our life lately

livy is no longer toothless.

math fact

an equation i am quickly learning is this one:

1 parent with a strong personality [x]
{plus}
another parent with a strong personality [y]
{equals}
first born with a strong personality [z]

x=angie
y=myron
z=chloe

life is never boring.
i am so blessed & thankful.

i am an extremely passionate person.
myron is bold.
chloe is one hilarious firecracker.

*it's a good thing livy's so chill.
{just sayin'.}

looking upward

far away,
there in the sunshine
are my highest aspirations
i may not reach them
but i can look up
and see their beauty
believe in them
and try to follow
where they lead.

-louisa may alcott

tonight's stream of consciousness

haircut and color day

is nirvana to my soul.

{always so refreshing.}

basically granny rocks.

{check out this amazing-ness.}

is livy a redhead or a blondie?

i can’t decide.

the movie penelope sorta reminds me of pushing daises.

{it was charming.}

guess what? we sold our car in five hours yesterday.

*pretty awesome.

i love craigslist.

chloe & deb had a cupcake-making-date this morning.

so cute.

i’ve been busy preparing for nevaeh’s birthday party

slash the roberts’ coed baby shower this weekend.

we are reading potok’s the chosen for book club this month.

{haven’t started, but i’m excited to…}

how do you get a three year old

un-obsessed with sucking her thumb?

{for. the. love.}

guess what? myron is a gem &

i now have four matching/shiny hubcaps.

*gotta love that man.

oh! guess what else?

i’m tired.

{peace.}

car talk

i drive a camry with three hubcaps.
{and i love her.}

i love her so much,
that yesterday i
[read: danny's family carwash]
gave her a bath...
inside & out style.

i feel like a new woman now that i
don't have ground-up nature valley
granola bars covering the floor of my
vehicle.

and on top of that:

a few weeks ago,
i called aces auto glass
{wink, wink}
to tint her windows.

HOLY what a difference,
is all i have to say!

not only does my girl look better...
it's SO much cooler.
*so. so. so.

if you need your windows tinted...
they have the hottest prices in town.
{just sayin'.}

our boy manny {the installer}
does immaculate work
[and he's so darn nice.]

oh!
and if you need a windshield replacement:
get a quote here.
and here's an online coupon for ya!

next item of bi-ness=

my man's car.
{cuter & nicer than mine.}

we love her so much too,
but we don't really need her anymore.

so!
we are selling her to...
you?

i figured i'd advertise her on my blog,
'cause last time we sold this hog in like 2 days.

and if we can sell that gem in two days,
this'll be gone by lunchtime.

so:
here's her stats.

2007 toyota corolla
$7000
33,000 miles
automatic
salvaged title
fab gas milage...go green, yo.
good condish

{my bff coree adams even did a
little vinyl thingy for me...i love her...}

...call me if you:
a. need a new set of wheels
b. have 7 g's

ps: thanks for reading this
boring post about cars.

tiny dancer

be still my heart.
i {love} this ballerina.

images of today

preschool time.

hungry girl.

scrub the bathroom day.

granny & myron's painting project.

chlo'-bow's fort.

adorable in a high chair.

all clean.

sweet tunes.

mini mani-pedi.

bathtime love.

fhe treats = snickerdoodles.

carry on, mesa high

My next door neighbor recently tagged me my senior panoramic picture on Facebook.

I haven’t pondered good old Mesa High for a long {long} long time, so it was kind of hilarious to reminisce. I felt shockingly ancient when I had a hard time recalling peeps names. {I am officially old.}

Ya know how people talk about high school being their “glory days?”

Oh how I *SO* beg to differ.

Honest to gosh truth: High school was a relatively happy time for me. I had a super-hysterical small group of friends who I will always be grateful for…who have made me who I am today. We made some awesome cherish-able memories together.

But let me tell ya: I wouldn’t go back, dude.

{Not for a gazzillion dollars.}

Ya know, *unless* it was only for four-point-five minutes, to quickly hijack my size 2 body & wardrobe & return right back to my comfortably-happy 2009.

***

When I look at the me of yesteryear I see a girl who was a high-caliber of awkward-ness, but stinking happy regardless. She painted her nails everyday to match her eclectic DAV-thrifted outfit. She loved indy rock, shopping the sale rack, creative writing & projects, being very unique/weird, and stressing about fill-in-the-blank until she had an ulcer-ridden-stomach. {Some things never change!} She had very little superficial-confidence, but inside she believed she was special. She had high hopes and aspirations for her life & wouldn’t settle for anything less than a happy ending. She knew her opinions & where she was headed.

But what she didn’t know was:

that perhaps at the same time this photo was being taken, a redheaded 20 year old stranger, was knocking on doors in Tennessee, preparing himself to be a husband & father to her future family.

What she didn’t know was:

that she would one day love this man so much, she'd be a dog-owner for him.

What she didn’t know was:

that two little angels named Chloe & Olivia were smiling down from the heavens with an insane amount of love to give & lessons to teach her.

What she didn’t know was:

that she didn’t know much at all.

She didn’t know the {blessings} that were in store.

She didn’t know the hard stuff either.

***

But everyday she carries on, learns, doesn’t look back, and counts her lucky stars for all that’s gone down.

She's living her glory days right now...

what we had for dinner last night

chicken taco soup :: easy slash tasty

this recipe can be made from all non-perishable 3 month supply items/cans.

how do i know this?

because i stole all the ingredients from my mom's 3 month supply.

2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can navy beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
2 cans yellow corn {i promise you can't taste the barf-canned-corn-taste}
1 chopped onion {unless you live with myron lee dunn}
1 can diced green chiles
1 packet ranch dressing
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can shredded chicken

heat up in a big pot.
the end.

*we had it with marie calendar's just-add-water cornbread
also shoplifted from c-hop's food storage.

this recipe:
definitely not gourmet by any means;
but enjoyable nonetheless.

plus, it takes like 5 minutes.
4 of which are spent at the can opener.

***

holly,
you can thank me later for making taco soup
while you were out of town.
{i know it's not your favorite.}

a letter

to my friend cicely:

olivia scissorhands

apparently {someone} needed their tiny nails clipped.

'cause we woke up to livy + 3 sad scratches on her face,
due to her miniature razor fingers.

[i know: sad.]

chloe saw, and said,

"aw, poor poor grill."

{ps: grill=girl in chloe language.}

***

sorry livy lou...it won't happen again.
*promise.

going at my own pace

my brain spends a lot of it’s time
daydreaming.

thinking of ideas, thoughts, projects,
possibilities, goals, plans, dreams.

problem is:
lottsa times my energy level,
limited mommy-schedule & resources/capabilities
don’t exactly match up to my vision.

the fabric remains on the shelf.
the blogs have yet to be written.
the photos are still disorganized & the bed isn’t made.
the etsy shop hasn’t opened.
the friends still need to be called back.

i spent my weekend feeling frustrated by the fact that life has TOO much to offer.

GOOD things.

while i know that there is nothing in the world i’d rather be doing than raising my two beauties - sometimes i still feel over-stimulated by the outside world & feel pulled in five thousand different unnecessary directions.

i feel foolish when i’m constantly scraping by on deadlines.

i sometimes compare my abilities to others & question how so-and-so can always look like a million bucks, or how she always manages to be “perfect.”

how do they do it all???

***

monday i had the unique and spontaneous-ish opportunity of assisting a fellow relief society sister with some simple errands. while we were visiting, she said something that has stayed with me & i’ll probably always carry in my heart.

“did ya know angie, the Lord says, we should just go at our own pace.”

the truth is, those words were exactly what i needed to be reminded of at that very second…like, tender mercy style.

i recalled the scripture she spoke of:
“...for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize...”
-mosiah 4:27

i immediately felt an insane amount of love for this lady that i barely even knew! i felt the spirit sweetly testify of the Lord’s love for her, me, & all his children.

he loves us all the same.
we are all so, so different.
we can’t all do the same things.
we all have different stories and capacities.
different circumstances.
different tests.
different talents.
different challenges.
different missions.

heavenly father doesn’t love us for [what] we accomplish,
he just loves us.

after our morning together i went home and underlined that passage [in pink] and vowed to myself & my God to {try} ever harder to be diligent & obey that counsel.

ready to be healthy again

do me a fave,
& cross your fingers
{and perhaps your toes as well}
that livy'll stop coughing soon.

having the common cold when
you're 4 months old
is a rough gig!

[for mamas & babes]

my chloe's feeling better
{finally}
[bless her energetic heart]

***
better go.
we're off to the
"cheese crisp store"
aka rio...

*it's taco tuesday.

laundry day

i prefer to do a weeks-worth of laundry all in one day.

ps: this *usually never happens.

but today! i was determined.

i don't hate doing laundry.
i actually {kind of} secretly love it.
*if i'm in the mood.

[and today i was.]


laundry is especially entertaining when you have 2 active assistants.
*who LOVE to "fold" and "help."
(:


we collected hangers.
we stripped the sheets off the bed.
we sorted & washed.
we gathered bathroom towels.
we jammed to itunes while we worked.

and
we let chloe "push the special button"
& dispose of the lint with every load.


{folded piles, fresh out the dryer style, make me happy.}

i had a date with the iron & mr. darcy while my girls slept.

...so husband's sunday clothes and uniforms {or "costumes" as he calls them} are all ready for his cute self.

***

the final load is currently in the dryer.

and then it can all be put away!

{whew.}