I am a little late in updating this week due to a nasty visit from the Puke Patrol. Gross I know but it hit this house hard! First I was up all Sunday night spewing up all the contents in my stomach but the most surprising thing was that I was also draining from the other end. Three times I barfed on the floor because I was sitting on the toilet. Whoa ok way too much info. But I am sharing this because I know KNOW other families have been going through the same thing and I wanna know what it is. My dad thinks it was the Norwalk Virus which is a food-borne illness but I just think it was the mother of all flu bugs. I have never NEVER thrown up so much (just imagine the 12 days of Christmas with each verse of the song representing a spewing) and for a brief moment I thought I was dying. No joke. On Monday my body was in so much pain and my lower back literally felt broken (thanks dry heave). According to Grayson I was kinda delirious and when I did sleep I had quite the conversation with myself about how no one had cried when I had been away for three weeks and the fact that my family was secretly planning to go away for Christmas without telling me! By that evening I had slept all day and had saltines and ginger ale and passed out at 9:00pm. I felt better yesterday and did everything a little slow. Gray is a good nurse and was a great help. I was a little miffed that he didn't sit with me each time I was puking but I discovered why last night. Gray was rubbing my back when he said he didn't feel so good and went to the bathroom and puked! I was trying to be helpful and supportive but I realized that watching someone throw up is down right nasty! So for the rest of the night he visited the bathroom alone...poor thing. I finally went and slept on the couch at 4 am because I was convinced he was going to barf on my face. So it was another restless awful night and now we are both in recovery. My family is super supportive though. All their posts on facebook went something like this...

Mom: Do not bring this home-haha
Katie: do not do not bring that home. I have been hacking up a lung and sneezing my brains out. but i am not going home till it passes.
Mom: love you...just don't love norwalk virus
Sara: PLEASE don't bring it home with you when you come on friday!!!!

The only one who seemed to be feeling my pain was my future bro in law...
Ben: must be going around....i hate this
Sara: ben, and i quote "just puked his guts out." WHAT IS HAPPENING?

As I am now in recovery mode I decided that Ben and I should play when I get home since I am pretty sure the rest of the gang will be having a barfski party!

Martha I am not...

Hello. My name is Diana. I am a good person but I have a problem. I'm a craftoholic. Blaah! I admitted it. That's like the first step, right?
Now you may think it's good that I get this out in the open and finally accept my addiction but really it just reminds me of the skills that I lack. I love reading the crafty blogs and dreaming of one day having the same talents. I try to reproduce projects (that eventually end up in the fail pile which is surprisingly huge) and I stalk my friends for help until they start screening my calls...I'm sorry, Jill! (I think)
It seems like I am trying to make up for something. I always liked to scrapbook and do the crafts at YW camp but it wasn't until we moved here to Portland that my obsession took over. It is probably because I am one of the few girls without children and a butt load of time on my hands. I have a serious fixation with my sewing machine and a desire to complete all things DIY (which is a phrase I learned off of all the real crafty peoples blogs...do it yourself) Unfortunately I just don't have the correct wiring for crafting. Seriously I can't read instructions and I have to see someone do what I am trying to do a few times before I can even begin to understand. My mother in law taught me a blanket stitch once when I was visiting back home and by the time I was back in Portland, I'd completely forgotten how to do one. I mean I can do some things that require very few steps and a lot of hot glue gun use but I may as well keep on dreaming because I am no Martha Stewart. Anyway with the Christmas Season fast approaching I have been busy working on gifts and crafts for my house. I seriously am not looking for praise or congrats with any of these projects. Some of them did turn out ok but compared to the originals that I have tried to copy...one word: LAME

A semi finished wreath that might remain...uh semi finished

Hoping the SIL doesn't read my blog...Merry Christmas

Magnet Board...2nd try

Magnet Board...1st try

Christmas Blocks

I guess the main thing I have to remember is that I like crafting and some things turn out ok. Just be thankful my fail pile didn't make this blog. Yet.

It's time for an update but it's late and I didn't sleep last night and I feel like I got hit with a bus. However I have realized a few things this week that I feel are worth sharing...

On a sad note:

1. Things are never what they seem...especially when you think you live in a relatively non-violent area only to discover a 19 year old boy from across town tried to set off a van full of explosives at the lighting of the Christmas tree downtown and was excited about all the blood and carnage it would cause
2. No matter how uncomfortable you are, someone else is colder
3. Though time has passed and you feel that you have gotten over things, being betrayed by someone still hurts deep inside

On a lighter note:

1. I don't speak a lick of Spanish...nada
2. Even after all these years you can still have a favorite stuffed animal
3. No matter how mature I try to act, a little kid farting still cracks me up
4. Saying 'bloody hell' to the YW president at church doesn't make you feel more 'Potter'ish (maybe if I had a wand...)
5. Hot chocolate can warm the soul too

I am also starting a countdown to the most important event of the 21st Century...only 151 days til April 29, 2011. Can you guess what is happening that day? (no I am not giving birth...)

Oi! Harry Potter

Harry Potter has been a part of my life for at least 12 years. We have laughed together and cried together and cursed You-Know-Who together. I even read the books before they were cool, thanks to a curious mom and an extreme obsession with reading. The first book arrived in my home with the cool title Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (later retitled Sorcerer's Stone...to sound even more scary? In some sorta unrelated news, that exact book was later Goodwilled although I am quite sure it became a collector's edition due to the title!) I read it so quick and spent the next few years eagerly awaiting the 2nd -7th books. I thought I lost Harry a few times there but he always persevered and my silent encouragement turned to audible cheers as I finished the last book. So it is with much anticipation that I prepare to see the movie. However since my hubby won't go with me and compared seeing the movie to cutting off his manhood, I am in for a bit of wait. But that's ok since my sister assured me she would go see it again with me when I come home for Christmas. I figure I have a few weeks (like 4) to ready myself. I am currently rereading the last book and will spend each week until the holidays honoring Harry! Here are my plans:

Week 1: Speak to everyone in a British accent and say things like 'bloody hell', 'shod off', and 'stupefy' to randoms around me
Week 2: Scar forehead with a lightning bolt and grab noggin every once and a while and shudder in pain. Pretend to see events happening somewhere else and then pass out screaming
Week 3: Dress entirely like a wizard/witch. Attire will consist of bathrobe (who wears dress robes these days), lightning scar, glasses, broomstick and wand. All the while still incorporate weeks 1 and 2 (note to self: visit wand store and have one choose me)
Week 4: Battle Dementors and Death Eaters with a vengeance (still incorporating weeks 1-3) and enter movie theater covered in blood and sweat but obviously victorious

Feel free to follow along with me as I laboriously wait to witness the beginning of the end! (Ok, at least Part 1 of the beginning of the end!!)


PS My dearest mother has now joined the blogging world and for those of you who know this sweet gal, you might just get a hoot out of her hollers. Check out her blog under My Best Bloggers. She is of course labeled as Mama Smart...what else!

*Warning: This post is totally random with a bajillion thoughts and images all mixed up*

I have a love/hate relationship with a lot of things lately like exercising, cleaning house, sewing, cooking and sleeping (just to name a few). I am not sure if I'm in a slump or just getting lazy... hibernation season is upon us!
But the relationship that needs the most mending is my blogging one. Sometimes I post and I am so excited to see what people say only to discover one comment from one of my obligated family members. Sometimes I post one right after another and no one reads the previous one cause I didn't give them enough time. Sometimes it is weeks before I post again and I don't care to check for comments cause I don't want to be disappointed. Really my blog life has turned into a semi daytime drama around here. I need to find a happy medium.
So here goes:
I am gonna try to blog once a week. Keep everyone sorta updated with our lives and it will challenge me to do more fun or productive things to have something to post about. And with two crazy jobs starting this week I will for sure be busy! I also always have thoughts and ideas for posts that I forget or get over so another rule is that if I wanna blog I am gonna (dude, even my grammar wants a vacation!) All I ask of you in patience, understanding and a comment every now and then!

But I started this post for a reason today. I am in a crafting mess up to my eyeballs working on a quilt, Christmas presents, card making, scraping and decorations. I love that I am super busy with this and will have to post some pics soon of all my finished products (like everything in my life, most of my stuff is half done)

And since it has almost been a month since Halloween I really shouldn't post our costumes but I feel the need just to remind everyone that...

WE LOVE HOCKEY

and CANADA WON THE GOLD MEDAL!

We had fun trunk or treating with our ward friends and enjoyed all the candy that went on sale the next day!

Now we are just waiting for Thanksgiving which we will be having with a couple of friends from church. My friend Jill is an amazing cook so I can't wait to see what goodies she comes up with!


I really should confess that the only reason I am super psyched for Thanksgiving is because after that it is only three more weeks til we go home. I am super excited for family, friends and my sis Sara's wedding! I love love love this season and I still get excited for gift exchanges with my family!! And although I think this year will be a humble one with two pairs of newlyweds, two pairs of college kids and one crazy sister marriage I just love being with them. My mom was here for Time Out for Women and I loved visiting with her but I totally discovered that I miss my dad a lot. He is such a trooper and an amazing man with a strong testimony and a good work ethic. And speaking of poor Santa, he works so hard for us and is sooo giving! For example, the total for the last 4 months has been two weddings, sending Mrs. Claus to Portland for a weekend (with her credit card), numerous bail outs and loans and upcoming nuptials after Christmas. It seems to me that he totally deserved his new sleigh upgrade:

I can't wait for a ride!

Oh and before I forget, I am sending Christmas cards again this year so send me your address through email or here. I am also on facebook and I would enjoy giving you a little loving from our home!
dianalynnsmart@gmail.com

Happy Seasons to all!!

For the love of the game...

It's rough to like a sports team that loses more games than it wins....

but I do
It's tough to deal with all the ridicule and smack talk that others dish out...
but I do
It's pointless to return the smack talk when there's not much to say...
but I do
It's painful to watch your team get spanked by an even worse team...
but I do
It's hard to listen to others that say your team will never make a comeback...
but I do
It's harsh to stand by your team when they are slowly slipping into last place...
but I do
It's downright pathetic to cheer on your team when they make silly mistakes...
but I do
It's dismal to imagine your team taking home the cup...
but I do

So here's to my Edmonton Oilers, the best and most adored hockey team in my heart! You make it almost depressing to love you...
BUT I DO!

I

Oh good... my template is back to normal so I can post again without pulling my hair out. I grew up in a relatively technological home and took computer classes all throughout high school and university and I figure I am pretty computer literate. My world crumbled though when I tried to use the new designer thing on here and I was reduced to tears and had to lie down in a little ball before I was able to fix things. Never again...

Anyway I guess I should catch up since my double weddings took up a lot of my summer and sanity but we did do some other fun things too. When I got home from Canada we went to Seattle.

This is the place where they throw the fishies. You have to buy the fish and then they will throw it so we sat there for a while to see a flying fish. In actuality when the guy threw the fish, the people who were buying it and taking pictures got slimed by fish guts. Gross! We decided to pass on buying anything and moved onto the gum wall.
These pics are mostly for my sister Sara who thinks the Seattle Gum Wall is one of the seven world wonders. Again it was incredibly gross but now I can say I've been there.

We spent some time in Pike's Market which is like one big indoor farmer's market.

The lizard guarded the fruit and ate a lot of it too!

A big gummy bear made out of gummy bears. Yummy!

There was a little alligator in the tank with the lobsters and crabs. I hope he wasn't on the menu!

This was a super long sucker fish or something like that. The fish guys would pull on its tail to make it move and it scared the crap out of people.

It was a quick fun trip and we liked seeing that part of the coast. Gray really wanted to go find the Seattle Grace Hospital where Grey's Anatomy is filmed but we ran out of time...too bad. Anyway if you are ever heading to Seattle, let us know. We would love to go again and maybe this time we can enjoy the...

FREE SMELLS!

HELP!

What has Blogger done? Where is my old template that was so simple and easy? How do I get it back? I am so confused and don't like these changes and I want to be able to do the stuff I did before...any suggestions? I totally need help!!!

things were simpler when i was a little kid. i was never really stressed or upset and i didn't feel guilty when i read for two hours or ate chocolate before dinner. i also remember when i was younger that i seriously thought that a little man lived between my two ears. i could hear him walking the long hallway of my ear canal each night...thump thump thump thump. i thought of him as a mini janitor sometimes with a broom, sweeping up dust balls and wax bits that got in my ears. i remember thinking that the most important thing he did was pretty easy...he just monitored what was going on inside my head. it was a relief to know that someone was doing that cause then i didn't have to worry about it. i would even picture him walking around a corner after a long day and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel that he would walk towards. when he came to the light he would then stare out my ear and decide that he liked living simply in my head. sometimes i wanted to join him.

my dad was in med school and had a doctor kit so I made him look in on the little man every now and then to make sure he was ok and to see that things weren't getting too messy in there. i even remember the time i asked my pediatrician to be nice to the little man if he saw him because he was just doing his job.

i don't know when i stopped thinking about the little guy in my ear but eventually he just wasn't in my head anymore. i let more complicated things enter my life and became distracted with other important stuff. i realized too that my little man had probably never been there in the first place but i should have known that all along... it was kinda like the time i figured out who santa claus really was (he wrote exactly like my mother and even used her wrapping paper) or the time that i discovered my lost tooth in my mom's jewelery box. i was shocked for a bit and then i moved into a more realistic yet stressful mind set.

it wasn't until a few months back that i heard my little man again and all my childhood memories came rushing in like a flash flood in a canyon... (wow that is like a total metaphor!)

it all started when my love for earplugs grew to an insane level. since i have always had a hard time sleeping through the night i have discovered that earplugs are surprisingly helpful. i've tried a few different varieties like ones with strings attached (uh choking hazard) so you don't lose an earplug and ones that were funky colors or different shapes.

when my last pair eventually kicked the bucket i went cheap and bought a whole box of purple plugs. they worked for a bit but soon were hard and covered in wax (gross i know but it was only a small amount). i decided to continue on in cheapo mode and wash my earplugs with a little water and soap in my hand. it was a miracle. the plugs fit into my ear nice and snug and then expanded to block out most of the noise. i decided to have a nap and put the cleaner plugs to the test. as my head hit the pillow i heard a sound...thump thump thump thump. what was it? something so familiar about that sound...yes that was it! after all the complicated teenage days and even more complicated young adult years, my man was back! he was doing his rounds, checking on things and living plainly.

i got to thinking about how i missed the good old days when i was safe at home and my dad was my superhero, my mom was the best mom ever and my ear cleaning janitor was never bored. (and even though i was fully aware that the thumping in my ears was just my heartbeat, i just felt giddy). i was finally reminded how simple life can be. i realized that things could be that way too if i would just relax more. i shouldn't need to be stressed about every little thing which is how i usually am. i mean it's not very complicated. i just need to take a moment now and then to contemplate life, make goals, and listen to my heart(beat).

I heart weddings

The weddings were amazing!! I just loved loved loved being home for the tears and the cheers and the double serving of greatness! I have a pretty awesome family and a super patient hubby (he let me go home for 3 whole weeks) and I seriously just gushed with pride the entire weekend! I wish I knew how to post photos better so you didn't have to scroll through a zillion pages to see all my lovelies but I guess you can be grateful that I didn't post all 539 photos that I took!

Beautiful Katie & Nathan Day

(Little Jess cried on my wedding day... mad angry tears so she had to makeup for it)

The loving sibs

The whole gang minus my sis Sara's fiance Ben...he was taking the pic

Didn't want to get her dress dirty...

The love cupcake cake

Happy Couple
Third and final attempt of the bouquet toss



Jordan & Sara Love Day

Sara's dress and hair were gorgeous...not gonna lie...I was kinda jealous

Sisters and cousins

Still kinda shocked my brother snagged such a cutie...I mean he totally smells...jk!

My Precious'

Seriously not looking for a pity party but these pics remind me that I DO need to lose weight!

Jordan is such a great guy...don't know how he handled all the overbearing women in his life

So that is my brag page. I got a great new sis in law Sara and a fun dorky bro in law Nate and they fit in perfectly! My sister Sara got engaged that weekend too so we will have wedding bells again in December. Kinda a gong show...kinda amazing!