thankful thursday

this week i am thankful for:

lunch with my new blogging bff, melissa--she was witty and charming and beautiful and i'm happy to report that the romance can continue on in person.... (thank goodness!! now you can stop worrying~)

breakfast with my blogging bff kami & ex-blogging- bff- now -facebook- bff- becky--i love when people show up in santa jorge and i get to hug on them a little. or, in their case, a LOT.

plus i love it even more when said bff's bring me an awesome rose ring that i vow never to take off. because it looks so CUTE.

the cutest flippin' lg lotus phone that my valentine surprised me with on valentines.

have i mentioned that it's PURPLE with FLOWERS?? oh, my. i am SOOOOO utterly predictable. and he knows me so well--

make your own polariod pictures HERE

{thanks, kami~}

hb chandler!

hb to my darling chandi-girl!!

11 years old=BIG TIME.

we love you!!

hb dad!!

hb to my DAD--

bringing sexy back since 1941.

guess who's coming to dinner PHOTO

do you remember the post i wrote titled guess who's coming to dinner?

my mom found the photo! it totally makes me giggle.

DO'S and DONT'S for an 8 year old's birthday or hb abbey!

DO invite 8 of your bestest buddies
DON'T worry about the scary decibel level that screaming in unison might reach.
DO have a "pirate party" and have your aunt megan make an adorable treasure chest cake

DO go to pirate island pizza for fun & games
DON'T worry that your dad & mom will have to take out a small second mortgage just to finance it

DO have your uncle mike show up for some free pizza

DON'T be scared when he appears to be pedophile on camera.


but, most importantly.........

DO have a complete and total blast surrounded by friends & family!

we love our abbey!

my picture book of songs or my mother's songbook that was what my childhood was made of

whenever i think of presidents day, i think of this picture--it was in my mother's my picture book of songs that we had on our piano growing up.


we learned almost every song out of this songbook, and i spent hours and hours as a child looking through the illustrations and picking out my favorites.

the book was first published in 1947 by alene dalton, myriel ashton, & erla young. i purchased my own copy about 10 years ago at deseret book, but i think that you can only get them through private buyers now.

my favorite illustration, hands down, was always this valentines day one--

i blame my early dating relationship failures on this picture.

when the boy showed up SANS white doves, love letters, and a whistle, it was ALL DOWN HILL from there.

chandi *hearts* quinn

aaaahhhh. young love.

hb abbey!

{photo by malea, tickled pink photo}

hb to my valentine baby--8 years old is a BIG DEAL.

i love you!

thankful for my birthday thursday

ahhhhhh. it's good to be 39. my day was fabulouso--i received lots of great gifts including, but not limited to, dinnerware, flowers, slugs/snails of a somewhat-creepy- in -a -good -way nature, and gym attire. it was heavenly.

my loni sent me this off the hook stamped card

my tiburon sent me the ticket stub diary that i've been drooling over--good thing this little gem will be put to good use!

(if i could only find my ticket stub to the jets/stacy q/jermaine stewart concert at the dixie center, 1988, then my life would be complete.)

my kami sent this wonderful magnet board which i heart--

but the best part of her gift was my "mindi mix cd" she sent--one of my favorite songs on it is THIS total money mix of dave matthew's band crash into me.

even though i didn't go to kelly kapour's "america's got talent" party, i still have my own mug.

sweet.

my favorite birthday card this year--from my bestie, dannielle.

valentine's day cards we heart

i've seen so many cute examples of creative valentine examples out in the blogsphere--
(click here & here to see a few)

so i thought it only fitting that i should post a photo or two of the over-achievingness that we've got going on at OUR house:

you're welcome, bloggers.

i also saw a few other valentines that rivaled mine in both content AND design:

let's kiss: profesh pics of mom & girls

how much do i want to make out with malea from tickled pink photo?? she posted this sneak peak of some photos she did for me and the girls and i am beyond thrilled.

i told her that i'll have to be thankful in my prayers tonight for her superior photo shopping skillz. fo' REAL.

my only regret? that i didn't take an acid-washed jean jacket to wear with the collar turned up and a single spotlight to put behind my hair.

maybe next time.

"M" is for.....ledges lunch w tanja & amy & MIA!

MIA--my future blogger.

i stole these photos from my blesbian blover tanja's blog because i wanted you to see what a young, 3 year old blogger in training does in front of the camera when her blogger mother doesn't notice:

(plus you get to see my really cute shoes and amy's cherella bag.)



we were doing the "mom pose" in this photo-- turn on the angle, put your feet in the third position, and tilt your head--mia has it down to a science:

what just kills me is that, as a mother, i am always aware of what mia is doing in photos. but as a blogger, at times, i am more concerned if we are all in the shot, if you can see everyone, if my eyes are closed or if i look slightly stoned, etc. and i'm not thinking about what she is doing as somebody snaps the photo for us. (because, really, isn't it all about me? or SHOULDN'T it be??)
you don't really know what things or actions your children will pick up from just watching you.....i guess mia is ready to post any day now.

snow much fun, again or girls in their cute snow gear

skiing= SUCCESS.

brianhead just might see a little bit more of these girls.

the world's biggest jar of cinnamon bears or mindi's birthday lunch at haven w her besties

yesterday i celebrated my birthday lunch with my besties at haven restaurant (you need to go to that freaking cool website. NOW. i'll wait.) and was still in love with the food. i've been there 3 times in the past 6 days and would go again tomorrow. if you are in the santa jorge area, this is a MUST. as are the doughnuts for dessert--holy mother of all addictions!

they sucked up to me and brought me out a piece of cake with "happy birthday" spelled out in chocolate syrup--i saw the perfect opportunity for a blog photo-op, then dropped the ball when i lifted up the plate and the cake slid. right. down. through the writing.

totally typical mindi.

we took advantage of their cool decor to have a photo shoot--i liked the fact that i could have a white dog in the picture. which says, "i have class, money, and taste. without the money part."

{l to right: kamari, jody, birthday girl, kristin, amber, dannielle (witness protection program)}

thank you all for your kind comments on the blog, on the facebook, and in the person. you made me feel like a million bucks. AND some change.

and they lived happily ever after with the world's largest jar of cinnamon bears.

i've hated my body since i was in third grade and i know this isn't normal.

{image courtesy of tiburon}

i've written before about my hate/hate relationship with my body. this is how it's always been, my whole entire life, and as i get older and wiser i keep thinking that i'll "make up" with myself and get over it.

yeah...........not so much.

the other day russ was watching some crazy documentary on e! entertainment television (where ALL of the really in-depth, serious programs air) and one particular segment caught my eye: it was about this woman who had been diagnosed with body dysmorphic syndrome



{from wikipedia}

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) (previously known as Dysmorphophobia[1] and sometimes referred to as Body dysmorphia) (also known as "Dysmorphic syndrome," and "Dysmorphophobia"[2]) is a psychiatric disorder in which the affected person is excessively concerned about and preoccupied by an imagined or minor defect in their physical features. The sufferer may complain of several specific features or a single feature, or a vague feature or general appearance, causing psychological distress that impairs occupational and/or social functioning, sometimes to the point of complete social isolation.[3] It is estimated that between 1%-2% of the world's population meet all the diagnostic criteria for BDD.

i was totally fascinated. and then it occurred to me: have i got a slight case of this? do we all as women, in general, display symptoms of bdd??

it seems like, no matter how much i weigh or how much weight i can lose, or which surgery i have to put humpty dumpty back together, i never seem satisfied with the appearance of my body. there is always SOMETHING that i can pick apart, criticize, or complain about.

cellulite? CHECK. boobs that won't stay in place no matter what god and dr. rhodes has done to them? CHECK. CHECK. backfat? (sung "backfat, backfat" to the tune of dora's "backpack, backpack...".)CHECK. CHECK. CHECK.


the point of this post is NOT to get sympathy comments. it's point is to illustrate that mindi thinks her scarred psyche-thinking about this is certifiable.
i realize that hollywood plays a part in how we all think. but i also know that, being one of those girls who has had to "watch her weight" from 3rd grade on, i've never remembered a time when the number on the scale wasn't an issue. i even remember being jealous in 6th grade of my best friend kristina nelson--she could eat whatever she wanted WHENever she wanted and it never seemed to be an issue. i was ELEVEN YEARS OLD! my only concerns should have been when tommy howell was gonna return my love and when lana was gonna buy me a pair of jordace jeans.

i hear people talk about loving themselves at any weight, and i've witnessed the positive power of that, but i just can't seem to get on board. am i alone in thinking this?



so, my question to you is: can one ever break the spiral of self shame? or will it just cost one millions of dollars in therapy at matt eschler's office to do it? hmmmmmm. discuss.

beautiful & popular superbowl party 2009

1. it's always way more fun when somebody else goes to all the work and throws a fantabulous party~ (thanks colby & kristin!)

2. it's also better if there is a beautiful doll like this on the front porch to welcome you.

3. cool 3-d glasses are worth their weight in gold.

5. getting photos of you in your ultra-cool, 3-d glasses is worth MORE than your weight in gold. ESPECIALLY if you can pose while kicking back and looking supa-fly.

6. memo to bruce springsteen: you are NOT sill the boss. (seriously, superbowl? that's the BEST you got?)

i've never been a fan--but i admit that i kept hoping that he was gonna bust out into his pedophile song: "HEY LITTLE GIRRRRRLLLLL IS YOUR DADDY HOOOOMMMME, DID HE GO OFF AND LEEEEAAAVE YOU ALLLLLL ALLLLLLLLLOOOONNNNEEE....."

no dice.

oh, and he STILL sounds like this:

7. the pittsburgh steelers are a great team but were naughty poor sports. i saw more shoving and pushing and trash talk than i do at target the day after christmas, and that's saying something.

i think somebody needs to put them in time out.

8. caloric-laden, pre-processed foods made with white sugar and white flour and a big old dollop of crisco tastes SO much better than carrot sticks.

and i can always put away so much more of it than i think i'm capable of. yikes.