Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice!

I sure love hanging out with this little cheese ball. 

Sure hope I get daughters some day - my life is filled with too many boys!

This Post is for Me

I've been so discouraged lately at the lack of sales going on at the grocery store - or any store for that matter. I couldn't stay within budget for the life of me. 

Then, it happened. Smith's had a killer sale and I was going to be a part of it! 

I purchased all of the items below for $43.89. A $37 savings from the original price. 

I feel good about it.

Now I understand why saving money/using coupons gives people such a high. Now, I'm not one to buy things just because they are on sale - we really need and will use all of the things I bought. 

I finally feel a little more confidence to tackle the grocery store and stay within budget. 

I know it's silly, but I needed this. 

Next up, being brave enough to price match at Wal Mart. This will prove to be difficult as every time I go to Wal Mart, I swear they are out of half of the things I want, there are 4000 people there, or I get the most unfriendly cashier ever.

I have not had good experiences with Wal Mart - can you tell? 

P.S. The diapers are a gift for a friend about to have a baby. I am NOT making an announcement...

Worst wife ever

Somehow while playing a little futsal at the church with some ward members, I injured my husband. 

We collided and he went down. He immediately went to lie down. 

I seriously thought he was being a wimp because I thought we barely touched. I wasn't a very caring wife and felt like he was being a little dramatic.

Well, the next day I discovered I was wrong...

Here's to being the most non-nurturing wife ever.  

Sundance 2013

We decided to escape the yucky valley smog and head to Park City. I tried to find us a hotel to stay at, but was then quickly reminded that it was Sundance weekend.

We headed up anyway as I'd never been to Sundance! 

We had dinner at the Red Banjo (probably the cheapest place on main street) and walked around looking for the stars. Well, we found one - Paris Hilton. Lucky us. 

We had a lot of fun walking Main Street and were sad to return to the smoggy valley. 

Piano

You may or may not know: I kind of have a cool 'piano story'. 

I was not forced to play the piano as a child like most of my friends. It was something I just wanted to do. 

I started with the tiniest keyboard you've ever seen. Probably as long as my arm. 

I, like most kids, struggled at first and was off and on with my piano practicing/lessons. 

Then I started to get the hang of it and loved it. So, I got a bigger keyboard. 

Well, I started to get to where I could play music that was way out the range my keyboard could go. 

I would practice at home on my keyboard and then go to piano lessons with a real piano and try to figure out how to use the pedal with it. 

After a while, the keyboard just wasn't cutting it. We looked and looked and my parents bought me an OLD (I believe $200) piano. I remember the day we got it - it was a very happy moment for me. It probably weighs at least 2000 pounds or so haha - and my dad had quite the time getting it downstairs to my room. It was SO out of tune it took many tuning sessions over the years to get it back into some sort of tune. 

I played that piano for hours at a time. I started to get pretty good. I even had a couple recitals. 

I had a very neat piano teacher (if any of you from Murray know the Harrington's - it was Mike). He was very kind as my parents could not afford to keep up piano lessons. He found out I was paying for the lessons myself and gave me many free lessons. I am today so very grateful for him.

Well, life got busy and the piano started to take a back seat. School and work took over my life. My piano collected dust. Then I married Nick and there was no way I could take my piano with me. 

I have missed that piano so much and spent a few nights at the church trying to get back what I had lost. I missed my music practice and felt like it was time dedicated to taking care of myself, to doing something that I really wanted to do. 

So, Nick surprised me with this keyboard for Christmas this year. It was a very difficult keyboard for him to track down (according to him). He did a lot of research on keyboards and apparently KORG is like the cadillac of keyboards. 

I was so excited!!!

So now all I need is a stand, a seat, and a pedal to be able to play it. (If any of you know it is almost impossible to play a keyboard without a pedal - it's like missing notes at a time). 

As I work toward getting the tools to make this a more functioning keyboard, I look forward to finally getting back to doing something that I really love. 

It's time to start doing some things for myself and I intend to. 

The Christmas that was Forgotten

Wanna know why I'm so late posting Christmas pictures? Because I DIDN'T TAKE ANY!!! What?! How do you forget to take pictures on Christmas?!

Thanks to Nick's sis for taking a few and sending them to me. She's a great photographer! Guess this is the Christmas that will be forgotten... Haha just kidding! 

 The whole Dall clan! Love them!

 I absolutely love this picture of Santa. It's simply perfect. Next year it will be printed and hung somewhere in my house. 

Blizzard 20

According to the weatherman, it snowed 35.5 inches in East Millcreek over the weekend. Our own measurement gave us 24 inches the first day (we didn't measure the second day). 

Since we were pretty much snowed in, we decided to have some fun!

We love snow!

2013

2012 Dall Family Goals

Monthly temple attendance

Go on 3 out of state vacations

Hold weekly family home evening

Memorize “The Living Christ”

Participate in more service to others

Read the Book of Mormon

Be the best Sunday school teachers ever!

“Freely ye have received, freely give”

 – Matt 10:8

 Elizabeth Goals

Weekly journal writing

Create a personal history

Learn to swim

Play the piano more often

Have personal prayer

Graduate with my masters degree

Serve

Nicholas Goals

Play in 3 tennis tournaments

100 mile bike ride

Keep an exercise routine

Read the Old Testament

Well, I kept up with my goals this year - can't say the same for Nick. How do I as a totally goal-oriented/driven person get my husband to feel the same way? I feel like the only way to be successful at something is to work hard at it. I married a man that is so wonderful and perfect for me, but is not driven in that way. I guess I can't see the other side. How could you not be excited and driven to create and accomplish goals? Nick is the perfect example of someone that says he's going to do something, but then doesn't do it. Ugh, it gets under my skin. Any ideas on how I can help my family be a goal-driven family with someone that doesn't quite share that same passion? 

Anyway, I still made us set some goals for 2013. I have a feeling I'll be pulling us along in these goals - which is why some of them fell by the wayside this year - I got frustrated by doing it all myself and gave up. I know, can you believe it?! But, they are important to me and what I what for my own family  so somehow it's going to work, right? Hence the reason Nick's list is so short - low chance for failure I guess? He chose the goals. And heaven help us all if he doesn't graduate this year. That better be an easy one.

Elizabeth 2013 goals

-       Continue learning to swim with the goal of completing a triathlon in the fall

-       365 days of personal history

-       Volunteer for Make A Wish or another organization with my husband

-       Weekly journal writing

-       Monthly organization/emergency preparedness

-       Feast upon the scriptures

-       Update all journals

Nick 2013 goals:

-       Graduate with undergrad. Prepare for and attend grad school

-       Go on 2 FUN vacations

2013 Dall family goals:

-       Read the New Testament by December 31, 2013

-       Save an added $--- by December 31, 2013

-       Hold weekly family home evening

-       Morning and evening family prayers

-       Daily family and personal scripture study

-       Go on 2 FUN family vacations

-       Continue to be the best Sunday school teachers ever!

“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God; That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High.”

D&C 109:8-9