30 Days of Blog Posts: Day 6

DAY 6: YOUR FAVORITE SUPERHERO AND WHY

Years before Eric ever entered my life, I had a very small nerdy side - but only when it came to the X-Men cartoon that was on when I was in Jr. High.

I started watching the cartoon because my little brothers were watching it and it was something to occupy my time. Rogue soon became my favorite.

Why you ask. It is because I could relate with her in some ways. I always felt that I couldn't get close to anyone. True, she can't because of her powers...with me, I just felt that getting close to someone meant they would leave. I also loved the accent.

Years later when I met Eric it was just funny that he was such a fan of the X-Men as well. Although he certainly has his favorites as well.

What Happens Next...

30 Days Of Blog Posts: Day 5

Yes, I am a day late again on this one. But hey, it was a Sunday...I got ready for church, went to church and immediately after church we headed down to the valley for Shaylyn's family bday party.

Anyway,

DAY 5: A PICTURE OF SOMEPLACE YOU'VE BEEN TO

I've never been anyway exotic or anything like that. Growing up we always went on the same vacation every other year. As a kid that was fine, I enjoyed it. But we just didn't have the funds in a large family to have wild vacations.

A couple years ago we went to visit Eric's grandparents in Nebraska. On the way home we decided to drive through South Dakota and see Mt. Rushmore. Yup, it's pretty much the most exciting vacation I've had in my entire life - therefore, you get pics from that trip. ENJOY!

What Happens Next...

30 Days of Blog Posts: Day 4

DAY 4: A HABIT THAT YOU WISH YOU DIDN'T HAVE

I am a HUGE procrastinator. Always have been. But yes, I totally wish it wasn't a habit...

What Happens Next...

30 Days of Blog Posts: Day 3

This is a day late, but yesterday I was running around all day getting Shaylyn's friend bday party all together and then carrying it out. More on that to come in a few days.

Anyway...

DAY 3: A Picture Of You And Your Friends

(I will say right now that I am HORRIBLE at getting pics with friends, so I'm doing the best I can here.)

In High School these girls were my very good friends. They were always around when I needed them. I still talk to them occasionally.

In High School the redhead and the dark-haired girls in the back were my very best friends. I worked with both of them and they were both there for me through some very difficult times. Sadly, I don't talk with either of them very much at all!

One of my bestest friends in the world is my little sis. And for those of you looking closely enough, YES we have switched babies. As in, I am holding my niece and my sister is holding Ailey.

And my very best friend in the whole world is my wonderful hubby. I would be so lost without him!

What Happens Next...

30 Days Of Blog Posts: Day 2

Today's post: The Meaning Behind Your Blog Name

Mine is simple, really. But I will break it down for you.

SHILO'S: Hello, it's my name - my blog. I thought my name should be in there somewhere.

MEANDERING: Sometimes I like to use bigger words that mean the same thing as a less exciting word. And I know that sometimes I ramble on and on...So there you go.

THOUGHTS: This blog has always been my journal and a journal is basically just your thoughts and feelings, right?

There you have it...The oh so complicated meaning behind my blog name.

What Happens Next...

30 Days of Blog Posts

Because you don't hear from me enough, right. LOL!

Now, this is an interesting twist. I usually post stuff like this and then my little sister follows suite. This time, she posted first and I am following her. Wish me luck!

The breakdown is as follows:

Day 1 - A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 2 - The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 3 - A picture of you and your friends
Day 4 - A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 5- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 6 - Favorite super hero and why
Day 7 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 8 - Short term goals for this month and why
Day 9 - Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about Blogs and why you made one
Day 13 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15 - Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16 - Another picture of yourself
Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23 - Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25 - What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29 - In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

So....onto

DAY 1: A RECENT PIC OF ME AND 15 RANDOM FACTS

(The whole fact thing is gonna be hard as I'm gonna try and mention things that I may have never mentioned before...)


* In Jr. High school I really had my heart set on being a cosmotologist. When I told my counselor that, she pretty much told me I was too smart to settle on something like cosmetology.

* When I was little I never had the dream of being a 'mommy'. My sights were always set on a career...Funny how things change.

* I'm extremely thankful for the way I was raised. There are things I was extremely sheltered from, but I never had to worry about any form of abuse and I never had to take care of my parents because they had some disease that made it hard/impossible for them to be parents.

* I'm not a very good friend. I've lost contact with every 'best' friend I've ever had with the exception of Eric.

* I am so far behind in scrapbooks. Tanis' is only done up until 2003 as well as Shaylyn's. I haven't even started on any of the other kids and the family book is only done up until about 6 months after Eric and I were married.

* I get discouraged easily.

* I am an emotional eater. Sad, but true.

* As difficult as it is for me at times, I enjoy teaching primary. There is something awesome about the 7 going on 8 year olds!

* On the subject of primary - some of the kids in my current class I taught when we were first in the ward and they were like 4 and 5. It's been interesting to see how they've changed.

* I hate being w/o a car.

* I love volunteering for Lex's teacher every Friday. While the majority of my time is spent stuffing homework folders, the last bit of my time every week is spent passing off 'sight words' with the kids. It's fun to put faces with names and finally figure out who Lex is talking about.

* As difficult as it would be for me to be away from my family, I would LOVE to live out of state.

* I watch Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant almost religiously. It makes me SOOOO thankful to never have been in that situation.

* I've got to make a decision about Tanis' Jr. High years in the next year or so and I am so afraid to do so.

And there you have it. 15 random facts about my life right now. Stay tuned for more 'fun' this month!

What Happens Next...

I Hate The Cake Boss

We've been without tv for quite awhile now. It came about because there was a time where we needed to cut down on unneeded expenses for awhile and tv was one of those things that was an unneeded expense. We had found a way to watch most of 'our' tv shows online, so it just wasn't necessary.

It's been a good change for the most part. We haven't been concerned with missing a show, or making sure that we are home to see it. Plus, the kids have been spending less time on the tv. But that's not really where I meant to go...

Because we've been without a tv and we've been doing things online it's afforded us a whole new slew of shows to watch. The other day when I wasn't feeling that great I decided to start watching CAKE BOSS. I was curious about it from things I'd heard from a few people and okay the few commercials I saw had me intriqued.

So thus began my love of Cake Boss. He is incredibly creative and has such an amazing team. People like him INSPIRE me to be more creative in my life. We won't mention how hard it is to watch this show without wanting some sort of goody to eat afterwards or how often I actually do make something to satisfy that sweet tooth.

Now onto why I 'hate' the CAKE BOSS. I started watching it at the beginning of the month and knowing that Shaylyn's birthday is at the end of the month. In the course of watching the show I got the glorious idea to make a real 'decorative' cake for Shaylyn's birthday. I knew what she wanted to do for her birthday and I now have some great ideas.

Shaylyn thought we should just go to Carlo's Bake Shop and have them make her cake. When I told them they were in New York, she thought they should just mail it to us or something. Uh, no...first of all I'm sure his prices are crazy and second of all, I don't know that I'd want to eat a cake that was shipped from New York.

Now here's my problem - I am not experienced and have never quite done something like this, yet CAKE BOSS makes it seem so easy. I started making cupcake cakes cause they are so much easier to ice. But learning some tricks from CAKE BOSS I am ready to attempt this cake for Shaylyn.

Thus the reason I hate the CAKE BOSS! He gave me ideas and giving me ideas isn't always a good thing...

Now stay tuned for the results...in about a week!

What Happens Next...

UPDATED

So, uh yeah...
I FINALLY got around to updating the family website with our adventures in November and December.
Feel free to have a look if you have time. :D
www.hardyfam.me

What Happens Next...

A Time For Giving

Giving gifts on Christmas can be a challenge for us as we are always working on a very tight budget and we have just a few kids to play Santa for. So finding extra money for our parents and siblings can be difficult.

For my maternal grandma I redid her Birthday Calendar. For my paternal grandparents I gave them a picture frame with the vinyl wording: You Are the Sunshine in Our Lives...I forgot to take a pic of the completed project, but this is the picture that went in the frame:


We copped out on our dads and just bought them the BYU Vans that Chevron put out. For our moms...oh, our moms....You know that saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it..." well, that's how I ended up feeling about my Mom's gift. I had given her the same gift a few years ago, but it needed to be updated as the little kids had grown up and we had added 3 new babies. So I updated it to this:


I'm still not crazy about how it turned out, but it's done. I did the same thing for my MIL:


Hers I liked A LOT!

For our siblings we went with something meaningful. My little sister pointed me to this - to make for her friends Christmas gift and a light bulb went off in my head...Instead of using the proclamation, we could use a song that said something we wanted our siblings to know. Here is how they turned out:


Whilst I was doing these projects I came up with these word art items as well. Word art is being used in the scrapbook industry a lot lately, so when I couldn't find a couple that I really wanted, I made my own:

I also made a plaque for my uncle with my kids handprints on it saying, "Greatest Uncle Around Hands Down..." But forgot to snap a pic before wrapping it.

This is why I had no time for anything else in the month of December. I hope the gifts were received well and that everyone got the point we were trying to make. I enjoyed spending the time making them.

What Happens Next...

Adventures In Sewing

I was searching and searching for a Christmas gift for my neice and nephew. My niece being 6 months old and my nephew being a little over a month old...I looked around and found this.

I figured it looked simple enough, yet it was cute at the same time. Plus, she had great instructions. I also figured with a very limited budget this would be ideal. Well for one thing it cost me more than I thought it would, and for another - it ended up being just a tad bit easier than I had anticipated. Plus I had the idea to put the first inital on the thing as well. Yeah, I've always got to one up the other person.

I decided to be smart and make one for Ailey as well, you know the trial project. That my friends was a smart move! Hers didn't turn out great, but it worked. The ones for my neice and nephew worked out much better.

Here is a pic of the completed project:



Now, because I didn't spend enough time on the teething cuddler things, I decided to try my hand at making matching stocking with the leftover material. This was mainly because Tanis wouldn't stop complaining about his missing stocking, plus I wanted matching stockings anyway.

Next year, I may try to actually do stockings that match the childrens personalities a bit more. I had no pattern to work off of. I just downloaded a pic of a stocking for size reference and off I went. And here are the stockings:


Now, some of you more talented seamstresses may be laughing right along with me and wondering why I am so proud of these items. Well, let me just say: I haven't sewn a dang thing since 8th grade in Home Ec. where we made pot holders. And in that same 8th grade class I tried cutting my finger off with the
fabric cutter. (It looks like a pizza cutter)

My mom, however, is a wonderful seamstress. She would make stuff ALL THE TIME and it wasn't rare to eat with the sewing machine pushed to the side of the table. So I spent a fair time observing her. In 12th grade I tried to make a dress with my mom's help. We didn't get far. She is a type A personality and I'm so not. Us working together just didn't work well. So the pieces sat in my closet. My mom surprised me at Seminary Graduation with the completed dress however.

Anyway, my point is - I don't sew. I only had a sewing machine because I borrowed it to sew Tanis' scout badges on and they aren't even sewn straight. So, I am quite proud of my creations - though I won't tell you how long it took, or how many times I had to rethread the stupid machine, or I won't let you look inside of the stocking or look too closely at the seams on the teething cuddlers...-

What Happens Next...

Blast From The Past

So, almost a month ago...Not quite, but almost. December 10th, to be exact, we had a party with my family.

We have a "Christmas Party" with my family every year towards the beginning of December. This has gone on for a few years. The first few years we would do a potluck type dinner where we'd break into groups and buy items for a dinner. Recently, we've just decided that going out to eat is the best option.
This year we ended up at Buca Di Beppo, which I lovingly referred to as Pepto Bismol. The reference to Pepto Bismol had nothing to do with the food, it was just easier to remember and say than Buca Di Beppo was.

Here are some pics from our wonderful dinner:

We then headed back to our parents house for games. Each sibling had the job of coming up with some 15-20 minute game to play. My little sister went first and opted to do Minute To Win It. It was great.

The first challenge was to get bells out of a Kleenex box. Shaylyn and Tanis went up against each other, it was great.

We then had a few other challenges:

The point of this game was to get the Gingerbread cookie to their mouth without using their hands and starting the cookie on their forehead...

The point of this challenge was to get the ornament to roll with the air created by the package.

 The point here: blow the cards to the end of the table so that they hang and don't blow all the way off...

This game was just where you had to keep 3 balloons in the air as long as you could. Eric went up against me, but there are no pics of me doing it.

Object: Pull out all the tissues using one hand...

The final challenge...Move the bags from the floor to the table...Uh yeah, only the little kids were agile enough to pull it off...Trust me - a few of us 'older folk' tried.

I can't remember some of the other games, except for my Mom's. She had a 4 corner thing set up in the basement. The object of this game was to choose a corner and my mom would pull a corner out of her bowl and if you were in that corner, you were out and had to serve some type of punishment. I got 2nd to last and my punishment was to do 5 sit ups...Now THAT was funny!

I 'cheated' and for my 'game' I just did a video slideshow of the past year. It was nice and ended up being 40 minutes. Yeah, I guess I broke the rules.

Anyway, it was a fun night and we had way too much to eat and way too much fun. Here are some other random pics from the night. And yes, Kaeloni, there is a Santa Claus...I mean...Yes, I will email these pics to you soon!

We had our snipers set up all around to keep us safe!

So not impressed, Mom...

He fell asleep on the way back from the restaurant and stayed asleep the rest of the night 

She hadn't quite gotten crawling down at this point, but she was getting there. As of today, however, she crawls EVERYWHERE!

What Happens Next...