I am a Mormon

There has been a lot of talk lately about Mormons being Christian. So as much I am deliniquent in posting my long list of blog posts, I feel compelled to post this.

I am a Mormon and I believe in Christ. I seek His guidance daily in my life and all that I do. I know that I would be living in a darkness beyond any loss or sadness I have experienced without a pure knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. I converted to Mormonism yearly 20 years ago. I live and thrive by the Light of Christ. I will own that everyday of my life.

A friend of mine posted this on facebook. I invite you to learn more as well.

The Big O has signed off.....

I'll preface this by saying that I have not been a die hard fan of Oprah's. While I think she has done a great deal of good in this world, her daily talk show has not been a "must" part of my day.

Anyway, today was the LAST Oprah show, after 25 years. I happen to be watching it while sewing.

She spoke the entire episode; no other guests or celebrities. It was actually quite heartfelt.

I was most touched at how she openly spoke of God. She spoke of the small promtings theLord can give you to make the right decisions, that we are never alone, that we are valuable no matter what has happened in your life. You are special regardless of what your parents did or didn't do.

My bathroom makeover

We bought a small cape sytle house about 4 years ago and we have made somekind of improvement to every room in the house. We did paint the downstairs bathroom to cover a the red sponge painted walls, however, I got this overwhelming urge to do more in April.

I can add the following to my list of things I have done, but would not necessarily like to do again :)

• painted wall tiles


• painted shower tiles and tube with epoxy acrylic paint


• cut and laid floor tile


• sewed a new shower curtain (my second one) and window covering

It was worth all the hardwork and exposure to toxic chemicals LOL! AND it was very budget friendly since I did all the work myself AND didn't gut it.

It is not a "professional" job and I still have a few touch-up to do but this is a complete transformation! I LOVE it! It is so fresh and clean.

Before:

AFTER:

I'm not very good at taking pictures along the way. I thought to take the 'before' pic after getting everything all taped, the walls painted and realizing that the old house pics are on the back-up disks from when my laptop crashed. You can see the old gray and red tile in the shower. The floor was a red bowling alley marble. So Awesome! I hated to see it go.....

Potty Training tales.....

My daughter is about 32 months old and not potty trained. I know....a collective gasp! She has shown signs of readiness at 22 months, 28 months and that was it. She knows when she has to go. She has several pairs of "big girl" panties, potty training books and dvds. She joins me when I need to use the bathroom but refuses to sit on her potty. She prefers to wait until I am done to give me exuberant praise for my efforts "Good Job Mommy! You went on the potty!" My response is "Ok, now it is your turn." A short and sweet "Nope" is the response I get. I an effort to model the desired behavior we got a little potty for her dolls a couple of months ago. Today was the first time she used it....for her dolls.. While she was helping her "Baby Jocelyn" cabbage patch kid go potty and praising her for doing a good job. I asked her if she was going to go next. And I got a shocking response....."Ah NOPE!"
Really?
M&M's do not hold any incentive- honestly, that is how we get her to eat her dinner- judge not....
I tried to "pay" her to go after she discovered her piggy bank and how much she liked putting money in it. A dime for #1 and a quarter for #2. She waited patiently with the bank and coins in front of her, after 20 minutes....NOTHIN' but she still wanted the coins. I had to refuse to give them to her. So that failed.
Future attempts will include a potty flushing piggy bank that actually flushing the coins into the bank when you put them in. The 'let them soil themselves" method- put her panties on her and see how she responds to the discomfort. This of course needs to be done on a nice day when we can play outside the ENTIRE day.
And finally, I recently learned how I was potty trained. My mom and older sister would put our potties in front of the tv and we would sit there until we did our business. I guess we finally took care of things in the bathroom because I no longer need to go in the living room. Now that is something to be grateful for!
So the potty training tale continues....

Do over....

Ok, so blogging is not something I am good at but it is something I want to get better at. So it goes on the LIST. I think it is valuable to add because it becomes like a history or a journal. So, I'm back for a "do over".....Now does that mean I will post daily? Not likely....More than once a year? Very likely :) Things to look forward to: a possible name change to the blog, pics of latest projects, opinions on things that happen to me and OF COURSE, pics of the 2 people that make me the happiest person I have ever been! So, stay tuned....