$50

My favorite Mothers' Day tradition (which I enstated) is to go shopping that Saturday for clothes. This wasn't just for fun . . . seriously, I'm out of clothes! We're on a budget (obviously) so I went with $50. Can $50 buy anything? It can at Ross! Here's the breakdown:

Maxi Dress: $16.99

I promised myself I wouldn't buy a dress this time. I always wind up with a dress whenever I go shopping. I feel like spending $15 on a dress than on say, a shirt is a better deal. Plus, I love dresses. But, I really needed casual everyday clothes. So much for willpower.

I've seen these dresses everywhere and they looked so comfortable . . . but, I had two hang-ups about them: 1. Long dresses or skirts are never long enough for my legs (not to mention I can't pull of the boho look--have you ever seen a pale hippie?), 2. Most of these dresses have gigantic neon flowers on them . . . yuck. BUT . . . I saw this black and white one and I had to have it.

Luckily, the dress had adjustable straps--genius! When adjusted to the lowest level, it's long enough. Plus, the sporty stripes on the waist, straps and pockets makes the dress not as boho and I think it looks fine on me. Not to mention, POCKETS! A cute black and white dress that's long enough AND it has a place to keep my chapstick? I'm in love.

Some day I'll have to do a post about my obsession with black and white. My closet seriously looks like something from a Tim Burton movie. Anyway, not my best deal of the day, but not bad considering I saw a similar dress (only, orange) at Belk earlier for $80.

Gladiator Sandals: $10.99

Loving these. So comfortable, I could totally spear a tiger in these.

Shorts: $8.99 each

I know they're wrinkly, but I wasn't going to iron them for a picture! Anyway, yeah, Pepto pink shorts seem a little weird, but they looked really good on me. It's the pale thing. I'm a blank canvas, so wild colors look good on me, really! I think . . . maybe they just distract the eye from my white legs!

Jeans: $4.99!

This is why I love this store. They're super cute Nine West jeans and they fit great! (It also helps that I'm 3 sizes smaller than I was last summer! Just had to throw that in there . . . heh heh. Makes shopping even more enjoyable!)

It was a great shopping trip. Last time I went shopping, I went nuts. I hadn't gotten out without Charlie in awhile, so I went for like, 8 hours. It was miserable! I realized that about 3 hours is my limit. After that, I'm just hungry, tired and filled with Mom guilt.

Although, I think next time I'll have to take my sis-in-law Mari with me. We almost always go shopping together, but that week her sister was in town. I seriously walked around the store for 30 minutes trying to make a decision. I can't make one without her! She is my voice of reason! But she made a good suggestion for next time . . . she said I should just send her some pics from my phone. Duh! This is why I need her to think for me . . .

I told my mom once that even if I make it big as a screenwriter and I make millions, I'd still shop at Ross. She replies, "I wouldn't!" That's really saying something, because my mom is not into fashion at all. Oh well. I still love Ross. It's great because most of the clothes there are namebrand or designer and better quality than Target or Old Navy. It's not just about the clothes (although I LOVE them), it's about getting the deal. You know, if you compliment me on an outfit I'll immediately tell you how much everything cost. Rude? Probably. But it makes me happy! So take it!

Viva La Ross!

P.S. Can anyone tell me why Blogger won't let me post in paragraphs? Any time I do a return, after I post it, it's gone. Sorry, I'm a blogger idiot.

SYTYCD!

I'm lost without Lost. It's so sad to see my Lost countdown at over 200 days before the next episode. Not to mention next season is the last season! Even worse, no new episodes of "The Office" or "30 Rock" tonight. But . . . .

"SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE" STARTS TONIGHT!!!

I'm a SYTYCD fanatic. I've watched, obsessed, since Day 1. For the past week, I've been stalking YouTube, watching my favorite routines to get pumped for the premiere tonight. Here's a list of my top ten favorite routines from previous seasons.

I apologize for some of these clips . . . a lot of them start with dopey interviews at the beginning. But I chose the ones I did because they were the best quality. So just fast forward through the interviews to the dances!

10. "Sweet Dreams." A jazz routine choreographed by Mandy Moore (noo, not the singer/actress, just an unfortunately named choreographer!) and danced by Neil and Sabra in Season 3.

9. "Hip Hip Chin Chin." A samba routine choreographed by Dmitri (Mr. No-shirt from season 2) danced by Lacey and Danny in Season 3. Lacey has to be one of the most annoying contestants on this show ever . . . but girlfriend can dance.

8. Bollywood routine. I can't remember the choreographer's name, but it was danced by Joshua and Katee in Season 4. The first Bollywood routine of many, I hope, to come.

7. "The Garden." A jazz routine choreographed by Sonja danced by Mark (!) and Courtney in Season 4. I love this freaky routine, man! And Mark is the man, that's all I have to say. I love the artsy, quirky dancers so much more than the athletic ones.

6. "Bleeding Love." A hip-hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon danced by Mark (!) and Chelsie in Season 4. I LOVE lyrical hip-hop like this. Probably because I think this is one of the only styles I could pull off!

5. "Mercy." A contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels, danced by Twitch and Katee in Season 4. I smell a conspiracy. I have a hard time believing that pretentious Mia Michaels choreographed this quirky, cool and at times, hilarious routine. I don't think the woman has a funny bone in her body. I have a feeling her BFF Tyce Diorio had some input on this one.

4. "Why." A contemporary routine choreographed by Tyce Diorio danced by Allison and Ivan in Season 2. I hated contemporary dance until I saw this routine and realized how honest it could be . . . it also helped that one of the best couples to ever be on the show performed it.

3. "Boogie Wonderland." A tap routine . . . featuring Nigel Lythgoe! Okay, for you SYTYCD newbies, Nigel is the creator, producer and head judge on the show. He's a 60-something British dude that NEVER shuts up about how he knows everything there is to know about dance. Until last season's finale, we had never seen anything to prove it. This routine took everyone by surprise. I think my mouth hung open for this entire dance! Okay, we get it Nigel. You rock. Although, the geezer couldn't even shut-up while he was dancing! Nigel suggested that all the choreographers should have to perform . . . I hope that he's good on his promise. If Wade Robson comes back this season (he was doing choreography for Kriss Angel's show in Vegas), it will definitely be awesome. Check out this vid of him performing with his group on "Dancing with the Stars" (just for the record, I do not watch that show . . . I found this on YouTube!).

2. "Cabaret Hoover." A jazz routine choreographed by Wade Robson danced by Sara and Jesus in Season 3. Okay, so I know it's not the best performance . . . they are not as "on" as they should be. But, the music is freaky, the dancing is freaky . . . the way I like it! Love this routine!

1. "The Hummingbird and the Flower." A jazz routine choreographed by Wade Robson danced by Hok and Jamie in Season 3. It doesn't get any better than this. Seriously. I don't think anyone could ever outdo this routine or performance.

Wade! Please, come back this season! We need you!

Hello, Cupcake

A couple of my visiting teaching people just graduated high school (they turned 18 early and joined RS early), so I wanted to make them a treat. I found these ideas online . . . I LOVE the internet. Check out these cupcakes!

I actually changed a few of the ingredients. I used a Ghiradelli caramel square for the top of the cap rather than a chocolate-covered graham cracker . . . I thought the cracker would be too heavy. The cap was made by "gluing" the square and a mini Reese's cup with melting chocolate, then gluing a Fruit Roll-up tassel to a mini blue M & M. (If you want to make these, I suggest using a toothpick as a dowel . . . the cap is pretty heavy, and won't stay put!) The diploma, in the original recipe was made with fondant . . . uh, I've never worked with that stuff, so I found these new Golden Oreo straws that I covered in white chocolate . . . and the ribbon is again, Fruit Roll-ups. Everything went very well, except the frosting. I suspected I made it too thin, not to mention it was a super humid, rainy day. The frosting totally fell, so that's why it looks so pathetic in the picture! Anyway, I thought they came out really cute.

Here's a birthday card I made last month. I was inspired by some of Melanie's cupcake pics on her blog, especially the first one. I came up with a way to make a 3D cupcake card. I wanted to imitate piped frosting. So, okay, I do need to perfect this technique . . . it's not the cleanest card I've done, but I think it's a good idea nevertheless.

And finally, if you're as cupcake crazy as me, you've got to check out this book, Hello, Cupcake. It has the cutest designs for easy cupcakes and the best part is the ingredients are all easily found in a supermarket. Who keeps dragees in their cupboard, anyway?

First Black Eye

You should never get in the middle of a frisbee match between me and John. Charlie learned that the hard way, poor guy. He wandered in between us and beaned in the eye with the frisbee (foam, not plastic, thankfully!). Luckily, he's tough and only cried about it for about 10 seconds.

Later that night, as the bruise grew bigger and blacker, John commented, with a hint of nostalgia, "Aw. His first black eye." First?! As in, he'll have more? John made it sound like this was a normal milestone, like first steps or a first word. Seriously, MORE black eyes? I don't know if I can handle my little guy getting beat up that much.

I've only had one black eye and that was from a freak Drama class accident. It's not normal to have lots of black eyes! Oh well. Guess that's what you get when you marry a Flynn . . . rough-and-tumble boys with lots of bumps and bruises! I guess that means I better cowboy up.

Hopefully, his future black eyes will come from manlier exploits like spelunking or mixed martial arts fighting . . . not freak Drama class accidents.

One Girl's Trash is the Same Girl's (Guilty) Pleasure

First of all, I have to say I had an amazing Mothers' Day. It was a truly awesome weekend and I'm feeling very loved at the moment. Can you feel it? Can you feel the love? Kinda fuzzy, isn't it? I'll post all about it later. For now . . .

"I'm going to go watch my trash."

It's 10 p.m. on Tuesday. John knows the code: I'm flipping on Bravo.

I have seen every episode of every "The Real Housewives" show. All 4 "OCs," all "ATL" and, my personal fav, "NYC." After a wholesome day of taking care of a growing boy, I feel the need for some cattiness.

Wanna know how pathetic I am? I not only watch the show religiously, but I go to Bravo's website to read all the blogs the next day. All the cast members write a blog about the previous night's show, and they are HILARIOUS. My two favorite bloggers are Bethenney from NYC and Tamra from OC.

I had plenty of catty drama in high school and I don't want to live through that again. But it is incredibly fun to watch these so-called high-class women duke it out over practically nothing. It's very entertaining, although guilt-inducing. I must admit, that I get a self-righteous kick out of watching rich people be petty . . . as I rot in my parents' house. Ick. Why does the guilt in guilty pleasures have to sting so much?

But I don't watch it just for the fights. I must admit, I have a girl crush on Bethenney Frankel. Not only is she hilarious, she has an amazing wardrobe and she's a natural foods chef. She can cook for my picky tummy AND we can share clothes. Okay, that's a stretch . . . literally. I'm not a size zero, so there's no way I could fit into her Zac Pozen dresses. I have thought about this way too much . . .

Anyway, I'm excited (yet depressed) that the reunion show is this Tuesday. Which means, confrontations (ooh!) and catfights (ah!). Not to mention, since the taping of the show, "Countess" DeLesseps was dumped by her Count for his mistress and Kelly "Kell-amity" Bensimon was arrested for assaulting her boyfriend. It's going to be GREAT! In fact, the reunion was so juicy, Bravo has extended it to 2 hours! The second hour airs on Thursday.

But sadly, that I must wait another year for another season. Boo! At least I can watch reruns on Bravo . . . since they show them over and over and over again. And you can too! Some trash'll do you good! Pretty soon you'll be spouting words like "Discountess" and "Silex."

Not to mention, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" starts tomorrow after the NYC Reunion Part 1 . . . am I there? Bada-bing!

Happy Martyrs' Day!

That's what I like to call Mothers' Day (or is it "Mother's Day?" or "Mothers Day?" Who knows anymore . . . ). Too many women spend Mothers' Day feeling miserable because they don't think they're good enough. Their kids aren't well behaved enough, or they don't have enough kids, or too many kids, or no kids at all. Who is this perfect mother that we all compare ourselves to? Is there a size 2 woman out there with great hair and just the right amount of smooth-coifed, perfectly-mannered children?

This quote from Elder Ballard has given me more comfort than almost any other words in my life:

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique.
What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with
the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all
else.

Whew! I love reading that quote. It just puts everything into perspective.

Last year was my first "real" Mothers' Day and I was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting on motherhood. I was not happy. Me. Giving a talk on motherhood? It didn't help that my mom expressed the same doubt in me giving that talk! But, it actually turned out to be a real blessing. I found so many great talks that were exactly what I needed (not to mention, I got to relax on the stand while John was in and out of the meeting with Charlie). The other day when I was feeling especially "martyrous," I pulled up my talk from last year. If you're feeling a little less than perfect these days, you should read these talks! Even if you aren't a mom yet, these are just great talks for women. I could hear them every Sunday and it still wouldn't be enough.

"Because She is a Mother" by Jeffrey R. Holland

"Daughters of God" by Elder M. Russell Ballard

By the way, Charlie is doing so much better now that we've switched him to soy milk. We're still working out all the kinks of his diet and schedule, but hopefully we can get him back to normal . . . or at least his "normal."

Have a great Mothers' Day!

A New Look and Pics as Promised

I finally found the time to update my blog's look. What'dya think? I'm not quite sold on the background yet . . . but I'm happy with the header I came up with. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the picture is out of focus, but I love it anyway.

Well, I finally have some pictures from Easter . . . so here we go:

Charlie with his cousin Hyrum. We told Charlie to hug Hyrum for the picture and I think he thought Hyrum would meet him halfway. Aren't they the cutest boys?

Jay Caughman and Charlie. Jay is the president of the Charlie fan club. He always wants to hold Charlie and know how he's doing. Maybe it's because he has three girls and no boys of his own . . . we've got a few guys like that. Charlie's got a big fan club! I just had to have a picture of Charlie and Jay together, because they are wearing almost the exact same outfit at church. Seersucker pants and a long-sleeved white shirt. All Charlie needs is a bow tie and glasses!

Me and sis-in-law Laura. What a couple of hotty-patotties! Like my new skirt? Katie, I'm so with you . . . Easter is always a great excuse to get something new!

What a cute guy!

Charlie with his cousins (from my side) . . . my sister was doing silly dances to make the kids laugh . . . that's why they all look like they are high.