help, please!!

dear family, friends, loved ones, and strangers
please put on your creative caps cause we need help
we're headed to hebgen soon and have to take a family video with us
we aren't very funny
and we need your help
what should it be about?
where should we start?
there any guidelines or restrictions so the sky is the limit

so have you seen anything funny videos lately that we could copy..
or do you have a great idea.

Please help!!!

much love
sanda

reading

i hardly read a book a year while in college
any free time i had i avoided being behind a book
now things have changed
my mind longs for substance and deep thought, a challenge so to speak
i've really enjoy reading again
much thanks to my sister katy for giving me a stack of 'must reads'

i love how when i am reading regularly my thoughts develop
i begin to notice details and my thoughts almost become poetic
as i try to capture the details into words
as soon as i try to write what i'm thinking it all disappears and comes out in mush

just like this post

does this happen to anyone else? or is this just crazy talk
my respect and admiration for you eloquent blog writers

realization

while in london we stopped by the imperial war museum

such an awesome museum especially cause i love anything ww2 related 

here are some missile's 

mr. r asked which one do you think you is closest to your height

automatically i thought the biggest one for sure

quickly i learned i'm quite shorter than i think 

i even removed a shoe for accuracy 

good things come in small packages

the best

**warning, sappy post

 

i've been getting this questions alot lately, 'what was the best part of your trip?'

it's the hardest question to think of a great answer to

I think of us wondering the streets of paris; eating gelato and crepes, discovering the hidden treasures of the city, then my mind wanders to provence where we drove the countryside and enjoying the care-free life.  Exploring the unchartered waters, eating true french food not knowing exactly what it is.   

 Then being in England, one of my favorite places to visit, riding the buses, getting lost in the windy streets, and eating at pret, my favorite place

 but none of those things top the person i was with.  i feel like i fell in love all over again.  not that i ever fell out of love, but i bonded in a different way that's really challenging to explain.  we bonded over tired and tender feet, sharing gelato, planning our day, discovering where we were on the map, and holding hands all the while.  

 traveling with my husband has been the greatest blessing.  we got to rekindle our relationship.  i don't get me wrong, we're completely head over heals for one another at home but it's different being so detached from the world.

 we get to forget about our home responsibilities.  and we get to be selfish just worrying about one another and pleasing our instincts. 

 because our life's are typically so far from this behavior i think it's incredibly healthy for us to run away every so often and enjoy the wonderful people we are.

   i'm so happy definitely 'the best' part of the trip being there with my husband falling in love.

ps. it's his birthday today, happy birthday baby.

money money money

about 2 years ago i posted about a couponing class that a friend invited us to
honestly we went just for the hang out not really to start couponing
but i was surprised by how easy the lady made couponing
so i decided to give it a whirl, i collected coupons from my parents paper at first
and now we get our own weekend paper only
i'm not at all a master but i do save about 5-20 dollars per week
which by the end of the month adds up

since then i started looking into other ways to save
why pay full price if you can get a discount??
so here are some things I've read and used that have been useful

favoritecouponingsite
grocerysmarts is the best couponing website!
every wednesday it's updated
it lists pretty much every store in the state with their corresponding deals
then it tells you if there's coupon available and where to find it
(which is why i save newspaper coupon books)
it also rates the deal, 5 star being a stock up deal
sometimes things are free
BTW the password is g84cac

* i like grocerysmarts because i'm still buying the same products i did before, now i'm just getting them for 50,60, 70% off.
and my 30$ a year payment for the newspaper was definitely worth it

bountifulbaskets
my latest obsession is bountiful baskets
basically it's a food co-op
every monday i sign up for my basket and pick it up saturday morning 7am... yikes!
it's a total surprise what you are going to get
here's an example: veggies- 8 ears of corn(ate some last night... delicious!), 2.5 pounds of potatoes, bag of fresh carrots, one head of green leaf lettuce, and celery. fruits: 4-5 apples, 8 bananas, bag of grapes(delicious!), strawberries, cantaloupe(delicious) and 3 tomatoes
guess how much I paid??
15 bucks!
i love it because the folks at bountiful baskets try to buy as local to area as possible, which cuts down the cost and improves the produce flavor.  it also really encourages me to eat a lot of fruits and veggies as well as try new recipes.
when the produce is about to go bad I just cut it up and freeze it for later use(but i hardly ever have to do that)
did I mention that they have add ons. once I got 7 dozen of homemade tortillas for 10 dollars.  3 doz 13inch, 2 dozen 6 inch and 2 doz corn. i have enough to last the summer.

tips to use what you have
i hate wasting things
throwing food away is about the most discouraging thing for me
buh-bye money
here's a list of ways to keep things fresh
i haven't bought any of the products suggested but i have tried some of their other suggestions

these are my favorite ways to save money on groceries
how do you save money?
what your favorite resources?

i've heard of this site called kostizi? has anyone ever used it? please share.

provence

after 3 days in the hustle and bustle of paris we packed our bags and headed south

i don't have as many pictures from this part of the trip 

probably because i was in awe the entire time 

southern france was beautiful 

it smelled of fresh lavender and roses

we spent time visiting multiple little cities that were built on a cliff with the most spectacular views

the kind not even the most fancy camera could capture

we spent afternoons by the people enjoying the warmth of the sun and 90 degree weather

we even bought some nice european swim suits 

it was relaxing but filled with so much activity at the same time

part of the joy was staying at a family friends bed and breakfast 

she has the most beautiful chateau and the kindest spirit about her

and one of the funniest dogs, utah

i'd highly recommend it 

www.lelavandinprovence.com

here we are on the train, mr. r was disappointed that the train whistle never blew

the next pictures are from a market in gordes

 i love all the yummy cheese

 i dream of the day I can wake up walk to the market and buy just what i need that day's meals

 fresh soap

 look at those delicious olives and garlic

 absolutely the most beautiful rock walls

 we ate some of the most delicious food

 salmon inside that fancy wrapping

 roman aquaduct, port du gard. this was built about 5 BC and it's still standing and if used on occasion

 i love fresh mozzarella, this restuarant was owed by a young couple, they only take about 15 costumers a night, he does the cooking and she does the serving and prep.  it was the most delicious meal.  i came home completely defeated feeling like i should never cook a casserole again. 

 for some reason i struggled looking at the camera.  

oh provence, how i miss you.  we will be back.  

paris

we went to paris 

day 1, 2, 3 of our journey 

this was the view from our hotel room

gorgeous

traveling so far with my husband was a dream come true. 

before leaving our neighbor advised, 

'just get lost in paris, you're never too far from a metro'

so we did

we wandered and discovered wonderful things

this cathedral was one of my favorite 

saint chapelle was built by a king for personal worship

after waiting in line for 30 minutes and paying 15 dollars you get to enter

you enter a room with many murals 

i admit that i thought, 'this is it'

but once you climb about 40 narrow spiraling stairs 

to come upon this

and entire cathedral on top of the other 

each square of stain glass depicts a bible scene

starts in genesis and ends at the resurrection

it was absolutely breath taking

one of the most beautiful unexpected sights

we also saw some not so beautiful sights

which kept us laughing

i discovered that the french have the most beautiful parks 

complete with carousals 

beautifully groomed 

well equipped with comfortable lounge chairs

orchards, tennis courts, bands, ponds

i could spend my entire day people watching in the paris parks

 but we didn't we enjoyed them long enough to rest our tried feet 

and then scurried away to see some other wonderful beauties

some of which include

home

we made it home safe and sound late tuesday night
our trip was like a dream that i'm still unsure if it really happened
i desperately miss waking and looking out the window to see the eiffel tower
or walking through a rose fields to breakfast in provence
or wandering the streets through markets and good will shops in london

but i love sleeping in bed
showering in my nice shower
eating fresh food
and being able to contact my family and friends

more to come soon, plenty of pictures!