Women

"There was a closeness among women...I was learning that when women liked each other the way Mom and Cousin Hazel did, they formed a bond that was different from what either one had with her husband. It didn't mean Mom was disloyal to Dad for being that tight with women. That closeness was in addition to what she had with Dad. He would always be the center of her world, but her women friends eased her life."

Excerpt from Tallgrass
by Sandra Dallas


I am thankful for all of my wonderful women friends. I recognize their great worth and I am eternally indebted to many of them for listening ears and comfortable shoulders to lean on. God bless each one of you with all the things you need, some of the things you want and healthy bodies to take you to the store to get all of it.

Autumnal Realization

It is fall. I keep trying to tell myself that it REALLY is fall. That is a fact. September 22nd marked the date of the first official day. And yet, when it is 85 degrees outside and the sun is shining, it's a hard realization. Here is my documented proof that it IS fall.

Leaves are changing and then falling and finally being raked.
Spiders are spinning their giant webs and winding up a little snack.
Daylight is limited and they sky is a beautifully Autumn orange.
Costumes are chosen and Halloween party invitations have come.
The house is officially "spooked up" which was a great Halloween FHE.



Welcome fall.

A Woodsy Weekend

Tim and I have decided that with three boys, we should be doing some camping! It is a relatively cheap vacation and California has some beautiful scenery to serve as our backdrop. Our first official family camping trip was last weekend, with our good friends, the Calls. We went to Big Sur, CA. Big Sur is about 7 hours north of LA, just south of Carmel and about 2 hours south of San Francisco. It is gorgeous and well worth the drive. Here are some of my favorite pics of our trip.


Day one of Richards/Calls camping excursion, 1) All packed up, 2) We made it! 3) Posing for the pic, 4) Sleeping arrangements.






Day two: 1) Tubing down the Big Sur River by our camp (Cole is the only one insane enough to do it, 2) Driftwood fort at the beach we found on a hike in Andrew Molera State Park, 3) Fly a kite on the beach in Andrew Molera State Park, 4567) Beautiful beach scenery, a quick sandwich during the hike and a pretty flower, 8) The hike in Andrew Molera with a monkey on my back and a hop, skip and jump across the river!













A few of my favorite things, 1) California Redwoods...I love these giant trees. I can't wait to camp the Redwood Forest, it's on my To Do list, 2) Our campground had a basketball hoops with plenty of balls to play with....pure heaven, 3) Kids playground in Big Sur campground...ahhh, 4) Running water, enough said.








It was wonderful. Kudos to myself for meal planning, shopping and packing all the crap that it takes to go on a trip of this sort. Kudos to Tim for installing the hitch and hitch-haul, making me a To Do list and driving both there and back. Kudos to Thane for master fire building. Kudos to Cia for being "game" to do this sort of crazy thing. Kudos to our 6 kids for being so well behaved and obedient. Kudos to Big Sur for having and maintaining such an amazing place for people to come and visit. And finally, kudos to our Heavenly Father for making our earth such a beautiful place to live and enjoy.

A Little Taste

I wanted to give you all a little taste of some of the food I have been making and photographing for my upcoming cookbook. These photos show delicious dishes like Asian Grilled Sirloin, Texas Sheet Cake, Whole Wheat bread, Baked Ham Omelet, Tuscan burgers and more! Be excited....be very excited. I know I am!

On My List...On My Mind

Here are a few things that are on my list/mind lately...


1. cookbook (it's true. I am officially making a cookbook of all my tried and true recipes. I have been sorting and typing and cooking and photographing like a nut. and, yes, that delish something-or-other that you tasted that one time at my house will be in there. and, yes, it will be for sale too. pre-order yours asap. email me).

2. back-tack (very excited about this...I did it, I filled out the little entry form and did it and now I am so excited to get a partner and get started on something amazing to send their way).

3. cub scouts (we are officially set for the rest of the year! and it is going to be soooo much fun. I'm so excited to have a kid and parent book club, make a hidden treasure/secret hiding place book craft, write a short story, do a couple of really great service projects with the boys and throw some smashing pack meetings).

4. knit gifts (my brother-in-law recently became a father! congratulations Matt. he has requested booties and beanie in pink and black. yeah. baby booties for the wee baby girl across the street. also my mom requested a wrap for christmas this year. started on that. also, thinking about making some felted bowls...hmmm).

5. camping (in less than a week up at Big Sur! determined to make delicious food for the crew while "roughing it" in the great outdoors. be assured that there will be photo documentation. be excited).

6. october decorating (I want the place spooked up. planning to do fun things this week to the front porch. involve the kiddies and such. should be great. photos soon).

7. november birthday celebrating (tim's day, ewan's day -think spongebob-, zack's day, john's day and cabrena's day...just a few of my fav-o-rite people...wheels turning as to how to best celebrate the wonderfulness of their birthdays).

8. december (i love december. i know that most people dread the whole thing. rush and party and consumerism and over-stimulation in general. i just really look forward to it all...oh and one more person to celebrate in december...a birthday...my dear sweet holly).

9. emergency prep (i have been gathering and organizing my emergency stuff. preparing. think food storage, fire extinguishers, gasoline, water, flashlights, etc. are you prepared?).

That's it for now. Just a few things that I'm working on and thinking about. I'd love to hear about what's on your mind and list these days. time for a date with the hubby. chat again soon.

One of Those...

It's been one of those days.

I have ice cream in my hair.
Not because I am trying to add volume.
Because it has been one of those days.

A rundown:

6:27am sore neck wake up...poo.
6:29am - 7:22am news and knits...nice.
7:24am text husband who is in SF to tell him not to call me (morning was starting to get crazy with kids waking -read: teeth needing brushed, butts wiped, breakfast fed, scriptures read, lunches packed, homework checked and dog taken care of-)
7:25am husband calls, ignoring direction not to...he's nice.
7:26am - 8:35am all that morning/kids stuff up there...whew.
8:40am - 10am return emails, bathe Ewan, bathe me, make lists.
10:02am - 12:22pm grocery shopping with Ewan...yes, it takes that long.
12:23pm - 1pm make lunch and eat...mmmm.
1pm - 1:25pm light nap...wish it was longer...smashing headache....3 Motrin & Diet.
1:26pm - 2:05pm weigh in a friend (I run a weight loss challenge), talk to mom, wake up Ewan, out the door to pick up kids...smashing headache.
2:06pm - 2:25pm waiting in uber-long line at school pick-up...bad crossing guard...smashing headache.
2:26pm - 2:34pm drop off ALL kids at play date (we had our turn last week at our place), talk with good friend, accept camping cookbooks with thanks and rush off to get errands finished without the three musketeers following behind....ahhh.
2:35pm - 3:59pm fro-yo (couldn't help it, it was on the route) and B&N (I wish it was all for the pleasure peruse) for scouts, book club and camping trip....smashing headache.
4:04pm - 5:50pm bathroom Cloroxing, friend phone counseling, rushing house pick up, dinner prep, homework help, kid fight refereeing...ugh.
5:51pm - 6:06pm pick up Sisters for dinner date at our place....yeah!
6:10pm - 7:23pm husband arrives home, grill meat and steam beans ((Asian grilled sirloin, fresh steamed green beans with kosher salt, light green salad, sticky white Calrose rice and a ginger float...mmmm), eat, husband leaves for soccer games, drive Sisters to church for appointment....ahhhhh....headache has abated.
7:24pm - 8:27pm clean up dinner mess, get kids ready to settle down, turn on movie, pick up house, turn down beds, turn up night lights, brush teeth, de-bra and breathe....wooooooo.


Now, the life of a SAHM seems like it should be all bon bons and bubble baths. I wish it were. Some days are....but most days are like this. And again, ice cream in my hair. It seems like it was inevitable as I look back at that day. I am officially exhausted. Good night.