I interupt this blogging hiatus for a moment on my soap box . . .

I stopped blogging because (as I have already told most people that read my blog) basically I determined that there are only so many hours in a day and I'd rather spend them watching T.V. than blogging. I just wasn't getting enough couch potato time and I thought I'd give you all a break from having to see/read about all of our "happy family" activities and my perfect, beautiful children. I made a goal to watch all of the Law and Order re-runs (the original and the spin offs) until I have them memorized, and I could clearly see I would never reach this goal unless I gave something up.

Anyhow, now I have something important to say so I took a break from my blogging break. I am obsessed w/ what some may call "tacky" home decor. I personally think it's beautiful. I think the most tastefully decorated restaurant I've ever been to is Buca di Beppo (don't get me started about their restrooms). My biggest obsession within this genre is silk flowers. I mean how do you bring greenery and life to a home filled with light blue eyed, frequent migraine suffering, sun sensitive people? Silks! I love love love them.

No amount of Oprah's little pet Nate Berkus telling the world not to use silk flowers when you can go into nature and get beautiful live ones etc. etc. can sway me. Guess what Nate, real flowers are dead in a week then what? I think silks are so much more beautiful and they don't require annoying things like sun and water and tending. So, here you go, my obsession in all of its' glory, read 'em and weep Nate:

These (above) aren't really flowers, just some sticks that I spray painted gold.

Naturally we have to have PLENTY of roses.

Love the fake ivy growing down the shelf above my kitchen sink.

Check out this fake plant, I even put in some fake peacocks for a "pop of color".

That's all for now, I will prob post one more time to feature my latest home decor projects before I break for some more Law and Order - Benson and Stabler for Pres!!

BYU Bookstore New Release Motivational Posters

Hitler Reacts to the BYU Loss

Don't be tempted to watch this..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6CROOR2QN8

ALSO FOR THE RECORD

The Holy War is one of America's oldest and most heated college football rivalries. In fact, the schools even differ on when the first game was played.

The Utes lead the all time series 53-33-4.

Nothing Better than a BYU BUTT WHOOPING.

The twelve dancing princesses moved out . . .

and left their beautiful castle empty and Halloween moved in. The kids loved making our haunted castle, we light it up at night and have a fab decoration.

Happy Halloween.

Here's what we did today:

Chubs went in to the hospital for his yearly testing on his kidneys. It was a critical time for him, if he was not getting better we would have most likely had to start thinking about surgery. After fasting and prayer and a special blessing, the preliminary results are that his kidneys are healed. We are so grateful for this miracle and our little Chubs won't have to suffer this anymore.

Look who was there to help us! It's Miss Callie, Zane's Kindergarten teacher. She works at the hospital as a pediatric specialist now and it was great to see her.

Here he is sedated, ready for the radiation.

Oops, they forgot the catheter, he wasn't happy about being bothered for that.

It's finally over.

Time to wake up Chubs . . .

We finally got those eyes to open, barely.

Do I really like being a Mother?

This is me, the tired Mother meant to have been the Queen of an exotic land.

The following was taken from a conversation I had with Lance a few days ago . . .

Me: "UGH not this again," looking at a kitchen full of dishes from just one days' worth of food consumption (I mean I can't believe we are supposed to slave over them every single day!).

Still Me: "I mean is this my purpose? All this beauty, brains, and charm spent with a life of dishes? I HATE doing dishes and I hate making like 100 meals a day and I hate waking up every morning to get kids to school and I hate making sure homework is done and reading is done and baths are taken and clothes are clean and teeth are brushed and rooms are clean!!!"

Lance: "Umm I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say all of that cuz I don't know what to do with this conversation." (He's incredibly sensitive)

Me: "I mean I'm not going to run off or anything, I had these kids and I'm going to woman-up (I changed that cliche' saying) and take care of them, but sometimes I just hate it!

Lance: Silence - shoots me a scared look . . .

At least I felt better after giving my feelings a voice. Then tonight we finally had our yearly "school blessings" and I peeked during Zoey's as she sat there blushing with a huge grin on her face the whole time her Dad was blessing her, while simultaneously Zane was snuggled up to me on the couch stroking my arm and laying his head on my shoulder. I ended the day by looking at some pictures of Chubs and I couldn't believe how much I loved them.

The End.

Do you have to be a Republican to be Mormon?

Lance here. Finally found the password. I had a co-worker ask me once if a person is Mormon do they have to be a republican? I will say it now the same as I did then. Not necessarily - but if you had a brain you would ALWAYS be a part of a party that preaches free agency and anti-socialism. Perhaps these few reminders will help convince our poor lost democratic friends.

If you vote for Obama....

You get this.....

But if you vote for McCain....

You get this...

I don't know about you but looking at this in a logical manner, McCain appears to be the better candidate.

Like I tell all my confused BYU friends.............when you dig real deep, we all bleed RED.

OUT!

Calling my Tanyas . . .

I have two friends named Tanya, who, incidentally won't let me in to their blogs and I really do want to see their lives through the blog. I'm not a pedophile; and I promise I won't stalk your children or anything; (I have enough of my own) and I make good, positive, uplifting and sometimes funny comments so why won't you let me in, why???? Alright, here's my email address rose.lance@gmail.com is this some kind of security risk or something, posting my email like this (well it's Lance's so what do I care)? So if your blog is private, and you want a really cool person looking at your blog (even if your name isn't Tanya) then add me and leave a comment . . .

Shadow Dancing my loves . . .

You got me looking at that Heaven in your eyes . . .
And I was loving you . . .
And in a world of people,
there's only you and I, there ain't nothin' come between us in the end . . .
Can I hold you when you aren't mine . . .
Do it light, my angels . . .

All I need is just one moment in your arms . . .

I LOVE the sweet sensation of living in your love, my sweeties. Happy first birthday my chubs. (Accessories and photography courtesy of Cherished Moments in Pleasant Grove 100 East across from fire station).

'Cause they're my ladies . . .

She's my new favorite lady, (exhibit 1, my new screen name) Palin for Prez!!! Although I would LOVE to get my hands on her for a make over.

We all know how much I love her, and she has a new song that melts me. Listen http://http://www.spinner.com/2008/08/12/sarah-mclachlan-u-want-me-2-song-premiere/ . . . Is she like the funniest, fierce -est rocker chick ever or what? I mean she is just sick! (that's right, I'm hip with the modern lingo) Here's her new hilarious vid http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJZDsJ8UU64
My precious one . . .

Who are your favorite ladies of the moment?

Road trip to "Disturbia" . . . and we had SO much fun.

Disturbia because:
#1- it was all VERY rural and you could go crazy there (we're talkin' two states away from a decent mall),
#2- I thought I would completley lose it being away from my Chugbug for a whole week (thanks g-ma's for taking such good care of him)
#3- it was 11 hours in the car with two kids fighting like cats and dogs. Ok they were actually really great on the road, but even the best of them can rattle the nerves.

Here I am crossing into state #46, only 4 more left.

We started the trip Monday night at Martin's Cove. We had our own private FHE there and we watched the movie they had about the rescue. It really was amazing and spiritual, even for the kids.
After the long drive, these three let loose at dinner. Lance was getting a lot of pit dogs.

We ate at Sanford's in Casper, WY it was a fun restaurant.
Our first night in Rapid City, SD; we mini golfed at Pirate's Cove. FABULOSO weather and fun to relax together.





This is the Crazy Horse monument. Upon completion it will be the largest monument in the world. At the rate they're going, we won't see it finished in our lifetime, but they are determined to get it done someday. So far it's just a face and they've worked for 50 years. Mount Rushmore can fit on Crazy Horse's cheek.

Here's what he'll look like when completed, sans Zane and Zoey standing on him.
The big event, here it is . . .
I've heard it's smaller than you think, but wow I didn't expect this:
Oh, ok here's the real deal (my fave pic of the whole trip):
On the way in with the 50 state flags.

Mt. Rushmore was magnificent. After the monument day, we lightened mood for the kids at Bear World.

(Bear cub in the tree behind the kids)

This was the water slide at our hotel. Needless to say we spent a lot of time with it - they loved it!

Now for some random shots . . . This is one of my cherished beauties (by Orla Kiely) oh, and Zoey looks pretty cute here too.

A Jackalope.
Once again I am getting friendly with the wild animals.

A real life, old fashioned phone booth with a working pay phone.

We picked up a friend along the way so that we "never have to roam alone" (someday I'll have to use him to get Lance out of the house, anyone seen Amelie? I crack myself up . . . :)
He's from Wall, SD; Wall Drug, the largest store in the USA (fur real)
He really liked the wildlife at Cabella's.
And he even went to Reptile Gardens with us.

Thanks for having the great idea for this trip, Lance. It really was one of our funnest; the kids liked it better than Disneyland. It's about the same distance as Callifornia is, and I can pretty much guarantee you'll spend less money; (gas in Wy was only $3.58/gallon for one thing) so I highly recommend Rapid City, SD if you're looking for a fun family destination.

Mamma Mia Sing-a-long

Hey-ho Mamma Mia fans. I just saw it again tonight and I definitley liked it better the second time. If you want my official review, go to http://www.movie-mavens.blogspot.com/ (after Sunday). Anyway, what do you want to do when you hear an ABBA song? Me too! (sing that is) So we are planning a group sing-a-long viewing (safety in numbers when you are doing something like this). Buy the soundtrack so you can prepare to rock the house yo, and join us Saturday, August 23 in the later afternoon for an unforgettable event! Details to follow . . .

Yes, I did go camping . . .

I will camp for boating trips, that's it! Although we stayed in a large cabin with our own bed/bath suite at Pallisades, I consider it camping because: there were lots of bugs, not much counter space in the kitchen, no central air conditioning, no T.V. (well there was a TV, but only to watch movies). That is what I call roughing it! Here are Zane Zoey and Grandpa West on the swimming dock.
Here's me in a swimming suit:
See, we really do ride on the boat AND drink diet coke (this pic wasn't even staged) it's Allyson and Mikey btw.


This lake and the scenery are so amazingly beautiful. This lake has special medicinal qualities too, like if you have an injury and need to ice that injury, you can soak in the lake. It's better than an ice pack and just as cold since this water was snow like 5 minutes ago. It's located across the Idaho boarder outside of Jackson Wy.

Yep, these are the only pics I took of the whole trip. See, I only participated the first day as I had a monster headache the rest of the trip. While I was inside in a dark, cool room drugged, everyone else was river rafting on the snake and 4-wheeling and boating it was a total bummer. The kids had fun though, maybe next year . . .

OK SO I GUESS SOMETIMES WE DO MARCH IN PARADES

Here it comes . . .

Calli and Caylee made this special float for us to ride in.

(Below) Is one of my favorite pictures of the whole day . . .

There was even a clown driving the kids around on a homemade train, very cool.
Zane and Crew.
Zoey and our pseudo cousin Kinnely. Ok so this was like the best parade ever since it was about 7 minutes long and all the entries were homemade and we didn't even have to save a place, there were plenty of shady spots available when I got there 5 minutes early, perrrrrfect!
Chubs had his first sucker on the way up to keep him quiet - heaven.

Grandma and Grandpa Rose with Padyn and Chubs.
Can't resist a pic of my beautiful babe.

We had so much fun in Fielding!! Good thing, since it was Fielding Fun Days. We started with the parade, then we went to the bar-b-que in the park with the whole town, then a bake sale and bouncy blow up toys for the kids. At night they had dutch oven and a band, I think we'll make this a tradition.

Fun Days wore them out.

I am 32 flavors, and then some!

I know you all want to know these things about me, and I tag EVERYONE who reads this! I am putting a hex on anyone who reads this and doesn't put this list on their blog, I can't say what the hex is, you'll just have to wait and see :) . . .

1. Do you like blue cheese? Adore it, pungent or mild, European or Continental it is divine! Biaggi's at the Gateway has the best bleu cheese dressing I've ever tasted.
2. Have you ever smoked? Only meat and nuts
3. Do you own a gun? We do now (more on that in a future post)
4. What do you think of hot dogs? LOVE! Best w/chilli, cheese, onions, ketchup and mustard
5. Favorite Christmas movie? Hands down, Love Actually (it actually is all around) but I love The Holiday too.
6. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Fresca
7. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My Heart of the Ocean Ring, I stole it from Britney Spears after her boyfriend went down and got it for her after the old lady dropped it into the ocean at the end . . .
8. Favorite hobby? Cooking, Eating, Shopping, Creating, Contemplating (oh, ok day-dreaming)
9. Do you have A.D.D.? hmmm don't think so but I do have H.S.D. (hyper-shopping-disorder)
10. What's one trait you hate about yourself? The hyperpigmentation on my face.
11. Middle name? West
12. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I'm tired/that IS a divine purse!/I've got to get over this headache so I can get on the treadmill tomorrow (too many sweets today)
13. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Water, Diet Coke, Fresca
14. Current worry? The Economy/The Election
15. Current hate right now? Mia Michaels, migraines (since I have one now)
16. Favorite place to be? Nordstrom/New York/ A Good Restaurant/Europe/On the Couch at the End of the Day when kids are in bed
17. How did you bring in the New Year? A Rockin party.
18. Where would you like to go? Ummm to bed, to Mt. Rushmore, to New York, to Belgium to visit our friends, to Rome, all those trips are coming up in the next year - stay tuned for my reports . . .
19. What shirt are you wearing? My embroidered butterfly t-shirt from anthro-apologie
20. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, I love, love, love the silky but they are just too hot for me.
21. Can you whistle? Yes, although my sis says I am off key (I totally disagree)
22. Favorite color? Green, fave shade - chartreuse
23. Would you be a pirate? Yes, I love jewels and I can be VERY mean if I have to.
24. What songs do you sing in the shower? Lately it's been that duet from the 80's missionary farewells, How Great Shall Be Your Joy . . . my friend and I used to sing it together at those missionary farewells and our primary theme this month is reminding me of it :).
25. Favorite girl's name? Izadora
26. Last thing that made you laugh? Lance's utter joy from his 20 year class reunion Saturday night.
27. Worst injury you've ever had? Sprained ankle when I was 10 or 11 during softball. I know it doesn't sound like much but the pain is unforgetable and my ankle has been subject to bad sprainage ever since.
28. Do you love where you live? I Do, except for the sun and heat - let's import Seattle weather and it's perf.
29. What is your favorite book(s)? the BoM of course, oh and If You Want to Write, The Robe, These is My Words, Twilight
30. What is your favorite candy? Arm candy, aka purses! Oh, I also love malteasers and Queen Anne chocolate covered cherries
31. Favorite Sports Team? The Rebels!!! of course.
32. What song do you want played at your funeral? Come What May - from Moulin Rouge.

She Was Being Miley . . .

I for one hope that next time we hang out, she will redeem herself and have better sound equipment, songs to play, and comments to make; my heart won't rest till then because as of right now I CAN wait to see you again!

This is the reason I went:
(yeah, we were at the top) and this:
and this of course (it's the love):
thanks for getting us the tix shanny, we love ebay:
Holla for the red Independence Day Hawk!
Nice microscopic jumbo tron BYU.
Well, Zoey loved it at least, she made us scream "we love you Miley" like 25 times. I'm sure she heard us too. BYU needs to step it up, did I mention the sound totally sucked? It was poorly run, the music for the fire works was so lame until Celine sang "God Bless America" which is a little weird since she's Canadian and all. We had fun but they won't be getting my money again for the SOF until they hire someone new to run this show.

Luckily I was in a good mood thanks to our delicious lunch we have a mutual dell every year that our G and G West put on. It was so nice and cool up there in AF canyon, here are some photos.

(Oh my goodness look at my beautiful chubs, I love him.)

The kids seemed to have fun with our firecracker art project.


And they did pop itz of course.

Carmoo . . .
Mikey . . .
and the young lovers (Jeanette's bro James and fiance the wedding's coming up)

Here's what we do in the summertime when all the world is green . . .

We don't fish in a stream, but we lazily dream in the yard as the clouds go by . . .
(Below: Jordan, Truxton, Austin, Zane, Chaz, Benson)
We swim in a pool (and a lake :) to keep ourselves cool . . .
(Above: Zane at lessons Below: Zoey, Brynnley, Zane)
We don't march in parades or drink lemonade, but we do ride in the boat and . . . .

(Above: Zane, Bryn, Zoey, Austin Below: Jeff, Grandpa West)

Drink Diet Coke!!! We also . . . play with our Aunt . . .

and water our plants . . . (I wanted to show my cute pots)
We also go to the carnival (Strawberry Days Ally, Carm, Chubs, Mikey, Zane, Zoey)

And play LOTS of baseball . . .

The winners are . . . THE CUBS! Jordan, Max, Trux, and Zane

That's all for my clever rhyming and cute little song, ha ha below are some extras and other fun things we like to do . . .

(Zoey, Bryn, and Marlee)
Zoey and Abbigail
We love to ride bikes . . .

And ride on Big Bertha! (Austin and Zane, Zoey and Bryn)
Oh, and of course water ski - sorry, not me, this is Jeff. I won't allow myself to be photo'ed water skiing until I lose a few more lb's but . . .
as a teaser, here's some of my spray and I have to say that after 3 babies and a 2 year break, and being middle aged I popped out of the water like a teenager! woo!
I just thought this was a cool pic of Jeff by moi with the sun on the H2O etc. Now I'm a photog.
Jeff was very good tonight.

Who's Watching?

So You Think You Can Dance . . .

I don't know how I would survive the summer heat if not for this, dubbed "The Best Reality Show Ever Invented" by Moi of course. This season has already been amazing, if you are not watching on Wed and Thurs nights then I'll catch you up with some highlights:

Here is Kourtni Lind my fave dancer. Not because she resembles Uma Thurman (although that is cool) but because she's so cool, awesome style, amazing dancer and she's 5'9" I LOVE watching tall dancers. It's tough to get control of a body that big but once they do it is the most beautiful thing. Plus her partner is from Salt Lake. I've been rooting for her since her first audition in Milwakee and just read her bio she's so artistic and sweet.

Here she is at work (sorry the quality on these pics sucks)
I also love Twitchington! They are presh - love the fake glasses and their Celine number was a season highlight for sure.
This was my fave couples dance so far. Untouched by The Veronicas is the song (coming up on my SYTYCD playlist) the judges totally panned it, I think it was artistically over their heads because the concept was incredible. Thayne makes a perfect King Louis with his femmy shortness - costumes and make-up were fierce! The more I watch it the more I realize the complexity of the movement including the juxtaposition of the old 16th century moves with the modern music and moves. Mandy Moore is my ab fave since last season's "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This."

And to Wade Robson "Ya did me proud Mister" with the first group number incidentally the best group number this show has seen in four seasons! I have always loved Robyn but set to Wade's "ridiculous" choreography her Cobra took on a whole new Style.

I didn't get her pic but I'm also rooting for Chelsea Hightower of course since she's from P.G. Now here is my challenge. SYTYCD is looking for "happy dances" so am I . . . I will post mine before the season ends who else is up for it? If you post your happy dance on your blog, leave me a comment then myself and my small panel of judges will decide a winner, the prize being a SYTYCD related item. Go For It!

PS - What has gotten into Mia Michaels, raunchy angry chick! She has fallen off my "hot tamale train".

Now, 45 of the 50 Nifty

Alaska makes 45 . . . states visited that is (who really wants to go to the Dakotas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, or Wisconsin anyway?). It is one of my favorites, no not in terms of shopping but definitley in terms of scenery, food, weather, and nice people.

At first I though it slightly sucked to have to take Chubs but it turned out to be a great snuggling opportunity and everyone helped with him, and the truth is I couldn't have stood to be away from him that long. We had such a fun time on our cruise, for one thing we were some of the youngest people on the ship which allowed us free reign of the boat after about 9:00 p.m. We took Holland America and it was a great cruise line, friendly and delicious.

One of my favorite things we did, which I did not get pictures of, is the spa treatments. We spent three different days getting facials, massages, exfoliations, toxins released, hydropooled, and just relaxing on the mosaic warming chairs watching the mountains and the ocean pass. Lance and I had a couples massage which was very romantic, while Shanny tended/slept with Chubs (thanks peentz). It was one of our funnest family trips, here is a visual re-cap . . .

Here is the Oosterdam, our ship . . . Here is downtown Juneau, Alaska's capital. It is built on a very small strip of land sandwhiched between the mountains and the ocean, beautiful. They had the MOST amazing peanut butter chocolate chunk fudge I could've imagined.
Juneau after lunch at The Hangar. Good choice Woggie.
The sea planes coming in for a landing.
Taken leaving Juneau from the deck of the ship, Allyson, Lindsey, me, Shannon. Is it just me or is Ally's flower attacking Lindz?

The bears in Alaska are actually very friendly.

This is Sitka, our least fave town.

Lance and chubs on the deck of the ship while we viewed the Hubbard Glacier.
Hubbard Glacier, the largest Glacier in the world. This glacier is one of the only glaciers expanding, it is 76 miles long.
Chubs in his chef's hat at the chef's parade dinner.

Jeff and Chubs on our last formal night.
Ketchikan, our favorite city. This city was lively and fun. I've eaten fish and chips in England and Ireland, from Boston to San Fran and Seattle so HEAR THIS: They can't hold a candle to Ketchikan Alaska. The fish and chips here were made of halibut and just melted in your mouth. And the tartar sauce was made with fresh dill not dill pickle relish, mmmmm.

Victoria, British Columbia

This city is a West Family favorite. We vacationed here a couple of times growing up, then had an adult trip here two years ago, then we were lucky enough to get our cruise ship to stop here. If you ever get the chance to go it is so beautiful, the weather is perfect, it is lush and green, incredible buildings, some pretty great shopping, and wonderful restaurants. Below is Shanny snuggling with Chubs (the empress hotel is behind).

POP! Goes her tongue - on the water front, gov't building in the background.
Grandpa making Chubs laugh as usual.
The bay and Empress Hotel, this is the city center.

Getting Our Groove On

One of the funnest parts of the vacay for sure was the night activities. Most of us are night owls sans woggie (ally) and sometimes Lindz so we partied into the wee hours most nights and closed down that big ship if you know what I mean. We played card games,and got our ping pong on in the tournaments until 2 or 3 a.m. We spent the last two nights at Northern Lights, the ship's night club. D.J. Matt knew how to put the needle on the record for 70's night. Of course we had to request "Raining Men" Jeff even got into that one (not so much). I loved the Mojitos and Strawberry Daquirris, here are the pics of us taking over the dance floor . . .




By the end of the cruise Ally kept saying she was pregnant . . . with a food baby. Here she is moaning about it and showing it off. Below you get a feel for the true hidden talent within the West family, you'll see particularly Jeff's got a huge talent!

Formal Night

I guess everyone knows that these cruise ships have formal night, here is ours:

Above is my parents at dinner, below is me and my date. Lance wasn't about to let some cruise ship tell him how to dress at dinner so he didn't bring anything nicer than a pair of jeans. As a result they wouldn't even let him in for dinner.


Here are Lindsey, Ally, Jeff, Shannon, and me while we were having "after dinner drinks and dancing" in the Ocean Bar.

Mom and Dad cutting a rug - so cute.

Heavy Heart

It is with a heavy heart and teary eyes that I come to you now. I have received some news that is absolutley the worst news I've heard since, since, maybe since I found out Chaz has a kidney condition (that is a little dramatic, I know, but I am truly sad) MOONLIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. I am devastated, this show was the best blend of action, romance, comedy that I have ever seen on TV. Not to mention the beautiful cast, I even love Shannyn Sossaman after her evilness here.


This song playing, Lucky, is from one of my fave Moonlight scenes when Mick and Beth are discussing their relationship on the roof top, they share a passionate kiss, then he flies to a post to look over the city at night and it's totally a Moulin Rouge moment. It just kept getting more creative and interesting with cool plot twists and vampire fight scenes. I love Beth. The second song playing is from the final finale of Moonlight, shower scene wooo. I am trying to "let it go" but the sadness just keeps sinking deeper, somehow I don't feel like "we are the lucky ones" now.

PS just found out Men in Trees is cancelled too - are you kidding me? Like people are still watching Grey's Freaking Anatomy and skipping these Gems?! I guess that's why stupid movies like Independence Day and Iron Man etc are so popular, uh!!!!

Zoey's Moment

And so I'm back, from outer space, you just walked in to find me here with that sad look upon my face (the sad look is due to the lack of attention my blog has received) BUT I will survive . . . anyway, sorry V for the lack of posts but I am really deliberating my posts because I am sick of posting about kids and their activities all the time and I've been out of town and been in hibernation over a couple of really bad migraines anyway, so here I go with another post about kid acitivites . . . but these ARE special and come back soon cuz I am posting about my fab Alaskan get away.



Zoey's artistic year culminated in two events; her art show, May 10, and her dance concert, May 17. She was SO excited for both, she lives for art class each week and spends several hours a day coloring and drawing. Here are a couple of examples of her work at the show (she painted the teddy bear):






Below, she is preparing for her Enchanted "Happy Little Working Song" dance number.



Waiting for their curtain call . . .

Marlee and Zoey after

Movie Mavens

Have you ever wanted to see a certain movie and said to yourself "I wonder what Hillary thinks of this movie?" Well then, GOOD NEWS, http://movie-mavens.blogspot.com/ is here for you. For a while now, my sister and I and our friend Christy have been reviewing movies on our Movie Mavens blog (this picture is an artistic cartoon rendering of the three of us). Feel free to visit if you want to hear more of my opinions or if you want to wisely invest your $8.25 on movies you will enjoy. Keep reading and scrolling down for my most recent review, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day . . .

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Movie Review

hmmmm it appears I liked this movie so much more than Shannon. This is the best new movie I have seen in 2008. The storyline is fresh and the writing has the perfect balance of corny humor and genuine emotion. I love Amy Adams, she reprises her roll as Giselle in Enchanted in many ways but it's perfect for DeLyssia Lafosse! Just her character's name cracks me up. The leading men were adorable and loveable, and the sets were fabulously 1930's. Francis McDormand was amazing; normally her rolls don't excite me because she plays harsh characters but here she is warm and sad.
Miss Pettigrew has a sweet surface story but it moved me with a reminder of the plight of unmarried and destitute women prior to the women's movement. DeLyssia LaFosse had no choice, if she wanted to progress in her career, she was forced to use her sexuality. Miss Pettigrew didn't have that option so she became homeless. As much as I dislike Gloria Steinem, and I believe the women's movement had some negative effects on families and society, I can't deny the gratitude I feel for her and the choices her efforts have given modern women.
Miss Pettigrew gives us a typical fairy tale ending, but it was handled in a believable way and it was quite satisfying.

A bit of Shopping on the Border City of Shenzen, China

Today's Meals

Yes, that is a cooked chicken head.

Hong Kong UPS

Today I spend the day at the largest logistical center in the World. It is very nice to have a new audience (1.4 billion Chinese people) that I can talk about Fo Da' UPS.