It Matters

doing it.

I've done it before. My senior year of high school a day before school started. It wasn't pretty. I never really liked it. I look back at pictures and question, "what was I thinking?" I'm sure that's not uncommon of what we all think when we look at a high school picture. Nevertheless I'm ready for a change. It's kind of the theme with my lately, so I'm cutting all my hair off! It sounds so dramatic like I have locks of beautiful hair...not really the case but I do have a flair for the dramatics:)

Here are the choices.

I'm not telling which one I'm leaning twords.......however I do have a favorite.

Let me know what you think, I'd love your imput.

Tomorrow at 12:30. Wish me luck:)

Darci

Happy Herd.

We have a happy little herd of deer that visit about twice a week. The herd consists of 10 deer that roam the neighborhood, and often graze in our yard then nestle under the decrepit swing set out my kitchen window.

We think the deer are pretty great, but have started hearing rumblings that we might be the only ones in the neighborhood who are enamored by their over-all coolness. 

Apparently they'll eat everything we eventually plant. They have a reputation for wiping out hundreds of dollars in new landscaping and flowers in a single afternoon. 

But for now they're more of a novelty than a nuisance, and we love looking out our windows at these beautiful animals. 

We'll see how we feel next summer when we landscape, we may have to remove the "rose colored glasses" when they start eating all our fruit trees. I guess all good things must come to an end.....for now we love our family little herd:)

Happy President's Day,

Darci 

5K Friday. 80/20 rule

I've been thinking about the 80/20 rule in regards to personal health and fitness. I've heard it said, and read in books that....80% of your heath and fitness is what you eat, while only 20% is how much you exercise. I've always known this but to think of it in those percentages has been eye opening. What it means is....

                                                                                                                        image found here.

You can't eat junk and think, "I'll exercise it off tomorrow..or I ran this morning so it's O.K.." They're not created equal. Exercise is essential to helping us feel good, it gives off endorphins, builds strength and endurance but it doesn't compensate for eating poorly. It's more important to eat good than to exercise hard. 

Therefore the 80/20 rule also becomes a guilde to help us make good food choices as well. If you eat a clean healthy diet 80% of the time you can treat yourself 20% of the time.  Isn't that great? There's a time and place for treats if you eat good 80% of the time. 

It's weird that I think about this stuff huh? Oh well, I love little rules or visuals like 80/20 that help me make better choices and ultimately keep me on track feeling good. 

I do however hope you have a great weekend 100% of the time!

Darci

 

a SWEET treat.

The last few years in february our family's set up a little mail system and left each other love notes throughout the month. For whatever reason I didn't pull our mailboxes out of storage this year. I've missed receiving thoughtful notes, and watching the kids compose them for one another.  So I decided to implement another little treat for this weekend leading up to Valentines Day. 

I purchased a few bags of cheap gummy hearts and a pack of stick pins to attach acts of LOVE onto each one. My plan is to leave them on the counter all weekend long and let the kids eat as many as they desire....but they get to carry out the act of love that comes with each sweet treat. 

The acts of love are small, simple really. Give your sister a compliment, look someone in the eye and say, "i love you." Be sneaky & do something nice, draw a picture, write a note, say 3 nice things about your mom, tell your brother something you like about him....give a HUG, a KISS, Simple little things to get us thinking about showing our love for one another. Grandma and Grandpa will arrive this weekend and we're excited to have them join us as well.

I left a bowl for the "arrows" and will attach new notes each evening or morning. The kids are excited, and it's easily maintained since it's just a few days. It would be a great activity for a family night or even a Valentines dinners??? You could attach notes with arrows onto rolls:)

How is your family feeling the love this year? I'd love to hear...

Happy Day,

Darci

 

Official.

I feel so official. I'm 34 yrs. old and just recieved my first Passport in the mail. 

It sounds cheesy, but it was exciting to open it up and see my picture. You see, I'm not much for traveling. It's not that I'm a "home body" I just have 4 young children that I have a hard time leaving for any extended period of time. Therefore we've vacationed as a family within the state and taken an occassional outdoor adventure into Idaho. However next month I'll be putting my new passport to use on a trip out of the country with just Kevin. I'm excited, nervous and anxious all at the same time. Either way it's happening and this little Navy book makes it seem all the more official!

Happy Day,

Darci

Weekend Wrap.

 The kids had their last ski lessons....

Brooklyn waiting for the BIg end of session race. 

Worked on a few projects around the house...

Painting an old dresser and workig on putting together a new fancy bed ensemble in the guestroom. I'm anticipating some special guests this week!!!

Watched the BIG GAME with some of my favorite people. It was my first & last NFL game of the year, but I sure did get "into it" in the last few minutes. Gotta love the Super bowl.

Right now I'm snacking on this left over "football" cheese ball for breakfast, 

and watching these two play games around the kitchen...

You gotta love a great weekend, and the Monday morning that follows.... 

have a great day!

Darci

Valentines.

This year I decided to be creative for Valentines day. The last few holidays were kinda overlooked due to the move, so I wanted to do Valentines up right!  We usually go to Target and pick out pre-packaged Valentines. This year I have a little extra energy so I loaded the kids up in the mini-van and headed to a specialty candy store on main street in Lehi. I let the kids pick out any candy to pass out to their friends. It was hilarious to watch them agonize over the decision with so many to choose from and fun to discuss creative sayings that could go along with each. In the end I wasn't surprised with their decisions; candy necklaces for Brooklyn- she loves those....long laffy taffy for Ty- always one of his favorites and staight up sugar for Cache- no suprise there!

I think the final results are pretty fun, and the kids are excited to finish them for classmates.....  

Ty loves Arrows so this seemed a perfect fit. I was thinking, "I've got my bulls-eye on you" or "I've only got aim for you".....NO WAY! Ty said NO love, NO valentines, NO I've got my eye..or anything that would make a girl think he liked them. In the end we decided on, "I aim for the best" and he was happy.  

I had purchased some embrodiry thread a month or so ago for Brooklyn to make friendship braclets I saw here and fell in love, but it was proving to be a few years ahead of her ability level. We talked about it and decided to put the thread to use on necklaces instead, she's a much happier girl! 

"You've got my heart on a string" seemed to fit perfectly. 

 For Mr. Cache it's always about efficiency. The fastest way sugar can hit his mouth on any given holiday. Pixy sticks were a perfect fit for him....he sure knows how to "Pix" 'em.

I didn't grab a picture of him before pre-school this morning. It doesn't matter, he would have just cried and begged to eat pixy sticks for breakfast if I had. Nevertheless he's darling and so EXCITED to take 13 treats to his friends in a few weeks. 

Valentines is in full swing at our house, and I LOVE it!

Darci