Birthday/HP Review & Pictures.

I had a wonderful birthday. What made my birthday even more fun this year? My sweet nephew was born! He is adorable, and I'm so proud to share my birthday with that cutie pie. I can't wait to see him in person.

My siblings surprised me with a Kindle. It has been in non-stop use since its arrival; such a perfect gift for me - a book lover. Speaking of books, I've updated my book-challenge list. Read 8 books in November. Favorite of which was "The Help." Also read "Frankenstein" for the first time ever. So creepy! And good!

We celebrated by seeing Harry Potter on opening night and eating at a new-found favorite restaurant, The Pie. Mmm. Harry Potter was incredible and our fellow movie-watchers were dressed to the hilt in wizard costumes. We saw it on the big IMAX screen. The movie brought me close to tears in the first 5-minutes, and the dang movie left me in tears at its end. (I hate leaving a movie with red eyes...) Be forewarned: this movie is quite dark. Depressing at times. Thrilling throughout. I loved it and consider it a must-see. I have no shame in declaring my Harry Potter fan-ship.

And for all you Utah locals, you MUST try eating a pizza at The Pie sometime. Yum! For dessert, try their hot cookie/melty ice cream dish. Even though we were full of veggie pizza, we had no problem downing the dessert.

The actual birthday, Tuesday, was pretty laid back at home. Husband made a crab dinner and bought a chocolate cake. Since his birthday is only 2 weeks after mine, we decided that this monster of a cake would be for both of us. 60-years collectively between us. We've been telling all our friends that "we are 60 years old." Somehow, I was left alone in blowing out the 60 candles, and blew out all but one. Does that mean bad luck for me? Or him?

I dined at another amazing local restaurant on Saturday with some blogging buddies and am going to be hosting a giveaway for a gift certificate. Check back in a couple hours. You do not want to miss this giveaway!

A slew of birthday pictures for your enjoyment:

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My Wife.

 Hi. Jason here. And this is my first ever blog post.

For everyone following this blog, I have a treat for you.  On her birthday, I wanted to give you an insider's view of Hannah.  

As a professional, Hannah constantly amazes.  She understands style.  She creates beautiful crafts and designs the most amazing blogs, logos and wedding invites.  She built a successful design business from the ground up.

As a mother, Hannah thrives.  She chose to work from home so she could be here for our kids.  With three young children, a busy work schedule and a husband who is never home, she struggles day to day through the many demands on her time.  Yet she still makes time to work on craft projects with our daughter when she comes home from school, volunteers in our daughter's kindergarten class, and takes our boys to the park and library.  Then, to top it all off, I always come home to a home cooked meal, even if it is spaghetti.

As a wife, Hannah is perfect.  She is a never ending stream of confidence that I tap into when times get tough.  She is the best friend I yearned for as a child.  To put it into accounting terms, she is the debt to my credit in a balanced account.  We have been married eight years now and every year gets better.  If I were to take the advice of a disney princess my daughter is fond of, I would dedicate to her the song "Angel" by Jack Johnson because those words are meant just for her.

Happy Birthday, Hannah. Love Ya.

"ANGEL" by JACK JOHNSON

I've got an angel

She doesn't wear any wings

She wears a heart that can melt my own

She wears a smile that can make me wanna sing

She gives me presents

With her presence alone

She gives me everything I could wish for

She gives me kisses on the lips just for coming home

She could make angels

I've seen it with my own eyes

You gotta be careful when you've got good love

Cause the angels will just keep on multiplying

But you're so busy changing the world

Just one smile can change all of mine

We share the same soul

We share the same soul

We share the same soul

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Birthday Favorite: Red Lipstick.

I've always loved red lipstick, but never felt that I had the personality to pull it off. I've been on the hunt for three years. I tried so many and always felt uncomfortable. I would leave the house and end up rubbing it off my lips within 10 minutes because I felt silly. Not like myself.

So, I've been on a mission to find a color that I feel good in. And guess what? I did it. It wasn't easy, either. I did a lot of research. And I tried color after color after color. Finally, I found one that I love to wear out. A limited edition, discontinued color by MAC that I purchased from All Cosmetics Wholesale. (An awesome store, by the way!) It is called "Full Body." It is a deep red, but it isn't as dark on the lip as it looks in the tube. I top it wish MAC's Dazzleglass in Love Alert, which is a permanent color that you can still get. The Dazzleglass brightens it up.

MY RED LIPS TIPS:
• Red lips are hit-n-miss. You may have to try a few colors before settling on the perfect shade. Buy from a department store so you can return if you don't love it.
• Add a shiny lipgloss over your red lip if you want your lips to look more full. Dark colors tend to make your lips look thinner.
• Pair red lips with neutral eyes. Let your lips be the center of attention.
• Use lipliner or your lipstick will bleed. Not attractive. Not attractive at all. I use a neutral lip color because my MAC expert said to. She said red lips look horrible two-toned, so red lipliner isn't a good idea unless it matches the lipstick exactly.
• Red lipstick always seems to get on teeth, so prevent this by putting your finger in your mouth, closing your lips around it, and pulling it out. Works like a charm.

What is your perfect red lip color?

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Birthday Favorite: Crafting.

I love crafting in every form. I love card making, sewing, needle work, painting, paper crafts, jewelry making, book binding, etc. I really couldn't pick a favorite. I can't. I love creating anything. Because I work in the paper-making industry in three capacities, I am more than often paper-crafting. And I have no complaints. I feel so lucky to work in an industry I love! I had great hopes to share two projects I am working on with you, but one is taking a bit longer than expected. It's an advent calendar, so I'm trying to hurry and finish it. I'll post more on that early next week.

Today, I am going to share with you a card I made for Wplus9's All Eyes On series. Dawn asked us to work with Distress Ink. I LOVE distress ink because they are so versatile. I'm going to show you one of my favorite ways to use them: watercoloring.

First, take your ink pad and stamp directly on to a work surface. I am stamping on a craft mat, but you could use a glass plate too. Spritz the inked surface with a little water. (The more water you use, the lighter the water color will be.)

Paint the darker/shadowy areas of your stamp first. (I chose to have that be the outer edges. I am using Wplus9's Classic Christmas ornaments.) Add more water to your color and work your way to the lighter parts. Once it is all painted, you can spray water directly onto the image and blend with your paint brush if it needs it. Cut out and attach to card.

I wanted my card to look like it was snowing, so I inked the edges with white ink and sprayed the entire card with a little water mixed with Perfect Pearls. I finished it off by writing a sentiment on the bottom right.

Check out the other Distress Ink projects:

• Dawn
• Elise
• Jinny
• Kerrianne
• Maile
• Savitri

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Birthday Favorite: Children's Books.

When I was a "tween," I used to babysit for my aunt, Michelle. I loved spending time with her family, but what I was most excited for was to read some of her vast children's library. She belonged to a monthly book order club and always had new, beautiful books with crisp pages. Although I have always liked to read, these babysitting weekends helped me develop my true love for children's literature.

I still love children's books. Yes, I like reading them to my children. I love cuddling on their beds at night and reading aloud the adventures of the brave mouse, Despereaux, or relaying the silly antics of everyone's favorite kindergartener, Ramona. But, even if I didn't have children, I would collect children's books...just for me. I love to read them. Good children's books are cleaver, sweet and simple. Often, reading them is just the kind of escape I need. 

I've compiled a list of my kids' and my favorite books.  If you haven't read them, I highly recommend doing so!

FAVORITE PICTURE BOOKS:
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Charlie and Lola: Excuse Me But That is My Book by Lauren Child (Family Top Favorite)
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Williems
Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss (Family Top Favorite)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Williems (Family Top Favorite)
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
Olivia by Ian Falconer
Spot series by Eric Hill
Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child & Polly Borland (Family Top Favorite)
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Ryland
The Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Varda Aardema


FAVORITE CHAPTER BOOKS:
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (Family Top Favorite)
Holes by Louis Sachar
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Ramona series by Beverly Cleary (Family Top Favorite)
Stuart Little by E.B. White
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The BFG by Roald Dahl (Family Top Favorite)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (Family Top Favorite)
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo (Family Top Favorite)
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

I am sure I am missing some great ones, so please list any of your favorite children's book in the comments.

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Birthday Favorite: Dating My Spouse.

I live for Date Night. We don't have a lot of time or money, so being creative to keep things exciting is a must. We occasionally do the stay-in-and-watch-a-movie night, but we also believe it is vital to a marriage to do new things. We don't want to lose the spark that we had while dating, and these dates "kindle the flame." Some of our favorite memories are our silliest dates. After 8 years of marriage, my heart still skips a beat when he walks in the room. I love being with J more than ever.

Here are some of our favorite cheap date night ideas:
• Drive to the local scenic outlook. Bring a picnic and eat while enjoying the lights of the city.
• Go shopping in a mall, each with $5. Give yourselves a time limit and buy something (our usually end up being silly) for your significant other. (We've done this twice. I love my silly trinkets and keep them on display. They bring back great memories.)
• Bake cakes. Then decorate them. (We did this once blindfolded with spatulas. It was hilarious.)
• Grab a book. Sit under a tree and read together.
• Carve pumpkins.
• Go on a walk through the city. Window shop.
• Go on a compass hike.
• Bake cookies.
• Run through the sprinklers. (I am serious.)
• Rent a bike built for two.
• Jump in rain puddles.
• Play croquet.
• Put together a puzzle.
• Have a ping-pong tournament.
• Go bird watching. Don't forget your camera and a bird-book.
• Fly kites.
• Go bowling.
• Play racquetball.
• Go to a park and throw a Frisbee.
• Skip stones on a lake.
• Go on a nature hike.
• Eat a sunrise breakfast in the mountains or park.
• Go visit a nearby waterfall with a picnic.
• Go on a bike ride through the canyon.
• Feed the ducks.
• Go for a drive with no destination in mind. Bring treats and keep the radio off.
• Hunt wild flowers.
• Spend a "survival day" in the wilderness.
• Visit a state or national park.
• Play checkers.
• Go to a store and play "The Price is Right."
• Go to the zoo.
• Watch a movie at the library.
• Visit a historical site.
• Visit a museum.
• Go to a summer theater.
• Visit a bird refuge or aviary.
• Visit an art gallery.
• Attend a ballet or theater performance.
• Go on a progressive dinner date; eating each course at a different restaurant. (I highly recommend sharing each course. This can be expensive and a lot of food.)


We like to keep a jar of ideas and pull one out when we want to be spontaneous. I hope this gives you and your spouse/boyfriend some good ideas! Our next date is tomorrow night....we are going to see HARRY POTTER. I am way too excited...

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