Lady Loki Wendi vs. god of thunder James

James & Wendi at the store:
Me: "look! They have a Loki doll, I am SO buying this"
James: "you can't buy that without buying this too" (hands me a Thor doll)
Me: "why would I buy that? I WANT the Loki one."
James: "because buying Loki without buying Thor is just weird"
Me: "YOU'RE weird. Loki is SO much cooler than Thor"
James: *sigh
Me: "fine I will buy both, but Loki will always be better"

At this point it should be noted that this argument went on all the way home, and continued when we got there.
My sister Jamie comes over whilst we are still arguing.

Jamie: "but Wendi, isn't that the bad guy?"
Me: (aghast) "BAD?! No, he is just MISUNDERSTOOD"
Jamie: "whatever, you guys are weird" (she didn't say this out loud necessarily, but it was TOTALLY implied)

While the argument was suspended for the evening, apparently it wasn't over, because this morning I woke up to this:

   
OH NO YOU DIDNT. IT. IS. ON.

Mission accompl.... oh who am I kidding, I suck.

So the photo a day thing was a total bust. I realized quickly, that taking a picture of a "cup I drank from today" was pretty lame.  I also learned, that when I feel like taking pictures, I want to take them of anything I want, and not "something in my fridge". (Seriously, who wants people to see the inside of their fridge?)  So the moral of that is, I am going to continue taking pictures. And continue with the photo blog. However, there will not be any features on cups or the fridge any time soon.

Anywho, things are going pretty well. Well, pretty well if you don't consider the inside of my house looks like a tornado lives here.  James is sure that Dax is part cocker spaniel, part Aussie Shepard, and part "Tasmanian devil". I think he means the cartoon one, that leaves nothing but destruction in his wake. Yep, that is our dog.

Also I have created a bit of a monster.  I don't know if you know this about James, but he hates reading. Like REALLY hates it.  He even gets angry when we are watching something on TV that has subtitles.  I, on the other hand LOVE to read. Its a great escape for me.  Every once in a while I come across a book and think, it's a shame James hates to read, he would love this. 
It happened for the first time, a million years ago, when I discovered Harry Potter.  I forced James to sit down and listen to me read it to him.  And when we finished it, I had won, because the first thing he said to me was, "there are more of these right?".
Fast forward to about six months ago, when I first read the Hunger Games.  I had never been so mesmerized and horrified at the same time.  I begged James to let me read it to him, but he had no interest.  I even got him to let me read him the first few chapters, but still no.  Then, they released the trailer for the movie.  That intrigued him, and he consented to giving it another try.  We flew through the first book, the second, and now are half way through the third.
He is a bit obsessed. He is constantly telling me his ideas of what is going to happen. And if he doesn't like what he hears, what he thinks SHOULD have happened. It's such a fun way for us to spend time together, and he cracks me up when we are out somewhere and he swears he hears mockingjays in the trees, and is sure the wasp he saw was a tracker jacker.

Saw these today, they are the epitome of our house right now.

Life at our house is never boring, and ALWAYS hilarious.

Springtime in the Rabbit Hole

So it is spring here in Utah. Thank goodness. You know, we really didn't even have a winter this year, and I don't even feel sad about it. I LOVE the spring. I love to watch the daffodils and tulips pop up. I love to watch the grass and trees come alive again. But most of all I love..... Cadbury Easter candy.
Hahaha, no, but seriously, I do.

Things have been great at our house lately, we got us a new family member. Here he is in all his tiny destructive glory:

Well, here he WAS. He is actually quite a bit bigger now. It is kind of starting to make James a bit nervous.  Especially when the vet said he wasn't quite sure that Daxter was a MINIATURE Aussie Shepard as stated when we purchased him..... Hope he still fits through our dog door in a few months.

Had a successful winter with my "Steampunk" redecorating project in my salon. It pretty much turned out exactly as I envisioned. I love it when that happens.

Probably the thing that has been keeping me busy lately is my new blog.
http://visionsinvintage.blogspot.com/
It's a photo blog to track my progress as a recreational "photographer".  It has been so fun to take pics of all my very gracious models, and then turn them into my own little works of art.
So if anyone wants to volunteer to model, or submit their children to my whims, let me know. :)

On Sunday I am starting one of those 30 day photo challenges on my photo blog.  I am excited to see how creative I can be, and April seems like a great month to try it out.
Here is my photo list:
•Day 1: Anything; whatever you want.
•Day 2: Something that makes you smile.
•Day 3: Something that you collect.
•Day 4: Something that stresses you out.
•Day 5: A cup you drank from today.
•Day 6: Someone who inspires you.
•Day 7: A picture of your phone.
•Day 8: What you had for lunch today.
•Day 9: Shoes.
•Day 10: A product you use in your hair.
•Day 11: Your pet.
•Day 12: A sneak picture you took in class/at work/out and about.
•Day 13: Nature.
•Day 14: Somewhere you went today.
•Day 15: A device that you own but never use/touch.
•Day 16: Something that makes you sad.
•Day 17: Something that you have too much of and is taking up unnecessary space.
•Day 18: Something you’re currently borrowing from someone.
•Day 19: Something you don’t have much of.
•Day 20: A stuffed doll/animal that you own.
•Day 21: Something from your bathroom.
•Day 22: Something sweet.
•Day 23: A book you’ve been reading.
•Day 24: Something you shouldn't have bought, but did anyways.
•Day 25: A souvenir from a vacation.
•Day 26: Something that means a lot to you.
•Day 27: Your handwriting.
•Day 28: Something purple.
•Day 29: Something in your fridge.
•Day 30: You.

My plan is to post once a week with all the pics from that weeks numbers.  We'll see if I can make it to the end of the month.

Thanks to my awesome husband who puts up with all my crafting/ photography/ sewing/ painting/ upcycling/ crocheting/ flower arranging/ etc. craziness.
Saw this on pintrest and it pretty much nails my life with James:

It probably really isn't what he thinks. But he always pretends it is, and I love him for it.

To whom it may concern,

Dear Blog,
I am sorry that I neglect you.
Wendi

Dear Valentines Day,
I know as a girl that you are supposed to be some great day for me.  But you just aren't. Mostly I worry because I can't think of anything to buy for my husband.
No hard feelings, but I kinda think you are a joke...
Wendi

Dear Gabree,
I spend two days a week with you listening to the silly things you say, and pretending that being under a blanket makes you invisible. You and Grace make my weeks interesting to say the least. I love you both like you belong to me.
Here is hoping that you can grow up to be Gary the snail, a lady bug, and bigfoot, as you have wished for all three of those things in the last couple weeks.
Wendi

Dear Home Depot paint department,
Thanks for being part of all my decorating projects. Especially this latest one, which has pretty much exceeded all my very high expectations.
You rock,
Wendi

Dear ID channel,
When we decided to get HD channels added to our satellite I had no idea that you existed.  Now I spend WAY too much time watching "real life" crime drama.  It makes me paranoid. E.G. everytime we passed anything suspicious on the side of the road as we drove to Arizona last month, I was POSITIVE it was a body. Because that is where they always find them. On the side of the road.  In the middle of the desert.
Maybe I should watch more sitcoms....
Wendi

Dear Pintrest,
Do I really need to say it?
I love you.
Wendi

Dear winter,
I am SOOO over you. I know you showed up really late this year, and believe me, I am grateful for that. But I'm pretty sure you have overstayed your welcome AGAIN. 
Here is to hoping that someday, I will be out of town during your entire visit.
Wendi

Dear Trixie,
For you, I have created a compliment sandwich. First, I love you to pieces and think you are HIL-arious. However...... you are pretty much the WORST guard dog ever. But, you are pretty cute to my eyes, so we will keep you.
Wendi

Dear Camp Williams,
I don't know what is going on out there, but my house has sounded like it is sitting in the middle of a war zone for two days now.
If you could stop blowing crap up and making my house rattle, that would be great.
Wendi

Dear James,
You are the best. I love you more than anything on this earth. Thank you so much for bringing your "A game" to our marraige, and making me laugh till my sides hurt pretty much every day of my life.
Thanks for being my valentine, even though neither one of us like valentines day....
You are AWESOME.
Wendi

That's right, this is happening.

A list of various things:

1. I am officially a crappy blogger.

2. My house is very quiet today. Sometimes when that happens I love it. Sometimes it just makes me tired, cranky and or sad.

3. I am re-addicted to Lost, if that is even a word. We started again from the beginning and I'm pretty sure its the best show that has ever been on television, except for maybe The Big Bang Theory.

4. I am so proud of my husband! I don't have the words to describe how cool he is. :)

5. I love having Wayne and Linda here. We laugh, a lot, and life without them when they go home is going to be difficult.

6. I worry about... well pretty much everything.

7. It's rodeo week in Lehi, which since I grew up here, theoretically I am supposed to love. Don't know when it happened, but mostly I find it noisy, and annoying, & the traffic thru town is ridonkulous.

8. I LOVE SUMMER.

9. I also love the rain.

10. I am surrounded by pregnant women. My head spins with all the crafty things I get to make in the next year......

11. I'm not sure how they do it, but I am really starting to believe that Netflix laces their DVDs with crack or some other addictive substance.

12. Looking forward to an amazing July!

13. Giant cardboard boxes entertain the kids in my life far better than anything I have actually paid money for.

14. A few days ago, Wayne sat down heavily in my office chair and it tipped over backwards dumping him on the floor. H I L A R I O U S.

15. I started test painting my family room walls again. For those keeping track, its been less than 2 years since I last painted it. I wonder if they make some kind of medication for what ever it is that i have....

16. I'm blond again. I don't know why, I guess I just needed a change. But the weirdest part, is that all of a sudden when people say something derogatory about blonds I get all like "hey!" and then I'm like, wait a second, I've only been blond for like a day, why do I care??

17. It's been almost 2 years since we lost Sheri, and I still cry about it at least once a week. Last week I had to go to a family bridal shower without her and I nearly had a meltdown. I really need to be stronger. She would be.

18. I finally admitted out loud that I cannot plant flowers at my house anymore. I kill them. So this year, I filled a pot on my front porch with silk flowers. I'm pretty sure that either means I'm a genius, or an 80 year old woman.

19. I am way too attached to my pets. Plus I'm getting all "baby hungry" and want a new kitten pretty badly. I have no idea why, I'd probably regret it, but come on, kittens are so dang cute.

20. A couple weeks ago I got a package in the mail. I called James to see what he had ordered, and told me he had no idea, and that I should open it. He had surprised me by buying me a kindle. I have always wanted one, and I was so excited. Let me just tell you that I am pretty much in LOVE with this thing. Plus he surprised me further by filling the screen saver file with pictures that I would love. Every time I turn it off some amazing picture pops up and I realize how well he really does know me.

21. I love getting a good deal. I'm pretty sure that I have told at least 12 people about how I got almost 3 yards of Minkie fabric for less than $20. And now I have told a few more people....

22. I hope it's not wrong to use children as slave labor. Every week when my niece picks up her kids they tell her about the laundry they did, or how I taught them how much fun it is to use a swiffer duster. A few weeks ago I texted her a picture of her girls cleaning the toilet. She said she thought it was hilarious, but I think secretly she was jealous that she didn't think of it first.

23. I live for laughter. And with these 2 boys in my house, it is pretty much constant.

24. It took me two days to write this blog.

25. The L.D.S. Church is true. I KNOW THIS. There is nowhere else on this planet where you will find the peace, joy, happiness, and protection that you find there. The older I get, the more the world falls apart, the more I see the people I love struggle with life's problems, the more I know this. There IS a living Prophet. He DOES receive revelation. Jesus Christ IS my savior. I have a quote on my wall that says "Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light." I love this. It gives me hope, and makes me happy.

That's all I got folks. See ya in 6 months when I come up with some new stuff ;)

nice to see you january, but even nicer to see you go.

So its almost the last day of January. January is the most hated month of the year. I know this, because probably 13 times just in the last week someone has said they hated it, so apparently its not just me.


I usually spend January feel sad for no reason, annoyed at the weather, and with some kind of illness (e.g. bronchitis, flu). However this year there was no time for any of that, and it made this month SO much better.


We spent last week in Arizona for Wayne's wedding, here are just a few highlights of what was a pretty eventful week.


1. Got a flat tire just outside Beaver, Utah. It was cold. And when I say it was cold, I mean it was COLD. But my husband, climbed out of the car, acted like he knew exactly what he was doing to keep me calm, and like a trooper changed the tire in his shorts and tshirt. Did I mention we were dressed for AZ weather?? This event led to..


2. Stopping in Cedar City again for tires.... Wait, did she say again? Why yes, yes she did. Because you see a little less than 3 years ago we were driving to Disneyland and got a nail in one of our tires. So we had to stop in Cedar City and buy new tires. Its kind of becoming a really expensive and annoying tradition.


3. We arrived about 2 hours later than we planned, but it made for good timing as we got to meet Wayne and Linda for dinner after James went to try on his handsome digs for the wedding.


4. Arrived at Roy and Ruth's late, and started to get ready for bed. They have a new dog at their house, her name is Tara, and she is a ginormous German Shepard who lives mostly outside. When we got up in the morning everyone had gone to work, and I was scared to leave the bedroom in case she was in the house and attacked me because she thought I was some kind of intruder. Thankfully she was outside, so I didn't get my face ripped off trying to get to the bathroom.


5. The wedding was amazing, it is always a good time when you hang out with the Mower clan, and this was no different. Wayne and Linda looked amazing, and I'm pretty sure neither one of them stopped smiling all day. We did get lost about 6 times on the way to the reception, but we managed to find it, and I managed to eat about 3 pieces of cheesecake with the most amazing berry topping known to man. We took awkward pictures with Kathy and Jason, and i gave Alexis the camera for half the reception because people seemed genuinely happy to see her and she was small enough to sneak into crowds.


p.s. she is a great photographer.


6. The day after the wedding James and I did what has become one of our favorite AZ traditions, we went to the swap meet. We don't have swap meets in Utah, I think that is what makes them so appealing, well that and Grandma Mower always took us to one when we came to visit her. We took David, Emmy and the kids, who believe it or not, had NEVER been. I had a ball, as I always do. Even though most of the stuff is white trash, for some reason its still pretty dang fun, however, I'm pretty sure David would disagree.


7. James and I haven't had professional pics taken... well since our wedding I believe. So we spent one day out around the town with Emmy the amazing photographer, who took about 700 pictures of us. She actually made us look pretty good, check us out:

8. We had to leave and come home, even though we didn't want to. It was warm there, and entertaining. We laughed till we cried pretty much everyday, and we had so much fun. It went by WAY too fast. Plus Alexis was sad to see us go and she cried :( it pretty much broke my heart to see her sad little face waving goodbye...

9. We got home to two VERY happy to see us dogs, and 12 messages on the answering machine. *sigh* real life.

So now back to real life, where its still cold, and busy. But in one day's time it will be February, and its the shortest month of the year and then we are on to spring!

Goodbye January, I'm pretty sure next year we will be going on vacation to AZ again. It made you much more tolerable.

Time flies....

Sometimes i wonder if time slips by quickly because im getting older, or because it is literally moving faster.
I would swear that it was summer yesterday. The fourth of july, James's birthday, warm weather, green grass and trees, then BOOM its all over.
Getting ready for Halloween, building fun things, decorating with all my favorite decorations, raking leaves and getting out the long sleeved shirts, then BOOM over.
Thanksgiving was a blur.... i know it happened, i WAS there im sure of it. But it got here so fast and was over before i knew it.
And now Christmas, i think i spend more time "getting ready" for christmas then i actually spend enjoying it. I am so excited for this year, sometimes Christmas is hard for me because of the lack of little people in our home. But for the last 3 years Wayne has been here and it makes all the difference. This year we have 5 stockings hanging up. FIVE! I have shopped so much, and bought WAY too much stuff and i couldnt be more excited. To have people here to open surprise presents, to hear laughter and excitement for Christmas morning, frankly it cant come soon enough. I still have about a half a million things to do, and a ton of baking on my list, but it will all be worth while.
My cousin Cassie has been blogging about her favorite things for Christmas. She talks about something new everyday, and reading it has become my new way to start the morning. I have so many amazing Christmas memories, and it makes me think about all of my favorites. So thanks Cass, for helping me remember that Christmas is about WAY more then "getting ready".
I have alot of things to be thankful for as usual, but right now, i am most thankful for the Mower's and all the joy they bring into my life. They are some of my favorite people on the planet, and its so nice to feel like i belong. To have in-laws that love me for who i am, and actually KNOW who i am.
Thanks for making me feel like one of your own to Ruth & Roy.
I love you Kathy, i wish you knew how amazing you really are.
Thanks for making me laugh till i cry to Jen & Todd.
You make me feel like a mom Wayne, & that is more than any person can ever be thankful enough for.
And to the rest of the Mower's who never fail to make me feel wanted and appreciated.
I love you all.