Saturday, January 30, 2010

Baltimore Weekend

Last weekend I got to go to Baltimore to visit Scott, my biological father. It was so fun to get to spend time with him and his family. I got on a train on Saturday morning (at 7:45am!) and had a really nice ride to Baltimore. I read an entire book and jammed out to the Glee Soundtrack (1 & 2!) on my iPod. I got there and walked RIGHT past Scott and Caroline (my 4-year-old half sister) on the platform! I was too focused on reading the signs and following the flow of traffic that I totally missed them, Scott had to grab me. Only me...

We walked around the harbor in downtown Baltimore and ate lunch at a yummy grill. We then went to their house and visited while the girls took naps. Dinner was AMAZING! We ate overlooking the water at Jen & Scott's favorite restaurant, and omg it was soooo good! I played about 25 games of Candyland and then read her bedtime stories and lots more visiting with Scott. It's so nice to get to spend time together and just get to know each other more. In the morning, Scott made a FANTASTIC breakfast and we spent time reading and visiting around the fireplace. Then I had to go home :(. It was way too short of a visit and I really hope to see them again soon!! Scott has an amazing camera, so I let him take the pics... here are a few!

Sweet Caroline in the cute headband I made last week.

Me, Caroline & Jillian. She's 8 weeks old and the SWEETEST
baby I've ever been around.


Bedtime stories with Caroline.

Not the best picture, its from my phone. But we had to tease Matt that we were at the
Aquarium. Hopefully next time we can go!


It was such a SPECTACULAR weekend. I can't wait to see them in 2 weeks!

Friday, January 22, 2010

All Life Should Be Protected

Today is a monumental day in our national history.

Today is the 37th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.

"Abortion represents an evil so inexpressible that words fail us when attempting to describe its horror." Gregg Cunningham of The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform

Dr. Hymie Gordon, Chairman of the Department of Genetics at the Mayo Clinic, said: "By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception."

Dr. McCarthy de Mere, a medical doctor and law professor at the University of Tennessee, testified: "The exact moment of the beginning of personhood and of the human body is at the moment of conception."

It's unfathomable to me how our society diminishes the sanctity of human life.

To make matters worse, the Healthcare Reform Bill is proposing government funding for abortion. Personally, I don't want my taxes contributing to murder. I wish I could be here today instead of stuck in my office. There are other ways to help!

You can help!
1. Call your Senators and Representatives and tell them you want an explicit exclusion of abortion coverage in any health care reform bill. Go here for talking points first.
2. E-mail and Fax your Senators and Representatives and tell them you want an explicit exclusion of abortion coverage in any health care reform bill.
3. Meet with your Senators and Representatives at their district or Captiol Hill offices or confront them at a townhall meeting. Go here for talking points first.
4. Write a letter to the editor. Tell your local paper that taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for abortions.
5. Attend an event. Many organizations are hosting events on health care this summer.
6. Twitter and Facebook for StopTheAbortionMandate.com. For sample feeds, click here.(http://stoptheabortionmandate.com/take-action/)

Let's pray that those gathered and marching today in Washington get our voices heard!




Elder Russel M. Nelson put it much more eloquently than I ever could. In his Ensign article entitled Reverance For Life he states,



"... Society professes reverence for human life. We weep for those who die, pray and work for those whose lives are in jeopardy. For years I have labored with other doctors here and abroad, struggling to prolong life. It is impossible to describe the grief a physician feels when the life of a patient is lost. Can anyone imagine how we feel when life is destroyed at its roots, as though it were a thing of naught?...
What sense of inconsistency can allow people to grieve for their dead, yet be calloused to this baleful war being waged on life at the time of its silent development? What logic would encourage efforts to preserve the life of a critically ill twelve-week-old infant, but countenance the termination of another life twelve weeks after inception? More attention is seemingly focused on the fate of a life at some penitentiary’s death row than on the millions totally deprived of life’s opportunity through such odious carnage before birth...

Life comes from life. It is a gift from our Heavenly Father. It is eternal, as he is eternal. Innocent life is not sent by him to be destroyed!"



Let us all value life a little more. I pray that hearts may be turned today, and in the process lives can be saved.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Creative Bug

About once a month or so I get bitten by the creative bug. I see a neat project or a blog like this one. And decide that I am the next Martha Stewart. So I bought all of the fun supplies and made these!
I LOVE photographers like this, and thought it would be fun to make these headbands for my little sisters Caroline & Jillian. I get to go see them this weekend!

Jen and I had girls night last night! Originally we were planning on going to Bar Louie. But the combination of rain, cold, pms and sheer laziness (and me not drinking anymore) led us to stay in. So we plopped down on the couch, ate chinese food (YUM!), watched tv and Jen "helped" me with the project du jour.



If something is hot (like a glue gun) it is inevitable that I will burn myself.
Jen & Coco "helping"
ie: eating popsicles and goofing off :)
Another result of Jen's "helping".

And again...

Finally got the flower part made. See, they go on your head!
Can't beat an adorable baby headband right?

And since we're cool like that... we had to try them on ourselves.
Cute!

I have about 50 more project ideas I want to work on. When I'm supposed to find time with 2 jobs, a hubby and a dog is beyond me. But maybe a project a week would be possible. I gotta do something to keep from going crazy. If only I enjoyed going to the gym as much as doing cute things for the house or friends. :) Oh well, you can't have everything!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Stalkers Unite!

I LOVE blogging! Thus I love to read other people's blogs. Sometimes I know them well, sometimes I haven't seen them in oh 5 years or so, sometimes I've met them once or it's a friend of a friend. It's wonderful to be able to check in with people and see how they're doing. Especially as I feel my life is fabulously boring.

Today I was inspired by a fellow blog-stalker's post. If you read this blog, let me know! If I know you or don't... it doesn't matter! Leave a comment, I'd love to find out who's interested. It might give me another blog to stalk as well! Keep in mind my poor blog is currently in a "Construction Phase" and will be updated shortly. I may even be stalking you and you don't know it...

Let's find out!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Busy Yet Uneventful.

No it's not an oxymoron. It is very possible to be busy yet not have anything eventful happen. That's how the last week or so has been for our little family.

Tuesday: Work & Yankee
Wednesday: Work & date night = mexican take-out and cleared off the DVR
Thursday: Work & Yankee
Friday: Work, dinner at Giovanni's, a little TV
Saturday: me- Driving School (boring yet necessary) matt- hung out with his dad, had the missionaries over for dinner.
Sunday: Church, nap, Matt got his car fixed
Monday: I had to work, Matt slept all day.
Tuesday: me- Doctor's appointment, then work & Yankee, matt- work.

Whew... what a week!! Lol. Busy yes, but not super exciting. We've got some fun plans for the weekend, so hopefully I'll have something to post about. For now... I will continue to work. How thrilling.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Steel Magnolias

Apparently I've been lying to myself and everyone I know for years. I consider myself a southern woman... yet have never seen Steel Magnolias. (**GASP**) So Monday night Jen decided to set me strait. We plopped down on the couch in our pj's, ate chili and trash, and used quite a few tissues. It was FABULOUS. In honor of my recent enlightenment... I thought I'd share some of the most wonderful parts of the move. I might as well have included the whole script, but this will have to do.

Clairee: I've just been to the dedication of the new children's park.
Truvy: Yeah, how did that go?
Clairee: Janice Van Meter got hit with a baseball. It was fabulous.
Truvy: Was she hurt?
Clairee: I doubt it. She got hit in the head.

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Truvy: In a good shoe, I wear a size six, but a seven feels so good, I buy a size eight.

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Truvy: Honey, time marches on and eventually you realize it is marchin' across your face.

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Shelby: Pink is my signature color.

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[Referring to her daughter's many pink wedding decorations]
M'Lynn: That sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: I am just about at the end of my rope with you.
Drum: Well, then why don't you tie a noose and slip it 'round your head?

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Truvy: I kind of like hiring somebody with a past.
Clairee: She can't be more than eighteen. She hasn't had time to have a past.
Truvy: Oh get with it, Clairee. This is the eighties. If you can achieve puberty, you can achieve a past.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: I do not see plays, because I can nap at home for free. And I don't see movies 'cause they're trash, and they got nothin' but naked people in 'em! And I don't read books, 'cause if they're any good, they're gonna make 'em into a miniseries.

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Clairee Belcher: [quoting her gay nephew] All gay men have track lightin'. And all gay men are named Mark, Rick, or Steve.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: This is it, I've found it, I'm in hell.

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Drum: Ouiser, can we call a truce long enough for me to get a piece of cake?
[Ouiser slices him the tail piece of an armadillo cake]
Drum: Aww, thanks Ouiser. Nothin' like a good piece of ass.

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Annelle: Sammy Wayne Desoto, what is this in my Frigidaire?
Sammy: Beer.
Annelle: I don't care what you do with your refrigerator, but you will not keep liquor in mine.
[dumps the beer out in the yard]
Sammy: Oh, Annelle, for Christ's sake!
Annelle: Who? Who did you say?
Sammy: Christ, Christ, Christ!
Annelle: Are you speaking of our Lord? Is that whose name you're taking in vain?
Sammy: That's the one.
Annelle: Well, I'm sorry, Sammy. But I am not about to spend the next fifty years of my life with someone I'm not gonna run into in the hereafter.
Sammy: Oh, Annelle, goddammit!
Annelle: I think we should pray.
Sammy: Oh, I'd rather eat dirt!

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Nancy Beth Marmillion: That Jackson is one big hangin' man!
Shelby: [annoyed] Yes, I know.

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Shelby: I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.
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Ouiser Boudreaux: [after knocking Clairee off the bench and pulling some of her hair] Get your roots done!

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[about the new mayor's wife dancing]
Clairee Belcher: Looks like two pigs fightin' under a blanket.

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Truvy: When it comes to pain and suffering, she's right up there with Elizabeth Taylor.

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Shelby: Well, we went skinny dipping and we did things that frightened the fish.

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Annelle: Miss Truvy, I promise that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair.

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Shelby: Truvy, you know what you need in here? You need a radio, takes the pressure off of everyone feeling they have to talk so much.
Truvy: I had one once, but I threw it up against the wall when I couldn't figure out where the batteries went. I know now I was suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome.

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Truvy: There's so much static electricity in this room, I pick up everything but boys and money.

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Clairee Belcher: Well, you know what they say: if you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me!

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Truvy: I'm just screamin' at my husband; I can do that any time!

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Clairee Belcher: They were both high. They'd been smokin' everything but their shoes.

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Truvy: Oh, Sammy's so confused he don't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: The only reason people are nice to me is because I have more money than God.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: I'm not as sweet as I used to be.

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Truvy: I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: You are too twisted for color TV!

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Ouiser Boudreaux: I'm not crazy, I've just been in a very bad mood 40 years!

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Clairee Belcher: That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

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Clairee Belcher: The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: My God, you look different. Have you shrunk?

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Ouiser Boudreaux: Yes, Annelle, I pray! Well, I do! There, I said it, I hope you're satisfied.
Annelle: I suspected this all along!
Ouiser Boudreaux: Oh! Well don't you expect me to come to one of your churches or one of those tent-revivals with all those Bible-beaters doin' God-only-knows-what! They'd probably make me eat a live chicken!
Annelle: Not on your first visit!
Clairee Belcher: Very good, Annelle! Spoken like a true smart-ass!

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Truvy: Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.

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Truvy: Smile! It increases your face value.

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Clairee Belcher: Ouiser could never stay mad at me; she worships the quicksand I walk on.


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Ouiser Boudreaux: You are evil, and you must be destroyed.
Clairee Belcher: Mother Nature's taking care of that faster than you could.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: Annelle, take your Bible and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

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Truvy: Oh, honey, God don't care which church you go, long as you show up!

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Annelle: We are in the house of the Lord!
Clairee Belcher: Oh like she cares. Ousier's never done a religious thing in her life.
Ouiser Boudreaux: Now that is not true. When I was in school, a bunch of my friends and I would dress up as nuns and go bar-hoppin'.

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Ouiser Boudreaux: A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste.

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Truvy: You are playin' hard to get!
Clairee Belcher: At her age, she should be playin' beat the clock.

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Clairee Belcher: Ouiser, I'd recognize this penmanship anywhere. You have the handwritin' of a serial killer.

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Clairee: Ouiser, you sound almost chipper. What happened today - you run over a small child or something?

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Clairee Belcher: The older you get, the sillier you get.
Ouiser Boudreaux: Yeah, well the older you get, the uglier you get.

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Clairee: And I can also report that a mysterious car is parked in her driveway at least once a week...
Ouiser Boudreaux: There. My secrets out. I'm having an affair with a Mercedes Benz!

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Annelle: That is one ugly dog. What kind of dog is that?
Clairee: If it had hair, it'd be a Saint Bernard.

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Truvy: Well, these thighs haven't gone out of the house without lycra on them sice I was 14.
Clairee: You were brought up right.

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Truvy: There is no such thing as natural beauty.

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Truvy: I don't like her. I don't trust anyone who does their own hair. I don't think it's natural.

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M'Lynn: Oh Ouiser, Drum would NEVER point a gun at a lady!
Ouiser Boudreaux: Oh! He's a real gentleman! I bet he takes the dishes out of the sink before he PEES in it!

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Annelle: [stands up after praying] Amen.
M'Lynn: [looking confused at Truvy] Was she just praying?
Truvy: [rolling eyes, frustrated] Yes.
M'Lynn: Why?
Truvy: Maybe she's praying for Marshall and Drew and Belle. Maybe she's praying for us because we're gossiping. Maybe she's praying because the elastic is shot in her pantyhose! Who knows! She prays at the drop of a hat these days.

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Truvy: Louie brought his new girlfriend over, and the nicest thing I can say about her is all her tattoos are spelled correctly.


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M'Lynn: I find it amusing. Men are supposed to be made out of steel or something. I just sat there. I just held Shelby's hand. There was no noise, no tremble, just peace. Oh god. I realize as a woman how lucky I am. I was there when that wonderful creature drifted into my life and I was there when she drifted out. It was the most precious moment of my life.

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Annelle: Does your dress have to go over your head?
M'Lynn: No
Annelle: OH! Thank God!

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Shelby: [to Annelle] Relax! You can't screw up her hair. Just tease it and make it look like a brown football helmet.

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Truvy: What are your colors, Shelby?
Shelby: My colors are "blush" and "bashful."
M'Lynn: Her colors are "pink" and pink."
Shelby: My colors are "blush" and "bashful" Mama!
M'Lynn: How pretentious is this weddin' gonna get, I ask you?

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Ouiser Boudreaux: Don't try to get on my good side, Truvy. I no longer have one!

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Ouiser Boudreaux: He is a boil on the butt of humanity!

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Shelby: Remember what Daddy always says - an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure!

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M'Lynn: Shelby, as you know, wouldn't want us to get mired down and wallow in this. We should handle it the best way we know how and get on with it. That's what my mind says, I just wish somebody would explain it to my heart.

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M'Lynn: [looking at herself in Truvy's compact mirror] Oh my God Shelby was right, my hair *does* look like a brown football helmet!
[continues sobbing]

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Ouiser Boudreaux: What's the matter with you these days, M'Lynn? You got a reindeer up your butt?

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M'Lynn: [after Ouiser drinks a soda and belches] Oh, now, that's attractive, Ouiser.

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Drum: Ouiser you look like hammered sh*t.
Ouiser Boudreaux: Don't you talk to me like that!
Drum: Oh,I'm sorry you look like regular sh*t.



If I had read this post last week, I would have been clueless. So, if you're a girl, or guy, basically... if you're alive and have a heart at all, you should watch this movie. Thanks Jen for such a fun night!! :)


A Year In Review- Part 2

I'm still adjusting to the fact that it's JANUARY already. So I thought I'd do a quick recap of 2009, again. This time in photo form :) Enjoy...
January:
Sweet Isabelle got TONS of toys for belated Christmas presents.
She was slightly overwhelmed.
February:
Girl's night with Jen!
March:
SNOW!!!!

Cute Isabelle "reading".

April:
FLORIDA!!!! :) On our way to go snorkeling.


Dinner at Sundowners. You got to eat dinner on the beach and watch the sunset.
Yummy and romantic... my kind of evening!
May:
Day on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale

The amazing view from our room.

June:
I got to see Jenna!!!! I miss her so much!

Date night with my love. Putt Putt :)

July:
Isabelle's first time in the pool, she LOVED it!
1st anniversary! Eating the top tier of our wedding cake at Strawberry Street.
August:
Cutie-Pie here had her 1st Birthday!!
Matt has his 26th!

September:
Car accident =/

FOOTBALL SEASON!

I finally beat Matt at Scrabble.


October:
Halloween!

Packing & Moving


November:
11/30/09
My new baby sister
Jillian Danielle

Thanksgiving!

December:

Matt's first Temple trip

Sweet Betty in front of our tree (before all the presents!)

What a year! Apparently I don't take many pictures when not too much is going on in January-March. Hopefully this year brings better, exciting things. So far January has proved to be quite boring. :)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

2009- A Year In Review

January 2009:

-My new years resolution was to start walking 3 miles a day at lunch... thus: shin splints!
-Matt got laid off.
-American Idol addiction.
-Hubby & I drove all the way to Charlottesville (45 minutes) for bagels.
-6 month anniversary.

February 2009:

-Enjoyed 70 degree weather in VA Beach with Derek & Katy.
-Our 1st married (and broke!) Valentines Day = homemade fondue, yumm.
-Got my tattoo finished.
-Matt went back to college.

March 2009:

-SNOW!!!!
-Saw the aftermath of what happens when a dog eats an entire jar of peanut butter.
-Twilight on DVD, enough said.

April 2009:

-Exceeded 12 pound weight loss goal!
-General Conference.
-Super fun girls nights with Jen.
-Fell in 'like' with Adam Lambert.
-Almost 'died' on the 3 day diet haha.
-Betty's 4th Birthday.
-FLORIDA!!!!

May 2009:

-FLORIDA!!!!
-Found a snake in our apartment on Mother's Day.
-Pinched a nerve in my foot and had to use crutches.
-Got to see JENNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Adam Lambert lost American Idol. I actually cried.
-Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival.

June 2009:
-Met my birth father.
-Took a cake decorating class.
-Our TV exploded, so we got a new one! (42" flat panel)
-I found this quote:
"A little known fact… The first testicular guard “cup” was used in Hockey in 1874, and the first helmet was used in 1974. It took 100 years for men to realize that the brain is also important…"
-Michael Jackson died, and I cried.
-Played hookie and went to the beach... wonderful decision!


July 2009:
-Baby shower for Risa & Jeremy on the 4th.
-Brooke's Bachelorette Party
-Harry Potter 6 Midnight Premier
-I cut all my hair off, Aline!
-23rd Birthday
-1st Anniversary (Strawberry Street Cafe & cake!)

August 2009:
-Matt's 26th Birthday.
-Isabelle's 1st Birthday.
-Some kid pulled the fire alarm in our building at 2am.
-We got approved for a new apartment.

September 2009:

-Packing
-An entire day of outlet shopping all to myself!
-Started blogging.
-Bears beat Steelers!!
-Car Accident.
-I beat Matt at Scrabble, it was a miracle!
-State Fair.
-Egyptian Cotton Sheets=heaven.
-More packing.
-Back to church for me.

October 2009:

-New obsession... GLEE!!!
-More packing.
-Court date for accident.
-MOVED!
-Halloween "party".
-Started my part time job at Yankee Candle.

November 2009:

-MATT GOT A FULL TIME PERMANENT JOB!!! :) :) :)
-Republicans sweeped VA's elections!
-Made homemade apple pie.
-Thanksgiving.
-Christmas Decorations.
-Black Friday.
-NEW MOON!
-Christmas PhotoShoot
-New baby sister was born! (Jillian Danielle Barquin 11/30)

December 2009:

-Snow!
-Car broke down.
-Matt's first Temple Trip.
-Got glass stuck in my finger and had to go to the ER.
-Amy's baby shower.
-Christmas.

Whew... what a year!!!! I can't believe it's gone by so quickly. So many wonderful (and not so wonderful...) things happened this past year. Hooray for 2010 and all of the great things to come. Thank you to all of our friends and families that made 2009 one to remember.

Love, E
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