Dieting? I try to forget.

My first pregnancy totally freaked me out.

freak-out: verb- overwhelmed, scared, overjoyed, in love, concerned, anxiety, hopeful, tearful, out of control, submissiveness, getting fat

Yeah, it’s that last part that threw me for a loop.

Before I had children, I was an active runner, hiker, diver, tennis player, swimmer and overall hyper person.

I was a nanny for ten years before I had children. I was the nanny who jumped on the trampoline, chased and was chased, played horse, climbed trees, pulled wagons, played tag and roller-bladed. I loved it all and never for a moment thought “Hey, I’m in great shape.” I just played with all my heart. I loved my little chick-a-dee assignments.

So, when the counselor and I married and decided to have our first baby, I didn’t think how pregnancy would affect me physically. I wanted a baby more then anything.

I found out I was pregnant with my first child on Earth Day 1999. This date was a sign to me that I was having a very special child, a child that would love the earth.

I threw up the first 4 months. I didn’t run, hike, dive, pick up a tennis racket, swim or do anything hyper. I couldn’t. My body forced me to slow down.

This “slowing down” is still one of the biggest challenges of pregnancy, but somehow, I’ve adjusted. I’ve learned what my body can handle and what pushes it say; into pre-term labor.

This right here is a questionable, but necessary.

The ceiling fan was literally dropping dust every time I turn it on. How can I live like that?

Last night I read the sweetest and most sincere blog about this very topic. My friend, Angela Henrie, mother of 8, is taking charge of the last part of my “freak out” definition. She wants to take off the weight of having all her babies.

I am so impressed.

The thing is, she isn’t trying to impress anyone. She is so real and down to earth it leaves me feeling like I’ve just read my own journal entry about my own weight loss goals. She’s doing her best to slim down & get back to her dream of being a ballerina. You can read her darling blog, The Ballerina Project here.

It’s so wonderful and I am cheering for her ultimate success.

I was at Walgreens last night buying jelly beans (hey, I don’t have to diet just yet) and I purchased the latest SELF magazine.

Why?

Because the cover features Hayden Panettiere.

This girl has sweet significance to me because if I were to cast an actress to play the lead role in my novel Colors of the Sea, it would be her.

She’s darling, famous and a major ocean lover.

She’d do justice for my character, Winona Ray.

It’s funny though, because with all this young lady has accomplished, the interview is on dieting.

UGH!

Are you kidding me? I know as a nation we are obsessed with this our bodies, but somehow it doesn’t seem to do her and her cause of saving the sea justice.

So, I open my bag of jelly beans and read through Hayden’s diet tips. I’ll be applying them soon enough, just not today.

Kitchen Remodel

Since so many of you asked (okay, maybe only 2 of you) and my current project is a craftastrophe here are the complete pictures of our kitchen. I'll admit I didn't want to spit shine the kichen at 10:00pm last night, so these pictures are from a few years ago- surprisingly there haven't been many changes. Lots of questions about whether black granite is a pain- no, totally worth it. You do have to keep it wiped down, but I love the look.

This country kitchen sign is no longer hanging above the stove- when I saw this picture I couldn't believe how out of scale it was for that area. One of my favorite features of the new kitchen are my Wolf range and my pot filler. This is a faucet we use to fill our spaghetti pots with water- it was a little bit of a splurge, but completely worth it.

I had dreamed for years about having an apron front sink- and I'm not disappointed. It's big and deep and I love the look.

I had these window shelves made by a great handyman- $50 each- I thought that was a steal. Also, the dishwasher is concealed behind the fake drawer/cupboard panel to the right of the sink.

The beadboard is also a favorite

This is where I put the pottery barn knock off clock- but it didn't last the weekend. I missed my antique window so the clock was moved to the TV room. The Fresh Baked Pies sign is now over the range (I thought it looked funny when I saw this picture)

Here's the overall again. I had the island custom made- I love using the butcher block countertop to make bread. The Roosters on the cupboards were purchased at Michaels for $1 and then I just handpainted them.

Hope you liked the kitchen tour- a special thank you to my friend Jenny, who gave me the idea to post these pics-Have a great weekend. Hope to see you at the Garrett Tanner Charity sale and the Fraser Swap. Love, Kelly

Refridgerator Doors Gone Country

When Mr. Right and I first got married our home was blessed with family hand me downs. We had a sofa from my parents, a kitchen table from his Grandmother and a chair from my Grandmother. When it came time to buy our first piece of furniture (A side table to hold a fish tank) Mr. Right asked, "What kind of wood do you like" I quickly replied, "Oak" He wasn't quite sure if his favorite was oak, but before long we had a little round oak table underneath a hexigon fish tank. A year later, we moved from our apartment into our first home. We now had a "living room" and Mr. Right had gone from working at a feed store, his uncle owned, to starting his career. It was now time to buy "real furniture". The first thing Mr. Right said was, "I'm not sure I'm all that into the look of oak." I thought about that and realized I wasn't really into the look of Oak either- my parents were into Oak. Is that why I so quickly selected Oak as my first furniture purchase? After Mr. Right and I visited numerous furniture stores, trying to figure out OUR style, it became clear that we were both drawn to Victorian furniture. We purchased two wingback chairs and a camelback sofa with carved queen anne legs. Over the next 8 years or so, we collected antiques and added to our decor. However, with the addition of a few children I found my decorating style changing. I wanted a kid friendly, warm, comfortable look. So, before I knew it my kitchen and family room became Country. Over the years I feel I have fine tuned my style- it ranges from primitive country to Old World. A few years ago we were remodeling our kitchen. I knew I wanted it to reflect a primitive country feel, so I got out the graph paper and began my design. When remodeling, I chose to redo my cabinets myself so I could save enough money to afford amazing appliances- a Sub Zero Refridgerator and Freezer to be exact. I knew I wanted separate units that were built in and could be covered with a panel to match my cupboards. After lots of differnt designs, I decided I wanted to make my sub zeros look like barn doors. I had a designer friend go over my plans to see what she thought, "Barn Doors? I thinks that's a little much. And wood flooring in the kitchen? Not a good idea" As you can see, I didn't follow any of her advice. Here's my barn doors, proudly resting upon my wood floors (and the floors, by the way, are OAK- you can't completely change the way you were brought up)

These were actually built by a handyman we had doing some of our work. They're just plywood panels, trimmed out. I found the hardware online for less than $50 (wish I could remember the company)
I guess my point in posting this long winded, barn door, show and tell, is to encourage you to follow your heart with your decorating. Though styles will change, if you always go with what you love, your home will reflect a warm, inviting atmosphere. Don't let someone else tell you what does or doesn't look good- You're the one who lives with it. My other advice... buy things cheap. When you tire of your current decor, you won't feel stuck. You can just sell it on craigslist and move to your new style. Hope you've enjoyed my refridgerator doors as much as I have. Love, Kelly

Linking up to:

Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Payson Rocks

Everyday on his way to school, Payson walks by a house with a rock yard.

He usually stops and admires the variety or rocks, wondering which have crystals or diamonds inside. He’ll hold them up to the sun and watch them sparkle. He loves rocks, but he especially loves these rocks, I think because they are so accessible. Most days he begs “Mom, can I please bring this one home.”

He holds up a rock, certain this one is the treasure.

I remind him they are not our rocks and if he took some home everyday, there’d be no more rocks in our neighbor’s yard.

This type of rational thinking does not go over well with a 7 year old boy holding a rock he really wants.

Last week, this situation took a drastic turn. It turned to tears.

“Why are you crying,” I ask Payson when he walks in the front door after school.

“I wish I could have those rocks,” he says.

Sometimes a mother has to take matters into her own hands.

“You want rocks?” I say, sounding like a military sergeant determined to win a war, “Then rocks you will have.”

I pile 5 kids, one dog and a huge box into the car and off we drive to the gorgeous desert of Lehi, Arizona. It takes all of 5 minutes to get there, but before our eyes is a desert full of rocks.

Rocks for Payson to discover.

My little hunter and gatherer, bringing home his treasured rocks.

Now the rocks sit in our front yard and everyday he breaks several open with a hammer. He runs inside to show me the sparkles inside his rocks, but I just see the sparkle in his eyes. I love you, buddy.

The Big Challenge! Week 2

Here we are, Week 2 of The Big Challenge! If you don't know what The Big Challenge is you can read about it here. I'm SLOWLY working toward that $4,000 by June 1st. This week I listed 35 items on ebay- 13 of those sold as well as 7 items from last week that were relisted at .99. Here are some of my top sellers:

Coldwater Creek denim skirt: 12.00Ralph Lauren Women's size 14 jacket: 9.99Lane Bryant size 18/20 hot pink top: 9.57.

One of my disappointments:

Cute Calvin Klein denim dress... .99 (I really thought this one would go higher) And the wild card of the week...

Max & Mable New with tags (original price 162.00) 100% silk skirt. Result...

Did not sell! So disappointing. But as Laura's says, it's the law of averages. So I will continue to list as many good quality items I can find to get my Family to Disney World. This next week I have a great line up for Craigslist- keep your fingers crossed for me. Love, Kelly

Ebay Profits: This week: 156.91 Challenge Total: 216.93

Craigslist Profits: This week 0 Challenge Total: 20.00

This weeks Costs: -35.00 (clothes) -38.99 (ebay fees- OUCH!) Total Costs: -98.99

Total Profits: 137.94

Marital Conflicts and My EBay Disappointments of the Week

The counselor and I have three distinct conflicts in our marriage. I don't mind sharing, because I'm willing to change at least one of them.

First, he is a University of Arizona graduate and totally nuts, like practically religious about his college.

I, on the other hand, am an Arizona State graduate. I remain calm and in control when I drive past the campus or hear the ASU fight song.

I don’t sing my University fight song as a lullaby to our babies the first day they’re born the way the counselor does. I rarely wear ASU t-shirts or clothing. I’m way too mature for silly things like that, but hey, that’s what a great education gets you. The counselor on the other hand is usually decked out in some sort of U of A jersey or sweatshirt (most likely something I picked up at $1.00 day at Goodwill). You might be thinking “What’s the problem, Laura?”

The marital conflict arises when he rubs in a U of A win over ASU, say in basketball or football. Honestly, I don’t care who wins, but if he pushes it enough, I fight back with a whammy. Something like “Who really cares?”

Yeah . . . I’m that mean.

And he might say something like “You’re just jealous because ASU lost.”

Then we kiss and make up.

The wildcat and sun devil live happily ever after.

Our second conflict has lightened up over the years, but can still be a source of contention. The problem is cookies.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

I make them often, like every day. My home has a revolving door. I have company all day long, children, friends, family, neighbors and I love to hand out cookies. How can I have a guest in my home and not have something to share? So the conflict comes in two fold. First of all, I rarely have cookies left by the time the counselor arrives home later in the day. He sees the empty baking bowl where amazing fluffy dough once was. He’s a witness to the dirty cookie sheet, but the cookies. Where are they? All gone! Given away to loved ones. Sorry, honey. But when I do have cookies left for him, he likes them chewy. I tend to overcook things in general (probably because I’m chasing a naked kid down the street or something like that), so my cookies usually turn out crunchy. I’m trying honey, and I’ll get it right. Just stick with me for another 12 years and you’ll get your chewy cookies.

So with all this going on, what could possibly be the third marital conflict that burdens are usual happy hearts? It’s EBay! This conflict is a matter of poor organization on my part. I’ve been doing EBay for 6 years now. I have almost 4,000 positive feedbacks and close to 10,000 sales. My problem is storage. Where in the world do I keep all these clothes (name-brand, I might add)? Well, much to the counselor’s dissatisfaction, I’ve kept them in a pile in the back of our bedroom.

How did this all start? I live in a house with mostly tile, except for our bedroom. The last thing I want to do before I take my EBay pictures for the week is sweep and mop a clean corner of the home, so I simply vacuum our bedroom carpet and take the pictures in there. At this point, clothes (super cute & name-brand, mind you) are all over the room and taking up space. The mess freaks the counselor out.

I remind him that I make money doing this; that it’s all for a good cause and I’ll have it cleaned up in no time. But the reality is that EBay pile has been sitting there for almost year. I filter out the old and bring in the new, but the pile remains in the corner.

Now, the counselor is a patient man. He didn’t complain when I accidently shipped his expensive camera to a friend of mine in Utah (I thought it was hers). He didn’t get upset when I spilled an entire bucket of yellow paint on our newly tiled floor. Actually, I was the one who cried while I watched him clean it up. And he certainly was understanding when I ate the meal he ordered at Costa Vita instead of mine (I loved your chicken nachos with mango salsa, thanks honey). So, I have finally taken his complaint to heart. I vow to clean up the EBay pile in our bedroom and move it out to the garage.

This I do for love, for marriage, for happiness.

Now, if I can just find a place in the garage.

My EBay disappointments of the week would fit perfectly here, wouldn’t they? So, let’s do it!

I found this gorgeous just dry-cleaned and pressed Northern Isle Men's XXL Blue dress shirt at Goodwill on $1.00 day.

Of course, it was for the counselor, but when he tried it on, he noticed one distinct problem.

The counselor does not for see working at Thrifty anytime soon, so this one is going back to Goodwill.

You may remember my good luck with this US Army military vest. I found it at a yard sale and paid $1.00 for it. Later, it sold on EBay for $9.99.

So, I thought I'd try this military jacket on EBay, certain it'd be a huge hit. I've posted it three weeks in a row and it finally sold for $7.99. Between the $1.00 I paid for the jacket, my EBay & paypal fees and overall annoyance, I'm certain I barely broke even.

These Gap Size 16 NWT pants sold for $9.99. They are really lovely and I shipped them right away. So why did I receive dissatisfactory feeback?

The customer didn't like the color. I wonder why she didn't consider the color when she looked at the picture and decided to purchase them?

Lastly, I've found amazing blazers throughout the years, but for some reason they don't sell well on EBay. Sure, it can be hit and miss, but overall, I think woman like to try blazers on before purchasing them. Or maybe they are looking for a perfect match for the business suit. Either way, this lot of 2 beautiful Ann Taylor blazers haven't for two weeks straight, even at $9.99.

I already have two huge bags of clothes to donate to the Garrett Tanner Benefit Yard Sale. Hope to see you and your donations there this Saturday.

Janette Rallison - Young Adult Author

Janette Rallison smiles like she’s up to something special and she is. She’s the author of 16 books and counting.

Currently, she’s working on the sequel to her hit novel My Fair Godmother. She’s sold over 900,000 books and is signed with Putnam New York and Walker Books for Young Readers. Her books are fun, romantic and clean, something that isn’t easy to find in today’s Young Adult market. One of the things I most admire about Janette is she gives back to the writing community. She helps a lot of first time authors with editorial advice and encouragement. I had the chance to meet Janette several years ago at the Arizona Night Writers Association Conference and we’ve been friends ever since. She’s graciously accepted my invitation to be interviewed. Thanks, Janette.

1. As a young girl, you loved reading romantic fiction. Why? When did you realize you wanted to write romantic fiction?

There is probably some deep psychological reason why women love romance. I'm not sure what it is. I just know a story is always better if there is some hot brooding guy who adores me--er, I mean, who adores the heroine that I vicariously live through. So almost all of my books have involved romance to some degree. When I taught a general fiction class at BYU two years ago, I found that I kept telling the students to add romantic angles to their stories. Maybe BYU noticed it too because the next year they asked me to teach the romance class.

2. You write romance for young adults and tweens. Why this genre?

The problem with the national romance market right now is that the books are either hot (waaay too much information about the characters' sex lives) or inspirational (hardly any romance and the characters wander through the story quoting scriptures to each other). YA romance doesn't have to be either of these. Plus I write comedy and teenagers are just naturally funny. They can't help it.

3. You write with a lot of humor. Does this help with the writing process? When working on a manuscript, do you ever laugh out loud?

Writing humor is hard so it actually slows down my writing process quite a bit. I have one book in the works with hardly any humor (it's more suspense/action) and I can't believe how fast I wrote the first hundred pages. It's a lot easier to kill people than to make them laugh. As far as laughing out loud while I've written something, yes, actually I've done that a few times. I always know a scene is really funny if I laugh when I write it.

4. What’s the darkest/saddest scene you’ve ever written?

Just One Wish has several sad scenes because the main character's little brother has cancer.

I cried when I researched them, when I wrote them, and every time I went through a revision. I think I would be a mess if I had to write too many sad scenes. I don't write a lot of dark scenes but in the sequel to My Fair Godmother, there is a scene with Rumpelstiltskin that is darker than my usual stuff. But hey, he's a creepy fairy who wants to kill babies. How can that not be dark? I don't write the fairy tales--I just steal shamelessly from them.

5. What’s the funniest scene you’ve ever written?

I laughed out loud when I wrote the Snow White scenes in My Fair Godmother. I love the fact that the dwarves are the smart ones and Snow White is actually a raging idiot. I also laughed out loud during the first scene of Fame, Glory, and Other Things On My To Do List and during the scene when things go wrong during their play.

If you've ever been in drama, you need to read that book. Drama people know exactly how it feels when things go off course in the middle of a play and you’re stuck onstage dealing with it.

6. What’s the most romantic scene you’ve ever written?

Everyone will probably have a different opinion on that. I developed a crush on Tristan when I wrote My Fair Godmother so I'm particularly fond of the kiss at the end of that book. I also love the scene in Just One Wish where Annika is trying to escape from bodyguards and Steve chases after her. They end up jumping over trailers. Even though there's no kiss involved, it's still one of my favorite romantic scenes because for the first time Steve really sees Annika and knows she's a force to be reckoned with.

7. What is your all time favorite compliment about your writing?

At my last book signing a teenage girl came up to me and said she learned to love reading because of my books. I can die happy now.

8. Currently, you’re working on the sequel to My Fair Godmother. What has surprised your most about writing a sequel? What’s been your favorite twist?

My Fair Godmother was a hard act to follow because there are so many great things about that book. I'm not saying this to brag. Sometimes things come together magically (pardon the pun) in a book and the author just gets lucky. My Fair Godmother was like that. So when I went to write the sequel I thought: Okay, I want to write a book with the same elements. I need to come up with something that has adventure, romance, comedy, mystery, a love triangle, sibling rivalry, a twist ending, and a fairy who has some deep commentary on human life. But at the same time I wanted the book to feel different than the original. I didn't want it to seem that I was just rewriting the first book.

Yeah, needless to say the plot ideas weren't leaping off the page. If you ever want to give yourself writer's block, just set the bar incredibly high.

Finally I had to just allow the sequel to be what it is. I hope people will like it for itself and not compare it to its beautiful and popular older sister.

As far as my favorite twist in the book—I’ll just say that now the Rumplestilskin fairy tale makes a lot more sense.

9. Do you listen to music when you write? Do you see your books as movies? Which would you like to see made into a movie first? Why?

I don't listen to music--I get distracted too easy. I want it to be perfectly quiet while I write. I definitely see My Fair Godmother as a movie. Right now a major producer is trying to get funding for it. (He did Race to Witch Mountain, Princess Diaries, Freaky Friday, and one of my favorite movies: Sky High) So I take back what I said about dying happy now—I want to see My Fair Godmother up on the screen first. I think it would make a great Princess Bride-esque movie.

My Double Life would also be a good movie. It’s Prince and the Pauper goes Hollywood.

10. What’s your coolest “author” moment? Perks?

I hope I haven’t had it yet, but there have definitely been some cool moments. I loved Ellen Conford’s books when I was a teen. I wanted to be her when I grew up. Not long ago on a librarian’s book review blog she called me the Ellen Conford of this generation. I printed out that blog and put it in my journal.

Project Book Babe was also super cool. Not only was it fun to hang out with some really great authors, but we got to speak to a huge crowd who laughed and cheered at everything we said.

Writers work alone to complete our manuscripts. Once we love it, we send it in to our editors who then proceed to tell us everything that is wrong with it. Usually it’s a very long list.

It was so nice to have a crowd full of applause.

11. Last year you worked with Stephenie Meyer to raise awareness for cancer. What was it like working with her and how did the benefit Project Book Babe turn out? How is your friend and YA advocate Faith Hochhalter doing?

Stephenie Meyer is a really nice, down-to-earth sort of person. Unlike actors and actresses, writers don’t expect or want to be thrust into the spotlight like Stephenie has been. I think she handles it well. Everyone involved with Project Book Babe was so grateful for her involvement. It turned out wonderfully! And Faith is in remission—which is really something to cheer about!

12. If you could change one thing about your writing journey, what would it be?

I would have gotten a degree in marketing in college. It would certainly help out now.

13. Where do you want to visit most in the world?

Give me a warm beach and I’m happy.

14. Favorite authors? Books? What inspires you?

I have eclectic taste. I love the Princess Bride, Pride and Prejudice, and Hunger Games. I just read the first two books of the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud and loved them.

I’m inspired to write by my teenage daughter who is always looking for something good to read.

15. Words of advice for the wanna-be writer, in other words, me.

Read a lot. It’s not only fun, it’s necessary if you want to be a writer. Also read books on writing. They’ll save you a ton of time in revision and help you hone your craft. Write because you love the story you’re working on. If you don’t love it, it’s not worth it. And keep on writing. Don’t stop just because your first or second or third book got rejected. A lot of times it’s that fourth book that gets accepted.

Janette is giving one of her books away so be sure to visit her blog at www.janette-rallison.blogspot.com.

This weeks Garaging Finds!

A little slow this weekend with the threat of rain, but still a great week. Now that I've kicked off "The Big Challenge" my focus has turned a little to resale. Imagine my delight when I found 3 monopoly games (1.00 each)- A Sponge Bob version no less! The pieces are a lot larger than regular monopoly pieces and will be a great addition to my collection. I picked up some great name brand clothes to sell on ebay (1.00 each), 40 sponge brushes 2.00 (I never have enough of these), a candle stick 1.00 (might be another cheese dome in the making), A longaberger pie plate 1.00 (these sell for 10.00 and up on ebay), and 3 adorable shabby chic hooks (2.00) Be sure and come back tomorrow for an update on week 2 of the "The Big Challenge". And here's another challenge: If you're close to Mesa, visit the Garrett Tanner Benefit Sale on Saturday (I will be there bright and early to try and snag up the best finds) Details are on our home page. Love, Kelly