tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9644317462533225232024-03-13T16:45:41.243-06:00Chaco Talkwalk a mile...Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-23289453835801065732008-12-21T22:09:00.000-07:002008-12-21T22:10:07.979-07:00Cleaning Tips...thanks to our budding 2 year old artist...ok, so every once in a while Kate gets some little idea into her not-so-bald-anymore head, and just acts on it. i’m sure as parents we all understand this…or at least have experienced this with our children. but because of these little adventures i have learned a few tips that i will share and document here…for the sanity of future moments.<br /><br />#1 to remove crayon from wall:<br />Spray with WD-40 and wipe clean with a white cloth. works on even the cheapest of paint. and on textured walls as well! yippee. we got our deposit back!<br /><br />#2 to remove grease from clothes: (this is courtesy of Rachel’s genius)<br />spray with Dawn Power Disolver. (a little blue spray bottle) rach says it even works on old stains. i’ve tried it on new ones and it works magic!<br /><br />#3 to remove Permanent marker: (kate colored all over our bathroom floor tonight with a blue permanent marker…sigh. after the intitial reaction i looked this up online and found the most magical tip. i share it with you now…)<br />Spray with “OFF” bug spray. it melts right before your eyes! no joke! i was scrubbing at those blasted stains and nothing… then i sprayed this on and it instantly turned to liquid and i just wiped it up with toilet paper! no stain! A MIRACLE!! some people also said that it works on clothes with perma marker on it too. now i don’t know if just any bug spray works or if it has to have deet, or be the OFF brand, but that’s what i had. it was the family kind with only a small amount of deet. i’d like to see if others work as well. maybe i’ll let kate at the markers more often and i can test my theories…hmmm maybe not. but it was miracle, like i’ve never seen!<br /><br />good luck all with your cleaning endeavors…and if anyone has other hot tips…do share!<br /><br />love to you all!<br />~ElizabethElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-41811075489004289912008-10-15T12:47:00.000-06:002008-10-15T13:07:06.326-06:00A little slice of home, here in TexasSo my dad has this recipe for Pinto Bean Pie. That's right, that was not a typo. The pie is actually made of pinto Beans! Though it doesn't really taste like it. Some people call it Mock Pecan Pie. Anywho, our ward was having a big chilli cook-off and pie baking contest, so mark thought it would be a great idea to "combine the two" and enter a pinto bean pie! We didn't tell anyone what they were eating till after they ate it. But sadly we got gipped! The missionaries were the judges and they didn't think too highly of my pie! Mark peeked at the score sheet and i got a 2.8!!!! Were these missionaries offspring of the Russian Olympic judges??!! But all was not in vain. There were a few friends who were visibly impressed! So here are some pics of Sarah and i making my very first Pinto Bean Pie. It turned out pretty good if i do say so myself... :)<br /><br />my first batch of beans!!! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnbBg8SuP6ZbkjH7hv_Ffgr3oYQgNDHKyr7lR-9YDQYe7HsyHxT6CX8PHwWgYZPCp1bKR0SqOYL8kM9QFYOU0-3cx9ovbfjme5doQciyOPvqyjYJmdmpbOMYfFPKp3KDVfSpet1-TE2n4/s1600-h/CRW_6750.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnbBg8SuP6ZbkjH7hv_Ffgr3oYQgNDHKyr7lR-9YDQYe7HsyHxT6CX8PHwWgYZPCp1bKR0SqOYL8kM9QFYOU0-3cx9ovbfjme5doQciyOPvqyjYJmdmpbOMYfFPKp3KDVfSpet1-TE2n4/s320/CRW_6750.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257454590397018082" /></a><br /><br />Sarah was soooo excited!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZ_4gXSgcGCUhuLBgAN0Gq5FX7a5NUuis7Zd_PEXLjSvdiPROC8CMD5qPcjViSuvznRlSTdqjr2Ad6TYWciNbSuyKjxzsaeQJQPDn_n9IlDmfShkZF5o_PLCOer1jKKGC61gbNlH17ZmM/s1600-h/CRW_6740.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZ_4gXSgcGCUhuLBgAN0Gq5FX7a5NUuis7Zd_PEXLjSvdiPROC8CMD5qPcjViSuvznRlSTdqjr2Ad6TYWciNbSuyKjxzsaeQJQPDn_n9IlDmfShkZF5o_PLCOer1jKKGC61gbNlH17ZmM/s320/CRW_6740.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257454889847345794" /></a><br /><br /><br />cracking the egg...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJLJjQkXmFlMrTm5eLWCHjcWsZUTqVqWAF1SXd0kvi1wQgKNrytbb_UdjId7yLQ3d7LfaM22YdEmJedkQt5cKl9uggm14rx5IVFcnNIjTq0cmanAU-0U5BhS6ynmbtBkhoa35AV7yO4PB/s1600-h/CRW_6747.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJLJjQkXmFlMrTm5eLWCHjcWsZUTqVqWAF1SXd0kvi1wQgKNrytbb_UdjId7yLQ3d7LfaM22YdEmJedkQt5cKl9uggm14rx5IVFcnNIjTq0cmanAU-0U5BhS6ynmbtBkhoa35AV7yO4PB/s320/CRW_6747.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257455308488233058" /></a><br /><br />and pouring it in...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9HKfmAh3nXWNvrxPzlxGK8ZwXwSYIRzvVK3WecjZAH3c1nrJi25ClVID8wjJc9-3wQ1NYSF-YF7H2rJuFfL9J9TzBDA2R7BAKC1yLRfcbRUBjGpXP6CTy8EaqIsc2eK517peg9qXzuAi/s1600-h/CRW_6755.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9HKfmAh3nXWNvrxPzlxGK8ZwXwSYIRzvVK3WecjZAH3c1nrJi25ClVID8wjJc9-3wQ1NYSF-YF7H2rJuFfL9J9TzBDA2R7BAKC1yLRfcbRUBjGpXP6CTy8EaqIsc2eK517peg9qXzuAi/s320/CRW_6755.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257455511888963058" /></a><br /><br />are you ready for the finale? is the anticipation killing you? <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSEef77QeJ0o5oYqxQ-ux4VGOqxSgbEkRHfXXC-PWF4oSS_LhK0nSDsS7x64pC_L0O1JanJvhhAo0uIo6FGe9H9-ADScTONZjKA0Zro2XtPl3QUH2C9-ftbylIw4GW9jAAjbnSTtCDzfc/s1600-h/CRW_6793.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSEef77QeJ0o5oYqxQ-ux4VGOqxSgbEkRHfXXC-PWF4oSS_LhK0nSDsS7x64pC_L0O1JanJvhhAo0uIo6FGe9H9-ADScTONZjKA0Zro2XtPl3QUH2C9-ftbylIw4GW9jAAjbnSTtCDzfc/s320/CRW_6793.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257455119585011730" /></a><br />Ta DA!!! isn't it beautiful? i was so very proud of it, but no one appreciated it as they should... sigh.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-15979577223592658992008-10-13T12:01:00.000-06:002008-10-13T12:03:39.143-06:00i just might give in to the texan vocab...I just filled up my tank for $2.81!!! that's right, $2.81!!!!!!!! that is a $1.50 savings from a month and a half ago in Washington. I saved 30 Dollars at the pump!!! that's enough for anyone to exclaim YEEHAW!!!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-21264535884465847702008-10-03T15:43:00.000-06:002008-10-03T15:49:56.207-06:00here's a fast update (taken from my family's blog) :)lame, i know to just re-use a blog, but life is still a little crazy getting things settled and i thought i'd better post something so you would know that we haven't melted or been carried away by cockroaches...<br /><br /><br />Well, as you all know we are in texas…and have yet to run across any fire ants, cockroaches or snakes dropping from trees! <br />we are loving it here. the weather is beautiful!! there is a reason we decided to come in September instead of August. so until next summer, we love it! <br />our apartment is small but serviceable. its amazing what a difference it makes living in a space that is designed for modern living. ie: more than one outlet in each room, outlets that work even when the light switch is turned on, useable storage, closets outside of the bathroom, and a floor that doesn’t tilt toward the front of the house. though i must say it is more boring. no more feet washing while i’m going to the bathroom, no more crazies walking and drug dealing in front of our house at 3 am. But there is the garden tub……which makes up for all we left behind in Bremerton! the pool is pretty good too!!!!!! the girls love it. i will post a video we took the other day, later.<br />our ward is awesome!! everyone is so friendly! i’m not kidding! tons of young families in our ward…and sarah is making friends fast. katelyn even told me about her new friend in nursery. his name is Seth. we’ve also got great neighbors, i must say though that i’ve never been called ma’am and honey so many times in my life!<br />we are also trying to learn the lingo. no, not y’all. but things like saying yes, instead of yeah, “everyone” instead of “you guys.” <---we refuse to say y'all! they are all about respect down here. it's kind of refreshing, especially coming from places like UW, where everyone is all about self expression than respect.<br />here's a funny little blessing for us. we've been concerned about how loud our girls are for our neighbors (we only have one apt that shares a wall with us, but it's the girls room wall...) . especially since the complex is so quiet. Mark met the couple the other day and they are both deaf! the sweetest people, (i've talked with them a few times) but now we don't have to worry about too much noise! who would've thought... <br />anyway, we are happy here so far, just missing family and friends. Especially since everyone is moving back to washington!!!!!! what the devil is that about! michelle, melissa, lesley.... i'm rather peeved. i was there for 3 YEARS!!! and no body came, now that i leave, everyone moves back. is there something i'm missing?<br />anywho, love to you all! or should i say y'all.....Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-48183208182528092992008-05-06T23:36:00.001-06:002008-05-06T23:36:54.185-06:00November 23rdyou put it together.... ;)Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-86757765241693442752008-04-14T22:44:00.001-06:002008-04-14T22:53:56.762-06:00Hangin' at East High...This is from my bro. i stole this post from our family blog, but since this kind of connects me to famous people i thought i'd post it here! It's pretty sweet! and we are totally stoked for him. <br /><br /><div><img alt="high_school_musical_two_2_cast.jpg" src="http://www.fredshorts.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/high_school_musical_two_2_cast.jpg" /></div><br />Well as many of you have heard. Yesterday I officially signed on to Disney's High School Musical (3): Senior Year. I will be starting right after i finish working on Jared Hess' new movie on April 28th. I know you are all HSM fans so i will try an keep you in the loop as much as i can. At this time i cannot disclose the fate of Troy and Gabriela's relationship at the end of the film.<br /><br />In reality it is going to be a crazy crazy shoot. But it will be good. I will keep you all posted!<br /><br />Nathan<br /><br />yeah, this is the highest profile movie he's worked on yet! 30 million bucks for production with a nation wide theatrical release! and as he so kindly held over his hometeacher's head (who happens to be in love with Ashley Tisdale) that in a couple of weeks he will have her cell phone number! :) as well as the rest of the cast!<br /><br />so i told all the kids at the dance festival rehearsal (i am teaching the "we're all in this together" dance from the movie) that i am now the ultimate expert on the dance because i am related to someone that kind of knows the kids and director that did the dance.... :D Needless to say they were very impressed! as they should be!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-47202685669122690022008-03-31T22:12:00.000-06:002008-03-31T22:17:56.327-06:00um....I really have nothing to say. <br />but i just spent the last half hour browsing family and friends blogs, but by golly, i was feeling rather unworthy of the title: blogger. i'm just not as good as you all ! sniff, sniff. <br />but enough self-pity... i will recommit..again!<br />this is sad...<br />so.......... i really have no idea what to talk about. um, my kids....they are great...my husband...really great....me....extremely great. i have to say that so you think i'm a perfect woman. when really i'm just tired, cranky and, well, hungry. :)<br /><br />love to you all. better spirits to follow!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-35748986282875696212008-03-13T13:59:00.000-06:002008-03-13T16:10:31.577-06:00One girl...girl for sale.... (imagine that bellowed out through the streets of london)Do you need a mommy confidence builder? are you feeling frustrated with your own children? is the potty training making you feel like a failure? Be frustrated NO MORE!<br />I have a gently used, self-potty-training child for sale. Guaranteed to make you feel like a successfull parent. She potty-trains herself! no more camping out in the bathroom with water running and a bowl of warm water, no mad dashes to the toilet leaving a wet trail behind you. She removes her own clothing and waits patiently on the potty chair, when the deed is done, she cleans up and empties her efforts in the toilet. <br /> We bought her brand new and have had her for just over two years. though she didn't start training herself until a few days ago. She just came home from church, removed the appropriate clothing and made good use of the potty chair that we had hanging around from when our oldest potty trained. No rewards were necessary, but lately we have begun utilizing jelly beans to enhance optimum performance. <br />Watching her in action will certainly boost your mood and feelings of success! It worked for us! <br /><br />if interested please call. Serious buyers only. i only accept Paypal and cash.<br /><br />~Elizabeth<br /><br />PS...The only defect is that she insists on being completely nude for the execution of this task. see images below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR15HjaL5jcIMiEAvfPaDFoWzDRWEl2jMhGYFAHIW6LQKQat0VWeYuXMvts6C3nJ51824v6tP50xJSkeAnRH_OH7KH7A9YQ2b1EX5PVZqD9_ZzAzh52axZOWdxwaFM4cth0Jex1n7fqCbs/s1600-h/Photo+130.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR15HjaL5jcIMiEAvfPaDFoWzDRWEl2jMhGYFAHIW6LQKQat0VWeYuXMvts6C3nJ51824v6tP50xJSkeAnRH_OH7KH7A9YQ2b1EX5PVZqD9_ZzAzh52axZOWdxwaFM4cth0Jex1n7fqCbs/s320/Photo+130.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177351127894616978" /></a>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-83585249420392573492008-02-26T15:57:00.000-07:002008-02-26T15:57:39.102-07:00This goes out to you, my faithful... You know who you are.For all you who have checked this more regularly than i have, <br />For those who get their hopes up everyother day only to have them dashed under my chacos<br />For the faithful few who knew me well enough to continue their "gentle" nudges to return to my blog and post some pics<br />For the dreamers, the wishers..<br />I dedicate this blog to you.<br /><br />i commend you for your faith in me. and for your everlasting devotion to a slacker blogger.<br />So i thought i would share some updates on the family that is Parson. Why else would you check this? Yes, we are in Bremerton and if we don't get shot first, we'll be here through the end of June. We have a house (well, not ours per se, but we can pretend).<br />we have a yard (again, see previous parentheses). we have children (those actually do belong to us) Sara is 4, Kate is now 2. Kate still has no hair. well, she did have hair, but it was a rat's tail/mullet. Those are offensive, so i had to cut those precious inches off the back. it was for the better. <br />Mark is still working for Delorum. (his graphic design company) here is his website if you'd like to see some of the stuff he has done. www.delorum.com. i am still working for peanuts. (aka Kate and Sarah) they run a tight ship! :) Things are going very well!<br />i'm going to leave the update at that. this is supposed to be a teaser, to renew your faith in my blog, and to reassure you that it will be fully operational! thank you for your undying devotion, o ye my beloveds!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-44626257296355308932007-03-02T11:57:00.000-07:002007-03-02T12:05:12.014-07:00where have all the bloggers gone...Well folks, i hope you were not feared for my life after reading my last post and then not hearing from me for many moons... but no, i do still inhabit this world, but now my computer doesn't. it started to die on me, and so i sold it. so now, i must wait for my turn on mark's computer, which is rare enough that when i get it i only have time for the really fun stuff like, finances, budget, bills and enrichment coordination. so if anyone would like to start up a "computer for our favorite blogger" fund, i would really think you were neat. <br />so quick update. we are still waiting to hear about the job at BYU_Idaho, so continue to keep your fingers crossed and prayers said! :) i promise to let you all know as soon as we hear anything. as for the girls, katelyn is now ONE!!!!! and walking (sort of) she still only has two teeth. sarah proudly states that she has 20. <br />oops. my time is up. i will try to be better at keeping this up!!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-74627284271062336532007-01-25T21:16:00.000-07:002007-01-25T21:29:26.083-07:00mamma's for rentSo here i sit, more like lay, while by head is bloated and nose is snuffed. how i wish there were mamma's to rent for the day. who's to take care when the mamma gets sick? i thought about this as i sat and watched "Sabrina" (a movie, which by the way, i am in the mood for anytime!) and sipped my soup and drank my juice and snuggled in on the couch with a big fuzzy blanket, slippers sarah gave me for christmas and my pillow. i was suddenly brought back to the good old days when you would get that rare opportunity to see just what mom really does when all the kids are at school during the day. and now i know that my perspective was based on a false sampling. for when one is sick, mamma brings soup and juice and caters to your every whim. she would clean about while i was watching a movie to convince me that motherhood was work. but now that i am a mamma myself and have moments, few though they may be, without children i know that motherhood is nothing more than chocolates and movies....Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-7131114210335144802007-01-21T21:36:00.000-07:002007-01-21T21:50:25.022-07:00career announcementMany of you have been wondering what happens next after mark graduates in June. well, we've finally decided and are now announcing it to the world. so hold on to your hats. but first a little background. so, mark and i were at some friends house yesterday for a little round of "Settlers of <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Catan</span>." :) (needless to say mark won....again.) (don't get excited, this does not mean we are going to homestead in some forsaken island somewhere.) but that is not the point. the point of all of this is to make more records... (<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ok</span>, i digress, <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">sheesh</span>. it's awful hard to play the quote game in type.) anyway, so i was telling the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">McBrides</span> about Mark's ESP capabilities! :) and how i think he is an indigo child. (if you're not sure what that is, look it up on line and you will find a description of mark.) anyway, so we were joking about the whole thing and i was saying that i didn't think there was anything really supernatural about it all, it's just that mark picks up on the subtler things of people and situations better than most and does have some sort of weird sense as to what is about to happen. so Matt tells us to demonstrate, how mark can always finish my thoughts, even when they are totally random. so i say to mark: "i want to buy a... ( i think horse)" Mark suddenly blurts out "Pony" it was insane! i <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">literally</span> <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">lept</span> out of my chair! he did it...on demand... and in front of two witnesses...and we all know what happens by the mouth of two or three witnesses...<br />so <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">I'm</span> thinking of a career change for mark...we'll just have to buy him a gold tooth and a turban...Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-964431746253322523.post-76150121266426771052007-01-16T16:07:00.000-07:002007-01-16T16:32:42.727-07:00The First Mile...My Chacos have remained by the door for the past few days... it's been so chilly out there. But there has been so much excitement going on indoors, they do not feel they are missing anything.<br /><br /> Well, it has happened at last. Mark and I are parents! There are some that might question that fact, seeing as how we have two children. but well,2007 (and about a week of 2006) has been a big year thus far. For Christmas we had the bitter sweet experiences of finally playing the Santa Clause game. We stayed at our own home for Christmas morning. Craziness! The excitement was only tainted by the fact that I found myself wishing there really was a Santa Clause...that way I didn't have to do the shopping and the staying up to decorate! :) but it was a blast. "Santa" brought Sarah a doll house and a tricycle, and Katelyn some bath toys and books. Not to mention the piles of candy he left on a little table to tempt the eye of a certain three year old. My favorite part was sitting back with just the tree lights looking upon our handywork. It was quite fun.<br /> And the biggest step of all...for the first time, we've installed those annoying little claspy things that go on your cabinets. I can't believe it. I feel like such a mom. The first step to motherhood. well, not quite the first step... :) We've found we need to keep a certain little bald-headed explorer out of the trash. She is quite the determined one, and such a tease. Sarah, just never cared, so this will be the first time we've had to wrestle with those darn things on a regular basis.<br /> So, anyway, welcome to my blog. I will be posting things fairly regularly. Though I cannot guarantee the importance of anything I post! :) Happy reading!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06950042318950106862noreply@blogger.com1