Once Upon A Time...

As I sit here Ruby is reading herself the book that I have previously read her about 5 times this morning... Dr. Seuss's ABC Book.
Her version is a little different that Dr.Seuss's however...
Hers goes a little something like this:
'Once Upon A Time there was a girl-o named Ruby and she was beautiful and she played alot and alot and alot Max and Ruby.' She then repeats this until she has gotten through every page and reaches the end of the book where she says 'A zizzer zazzer zuzz as you can plainly see.'
I personally think she would be a great author.
I would read her books....

Obsession

So I love a good bargain- I mean who doesn't?
Since I was young it has been ingrained into my mind that you always shop around and look for the best bargain.
It can be the death of me when I am faced with a good bargain and my better judgement kicks in and tells me 'No you don't need that' and I am forced to walk away.
It happened today.
I was on my daily trip to Michaels- (I don't usually go every day but I am in charge of Activity Days and have been making some purchases for that which have required a 50% off coupon- and those of you who know Michaels know that you can only use one a day- hence my daily visit to Michaels....)
I was quick this time we were trying to get to friends house on time and Ruby was a little bit restless- so we got our goods and got into the shortest line.
There was only one lady at the till and she was buying a whole bunch of Halloween and Autumn scrapbooking and crafting stuff.
It was ALL on major clearance
And I mean a major clearance- 70% off or more
I didn't ask exactly how much because I knew that if I knew I would be more inclined to buy more martha stewart glitter, and autumn brads than one could possibly use in a lifetime. I mean seriously who needs 3 different colors of orange glitter?
(on a side note I had indulged earlier in the week when I found a good deal on some Martha glitter)
I ended up going to another till- one to speed up the process- that lady was taking a long time- she had definitely indulged beyond her better judgement... and 2 to get out of the situation and stop myself from picking up Ruby and running to the clearance section bulldozing anyone who decided to get in my way just to see how much orange glitter I could possibly carry out of the store for a super deal...
I must say I got out of the store with only the one purchase I had to make.
But when I got to the car I seriously considered going back in- and that was AFTER I had strapped Ruby into her car seat. Yes- I was willing to unstrap her and haul her back in to look at the craft stuff and then buy it and then haul her back out... CRAZY I know.
I thought about it all the way to our friends house...
I told my friend about it...
I thought more about it...
I got in the car to go home after the play date and almost went again...
I got Ruby home and thought about it all through lunch...
I had a nap to stop thinking about it...(and I was tired- probably from thinking about it)
And then I told Justin about it
But I am proud to say my thinking about it has lessened and I no longer have the urge to run out and go get some unnecessary craft supplies.
Kind of lessened anyway.
I mean it is only 7:42 and the store doesn't close until 9....
I am not a shopaholic
Or at least I don't think I am
Maybe I am and it is going to be a long road to recovery because I haven't even made the first step yet- admitting that I have a problem....
I just find it so hard to pass up a deal like that.
What if I need a brad that spells autumn one day and I have to go out and buy one at full price?
Or what if one day I find myself needing 3 different shades of orange sparkles and I just don't have them?
Or Autumn ribbon?
Or Halloween stickers?
What will I do then?

As you can tell it is really hard for me to pass up a good deal- but I am learning.
I am going to Michaels tomorrow for my daily jaunt so we will see how I stand then...
Hopefully strong....
Or maybe my arms will be full of glitter....

Seriously

*So I started writing this post- and then...*

What is with making bread in the breadmaker?
It is an art that I have not yet conquered- but Justin and I just keep trying....
This is Justin's attempt today-




We had to cut the extra flour out of each piece before we ate it- and it didn't rise AT ALL... It did taste good but just wasn't the wonderful loaf that we were expecting.

And my attempt today-

(photo will be revealed at the end of the post)


Don't judge us on our breadmaking skills we are still good people I swear...
I have been able to make one good loaf of bread and one good set of buns (Justin has not been so lucky) but they were with white flour- the two loaves pictured above were made with spelt flour....

HELP
*So I wrote that post- and then my loaf of spelt bread came out looking like this*
It overflowed the container and touched the top of our bread machine!!!
And the above post didn't seem to apply to me anymore... It is now somewhat irrelevant.
But I took the time to write about it so I thought I would post it anyway.
But apparently only one of us in this household is bread maker challenged now....
Sorry Justin...

Sunday, Sunday

Today was a great Sunday- even if Ruby only napped for 15 minutes and our car was in the shop so we had to hitch a ride to church and Justin had to speak-
It really was a great Sunday!

We were able to get to know some people in our ward better because of the service they gave us
Justin gave an amazing talk on being self- reliant
And because Ruby didn't nap we decided to take a walk and get some pictures of her cuteness- and she had the time of her life picking up rocks and running through the goose poo infested fields....

Some Pictures of OUR Cuteness....
And Seriously- WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN.......?????

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I just saw this and it all looks amazing!! I think Ruby would look awesome in it all!!!
Now if only I had enough luck to win something....

One More Life Experience

Chalk another one up to a life experience for Ruby....
While travelling today to get a few errands done our van overheated- so after stopping and turning off the car- letting it cool down and then starting it again- it did it again and I was forced to stop in a parking lot with nothing to shop at except the dollarama.
Now don't get me wrong I love dollarama- so this wasn't the worst experience in the world.
So we went in and picked up a few essentials- you know- cinderella lip balm, a cinderella bookie, some hair accessories and a winnie the pooh reusable bag for her to carry it all home with. Just a few essentials of a 2 and something year old girl. (I do know what the something part is in months but I didn't think any of you would really care to know that information)
While we were browsing the aisles (which are very narrow I might add) a man on crutches came the other way-
And before I knew it Ruby stuck her leg out and tripped the poor man


Just going to let that settle in



and now I am going to let you know that that was just a joke....
She didn't trip the man-she's not a monster- he did have crutches and was missing one leg though.

No Really

he was

Ruby didn't do too bad in this new situation that she was encountering. She has never seen a person with just one leg before. She didn't point or say anything but she did stare with puzzlement in her eyes not sure what to think. The man didn't say or do anything though I am sure he noticed her stares- she was only about a step away from him.
In that moment I realized how innocent she really is- and all the life experiences that are yet to come for her....

Like when we drove home and had to stop 3 times because of the over heating of the van. So I was cheering the van on and the heat (because that wasn't working either) telling them to come on and get us home.
So Ruby joined in cheering- 'You can do it heat! You can do it van!'
And we got home.....

YES HE DOES...

YES He does and so do we!!!

I took Ruby out and took a few shots of her for Justin's mom and a book she is putting together for Christmas. I love this picture so much- and I hope that I can instill in Ruby and our future children a sense of the love that Heavenly Father really does have for them. We are all truly children of God and I am grateful for this knowledge...
AND I LOVE YOU RUBY!

Family of Supers

Introducing::::::
Golden Arms (his super power is super golden arms- of course...) and his family of supers-
Super Ruby (her super power is being the cutest ever)
Super Cheryl (my super power is making people)
I must say I love it
I love us
And I love being SUPER...



Perhaps the supers will be making an appearance at a function near you soon.
Or just anywhere because we feel like wearing our costumes.....
So keep an eye out for us!

*On a side note- Ruby has not removed the super ruby shirt since we put it on her. She even wore it under her dress to church today....
But seriously isn't she the cutest?

Water Lady update

Recently I have gotten word from my special agent OOJ (double O J) that there has been some recent activity on the water front.
A MAN this time was transferring water (or what we think is water) (or what we think is a man) to an unknown location and returning with empty jugs.
So much for the garden thought- I don't think many gardens are growing anymore.
Still no idea what it could be for.
One day I will take a pic for all of you to see the stash....

EW- GROSS

I have tried not to complain too much about the house I now live in....
Its nice NOW but it wasn't always.
I don't know who graced our halls with their presence before but somehow they managed to make a home that is only 5 years old seem ANCIENT and well... gross and dirty and icky.
Yes ICKY.
They took out the carpet on our main floor because it was beyond cleaning and replaced it with tile- but not the nice kind... think supermarket or hospital.
YEAH
There were ALOT of things that needed to be replaced or cleaned or fixed- but once those things were done and we got a VERY LARGE area rug I finally feel at home. I feel less icky.
I think that part of this less icky feeling is due to a chance encounter I had last friday. I was coming back from being out with ruby and our maintenance guy was knocking on Clark and Jayne's door. I didn't think much of it until I got to my door and he had suddenly appeared there. He told me that he was on his way over to my house to ask if I wanted to get my vents\ducts (I don't remember which word he used and frankly I don't really know or care to know the difference) cleaned. Apparently the guys were ahead of schedule and he thought that we could use a cleaning and that we would be willing to have them do it even if we didn't have the usual 24 hours notice.
Of course I said yes- anything that they will clean or do in our house I am willing to have done.
So Ruby and I left again and headed to chapters to read some bookies and returned an hour and a half later and our house was surprisingly minty fresh with clean vents.
The next day I went downstairs and I found this on my dryer.


NONE of this is ours.
Now can you see why I say ICKY? How else do you describe it?
I mean seriously that IS a shriveled up apple and an old used baby soother.
ICKY
(Though I did clean and keep the basketball- gross I know....)