March

March 2017

March has truly been March Madness. I am not talking about basketball although having Gonzaga in the Finals was really exciting!! There has just been a lot going on around here. That is our stage of life right now...going...going...going...all the time.

It all started with Dr. Seuss Day at the elementary school. Bryn and Elle were very excited that they could wear their pajamas to school and bring pillows and stuffed animals. They also got to spend part of the afternoon reading. We used to call those a read-a-thon when I was in elementary school and they were my very favorite days of all. We got to bring treats from home and could eat them while we we read and we didn't just get part of an afternoon to read; we got the whole afternoon for reading. I loved those days!!

Next up were Stacey and Kelley's birthdays. Stacey turned 42 and Kelley turned 40 this year. Their birthdays are exactly a week apart. We celebrated with a family birthday brunch at Luna's.

Mom, John, Stacey, Kelley (her boyfriend Chris joined us later), Me and Tyler.

It was a lovely brunch for the adults. It's nice to have a meal without wrassling all the kids sometimes. They also enjoyed themselves at a cousin pizza party/movie lunch at Kelley's house except for Kameron who had to work.

John and Stacey

My mom seems to be doing much better and rebounding after all of her health issues this past year.

After brunch we headed back over to Kelley's house and to pick up the kids. Kameron got off work just in time to see everyone and so we visited there for awhile. It was a nice family day of celebrating.

 Kameron in his official waiter's uniform. :)

Meanwhile back at our house things were looking like this. It was another month for a bunch of projects. Nothing too exciting. Just the usual upkeep. One of the living room walls needed some repair due to house settling issues and got a fresh coat of paint. We repainted it the same color but this time we painted the ceiling the same color too...a rich butter cream. It looks crisp and fresh.

We also had to do some plumbing repairs and caulking in the kitchen. We did another little repair and touch up of the deck and we also repainted our cement foundation which needed freshening up as well. So, once again, nothing exciting but things that seriously needed to be done. Yay. Check those off the list.

Kam working hard and his pants falling down. What is it with teenage boys and their inability to pull their pants up?!

I was busy preparing for the Rebel Junk Vintage Market and was up to my eyeballs in furniture and paint myself as well as vintage items and antiques...everything that needed cleaning and tagging and packing. I was definitely working full time at my Sisters Creed job. Plus I was in charge of sharing time this month in Primary and we had some hard things happen in our ward and several people needed a lot of help and service. I also had to do several primary home visits. Rewarding but time consuming.

The most exciting news was that the snow finally melted by mid-month...and none too soon! Even the ice is starting to break up at the lake. Hallelujah. Bring on summer. The first sunny day that we had two poor birds flew into my sliding glass doors and died. They were confused at what they were seeing...sunshine. It was so sad. :(

One day we ran out to the lake briefly and saw that the ice was pulling away from the shore. The lake house has been out of commission since before Thanksgiving due to a broken pipe. The location of the pipe requires digging up the side yard and with all of the snow that has been impossible and so the water has been shut off all winter and it has totally sucked. We also discovered that the deck was broken in two areas due to the tremendous weight of all of the snow out there.

Signs of spring...

But still a ways to go.

But it was glorious to see the sun shining and the sky blue.

Bryn participated in the Primary Talent Show. Ailey's friend, Cami, organized this event as one of her Personal Progress projects. It turned out really cute and tons of people came!! Bryn played It's A Small World on the piano and Elle came to watch her. It was a fun afternoon!

Scripture study with the kids is a regular thing most nights. Tyler snagged these pictures...me in my scripture reading glasses and all. #reality  I really need to bump up to bigger sized quad. Mine is the little tiny one but it has all of my notes and highlights so I dread doing it.

Scripture study time is also snuggle time!! I love it!

This was the month of most of my yearly doctor appointments. (My yearly gynecology appointment and my yearly dermatology appointment are always at the first of the year.) This month it was my physical with my primary care physician and my yearly mammogram. This year I got to have a cardiology appointment too. Every year I feel like I have more and more appointments. The joys of aging.

At my physical I mentioned that I had been having some heart palpitations lately. I have a heart murmur and so my doctor is very vigilant about making sure that it is sounding the same every year so she had me do an EKG. Since Tyler's heart issues I feel like I am hyper-vigilant about anything that could potentially be heart-related. I request an EKG every year...since Tyler's heart surgery... so it was good to have a baseline to compare this year's EKG to. My murmur sounded normal...no changes... and my EKG looked fine. My doctor sent to me the Heart Institute to do a 24 hour holter monitor test and I got to be hooked up to this gem for 24 hours:

Those 24 hours gave me so much empathy and understanding for Tyler and his being hooked up to so much equipment every. single. day. due to his diabetes...his pump and continuous glucose monitor. What a pain!! Yes, they are also a HUGE blessing and they are awesome and life saving but they are also incredibly annoying to be strapped to every day of your life. I don't know how the man does it but I really appreciate that he does. My holter test was also normal so who knows? I feel like my body fracks out every January...perhaps due to stress and unhealthy eating over the holidays? My mammogram was also normal too. It's always nice to have that out of the way.

Now that the snow has melted and the road conditions are better...this kid has been chauffeuring us all over town trying to get all of his driving hours in so that he can get his actual license. Could this be the cause of my heart palpitations??? Ha ha!

SUPER EXCITING NEWS!!

I got my results back from my Ancestry DNA test and it was literally one of the most exciting moments of my life. Some very interesting surprises!! A whole blog post coming on that later.

St. Patrick's Day rolled around...which I love...and I was overjoyed to know FOR SURE that I am indeed part Irish!! Woohoo. We really whooped it up this year!!

Three crazy leprechauns!!

After school we had our shamrock shakes as per tradition. This was actually my third one. I love me a shamrock shake! It's really the only shake that I ever drink and it is anxiously awaited all year long.

Bryn and her sweet leprechaun swag that she made at school.

We had our traditional St. Patty's Day feast and facetimed with Reilly.

In other news...

Reilly got her first stitches. She was opening a can of soup with a pop top and in opening it she sliced open her finger. Some how out of an apartment of six girls she was home alone when this happened. She facetimed me and Tyler right after it happened and that was interesting to say the least. Reilly is a fainter and by the time she reached us by phone she was completely shaky, sweaty, and absolutely green. It was quite the wild ride trying to see her wound...assess that it did indeed need stitches...help her clean it and cover it up...and try to keep her upright all over the phone. The last thing that we needed was for her to fall like a ton of bricks and knock herself out and be home alone on top of everything. It took both Tyler and I coaxing and and threatening her over the phone to get her to lay down and chill out to the point that she could drive herself to the instacare and yes...she needed five stitches.  But she survived the whole ordeal without fainting. #winning #adulting #realprogress.  Thank goodness she is our only fainter!!

Ailey had a big month! She got her official drill team photos back...and she found out that she was nominated for and made student council. She will be a web leader next year!! Exciting stuff! She also had a big drill team performance night. At this event Ailey danced in several dances. In the first dance she was in a group of four, in another dance she danced with one other girl...both of those dances were choreographed by the girls themselves and then she danced with the whole drill team twice. It was a fun night to watch her perform and shine. Ailey has a lot of personality and energy and always dances with a big smile on her cute face!!

Bryn had the BEST TIME watching Ailey perform and twice the drill team invited all the little kids to come and dance with them and Brynnie loved every minute!!

She also really liked all the refreshments that were served!! Ha ha!

It was a fun night for all! Ailey was especially proud of showing off her big brother to her friends. Ha ha!! Which was nice because we have had a lot of fighting between those two this month. Like...ALOT! So we have had many many punishments like this:

Tyler and I are big fans of the HUG IT OUT method of parenting. If you can't get along you get to hug for a lengthy period of time. Yes, we set a timer and yes we occasionally*sing* songs to annoy you while you do so.  The kids claim to hate it and think that this is the worst punishment ever but it always ends up like this:

A little video... sometimes we like to sing extra horribly to annoy Kameron. It works. This punishment occurred due to fighting during family home evening. :)

I had my vintage show and everyone pitched in and helped out! I appreciate all the lifting and loading and cooking and babysitting that everyone did. I ESPECIALLY appreciated this:

Have you ever seen a sexier sight in your life? I know I haven't. Marry a man who supports your dreams and your business and that will even clean your silver. He's a keeper!!

Our niece Elle turned eight and we had a little shopping spree and Starbucks date to celebrate her birthday after school.

Lori came for a fun visit and we enjoyed having her here!

We finished out the month with parent/teacher conference. Elle and Bryn had to accompany me and Tyler to Bryn's conference since both Kameron and Ailey were still in school. (I hate early release!!) Bryn is doing absolutely fantastic!! Her reading and math skills are off the charts. I am so happy about the math. Both Reilly and Ailey have absolutely struggled with math. Not only is Bryn smart and a hard worker... her teacher said that she is also very kind and a friend to all. She goes out of her way to help others. Her teacher said that she is confident and a natural leader. She also told us that Elle is also smart, sweet, helpful, and kind and that she loves them both dearly.  We loved hearing that and both girls got donuts to celebrate!!

Other things that happened...

-Kameron had multiple jazz gigs and his big spring band concert. He did fantastic!

-Tyler and I saw a meteorite!! It was so cool. We were coming out the the gym one night and that sucker looked like an enormous falling star but it was three times the size and brightness. It flashed twice and looked like a falling ball of fire. I was so happy that we saw it!!

-Daylight Savings arrived!! HALLELUJAH!! We are out of the early dark season. I am loving these longer days!!

-Bryn started running again. She is doing Bloomsday training at her school and she is loving it!!

-Reilly was supposed to come home on the 31st so that she could go to Oregon with us on Spring Break but she had to cancel and we were so sad about that! But she just couldn't miss that much work. She will be here in May for Brynnie's baptism and then again for a week this summer.

-Ailey and Kameron both had music festivals for band and choir and got to do a little traveling to attend them which is always fun. Their schools did awesome and scored super high. Nice!

-We had early release for a week...ugh...and multiple other early release days. Couldn't we cut out a few of these and not have to go to school into the middle of June??? #notafan

That about sums it up for a busy March!! Onto April!!

Aunt Lori!!

Aunt Lori!!

Tyler's sister Lori came for a quick visit the day after my Rebel Junk show. We were so excited to be able to spend some time with her. She lives in San Diego and we don't get to see her as often as we would like to. The timing worked out great. I was worried that she would come while I was busy with my show but having her come the next day was perfect. She and her friend Claudia were visiting friends in Seattle and planned a little detour to Spokane. We had so much fun!!

The first day that she was here we had a great time hanging out at our house and catching up!! So much to discuss and so much news to catch up on. Plus we got to meet her friend and neighbor Claudia. She is from Austria but now lives in San Diego and was such a sweet and interesting person. A new lifelong friend for sure. We just loved her. It helps when you arrive with European chocolate and gummies!! We went out for dinner that night at one of our new favorite restaurants Republic Pi. It is the most extraordinary pizza. As I have mentioned a million times I don't like pizza. I also hate pears. But...this should tell you how good the place is...I LOVE their Fairview pizza which has garlic cream, ham, a cheese blend, pears, gorgonzola, and a white balsamic reduction sauce on it. OH. MY. GOSH. It is absolutely amazing. I also love their brussel sprouts appetizer with fire roasted bacon, balsamic, salt and pepper and chili flakes. It is so good. This time Claudia and I tried the pickled egg appetizer. Surprisingly good!

After our delicious dinner it was back to our house for a little birthday party for Lori. Her birthday was the week before and it was fun to have a belated birthday party for her. We all stayed up super late laughing and chatting into the night.

The next morning we were up and out the door bright and early. We went out for breakfast at our new favorite breakfast place...Yards Bruncheon... and had chicken and waffles, huckleberry pancakes, the Irish Benedict, and all kinds of good things. Then we attempted to walk off our huge breakfast in the Kendall Yards area and then it was onto Riverfront Park.

Even though Riverfront Park is currently all torn up with a huge reconstruction of the park; the Spokane River and Falls were the most spectacular that I have ever seen them. All of our massive snow fall is now flooding the river and creating the most incredible water flow over the falls. It is truly breathtaking.

Claudia and Lori...they had never seen water like that before!!

Getting the shot! Ha ha!

A few videos:

Here we are getting totally soaked!!

Then we were off to spend the day in Coeur d' Alene. We stopped along the way at the Post Falls dam so that Tyler could show Lori and Claudia one of the hydropower dams that he inspects. Then it was onto Lake Coeur d' Alene. We were hoping to see some bald eagles as Claudia had never seen one before and Lori has only seen one once. We are definitely blessed in the bald eagle department around here. But...unfortunately not a one was in sight.

But the sun was out and boy that water looked inviting!!

You couldn't keep us out! Good thing we had our rain boots. I had mine on and was in the water too.

Then it was time for some SERIOUS rock throwing and rock skipping competitions!!

If only these pictures had sound. There was so much laughter and smack talk!! Yep, they are all related and are all super competitive!! Aunts and Uncles who play and act silly with their nieces and nephews are THE BEST!! And...much beloved by their nieces and nephews. Kameron ended up winning the distance and the skipping contests but Lori wasn't too far behind. She used to play softball in high school and has a great arm!!

Big Sis and Little Bro

Claudia relaxing in the sunshine

Then we walked and hiked around for awhile and headed over to the resort for a late ice cream lunch. Lori REALLY wanted to try those enormous ice cream sundaes aka gooeys that she kept seeing us eat on Instagram and we were very happy to oblige!! She and Claudia are fans!! Unfortunately the boardwalk was partially submerged due to the high water levels and we didn't get to walk around it but we spent the rest of the afternoon playing in Coeur d' Alene and enjoying that beautiful thing called SUNSHINE!!

Sibling Love!

Then we headed back to Spokane and to our house to hang out for awhile. No one was hungry for dinner.  Lori kept the kids stocked up on candy and more candy and gifts throughout the day. She spoiled those kids rotten. They had a pretty spectacular day as they also got to skip school to hang out with their aunt that day too. That night we had a late dinner at our favorite Nudo and introduced Lori and Claudia to the ramen burger and our favorite Tonkotsu. So good. It was another late late night but such great fun-filled day!!

The next morning it was back to school and back to work and time to say goodbye. Lori and Claudia were heading back to Seattle where another friend from California was flying in and they were going to spend another couple of days there with her.

Lori needs to come back for another much longer visit ASAP!! We love her a lot!!

Rebel Junk Vintage Market 2017

Rebel Junk Vintage Market

Vintage show season has begun!! This last weekend Stacey and I represented Sisters Creed at the Rebel Junk Vintage Market in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. My mom decided not to participate this time but she came to shop and to support us. This is our sweet friend Dixie's amazing show. She puts on Rebel Junk Vintage Markets in several states now. It was fantastic to be able to do her Coeur d' Alene show and to be close to home. It was a good show for us. This was our first show of the season. It's always exciting when show season comes around again. I am so glad to be back in the swing of things!!

Here are a few pictures of our booth. Stacey and I each took a side. It turned out pretty cool with a light and dark effect.

This is my side. The light side. I am all about the matchy-matchy and the neutrals. 

Here is Stacey's side. She is more about color. Her side was the dark. She mixes it up. 

Here are both sides together with our check out in the middle. It turned out pretty cool. I liked the juxtaposition of the light and dark. It added variety and interest to our booth. My mom usually does a mixture of both.

Here is a little video:



This show was extra fun because we got to hang out and spend time with friends. This girl always makes things lively!!

We also got to catch up with Brettnie and Todd of Pickin' Daisies, Tracey and Jim of Iona's Antiques, Candice and Ray of Junk Drunk, and Megan and Matt of Junk Inspiration. To name a few. It's always fun to do shows with good friends. We had such a great time being vendors at the Rebel Junk Vintage Market!! 

Our next show is The Vintage Faire in Omak, WA. Stacey is flying solo and representing Sisters Creed there. After that it is onto our biggest show of the year...FARM CHICKS!! I can't wait!!

Know Yourself Better: Personality Tests

Know Yourself Better: Personality Tests

This winter I have been reading several blogs and listening to podcasts that discuss various aspects of personality. My background in psychology and my fascination with it has never diminished.  I especially love the Gretchen Rubin and Liz Craft podcast called Happier. They always do a segment on their podcast called "Know Yourself Better" and I always find it very interesting and good food for thought. I also really like their "Try This At Home" segment and have really learned a lot and implemented many of their suggestions into my life. I am going to blog about several of the things that I have learned and that have had a positive impact on my life.

I. ) The Five Love Languages

Several  years ago I read the book The Five Love Languages for a book club that I was in. One night for FHE I had everyone take the test and the results were so interesting. Ailey and Bryn were too little at the time...I need to have them take the test now...but it ended up being so helpful with Reilly, Kameron, and Tyler. In particular it really helped Tyler and I to better understand one another and taught us better ways to show love to one another. We implemented several things in our marriage based on that information that really helped us and that we are still doing today. It was also extremely helpful when Reilly was in high school. Knowing what her love language was helped us to show her lots of love in a way that she could receive it. That was HUGE!! I highly recommend the book and taking the test if you haven't already done so.

II.) The Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment

Lately there has been a lot of hype about the Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment even though it has been around for forever. It is based on theory proposed by Carl Jung. I remember my mom having me take it when I was in high school. She had come back from a work seminar and had taken the test herself and had several of us fill out the questionnaire. Was the information helpful to her as a mother? Who knows. I hope it was.  I also remember taking the test again in college for one of my psych classes but I had long ago forgotten what exactly I was...I just remember getting a jumble of letters. Myers Briggs has had quite the resurgence lately. It is frequently mentioned in the podcast world so I decided to take it again.

The Myers Briggs questionnaire gives insight on how people perceive the world and make decisions. This assessment is designed to help you understand what makes you tick, how you relate to others, and how you can benefit from this knowledge in everyday life. It is designed to help you identify your preferred way of doing things in four key areas: directing and receiving energy, taking in information, making decisions, and approaching the outside world. Your natural preferences in these four areas sort out into one of 16 distinct patterns of behavior called personality types.

The first thing it assesses is if you are extroverted or introverted (E or I) and signifies the source and direction of a person's energy.  The next is sensing vs. intuition (S or N) represents the method by which someone perceives information.  The third is thinking vs. feeling (T or F) represents how a person processes information. The fourth is judging vs. perceiving (J or P) reflects how a person implements the information they have processed. A judging person organizes life events and sticks to their plans and a perceiving person is inclined to improvise and explore alternative options.

I am an INFJ....also called The Advocate.

This is a fairly rare personality type. They are diplomatic and have an inborn sense of idealism and morality. They aren't idle dreamers, but people capable of taking concrete steps to realize their goals and make a lasting positive impact. They are decisive and strong-willed. They have strong opinions and are determined. They act with creativity, imagination, conviction, and sensitivity. They are good with language, communication, and self-expression.. They are insightful and passionate.

III.) Enneagram

Another test that is ages old... as in some components can be traced back to the 4th century...is a personality assessment that is getting a lot of buzz. It is the Enneagram which defines nine personality types:

 Type One is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic.

Type Two is generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive.

Type Three is adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious.

Type Four is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental.

Type Five is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated.

Type Six is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.

Type Seven is spontaneous, versatile, acquisitive, and scattered.

Type Eight is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational.

Type Nine is receptive, reassuring, complacent, and resigned.

I am a Type 1

I thought that this test was pretty accurate and quite helpful. You can read more about it online. Tyler took it also and we thought that it was super accurate for him and for our relationship together. Interesting stuff.

IV.) The Four Tendencies

But one personality test has completely transformed things for me...and for our family. It has been amazingly helpful to us in understanding one another. It is the Four Tendencies Test by Gretchen Rubin which is all about habit and change. All four groups have positives and negatives.

The four tendencies are:

1.) Upholders: respond readily to inner and outer expectations.

-Upholders wake up and think "what's on the schedule and the to-do list for today?" They are very motivated, organized and like getting things done. They don't like making mistakes, getting blamed, or failing to follow through (even to themselves). They are very self-directed and believe in rules. They have high expectations for themselves and others. They are great doers and achievers. They are self-motivated.  (This is a fairly small group of people.)

2.) Obligers: meet outer expectations but struggle to meet expectations that they impose on themselves.

-Obligers wake up and think "What must I do today?" They are motivated by accountability. They don't like being reprimanded or letting others down. They are fantastic at meeting expectations for friends, loved ones, bosses etc but aren't great at meeting expectations that they make for themselves. They are people pleasers. (Most people fall into this category)

3.) Questioners: question all expectations; they will meet an expectation IF they think it makes sense.

-Questioners wake up and think "What needs to get done today?" They are motivated by seeing a good reason for a particular course of action. They don't like spending time and effort on things that they don't agree with. They ask a A LOT of questions. They question authority, research, data and so on.


4.) Rebels: resist all expectations, outer and inner alike.

-Rebels wake up and think "What do I want to do today?" They are motivated by a sense of freedom and self-determination. They don't like being told what to do. They only do what they want to do. They decide how they see themselves and that is what motivates them to do things. They have great ambition and creativity.  (This is the smallest group of people.)

Learning about these four tendencies has been life changing for our family. LIFE CHANGING!! I really wish that I would have had this information years ago. It would've really helped parent Reilly through those teen years!!

I am an Upholder.
Tyler is an Obliger.
Reilly is a Rebel.
Kameron is an Obliger.

Ailey is still a little young...she leans toward upholder. Bryn, is of course, too little.

I think it is fun and enlightening to learn about personality and all of its different aspects. It helps me to be a better parent and spouse. You can take all of these different tests online and read more about them in depth. There are a lot of great online resources and great books written on all of these assessments. Just something that I have really been thinking about and learning about since January. :)

February: Things I Am Loving

February: Things I Am Loving

1.) Mrs. See's Chocolates

Let's be real here. These pretty much make my February. I usually allow myself one or two of these boxes a year usually on Valentine's Day and some years I might get one for either Easter or Mother's Day. They are dangerously delicious. Tyler picks out all of my favorites so I am not eating one's that I don't truly love and I savor them. I try to make them last for as long as possible. They are a rare decadent treat and worth every fat gram and calorie. My very favorites are the milk chocolate butterscotch squares with the firm buttery brown sugar. Sometimes my box is only filled with those. Happy Day! I also love the milk chocolate Bordeaux's... the creamy brown sugar filling, orange, vanilla, and coconut creams, and the marzipan filled dark chocolate ones. This picture is making me so hungry...moving on.

2.) This movie!

In February I saw it twice and I downloaded the soundtrack. There is a lot of La La Land around here these days. Could you believe what happened at the Oscars?!?! Crazy. I felt so bad for them.

3.) Planters Deluxe Pistachio Mix

All my favorites in one: pistachios, almonds, and cashews. Delicious!

4.) Tulips

Tyler kicked off my tulip obsession on Valentine's Day and it has been going strong ever since. I have had fresh tulips in my house since Valentine's Day and on into March. I NEED something spring-like in this land of ice and snow.

5.) A Splash of Hazelnut Syrup

On Instagram I follow a fitness site and one of their tips was to put a very very tiny splash of hazelnut syrup either regular or sugar-free into your chocolate protein shakes. Hazelnut is a strong flavor and a little bit goes a long way. This makes protein shakes go down a little easier and can almost trick me that I am having a little treat. Almost.