I'm supposed to be cleaning my house right now.

But while I'm on a little lunch break,

I found a new wonderific blog

and found this post from Country Living

about a old renovated school house.

This is a dream of mine.

Everytime we pass an old building

whether its a fire station, church, or school,

I tell Chris how much I'd love to make our home in it.

He thinks I'm a bit crazy, but someday it will happen.

Until then,

I will look adoringly at other peoples projects

and dream on.

go check out

http://www.urbangraceinteriors.typepad.com/

pictures from Country Living via urban grace interiors

"RACHEL DACHEL"

engagement photo of Rachel and Devin taken by moi

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Every family has a movie star.

Rachel is ours.

She always looks perfectly fabulous....

has great hair,

great makeup,

a great smile,

a killer body,

grace, style, and poise.

******************************************

But unlike most movie stars,

Rachel has a heart of gold.

She is also the peace-maker in our family.

She is soft spoken,

never raises her voice,

is kind to everyone,

and has limitless talents.

It has been so fun to see her blossom into an amazing and patient mama.

I've watched Rachel grow up from a quiet and coy little girl

into a sweet and sassy mom who always keeps her cool.

***************************************

Rachel....

cooks and bakes delicious food,

sews everything from aprons to quilts to Christmas stockings,

decorates with classy modern style,

runs miles without breaking a sweat,

supports her husband through work and school,

and chases her toddler while wearing stilettos...

who does that?

At the end of the day when all her accomplishments are shining

she still stays humble and unassuming.

Rachel and her son Crew

**********************************************************

Before she was married and lived with us for a while

I remember going out with her and being in awe at her gift of turning heads.

We affectionately called her Britney, or Shakira, or Beyonce,

or any other celebrity diva's name.

As stunning as she may be,

a Diva she is not.

Rachel cares for others and nurtures with a listening ear.

I'm glad she has the responsibility of family movie star

because I just couldn't live up to the expectations,

it's a hard job,

and Rachel is the lady for it.

******************************************

I LOVE YOU RACHEL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY- last Sunday

I was with you so I'm excused from being late:)

Rachels birthday dinner at Outback with the girls

FIVE SENSE FRIDAY

TASTING

Confetti salsa with Lime chips

(Green, red, orange and yellow Peppers,

one can Black Beans rinsed, thawed frozen Corn,

Cilantro, Tomatoes, Avocadoes,
Good Seasons Zesty Italian packet made with Balsamic Vinegar)

SMELLING
Lollia, Inspire

FEELING
Kisses on Leprechaun Chubby Cheeks

SEEING
Art of Maggie Taylor

http://www.maggietaylor.com/

HEARING

Flight of the Conchords (thank you Berta)

Splish Splash!

Give-Away Results!!

Thank you for leaving your comments!
It was fun to hear what you’re all listening to.
Here is the PLAYLIST I compiled from your music.
This is quite a mix, a little something for everyone.

Zippadee Doo Dah, Mickey Mouse (Cheri)
No Ceiling, Eddie Veder (Nadia)
The Phantom of the Opera, Michael Crawford (Jennifer)
Pinch Me, Barenaked Ladies (Karly)
Umbrella, Rihanna (Rachel)
Kryptonite, 3 Doors Down (Charisa)
Moondance, Van Morrison (Lawdy)
Four Leaf Clover, Badly Drawn Boy (Danielle)
Honky Tonk Badonkadonk , Trace Adkins (Megan)
Drop It Like It’s Hot, Snoop Dogg (Audrey)
Makeda, Les Nubians (Jairus)
Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett (Cali)
We’re All In This Together, High School Musical (Kary)
Brand New Colony, Postal Service (me)

Now, to announce the winner….

with a little help from my large nostril jedi...

its....LAWDY!
Congratulations!
Email me your address and I’ll send this off.

sbschofield@yahoo.com
Watch later in the month for another give-away!!

P e a c e O u t .

HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

(give-away*give-away*give-away)

In a perfect world
I would have announced "the shop" opening weeks ago.
However,
despite life being unpredictable,
and my health, fatigue, and 100 children being what they are,
I’m sure some of you have noticed me slowly adding things

over there--------------->

Now I would like to officially announce my Etsy Shop.

There you will find handmade

BIBS

STAINED GLASS CHARMS

MOSAICS

GOODIES

And anything else I decide to stay up late making
while eating candy and drinking caffeine.

If there is something you want,
But don’t see,
Let me know and I’d be happy to do a special order for you.

**********************************************

NOW FOR MORE EXCITEMENT……
In celebration of this endeavor,
I am giving away a Spring Fling of Goodies like the one listed,
Only it will include a stained glass charm and a bib too.
Leave a comment stating the c.d. currently in you car,
and Friday morning,

I will randomly choose from the comments
A WINNER!

This is going to be TOTALLY TUBULAR!!!
Don’t forget to comment!
Love you all!!!!

I had a moment yesterday.

But first,

I need to share a background story to set the stage.

*********************************

The Hunk thinks I look hot when I "three barrel" my hair.

For those of you who have lived on another planet

and don't know what that means,

a three barrel is like a curling iron that makes your hair wavy,

sort of like a crimper but not so 80's.

I had always borrowed my sisters irons,

but about five years ago Chris gave me one for Valentines.

We had a hot date to the movies planned

so I three barrelled my hair and was very pleased with the results,

as was he.

We had a quiet, peaceful, blissful moment at the movies

and I was feeling really cute.

As we walked out of the theater

everyone was smiling and looking at me.

"Wow, I must really look hot!"

is what I was thinking.

"People can't stop looking at me,

I've never gotten this kind of attention before,

I must really look fantastic!"

As shocking as it seemed,

because I don't normally turn heads,

the three barrel magic had morphed me into a

sexy mama!

*******************************

As we made our way out the front doors into the parking lot

something caught my eye

on my leg.

I looked down in slow motion,

and there,

stuck to my upper thigh,

was half of a BIT O' HONEY,

wrapper and all.

I must have eaten one half during the movies,

set it in my lap,

and my body heat had melted the remaining

sweetie goodness to my leg

rendering immovable

until I could be HUMBLED

and discover

that the source of the crowd onlooks were not because I was hot,

but because I had half a candybar as an accessory.

******************************

Dude, would you tell someone if they had Bit O' Honey stuck to their leg?

I totally would!

********************************

So yesterday,

I had another "Bit O' Honey" moment.

I had bought some cute sweats from Old Navy

and was very surprised to find that I only needed a size MEDIUM.

Normally I wear a large to extra large,

so again my head started to inflate as I thought my sexiness was coming back.

As I put the outfit on,

suddenly a very large spotlight from the sky

shone on the tag,

and along the top in pretty letters it read

MATERNITY.

I'm not pregnant ya'll.

But no wonder I fit into a medium,

there is an extra pouch the size of Montana to fit my baby into.

*******************

Lesson learned.

DON'T EVER THINK YOU'RE ALL THAT,

because either you're wearing maternity clothes when you're not pregnant,

or candy is stuck to your upper thigh.

Lazy Saturday Afternoon

It's 2pm and we're all still in our pajamas.

Addy made one of our families favorites....

G e r m a n P a n c a k e s

delicious with just syrup, or lemon juice and powdered sugar

You never know what kind of mountain ranges will appear!

German Pancakes

1 cube of marg. or butter

8 eggs, beaten

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450.

Melt butter in 9x12 inch pan.

Mix remaining ingredients well.

Pour in pan of hot butter.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

FIVE SENSE FRIDAY

TASTING-

Edamame sprinkled with kosher salt

SMELLING-

Caldrea Lavendar Pine Linen Spray

FEELING-

fuzzy yellow chenille fabric for the Leprechauns baby quilt

SEEING-

my first Etsy purchase from The Black Apple

HEARING-

4 Minutes by Madonna and Justin Timberlake,

YO, YO,YO, GET JIGGY!

the hunk is a patient man.
this week i had.....

BOOK CLUB

read- the giver

will read- the screwtape letters

CARD GROUP

I brought 8 water bottle thingies to swap, long live the cheesecake factories cobb salad, and i love you aud!

QUILTING GROUP

two quilt squares completed, thank you Jen!

and tonight,

DINNER GROUP

picture courtesy of flickr- kimberlykv

I don't think I'll ever be allowed out of the house again.

In my defense,

three of these were actually church related events,

all groups formed by my ward,

that happen to fall on the same week.

Thank you honey for letting me spread my wings.

Sara and Belinda, Fourth of July 2005

If I were to spend a day with my MOM on her birthday,

this is what we would do.......

****************************

First I'd pick her up in a Suburban

reminiscent of the one she used

to haul around her eight children in.

On her seat would be waiting....

a bag of chocolate covered cinnamon bears,

a fantastic pair of dangly earrings for her to put on,

a big delicious purse to carry,

with a lipstick in every pretty shade

and a note tucked in the pocket

telling her thank you for all she's done for me.

In the cup holder there would be either

an ice cold Propel or Diet Coke,

and on the radio Earth Wind and Fire would be playing,

oh, and I would chuck her cell phone into the pond

so no one can bug her.

****************************************

Our FIRST stop would be manicures and pedicures

for the hands that tirelessly....

sewed adorable matching outfits that her whiney children

wore to Lagoon, Sea World, and family pictures,

for the hands that tirelessly....

spent hours scratching and rubbing backs of doting kids,

for the hands that tirelessly....

did load after load of dirty laundry,

for the hands that painted, decorated, and cleaned

to make our house a home, and a lovely one at that.

For the feet that stood.....

for hours and hours canning peaches, pears, pickles, and applesauce,

for the feet that stood......

in lines at discount stores for the perfect sale,

for the feet that stood.....

bouncing babies endlessly singing "bye-o bye-o".

for the feet that paced and vacuumed

while she thought and worried over each childs stage in life.

*************************************

THe SECOND stop would be a book store.

There she would find

shelves and shelves of books

written about Everest climbs, Amazon quests,

ultra marathon runners, political harmony,

spiritual awakening, and medical miracles....

she would be able to just touch a book

and by the power of osmosis it would be read,

and the best part,

every author would be there with undivided attention

to answer her countless questions.

But she would have to read me a Dr. Seuss book

just for kicks.

*****************************************

The THIRD stop would be a nap,

under a tree,

in a desserted park,

where no one can burst in

with loud demands

to wake the sweet mother

who hasn't had an uninterrupted nap

in 50 years,

'cause mom's need naps.

******************************************

By now it's time for lunch at Cafe Rio.

She would order a chicken salad, no chips, house dressing,

I would order the shredded beef salad, with chips, double dressing & guac.

We would chat about the funny things my kids have been doing.

I would ask her how to teach them respect and obedience.

She would laugh because I'm still the same.

I would laugh because she has cilantro between her teeth.

*******************************************

The FIFTH stop would be a music store,

freshly stocked with wall to wall cd's

of the most fantabulous workout music

your pea-pickin' heart has ever heard.

and guess what....?

Buy one,

get 20 free!

******************************************

The SIXTH stop would be a Symposium

given by a descendent of C.S. Lewis

and it's catered by BYU,

and their handing out

mint chocolate brownies for us to snack on,

and

Pachabels Canon is playing in the background.

and the caterers just also happen to be in the choir,

and now they're going to sing "Come Thou Fount"

just to her.

************************************

The SEVENTH stop would be to a water park.

She would go down the steepest slide,

and prove to all of us

that she is still young at heart,

gutsy,

and full of new found adventure.

******************************

The FOLLOWING stops would be to

Target

TJMaxx

Taipan Trading

and some obscure boutique that has

the best sugar cookies your mouth has ever savored.

Also,

because we are the one hundredth shopper,

we get a set of free topiaries.

*****************************

After getting some super finds,

eating yummy food that is magically fat & calorie free,

having great conversation,

trying something daring and new,

and laughing till our bellies ache,

we would go home to a sparkling clean house,

snuggle up on the couch with soft blankets,

a bucket of popcorn,

and watch her picks of

Hitchcock, Cary Grant, or A&E's latest installment of Jane Eyre.

*************************************

Wow, what a great day that would be.

That is my wish for you sweet mother,

I hope you know how much you mean to me,

and that I am,

because of you.

i love you

I totally scored at the thrift store yesterday...

3 Currier and Ives prints

big glass crock

3 old childrens books

fabulous vintage print of girl

skirt for Add

golden shoes

cake pedestal

**************************************

Thank you people

who tire of their things

and donate them

so I can snatch them up

and enjoy!

Posting three days in a row, this is a world record!

Today was a typical Sunday.

Chris let me take my weekly nap after church

while he fed the kids quesadillas for lunch.

When I awoke,

the kids had made a "Leprechaun Trap".

notice it says "Welcome Leprechauns" inside and there is a trail of green marshmallows for them to eat on their way in.

I ate left-overs from the salad I made for Gracies baptism yesterday.

Gracie was so cute. Her cousins adore her!

We're so proud of Grace, and we love her kindness and sweet example.

Then I chased the carb overload with a sugar overload and made cookies.

Now, with kids in bed, I'm off to make stuff for the shop.

Good night!

*****************************

"GRACIE'S PASTA"

bow tie pasta

diced artichokes

diced grape tomatoes

cut up spinach

olives

parmesan cheese

toasted pine nuts

diced chicken sauteed in half of dressing

pour remaining dressing over salad

(kraft sun dried tomato dressing)

**************************************************

"SARA'S COOKIES"

2/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

big mix of chocolate chips (white, milk, semi-sweet)

bake at 375 for 12 minutes

Great street fashion captured here....

www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com

Why don't we have people dressed like this

who walk around Utah?

FIVE SENSE FRIDAY

TASTING-

Yellow Curry Chicken with potatoes, onions, and carrots

from Thai Village....mmmmmmmm!

SMELLING-

Miss Dior Cherie Perfume

FEELING-

A homemade pedicure on my sparkly feet

SEEING-

ART by Melissa Peck

http://www.melissapeck.com/

HEARING-
Verve Remixed 2 Album, funky-fresh!

........just around the corner

"Little House on the Prairie" by SakuraMitsukai

I have been cooped up in the house for a few months. My girls nights out have been sparse because we took a little hiatus from card group- (which will resume at the end of the month- thank goodness because my scissors and glue sticks are itching to be used and I miss the girls) and the 3 book clubs I used to frequent have also claimed me M.I.A.. I use to feel greedy about my nights out, but I realize since I haven’t had any, that they are key and crucial to keeping this Mama sane.

How did the pioneer women do it stuck on the frontier? That’s probably why they were always gathered at the general store buying calico fabrics for the one dress they would wear all year and buying licorice sticks for the wee ones. It was their moment to get out of the cabin and gossip with other homely homemakers and about how old man Jenkins hit the bottle again or how the harvest will be tough because of the drought that year. They would size up each others lace and button details on their frocks, and give each other hugs of support and comfort when times were rough. Have things really changed so much in 150 years?

Today I have a twenty dollar bill in my pocket, and I’m going to run away to Salt Lake (land of plenty), and I’m going to buy me something fun, and go to all my favorite places, and get inspired, and breath air that hasn’t been recirculating in my home for 6 months, and tow the baby Leprechaun around in his pirate booties, and maybe grab a yummy sweet from my favorite bakery (The Normandy), and have a couple moments to myself to think about Sara stuff, and blast My weird and wonderful music in the strange smelling mini van.

Then, when my money has run out, and the sun is ready to set, and the reality of my family waiting for me back at home has set in, and I am jolted with the reminder that I have to teach 10 boisterous children in Sunbeam class tomorrow, and I have to clean clothes for the kids to wear to church, and the dishes that were left in the sink are beckoning my name- I will hurry home where my children and the Hunk will be anxiously waiting on the porch lined with colorful balloons and they will present me with armfuls of roses and chocolates. With teary eyes they will profess their undying love and appreciation for me and ask me never to leave again because the world stops spinning when I’m not around. I will graciously take a bow, cook them dinner, tidy up the house, tuck them in bed, and then marvel at my wonderful and rich life.

We’ll see if today really turns out this way.

Just as I realized it had been a week since I last posted- a knock knock came at my front door...and what to my wondering eyes did appear? A clever box that made my heart skip a beat! My garden swap treasures had arrived! Goofy smiles and all, I was not prepared for the wondrous trinkets my special box would hold. You would think that we were old friends by observing all the "Sara-ish" stuff she included.

Lavendar Soap....I mean....Savon Parfume de Marseille- Lavande Broyee

Lavendar Sachet....which made the whole box and all its contents smell like a fresh field of loveliness!

Sweet little notepad

Zinnia seeds....one of my favorite flowers!

Tin Planter for a Black Pine...how cool!

Sprout Salad, Alfalfa....the little growing sprouts are just the spring fix I need

Pea Seeds counted and packaged by students with special needs from a Middle School....I Luv Peas!

and a way funky picture of a red shoe wearing lass near some moss and stepping stones

THANK YOU NADIA!

You totally made my week!

And let me just say,

if only I lived nearby,

I would visit your fabulous store often!

http://www.thefrenchdressing.com/

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