Allergies?

I don't know why, but Kian has become obsessed with allergies.
For the last week he has asked me,
"Mom what am I allergic to?"
"Honey, you're not allergic to anything".
"Well, Vanessa is allergic to tomatoes"
"Yes, she is"
A couple of days later...
"Mom, I'm allergic to peanuts"

"What?! NO, you're not and don't say that out loud, people will FREAK out!" :-)
Last night as I was making dinner he wants to paint his toe nails because if they are shiny he will have good luck. OK, whatever... As I was busy I was a little distracted so he decided to really get my attention...
"Mom, guess what I'm allergic to????  Feet!"

"What?!"
"Yep, I'm allergic to feet", he said with a nod.
Today, the cream soda made his nose itch and tickle so he thought he must be allergic to that.
Tonight he asked me to scratch his back and as the itch traveled all over and he became itchier he said'
"Wow, I'm itchy all over. Maybe I'm allergic to YOU!!"
Oh good grief...

25th Anniversary or 29th Birthday?!

 If you are on Facebook I apologize for bringing up the subject again...but I can become a woman obsessed. For a long time I have wanted a white gold or platinum ring. My wedding ring is gold, but once I started making my own jewelry I have been wearing a lot of silver so I thought it would be fun to have one I could wear with silver.  I know, fairly self-indulgent, but there you go.
I mentioned to Doug that there was a sapphire ring at Macy's that I liked and I showed it to him and he was like,
"Really? You like that?"
Hey, yes I do, what's wrong with it??
Vanessa says, "You should get it now, there is a HUGE sale".
Doug was in a generous mood and said I should go ahead and try it on.

I did and I loved it!! It looked so beautiful and not as glam-wow as you would think. He liked it too, until he saw the price :-)
But Vanessa's co-worker gave me the lowdown on the SALE and it was pretty impressive.  I tried on a few more sapphires to be sure.
Then the helpful co-worker, after commenting on how nice it is to help shoppers who have good taste, decided to share his favorite ring in the case right now...

                      S--H--A--Z--A--M!!!!

It is one and a half carats of diamonds...Chocolate diamonds!! The two things I love the best...Yummy! It looks huge, but on my hand it looked perfect.
Now my quandary is that they are nearly identical in price so do I choose my birthstone in the kind of medieval style I love or do I choose the delicious and different chocolate...I do wear a lot of brown. But it is more modern.
So by posting the pictures here I can see them side by side and try to decide which one I would choose if
Doug decides to splurge on me for one of the upcoming special days...And if it were nestled in a box of these--

So much the better :-D
 Now you know my Love Language is GIFTS, oh and CHOCOLATE!
Oh well...

My DREAM...

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to live in San Fransisco OR Italy...

Since I read Under The Tuscan Sun I have dreamed of combing my TWO loves--Italy and restoring an old house.

So here it is in the flesh...my house in Umbria and my dream to renovate will now color all my thoughts.

fontepiccola

I imagine making a large kitchen with beautiful views and a huge wood table that all our family and friends can eat at together. The water is fresh, the rooms are white and light and airy and the stars in evening have no rivals. I can even imagine how the air smells and how it feels on my skin. There would be a pool in the yard and the barn would be used as a guest house. Our kids and grand-kids would come to visit us and we would spend lovely days playing by the pool and relaxing in the olive grove.

Maybe it's too much Househunters International, but everyone needs a dream and a life-change has to start some where, right?

So this is mine...Bella Noce!

Happy Birthday Grams!!

It's my Gramma's birthday...she is awesome and I love her to pieces.  She is 87 today!

This is me and my Grams and Grandpa in September 2009

Here are 4 generations of the Hansen genes...July 1988

Happy Birthday, Oma

We love you!

Where Have I Been?

Obviously it has been months since I have posted and actually, a lot has been going on. At first I was just lazy and then our computer was acting up and I didn't want to post without being able to use pictures and then I kind of forgot about it...for awhile.

Now I have a new computer and I was afraid to try to learn how to get the photos, but I am going to give it a whirl...

One of the big days gone by is--

February 26

First it was Yellow belt test day in karate. The Dojo was packed, but the kids did great and Kian got his yellow belt! There is an actual ceremony for changing your belt and it was quite interesting and we were SO excited!

We went to Pirate Island after to celebrate. It is a really cool pizza place that had good pizza, waiters dressed like Jack Sparrow and great entertainment.

Calah got a baloon parrot and looked a lot like a true pirate which was good because she was trying to get a date with our Captain jack waiter...I even wrote her name and number on our reciept, but alas, he never called...Just like a pirate not to call!

Later that same night Kian lost his first tooth!  We only discovered that it was loose a couple of days before and he was terrified that it would come out in his sleep and he would swallow it. So he decided to let Vanessa pull it out and it took a nanosecond and hardly bled at all.

The next thing that happened is that his composition was chosen by the Rock Canyon PTA as First Place winner for kindergarten!  He got to read his essay at Barnes and Noble in Orem. He was the very first one to do it too and when he got done he came running back to me and said,
"Mom! I wasn't even nervous!!"

My Romantic Weekend in St. George

Doug came home from work Thursday night and asked if I wanted to go on his business trip to St. George with him the next day.
First of all I have to say what progress this is because for years I would ask and he would say, "What would you do all day while I'm in meetings?" I know, right?!
So he now gets that I will of course SLEEP or READ while he is in meetings, duh!
After running through all the reasons why a responsible Mother and church member does not just up and leave her life for the weekend, I say OK let's go!
We leave bright and early Friday morning and arrive in beautiful St George, Utah. Doug goes to his meeting and I read The Actor and the Housewife like a crazy woman for about an hour and a half (this book really sucked me in and I loved it!) then I take a nap.
I wake up feeling kind of "pukey". I take a shower and feel somewhat better.
We get dressed and go out to dinner! YES! Really! Out to dinner!
After dinner I feel "pukey".
I take it easy and read until 2:00 am.
I sleep until (I'm afraid to say it...) about 2:00 pm. Those black out curtains are dangerous. I get up and feel, yep...
We have a low key dinner out, but I am feeling OK after I get my mashed potatoes from Village Inn. I finish my book--didn't love the ending so I made up my own--and went to sleep. Sunday morning I was SO pukey that we had to pull over in a parking lot and then had to stay another night because I couldn't ride in the car.
I virtually was in and out of sleep all day Sunday and then slept all night after asking Doug for a blessing. We were able to make it home Monday and I had moments of feeling pretty good then longer moments of feeling gross again.
Today I feel pretty good. Not 100% but maybe 80%
Needless to say Romance went out the window...so much for our first trip away alone in FOREVER!!
Kind of reminds me of my honeymoon...Sorry Babe, I'm just not a great traveler I guess...SO depressing.

More Holiness Give Me

We sang this today in Relief Society and the words really spoke to me...

More holiness give me, more strivings within,
More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin,
More faith in my Savior, more sense of his care,
More joy in his service, more purpose in prayer.
More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory, more hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows, more pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.
More purity give me, more strength to o'er-come,
More freedom from earth stains, more longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom, more used would I be,
More blessed and holy--More, Savior like thee.

If I believed in scripted prayers or if I thought a mantra would help, these would be my words.
I love the Lord and His son Jesus Christ. I am not ashamed and I feel every word of this hymn in my very soul. He is my redeemer and our Father's plan is meant for us to find true happiness and spend eternity with Him, His son and our families.