YOUNG WOMEN'S NEW BEGINNINGS

My baby girl is growing up too quickly. Tonight was New Beginnings for Young Women's, and Kotten Kandy attended. She turns 12 this year!

It was a GREAT program! The theme was Mission Possible. Kotten Kandy was one of the agents. They recognized her (and a few of her friends). Here's what they said about my sweet daughter:
"Here is agent DeGooyer. Code name: Kotton Kandy. She has been known to go into disguise as Cruella DeVille in the play 101 Dalmatians. She is skillful in roller blading (good for quick get aways), in writing and drawing. Her idea of a perfect Saturday is playing games with her family. There are four people in her family. Her favorite color is green which suggests that in her personal progress, she will value knowledge. This will be further strengthened by the fact that she is home-schooled. Here is another agent that has the uncanny ability to touch her nose with her tongue. Her bravery has been shown by the fact that she has climbed on a rock wall while blindfolded. Her secret password is "garbage."
After introducing the new agents, they "exposed" the bad guys: apathy, procrastination, too busy, forgetfulness, etc. And they also gave instructions to the field agents to use the Young Women values in their assignments! It was a terrific program.

My second favorite part of the program was the closing song. They sang "It's Possible" - sung to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella song "Impossible". The new words were:
1st verse:
It's possible - to live the gospel values
And be worthy for the temple.
It's possible - To keep your clothes very modest
And still look right in style.
To stay away from parties where bad things happen.
And go to church and don't get caught nappin.
It's possible!

chorus:
But the world is full of zanies and fools
Who don't believe in sensible rules.
And won't believe what church leaders say.
And though all bad things will lure you away and hold you back and tempt you all day.
It's possible - You can improve every day.

2nd verse:
It's possible - to live the gospel daily
And still fit in at school.
It's possible - to date really great people
Who will live the golden rule.
To live the guidelines in the Strength of Youth pamphlet
To read the scriptures daily and pray about it.
It's possible!

repeat chorus

There are four future young women in our ward. They are an AWESOME group of girls. From left to right: Kotton Kandy, Doritos, Pizza and Apricot. Love these girls....
My FAVORITE part of the evening was seeing the joy, and excitement in my beautiful daughter's eyes. She is going to be a FABULOUS Young Woman!

COUPONS 101

Today I attended a class learning about how to coupon effectively for my family. It was an AMAZING class. And I'm glad I went! I am looking forward to implementing what I learned and helping my family reap the benefits of saving money. Here are a few pointers I picked up from the class:

1. Organizing your coupons is the most important thing. I am going to try the binder method and categorize all my coupons by products; ie. bread, meat, condiments, breakfast, frozen, canned goods, produce/deli, baking, cleaning, beverages, snacks, cosmetics, toiletries, etc.

2. I learned that the best place to gather coupons is the Sunday paper. Scott and I are signing up for a subscription. I also can go to a few on-line sources, and use in-store coupons.

3. Our instructor suggested that we pick one store to start and get familiar with that store and it's coupon policies. I've chosen Kroger.

4. Most people want to use their coupons immediately, but it pays to wait and use the coupons with sales. Also, stores that "stockpile" coupons are a good thing. (Stockpile means to use more than one coupon per item; ie. a manufacturer's coupon and a store coupon.) Kroger's stockpiles coupons.

5. Our teacher also gave us many websites to check out. www.Hip2Save.com has lots of freebies. She also suggested www.SoutherSavers.com for people who lived in this area.

I'm excited to begin!

FUNNY HOMESCHOOL SONG

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON A JANUARY SUNDAY MORNING

I'm under the weather today. :-( In fact, I'm sick enough to miss church (which is rare for me.) I've slept most of yesterday and this a.m., but I wanted to blog a few of the things that are rambling around in my head:

I have wonderful friends here in Kentucky! Terri Barber created beautiful wall art on her vinyl machine for my music room. The quote above the door really makes me smile... (Doctrine and Covenants 25:12) Isn't is beautiful! It's the small finishing touches that make a music room special!

My daughters have nicknamed me Yenta. (The reference is to "Fiddler on the Roof") Yenta is the matchmaker. And apparently, I have played matchmaker for my daughters in every ward we've ever been in. (I remind my daughters often that I get to pick out their husbands someday...) The two young men whom I have chosen for my daughters in this ward happen to be brothers. (I've already okayed the match with the boys' parents - so it's a done deal! - Besides I LOVE the parents and so I won't mind sharing with the in-laws!)

Spud (name has been changed to protect the innocent) is the oldest boy and the one I have picked for Key Lime Pie. He is SUPER smart. He wants to be a neurosurgeon. He also has a GREAT sense of humor. He plays the guitar and sings quite well! And he loves the gospel. He really has a testimony! He will make a perfect match for my eldest!

Spud:

Asparagus (again, a name change) is the brother I picked out for Kotten Kandy. He also has a fun sense of humor. He is sensitive and fun to hang around. He loves hunting and out door activities. He has taught my daughter how to fish. And soon he promised to help us purchase a bow for my daughter. He knows A LOT about bow and arrows. And Kotten Kandy really loves shooting.... They can hunt together! Asparagus also loves the gospel!

Asparagus:

I really am not trying to marry my daughters off young. I just love those two boys and since I don't have boys of my own, I figure I should do my part in helping my daughters look for righteous young men eventually.... I do love and miss my baby girls. Weren't they so cute?

Those pictures make me nostalgic for my babies!

One more thought for today: I never thought I would be an animal lover. But I do love my two dogs. Karmel has wormed her way into my heart. I think she senses that I am not well and has been cuddling with me all morning.

QUOTE FOR TODAY! 1-17-12

"True education seeks to make men and women not only good mathematicians, proficient linguists, profound scientists, or brilliant literary lights, but also, honest men, with virtue, temperance, and brotherly love. It seeks to make men and women who prize truth, justice, wisdom, benevolence, and self-control as the choicest acquisitions of a successful life." - President David O. McKay, ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

BRIGADEIROS AND COXINHAS

BRIGADEIROS

COXINHAS

Yesterday Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy spent most of the day making Brazilian treats. For Girl Scouts they were to make food from other countries. They chose Brazil because of Scott. (He served a mission in Brazil, 1992-1994.) Scott especially loved coxinhas, which is basically breaded and fried chicken. Brigadeiros are extremely sweet, fudge-like candy. We did burn a few of the coxinhas, causing the fire alarms to sound and smoke to fill the house. The smell is still lingering. But despite the small mishap, the girls' enjoyed sharing their creations with the other girls in their troop. (And believe it or not, none of the other girls' in the troop repeated a country.)

ORGANIZATION 2012

I love lists. I love organizing. And a new year allows me to do both! Tonight I created a display of my 2012 goals. (I got the idea from pinterest and other blogs.) I also organized our chores for the week. Thought I would share!

PHOTO SHOOT

Take three beautiful girls (Key Lime Pie, Kotten Kandy and Applesauce), an entire day, a camera, a willing mother and what do you get? A day full of fun and photography! Aren't they beautiful?

HOME-MADE GIFTS

We really loved our home-made gift Christmas this year. In fact, we voted to do it again next year! :-) Here is the skirt Key Lime Pie made for her sister:
Here is the apron Kotten Kandy made for her sister:

Aren't my daughters totally talented? They have only had about four sewing lessons!

FRIENDS AND MUSTACHES

Spending time with friends is a fantastic way to bring in the New Year! And wearing fake mustaches makes it even more fun! :-) We love the Bettenhausens! We had soooo much fun!

My daughters love Apple Pie and Marmalade!


from left to right: Key Lime Pie, Marmalade, Kotten Kandy, Apple Pie, Juice and Nuts