Utah weekend

So, I did something a little crazy this weekend...with 27 days left before my due date, I got on a plane and flew to Utah to speak at a conference with some of my favorite people.

Asher and Luke, missing me, decided to take comfort in sharing my shape over the weekend. Nate did co-op duties at Luke's preschool Saturday morning, worked on reports at night, and used grandmother help when necessary. (Seriously, what do other people do without 2 grandmas living 5 minutes away?!)

My trip had to be pared down to essentials: a dinner with my Exponent bloggers (that I could only stay an hour for, though I was tempted to risk it and stay longer), the conference on Saturday, dinner with family on Saturday night, and then, back to Phoenix on Sunday. I was sad that I couldn't see any UT friends, but I knew that would push my schedule over the edge.

My part of the conference went ok; I hate speaking this late into my pregnancy. I get breathless and my brain is a little foggy. The rest of my panel was fantastic, as usual. The other speakers we heard were so good. And, I got to see one of my lovely friends recieve a well-deserved award for her work in Africa this year. I was bummed when I realized at 3 pm that I was going to be barfing if I didn't get back to Springville and rest.

But, I must admit that I was particularly thrilled to have D'Arcy, my friend, offer to do some pregnancy shots. We kept running out of time, so she did these in a corner of the University of Utah's cafeteria in about 10 minutes. And, she managed to make a tired, bloated, 9 month pregnant lady look pretty darn good!

Incidentally, D'Arcy will be here at the first of December if any Arizonans are interested in getting her to do a photo shoot of their family. (You can find her contact information on the blog link above or email me for it.) She's so good at putting people at ease and really has an eye for staging shots!

A Favorite Christmas Present

It took me a while to get a semi-decent picture of one of my favorite Christmas presents this year. In fact, I think you all must come over and see it in person because really, my pictures don't do it justice.

I've asked Nate for a gift from my friend, Aimee's Etsy shop for a few birthdays and Christmases now, and he'd keep loosing the link. So, this year, I was rather annoying. Sending him links, having Aimee send him links, and asking him every couple of days if he did it.

He did, and I LOVE what he and Aimee picked. Aimee does the most beautiful stained glass work with Madonna and Child pictures. (Well, everything she does is beautiful. I mean, you should have seen this woman's home in Massachusetts on a graduate student budget, no less!)

Every time I look at this piece, it just lifts my spirits. To think of my friend's hands making it, to see the picture of Mary and Jesus, and to bask in its warm glow (again, you can't tell from the picture, but really, it glows!). It's just wonderful.

Oh, and my other favorite Christmas present? Nate taking down ALL of Christmas while I went on a day trip with my brother and his wife during the Winter Break.

Because we all have our holiday traditions...

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

Fashion Forward

So, my blog has been VERY child-centered lately, which means I'm actually documenting the kids' lives, but I'm thinking it makes for pretty dull reading for everyone else. Here's an attempt at something a little more entertaining:

My friend, Sylvia occasionally posts cute outfits she's wearing on her blog and did a great post on all the fashion blogs she looks at to get ideas.

"Fashion blogs?"I'm thinking. People go and take pictures of what they're wearing every day? Well, I don't have the chutzpah nor the good taste to do that, but I was intrigued. My mom uniforms of t-shirts or polo shirts with jeans gets a little old. So with some guidance from Sylvia's links, I've been exploring these blogs and actually having quite a bit of fun.

This woman writes my favorite fashion blog, Simple Elegance. Whenever I'm on someone's blog, I make a comment, just so they know I'm there. But, I haven't been brave enough to do that on her blog yet because I think she's just that cool.

I LOVE this website! Diana is on a budget yet still manages to always look cute and create color combinations that I never would have thought of and has taught me the novel concept that if I want to dress well, I have to think about the clothes in my closet and try to put them together in new ways. (Stacy and Clinton have been telling me the same thing for years, too, but I don't listen because then, they'll have me on their show and we'll become BFF's and I'll get a whole new wardrobe for free!)
I really like Goober's site (though I'm not crazy about the name :) ), too. Again, someone who has reminded me that there are probably lots more outfits in my closet if I just take the time to figure out different combinations.

It's a little embarrassing to realize that I know that writing takes work, piano playing takes work, cooking takes work, but I guess I always thought that fashion was effortless to those blessed with a good eye and a generous clothing allowance.





I love Academic Chic, too, but maybe that's just because I like to pretend like I'm an academic. There's a few different ladies who blog here. It's fun to see their different tastes and ideas.









Then, there's Cardigan Empire, the first fashion blog I came across. This blog has such excellent writing and introduces me to styles and combinations I never would have though of. And, who else can make me feel happy about my body shape?

And, I love Deals for the Short and Curvy. Bianca likes all the stores I like, and then, she takes the time to track down coupons, post notifications about sales, and find new stores to try. This is just great! It's like having a personal shopper who keeps bringing different options and coupons and doesn't care that I never actually buy anything.

I'll confess that I was a bit reticent to look at these fashion blogs, thinking that they'd make me want to spend more money on clothes. It also felt like it would be decadent and selfish to spend a lot of time thinking about the way I look.

But, I've found that these blogs have taught me all sorts of important lessons. They've helped me be more comfortable in my own body--I love that there's all different sizes and shapes on these blogs, create more choices in my closet by showing me ways to make new combinations, and to help me spend my limited clothing allowance on smarter purchases. At this rate, they may get me to try a thrift shop or two!

Mother's Day Talk

Some people wanted to see my Mother's Day talk (ok, my mom and her friend, Aunt Alice) that someone (Nate in bishopric meeting) volunteered me to give. I had hoped to get it done before Mother's Day and up on my other blog, but since I was still revising it--oh, on the stand before I stood to give it, that didn't happen.

http://the-exponent.com/2009/05/09/standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants-a-mothers-day-talk/

Hopefully, if you have to give a Mother's Day talk in the future, you'll find something here that is useful.

The Celebrity Life

Sometimes, I compare myself to celebrity moms who have kids the same age as my kids(because Gwen Stefani and I are SO similar--I mean we both have 2 boys, we pay someone to make us blonde, and...um...I guess that's where the similarities end).

And, I occasionally get all bummed that I'm not as skinny as they are--like when Denise Richards and I had babies days apart, and then, 6 weeks later, she was modeling for Playboy when I was thinking, "Whoohoo! Size 10 here I come!" (Ok, that's a lie; it wasn't 6 weeks...it was 6 months.)

I guess I felt bad because Playboy didn't ask me to model for them.

So, I'd been hearing all this talk about Gwenyth Paltrow's Goop newsletter and went to check it out. I heard she had some recipes on there, and I'm always looking for something tasty to make. I'm so glad I did because I now realize why I'll never be as thin as a celebrity.

Clearly, I just don't have the dedication.

Like I'm going to consume half a cup of castor oil to loose a few pounds? I've never been that desperate even when I was pregnant and hoped it might start labor. And, I don't think I could eat most of those soups without, the remedy my friend, Sara, suggested with her wheatgrass experiment--a handful of chocolate chips to get the soup's taste out of my mouth.

I think I'll go and enjoy some Cadbury eggs, and I'll have an extra handful in honor of you, Gwenyth, because that's the kind of big-hearted (and big-bottomed) gal I am.

(I'll also try your biscuit recipe because it did look like a winner, and really, when I sound snotty, it's because I'm totally jealous. I mean the closest thing I have to a Coldplay concert is when my pre-teen piano students play "Clocks" for me.)

Feminist Genealogy

I wrote a post about my great-grandmother at my Mormon feminist website today.

Family members, I'd particularly love to hear your input and stories.

Pa's Paintings

Because contributing to three blogs isn't enough...

http://etpart.blogspot.com/

My sister started this blog to try and get all of our grandpa's paintings chronicled in one place. He was an inspired artist, and we thought it's be fun to have a catalog of all of his pieces.

Aunt Brooke's Blankets

So, my aunt went and started her own business a bit ago with her own logo and website. How cool is my entrepreneurial aunt?!

We family members have been reaping the rewards by getting these super cute blankets that are so soft. I've given a couple as gifts, and I bought one for Luke (because we, ahem, want to support Aunt Brooke's business--at least, that's how I justified it) that I love so much.

Well, I've decided its now my blanket, even though Asher tried to steal it today. Geeze! Like he doesn't have his own blanket!


With the cute wrapping and gift tag, these blankets are such perfect baby gifts. I can't wait to have more friends have babies!

He taught me how to praise my god and still play rock and roll

Love blog hopping (which I prefer to the term, stalking, though I'm completely guilty of that, too. But really, is it stalking if you don't know them? Or, is it just pathetic?)--anyway, how else would I have found this?

Fresh Peach Pie

I try to post a recipe at least once a week on this blog. Today, I did a post about my Young Women's leaders and the killer cookbook they put together (and gave us credit for)--included is a recipe for the best peach pie.

A helpful resource

I know, I know. Two posts in less than a week about my Mormon feminist group, but what can I say? I love this group...

This week, Exponent II came out with its latest issue (which is now free!) about an important subject, pornography addiction. For those who aren't LDS, the Church has been talking a lot about the accesibility of porn on the Internet and how that has led to problems with members of the Church becoming addicted to porn. My friend, Heather (an EXII associate editor and one of the best writers I know) spent years putting together this issue, getting experts, working with people who deal with this.

I was going to email this issue out to friends and family, but then, I thought, "Oooh, I don't want people to think I'm sending this to them because I think they have a problem with porn." You know, that would be a little tacky.

I read it cover-to-cover in a night. Whether you're LDS or not, addicted to porn or not, this compilation is eye-opening and heartbreaking.

a bumper sticker for Nate

I posted an Exponent II classic on my Mormon feminist blog on Monday about the perfect Mormon woman, Patti Perfect.

One of our commentors mentioned that Patti still has many of the same responsibilities, but today's Paul Perfect helps out a lot more with those responsibilities. I don't think this just applies to Mormon men. I think the men of my generation are, for the most part, rather amazing at taking on their share of the housework and kiddo duties.

Now, I don't like to brag, but my husband does these things particularly well. And, while there are still some men who aren't as enlightened (Nate went to grad school with a guy who bragged about never having changed a diaper...not really something to brag about, buddy), I think they are few and far between.

Sometimes, I don't acknowledge Nate and his efforts enough. So, I thought, "How can I put off grading?" And, then, I thought, "What better way to thank Nate for all his accomodations than to come up with a really swell bumper sticker?"

Tah Dah...
Don't like the F-word? No problem...

I'm Stuck in the 1990's

Since I know most people come to the blog for pictures of the boys...

I post on another blog far more frequently than this one because I work with a fabulous group of Mormon feminists and have scheduled days to post. Usually, I try to write something high-minded for that blog, but I opened my Word doc to post this morning to find only about 1/3 of what I wrote had saved. So, I posted this instead.