More About Dr Horrible

At this point I've lost track as to how many times I've watched it.
But now you can watch it for free from the Dr Horrible website or on hulu.com
Anyway you have to see it... You've already seen it? Well, then go watch it again. But this time sing along, it's more fun that way.

Dr Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog

I love this online tv miniseries so much. It's so clever and endearing. I love the music. You can get if off itunes for only 4 dollars, if you buy the season pass. It's only avaiable on itunes till the 29 of July.
Go, learn more, and fall in love with it too.

FineTune

While blog hopping Saturday I found the funnest blog widget. It's a unique music player from finetune.com. I spent more time there today than I would like to admit, but I had a wonderful time. Their selection is fantastic and well organized. Their site is very user friendly. The sound quality is great too. I just installed their widget on my blog. I hope you enjoy the new tunes, as much a I do. I highly recommend checking out their site. It felt like a walk down memory lane and I loved it.

The Living Planet Aquarium (Preview Exhibit)

The Living Planet Aquarium (Preview Exhibit) is located in Sandy Utah. It's a fabulous little aquarium with big dreams. My husband and I bought a membership and have enjoyed every visit. Every time we've gone, they've made improvements or a new exhibit. Now I have been to bigger fancier aquariums, but none have had the creativity and heart that this one has. The place is really beautiful. Their creativity with such a small space is astounding. I think they made over an old grocery store. To go once is about $8 for an adult, but to buy a one year membership is $15 for on adult. To learn more about this fun place visit http://www.thelivingplanet.com/

I forgot to mention parts our sweet girl has enjoyed. She has gotten to touch a stingray, ogle fish, steer a boat, and play in their coral reef play area. She always has as good a time as we do, but since she is under two she is free!

My Friend Alisa

I love my friend Alisa. This post is a tribute piece to her. Who couldn't use be talked up, and She certainly deserves to be. Many years ago when I first heard Alisa speak, I admired her deeply. I wanted to start her fan club. ;) Then we had her and her husband over for dinner. They invited us over for ice cream. This continued as our families lives intertwined. We've spent good times and rough times together. We have seen each other though so much. Holidays, babies, my birth, her labor, our collective struggles and triumphs. She has grace, humor, strength, courage, conscience, testimony, wisdom, dignity, and integrity. She has had a dramatic effect on my life and I wouldn't be the woman I am today without her. Thank you, Alisa. Below is a list of just some of the ways she changed my life for the better.

• She believed me and supported me when it came to my crazy family.



• She publicly defended my decisions with said crazy family.



• She helped get DH in to school of his dreams.



• Her home has been a refuge and landing place.



• When our fiances were very tight, her and her husband just showed up with food and filled our cupboards.



• Her and her husband have always had our backs. They are the first to share in our triumphs and heartaches.



• She has taught me a lot about Heavenly Father and his love for us.



• Her honesty and grace has taught me a lot about mental health issues.



• She took me to my first Le Leche League meeting. (the meeting was canceled, but I learned what it was because of her.)



• She was the first person to talk to me about homebirth and women's bodies in birth.



• She showed me stories about unassisted childbirth. Those stories sparked the, then dormant, desire in me to have children.



• She enlightened me about yoga, circumcision, vaccinations, baby wearing, co sleeping, cloth diapers, breastfeeding, Attachment Parenting..... This list just might be endless, and I am very grateful.



• She introduced me to the AP playgroup Mamas.



• She always hugs me goodbye and it makes me feel loved.



• And one last thing, she may find surprising, her marriage is inspiring. Here is why, they have stuck out together, every piece of crap that's happened to them. Their marriage and love for each other, is rather Phoenix like and I admire that.

As I said this is just a small list of some of the wonderful things she shown, taught, and given me.

She is one of the most delightful and remarkable woman I have ever met.

Thanks for all the fun times we've shared Alisa, my life just wouldn't be the same without you.

To learn more about Alisa, visit her blog Escaping To My Happy Place

Holy Writ

So today I was reading on a message board at imdb.com, and I came across a post to blog about. The author of said post felt that All holy books (including the Book of Mormon) were largely without merit and caused more harm than good. He felt that in generally we should do away with them and turn wholly to secular literature. At first I found the poster ignorant and repugnant, but then I felt great pitty. I felt sad that he/she had never experienced the power and beauty that said books have to offer. Also the idea that holy books cause harm and should be shunned, is so patently ridiculous. At the very least I see them as beautiful tools and handbooks. If you read a handbook and get a paper cut, is it a harmful book? Or think about a knife, knifes are useful tools. But you could hurt someone badly with a knife. With this persons line of thinking perhaps knifes are without merit too.
Powerful, beautiful, words from a loving Father in Heaven are not the root of the worlds ills. Just because people take something and use it too hurt people, doesn't make that thing harmful and without value. I am left shaking my head at this line of thinking. But I believe the real reason why this idea is so popular, is because of guilty consciences. If you can discredit holy writ, then there are no commandments to follow. Righteousness can be very fluid "idea". Effort for change or betterment needn't be taken. Growing and improving is at the very least uncomfortable and inconvenient. How carefully we are led away with vain imaginings and flaxen cords. But if everyone would read say the Book of Mormon with an open heart. This idea would have no foothold. Ignorance is sadly one of Lucifer's greatest weapons.

Love-Love-Love

I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it! -Buddy The Elf

So I am madly in love with my dear husband. He is such a wonderful man! This year we will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. I love him even more now, than the day I married him. In honor of that love I thought I would share some things that have been a part of our love story. Perhaps they'll help in your love story too.

Lovingyou.com

If any of you readers have ever noticed the signs on our bedroom and bathroom doors and wondered about their origin, look no further than lovingyou.com. This website is full of fabulous romantic ideas.

Cozyinnutah.com

This site has led to many a romantic getaway. I personally recommend the Providence Inn near Logan, and the Manti House Inn in Manti. They both have the best service and amenities for your money (Note: the Manti House Inn is family friendly. Last anniversary we just brought our six month old with us, and it was great!)

Dizzler.com and Rhapsody.com

DH and I gtalk links to these site when we discover a new romantic song.

We've even made romantic play lists.

The Couples Comfort Book by Jennifer Louden

This book is a remarkably helpful tool for any couple, and has led to many sweet memories.

Google your local events calenders. Volunteer together at local festivals and theaters, and don''t miss free outdoor movies. Try netflix and redbox. And hug and kiss as much as possible.

Make sure that your sweetheart knows how much they are loved and go spend some time together.

In honor of this romantic post, I hope to switch to a romantic play list filled with the songs we've made memories to.

It never lets up...

So I try to keep my family eating healthy. I try to have the majority of my baby's food be whole, natural, and organic. But I will let her have a taste of what we're eating even if it is unhealthy. Yes that means, ice cream (usually natural), chocolate, small amounts of white flour and rice, refined sugar (see chocolate and ice cram) and fries and chips. Now I try to be careful about these items. Truly moderation, like a lick or a few bites. (Although with fries and chips I don't moderate as much, still they are never from a fast food place and the chips are usually plain kettle chips.) As you can plainly see I try. There are some food I never let her have.
But when you pick up a healthy eating book, goodnight, I feel like such a failure. DH and I are talking about going vegetarian. I try to pick what I buy carefully. But even when I try, I fail And there is corn syrup in everything!!!!! Case in point this morning I picked up some Albertsons chocolate chip muffins, morningstar veggie scramble bites, and 100% whole wheat honey and molasses sweetened gram crackers. I gave my baby a cracker, they smelled wrong, I wondered if it was because they were so healthy. No they had expired in DEC 07!!!! I took the nasty cracker from her and gave her a bite of my muffin. Latter I actually looked at the ingredients of said muffin. I felt so dumb, corn syrup, propylene Glycol (anti-freeze), corn syrup, artificial flavors, so many other crazy preservatives and trans fats to boot. And then there is the fact that there is chocolate and sugar in them. Which health experts would say is an absolute non-no for a one year old. I didn't even bother giving her the morning star thingies. Those thing has the longest craziest ingredients listing. I don't even want to think about how much gmo crops go into those things. Oh and aside from all the crazy chemical ingredients, they have corn syrup too. Should you wonder why I bought such weird food, we went camping last night. We left at 6:30 and DH needed to be to work by 7am so I thought I would just pick up some fruit and muffins. Their fruit wasn't great, so I passed on it. I just grabbed the muffins and the bites without reading the labels. BIG MISTAKE. And apparently I have to remember that store don't check pull dates, we have to do it for them. It kills me that the one truly healthy thing I bought was horribly rancid. To every person out there who writes about what you should and shouldn't eat or let your kids eat, I don't like you today. I feel too overwhelmed and guilty, to handle your rhetoric. Oh and thanks for the kick when I'm down and reminding me that I can't win. I think I'll go pout some more now, and do laundry