Clubin'

Last night was once again my Live, Laugh, Love Club night. Oh how I look forward to it. It was my turn to host. I'll post once we reach November about the cutesy details.

This club night was over the top for me & my ladies. Our friend & fellow clubber, Georgia had a birthday. Our celebration was "belated". Georgia is a special kind of person. She is one of the most generous, nurturing, and kind people I've ever met. She will drop almost anything for a friend in need. She is always, always concerned about others feelings and needs. In fact, so much so, that is to a fault. She often neglects her own needs to care for others. She is a very strong woman. She cared for both of her parents while they fought cancer to no avail. Not long after losing both parents, and with a small child of her own, she received the dreadful diagnosis of breast cancer. She just reached her 5 years of survivorship.(Is that what it's called?)

Clearly, she was in need of over the top....Two of our gal pals went shopping. They selected 4 outfits, including shoes and handbags, for Georgia to try on. She got to pick the 1 that she loved to keep. We met at my home. Georgia thought she was coming early to our meeting to help me with some last minute touches. Instead, we surprised her with her make-over. She started with the clothes. She picked a fabulous outfit. We then had a hair stylist come & do her hair. Ashley, another friend and fellow clubber, was a make-up artist for a long time. She was equip with everything for a full on Hollywood Glam makeup session. After getting our dear friend all glitzed up, we took her to Roxy for a super yummy dinner and dessert.





The best part wasn't the food the laughs, the fun. It was how amazing I felt inside to see my friend feel so special. It is something that everyone should experience. We would all be better people and so much happier with our own lives if we were like my Friend, Georgia, and gave to others before worrying about ourselves.


Knowing her and her story has inspired me to look deep within myself and let go of what doesn't matter while holding tight to all that does. She has taught me that each day really is a gift. I'm blessed to wake up every day knowing I have my children to cuddle, my husband to love on, parents who encourage me and friends to share the ups and downs of life with, over a ton of food. (This may be a run-on.)

So, Cheers to Georgia, my LLL gals....and all the other amazing people in my life.

Temples & Shoes

On Friday night, Bruce tells me that Scott & Carol(his brother & sister-in-law) are going to the temple the next day to be sealed(translation:Married forever) Oh, how exciting right!?? Well, sure, at least it became that after I nailed down a babysitter...Bruce never thinks of these things.


I was the first out of the temple. I've been an Anderson long enough to know that you must keep moving along if you ever want to get anywhere. I thought I might lead the family onward...It took some time. So, while waiting, I was thinking about my Grandma Boone. I miss her still. I was missing my mom & wished she were there too. I took a picture of myself with the temple behind me and sent it to her. As my mind continued to wander I was overcome with gratitude. Not just for the obvious, family, God, a home. But for the seemingly small & simple things. Particularly, my shoes. I sat thinking how gorgeous my shoes were looking. I really wished I had my toenails in tip top shape for these shoes. I couldn't get over how much excitement I still felt for these shoes that I bought in June. It must be because they're red & heels. The peep toe helps too.
I started taking pictures of them to capture the moment.


The family finally made it out of the temple. We took a few more picture. Then my sweet mother-in-law asked me if I would show her all of the pictures I had been taking recently. Sure, I said. As I scrolled through, I realized I very well may be
narcissistic. She saw my shoe pictures. My many self taken portraits. Oh my. I've decided that it's good to enjoy one's self. It sure beats berating yourself(which is what I used to do), any day of the week. So, I will go on admiring my own shoes and good looks...just like the temple, it's good for my soul.

This is What's for Lunch!

This is my new favorite lunch...Try it!!

I eat it w/ grilled cheese or salad or sliced cheese or salami and cheese(Can you tell I love cheese!) It's great to dip your bread into....Yeah, I love bread, too!
Gotta go...Soup's ready!

It's 80's Night!!!

Let's be real...I was born in 1977. The 80's are not real memorable to me. I have a few fond memories actually. There was the winter day in Kindergarten, at Citrus Elementary in Chico. I stood up on a huge cement tunnel, alone, called all the boys over, and did a song and dance that went something like this; "Hey, Mickey, your so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, Hey, Mickey! Hey Mickey!" There was also the time I did a lip sync(well many really) to the Beastie Boys(among others) in my 4th grade class. And, of course, I wanted so badly to be a "Solid Gold Dancer". I love the show FAME...But that was about it....Oh, no...there was George Michael!!! Anyway, I was a kid. But, Saturday night, there was an 80's dance at our church. I had to support my husband...he's much older than me(born in 1971) and really remembers the 80's. So, off we went...and wouldn't you know it, we won the best costume/trivia prize!! It was a blast! I must say...

At the Farmers Market

Saturday AM, found me alone again...Bruce was working. Spencer had a soccer game that morning. But, we decided to leave early and stop at the farmers market that we love. We go to the one behind Country Club Plaza off of Butano & El Camino. It's nothing like the Thursday night Chico Market that is my all time fav(I love Chico!) but it is local and offers more than plenty for us.
(Notice the black reusable grocery bag on my shoulder!!I bought a bunch after being inspired by my eco-loving aunt & uncle in Beaverton)

My Hair

Today I went to my favorite stylist, Johnathon. I've been seeing him for almost 9 years. He understands my need for great hair. My self esteem is in my hair. I know this seems shallow. But, nonetheless, tis true. Johnathon is my oldest girlfriend. We listen to our old favorites together, today was Whitney Houston. We usually listen to old Madonna and our absolute favorite, George Michael. We both had posters of him in our bedrooms when we were young. I'm very loyal to him. (George and Johnathon) I'm so lucky to have a hair guy that knows how to make me SIZZLIN' HOT!

Knit Together in Love

Isn't that the old Mormon saying that warms our hearts. Well, it may be cheese to some, but it rings true in my home tonight.



Tonight I finally finished the 2 scarves I've been knitting. I started mine back when I was pregnant with Cameron. I knit more than half during my labor with him.(I was induced and had a wonderful epidural so I just kicked back and knit!) But, since having him I hadn't gotten around to knitting. So, my purple scarf that I was so excited about 2 years ago was tossed aside. I'm so happy that I've gotten it out. It looks fabulous. I did the one for Taylor last week and just had to bind off today. She's so excited about it. Now, I've started one for Cameron and will be doing one for Spencer shortly...Our hearts and our necks will feel the love that has been knit together by my crafty hands!

BTW, if you zoom in on the pic you may wonder if I'm tipsy...sorry, no bubbly for this girl. I'm just exhausted from a long day!

Ratatouille Stoup

Here's the recipe from my last post. It's from Rachael Ray's yum-o family cookbook.


3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 medium eggplant
2 small zucchini, diced
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with their juices
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb small cut whole wheat pasta(I used penne)
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
a few fresh basil leaves, torn or shredded

Heat the olive oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bell peppers, eggplant and zucchini. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, and thyme and cook until softened, about 7-8 minutes, stirring now and then. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Stir in the pasta and cook al dente. Stir in the parsley and basil, adjust the salt & pepper, and serve.

Serves 6

Another Great Weekend

Saturday was so fun! Bruce left the house in the middle of the night to go deer hunting. He also did an evening hunt so I was pretty well left on my own. The kids ran errands in the morning with me. They got new shoes. And we went grocery shopping. They were awesome through all of it. The Fall Festival at Spencer's school was that day. I worked the cake walk the first hour. Here's the cute cake we won:

After having lots of fun with the kids, we used up our leftover tickets and loaded my purse with popcorn and candy from the snack bar. We came home and made Ratatouille! Our plan was to rent the movie on pay per view too. But, once again, the kids lost the remote and we couldn't. Spencer loved the ratatouille. I used a Rachel Ray recipe for Ratatouille Stoup.



This is a great recipe if you need to use eggplant and disguise it. I had some from my produce delivery. Bruce and the kids refuse to eat it so this is how I tricked them! (Bruce ate some Sunday after church, and picked out everything but the zucchini)

Instead of watching the movie after our yummy stoup, we cuddled up on the couch to read some books from our fall/Halloween collection. I keep a basket under my sofa table with books for the current season or holidays.


Sunday we had a great time at church. Choir was cancelled which gave me time to actually do something with Taylor's hair. She looked so cute. The boys were darling too. I made them get their picture taken before loading into the car. Spencer was mad at me for not letting him take a piece of cake to church for a snack so he has the nasty face...you win some, you lose some.

I'm really looking forward to next weekend. I just love hanging out with my great kids.

Thank you!

I want to thank my 5 current followers. I started my blog simply as a way to release all of the random things that go through my mind and to find some balance. I've referred to it as my free therapy. I actually thought that I should keep it secret so that I could post any feelings or thoughts completely uncensored. We all know I'm no good at keeping such things secret. Going into it, I didn't realize how much I would look forward to others noising in on my life. When I receive a comment, it makes me feel so great. I love my 5 followers. You each have boosted my confidence and made me feel very special! Thank you for outing yourselves as my public snoops!

It's a Wonderful Life...

I have spent alot of time feeling alone or isolated emotionally. This afternoon I see how foolish I am. Friday after school, Bruce went hunting with a friend. I was actually happy to see him go because I started reading "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski. I like alot of alone time when I have stuff like that going on. I also was watching my friend's 2 kids while she & her hubby went out on a much needed date. I got no reading done that night since Cameron was at an all-time mischief high. By the time my friend picked up her kids my back was killing me from holding that sweet little newborn.(A reminder that I cannot handle having another child anytime soon)Bruce came home for a brief moment to show me the deer in the back of my car that his friend got. It was very exciting for us. He went over to his friend's house, where they cleaned & cut it up...

I slept great that night...Woke up in the morning to go to a very exciting soccer game for Spencer. The whole family went which made me so happy. Spencer's team lost as they seem to always do but they played better then they have before and it was quite fun to cheer them on. After the game, I took Taylor for a date w/ Mom. We went to my dear friend, Molly's home, for a yarn sale. OH MY!! Ladies, please learn to knit. It's so great. I feel so empowered while knitting. I'm creating this wonderful piece to warm and comfort someone I love and all the while armed with dangerous weaponry(THE NEEDLES AND YARN) If Bruce gives me any lip while I'm knitting, he could be a goner if wanted him to be. Anyhow, I got alot of fabulous threads for practically nothing. We went over to watch my sister, Stevie, play in a volleyball tourney and then we had lunch at El Palmar. One of my favorite things about my daughter is that she shares my love of beans and rice. Gotta love her. We met up with Bruce at Home Depot to get wood for the treehouse that Bruce and Spencer are building together. (Isn't that sweet!) I took a very short nap and did a little cleaning. Then Bruce took Spencer and went our for another hunt. I got a babysitter and went to dinner with my friend, Megan. Her hubby was hunting with Bruce. We had great food at California Pizza Kitchen. I was excited since Bruce never wants to eat there. I came home, put Tay & Cameron to bed and enjoyed my book until Bruce came home. It was late...but we got to talking and then we started reading a book "Rock Solid Relationships" by Wendy Watson together. I've read it before and liked it and mentioned that I thought it would be a good one to read together. He agreed so at midnight, we read.

Today I made pancakes with strawberries for breakfast, chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, and have a venison roast in the crockpot for dinner that will be served with winter squash and apple mash, and mixed greens. All from my Friday delivery. I've been watching the General Conference on TV that our chuch has twice a year. It was so great this time. I felt so much hope and comfort. As I watched I knit. Then Henry B. Eyring began talking about being knit together in unity. I was so inspired I finished one scarf and started another that is halfway done. I share all these boring details of my weekend only to say that I have so many wonderful things and wonderful people in my life. The things that are missing seem huge at times, but I have a great life without them so doesn't that speak volumes about how little I really need those things? I love my husband and my children. I have great parents. More brothers and sisters than I can keep track of. I love my filthy little home. I have great friends. It really is wonderful being me.

Happy Birthday Honey!

What a cute little guy!!

Bruce,

Here you are, turning the ripe old age of 37...I feel like I now can say I've grown up with you. I was only 20 when we met. I knew I wanted to marry you from the moment we had our first dance together. You impressed me with how quickly you opened up to me and shared feelings and things so personal with me. I was never able to do that. You put your hand on my back and sent me a-SHIVERING! Then, when you built that blazing fire in my living room on our first date....WOW! I would have eloped that night. You understand my struggles more than anyone. You do drive me crazy. We're sooo different in so many ways. I'm sure people that don't know us very well wonder how we ever got together. The truth that only we will ever really understand, is that we're almost one in the same. I love you so much. You've overcome so much in your life. You make us all crazy with all your talking but it is what I love so much about you too. I never in my life thought there was another person as insecure as me that could still talk as much as me. I love your chicken skuffle. I'm so happy to be married to you.

Happy Birthday,
Tanja

I LOVE watching you catch those fish!!

Look at those HUNKY back muscles. YUMMY!

Honestly...October has Arrived

It's the 1st of October, finally! I've many fun things to share. Last October, we took the kid to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland. This has become a beloved family tradition. It's so festive and quaint. You go and enjoy hot cider and pumpkin pie. The kids play on the many attractions. We take the train ride through the acres and acres of land. And, we pick pumpkins. Going back to last year, the kids each picked a small pumpkin to keep and then Bruce & I picked out a huge pumpkin for the whole family to enjoy. We went home, carved them up and had a great time. Little did we know, that sweet little Spencer, had some plans of his own to grow pumpkins the next year. Fast forward to a few months back...Bruce was out in the front yard and noticed a strange squash like sprout. We discovered that a pumpkin patch was growing. When we brought the kids out to see our discovery, Spencer said,"Um, yeah guys. Last year when you told me to throw away the pumpkin seeds I didn't. I planted them in the yard so we could grow pumpkins." He had that "you all are dummies" tone in his voice. So here we are...we have a wonderful pumpkin patch to enjoy. Now that October is here, we can pick them!Yeah!


My next October favorite has to do with my Live, Laugh, Love Club. Each month we have a value that correlates to the holiday in that month. October is Halloween. We wear costumes or disguises to have fun. However, in real life, we tend to wear similiar disguises without always realizing it. We may be dishonest or hide who we really are or how we really feel because it's uncomfortable or because of other fears. Hence, we teach the value of honesty in October. It is, of course, about not lying or stealing or cheating. It's also about being honest with ourselves and in our relationships. We do a take-home tradition each month. It's a little activity that becomes a family tradition but also aids in teaching the monthly value. We use these adorable pumpkins. You have 2 kinds. The happy face and the sad or "disgruntled" face. You have a discussion with the family about allowing each other to share our honest feelings, especially in situations that are difficult. It could be when you did something wrong and need to own up to it. It could be if your husband hurts your feelings and you're afraid of his reaction if you tell him. It could be that you have a hard time sharing intimate feeling vocally and you feel the need to tell a loved one how much they mean to you and need a little help. Whatever it is good or bad, you pick the pumpkin face appropriate for the situation. Give it to the person you need to be honest with. Receiving the pumpkin is the clear signal to sit down, open your heart and mind, and KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Give this person the respect and opportunity to share their honest feeling understanding that this is hard for them. You can put the pumpkins in a cute fall bowl or jar. It doesn't matter. We do this activity every October, all month long. Honestly communicating my feelings has been a struggle for me most of my life. It's one of the most important things for me to teach my children and so it is my favorite of all the months. Here are the cute pumpkins, this year made by my fellow Live, Laugh, Lover and friend, Molly.

Last, the project that we did as a group last night was so cute. We got the idea from our dear friend, Martha Stewart. They are clipboards, a cute system for decluttering and displaying those incidental papers...Misc. artwork, photos, lists, etc. I will be hanging mine in my kids bedroom. Presently, all 3 share a bedroom. So this will work out nicely. They are so simple to do. If I ever want to move them to a new home, I can easily cut and glue new paper to back them with so they will match any decor. Molly gets credit for these too. She was our lovely hostess last night. (The risotto was amazing, too!Thanks Molly!)

I wish all of you an October full of treasured family gatherings and traditions, great food galore, and a new resolve to always be HONEST! Much love to my friends and fam!

T-