Engagement Photos

How time flies!
It doesn't seem two minutes since the baby of my babies was born and here he is all engaged to be married! Jordan and Britney have actually been engaged a few months now, but due to their busy schedules, its taken them this long to actually get some photos taken to commemorate the event.
Next stop...January 5th 2013 and a wedding day!!!

I Love To See The Temple

It is so exciting to see the Gilbert Temple being built. It's so prominent all around the area and is going to look magnificent. I took these pics from the park across the street. I was in the same spot, but zoomed a little closer for the second two shots.

These ones I took from the car while we were at the lights. 

Work It!

Michael cutting the grass!

Blogging on the go!

So I downloaded an application for my phone that lets me Blog on the go. Thought I'd try it out by posting this picture of Sophie that I took the other day.

Being Frugal Part 2

I thought I'd try being frugal with skin care too. Actually, when I was in my 20s with small babies, I was pretty frugal then too. I used baby lotion for a cleanser, witch hazel (really cheap) as a toner for my then oily skin and then baby lotion again for a moisturizer.

Here are some of my wonderful ingredients. 

First, I made a toner out of glycerin, fresh lemon juice and water. I LOVE IT!!!!! Thank you Pinterest! I thought the lemon juice in it would maybe make the toner "go off" but it doesn't. It makes my skin feel lovely and fresh with a little tightness, which I like. 

Being stoked that this worked so well, I thought I'd move on and make an oil based cleanser. It called for castor oil and extra virgin olive oil which I decided to mix in equal quantities, although this can be tweaked according to your skin type. I've never used an oil based cleanser before so it felt a little weird, and to be honest, I didn't like the smell. The only extra virgin olive oil I had in the house was Spanish and maybe it was just a little too strong smelling. Too much like a frying pan! Then I found sweet almond oil in Wal-Mart and my problems were solved. It smells wonderful!

Here is my cleanser on the left and toner on the right in some travel bottles that are ideal sizes for what I need.

After rubbing the cleanser into my face, I wondered about the best way of getting it off without it leaving my face oily. Then I remembered when I went for my fancy free facial last month at the Desert Ridge Marriott, they used lots of wash cloths soaked in hot water on my face (at least I think that's what they were, I had my eyes closed). Wal-Mart came to the rescue again. 18 washcloths for $4, neatly rolled into a wicker basket and my spa experience can continue. It really does take all the oil off and leave your face feeling super clean.

I feel so FRUGAL right now! Not cheap, remember! FRUGAL!!!!!

Being Frugal Part 1

I'm not one for making New Years Resolutions because, lets face it, I will probably never exercise or lose weight and I've never smoked so I don't need to quit. They seem a bit of a waste of time to me. This year though, I did make one...I decided that in 2012 I wanted to look for ways of being more frugal. I said FRUGAL, not CHEAP. Cheap is passe, frugal is the latest in word. 

Thanks to Pinterest (wonderful invention) I thought I'd start the new year out by making my own laundry detergent. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was doing laundry for seven people so laundry detergent prices were adding up and this method looked like it was going to save me a lot of money.

Here are my ingredients, all found in the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart for the grand cost of $7.59 and they can be used over and over (well, 4 times for the soap). I have also used just regular soap instead of the Fels Naptha and it works just as well. In fact, I used those little hotel soaps that you get for free.

 Here's my detergent "cooking" in the bucket I snagged from hubby. I leave it overnight with the lid on and by morning it's all gelified like this.

 And ready to put in these Rubbermaid containers which are great as they have big mouths which makes it easier to get the detergent into the bottles and pouring spouts. 

Actually, I use other containers too...empty water containers, empty laundry containers, anything really, or I just leave what I don't want in the bucket for another time. 

Christmas Randoms

It's a little blurry, but here's me and Brent starting to get the turkey carved with Olivia looking on.

 An early morning Katelynn in her Christmas Tinkerbell pj's. My little embarrassment is that I was folding the kids laundry and it's right there in plain view! Aaargh!

 Uncle Jordan with Katelynn and Christopher.

Jordan and Britney caught kissing under the mistletoe.

What do you think to THIS Christmas present?

When I had my Donny moment in August, I was so excited when people I knew in the audience sent me pictures of the event. Can you believe how I felt to learn that wonderful Eileen from California had actually captured it on video? Amazing!!! I watched it secretly at first, just to make sure I didn't make too much of a fool of myself, and it felt a little awkward when I first watched it with my husband, but now, I'm so over that. 

I LOVE it!!! 

Thanks Eileen.

Jamie's Visit

At the beginning of December, our niece Jamie came to visit us for a week. She is the daughter of Brent's brother and because she lives in England, it's been years since we last saw her. She brought the cold English weather with her, but we managed to get out and about so show her just a little of Arizona.

She's a Christmas Lights junkie, so where  better to take her than to see the lights at the Mesa LDS Temple. Ssshh, little secret...we went there twice that week.

Brent, myself and Michael. I always get cold sitting out there watching the concert, so this year I came with my winter coat on and my favorite suede and fur throw. Mmmm, toasty warm!

This is Jamie at the top of South Mountain looking out over Phoenix. She's scared of heights, so this was actually quite brave of her.

Brent at the top of South Mountain.

Of course, she had to take a couple of hot tub shots. That pool in the background looks rather inviting, you'd never believe how cold the water is though. Bbbbrrrrrr!!!

This picture was taken down at Tortilla Flat by Canyon Lake. The scenery on that ride is really breathtaking. True Arizona desert,

Goldfield Mining Camp is now a ghost town and full of fascinating old equipment from back in the day when it was an operational gold mine.

Let's Play Catch Up

I'm actually feeling bereft being without a camera. The shutter button came off in August and Sony quoted me $192 to get it fixed. While I realize it's a good camera, I've had it for about 5 years now and technology has improved such a lot that I'd rather spend that money on a new one. Anyway, the result is, I've been cameraless and have had to rely on others for photos.

Here's some things that have been going on.

Katelynn started Kindergarten
Katelynn started Kindergarten in August and she really loves going to school. This was her first school photo taken in September. She looks a little different now as since then, she was chasing around the playground, tripped, fell over and a couple of her top teeth that were wobbly came out. We teased her endlessly that she had been kissing the boys, but she assured us that she had been fighting them! Anyway, we're pleased that she loves learning to read and write and that she is very well behaved in school.

Boo At The Zoo

In October we took the grandchildren to Boo At The Zoo. It was hard to believe that Halloween was almost upon us as it was a really bright sunny day. Katelynn and Christopher had their Halloween T-shirts on and Danielle went dressed in her Tangled Halloween outfit. Her mommy did such a good job with her hair. We kept getting stopped all the time as people commented on it.

Here's just a few photos from that day.

2011 Awards Breakfast
Every year, Banner Baywood honors all those who have completed their degree within that year. As I completed my Bachelor's in Nursing in June, I was invited to attend. It was a lovely event. The decorations were very pretty and the food was good too. I do confess to having a little chuckle to myself though as the background music being played was Land of Hope and Glory...very British.

Can you spot me on this one?

 Here I am with my boss Barb.

 And with the CEO of Banner Heart, Debbie Flores and the CEO of Banner Baywood, Laura Robertson.