Olivia's dance

Olivia was doing this weird dance for a few weeks where she would stick her butt out to the side and follow with the rest of her body. It was quite entertaining. Here is a small video that my f-i-l got.

We went to St. George last weekend and it was so much fun. I have been terrible with downloading photos from my camera. On top of that it seems like spring time has a huge list of things to do and I keep getting more behind as time passes.

Juggling responsibilities

I am guilty of wanting to do too much. My husband and his family are really into politics and I think it is great. I have this desire to know what is going on and try to make a difference. I wish I had time to listen to talk radio and read all these great books on Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and the Constitution. But I have to pick and choose what I spend my time on. I am guilty of not being fully aware/educated on the politic issues but I am slowly learning. Slowly.

My main goal right now is building up my food storage and getting our 72 hour emergency kits together. I decided to move this up ahead of paying off Mike's school loan. One of my main reasons is if I can buy food now it locks in the price of food at a lower cost. Inflation is happening and when times are bad we can't eat our money. So I look at my food storage as a financial investment.

Pictures from last summer

Here are some pictures of Olivia from last summer that I found on my father-in-laws computer. She was 10 months and she just looks so itty bitty to me. Now she has a ton of hair and mouth full of teeth.

Politics

So we spent a good part of Sunday watching CSPAN and the debate on healthcare reform and many of you probably already know that it passed. It is disappointing but I am not surprised. So I decided that I should blog about my politic views a bit more. It could be controversial but it could be educational and eye opening for those who read my blog.

Interested in the Utah 9/12 project, check out their website: http://utah912.ning.com/

Something that bothered me that I heard on talk radio is the President going around and showing his support and promoting the democratic candidates across the United States. Here are my questions: Aren't we suppose to vote for candidates that have similar values and ideas so they can represent us? Are we only going to vote for the candidate that the President supports?

People need to start voting in candidates that represents their values and serves as a voice for them and their community. The caucus elections are tomorrow on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. Check out this info provided by USU about being involved in the caucus: http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=44317

If you aren't happy with what has been happening in the government, I encourage everyone to get educated and get involved. Being unaware, ignorant, indecisive or negligent does not make you immune to the aftermath of the decisions being made. It may not be today or tomorrow but it will affect you.

New Diaper Bag

I have been so busy but I thought I would sneak this post in. I didn't get my diaper bag on eBay unfortunately. So I decided to save my moolah to buy one for $150. That was going to be many many foot zones later which is my side job. I got impatient and did some more research and found one for half the price.

Here is my new diaper bag:



Here is Olivia riding in the diaper bag:

Diapers.com

I ordered diapers from this online website and they were super speedy. I thought some of you might be interested. They offer both cloth and disposable. If you use this referral code: SAND4956 You can save $10 on your first order.

Debt. What a bummer!

The good news is I made my last payment for my student loan. That is relieving. Unfortunately we have a huge student loan for Mike. My goal is to pay it off by the end of the year. Oh looking back we shouldn't have taken the money. We could have scrapped up the funds to pay tuition, fees and books. Oh well! What's done is done and now it is history.

I am really trying this snowball debt thing and eventually we want to buy a house. Sometimes it can be so overwhelming. Payments, fees or something always seem to creep up here and there. And my bad choice is to use the credit card and the next thing I know I get the credit card statement and I think "Crap! How did it get so high?" Sometimes it makes me feel like a big failure. I did find this article that made me feel much better: The Myth of Monthly Payments.

Everyone makes mistakes and hopefully we learn from them. I just have to keep my eye on the goal.

LOTR

If you know what that abbreviation is then you are a nerd just like me and Mike. I watch Lord of the Rings all of the time and I have noticed that Olivia loves to watch it too. Her favorite character is Gollum. I don't know if it is his voice or how he looks but she is always captivated by him when he appears. I just thought it was a funny thing about her.

Diaper bag

I have a diaper bag that works great but sometimes I wish I had something a little more stylish or larger. Using cloth diapers takes a lot more room than disposable. Plus I like to over pack for Olivia especially on long car trips i.e. clothes, toys, snacks And one day we will have more kids. So even though I love our diaper bag now and it works awesome for hikes I wouldn't mind getting another one. I figured that if Mike and I actually have four kids like we hope that I would be carrying a diaper bag for the next 7-10 years. I would love to get something like this:



Or this:



But they are way out of my price range so I thought I could settle for something not as pricey but from the same maker. This brand gets awesome reviews on durability, practicality, style and function. I looked at amazon and overstock but I found one on ebay and I am watching it closely. The auction doesn't end for another week and I might be able to get it for a fifth of the retail price. Wish me luck.