My Favorite Smell in the World!!

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!! Why? Because my beloved STAR JASMINE VINES are in full bloom gracing my courtyard with their heavenly scent! The second you open the gate, you get a gorgeous whiff of this divine plant that God must have created just for me! I love it! It makes my day and I could stay out there sniffing all day long. I even add it to my flower arrangements in the house to give them a little boost in scent. Aah! And don't be jealous, if you haven't planted this fab plant in your garden, come on over and have a seat in the courtyard and start breathing in this wonderful aroma. :-)

My First Piano

Isn't she a beauty? After much searching, a creepy piano salesmen, and a lost deposit on a lesser quality piano, I found the perfect piano for my family! And boy did I have my criteria. I wanted a good brand, a nice tone and feel and it had to be the right color for my decor. Sounds simple eh? Not so. There are a lot of bad pianos out there folks - not to mention the right color for aesthetic purposes! So I finally settled on a Sohmer piano. Original Sohmers (made prior to mid 1980's when the Sohmer brothers sold their company) are hard to find and are usually quite pricey for piano's their age. Well, I got a REALLY good deal! I found someone selling a piano that they inherited and obviously they didn't know the quality of the piano. I had a piano specialist come examine it before I bought it and he said it was a gorgeous, quality piano and easily worth 5k. I talked the guy down to $800. Yeah baby! Anyway, I am so excited to have a piano again. I haven't played for about 9 years when I played on my parents Sohmer grand piano! I'm pretty rusty, but it's fun going through my old music. I actually have played the kids to sleep a few times and for some reason Joe thinks it quite sexy when I play. Bonus! :-) Anyway, I love, love, love it! Oh, and if you are wondering if I can accompany something or play in relief society, sorry, but this is one guilty pleasure I save only for myself. I developed massive stage fright and actually ran out of a recital in the middle of a piece once. In my dramatic style I ran out and drove myself over to the graveyard to visit my recently passed Aunties grave. Yes, I am crazy and very emotional. Poor, poor Joe......

Noses and Hair Elastics don't go together!

+ = Annalise's Nostril!!

Yes, you guessed it, I had my first "nose incident" with Annalise. At night sometimes she'll pull the elastic ties out of her hair and throw them on the floor. Well, she was being really naughty the other day so I sent her to her room and went to play the piano for some stress relief. Well, not 2 pages into my music and I hear frantic screaming. It's the kind of scream when there is a hideous spider or something, so I go running ....expecting to kill a bug of some kind. NOPE! Annalise is freaking out, screaming there is something in her nose, "A HAIR BAND" she's screaming and sobbing at the same time. And boy was I mad. Not only did I have to take her to the doctor, but I had just put Ava down for a much needed nap. So we tear Ava out of bed and head out the door. I probably should have comforted her more, but why the heck did she shove a hair tie up her nose? So on the way to the doctor she's crying saying things like, "Is the doctor gonna cut my nose off and give me a new one?" At least I told her THAT wouldn't happen. They took us right back and it took 4 adults to hold her down. She was crying so hard and was begging me to make them stop. I was crying too. Poor kid. The doctor (after LOTS of trying) was finally able to reach it. She said we were lucky because it was almost out of reach. Whew was I glad it was over and Annalise was ecstatic to get two stickers on the way out! :-)