Honest Abe

Basically this is mine and the hubby's favorite commercial. When we watch our shows on Hulu and the Geico guy comes on we wish and hope and pray it's this commercial and then we cheer when we find out that it is. You're welcome.

Let's get Crafty!

I ran 7.5 miles this morning. I didn't get much sleep last night, Brandon was working late as the MOD (manger on duty) since there are under age kids at the camp. I had the car because I had been at a friend's house most the day so I got to the camp around 10 pm and spent some time with Brandon. Typically when you're MOD you're supposed to spend the night at the camp but there's a coach that lives there so once he comes back for the night we take off. It wasn't until 2 am that they came staggering in after having a "few" drinks at the bar across the street. I haven't been around drunk people much in my life, but they are in fact quite humorous. However, I would have found it more humorous had it not been 2 am and I had hardly slept and I knew I needed to be up by 6 to meet my running group by 6:30 this morning. So needless to say I didn't get much sleep and then running 7.5 miles basically made me want to die. I really pushed myself this time, trying to improve myself so my body was REALLY feelin it! When I got home I showered and then started reading a book, I think I only got through a few pages before crashing for a REALLY long nap... It may or may not have been 3 possibly 4 hours long. I only got up because I forced myself too. ha!

Anyway this post says it's about crafts... so enough about running. Since I've found myself bored on more than one occasion I decided to start creating stuff to keep me busy. So I pulled up the trusty ol' Martha Stewart website to see what fun things I could do. I had planned to visit my friend... the one that got me into this whole running mess... We live in the same stake and yet we live about an hour from each other. Go figure. (GPS said 1hr 25 mins but I did it 1hr and 10 mins and I didn't even speed so apparently GPS isn't always that accurate! ha) I'm still flabbergasted that someone in my stake could live so far away, it sucks because I make a friend and then I never get to see them! As I was driving I realized, "this is like me driving to LA from my parents house!" It's crazy to think of all the many different stakes and wards there are between Mission Viejo and LA compared to here. ANYWAY... we planned on going to a flea market which turned out to not be very hoppin... apparently Saturday and Sundays are the prime time to go. Why they even claim to be open Friday I don't know. But we did get some awesome DVD's for $2 each so it wasn't a total loss. After we got some lunch at Applebee's we started on our crafting! :) Then after that we watched Marley & Me (one of our $2 movie purchases) it was a super fun day and very needed so I could get out of the house. I just wish Des lived closer! Oh well, thanks for the fun time! Here's the crafts I did. They are really easy to do and fun for kids, Desiree's little girl even made one of her own.

I made these with regular soup cans and scrapbook paper. I cut the paper to size, and secured both ends of the paper with double sided tape. Then to give it a more finished look and make it more sturdy I Modge Podged the outside. (we tried modge podge on the inside and it made the paper wrinkly and hard to wrap around the can) Anyway they can be used as a pen holder, decorative piece, maybe put flowers in, or put goodies in it and give them to someone as a gift, etc.

These I think are way cool! You take pictures, these are of my dad as a kid and my grandparents, and bottle caps. Use an 1" circle punch to cut out the pictures. Then I used packaging tape because I didn't have a laminator and you laminate the pictures. Then just stuff them into the bottle cap. Get clear casting resin (which I still need to go buy, so these aren't quite finished yet) and pour it on top of the pictures, fill it to the top of the bottle cap and let dry over night. You can glue magnets to the backs, or I did thumb tacks because that's what we had handy, or you can glue safety pins and turn them into little buttons you can put on your kids backpacks or clothes or whatever. I was thinking with the magnets, besides using them on the fridge, it could be cool to stick them on a metal picture frame or something... Just some fun ideas. This could even be used as a girls camp idea... the girls have certification and they usually have something they earn, like beads for a bracelet, or buttons or something... you can put whatever kind of pictures you want in here and they could earn their pins... Just a thought. Anyway... Have fun!

Adventures!

Well yesterday was pretty uneventful... I did have a sort of job interview that was out in BFE, and in the morning I went for a walk/jog with some friends.  Other than that I did a little bit of jack and a little bit of squat.  Oh yeah, I rented a movie that made me want to commit suicide after watching.  Ok not really, but it was really depressing.  So in order to lift my spirits I put in The Office and made some dinner with a new recipe I wanted to try, some kind of corn chowder type thing.  It was alright, I think it needs some kind of seasoning added to it or something.  I needed some more cheering up and I had remembered a little treat I saw in a Costco cook book.  They suggested putting a Popsicle stick through the top of a yogurt lid and stick it in the freezer.  I had put them in the freezer the other day and decided now was as good of time as any to try it.  Well it was kinda hard to get out of the cup but with the trusty Cut-Co scissors I was able to cut it off.  Also I didn't have Popsicle sticks, just lollipop sticks which worked ok but I suggest trying it with the Popsicle sticks if you want to give it a go.  It tasted great! It reminded me of when I was a kid eating the Flintstones Push-up pops. Those were so good!  haha So in effort to get out of the house I took my treat out to our dock and ate it while reading a book and watching some of the pros that live down the street practice their wake skating.  It was nice, I just wished I had someone to join me in the moment.  (Brandon was at work)  Anyway...

 
Today however, was a bit more exciting.  Jennifer and her kids Chamberlynn and Braden and I went for a little adventure.  Jen had heard about a candy store in Polk County so we drove out there to check it out.  It was a pretty fun little place full of all kinds of homemade/old fashioned looking candy, I was just bummed they didn't have the old fashion lemon drops, those are my fav!  But we did come out with a nice selection of goodies.  I basically got sick from all the sugar though.  ha.  Then we found a mall along the way and decided to walk around, it was pretty dead but we found some amazing deals!  Earrings and necklace for $2.99! So we bought a bunch and they threw in some free earrings before we left.  Then we went to another store where we got a bunch of Buy 1 get one Free deals and since we (and by we I mean Jennifer, I was just tagging along, but Chambs did get a buy 1 get 1 free shirt so she let me get the free shirt, we got the same ones just different colors. super cute!) Anyway since we spent a certain amount they threw in a free ring!  No wonder the mall looked like it was going under, they were constantly just giving stuff away! ha  But it was a fun time.  Here's some pictures from the day.  Thanks again Jen for being awesome! :)

Chambs, Braden and I outside Webb's Candy Factory

We were a little leery about the Goat Milk Fudge... 

Braden took this pic

Stoked!

Brandon designed a graphic for Wakeology Wakeboards and we got the final product in the mail the other day! Doesn't it look sweet in print!?! He's working on some concepts for their 2011 series and was asked recently to help design a graphic for a board wakeworld.com is giving to the winner of a recent competition. Hopefully more gigs will come his way! Good job hun, I'm so proud of you! :)

Sienna Family

This one goes out to all those Mother-Fathers out there!

The Secret

I've figured out the secret to running! Run with a partner!!! Running on my own I can hardly make it 2 miles before wanting to shoot myself. I ran with a friend today for 5 miles and I hardly noticed... ok well I noticed but I didn't want to stop and walk, or cut the run short because my mind was off the running and more on the conversation. :) We found the coolest looking caterpillar along the trail about 3 or 4 in long maybe and an inch or 2 thick and it was cream colored. We decided it would make an awesome butterfly one day so we took it off the trail so it wouldn't get crushed by someone on a bike or something. Then after our run we met some people that train for marathons and half marathons and such, they invited us to join their running group. One guy works for the NTC (National Training Center) where I just applied for a job so he said he'd talk to his boss for me. I REALLY hope I get the job, so please pray for me! :) All in all I'd say it was a successful morning... now what to do...?

Running Harder

Well my run today was A LOT better than yesterday's let me tell ya!  I was running harder, kept it more steady and didn't walk once!  There was even a speed radar on the street that clocked me at 5, then 6, then 7... By the time I got to the radar it was clocking me at 25 mi/hr!  Man it felt good!  I'm just glad the car behind me didn't hit me because that would have sucked. 

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

I'm on week two of my training. Well at least that's what the chart says... I only did two days of my first week. oops. So needless to say when I saw on the chart I had to run 3 miles today I thought I was going to die. only 3 miles! Doesn't sound like much, especially when I told myself it's only 1.5 mi there and 1.5 mi back, I was sure that sounded MUCH better! But nothing helped, my sides were killing me and I walked half the time. I realize it's just the beginning so I keep telling myself it will get better. I have another friend that is going to join us in the race and she lives closer so I will have a running buddy!

Over the weekend my friend Jennifer's son Braden had his 4th birthday party (although he thinks it was his 15th b-day party). He was allowed to invite 8 friends from church and Brother Judd and I were among the 8 lucky friends! Every time Braden saw Brother Judd at church he would say, "you're coming to my party right?" "Don't forget about my party. You're coming right!?" and poor Brother Judd didn't have the heart to tell him that he had a competition and had to work that day. But I "took one for the team" and represented the Judd's at the BEACH party. :) It was real hard let me tell ya! ;) in fact I felt kinda bad because I lived it up at the beach, then cake and ice cream later at the Hawkins' house and then off to Eclipse with the girls while my poor husband had a competition that he wasn't very stoked on and then worked in the sun the rest of the day until around 10:30 pm. Poor guy. I sure had fun though. ;D I also might add that since moving to FL some of my greatest friends have been teenagers... Everyone keeps thinking I'm one of the young women! Brandon and I are sharing a car and he has it a lot for work so I find myself feeling like I'm in high school again. While I was at the beach I was talking to Chamberlynn (16) and Citra (12) about going to see Eclipse and I found myself saying, "Alright so who's mom can take us!?" It was a moment to cherish. haha

Then today after my miserable 3 mi run, us ladies - plus Braden - had a lovely afternoon at "The Barn" which is a charming place where they had great food and fun antique shops to walk around and look at and get fun ideas for future girls camps right Jen? haha Here's some pictures to enjoy from these various events. Enjoy! :)

Braden walking down the pathway of life

Jennifer, her son Stockton and I being our dorky selves.

one of the many breast implants... I mean jellyfish that were washed up on shore

Me and the girls! Chamberlynn (Lt) Shea (Rt)

Chamberlynn is a washed up mermaid

"Think of all the fish out there!"

Bella, Braden's "Girrrl-friend" ;)

At the Barn they brought our food to us in a basket!

The girls (plus Braden) at the Barn

Jimmie and Me

Alright, I said I was going to do it and I finally have!  Check out my new photo blog! :)  I am hoping to get some gigs and start making something out of my photography and this blog, I'm hoping, is a good start.  Feel free to check it out and tell your friends.  Right now it's just an introduction, but I will be putting up samples of my past work soon!  And don't worry "The Judd's...Keepin' it real" isn't going anywhere.  This is our family blog for you to keep tabs on us, "Jimmie and Me" is hopefully going to help pay the bills... eventually... haha At any rate I hope you enjoy my creations! :)  And thanks for the support and encouragement through the years.