Odds and Ends

Here's what we've been up to, in no particular order...

-I am almost done decorating the girls' rooms! Jane's is done, but I haven't taken pictures of it yet. I'll wait until Cora's room is finished, then I'll do one triumphant post detailing both. My next project is painting the living room, kitchen and front room. I can't wait to get it all done and pretty. I need happy colors in here!

-We took a few pictures one Sunday after church. March 8, specifically.

Sweet Oliver no longer likes to be called "Ollie". He always corrects me when I mistakenly call him the wrong name.


I actually had time to curl the girls' hair that day, so I had to be sure and document it.

I found this adorable sundress for Jane. Soon she can lose the sweater so we can fully enjoy the cuteness of the dress.


Cora sure is growing up pretty.



Ryan's parents went on a trip to Arizona the end of February. They brought us a box of chocolates from Trader Joe's. Mmmmm... I've been hiding them, savoring one or two at a time on quiet afternoons when Oliver is napping and the girls are at school. Naughty mommy. As I was returning them to their secret spot one day, I carefully dumped the box on the rug. Dang it. Now I have no idea which one is which! Good thing there aren't any yucky ones.


Here's what Ryan set out for me on Valentine's Day morning. Can't go wrong with chocolate! Neither of us care for V-day, for different reasons, so it was nice to get it out of the way first thing in the morning, deleting any possible stress from the remainder of the day. Before I noticed what was on the table, I presented Ryan with the box of donuts I'd hidden for him. (Yes, I like to hide stuff.) He smiled and directed my attention to the table. Awww, how sweet. What a nice, even exchange.
(I did give the kids little gifts, too.)


I didn't include this picture in my earlier "Ryan Can Draw" post. He had it put away somewhere and I'd forgotten about it. Isn't it cool? Look at all the detail. He must have spent forever on the chain mail around the middle guy's middle.


Per Stacie's request- Here's a pic of the sectional we got for our bonus room. It's quite comfy.


I bought these tulips a while back for muhself. I love tulips!


Here's Cora's "reading face". She looks so calmly intrigued. It's hard to get her to put down a book. Speaking of Cora, she got accepted into the Challenge Program (like GATE) at school. She's one smart cookie. I'm so glad she's doing so well in school. I always had a hard time focusing and "getting" concepts. I wonder what it's like to be really smart.


Oliver still plays with his tracks every day! We all take turns helping him build. This time Daddy helped.

He loves his train hat and wears it almost every day, even if it's only for a few minutes.


- I am now a Wolf Den (8-year-old scouts) leader in our new ward. So far, it's been good. But I haven't been in charge of a meeting yet. Cora thinks it's pretty funny that I have to work with the scouts. :) The first time I came to a den meeting, one of the scouts groaned, "Oh, no! More torture for us!" Little does he know. . . Mwah-ha-ha-ha!

- I am gearing up to go on another trip with my sisters in May! We are driving to Anaheim to see Glee Live! We are just a wee bit excited, like last year. While the TV show's writing has gone downhill this season, we still love (most of) the music and the characters, so the stage show will undoubtedly be amazing. Plus we're going to Disneyland! Erin has never been there, so she's pretty pumped. The whole trip promises to be a barrel of fun. I can't wait!

Thoughts

I feel bad that I post about such trivial things when so many people of the world are going through hell. There have been so many heartbreaking events in recent news.

There was the Pennsylvania family whose house caught fire, killing 7 of their 8 children. How does a mother continue to live after that?

There was the Meridian attorney who was shot to death, leaving behind a wife and 5 kids, not to mention the beginning of his career. I "heard" some of the "reasons" that drove the shooter to kill the attorney. In my mind, there is no good reason to purposely take the life of another. What a horrible event that is affecting the lives of many.

And of course there was the monumental natural disaster in Japan.

I feel guilty about my own safety and health. Grateful, but guilty. I can try to imagine the magnitude of what happened in Japan, but since I'm not there and I don't know anybody over there I will never be able to comprehend the anguish of the survivors. The physical destruction, along with the thousands of lives washed away is unreal, and I don't know how they'll even begin to pick up the pieces. It's so sad.

A few Sundays ago in Relief Society, our closing hymn was "Be Still, My Soul". This song has special significance to me. A few months after my dad died, a stake choir I was in began singing it. I'd heard it countless times before, but that evening was the first time it really meant something to me. The words and melody struck me to the core. Since then, every time I've heard that hymn and tried to sing along, those feelings come rushing back, and I have to fight back the tears so nobody will see (because I know if anyone sees and asks me if I'm okay it will only induce more tears).

"Be still. my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

"Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below."

"Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last."

The third verse is the one I can't get through without crying. It's just so beautiful. It makes me think of seeing my dad again, who I miss so much, and just fills me with hope that my sorrows, and every other human's sorrows, will one day be in the past. It doesn't seem possible, but yet I hope for it.

I would like to dedicate "Be Still, My Soul" to everyone in the world. Love, Shannon

Necklaces!

I have a thing for necklaces. I have a modest collection of very inexpensive neckwear. I don't remember ever paying more than $10.00 for any piece of jewelry. What can I say? I'm a clearance fiend!

The first picture below is not one of my necklaces, but I wanted to include it here.

Cora fashioned this out of stretchy, clear string and an acorn. It looks so darn cute on her. It's just so "Cora".



Here's one I recently got. I like it because it looks kind of vintage-y, and I think it's pretty. It has matching earrings as an added bonus.



The lighting wasn't good in this photo. The rose on the right is a creamy pink in real life, not peachy. I got it at Pier1 for under $8.00. I love its femininity. I also like spelling that word. Femininity.



I don't wear this one very much, but I like it. I just love flowers.



Got this one at Claire's for around $5.00. I don't know why, but I have this need to always report where I got stuff and what deal I got on it. I'm sure it's annoying to everyone, but I'm just happy about my thrifty purchases. I don't want people thinking I paid a million dollars for a dumb necklace.



This one is currently broken, dang it. Good thing I got it at Claire's for $1.00! It's a teapot with a separate dangling cup and saucer. I love mini things.




I normally really don't care for the yellow gold look, (believe me, this isn't real gold. It's from Claire's. Also, it was about $6.00....) but I made an exception with this necklace because of the happy, pretty colors throughout. I like its design and it reminds me of spring, my favorite season.


I found this at Fred Meyer a while back. Yes, on killer clearance... Why do I like so many things that nobody else wanted? Do I have poor taste in things? Or does everyone else? I guess it all boils down to one truth: "Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it." Amen to that, Confucius.

Fancy Pants

My street clothes are nothing fancy-- jeans, solid-colored or conservatively patterned shirts and the same lame flats, day after day. I just don't have the guts or the desire (or the right) to wear anything flashy. Or anywhere to wear such things.

And yet I have an expanding collection of "fancy pants". Why, oh why? Because I like them! I wouldn't dare wear them on a trip to the grocery store. Not by myself, at least. I can think of a few people who might be willing to join me for a stroll downtown wearing funny clothes. Silliness does love company. Actually, I don't think I'd look too out of place at Walmart in any of my special pants, even on my own. I've seen some really choice outfits roaming the aisles there. Maybe if I wore them out and about someone would take a picture of me and post it on Facebook. Someone who has thousands of Facebook friends. Then I could be infamous! Just think of it!

I find fancy pants at thrift stores or even the mall, and I can't "seam" to help but make them mine, never knowing when or why or if I might wear them, but just knowing that I mustn't "slack" and leave them "behind". (No puns ever intended.)

Fancy Pants, Exhibit A:

Found: At Goodwill. $3. I was so excited when I tried them on and they fit so nicely. Woo!

Another angle of the same wild slacks. I like their velvety sheen.


Let me introduce the next pair. I spied these babies at Savers about a year and a half ago. Possibly the best $5 I've ever spent. I can't believe someone donated these! It must have been a dreadful mix-up.

I don't quite know what to call them. Pantaloons? Bloomers? How about fancy pants? The real question is: Could I start a new fashion craze with these things?



For some reason Big Bird comes to mind when I look at this picture. Or maybe a distant cousin of his.


I have a few sets of treats-covered pajamas. One I already posted last year sometime, and the others are not pictured. Now I'm kind of sad I didn't include them. But I guess they belong in the "cute pants" category more than "fancy pants" one.

I bought these for Cora, but they were too big for her. Just my luck! I wonder what would happen if I wore these to church under a dress. Well, I doubt anyone would say anything directly to me about them, but I reckon it would get people talking about me.



Careful, the next ones are bright!


Insert sunglasses....

Aaaaaaaaand....


Ta-da!

These caught my eye a month or so ago at Wet Seal in the mall. A few dollars later and I was the proud owner. I told the cashier I was getting them for my sister. Mostly because I think the gal realized I'm too old to be caught wearing metallic leggings, let alone to be browsing the racks of Wet Seal. Why do I care so much what people think of me? I should be comfortable doing what I want, without feeling the need to fib my way through a transaction. I did think briefly of gifting them to Megan (said sister) , but I just couldn't stand the thought of giving them away. I might need them for something, someday. And Meg can always borrow them if she really wants to.


Many apologies for the rear view, "butt" I felt it was necessary in portraying the seriousness of these pants.


Last but not least, and probably my favorite, my black-and-white-checked bloomers. I regularly wear them as pajama pants. They are so comfy and I like them lots.

I got these at Goodwill for, if I recall correctly, $2. I think they're adorable. They were lovingly handmade by someone. (I would assume they weren't sewn with wrath.) I know this because they don't have any tags attached. Anyway, I am set if and when bloomers make a comeback.

I hope I can find ways to make use of all my fancy pants.