By the way...

I forgot to mention that I have a new post on the family blog. Go see it HERE.

My new project... and also some past ones:

I like to share my projects online because I'm proud of them. Ya know... it takes a lot of work to make things and I LOVE to do it... and I also love to show people what I accomplished. Is that prideful? I sure hope not. I guess my intention is not to show how good I am (because my crafts are very amateur), but just to share my successes and say to the world, "man... I really didn't think I was going to be able to do that. BUT I DID. And I feel good."

I love the blog world. I learned everything I know (with the exception of a few informational gems from my grandma and mom) from crafty blogs. It's so the best.

Here's my current project. It's an advent calendar for Christmas! I know Christmas is over and past, but I wanted this for years to come, and if I'm going to have it ready by next Christmas... I better get going. It will be my most ambitious endeavor yet. It's hard! And time consuming! But worth it. I think. I like it so far and if I do it really similar to the gal I got the inspiration from... it should turn out ok. Go here for her version.
Here is the pottery barn version I'm trying to duplicate. I saw this picture originally:
I've only finished cutting out my squares, the felt pieces, and glued the big pieces on the squares. My next step is to do all the stitching on each square. Then cut out my tree, then stitch my squares on, then stitch the numbers and snowflakes, then... it goes on forever. That's why I'm starting now. :)

And here are some other things I've been doing in the past month or two...

A plastic bad holder. I love it. I just used scraps and got the idea from Make It and Love It.

A little blanket I made for my nephew Dallin for Christmas. He's way into Mickey Mouse. Although, he's already merging to Goofy... so maybe I'll have to make him a new one.
I also made him a mr. potato head. This idea is also from Make It and Love It. There's quite a few more pieces I could have made... but alas... it was hard enough as it is!

here's a little purse I made for my niece Ashley. I think it turned out quite nice. I might want one for myself! :) This tutorial is at Crafty Daisies. I also made the little pink stripped blanket for her little dolls. That one was not my best work. haha.

A cute hair clip. Tutorial at A Hoot and a Holler.

All in all... I had tons of fun doing all this stuff. It was way worth it... and very rewarding. Tutorials make all this possible. I'm learning tons of new things and my creative outlet is finally fulfilling my creativity needs! Woo HOO.

Two new posts!

I've posted two new posts on the family blog! They're all about Christmas! :)

Click HERE for Christmas Eve and HERE for Christmas day.

The Famous Cinnamon Rolls:

Last year Josh's life changed after he was given a cinnamon roll from heaven. He has been actively trying to obtain the recipe ever since... and now our friends were gracious enough to not only give us the recipe, but also feed us a yummy dinner AND give us a live, hands on demonstration of how to make these beauties.

This was right before we left to the highly anticipated cinnamon roll baking night. We're happy.

The two little pixies patiently waiting for the yummy rolls.

Kelly did one batch while Josh followed along with his own batch.

Mmmm... dough.

The cinnamon and sugar concoction. Oh yeah... and mounds and mounds of butter. :)

Josh is oh so happy.

pre-baked rolls.

putting the rolls into the pan... the anticipation is killing us!

Melissa and I trying to get an artistic photo at the same time.

Josh, still trying to kneed the dough enough. :) He got pretty gooey.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT. Kelly's great-grandmother's cinnamon rolls from heaven. And, yes, they were definitely heavenly.

What a fun night we had. We ate a yummy dinner and then we watched So You Think You Can Dance while the rolls were rising. Great fun! Thanks Peterson family! I'm sure the fantastic cinnamon roll recipe will be used for years to come. Mmmm... and hopefully next time my oven doesn't do freaky things... *wink wink*

New POST ALERT!

A new post on our family blog!! Go Here to view it. Enjoy!

A small thing that made my day:

I just got back from the laundry room at my complex and while I was piling my dried clothes into my baskets two little curly haired 3-ish year olds came in with their mom. I noticed right away how beautiful they looked. They were really pretty kids. One boy and one girl... probably twins. Well, they walked in and I looked right at them and said "Hi." That's all. Just a little hi and a smile. The little girl looked at me a little harder and then said loudly, "You look like Tinker bell from 'Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure!'" Then the boy piped in and said, "yeah!!! You're so pretty, just like tinkerbell's friend!"

So, I'm standing here, in my pj's, hair pulled back, no make-up on, pulling laundry out of the drier. And these two little toddlers thought I was pretty. :) I'm not sure if they would have said that to anyone they saw because they had just watched the tinkerbell movie or something (because I'm no Tinkerbell... I have dark DARK hair and freckles... that's not tinkerbell). But it still made me feel good. Little kids are candid. They are blunt and truthful. That small little comment made me feel so happy inside for some reason.

After this little exchange, they started jabbering about hannah montana or something and I just said goodbye and left. :)

On a side note... We're going to my favorite place in the world today. The River!!! It will be Ethan's first time and I have NO clue how he's going to do during the 4 hour car ride. The longest he's been in the car is about an hour. Oh boy. Wish me luck.

Family blog post! It's a big one too!

I finally posted on our family blog!!! Go HERE to see it.

We are blessed:

I just wanted to say it. Heavenly Father has blessed us, is blessing us, and will continue to bless us. That's just how He is. He ALWAYS follows through. I love Him.

I Stand Corrected:

THIS video of "Party in the USA" is much less scandalous (compared to the original) and makes me feel even more happy. I love his facial expressions! I'm not sure if this is the one you meant for me to find Trent. But either way... this one is pretty awesome. THANKS!