The ways I'm like my mom

We just had the cutest primary kids sing for Mothers Day. I'm so grateful for my mom, one thing that I was thinking about today was the characteristics I have from her.

~ first of all we look a lot alike, I have gotten that since I was young.
~ always having encouraging words. My mom knows the right things to say and always is so inspiring.
~ a love of crafts and being artistic... Definitely did not get that from my father. Well maybe a little, my dad graduated in mechanical engineering and my mom did graphic design so interior design is my creative side and business is trying to find more practical solutions in processes.
~ putting the Lord first. My mom always taught us to place our foundation on the Savior and everything will be alright.
~ love of trying new things. During my BYU years my mom thought it was awesome to do my one "blow of class" a semester. She taught me to just not do the bear minimum but life is continuous learning.
~ think ahead and have goals. My mom was a big goal maker, now living away from them I have learned for myself how important goals are and how we do become better by pushing ourselves to be better.
~ to look out for "the underdog". My mom taught me that everyone needs a friend and it takes just one person to stand up for someone to make a difference. I have and will stand up for ppl and am not afraid to do so especially when ppl are being made fun of and when its morality right.
~ being a leader. My mom taught me that there are too many followers in this world and not enough leaders. We can be that example and light to ppl. We can be that lighthouse unto the through and.god examples.
~ being a good people reader. My mom always gets ppl and has a deeper understanding. If ppl were ever unkind, rude, whatever... She would always read deeper into the situation and help me know maybe that person had a hard day, or maybe that their family oas having some hard times so they might be more put offish, or maunder that someones insecurities wee making them be more self centered. I don't know if those made sense but she taught me more about ppl.
~ not caring what others think and to love who you are.

Happy Mothers Day! Thanks for all that you have taught me. I'm like you in so many ways

The definition of a ghetto car

The definition of a ghetto car:

A car that you can't take in the car wash because the sunroof leaks.
A car whose radio won't work so you have to blast music from your Ipod.
A car whose AC doesn't work so you need to roll down the windows, but two are not working.
A car whose door panel is in the backseat because the window wouldn't work and it had to be fixed.
A car whose driver's door handle is off and you need to open the door by pulling a wire, or just go through the passenger side.
A car whose side mirror is crooked and you need to manually adjust.
A car whose been scraped on the backside and crunched on the front side and hasn't been fixed because the damages are more than the car is even worth.
A car whose ceiling sags (from the water from the sunroof).
On the other hand, a car whose door handle is off on that driver's side and you need to pull the metal bar at the right angle and the right strength to open it.

All of these things together equal= "THE PUDDLE JUMPER" (aka the name for my car).

Ok I could go on and on but this is the state of my car right now. I actually find it humorous because it seriously is not in the best shape but know what... it gets me from place to place. As much as I want a new car right now I think its such a good idea to save now and get something nicer later. I'm glad that we have that ability to wait.

Dry Erase Board Made from a Picture Frame

I found this idea from one of my friends and I wanted to make something for our kitchen where I could write down a grocery list and a menu for the week.

My style for our place is mainly Traditional and I loved throwing this Toile de Jolie fabric in a picture frame to create this dry erase board for the kitchen.

I used my Cricut to put "just a note" on the board and I love it because by itself it is art but I can use it to write on with dry erase markers and it comes right off.
Here is is at an angle in our kitchen

I love it. You can't really tell but there is detail on the picture frame as well. I bought the frame 50% off at Hobby Lobby for $15. The fabric was from there too for a few bucks.
Here's what it looks like with notes and it is so easy to wipe it off

Getting white residue off of dishes

For some reason we have been having trouble with our dishes becoming white.

Some reasons for white residue is:
Hard water
Too much detergent
Detergent not disolving properly

We are going to try this but ehow.com says to soak your white residue dishes in white vinegar for 30 mins then rinse and dry.

Ways you can help prevent the whiteness:You can also put 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the dishwasher when starting a load. (they said to put it in a cup/bowl in the top rack).
Sometimes you can run the water in your sink to heat up the water in the dishwasher when it goes.
You can also try running the dishwasher with no dishes to help clean it as well.

Cute Coasters to Make

My friend at work got hit by a drunk driver and many ppl have helped her out the last few weeks. To say thank you she made coasters and I just made some following her instructions.

What you need:
Tiles (Home Depot haas 4x4 ones for $0.16 each)
Modge podge
Paintbrush
Paper
Hot glue
Some kind of backing (felt, cork board which can be bought in squares at Hobby Lobby or in sheets from Home Depot)
Finishing spray


1) you cut squares with the paper you chose
2) use the modge podge to paste on the paper then use it on the top
3) spray the top with the finishing spray
4) with a hot glue gun, glue the backing you have chosen

To Chris: My Proposition for a Chincilla

Dear Chris: a Chinchilla is the next thing on my list of "100 things to do in life" under the category of "own a weird pet." By the end of this article, you should be fully educated of the sweet nature of Skittles (the new name of our future fluffy creature) and of their low maintenance so they can soon be a part of our family. The information below comes from wiki.

Background: South America in the Andes Mountains so we don't need to go there. They live in rock crevices. Behavior: sweet, cute, precious, oh yeah they can jump up to 6 ft.

Looks: Body: doesn't sweat, oh and when it gets overheated he will tell us bc his ears well get red. Oh and this is what they look like in cute Halloween costumes.

Upkeep: so apparently their teeth keep growing and growing and it can come to a point where these things can't eat. So you give it sticks to file them down. Don't want an angry chinchilla.

Baths: It takes dust baths. Yes weird, but the dust stuff is pumice and absorbs the oils and dirt. They can't take water baths bc their fur doesn't air dry and then their skin gets fungusy or their fur rots which is really gross. Your worries are also over bc their hair is hypo-allergenic and they don't have fleas bc their hair is so thick.

Eating patterns: Wiki says "Chinchillas eat and digest desert grasses and cannot efficiently process fatty foods, high protein foods, or too many green plants." They have a sensitive digestive tract but they love hay and we can't give him mixtures of food. No nuts, veggies, or fruit. Maybe dried stuff here or there

Defense Mechanism: Many things want to kill them in the wild, its two defense mechanisms: "spraying urine and releasing fur if bitten." So its saying they don't bit in defense like a cat or dog.
NO PIC NECESSARY




They usually live in groups or herds, but we'll just work on getting one then maybe we'll get him some friends :)



Chris, I hope you understand more about these cute loving creatures and hope it changes your mind about these little guys. Let me know what you think :)


~ Elise

Happy Easter!!!!