Lipstick and Legos

I'm not awesome at very many things...ok that's a lie.  I'm awesome at a lot of things.  There is one thing, however, that I am positive no one can beat me at.  I've honed my skills, and perfected it over the course of a few years.  You guessed it... chocolate chip cookies.  I will never claim to be a bakerella--entrees are more my style--but there isn't a soul on earth who can make a better chocolate chip cookie.  The last time I whipped up a batch, I thought about the connection making cookies has to life.  Wait... you mean you DON'T look for baking metaphors? You should get that looked at.  Lesson #1: Always keep it real.  Be the same in the dark as you are in the light.  No one likes a fake human being, and I hate to break it to you plastics--where are all my Mean Girl fans--we can all tell when it isn't real.  Same goes for cookies, people...KEEP IT REAL! Real butter, real chocolate chips, real vanilla... no one likes the i...

Who's ready for another round of recommendations? I know you all already read everything I reviewed last week, right? Ok, then. Delirium  by Lauren Oliver Here is another good one for all the dystopian lovers out there! In this novel, love is a disease and every other sickness--depression, anxiety, etc--is simply a side effect from it.  In order to save society, the government treats each individual to a surgery when they are in their late teens that removes the portion of their brain that feels love.  You guessed it, they are doing more than what they say in the surgery! With all the rules and regulations enforced by a corrupt government, and a handful of hormonal teenagers ready to revolt, there is bound to be an entertaining story.  This is the first book in the trilogy, and I loved ALL OF THEM! Be ready to be gutted at the end, though.  It will propel you into book two, however, so it isn't a total devastation. Strangling Your Husband is NOT an Option ...

About five years ago, Dewy and I started formulating plans and setting goals to build our own home.  We had both dreamed of doing that, and the idea was finally starting to be feasible, so we did what any sensible potential new construction owner might do... we pulled up Pinterest.  The entire process literally took us five years from discussion to move in, but that is another post--or 12--for another day.  This post is all about the fun stuff.  The "why didn't anyone tell me that's what happens with a new build" stuff.  You thought you would move in to a brand new house and it would be a clean fresh slate? Think again.  You didn't think about all the bugs you just unearthed in your digging that are coming back for revenge? The earwigs and I are on a first name basis.  You didn't realize putting in a yard would actually cost you your ticket to heaven? Why do I have to pay over $15,000 for rocks!? Rocks are free everywhere I look.  And don't even g...

You know how when you get married you rake in a bunch of cash from people who came to your reception?  On our wedding night, we sat and ate pizza on the bed in our suite and opened all our cards.  We were PUMPED at the generosity of all our parents' friends--let's be honest, our friends gave us fun stuff... nothing productive.  The next morning, we ate breakfast and went to the Gateway mall in Salt Lake City to shop around and see a movie--killing time before our flight to Hawaii.  Dewy manned the cash because, well... I'm not trustworthy in a mall with cash.  It was quickly evident that he wasn't trustworthy either, but for different reasons. Dewy is so full of goodness.  He always has been.  As we walked through the mall, we came upon a lot of people begging for money.  Dewy physically cannot walk by those people without giving them something, and while I'd give them a smile or a wave and call it enough, Dewy started forking over our wedding m...

Being a mom of boys, I always anticipated the day when sports would take over our lives.  I didn't anticipate the decibels it would raise my voice to, or how much hair I could lose from yanking on it. I also didn't realize that I could love and hate something so fiercely... you know... other than my children.   I grew up in an athletic family, and sports have always been a part of my life, so I was totally fine with sports consuming us.  Being on the mom end of sports is a whole different animal than being a player, and I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and say that mama bear hasn't unleashed from time to time on an unsuspecting five year old. There are a lot of opinions revolving around the idea of organized sports, and having been a coach I'll be the first to acknowledge that this world isn't for everyone.  I do think that there are important life lessons that come from being on a team, which is why I will always encourage my boys to play.  I als...

Part of my job as an English teacher is to help my students learn to LOVE reading.  I'm convinced that everyone loves to read, and if they say they don't it is only because they haven't found the right book.  Enter Amber. When I was small, my dad traveled a lot for work.  Although I don't completely remember how it started, at some point we began reading novels together.  The first novel we read was Where the Red Fern Grows , and I will still tell you it is my favorite book of all time--not because the story was fascinating or because it was so well written or because my dad got emotional at the end, but because it reminds me of sitting in my bed with my dad.  Just him an me.  I'm sure at the time he was probably exhausted from work and travel and being the dad of five kids--pretty sure it was only four when this started, but he had like the most perfect kids so it's not like being a dad was even hard--but he still took the time to read with me.  I...

People that have known me for a while, know that a few years ago I started a small business.  It started being just head wraps, but shortly after included hair bows, bow ties, scrunchies, hair ties, earrings, and essential oils bags/cosmetic bags.  I made all the products by hand, and I loved every second of it.  I loved drowning in fabric, finding new materials online for my products, introducing new lines, and hiring models for photo shoots.  I loved knowing people in Switzerland, India, and Maine were wearing something I made.  I learned a lot of things in the early stages of this business, and while the business is still something I do, I've taken a different spin on how I work it. In order to understand the business, you should know why I started it in the first place.  I was already an English teacher, piano teacher, mom, wife, and active member of my church community... so clearly the reason was free time, right?  My husband and I were tryi...