Am a Fan

My friend Marta has an amazing blog. A reoccurring post she does on her blog is called "Am a Fan" and she lists her latest loves. I am copying her today.

Am a fan of Bath and Body Works holiday scent soaps. Especially Citrus Garland.

Am a fan of McDonald's holiday mint Mcflurry. Delicious. Egg nog...not so much.

Am a fan of my new black and white skirt from Ann Taylor.  I even got it on sale.  Someday I will wear something besides black and white to church!

Am a fan of Zurchers coming to Draper! (11400 South and State)

Am a fan of my new Conair curling wand. What on earth was I doing trying to do beachy waves with the old clamp style curling iron. This is 1000x easier.

Am a fan of SequinsandStilettos, a fashion blog. I think she has great real-life affordable outfits for moms.

Am a fan of Chili's again! When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong. And I was wrong about Chili's. Have you had their chips and salsa? And Quesadilla Explosion salad?  And Molten Chocolate Cake? I went on a date there and I am sold!!

Am a fan of selling toys on KSL. I have made about 150 bucks selling old toys from my basement. Super easy. Now I need to learn to sell on Ebay.

Am a fan of Expressionary.com. I ordered my mom a stamp for her birthday and she was thrilled..You can get 35% off right now by using code "VLEX12".  This is a great gift idea for that person who has everything. (Linda Warner I am looking at you!)

Am a fan of blogging! I just hit my four year blogiversary. Don't send gifts. That would just be weird. Remember my first post!

What I Love, What I Don't Love

After my post last night, I decided it was high time for something a little lighter. My life has been crazy this week. So in honor of Valentine's Day, I give you What I Love; What I Don't Love.

1. I love the new wood floors in the living room (no molding yet--don't judge!)

(This is a terrible picture with too much flash. Ignore all the equipment--I was too lazy to move it.)

I don't love every piece of furniture in my home stuffed into my family room and still having nowhere to sit.

2. I love making a robot Valentine box with Luke.



I don't love that after we completed it, Luke came home from school and announced that his teacher said they could bring a small box or Manila envelope for their valentines. I said screw it--he's taking it.

3. I love going to Babies R Us and picking out a brand new travel system for the new baby.



I don't love the cost, I don't love that I'm buying new stuff for my last child, and I especially don't love hauling the &;#%@^)#$ thing back to the store because we discover that the car seat only goes up to 20 pounds--defeating our whole purpose for buying a new one!

4. I love Sam getting dressed up and taking Sammie to the princess Ball at our gym because she wanted to go and she asked him to take her. Sammie had a blast.


I Don't Love getting texts from him throughout the evening telling me stuff like "It is not a professional Ariel." (All of the princesses were gym workers dressed up--Ariel happened to be a large, 40 something-year-old lady with black hair.)

5. I love Valentine candy of all kinds.


I don't love when I polish off an entire bag of fun size Snickers and Twix by myself in two days.

6. I love Sammie in her Valentine outfit.


I don't love that she has refused to wear anything else for the last two weeks.

7. I love that Ryan imitates his sister when she does the over the shoulder poses.


I REALLY don't love when I get on the computer for literally 10 minutes and he takes a purple magic marker to my kitchen cabinets, floors, walls and every piece of furniture I own--(because every piece of furniture I own is in the family room-see #1.) By some miracle is was a washable marker and it came off everything including my upholstered furniture.

8. I love McDonald's for peddling sanity in a cup every day for 99 cents.


I don't love that I usually end up buying McNuggets or a burger to wash it down.

9. I love losing 5 pounds in 24 hours.

I don't love that it took a serious bout with the stomach flu to do it and then I gained it all back in the next 48 hours. See #5 and #8


10. I love this man for understanding my neurosis and loving me anyway (and for slaving away on my wood floors!)


I don't love when I see him lying in bed at night perusing the SI swimsuit edition as I am changing from my gigantic maternity jeans into a pair of gigantic red pajamas. (He hates this picture and posting it on my blog is my payback!)

Happy Valentines Day!

Playing Cupid

Sam and I rarely go on dates. We just go out and sometimes we go out with other couples. But last night, we went on a "double date." What made it a date? The other couple was not married and it was a blind date for them. Sam set it up all on his own.

Sam knew the girl, Jessica through work--she is an attorney at another firm and we've known the guy, Brady forever. Brady was Sam's roommate while Sam and I were dating and he would put up with us in all of our mushy, romantic glory. Brady is one of the cutest guys ever and it is a mystery to me why he is still single. Jessica is darling too and we had a great time. I promised them I would embarrass them by doing a post about our date.


We started the evening at Goodwood BBQ (I know--Sam and I have an addiction to the place) and then went bowling! I suggested a movie but Sam insisted that was no way for them to get to know each other. With our luck, it turned out to be Disco Night...which really brought in a classy crowd. I came in with the low score both games but I was less concerned about that than I was with how chubby I looked wielding the ball.

Was it a love connection? Time will tell. I haven't set people up in awhile but I used to do it all the time. Why do I do it when it rarely works? Because I believe in love, and I love the idea of getting people together. Sam and I were set up by one of our good friends--Amy Bagley and we will love her forever. In fact, we told her we would name a child after her--but since we're having another boy--it doesn't look good.

Don't forget to watch Bachelor tomorrow night when they reveal which trampy girl is sleeping with a member of the film crew. I can't wait.

He Really Loves Me

I remember back in college when I was dating a guy. I was totally head over heals and I was bringing him home to meet my family. I was terrified. I remember calling my dad and begging him not to swear or tell any off color jokes. Basically, I was asking him not to be himself.

Long story short, I don't even remember how the evening went, but I do remember getting dumped shortly thereafter. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my family--they did a great job--he just wasn't that into me. (I haven't seen the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" and I don't think I will because everyone I know hates it but I did read the book a few years ago. I thought it was great and I really wish I could go back in time and give the book to college Brookie! It would have saved me a lot of heartache.)

However, with that said, I'm glad I had my heart broken a few times. I think everyone should. It gives you compassion and it makes you appreciate true love when you actually find it. Today is Valentine's Day and I went to Harmon's to grab some cinnamon lips. There were frantic men everywhere looking through cards and buying candy and cheesy balloons. I always smile to myself when I see this scene. I love it on one hand because it is so typical of men to wait until the last minute and then head to the grocery store for a V-day gift. On the other hand, they are trying to do something sweet for their ladies. I thought back to when Sam and I were dating and how he would do anything on earth to make me happy. I would constantly find surprises wherever I went--once he even drove to Park City from Provo to buy my a chocolate covered apple because he knew I loved them. He was hopelessly devoted and I knew he was crazy about me.

When I introduced him to my parents, I wasn't the least bit worried about my dad swearing or telling lewd jokes or my siblings teasing each other cause that's what we do. I knew Sam would love me the same anyway.

Sometimes I catch a look at myself in the mirror right before Sam comes home from work and I'm in my uni, hair in a messy bun, make up under my eyes, no dinner on the table and I think that Sam is a lucky guy! Yet, I know he loves me just the same and would still do anything to make me happy. I am one lucky girl.

I Love Girl Colors

Sammie, being the diva that she is, actually wore this headband to preschool today. She told everyone she was a Valentine bunny. She also tells me all the time that pink and red are for girls and all the other colors are for boys. She may have a point. Here are some red and pink things I love. In no particular order:

I love this flowering peach tree in my yard in the spring. It was supposed to be one of those little umbrella trees but it got huge and out of control. It 's too big for that spot but I've kept it around because I love the hot pink in the spring.

I love my red dirt devil dustbuster. It is great for the quick and dirty clean-up under my bar. It never loses suction and the color can't be beat.

I love these babies:

I love that I can use my red Christmas decorations as Valentines decor by changing the ribbon: (thanks Heidi for the idea!)

I love these pink storage containers from Walmart for the clothes Sammie has outgrown.

I love my red phone. It is a dinosaur compared to the iphones and all the new stuff on the market. But I love that it is small, sleek, easy to use and it fits in my front pocket.

I love my new red ipod shuffle. Sam bought me this as a Valentines present. I am still blown away by the technology in these tiny things. To think I used to jog carrying a portable cd player and I had to hold it flat while I ran!

I love coordinating with Sammie in our red vests. I also love Sammie's boots. I wish they came in my size.

I love these Valentines plates from Target. My kids eat on them for every meal.