8 Things

8 things I am obsessed with right now:

1. Reading
2. Decorating my house.
3. Organizing my life....I'm failing miserably at this btw.
4. Cooking
5. getting through the holidays...work is crazy
6. Blogs....I like keeping up with people that I normally would not get the opportunity to - I'll steal Kiersty's note here
7. Mexican Food
8. Chocolate

8 words or phrases that I often use:
1. No we won't be able to install your granite counters in 3 days. Our normal turnaround is 3 weeks.
2. Jimmy.....fill in the blanks
3. Mattie is a bad dog. (Seriously the little punk ate my chicken sandwich that was on the coffee table last night while I was changing into PJ's)
4. What the crap? (not sure where this came from)
5. Um yeah didn't think that one through huh?
6. What's going on?
7. I'm going to Target.....
8. I would rather gnaw an arm off than do....fill in the blanks

8 shows that I love to watch right now:
1. Heroes
2. The Office
3. One Tree Hill - I can't help it...guilty pleasure that I am ashamed to admit
4. Food Network - Everday Italian, Paula Deen anything, Rachel Ray - she irritates me a lot but has quick recipes
5. CSI
6. My Name is Earl
7. HGTV
8. 48 hours on A&E

8 things I did yesterday:
1. worked
2. got my hair dyed
3. went to the Linen's and Things going out of business sale
4. Watched College Football
5. Read up on the sexiest man while getting my hair dyed
6. had a Starbucks hot chocolate
7. worked
8. worked some more

8 Favorite places to eat:
1. Antonio's
2. Cheesecake Factory (anyone for a girls night out? Yolanda? you have to come back and visit..and Kerry Taylor..and anyone else willing to share cheesecake.) :-)
3. Z. Tejas
4. Chick Fil A
5. Ruth's Chris
6. Salt Grass
7. Carrabba's
8. Friedhelm's Bavarian Restaurant in Fredericksburg

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Kiersty and Seths 50 hour drive to Austin (She flew to Provo for their graduation....no one in their right mind wants to go there so she loves them more...he he. At least Austin is a cool place)
2. Christmas
3. Day after Thanksgiving shopping. Susan, Michelle and I are ready to go!
4. A new car - This is a ways off but I'm still looking forward to it
5. James finishing his convertible....I want that thing to move out of my garage on its own!
6. Thanksgiving
7. redoing my bathrooms.
8. Redoing my floors - I want hardwood floors.

8 things that are on my wish list:
1. A new car
2. More time to cook
3. More time and money to decorate my house
4. A private jet.
5. 15 more pounds to disappear mysteriously.
6. People to be happy - too many sad things lately.
7. Visit Scotland..and I guess all those other countries too.
8. a better economy.

8 people I tag:
Whoever has lots of time on their hands. :-)

Ok so Laura and Kristen here are your makeup tips you said you would love to read. I found this on MSN.com but a lot of these are things I already do so that is always fun to hear. But for the rest of you maybe needing some new tips or ideas read below.

Lip Service
1. Pick the right shade.
What most of us do: Swipe a possible new color on the back of our hand to see if it flatters. A better idea, says San Antonio-based celeb makeup artist Starley Murray: Test the lipstick on your fingertip — that way, you can hold the color next to your face to see how it looks. (No mirror? Your finger is still a better gauge, since it's similar in color and texture to your lips.) I never thought of this...but I always have samples so I just try them. :-)

2. Get buff.
For the prettiest finish, run your toothbrush over your lips to exfoliate any dry skin (a damp paper towel also can do the job). Post-scrub, lipstick will glide on without caking. I don't use a toothbrush but I use satin lips which is the same effect I suppose..

3. Fill in fine lines.
Here's a way to keep lipstick from feathering (a great trick if you have tiny wrinkles above your upper lip): Coat your mouth and go slightly outside your lip line with a clear balm ‑- like plain ChapStick — before applying color. "Like invisible spackle," says celebrity makeup artist Shalini Vadhera, "it keeps your lipstick from traveling." I do use a lip primer which works the same way.

4. Extend the life of your lipstick.
So you'd like your color to last through lunch, but you don't like the feel of long-wearing formulas? Here's a tip from makeup guru Laura Mercier: Apply a coat of regular lipstick, then press it with a single-ply tissue and powder lightly (over the tissue) with a puff or brush. This sets the color and prevents running and feathering. Yup I do this too.

5. Plump up.
For a finishing touch, dab the middle of your lower lip with a bit of silver or gold lip gloss. Any makeup artist worth his shimmer powder will tell you this is the fastest route to creating the illusion of fullness. But remember: If you blot or purse your lips, you'll blur the Jolie effect. And This...not sure if it looks like Jolie or not but what the heck I'll keep it up.

Fresh Eye-Deas
1. Fight droop.
Lightly shade the area just above the arch of your brow with a nude or white liner and blend, advises Jo Davis, artistic director for Trucco Cosmetics. "This subtly lights up your face and creates the illusion of higher brows and lids, which is great for droopy or tired eyes," she says. Yep I do this.

2. Smudge-proof your liner.
Apply it with a pencil or a tiny brush, then trace over the line with a matching powder shadow. To make it last even longer: Wet your shadow brush with Visine first.
Don't do the Visine thing but do the rest.

3. Make your eyes look larger.
Place a lash curler at the roots of your lashes, then slowly "walk" it out to the tips, pressing as you go, says Sydney, Australia, makeup expert Napoleon Perdis. Do it......I love this trick because I have no lashes. :-(

4. Outsmart your mascara.
Love the waterproof kind but hate wrestling to remove it? Celebrity makeup artist Nick Barose applies a coat of regular mascara first, then tops it with waterproof. "This way, the waterproof formula locks onto the other mascara instead of your lashes, so it comes off more easily — when you want it to," he says.
Don't do this but I haven't ever had a problem with mine running, or with getting the waterproof off with my eye makeup remover.

5. Widen your eyes.
To look more refreshed, use white or nude eyeliner — but this time, below your eyes, not above. Pull down gently on your undereye and trace the line between the lower lashes and the inside rim. Stop before you reach your tear ducts.

Complexion Perfecters
1. Conceal flaws...strategically.
A full face of foundation — or too much concealer — can look and feel unnatural, says Mercier. She advises using cover-up only where you need it (and, where you don't, letting your own skin shine through). Blend. I try to do this and hopefully I am successful....if not someone tell me!

2. Try a soft touch.
Your ring finger is the perfect tool for applying makeup, says Davis, because it's the weakest digit. The more powerful index finger may apply color too boldly or tug too much (hello, wrinkles!) on your delicate skin. Yup.

3. Look luminous.
Every face has natural shadows, and you'll look better if you brighten them, says Craig Jessup, makeup artist for Kevyn Aucoin Beauty. To find the shady spots, he says, just smile at yourself in the mirror. "You'll see darker areas — like your Cupid's bow, under your bottom lip and at the inner corners of your eyes." To lighten those areas, dab on shimmery white eye shadow. Blend if necessary.
Definitely do this....I love the liquid shimmery eyeshadow that I have for this.
4. Give yourself a mini face-lift.
Apply blush starting at your upper cheekbone (at the hairline near your ear) then brush across your cheek horizontally — not diagonally or downward — until you get to the center of your face. "You'll be thrilled to see the difference when your blush is darkest at the hairline and faded at the apples, instead of vice versa," says Murray, "because it's more youthful."!
Don't do this but I'm going to start tomorrow!!

Fun Post

You Belong in 1952

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Lucky Me!

I just had to do a quick post. I went to enrichment tonight and of course due to work I showed up in time for dinner. :-) Perfect timing. But I just had to post that I am so lucky to live in the ward that I am in. I love all of the ladies in my ward. They are so much fun! And they make me laugh after a long week of work.

They have also put the pressure on me to update my blog more often because they are all going to check it. :-) Not that the rest of you don't but I see them way more often and they can give me a hard time to my face so now I'll really have to keep up.

But seriously I have the greatest ward and the greatest women and I'm glad that I get the chance to see them at things like this since I don't very often see them on Sunday due to the whole being locked away in the tower called Young Women's. But I love getting together to hang out with them and talk and just enjoy them. So thank you all for being so awesome!

Ok so I just had a quick post. I know I have been bad about these but for those of you not related to my Smith side of the family or my family at all, I just wanted to ask you to keep my cousin Bethany and her family in your prayers. Her son Gavin passed away last night just before his 1st birthday and while it was always something I'm sure they knew might happen with his condition it doesn't make it any less difficult on their family. So please keep them in your prayers to be comforted during their really difficult time.

It makes me so grateful for the health that I and my family have been blessed with but also makes me realize how fragile life is and how quickly it can pass. Sorry to be kind of a downer but I also know that he is much happier where he is now and know he has a lot of great people looking out for him.

Our DC Trip

So James and I took a trip to DC a couple of weeks ago. I have never been before and he goes all of the time for training with his work and I finally decided enough was enough and I was tagging along this time. So we took a Friday, Saturday and Sunday to spend there. His aunt Jane and uncle Paul were kind enough to let us crash at their borrowed home. (theirs is under major renovation and they are staying at a family friends while she is in Florida.) So thanks to Jane and Paul for letting us crash and Evan for giving up your room to share with the other 2 boys. We appreciate it.

We spent Friday going through the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum which are enormous! But lots of really cool stuff there. Here is James with one of the Wright Brothers Planes at the Air and Space Museum.

This is a picture of one of the vehicles from a moon mission (I think Apollo 16??) which if we could have gotten close enough he would have loved to see.

This is the best pic I could get of the lunar rover. It is incredible all of the stuff on there and that it actually worked.

This is the Smithsonian Castle. The architecture of this city is fabulous. I love it. I wish I had sold them all the granite for these buildings. :-)
The giant T-Rex which all the kids around us loved and swore was from Night at the Museum.
They were completely entranced.
Below are the remains of a giant sea dinosaur. It was probably a good 15 feet long. I would hate to run into that guy.

And here I am at the Natural History Museum with a giant elephant.

They had a lot of really cool set ups with different animals. My favorite part of this museum was all of the minerals and rocks. And the moon rock that you got to touch. There was also an asteroid that was kind of greenish. Must be kryptonite. Oh and the Hope Diamond was pretty cool. It's on my next Christmas list in case any of you needed an idea of what to get me.

After all of that walking around we were pretty beat and met up with James' Uncle Jerry for dinner. Jerry lives in Alexandria but works in downtown DC so he took us to one of his favorite bar and grill restaurants down there called Clyde's. We got to enjoy hanging out with him for a bit and then took a taxi over to Lincoln Memorial. (Well worth the money to save my feet)

My other pics didn't turn out due to the lighting issue but this monument was so much larger than I expected. You see it on tv and it doesn't do it justice. I have always liked the Lincoln Memorial and was so excited to see it in person. From here we walked back to the metro thinking it wasn't so far. But the Washington Monument is very misleading for any future visitors. It was way farther than we expected. We did however get to pass the Korean War Memorial and there are all of these statues of the soldiers in different combat positions that in the dark were quite a sight. I had goosebumps while we were there.

And then we passed the World War II Memorial. This is obviously not my picture as I saw it at night but I think it was so much more impressive in the dark sky. People were just sitting all around the pool with their feet soaking taking in the gorgeous fountain.

Finally we came to the Washington Monument and were able to walk around there a bit and then still had a distance to get to the Metro.

Saturday we got an early start and had breakfast at Bethesda's own Tastee Diner - Thanks for the recommendation Paul. The blueberry pancakes were fantastic. We then made our way to the Holocaust Museum so that we could stand in line and get tickets to get in. Luckily we only stood in line for about 30 minutes and were able to get tickets fairly quickly. We weren't able to take pics in there but it was a very well worth it wait. It really put things in perspective. They did a wonderful job with that one although it wasn't near big enough for the crowds of people coming there. We actually got in around 10:15 and were there until just after 1.

When you get to the museum you are told to get in line and pick up an identification card from either the girls side or the boys side depening on what you are. Each booklet tells a true story about someone impacted by the Holocaust. James received Jakob Frenkiel from Poland. His house was burned by the Nazi's and then he was sent to Auschwitz with his family. He was one of the lucky ones who lived to tell about the experience and came to the states after being liberated. You are then loaded in to the "gas chamber" or elevator and taken up to the 3rd floor to make your way down. The 2 parts that were just a must see were the box car (I couldn't take pics in here so this is just from their website)that you can walk inside and you just try to imagine 1000 or more people crammed into, and the shoe display. The shoe display was quite a bit to take in and the whole thing made me just think a lot about how something like that could happen. How an entire country could turn a blind eye to what was going on and yet we see it all over the world today still occuring. I guess we really don't learn from history. But it was a great memorial to those who suffered through the Holocaust.

Then it was on to the International Spy Museum. Again you couldn't take pictures so I pulled these from the website. This is the James Bond car they had on display and it would periodically turn on and do some of the special effects from the movie it was in. The kids all loved it.

Here is my favorite item....I think I will get one of these. It is the Lipstick Pistol. They had all of these cool little inventions that have actually been used throughout "spy history" in our country and others and what people have come up with is pretty impressive and I would never have thought of it.

This is a tree stump "bug"....listening devices were put in some of the most random things. One being a piece of doggie doo.

Sunday morning we went to Arlington Cemetary and speaking of a place that humbles you. Wow. I had goosebumps walking through there. Below is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It made me so grateful that we have people willing to serve our country and I'm so glad that we also have a place to honor them. I later found out that James' aunt Emily has family buried there from way back. Her relatives have been naval captains for quite a few generations and most recently her father was buried there.

It was also really interesting to see how many of the people buried there were veterans of WWII, Vietnam and Korea. It just seems like those were all so far apart that none of the same people would have fought in them.

And it was on to a Washington Nationals game. Baseball is not my thing at all I have decided after going to this game. It was insanely hot and very boring so mental note to me that I will not go to another baseball game. On the bright side the Astro's did win. Had to stick with my fellow Texans on that.

Sunday night we celebrated Evan's birthday with the family and really enjoyed that before heading over to Silver Springs, MD to check in to the hotel for James' week of training. I did my part shopping around on Monday morning and flew home that afternoon.

So a really long post to update you all on my trip to DC since I have been so terrible about updating. I have more to follow for my month of July. :-)

Happy 4th of July

So James and I were able to enjoy our 4th of July weekend at the lake with family this year. We drove to Post (the middle of nowhere Texas for those of you unfamiliar) and met up with James' parents and brother's family. We went out on the lake Friday and Saturday and enjoyed ourselves with everyone, watched the fireworks and took it pretty easy. James learned to ski finally. Normally he gets dragged around a few times and gives up but he did it on the first try this time. YEA!! Here are a few pics of our weekend.

Hope you all enjoyed yours. I'm so grateful for this wonderful land we have been blessed with and I hope that we continue to be blessed even while so many people try to take away what was hard fought for. God Bless America!!

Here is Branson showing off his skills on the knee board. He had to give his Uncle Jimmy a couple of pointers.

What? Do I have something on my face?!? Lane really loves Oreos!

Macy is being silly and telling knock knock jokes. Her current favorite is Knock Knock....Who's There? Macy. Macy Who? Macy Fleischman!!! and your response is supposed to be Nice to meet you.

James is trying out his tips from Branson. Seems to be working as he gives the signal to go faster.

Brodie is a cool little dog. His friend Branson enjoyed dressing him up in various pairs of sunglasses.

Here is Brodie being a smart dog and hiding in the crawl space where we keep all the towels. Now he is dry and comfy relaxing on the boat.

James after finishing his first successful ski run.

Marlene and Dan taking it easy.