I drove out to a friend's house today to finish painting a design on her daughter's wall. (A Mary Engelbreit clock- Super cute!) She lives way the shmack out in Queen Creek. Long drive for moi. So I'm driving along, listening to Ender's Game on disc, mosying through the neighborhood when

POP! goes the engine.

Steam starts oozing from under the hood.

Car is still running... but clearly, something is wrong.

Once I'm pulled over, I open up the hood to see if maybe my radiator cap blew or something like that. I'm a girl. I know next to nothing about cars.

And I find this:

Blown radiator hose. Pretty ugly. According to the man at Pep Boys, this hose was "older than Moses" and something or other.

So we're going to go fix it now.

Pep Boys man also concerned I may break a nail. Hmph.

Final bit of Hero's Heroes

You people are probably exceedingly bored of hearing about people I want to be like. So this is the last one.
The Prophet Alma.
Sorry, I don't have a picture. I don't know what he looks like.

He started out the vilest of sinners, then found redemption through his father's teachings of Jesus Christ. After sore repentance and sweet forgiveness, he dedicated his entire life to bringing more souls to the knowledge of our Savior.

So many of the words of Alma have been an inspiration to me, as well as his . example of faith, humility, and dedication.

Alma is definitely one of my heroes.

Okay, Nephi and Moroni too.

"All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them."

Here I am at Disneyland on my honeymoon two and a half years ago. I am sitting in front of the statue of one of my heroes, Mickey Mouse. No, just kidding, Walt Disney.

Here is the man who built an empire from nothing. The man who wanted to inspire the world by simply creating characters and places that would enrich imagination and bring a little enchantment into our mediocre lives.

People who start with nothing then make their dreams come true and become a success through hard work are people I truly admire. They may not be on my Hero list, but they are still heroes.

Hero's Heroes Part 3

This man, Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, is one of my heroes and someone I hope to meet someday in the next life. He was a brilliant poet and constructor of worlds, a highly educated and Christian man, and someone I look up to as a writer. Tolkien, for those of you who are unaware, is the author of one of the greatest.... no, I'm sorry, THE greatest fantasy novel series of all time: Lord of the Rings.

Oh, and he hand his wife Edith have the sweetest love story! It would make the greatest chick-flick. I'd go into it, but it's kind of a long story so you'll just have to read about it yourself.

Three years ago, I got to sit and write with my buddies where Tolkien used to sit and write with his buddies; the Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford, England minus the tobacco pipes and beer. I hoped it would be good luck.

So, Professor Tolkien, I shall tip my hat to you. Or my pen.

Hero's Heroes, Part 2

Please forgive me if I sound irreverent, but I have to give a shout-out to this guy. I love his stories, I love his council, I love the love he has for the people of the church and all the world, and I love his powerful testimony of the gospel. I hold him in the highest regard. He is one of the most honorable men of the modern age, like his predecessor Gordon B. Hinckley. Therefore, he is one of my heroes.

Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Hero's Heroes Part One

Hero is a nickname of mine. Never really caught on.

A couple definitions of hero are one that shows great courage and the object of extreme admiration and devotion.

In addition, Hero's Heroes are people who have influenced my life in a significant way and people who have been an inspiration to me.
I have a couple of those. I've decided to do a series of posts dedicated to my heroes. This first one is dedicated to Hero's Ultimate Heroes.

Where would any of us be without this Hero? He's my ultimate Hero because of all He's done for me; His atonement, His mercy, His compassion, and His example.

My second Hero is the love of my life, my eternal companion, one of the hardest workers I know, and my best friend! and in December, an ASU graduate!

The third in the Ultimate Heroes come in a pair. Here's to you Mom and Dad. You are my Heroes because you survived raising me. And because you're both awesome.

If you didn't make the Ultimate Heroes list, better luck next time. Just kidding. I love you all.

Baintings

Sorry, I couldn't resist throwing in a little inside joke that is so not funny unless you're me or my friends Cammie and Rogue.

"Baintings" comes from our making fun of Drew Barrymore on Ever After and the English accent she completely butchers in the film. In a few instances of her abysmal attempts at the accent, she said her p's like b's and we think it's pretty funny. Hence, the word "baintings."

I love to paint. I use acrylic and I mainly do pictures of animated characters, simply because for me, they turn out the best. Here's one of the pictures I've done that I'm rather proud of. It's a map of all the Disney Princess castles.

See if you can guess who lives where. Oh, and sorry about the time in the lower right-hand corner. Such a blemish. That's from the camera, not the painting.

I've wanted to sell this to Disney to get a poster made from it, but when I took a photograph of the painting to the "Happiest Place on Earth" during "The Year of a Million Dreams," I just got a runaround.

So I'll just have to enjoy it on my own. And with all of you, my loyal readers. All two of you. :) or three. And a half. Maybe. I dunno.

Love you guys! I'll post more paintings later. I'm working on one of Hogwarts castle right now.

How to get motiva....zzzz

HELP!
I want to write. I need to write. I have all this stuff swirling pell-mell in my brain, knocking on the corners of my cerebellum (is that where creativity comes from? hm..) screaming 'let me out! let me out!'

Can't.... do.... it.....

I need motivation. What does everyone else do to get motivated? Any secrets? Any yoga positions, special foodie substances, chants, dances, or other sweet tricks that help you get your rear in gear?

The Tee-Shirt Contest I should have won

About three years ago I went to England and absolutely fell in love with the place. A while later, a contest held by the same people who advertised, promoted, and/or owned the tour company I traveled with held a contest to design a tee-shirt for one of their next Harry Potter-themed tours to England.

The Grand Prize.... of course, a free trip.


Naturally, I couldn't pass it up.


Alas, my selfish desire to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip twice was not granted. But here's the tee-shirt design I came up with.

It's difficult to see, but on the front it says "Magical Tours" with a picture of Harry Potter over it. On the back it says "Team Rowling" in the Harry Potter font. Beneath the title says:

"the spell-book reading, wand-waving, broomstick riding, charm casting, hippogriff taming, phoenix befriending, snitch-seeking, bludger-dodging, quaffle-scoring, Dursley despising, potion brewing, portkey traveling, galleon spending, dark wizard catching, horcrux hunting, butterbeer drinking, Weasely-is-our-King singing, Hogsmeade visiting, Potter loving, crazy, happy fools."

I shoulda won.

Oh, and P.S... the wand isn't really making that light. It's a handy photoshop feature called lensflare. he he he. adds a nice touch, doesn't it?

I love cereal

There are a few things in life that really make you feel like a champ:

1. Getting an infant to fall asleep in your arms.
2. Finishing a daunting task like remodeling your house or writing a book.
3. Looking at the reciept at the grocery store and seeing your total savings equal more than twice what you paid.

Albertsons has cereal (the big boxes!) 3 for 5$. I bought six boxes. They also have yogurt 10 for 4$ if you buy 10. I bought fifty. No, just kidding, I only bought ten.
I also had coupons. Lots of coupons. From coupons.com
I paid 11.25 and saved 28-something.

ahem....

WAHOO!!!!!