@grace is, then click here and read all about it.

Roman Shades from pintrest

2011-10-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

So I found a tutorial for doing roman shades from pintrest. My blinds were in bad bad shape. Yellow, bent and broken. They were desperate for a much needed an update. So this was a fun DIY projcect for me.
the fabric and fabric tac was a total of 15 bucks and time spent was about an hour.

Here are the deconstructed blinds

Tommy very proud of the new bone work

here they are layed on the back of the fabric and glued to the fabric with fabric tac in 6 incriments. ( in hindsight I should have done 4. )

Here he is hanging them up, you can see that I did not center the fabric quite right so the seams on the ends are uneven. But only noticeable when pulled down in the day time. Usually they will be up so its not a huge deal, but good lesson.

Here they are pulled down. Its a bit uneven and taken with my cell phone. but as the day went on the wrinkles went away.

and walahh.. here they are rolled up! (see why 4 may have been better) but the more I use them the better those folds will be. Still, with all its diy faults it is a major improvement to the blinds that were there and it ties the kitchen to the living room nicely.

Some recent work

2011-10-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

So I've been working hard editing photos and making DVDS and Photobooks for the wedding I shot of Jamie and Eric. It was a lot of fun and Im happy to share this video with my friends! I know the bride loved it. ( whewww)

Senior photo sessions have started as well, and by next month I will be busy with family Chrismas shots. I just wish our weather would cooperate! I hate indoor shots and would much rather shoot outdoors.

School has been going well too. Designing Websites and Flash video. Here are few of what Ive done so far.
This is the website I did for a class project. It's pretty fun and pretty me. We will see where it leads
http://grc175.com/student/fall_2011/brianne_porterfield/

and here is the fun flash video I did...
HERE

Its a new day

2011-10-02T00:58:00.000-07:00

Its a brand new day and a brand new stage in my life. Those of you who read my blog know how much I struggled with infertility and how much work it was just to get the two beautiful kids I have. Its hard to say were done and to be honest, I wasn't sure we were done. We have tried for this past year and without success. Its a giant struggle in our daily life. Seeing women get pregnant so easily and even though you are happy for them, it still tears a bit of your heart away. This week God made it pretty evident that we were done. We had done ONE last round of meds and were praying that this would be the cycle. I had perfect progesterone levels and even thought I HAD to pregnant. I was feeling sick and nauseous just like I had in the past. But something was different. I just didn't know what that would be. Sunday at church I was a bit stoic as I sat there after seeing yet another negative pregnancy test, and yet I was still sick and even a bit loopy or spacey. I forgot my password for my work computer, I never do that. Anyhow. The church service was about being sick and afflicted and the whole time I am thinking I can apply this to my infertility. That my GOD is big enough to cure me and I would be able to conceive. That is even what I had prayed for.

Tuesday was supposed to be normal doctors appointment. Well it wasn't. Turns out I had some elevated levels that a previous doctor failed to look into. This doctor was not happy and could tell that something was wrong (even threatened blood transfusion). We drew some more labs and all though they are not all back, we do now know that its more likely that I do in fact have Lupus or some other AI disease and its not good. The good news is that I wont need a transfusion (I credit organic eating on that one!) The alarming one is that my kidney functions are off. So we need more testing for that too. There will be lots and lots of testing to come. I think when I left the office and I got back the initial results I knew right then and there that God was giving me my answer. He was giving me a NO to babies and a WAKE UP to the sermon I had just heard. I think that it was God preparing me for this battle I'm entering. We don't know what lies ahead and I know that my body is not functioning and I am weaker every day. I simply can not take a pregnancy at this time in my life.

So we are done. I am trying to look at all the good in this. Like, hey no more diapers. Or how about we can get a smaller more efficient car! We can focus more attention on the kids we are so lucky to have. etc etc etc.. Its never easy, but knowing that GOD has it all figured out gives me the peace I need when it comes to this.

Perhaps in the future we will adopt, I don't know. I don't even know if I will have the energy to get out of bed tomorrow. I am going to take it one day at a time and really listen, just listen to what God is telling me. I will pray for wisdom for the doctors who will be treating me and that the medicine they put me on works, if anything give me some sort of relief. I will pray for my family and so they are strong when I am not.

I have a big GOD who can do anything and I will trust that He will get me through this too!

The busy(ness) began

2011-09-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

and mom (me) has no wiggle room!

Two Mondays ago we began with the kindergarten year of homeschooling for Sam. It is way more intense than I had anticipated. I don't know what I expected but Im sure in the weeks to come I will get this schedule down and it wont seem so stressful. He has 7, YES 7 subjects. Math, Literature Arts, Science, Social Studies, German, Language Arts (reading) and Handwriting. It does end up taking about 5 hours to complete it all. And now with the CO-OP starting I have no idea how I will manage it all.
Let me break down my schedule for you all!

Monday : Homeschool for 5 hours, I have school from 3-10 then bed ( find time to sneak in dinner)

Tuesday: Every other Tuesday is MOPS, then we come home and Homeschool, (or homeschool all day on the OFF weeks.) dinner, bed

Wednesday: Co-op and then my school from 3-6, Dinner, Homeschool, bed

Thursday: Homeschool for 5 hours, Awanas, Study time for me, Dinner and bed

Friday: Homeschool, bible study every other week, Dinner and bed

Saturday: my day to play catch up if I dont have a photo shoot

Sunday; Work in the AM, family day in the PM ( and homework again)

and start over!

whewwwww CAN I BREATH YET?

thats also doing all the normal Mom and Wife, Work duties throughout the week.

I CAN DO THIS... I try and repeat this each day. And yes, there are some bad days where the kids or I just arent having a good day.. but the good days are there too and those are awesome and make it all worth wile!

Oh and two new things: Sam has decided to be the 10th version of Dr. Who for halloween. ( David Tennant) and I am in the process of putting together the costume and today I finally found a trench coat that will work. Still waiting on the sonic screwdriver of course! (dont mind our messy homeschool station!)

and on an even bigger note. Delilah is POTTY TRAINED! this is huge. ( and she loves her "panties") two kids out of diapers! woo hoo!

Homeade Albondigas Soup Sunday!

2011-08-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

So in my efforts to keep meal planning going I planned this weeks meals in advance. Mondays are going to be soup days because I can make a big batch and the hubby and kids can eat leftovers the next day when Im at school till 9pm. Today is perfect because we have communion tonight and it can really stew and get more flavorful. I saw a recipe for Albondigas Soup and I am so excited about this one, I have never had it and was really wanting to try it. So I made it!

(its a mexican meatball soup btw!)

started to mix all the ingredients for the meatballs

(Grass fed ground beef, spicy sausage meat(pork), green chilies, cilantro, green onions, egg, rice salt, pepper and cholula)

Had to mix it my hand...yum...( the rice is not cooked yet as it will go in the soup later)

then I formed the balls and placed on a baking sheet

Next I started the broth..

(beef broth, water, minced garlic, diced tomatoes, green chilies, green onion, cilantro, cholula, salt, pepper)

after it boiled I added 1/4 cup more dry rice

and then added the delicious cooked meatballs.. and for my first ever meatball, it was freakin awesome!

It then stews for while. (about 4 or 5 hours on low) and the rice in the meatballs will soften and they will soak up that delicous broth! mmmm

having Mom, Sis and Jon over and we will eat it with a mexican salad, tortilla strips, cheese and of course a little wine ( beer for the boys!)

What an awesome way to spend the day!

I was lost, but now I am found

2011-08-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on my technique! I feel like when school is out and Im not required to to specific work that Im not using my full potential. I used some of the new 3d features of cs5 and a tutorial along with both Illustrator and Photoshop to create this awesome poster! hours of work and I think I LOVE IT! I hope you enjoy it too!

Let your Geek flag fly!

2011-07-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

Yep, Ill admit it, my secret (or not so much) is out. I'm a geek. In the past being called a geek was so not cool, but in the recent years more and more of us are becoming accepted and in fact down right proud. I say its the age of the computer really. And now the term Geek stands for so much more. You dont have to be a computer genius to be a geek. (although I can read and write code and know binary and open source) Its so much more. Also not to be confused with nerd, who generally have little to no social skills.

Take me for instance. I am a big fan of LOTR ( if you know LOTR without googling you may be geek), I spend most of my free time in front of a computer, I prefer E books over paper books, Im a huge fan of science fiction shows and it felt like chrismas morning when Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day and Stan Lee were on Eureka ( if you know who any of them are....you may be a geek) I prefer to stay in and watch a good movie than to go out ( say "clubbing") My child knew the theme of Star Wars before he could sing twinkle twinkle and could control any game system without the aid an adult by the time he was 4.( if your kid can work a computer better than your mom...you may be a geek) If I could, I would go to every Comicon in costume! ( if you know what comicon is ....you may be a geek) I know the differences between a .jpg .eps .pdf .indd .png .doc etc file and know which one I just simply try to avoid at all cost. ( if you know too.... you may be a geek) I participate in online discussion boards and chat rooms regularly ( in fact I met my husband online). I play video games and beat MYST in a month. I even know what a guild is. ( if you know what that is...you may be a geek) Ive stood in line all night to be the first in line to get a copy of the newest Harry Potter ( if you dont know who that is.....you need to crawl out from under your rock!) this list could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Im a Geek.. and Im proud. Are you a Geek? Flash some of your geek cred and be proud!

Why I love my job!

2011-07-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've been having so much fun lately taking more photos and designing new things. I LOVE my job. First off, I get to work for a church filled with people who love the Lord and show it each day. The people there never cease to amaze me and really show what it means to live like a Christian. The joy that is exhumed in the workplace that I have never seen before and I am so lucky to be a part of it. And of course on the graphic end of things I get to design something new every day (week) and its a challenge that I love. As a designer you never want things to get boring or the same old every day work right, so this is a little slice of heaven for me. Just yesterday I really got to play with technique and make a slide for our upcoming baptism event. It was just a fun way to put my skills to use and I think the end product turned out well! I found this technique worked perfect for the event. Water submersion baptism!

Then we have the photography end of my job. I got to take maternity photos for my friend jennie. She was the perfect model. How perfectly pregnant she was and how beautiful she looked. I loved the way the shots turned out and am excited to add them to my portfolio. Here are a few of my favorite shots. Enjoy!

The red brick wall

2011-07-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

So I got to take pictures of a beautiful family (and wonderful friends) this week. And what is exciting is that I was dying to shoot in this location. I had seen other local photo shoots here and LOVED the bright colors. If anyone is wondering, its down at West Street Market.

They were so much fun to shoot, even though Danny was off in 2 year old land. It was like shooting my daughter. You have to run to keep up. I call it the photog workout! enjoy! and thanks to Zach and Jeni for letting me take photos of your beautiful Family!

Meatless Monday on the fourth!

2011-07-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

So we have been doing meatless monday for a few months now ( actually we do more than just mondays) and this holiday I wasn't sure that we would continue this tradition. Usually we BBQ on the 4th, hamburgers or some other juicy protein. So I looked into the history of meatless mondays and found it to be suprisingly patriotic.

First a little background. Going meatless at least one day a week will lower your risk for cancers, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It also helps reduce the carbon footprint on the planet. How you ask? Well its an entire movement and if a buch of us do it.. it matters. Visit MeatlessMonday.com to find out more.

On that site I found the history of Meatless Monday.

During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration urged families to reduce consumption of key staples to aid the war effort. “Food Will Win the War,” the government proclaimed, and “Meatless Monday” and “Wheatless Wednesday” were introduced to encourage Americans to do their part.

Herbert Hoover, then head of the Food Administration, spearheaded implementation of the campaign. In addition to advertising, his office created and distributed recipe booklets and menus in newspapers, magazines and pamphlets.

The effect was overwhelming. Some 10 million families, 7,000 hotels and nearly 425,000 food dealers pledged to observe national meatless days. In November 1917, New York City hotels saved some 116 tons of meat over the course of just one week. According to a 1929 Saturday Evening Post article, “Americans began to look seriously into the question of what and how much they were eating. Lots of people discovered for the first time that they could eat less and feel no worse – frequently for the better”.

The campaign returned during World War II and beyond, when Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman used rationing to help feed war-ravaged Europe

and in 2003 the meatless monday movement resurfaced, and its growing each day.

With that, I decided that of all the days to go meatless, today was a good one! So what did I make? A delicious Quinoa stir fry.

Started with some beautiful veggies

While those cooked (sauteed (sp?) a bit I cooked the Quinoa *just look at that mmmmmmm

then I seasoned the veggies and tossed in the quinoa, and look at the beautiful dish that came out of it.. served with a sangria on the side.. delicious meatless monday meal.

Family Dinner night

2011-06-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

So tonight we had family dinner night. I made garlic and basil polenta with red sauce and Parmesan. Spinach and arugela salad with artichoke hearts, red and green peppers and croutons..yumm.
The kids said it was super yummy ( the polenta) and loved it. It will be a staple from now on for sure.
It was good to be able to sit down and actually have a dinner with too, we talked about future plans, things they would like to do..mosty that involved candy and the x-box. It was good for Tom and I to sit down too. We have been talking about some things in our life and it was good to just and work out all the little details. So heres to another yummy family dinner night!

Adventures in Canning.

2011-06-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

I couldn't take it anymore, I had to try and can. I have to wait 24 hours and see if it sets, but as of now sadly the jam is still syrup.

well lets begin.

First I cut the berries

Then we chopped a bit

She was so excited to help

mixed with the pectin

While that boiled, I sterilized my jars

you can see it in full boil here

Then poured it into the jars

while I did that, little miss was busy with the spoon!

Then in goes the jars

Boiled to seal and preserve

The final product Sam got to name!

Heres to hoping it will be a jam not a syrup:(

Summer!

2011-06-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

I'm way to wedding'd out to even start the wedding photos. So today I blog about summer. While its supposed to be a relaxing vacation, I still find myself busier than ever. The head doesn't help either. Having and AI disease, the heat exasperates it and causes what I like to call flare ups. My body aches and I get over exhausted and end up spending the day in bed if I over heat. So I'm really trying to stay cool. No AC in either car stinks though, because driving anywhere just wipes me out. If I remain indoors, or in the shade ( if cool enough) I do okay.

Anyhow, speaking of busy. Sam started his summer school this week. He is enrolled in the Nevada Virtual Academy and they have different classes the kids can take throuout the summer. This weeks theme is art. He is learning all about the different types of art, ( expressionism etc...) Then they submit some artwork and it gets displayed the next day to the whole class ( about 250 kids). He loves it. He gets to do it in his jammies which he thinks is awesome!

You cant tell, but the teacher is speaking through the mic.

here the teacher was telling him to relax his eyes!

Next week is another theme...cant wait to see what it is.

Now also this summer I have decided to give canning a try, Im super nervous and have NO clue what I'm doing. Im hoping to find some friends to do it with me too. But to make things easier I got a great party to host and here are some things that were included.

Im hoping to make some Jams and Tomato sauces to start, we tend to use those things in our house the most. I know its cheaper to buy the already pre made jellies and sauces, but if I can make my own and know what goes in it and where the food came from ( local farm!) it would be even better. And if I get good. Yummy gifts!

Quick update before the weekend begins!

2011-06-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Its going to be a crazy busy weekend here. My little sister is getting married tomorrow! We've been planning this day for a year and now its finally here. Im excited for them and excited for it to be over and to get back into the swing of things. We have rehearsal today and then family BBQ on Saturday with all the family in town, but this includes swimming in moms pool so that's even better. Then fathers Day on Sunday. Wheeww.

We've actually been doing well at the family dinners, the goal was once this week, but It was twice. I made delicious Carrot, Garlic, Rosemary, Lemon Thyme Orszo ( seen in photo) and some roasted potatoes and artichokes. ( we had other things obviously..but those were the family table ones).

With this week being so busy its been hard, We are eating out 2 times this week. Sunday and Monday were good, Tue we had a pizza party for Sams little league, so that sucked. then Yesterday it was subs and tonight and tomorrow its wedding food. Although I am very excited that the place we are eating serves Organic meats! woo hooo! Also, its farmers market season and Im going to take advantage of that! (even though Ill miss tonights) Im going to try and make the saturday morning one if I can get myself out of bed in time from the wedding night.. haha. I still will have sunday too I guess if I miss it.

Some useful information on GMOs

2011-06-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

This is just a tiny snippit about GMOs. I would encourage you all to research it yourself and learn the true nature behind it. And I want to put a charge out to all you Christians who do not see this as an issue.
Collossians 1:16 says all things were created by God for HIM. Don't you think that Gene modification and creation should be reserved for the Designer? Is it an act of defiance by changing His creation at the cellular level? What about the politics behind it? Did you know that corporations like Monsanto have a patent on those GM seeds, and if your plant cross pollinates with it on purpose or not, Monsanto then owns your plant, if your livestock ingests that seed ( or plant), Monsanto then owns your livestock. How close do you think we are to Monsanto saying that if YOU ingest that seed they own you? Its not to far off. How can it be OK to patent life? Did you know that it was intentionally left out of the constitution on moral grounds? Think about it.... I can go on and on, but really, the only way for you to really know the truth is to read it for yourself. Or watch it! There are some great documentaries, and even research articles on this subject. Oh the power of Google!

Recent polls across the world have consistently shown that, if they had a choice, 90% of people would actively seek to avoid GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in their food.

Unfortunately, GMOs are taking over our farmland so quickly, it is virtually impossible to avoid eating GM foods... unless you know what to look for:

HOW TO AVOID GMO FOODS:

1. Look at the stickers on fruit - there is a PLU code with either 4 or 5 numbers. If your fruit's label has 4 numbers, it is conventionally grown. 5 numbers starting with a 9 means it was organically grown, and 5 numbers starting with an 8 means GMO.

2. Buy local & talk to your farmers - this is the best way to ensure you're eating real foods. It's estimated that up to 85% of pre-packaged and processed foods contain GMOs, so buying fresh from the farm is a great way to avoid that.

3. Avoid the Top Four GMO Crops of Soy, Corn, Canola and Cottonseed - most blended oils in North America contain canola and cottonseed. Replacing these with 100% extra virgin olive oil is a safe alternative.

4. Encourage your favorite food providers to label their food GMO-free. We don't need the government to force companies to label their foods, and we're seeing more and more that we as consumers have tremendous power, and if enough of us ask for GMO-free labels, and support the companies that use them, we'll see a huge increase in labeling. And we're already starting to see this.

Get to know the companies that are labeling their foods GMO-free.

5. Buy Organically Grown Food - For now, the organic certification process is a relatively safe bet to ensure your food is free of GMOs, although this may not be the case in the future. Help support global sustainability by purchasing certified organically grown food.

6. Conventional Sugar - Over 90% of this year's sugar beet harvest will be Monsanto's GM Roundup-Ready Sugar Beet. That means if you are using sugar, or eating anything with sugar in it, you're eating GMOs. Alternatives to sugar are listed here.

7. Grow your own food - Plant a garden using heirloom seeds! (thanks to Amy31415 on YouTube for pointing out this important tip!)

(taken from http://bytestyle.tv/content/top-6-ways-identify-avoid-gmo-foods I encourage you to click this link and read more! I bet there are things you eat everyday that you didn't know were GM. )

Family Dinner

2011-06-11T23:47:00.000-07:00

So I was watching Jamie Olivers food revolution and not only do I love the show but certain things hit hard. I know that the change we made at the beginning of this year was the right thing for our family and recently we've been so busy that we let that slack. NO MORE! On tonight's episode he talked about having family meals. We just don't do that often. I'm usually eating in front of the computer, kids at the table and tom with them.. mostly then Its my fault. I feel like I'm too busy and need to multitask, eat and work, my kids are too young to get the family table so why bother... etc.. you know EXCUSES! So tonight as I write this I made the decision (with my husband) that we for now will start with one night a week having a family dinner at the table. The way it should be. I can work from there, but it has got to start somewhere right?

and on that note, we need to get back to the way we used to feel about food when this journey started, We were so concerned about hurting peoples feelings that we got lazy, and so we started adding the GMO foods back in, then it was the excuse of well we already did that so a little drive thru treat wont be bad.. but then it just piles up and before you know it, the whole week has gone to crap.Our health has gone to crap, our energy has gone to crap and we just plain ol feel ucky!

NO MORE.

It starts now, I fully believe in my heart of hearts that Gods desire is for my family to eat the food he gave us, not the GMO stuff that isn't healthy and in fact the effects are so unknown and recently shown to cause birth defects. How severe is yet to be determined. I will NOT let my children learn about food the way we did, I didn't know where my food came from, I didn't know what the ingredients on the box were? I want better for my kids and I'm going to do just that. This is my blog to remind me to STAY THE PATH.

Keep reading, and PLEASE keep encouraging me on this journey. I know its not an easy one but If God could bring be through drug addiction, abuse, and infertility he can get me through this! YES HE CAN. ( he he get it )

Everything Soup(with photos!!!)

2011-06-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would do a little photo journal showing on of my favorite GO TO recipes.
It starts out with ingredients found in my fridge ( all veggies are organic!) So I usually end up with a ton of veggies that I have dont have time to cook and they start to get soft, I need to cook them fast and yummy.

I started with fresh garbonzo beans in the shell

Sam was excited to find two in the pod

added onions

all the peppers

sam loves to eat them raw

I save the rest and use them for salads and sandwiches throughout the week

added basil, green onions, carrots and zuchinni

and you end up with an amazing rainbow of veggies

and a little boy who loves to snack

Next I added black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, marinara sauce and chicken broth as a filler

and let it soak for a few hours

about 20 min before you want to eat it, add tortellini

sprinkle with parmesan and YUMMO a delicious vegifull meal!

Seriously?

2011-05-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

So this Dove ad has been getting a lot of controversy and as a designer (someone who actually puts together ads) I think its rather stupid and hilarious. (You can read the full article HERE) Basically what they are alleging is that Dove is racist. Now I know this is in itself a controversial subject but COME ON, really? Its mostly about how the women are lined up, left to right, from dark skin to light skin and thicker to thinner. I seriously doubt that Dove had the intent that they were going to make a plump black woman into a skinny white woman. Sure its probably bad placement with the juxtaposition of the BEFORE and AFTER text, but not the intent. I happen to think that its aesthetically pleasing with the specific poses, and often in designing an ad, the photo is taken and then graphically put together. I give praise to Dove for using "Real" women in their ads, showing all shapes and sizes. I think that in general we have become too sensitive and too politically correct as a nation and need to get over it. Not everything has an underlying meaning. Some need to just get a life if they are really agonizing over this. What do you think? is it racist?

as John Stossel would say " Give me a break"....

CREATE

2011-05-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

Productivity and creativity are two of my favorite things, and today I was able to expand on those with some fun and easy tools. I have an iPad, and thanks to adobe I know have some brilliant apps that make my life easier. They introduced some new apps this month and I knew I just had to have them . The first is adobe nav. Which basically puts my photoshop tools onto my iPad for quick and easy switch between and access. I can then also view all my open files on the IPad and then get up and walk my iPad down the office to display the work in real time. How cool is that!

The next one is more of a quick idea on the go app. I can sketch and paint my inspiration quickly and easily whenever I want at the swipe of my finger. And the control is amazing. It is like a water color effect Which I not really know but I am now eager to learn. The artwork above is something I did in about 30 min in bed, it's a sketch of my son Sam. I got about halfway through the coloring process when I realized I need MAJOR work..haha but this may be fun. This app is simply called adobe ideas.

Check it out!

Silent and Quiet.

2011-05-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

Frederick Buechner says "Silence, Cant be anything but silent, Quiet however chooses to be silent. It hold its breath to listen. It waits and is still." To be quiet is to find your strength from HIM alone. Psalm 46:10 calls us "to be still and know I am God.." In Hebrew that translates to rapha which in other words means letting ourselves go or to become weak. And this is what I needed to do so badly this week. I was having one of those weeks where if it could go wrong, it did! On top of the normal stresses of life ( finances, school, parenting etc..) It seemed as though one thing after another was dragging me down. My daughter threw my laptop, someone hit our car window and shattered it, I was audited at school, I spilled screen printing ink all over myself, my kids were fighting and oh my coffee went cold. ( you know, THAT kind of day). It wasn't huge life changing stuff either. We have a warranty, we needed some air conditioning, I'm not in any trouble, ink washes off, kids are kids and its just coffee. But in those moments it seemed like I was going to fall apart. And thats sort of just what I did. I came home after that long day and I just sat in the shower in silence. I knew that I just needed to "be still". To stop stressing and let God take care of it. I got so wrapped up in the moment I forgot who was in charge. Last year I got the words "be still" (harpoo) tattooed on my wrist as a reminder to myself to just stop and listen and let go. I need to remember to become weak because HE is strong. As soon as I did that I could literally feel the weight lifted off my shoulders. I began to feel a peace inside that only He could give. I know I am not alone when it comes to these moments of "strength" as I will call it.. strength that I can do it alone and its all about me. We all have those moments and I hope this blog helps you to feel "weak" when you need it too.

2011-04-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would share some eye candy with you all. I have been up all night busy making decorations for my sisters bridal shower on Saturday. I did some oragami creations and then sprayed them with acrylic so they would be shiny and a bit stronger. Enjoy!

This is what I started with. (scrapbook set)

Them Drying

Sams Little League

2011-04-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today was opening day for sams little league. It was so much fun and my boy is so handsome. ( although Im bias!) Hes pretty darn good to boot too, I mean look at that form! Here are some photos to enjoy. We can not wait for the games to begin! a

Rooms

2011-03-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

I have not yet watched any other Documentaries so there is no update on that end. We are still going strong on our new Organic lifestyle though. The kids really do love all the new foods and are excited about them and love eating healthy. My body seems to be regular again as far as periods go. Hopefully this will lead to good things in the future. Not to mention my pants are fitting nice.

I also had some fun a few sundays ago with my SIL making hair bows. I was hoping to sell some at the JBF Sale but they did not sell as well as I had hoped. But none the less it was still really fun and we got to spend some quality time together. ( plus I scored some great deals at the sale)

Tom and I put the kids rooms together ( or should I say apart as they were together). So now they are back to having their own rooms. They look too cute.

The entrance to Lilahs room ( yes it looks this pink with those curtains)

The room from this angle, and you can see all her girly toys and the changing table is now a toy/bow shelf..haha (both baskets on the top have bows and headbands in them)

And the other side, her dresser, dollies and play clothes

Sams room entrance ( all the homeschool supplies and boy toys in here)

Coming in you can see his bunk bed and desk area

His desk for school ( he needed to work in private without sissy) ( i know the dresser needs some cleaning)

and just a view of his beds... He loves them. ( he has a cool night light that projects a "nemo" scene on the ceiling too.

Cloth Diaper Cutness

2011-03-14T10:54:00.001-07:00

Documentaries and Cloth Diapers.

2011-03-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

So I'm making it my mission to watch all 17 documentaries on this list! (all though Ive already seen a few, Ill watch them again !)I don't know how long it will take but as I watch them I will review them and kind of give my reaction to them.

DIRT- watched on hulu, it was a quick watch so good if you don't have a lot of time. It wasn't life changing though, it did give me a new perspective on dirt and compost etc.. but I'm also not quite in the composting "green" as of yet. It did however, make me really want some good organic wine!

FOOD MATTERS- We watched this a few weeks ago so its not as fresh on my mind but it made us realize a bit more about the nutrition value of food and this is how GOD intended it to be. Did you know that they are able to treat cancer with high doses of Vitamin C, something GOD made yet we are banning here in the U.S. because of the pharmaceutical companies pockets? This was part of the reason we added so many vitamins to our diet and why we as parents decided to be sure our kids were eating nutritionally dense foods. Fun fact from this film: 2 handfuls of cashews can equal one Prozac! Its a pretty educational film and I think a must watch.

SUPERSIZE ME- We watched it again today, partially because it will be on my exam for my nutrition class. Which by the way I also think that every person should take. I am learning so much about my food and it is only cementing this new lifestyle of ours and making it more solid! Okay, back to SSM, amazing, and disgusting all at the same time. My husband was sure it was going to make him crave McDonalds but by the end of it he to is on the NO FAST FOOD train! Here is an article I read recently about mcnuggets.. and ewweee, butane..really. I cant believe I fed that to my children. From all the illness my family suffers from, I have to wonder if its partially because of the way we eat? I know Spurlock took it to the extreme, but really how much of this also can hold true to other processed foods we Americans eat?

THE FUTURE OF FOOD- WOW, first it was slow, but the more we watch the more we couldn't take our eyes off it. It goes into more depth and detail about GMO, what it is, how its made and the effects it has. It was sad at the same time. We watched it in two parts, after just 30 min I went to bed thinking that MONSANTO was pure evil. I still feel that way, how can we as humans and Christians be so opposed to Gene modification in humans but not our food that we are feeding our children? We gasp at the though of someone modifying our embryos but not when it comes to our food? God made all the plants the right way with the nutrients we need to survive, how can it be okay to change it and say WE can do better than GOD! This film will teach you about the process and patents that go into GMOs. Companies like Monsanto are saying these will cure hunger famine when really its just causing more by the way they are running it and putting farmers out of work. Hunger is not a issue of amount of food, its an issue of access to food. How can we continue to turn a blind eye? No more for my family, we will vote with our forks and our budgets by not buying food made with GMOs, we will support our local farmers and get the future of food changed! check outhttp://thefutureoffoodfilm.wordpress.com/ to learn more. and watch this film!

Ill post more as I watch them!

Now on another subject we have decided to try and Cloth diaper:

We only started two days ago and so far so good, it does take work and Im reading everything I can get my eyes on about it. My friend Kat let me borrow a few to test out, Im thinking I like the old fashion pre folds with covers over the aios, I think the changing may be easier as most times I only have to change the inside and not the whole diaper as with aio's ( all in ones) and that means less money for us. We have now gone two days without using a single disposable. So far our favorites are the G diapers with cloth inserts and flip covers. Ill also keep updating the progress as we move forward for a healthier family and a healthier world!

ch ch ch changes....

2011-03-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, Ill give an update on some of the other stuff at the end of this post....

1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Two months ago my husband and I decided to start eating healthier, so we started buying more veggies, sugar free and low fat options etc... but then a few weeks later we were bored and watching netflix. We came across the movie FOOD INC. and OMG, (yes I said OMG) it completely changed the way we look at our food and our lives. I would encourage anyone and everyone to watch this and then to continue to do research and educate yourselves.

That being said, we decided to really make a change. We have begun the process of switching to only eating Organic (and local when possible) foods. It is just that, a process. We did donate some of the HFCS things in our house, dumped the non organic ground beef and are almost all organic in our pantry and fridge. Soon we will probably be 98% organic. I can not wait until its farmers market season! We have started to add daily vitamins as well. Since the change we have felt better inside and out.(Tom has lost about 8 lbs) Our way of thinking has changed and this is starting to also turn us a little more green each day. We will be stopping the use of chemicals in our house to clean and use vinegar, baking soda etc... combinations instead. ( thats a whole nother blog!)

We do not want the GMO's food in our house or bodies, HFCS etc... I would rather you all just watch this movie and then FOOD MATTERS as well to really get an idea about this lifestyle change.

So what about the budget???

For years I said I could never shop organic or "healthy". I was wrong. Its all about change, we no longer eat out at fast food restaurants because they are not organic and instead that money we spent now goes into the grocery budget. Ive found its not that much more, with couponing and shopping around the difference is marginal. We make it a family day when we go to whole foods and the kids are starting to love their veggies now, as they really get to pick what they eat. Ive also found that my taste buds are changing. I crave good organic food, not the greasy fries and hamburger..those actually make me sick. My mother alwyas says "pay now or pay later" and shes right. I want to be around for my kids I want to see them live healthy lives and not end up in the hospital later or be on pills because of a choice as simple as eating healthy and organic!

Bottom line.. watch the movie and pass this knowledge on to a friend so they too can live healthier lives. (its streaming on netflix and amazon)

Preview:

so here is a bit of fun..

3 years ago I participated in an online challege about what our food says about us. This was the video:

Now here is what our fridge looks like today: We are well on our way!

okay so for some of the other updates:

The pharmecutical company 100% approved the meds! How cool is that and what an amazing God we have. I have had a few flair ups but they are getting farther apart.

School is going great as well as work, it is keeping me super busy as well.

Sammy has been doing awesome in Gymnastics, and is excited to start T ball in April! (look out for photos!)

and finally, last night our church surrounded the city of Reno in prayer, we all went to different parks that overlook the city, we prayed for the broken, the hurting and for God to just wrap Himself around this city and bless the people. I was lucky enough to get some photos:

Why Transformed

2011-02-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

For my new Photography website/Company I choose the name Bries Transformed Photography.

Why?

Well the Brie of course because its me and I want people to identify the company with me.

the TRANSFORMED is a huge part because as a Christ Follower, I believe that when Jesus died on the cross for me and I accepted that; I became a new person. Transformed from my old behavior and life to the new renewed one in HIM.

Romans 12:2

Visit my Photo Blog at http://www.briestransformedphotography.blogspot.com/

Teaghan Lousie

2011-01-31T11:04:00.001-08:00

My niece has arrived, and she is so beautiful and mom and dad are so happy and I already love her so much and can't wait to be an auntie. But it is bittersweet for me. When they announced the pregnancy I was excited and then a few months later we decided it would be nice to have "just one more" and so we tried, and tried and tried. Nothing. This last month was the kicker, I was on a high dose of the meds and I didn't even come close to ovulation. so that sucked! I had have the choice to go to the RE for Injections or try another round of the med that IS NOT working. After prayer and tears we have decided that for right now, we say no to it all and just let my body be for a while. For some reason God has decided to close my womb and I need to be okay with that. I trust that my heavenly father knows best and ultimately His plan is the plan for me. I indeed have so much to be continually thankful for as well. I am lucky enough to have an amazing husband, and blessed with two beautiful children already. I get to go to work at a job I love and for now life is good. Perhaps this is HIS way of drawing me nearer to Him? I don't know for sure but again all I can do is trust that He has a plan.

on the other front, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Which to be honest, it feels good to finally have an answer, the part that sucks is now the meds are super expensive. I have an application into the pharmecutical company hoping they will pay for partial or all of it. If not I will ask my doctor about something cheaper, but at this point I just don't want to hurt anymore so I'll try anything !

Also...whew if your still reading props to you!!! I was given some backdrops to play with and Im super excited about them and hopefully this will give you all some future eye candy to see later!

over and out!

Wall

2010-12-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

So I took down my IKEA curtains and used it to display photos in my hallway! Much better use of it if you ask me! Plus its an easy quick way to display my favorites and I can change them out whenever. Man shoulda done this a long time ago!

Oh and this is my daughter taking out the trash...without asking as I was photographing the wall! (daddy was switching bags)

Total Eclipse of my heart!

2010-12-21T00:46:00.000-08:00

It was a total eclipse tonight and I got to take some amazing photos. Im so excited I got to get these shots!

starts around 10:40ish pm

Then I had to switch my shutter speed and iso to get this shot of the true red

Then it goes black!

if you want to see the pass back.. turn your computer upside down and scroll backwards! haha

enjoy!

Cupcakes and Dogs!

2010-12-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

So I promised Id show you all the cupcakes I made! I know they are not as good as others but my kids still loved them. They were pottery barn kits of Star Wars and Princess.

Heres the tree.

The Princess

(star wars)

And then Saturday we went to the animal shelter and fell in love with this dog, so we had to take her home. Shes a 6 year old Beagle named princess ( how fitting) and shes amazing. Shes housetrained, loves kids, mellow and happy dog!

2010-12-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

So I saw this amazing pettiskirt ( tutu) at Costco and had to have if for lilahs Christmas outfit!

but...there was no top or anything

So first I made this awesome awsome hair piece. It was so fun and I think Ill be making these for the bridesmades in my sisters wedding in june.. ( its a vintage wedding)

Then I made these yoyos and sewed them to a basic carters onsie

and of course... the finished happy girl!

Lets not forget the matching shoes I found for a steal at Hancock fabric! woot woot

New exciting things!

2010-12-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I feel like I'm ready to announce (at least on my blog) that I got an internship position at my church. This is so exciting, I was felt to step down from being a youth leader a few months back and that I was supposed to be doing something else in ministry, I absolutley LOVE doing publicity for MOPS and Graphics are such a passion for me. So at the Women's retreat this year I layed on the doc praying for God to give me an answer in where I was supposed to be serving, and then on the last day of retreat Leah said she was praying for a new intern ...ME! Man God is good.

So when I got the official welcome, I thought well, what about my kids? where will they go? I dont have enough money for daycare and I make too much to qualify for Childrens Cabinet. We have been praying about what to do when it comes to schooling my children, I was determined to homeschool. But with Sams speech delay and hearing loss I knew he needed some speech therapy (which we also can not afford). So by getting this internship at just the right time ( we moved in October to a great neighborhood with great schools) I was confident in my decision to put Sam in public school. Even though he wont start kindergarden till next year, he qualifies for early preschool because of his speech delay. He has his official eval on Jan 11, and Im sure will start pretty quickly afterwards.

So what about Delilah? Well, I think that with her its more difficult. We are praying that it all works out with my sister and she can watch her. That would be a Giant blessing, and my friend Kat also offerd to help. So I think that because God has blessed me with this opportunity, I am sure he has a plan for Delilah too!

Now on the TTC front. wheww where to begin. Well, we started trying again a few months ago, and no real luck. This month I feel like I have some symptoms but its more likely just progesterone and Ill start my period any day now! Which at that point we will need to make the decision if we will want to keep trying or stop and be blessed with the two beauties we have now?

Oh and the photos above were take when we went to cut down the christmas tree!

2010-11-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

Exactly Two years ago today my princess Delilah Grace Anne was born! Is this an awesome pic or what! The time flies, I cant believe shes two already, I feel like I just had her.

Christmas Decorations

2010-11-30T15:13:00.001-08:00

Sammy really wanted to decorate the house more, he said we didnt have enough "decorating". So we made these with some scraps and construction paper! It was fun. Look at my hams!

Baby Legs/Legwarmers

2010-11-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

So I was in the Crafty mood today. I finally was able to do some sewing that I miss so much. Heres what I made today:

I found knee highs on sale at Target for 2 bucks and Sam has been begging for a pair of "arm warmers"

First I cut the foot off

Then Sectioned the foot

Then trimmed the mid section so it would be nice and tight, you can leave it big for grown up though. (this will be the cuff)

Turn the middle part inside out and sew the edge

When done sewing fold it inside itself so it looks like so

Your going to place the long part of the sock inside the new cuff

Then flip it upside down like so

Then sew all 3 edges together

Flip the cuff like so and you now have a finished product!

I made a pair for Sam and a Pair for Lilah ( they don't get till Christmas!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! THIS IS WHY IM THANKFULL

2010-11-25T10:49:00.001-08:00

MMMMM

2010-11-24T15:34:00.001-08:00

I made Lemmon Buddies with my Chex mix today. White Chocolate and Lemon flavored buddies to be exact. and YUMMO I will have to make these again~

Recipe:

Melt 1 and 1/4 cup of White Chocolate chips with 1/4 cup butter and 3tbsp lemon juice.
Pour melted mixture on 9 cups of rice chex in a bag
Shake vigerously for up to 5 min.. (not so fun)
sprinkle with powdered sugar and shake a bit more
let cool and enjoy!

Lookie what I got today!

2010-11-24T09:49:00.001-08:00

So I signed up for this amazing thing called "MY GET TOGETHER" I think it may be run by General Mills but Im not sure. Anyhow, you sign up and get take surveys for awesome products and parties. I got selected to do the Chex mix one and I am more than happy with what came in the box! I got a box of Chex of course and a great mixing bowl and spoon, a cool bag and what was the most suprising was a VISA gift card for $10 to buy the rest of the ingredients! HOW COOL. Oh and some coupons too! Leave a comment if you want one. Its for $2 off two boxes. So basically a dollar off each box. haha. Or comment if you want to know how you can sign up for this awesome program!

(dont mind the photo I took it with my droid)

Centerpieces

2010-11-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

So we had to cancel MOPS today due to the Storm rolling in. (which is 3 days late). But I went and got to take some photos for the MOPS blog and I am so inspired by the centerpieces I had to share them here!

Love the vintage photos in this one.. So stealing the idea for Shelbys wedding!

Cloves in oranges!! simply simple! and the smell!!!! yummmo

Also Simple. Fresh cranberries and rosemary in water, with a tea light.. LOVE IT

Some photo candy!

2010-11-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Just a taste of some recent photos.

Sam and Anya got married!

My beautiful Delilah

Our first trip to Apple Hill! The kids had a blast and now LOVE to eat apples! horray!

And now Im really getting into taking Tattoo Photography, Specifically Christian tattoos. The one on the wrist is me!

2010-11-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

This blog has been a mess. It started off as a way of documenting my struggles with infertility, then my pregnancy journey. then a homechool journey and then my attemps to photograph homescooling, and then campaings for products I recieved. And now I just dont know what it is. Its my ramblings I suppose. It is a blog about nothing and everything. I will post photos and some campaigns and whatever else I happen to be in love with doing in my life. Lets see what comes next. God is good and His mercies are New every morning~! So tomorrow we shall see what those mercies bring.

Garnier Fructis Sleek N Shine Blow Dry Perfector!

2010-08-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Okay now thats a long title! But a worth it long title. I have long curly hair and the time it takes to blow dry my hair is incredibly long, Id say close to an hour. That was until I discovered the Sleek N Shine Blow Dry Perfector.

First the details:
~This is a two-step smoothing kit ahta will give you the perfect, bouncy blow dry that frizz resistant and silky smooth. It makes your hair manageable and faster to blowdry. DAY AFTER DAY
~It is NON permanent and lasts up to 7 shampoos. And I can tell you that 4 shampoos later my hair is still easy to comb through!
~Suggested retail price of $11.99 but if your one of the first 4 to comment by blog Ill send you postage paid $2.oo off coupon!

watch my videos to see it in action!

*Dont forget that Im a bzzagent and recieved this product free for review!

Covergirl LashBlast fusion mascara

2010-07-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Covergirl's first ever volume + length mascara!

Covergirls lashBlast Fusion is the perfect fusion of LashBlast's super volumizing brush and a new buildable fiber-stretch lengthening formula that work together to thicken and extend the look of individual lashes. So no more having to pick between lashes with volume or length. And no more havint to use two mascaras at once! Enjoy that extra minute of me-time ladies!

Don't forget its Hypo-allergenic and suitable for contact lens wearers, its smudgeeproof, flakeproof and rubproof!

I have 5 $2.00 off any covergirl product coupons. Comment this post with an email and the first 5 get the coupon!

*disclaimer- I am a Bzzagent and received this product free to review

SANTA CRUZ!!!

2010-07-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Were staying at this amazing beach house in Santa Cruz and were having a blast! After the long drive last night we went and watched the surfers and then went to the warf last night and ate clam chowder while over looking the Pacific! It was gorgeous! Heres a little video of where were staying too!

Crack the code to connecting with your kids.

2010-06-30T11:09:00.001-07:00

Im so excited that NBC is bringing back Family movie night. Dont you remember those Sunday night Movies as a kid in the late 80s early 90s! It was so much fun to spend time with the family watching the movie. This is something our nations familys need! Were going to watch with our kids and pop some popcorn..what a fun FREE way to spend time with your family! . Check out this site about The Jensen Project—a high-tech thriller engineered with the whole family in mind. NBCs Family night movie! It airs Friday, July 16th at 8/7 Central on NBC. Watch the trailer and get a free mp3 while you're there.

Camp 2010

2010-06-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Another photo album by Smilebox

So Im finally getting a chance to post all about my last week! whew! Camp was so much fun yet so exhausting at the same time.

We went up on the 18th with our suburban packed door to door with not only our camping gear but with fruit and bread! It was crazy! We did get lost on the way and had a little brake smoking incident, but finally a man from the energy company found us and showed us the way! woot woot for him!

When we got there the weather was awesome, we had a fun campfire with leaders only.. ( an my kids of course) who just love the hot chocolate! Saturday we went into Quincy for lunch and that too was super yummy! then back to camp to set up for the kids arrival sunday morning. Sunday the kids showed up all right on time! I had to come home sunday night for an appointment Monday but headed back to camp with Tracy Monday afternoon. We got there to a bunch of kids and our fearless director sliding down a mud hill! HILARIOUS! We had some water/beach days in there where we went tubing on the boats and watched people EPICLY crash! We played awesome games like the NINJA scavenger hunt game in the dark, and a minute to win it game! Which I think was the most successful! The best part was on wednesday night we had a salvation call and we had 4 girls in our group confess they were saved.. then something amazing happened...By the campfire that night one of my girls was sitting by the campfire and realized just then and there that she was saved! it was awesome.. We talked about how they would probably be attacked as Satan doesn't want us to believe and will test our faith etc...

The rest of camp was more fun and by Friday I was done and ready to come home... When I did get home, I got a phone call from that same little girl by the fire in tears, apparently on Wednesday (the day she was saved) her moms car got broken into and everything was stolen.. all her stuff.. her cell phone, Ipod etc.. when your in JR High..that stuff is the world to you. ( not to mention feeling violated) I told her that it was not a coincidence that it all happened on Wednesday the day she gave her life to the Lord! and we talked for a bit and then the following day she texted me with her new phone saying that she told her mom about what happened on wednesday and now her mom and sister want to learn how to be saved! HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT!

brings me to tears! Praise the lord!

Well Im home now..but not for long! Ill be leaving for another week on the 9th for Santa Cruz.. which is my husbands first time seeing the ocean! I cant wait and I know the photos are going to be amazing too!

In the next week or so look out for a review as I only have 3 coupons for this and its again first come first serve!

for now CIAO!

Back

2010-06-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Im back from camp and it was amazing. Ill be back later with updates and photos and an upcoming new review!!! yay!

Got2B Review!

2010-06-16T09:56:00.001-07:00

Heres the BZZ!

Smoothing Lustre Lotion

This product line has been recently reformulated with and indulgent cashmere infusion!
Protects against heat damage from our favorite heat styling tools and contains a UV protectant
Perfected for use on all air types, wet or dry
Features a luxurious fragrance!

I absolutely LOVED the lotion. It smells SO good! and it actually worked. My hair got super smooth and soft. I liked it so much I went and got the whole line!

The Hairspray is awesome. Its light and wont weigh the hair down. I have yet to find a spray that will tame frizzys yet keep the hair smooth and soft! THIS WILL!

Then I tried the mousse and on days I want to go curly this is awesome! I got some awesomely frizz free scrunchiness with this hair!

and then finally the Satin Drops. WOW. for a finish these are great! and man they smell good. It feels like the biosilk super expensive drops but more than half the price and a way better scent! I got compliments on how yummy my hair smelled the first day I got it!

So overall. I love the product! and the price isn't bad too with a suggested retail price of 5.99. ( and I've found sales all over town!)

*disclaimer

I am a bzz agent and recieved coupons to review this product.

Update for JUNE!

2010-06-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Okay. So Ive been trying to get on to review this new product but alas I had to go and rip my power cord out of the lap top and pull the pin out with it. So I am without it and as Im going away on friday for a week to youth camp, then again two weeks later to Santa Cruz I just simply dont know if I will have time to post a video. I still dont know when that new power cord will be here either. So I will be posting a text review! I know that the next review will be better.

First though I want to share that I turned the big dirty 30 on wednesday the 9th. It was however, the BEST birthday Ive ever had! On wednesday we had a BBQ at my moms house with my family and my two besties! ( kat and Cass!) and thier kids. It was windy so instead of out in the back yard my Mom set up this cool buffet and kids area in the garage, complete with a mini theater and little bowling. We had delicious Kinders tri tip with a variety of salads and awesome Ice Cream cake! ( 30 years of ice cream cake tradition) My brother and his girlfriend Nikole gave me an amazing gift of a weekend away at the Nugget (casino) with my husband! NO KIDS. and some spending money, then my Mom and Step Dad got me a fabulous DB purse to wear out.. with another 100 dollars in spending money! AWESOME!!!

So Friday we dropped the kids off with my brother and checked into the Nugget. it was an amazing view! We had panoramic windows so we could see all of downtown Reno and sparks, and as far south as the eye could see. We got to swim and soak and drink, ha ha.. Dinner that night with Toms Brother and Wife at Trader Dicks was awesome. They rang the GONG for my birthday and we got this fabulous raspberry cream type dessert! We played a few bucks on the nickel slots and just enjoyed the night! Saturday we got to go to a movie which we NEVER get to do and then went to Great Basin Brewery with My brother and Nikole for dinner and beers and live music! Then of course Scorpions at the lounge... We had so much fun. It was great for our marriage too. My husband and I just got to be together and renew ourselves! Then Sunday was a BBQ with my Dad and Grandparents and siblings and it was awesome to see my son play baseball with my grandpa. Hes not going to be around for long and I know this will be a memory my son will always have! overall.. BEST WEEKEND EVER! haha

And now were off again on Friday to go to JR. High Camp. Im so excited. I get to spend the weekend with my family up there and then the week as a leader without kids. It will be the first time Ive been to camp without kids! Im going to miss my babies! But I know that God is going to do some amazing stuff up there!

Then on July 9th we leave for Santa Cruz! My husband and Kids have yet to see the real Ocean! Tom has seen the bay but not the ocean like this! Its going to be so much fun and as a photographer I am just so excited about all the photo ops! haha.

Hopefully Ill come home with a lot of photos! soo look for them mid July!

Memorial Day weekend and GEOCACHING

2010-06-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing weekend! We spend most of the day on Monday out Geocaching!

What is Geocaching you ask?

Geocaching is like treasure hunting and hide and seek in one! You use a GPS ( or ipone/droid app) and input cordinates from the site GEOCACHING.COM and then you follow your GPS till you find your location. at this location you must find a hidden container of sorts and inside will be a log book and often a treasure. You take a treaser and leave a treasure. (usually some sort of trinket) This is a global game that can be played anywhere!

We spent the whole mid morining to late afternoon Caching! We got 5 of 7 found! The kids love it. We go on all sorts of adventures and hikes and we end up finding places whithin our city we never knew about!

in the photo below is a microcache! we had to find the rock then split the rock open to find what was inside! it was aweseome!

We had a bbq with family for dinner that night and played minute to win it games, which of course hillarity insued!

Saturday My two best girls and thier kids came for a bbq at our house and I missed them so much! It was great to just catch up and let the kids play! Overall it was a great weekend!

Due to the Holiday however, mail has not yet come and so I have product to review.. but Im hoping it will be in todays mail as Im sure you all waiting or the next coupon!!

Thursday Randomness!

2010-05-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

~I am so excited for my next campaign. Its Got2B products! Of course a video will come and coupons but this time I think there will even be samples! how awesome is that! Look for it next week some time!

~I LOVE my Bissel carpet machine! I got it for free practically! We got a KOHLS gift card for $100 when we switched cable companies and got the Little Green Machine with that gift card. It works amazingly! Ive used it once when I got it and was super impressed and now again today! It was fast and detailed. I thought NO WAY would it be easier then a stand up but I think because I can really put some elbow grease into it it works better! I cleaned my entire living room with only ONE fill of the basin! Oh and I got the heated one too.. I love having clean carpets! ( sorry ladies no coupons for this.. just a good ol Rave!)

~ I got my coupon in the mail today for a free Bowl at GENGHIS GRILL.. guess what were having for dinner! haha

~ Im going to a card making party tonight. My friend Rebecca is a big time scrapbooker and has these partys where we bring $10 and double sided tape ( or purchase off her for $2) and we then sit and make these awesome greeting cards. We go home with 10 of them and boy have they come in handy! Ill take a photo of them tonight and post them later. Im excited as I havent been able to go in a while as it was always on the days I had school! YAY for SUMMER~!

Thats all for today ( so far anyways)
Ill leave you with some photos of our weekend!

COVERGIRL & OLAY Simply Ageless!

2010-05-25T13:15:00.001-07:00

What woman wants to look "older"? COVERGIRL and Olay joined forced to create Simply Ageless. With a revolutionary foundation that actually SUSPENDS over fine lines and wrinkles. and a new corrector, eye concealer and sculpting blush, this premium , anti-aging make up line is sure to help you look your best at any age!

So whats the scoop you ask? Lets break it down.

First up we have the Simply Ageless Foundation, which is formulated with smooth COVERGIRL makeup and Olay Regenerist serum to help restore evenness to your skins texture and tone. It is scientifically designed to suspend over the fine lines for an ultrafine layer of coverage and instantly younger smoother skin. Available in 15 flattering shades, its better for sensitive skin too with SPF 22 skin protection.

Next we have the the Simply Ageless corrector that will visibly correct even the most severe dark circles for a more youthful look. It combines intensive yellow pigments to counteract and neutralize those dark circles. Designed for use with the Eye Concealer.

Next we have the Simply Ageless Eye Concealer which not only conceals those dark circles but brightens and moisturizes the skin around your eye

Finally we have Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush, use to instantly sculpt cheek bones for an even, naturally glowing look. It glides evenly over cheekbones and naturally contours with creamy color using and advanced Olay Regenerist serum. Comes in 4 shades.

Today I have 5 $2.00 off coupons for the first 5 people to comment this post. Please remember that I need a way to contact you. So if your not clicky then send me an email at brieporterfield@gmail.com and let me know who you are!

*disclaimer: I am a BZZ agent and received these products to review for free

Photographers Heaven!

2010-05-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

Oh boy! Ive discovered Adobe Lightroom! and WOW Im impressed. I was one of the stubborn ones who was on the "photoshop is better" bandwagon but man I must say for pure photo editing and workflow this program is TOPS! I can quickly get the editing I need then run it to photoshop to add text if needed etc..yay.
Here is an example of a senior shoot I did! its amaaaaazing!

This Kid was super fun to shoot too!

Scrubbing Bubbles Power Sprayer

2010-05-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

So just like I promised I would be doing demos and coupon give aways for products.

First up is Scrubbing Bubbles Power Sprayer. Everyone knows that cleaning the bathroom and shower is one of the most bothersome tasks in the house, but thats all changing now thanks to Scrubbing Bubbles Power Sprayer.

This little product will save you loads of time cleaning your bathroom. You spray it on bathroom surfaces including sinks, tiles, counters showers and tubs. Its powerful cleaners cut through soap scum and grime and work over-time to continue cleaning for up to 4 days. helping to keep your bathroom cleaner longer! And to make things easier it comes with an innovative battery-operated sprayer that releases a continuous spray just by holding down the trigger! NO PUMPING REQUIRED!

~Recieved the"Ease-of-Use Commendation" from the Arthritis Foundation!

~Totally refillable - Keep the sprayer, buy new refills.

How does the formula work?

1) You spray Scrubbing Bubbles Extend a Clean power sprayer on your bahtroom surfaces, wipe with a sponge then rinse.

2) Hydrophilic ( water-loving) properties in the formula attract water droplets to eachother to form a flat, even film

3) The film keeps dirt, soap scum and grime from sticking to the surface of your sint, shower or tub.

4) the next time you rinse, the water glides over the film while washing away the loosened dirt, grime and soap scum, leaving behind a thinner layer of film for up to four days!

Retail price is 8.99 for the kit and 3.99 for refills. ( of course if you are a bargain shopper you can find it cheaper!)

Want to try it out? Be one of the first 8 people to comment this blog and I will send you a $5 off coupon for the kit along with a $1 off coupon for the refills! Now thats a steal! be sure to leave a way for me to contact you, or send an email to me at brieporterfield@gmail.com stating that you posted!

*Disclosure~ I am a BZZ agent and recieved samples and coupons to try this product out.

Schools out for summer!

2010-05-17T01:03:00.000-07:00

Finally! The semester is over and I am happy to report that I got all As and Bs. GO ME! haha.

Okay so insurance denied the bariatiric stuff, so Im back to swimming and shakes! I CAN DO THIS!

On another good note, I was asked to be publicity for MOPS which is awesome and right up my alley! I have been praying about this position for years and I am so blessed to have this opportunity!

Also be on the lookout for future posts all about products! Im a BZZ agent and this blog will be the perfect place to well, BZZ about them. I will be giving away free coupons to those who comment on specific posts! ( Thanks Angela!)

Guten Nacht for now...(and this photo is Sammys Blue Steel pose from Zoolander)

Where to go

2010-03-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

so this blog has been everything from my struggles with infertility, bitching about my neighbors and more recently homeschooling my son. But as we all know, life happens. Since school has started the homeschool has gone down! I feel overwhelmed.. I say im going to start back up again but it just doesnt happen. So when it finally does Ill let you all know. In the mean time Ill just update on life! I love FB but I cant post the way I can here ya know! so if your reading this thanks!

SOooo

No news in the hip department. they want to do investigative surgery and I just dont have the time to do that right now! That with not being able to get the anemia under controll and then of course Ive gained all this weight.
I had an upper GI this morning, and all looked good in the band.. so hopefully Ill get some answeres on wednesday. to be honest I really did want something to be wrong..I just want to switch to GB..I HATE my band. There are days I just cry because I hate it so bad.

BE STILL BRIANNE

The kids are doing well. Sam is in a bowling league now and its SO MUCH FUN! watching him bowl, were wanting him to go all the way with this! we got him a ball that he loves too. Daddy will be taking him on tuesdays to get a little extra help from Greg in the pro shop! yay!!
Delilah is still a stinker.. full of drama!

School is good. Stressfull but good. Its helping us financially and now were in a much cheaper yet nicer place as well. I feel like were in a house but were not. This week was spring break and I felt like all I was doing was Homework!!! still not done and break is over! ( this is the stress part) we had a teacher who all of a sudden assigned us like 4 projects a week.. its crazy! I swear most the time hes stoned. Hes a black rock artsy kinda guy! I think he hates me!

Now my other teacher..as loud and harsh as he his, is at least consistent. He seems like hes really there to help us! which is a good thing as I have him for the next 3 years! He took some getting used to but now I appriciate him!

Ive been sucking in the dinner department.. Im cooking 2 times a week.. and it should be more. Tommys okay with it.. but he shouldnt be.

BE STILL

there are some days were i feel like I cant get it together and all this is futile. and as a christian I battle too. I know what I believe to be true.. yet my politics dont match those in my church and I dont want to fear rejection but I can deny what is in my heart and what I know GOD is telling me.

BE STILL BRIANNE

speaking of the church. I love being a youth leader so much. but I feel like im loosing it there too. I dont feel needed or bonded to the girls like I used to be. Its as almost as Im the girl everyone just gives a task to so I feel needed and whatnot..but they could care less if I was an active leader. I dont know.. its another one of those brianne shut up and be still Ive got it under controll.. love GOD!

Same with the small group we lead. I love it there and I know its a God thing were all together but when a few of them talk I feel so stupid.. and how can I be their leader when I feel they know more than me?? I just know what is true and right and what is in my heart and sometimes I cant even get that out with out getting all confused and looking stupid..again.

BE STILL BRIANNE!

I Read Rob bells Velvet Elvis book and it has inspired me to get more into the jewish background of christianity. its awesome learning and by learning all this it is helping me to better understand what the bible is saying!
I even got a tattoo in hebrew on my wrist..
HARPOO...

thats all I can do. BE STILL. I have to remember that God has it all under controll and If I just slow down and shut up HE will show me!

Letter G

2010-02-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

Man with school started and being hit with pink eye.. were behind. and unfortunatley I dont have a lesson plan but this week we did

G
we drew on our Glow board
we did starfall G
we practiced our German
we ate Goldfish
we did math using Geo shape boards.

so far.. its only thursday. perhaps tomorrow well do more and Ill actually get photos. haha

Letter D

2010-01-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

Things were awesome using my guide! I actually felt less stressed an was able to do just about everything!

Here is Sams painting of the Desert! he was so excited. We even went on the planet earth app and looked for the antient pyramids! Which is a great trasnition into this weeks Egyptian theme!

This week is a busier week as MOPS starts back up as well as Womens Bible study and Home Fellowship. So this will be a true test to the plan! The kids also have their ear doctor follow up from their tube surgery. (Lilah has ewie gewie ears at the moment).

Here is the Weekly Guide for the letter E. Be sure to click on it to see full size!

The Week has begun

2010-01-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first day of the week and It started out amazing. Im very encouraged by the start! Not only has the Homeschool front been good.. so has the homemaker! I found this great calendar on justmommies.com that is a list of housekeeping ideas for the day.. its been a great way to keep up on the cleaning! Its been good to start out the day by waking up to coffee and feeding the kids breakfast, then cleaning up around the house till about 11, then we do an hour of homeschool. Then lunch then lunch clean up, then its quiet time till 2 or 230. (lilah naps and sam reads quietly in his room) while I get anything else done I need.. then up and we play some games and color or whatever! then 4 daddy comes home and we start dinner and then starting jan 25th I go to school for the evening and daddy puts the kiddos to bed! whew.. but Im loving it!

So anyhow.. the review went well yesterday. Sam did much better actually than I expected! He had ABC down pat and did much better with adding and subtracting too. We did pattern blocks too. And some Starfall. We are learning about Van Gough and drew these fabulous mini vangoughs!

The New Year Begins

2010-01-03T23:44:00.000-08:00

Well we did it.. we made it to 2010!

Im happy to report that we are all moved into our new home. Its so nice and it actually feels like a home not an apartment. Its close to my school and to bible study for fridays. Which by the way I am so excited about. I know God has an amazing plan for our group. I cant explain it but it just feels right. I can feel Gods presence when were there!

No news really in the health department. They are going to give me a trial of 3 months on the ferrous gluconate to see if I can stabilize my Iron serum levels. They think its just a form of anemia and for now it just has to be monitored so we can see what type it is. And no news for the hip either but I am going to start water therapy for it and I hope that I can actually keep it up. My fear is that while Im excited about it now, I may end up just giving up.

So this week we have no cable ( technically were not supposed to have Internet either but someone around here has an unsecure connection). anyhow without TV I was able to really get a jump on my homeschool planning and I think Im going to really change it up a bit. I need to make it attainable. Before when I had mon - Fri planned out, it rarely went as planned and I would feel like a failure. So Im doing a LOOSE weekly guide where I can pull from it and do it as I go about the day. NO set schedule. Which Im hoping will work for me as Im a NO schedule type of person. Yes Im organized but I dont like to have specific times for things. Even when it comes to my children. We dont have certain nap times or eating times. we sleep when were tired and eat when were hungry. it works for us.

anyhow here is my guide for this week.

Click the photo to see full size

hopefully I can keep this up and post one each Sunday night.

I also have a slight fear of being over whelmed with whats on my plate. Not only being a homeschooling mommy but a youth leader, a small group leader, student and now PT patient. It does seem like a lot to be given to do but I have faith that GOD wants me doing each of these things and will give me the strength I need to do them. I also understand that He may end up calling this to change and Im OK with that too. I just need to keep listening and praying!

I wanted to mention also that I have been reading this awesome book by Rob Bell called Velvet Elvis. It is inspiring me to think beyond whats told to me about the bible. To have open discussion about it and investigate it on my own. Not to discover what I think it means but to discover what GOD is saying. What is the actual context behind what is says. What does HE mean~ It really is opening MY eyes to questions. Which is even awesomer (is that a word or is it brienese) because Pastor Tony has been doing just that these last two weeks in service. INSPIRING me to think beyond what Ive been told! like did you know that it actually doesnt say anywhere in the bible that "God doesnt give us more than we can handle". WOW I have been quoting that for years.. because It was told to me and I just went with it. Today we learned to read the context of certain verses. In this particular case GOD isnt saying that at all. The closest thing we get is 1 Corinthians 10:13 and what HE is actually meaning is that God does not give us any TEMPTATION we can not say NO to. He offers us escape from temptation.

man I could go on about all the stuff that Ive been inspired to THINK about. but I wont. I just wanted to share my excitement with you!

2009-12-21T00:47:00.000-08:00

Well were moiving and Im going back to school! so its been quite hectic around here.
we havent done much of any tot schooling and I know that for my resolution this year its going to be that.. I think Ill start the first week were moved in in janurary and do a review of the letters we had done and see if he remembers.. and then start there or over if necessary.

still no news on the hip. here is what we do know. I have some sort of autoimmune disease we just know know which one. Lupus is the top of the list along with some others like aplastic anemia which may require more cancer like treatments and so hey.. lets hope for the lupus huh.. haha never thought Id hear myself say that! I had my blood drawn on friday so Im hoping to know something before the holidays but im not counting my chickens so to say!

to tide you all over here are some photos of my beautiful babies!!!!

Photo WON!

2009-10-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

I entered this photo in the local photo contest and won first place!!! I get to go up in a balloon next year and Lilahs photo will be in all the ads and flyers for next years races! I cant believe it! how amazing is that!

Ive been feeling kinda down about my hip and how much pain Im in and this just really perked me up!

Letter C

2009-10-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well because Ive been down on a lot of days due to my hip weve only been able to do a few days a week of school. But none the less.. its going well!

We did Catipillars and the Letter C this week! The only photos I got are these! bad mommy!

We have been doing many playgroups though! and getting ready for the next two week which is filled with playdates all the way up to Halloween! I cant wait to see my LO trick or treating.. its going to be a blast! woo hoo!

Here is Sammo practicing.. and whats good is that every week we also do his name and review and hes getting really good at writing all his letters!

and then the catippillar project we did! they loved it! we read Hungry Hungry Catipillar!

and of course our math puzzles and so forth.. but it was a slow week for us.. hopefully once we have answers about my hip Ill be able to do more! but for now Im happy with the progress!

2009-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

B is for Balloon races!

I know its taken be a bit to post, things have gotten hectic and finding time to blog was not easy! I had a slip and fall and hurt my hip again. We still dont know whats wrong, Ill go for an mri this week to see if they can find out.

Delilah is now on a Nebulizer 2x a day! Were pretty sure she has asthma and giving her the treatments are no fun! Im hoping she will actually get used to it!~

So anyhow, on top continuing the homeschool, we are still doing lots of playdates with the kids. It helps break up the school week. We just do one to two things a day and then play the rest of the day. It seems to be working well for Sam. He in just this short month can now write his name! Ill have to get a photo of that for next weeks blog!

These are from the week we did B!

We went to the Balloon races which was so exciting! It was the first time our family was up at 4 am and went to dawn patrol! it was so amazing I know that it will be something we will continue to do for a long time!

We also Painted Blue B's

Sam wrote is As and Bs in his writing book

And we did some Math puzzles, which were alot of fun. you count the big one and try to match the number!

and of course I didnt get photos of everything but we also

* Read books about Bs and bees and bears etccc

* went on a B hunt

* practiced writing our Bs

* Baked cookies too

* played Baseball with a Ball and Bat

So even tough Ive changed the way we homeschool and its much less structured it works out better! like this week is the letter C which is taking about two weeks because Ive been down due to the hip and because Sam just wasnt quite getting the hang of writing Cs yet. so it was a good thing we are able to work at our own pace! I love it!

oh and one more thing I wanted to mention is that were working on our Halloween costumes! Im so excited.. its going to be a surprise!

A is for Alligator

2009-09-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Even through the pneumonia weve had a pretty good school week!

This was this weeks lesson plan part letter of the week and part my own pulled from all over!

A as in Apple
Apples and Alligators and Ants

Poem:
Ten Red apples growing on a tree
five for you and five for me
help me shake the tree just so
and ten red apples fall down below
one two three four five
six seven eight nine ten!

Music:
Alligators go Marching
APPLE like Bingo ( I Know a fruit it grows on trees and apple is its namo)
apples and banannas

Bible: Adam and Eve
Boys bible story
adam and eve coloring page
Snake art project -using a stick found going on a walk. paint it like a snake!

Math: using cheerios or other object teach addition. 1+1 etc

we also have been playing with math puzzles!

Shape: Square
go on square hunt
cut squares out of playdough
draw squares

Science: Animal Alligator
learn about alligators
talk about teeth etc

Art: Alligator paper craft ( Make an A with construction paper turn it sideways and add teeth.
finger paint "ants" with fingerprints

Sport: Act like ants or alligators crawling on the floor.

Weve done pretty good at sticking to it and working on these. of course broke up throughout the week! Im so amazed at how well Sam is picking it up. He is now Drawing squares and actually drawing the letter A! he doesnt quite get the big A little a thing yet but thats okay! Hes having fun and asks now every morning when we will do school!

Here are some photos of today.. (the one day I got the camera out!)

Sam practicing his As

His squares.. which I know kinda look more like rectangles but man hes getting it!

His A alligator project.. we took the letter A and turned it sideways.. added teeth and walah an Alligator! hes so proud too!

We also went for a long walk today. we went to 7-11 and got a slurpee, got me a haircut and to the dollar store! it was fun to be able to get out of the house now that hes feeling better! if He doesnt have a fever tonight then we still may go to gymnastics! overall though its been an Amazing and Adventurous first week!

The week finally begins!

2009-09-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well I had to postpone the school year because I had Paul for another week. So instead of starting we continued the theme days which included watching movies like Pinnochio and then making marionettes! and then we finished off the summer with some outdoor activities! I do have photos but my battery is currently dead! Im charging it as I type so hopefully Ill get to add some photos!

We were planning on starting yesterday even though it was a holiday but Sam got sick and he ended up in the hospital with pneumonia! yuck! but today he seemed to perk up so we began!

We did letter A drawing on his white board, and read an Alligator book pointing out all the parts. Then we did some math puzzles too! Tonight we will be reading the story of Adam and Eve at bed time and hopefully we can have a real day tomorrow with activities and all!

Belts of Truth!

2009-08-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to charge my camera battery so this is with my phone.. but you get the idea!
We made Belts of TRUTH (ephesians 6:14) to go with our lying theme today! they loved it!

Hows it been going?

2009-08-24T09:38:00.001-07:00

How has it been going you ask?

Well mostly my answer is good! Ive been trying to keep them busy with activities and Themes. Last week on one of the days we did a Fish Theme! We watched Nemo, read fishy books like Rainbow Fish and did a fish art project.

Im enjoying these theme days. I have Paul for 2 weeks and then when he starts his school is when we will start our school as well! I want to go along the public school calendar as much as possible.

This week we are doing some interesting themes! Today for example is a "lying" theme. We will be watching Larry boy and the fib from outerspace. And reading some bible vs on honesty and will be making a belt of TRUTH! I chose to do this theme because the boys all seem to be in this lying blame game. Something will happen and they will blame someone else. Sam for instance will blame paul or christopher when they arent even here! which then he will turn and blame his sister. (that one is quite funny secretly though! the thought of my 8m old doing the things is a crack up). Or they will say "I dont know" when something happens. So Im hoping this will help.

Im still not sure what the rest of the week holds yet.. but Im sure God will reveal it to me. Ill let you know when I do! haha

Speaking of God.. haha. I have got to get better at waking up and praying for my day and for the children. One of the days last week was really hard on me and I ended up loosing it and calling my sister in tears because I was so worn out. I know God has it all under control too. but man I felt bad that day. Im choosing to get up and start the day in prayer. I think Ill even include the kids in that prayer. Soon as the boys arrive we can all sit down and pray together for the day and our actions etc..

Jury Duty

2009-08-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

So I got a notice of Jury Duty a few days ago and Im still playing tag with the lady at the courthouse to find out if I can get out of it! Im pretty sure that because Im a nursing mother I can get out of it. But I need the clarification from her first! so again here I sit on hold with the office! arghh

We Have a super busy week ahead of us! Today we had the playroom play date and it was super fun! Cass came with me and that was nice for her and I to have some alone time to just sit and bond! We have way more in common than we thought! Tuesday I have all the kids(mine and Paul and Christopher) and then Wednesday we have a pump it up play date and I know the boys will be excited about that! Im hoping that no one gets hurt this time! Last time Sam bounced right out of the bounce house and we took him to the ER for fear he had a concussion! ( he didnt!) and then on Thursday we have a tour of the firestation which Im stoked about.. Sam is going to be so happy! and hopefully all this will make it till payday! Which then I need to grocery shop. Whew

Speaking of that, Im getting uber creative with the food this week as we have none! haha.. Today its mac n cheese casserole with Kilbasa! Im actually working on putting together a recipe booklet based around Wic food items. Which Im also hoping will improve once the fresh fruits and veggies come in. I know all of us Wic moms are ready for that to start! Thanks to my grandma who actually is the one who took that idea to Washington and got it passed! Go grams!

Oh and I was really excited I got a great deal on construction paper at Target. Its going to make any art projects that much easier. I am thinking we will be doing a "fish" day tomorrow with all the boys. Ill probably put in Nemo as the movie and then well do fishie snacks and then a fishie art project! Even though I havent started homeschool yet, Im still trying to do fun activities with the kids to keep them busy this next few weeks. Hopefully it goes well.

Bring it back

2009-08-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

So Ive been inspired by my friends to re up the blog and get it going again! Ive been posting on facebook quite a bit, however I would still like a place to put my random musings and fun stuff.
Im getting ready to start the homeschool year with Sam so youll be seeing posts about that. Ive also been having fun with the sewing machine so Im hoping to post some of my creations on here as well! Who knows what will inspire me!

This next few weeks not only will I have christopher but Paul as well. I thought it was going to be a struggle at best. I am finding though that it was much easier than that! They seem to be keeping each other busy and Sam is learning from Paul some of the big brother (older kid) skills that he didnt have before! Its even improving his speech just listening to Paul!

On Monday we went on a nature walk and collected items for an art project. All the boys thought it was a blast! I reget that I didnt get any photos though! Today were having more of a lax day ( I enjoy those!) and other than free play, were watching Bugs Life and then we will be going to do a bug jar and go collect bugs!

All these projects have me excited to start homeschool this year! We wont be starting until the first week of September and I cant wait!

2009-02-24T00:31:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a good week! it started with an awesome weekend at the park, then a nice saturday night with my parents and dinner. Today sam had his first day on the new lesson plan and other than his normal 3 year old attention span he did great and is eager to learn! Im so excited! Lilah is laughing and engaging in people more too. I did some awesome design work and a self portrait titled MOTHERHOOD! enjoy!

2009-02-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

Ive been seeing the Chiropractor and my headaches have gone away, and my lower back is better but OMG today my tailbone hurts so bad. I have my boppy pillow on my chair just hoping that it wont hurt so bad to sit down. ughh. and Im exhausted today and dont know why. Maybe my iron is low??

and so it begins

2009-02-17T23:04:00.000-08:00

Im going to start the homeschooling process! were currently going to use the letter of the week curricula until Sam is a bit older! but im very exited about this. and almost cried when I saw just how cabable my child really is! This weeks lesson is COWS, Squares, letter A and Number 1. all I have to do is add the bible lesson and Im set! yayaya

www.letteroftheweek.com

been a while

2009-02-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

wow I dont know what happened! I just fell of the blogging bandwagon there for a bit! but Im back and Im going to post more regularly. but now theres no pregnancy to update.. because shes here. My sweet Delilah Grace Anne is here! so this blog will indeed be packed FULL of her arrival up to now photos! get ready to see some LOVIN!! and yes I put a big bow on my baby girl! when youve waited as long as I did for a girl I have the right and privilege to do so! Tomorrows Blog will be more interesting I promise!

Quick update

2008-09-03T22:40:00.001-07:00

I passed my 1 hour! woo hoo. but I failed my iron miserably! so Im taking a new Iron pill to see if I cant get that up!

Sammy got a big boy bed! and hes sleeping in it!

I got selected to do the Lipstick Jungle house party! Im stoked!

and the countdown is on for the section! woo hoo

We have a date!!

2008-08-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

November 30th!!!

MySpace Countdown

almost 25 weeks belly

2008-08-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

okay heres my almost 25 weeker! and of course DS had to be in the photos! lol

getting close

2008-08-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

My shower is coming in 6 weeks yay. and Delilah could be here in 15 weeks. Boy does time fly. Im doing well. I was on bedrest as they thought I had a shortened cervix but at the u/s on wednensday it says its fine! yay. and with her kicking all day long and next week being VIABLE week Im uber excited about this baby. so not much of an update but things are coming alot smoothly compared to sam! yay

Shower invites

2008-08-15T23:09:00.001-07:00

yayay

I think Im in trouble

2008-08-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

I get out of the shower and catch my son dancing and singing in this!! DH is mortified.. I on the other hand think its hillarious!

22 weeks

2008-08-03T16:47:00.001-07:00

whewwwww.. almost there.. more than half way... since im going at 38 weeks ive got 16 weeks to go!!

and sam kissing sister

ITS A...........

2008-07-16T15:59:00.001-07:00

so baby was breech and wasnt going to cooperate but the doc was awesome...and 20 min later we got the good shot..

and some other profile shots! dont mind the dinosaur.. i have a frontal placenta which makes 3ds hard but I still think shes cute.. and get to go back for more in 3 weeks

I knew in my heart she was DELILAH GRACE!

time to make bows kristy!

ob

2008-07-11T12:40:00.001-07:00

well the new OB is awesome and rocks! and well the baby... DID NOT Cooperate! arghhh.. legs closed so tight the whole time! He tried to push and push and push and nothing. the good news is that while the legs were super close together, i watched and was pretty sure I still saw the 5 lines and lack of male anatomy. and I asked doc and he couldnt see any male things either.. but couldn't confirm girl. so now I have to wait untill next week. arghhhh.. wednesday!!!

and my placenta is frontal which is why im not feeling hard kicks. but baby is 9oz so far! hb was 157 and super healthy! all my tests came back normal! so now I just have to wait! but I will get a video on wednesday and hopefully she will still be a she

Almost 18 weeks

2008-07-06T14:30:00.001-07:00

I have to get a new OB argggg

2008-06-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

so I recieved a letter from my OB Gyns office saying that my Insurance company and them cant come up with negotiations so they cancelled the contract! OMG so now I have to find a new doc, which is so sad. Im so happy with my OB. He knows my HG and history, he delivered my son and with a repeat section im worried about getting someone whos not nice or wont offer me the care I need. Im so upset. I have a call into some friends and see who they reccomend but the list is short with that office gone...arghhh

I called the Ins. company and they wouldnt really give me info. so I called the old OBs buisness office and they said my ins is not offering competitive rates so basically the contract is in termination. they said Im covered till sept. but I dont want to switch when I could possibly have a section 2 months later.

so i got a ton of reccomendations for the same doc and I actually got in. I see the nurse on the 9th and him on the 15th. oh and when I called the old OBs to have my records sent the receptionist was a bitch. she was like why aare you switching, you have till september. Im irritatied. because I need to build a relationship with the man that will care for me and CUT me open. ya know.. so I dont care that they are pissed, they are the ones forcing me to make this decision right? am I wrong in switching now rather than later?

Got a new car

2008-06-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

and now Im all set for babies..lol its a Kia Sedona and wow its like luxury compared to my sable wagon.. yay

Almost 16 week belly shot

2008-06-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here I am! woo hoo look at my belly grow!
oh and in the close up its my new Maternity necklace I got! its great it sounds beautiful and sits right on her but has a slip knot so I can adjust it! yay. and of course a few of my son.. one panning for gold at the park, and petting the ponys and the other is just hammy sammy

15 weeks!

2008-06-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

no belly shot till next week! but im happy to have reached this milestone! almost out of my 4th month and i feel like unless pre term or pre E sneaks up on me then im out of the woods and on to have a safe, happy healthy pregnancy! yay! Ive been having a few crampy BH but overall feeling quite well! the meds are working and the HG seems to have been under control! yay. and just a few more weeks till we find out for sure if we are really having a Delilah!

13.5 weeks and my ham of a son!

2008-06-08T20:20:00.001-07:00

we had our family reunion at the vineyard and since my brother is borrowing my camera I wont get 14 week photos so here I am a few days shy! and of course my ham of a son! lol

13.5 weeks and my ham of a son!

2008-06-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

we had our family reunion at the vineyard and since my brother is borrowing my camera I wont get 14 week photos so here I am a few days shy! and of course my ham of a son! lol

2 trimester!

2008-06-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

yay i hit 13 weeks and my second trimester today! wooo hoo ca chooo!! i feel like this is a big accoplishment and im ready for the weeks ahead. hoping this brings less sickness and more happiness!

one more

2008-05-30T15:42:00.001-07:00

just scroll down to see the baby and the video!!

bump post

2008-05-30T15:41:00.001-07:00

this is just a post to bump the photo down on my blog.. its hiding behind my list of names.lol.. so hopefully this gives it enough of a bump...

oh and we have a name!!!

My 12 week Nuchal! and its a....

2008-05-30T15:38:00.001-07:00

Were Pretty sure its a girl!!!!! I hope this works

heres the shot that convinces us its a girl.. see the slits!

and of course my long video of the u/s! enjoy!

Back from the OB

2008-05-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

and everything looks good! no sign of blood or where it came from! so yay! and he tried to listen with the doppler but lucky me he listened on the wrong side ( he he) so I got a quick bedside u/s! yay! its not the greatest but I got to see baby kicking like crazy! I have my big u/s on friday! woo hoo oh and heres my 12 week belly too! im getting big!