Flash Back Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! Today is My 23rd BIRTHDAY!!! AHHH!!!! One Year Past my Golden, but just as awesome if not more! I decided to do a mini-Flash Back Photo Post. It's me from 17 to 23, 2005 to 2011! I am so Happy and Super Excited! I hope 23 is the best year yet! (I hope that every year, and I don't remember ever being let down yet). Plus, there are so many songs with the age 23 in them! I don't know what it is with that age, but there must be something special about it, otherwise they wouldn't use it. Happy Birthday Angela!

Love Always,

Mrs. Fray Fray

More Fun ... Less Tears

Life should be more fun, with less tears.

Don't Cry over spilt Milk.

Just take everything one step at a time.

Enjoy it. Live for it. Laugh at it.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck

I was thinking to myself today, while watching a family Documentary from the 70's. This, of course, was well before 'reality T.V.' where every Family and their Dog got their own show. The Documentary was called, "Who are the DeBolts?" They are a family with 19 children. Many of those children were adopted and at least half had disabilities of one kind or another. It was interesting to see how much Joy they had. There seemed to be more laughter in the home and personal triumphs for the disabled than there was of fighting and contention. There was unity in the home. It was a well put together film.

Anyways, while watching this film I was thinking about how everyone can have that kind of a home. Attitude is everything. I feel like in our culture today people see it more fit to be upset over little things that happen to them, rather than to brush it off and move on. Being the "Victim" gets you more attention I suppose than just being happy. Life should have more Joy with less tears. Less Frustration. What's wrong with just being happy? I think sometimes things Can be, and Are frustrating. But there's no need to make a bigger deal out of it than it is. Let it go, and move on.

When I was younger, and I became upset, I used to bottle it up and hold it in and fume over things that really didn't matter. But, I've trained myself to better let things go and to calm myself down before I get upset over something that isn't worth my time to be upset about. Besides, being upset never made me happy. So why Bother?

Love Always,

Mrs. Fray Fray

The Power of Flowers

For Valentines day James got me Flowers! Well... Someone else technically bought them, but it was due to some clever trading on James' part. He is so Amazing!!! I love him So much and I love that he treats me like a Princess. Thanks for an Amazing Valentines Day James!

Birthday Love*

Love Always,

Mrs.Fray Fray

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Dear James,

EYE

LOVE

YOU!!!

Will you be My Valentine?

Love Always,

The Wifey

Food, Love, Party

Spaghetti Surprise!!! That is the new meal slash creation James and I came up with one day when making lunch. We had left over Ravioli and Spaghetti, so we decided just to combine the left overs for a beautiful masterpiece! The Surprise in Spaghetti surprise was Ravioli! It was Delicious! Having random chunks of Ravioli in your spaghetti was the best feeling ever. Of course, I am a red sauce-a-holic! I LOVE the red stuff! I could have red sauce on my cereal and still love it! (Well, maybe not cereal, but ... you get the idea). So this meal was perfect for ME! It's like my special order at a celebrity Restaurant.
To create; first you put in the spaghetti. Then layer with red sauce. Next set in the Ravioli pieces.
Now Spread another layer of sauce and cover the top with Cheese!!! Bake for Approx. 20min. Then Serve!

Last Night the Institute held a Valentines Dinner & Dance. It was awesome, which we then Followed with a free night at the cheap theatre! Best Night EVER James!!!

We went to see the new Narnia Movie (Voyage of the Dawn Treader). It was a wonderful show! I am so glad Libby and Aaron got us in for free! Thanks you two!

Love Always,

Mrs. Fray Fray

Paparazzi : for Me

So, when I look on facebook, and I see those people. You know, the ones that take picturesOnly of themselves, and post them over and over again? Well, I think, "Wow, they are so weird." But, I secretly have to admit. I enjoy doing the very same thing. Taking photos of myself. I just don't post them for everyone to see. (AND, they aren't the Only photos I own). But, I thought I would do a mini-clip of my self portraits on my blog, because WAY less people see it than on facebook. Conceded. I know. But, it happens. ... As you will notice, Not all of these were taken in one day. It was just random days, with random photos. Some, are kind of old. But when you're stalking yourself, you need to take into account past events to make it complete.

Me and my Twinners!

LOV

If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it.

Love Always,

Mrs. Fray Fray

Getting DRESSed

Today after the Institute (Weekly) Friday Lunch, I drove home to wait for James till he got out of class. While at home, I continued my plans for his 30th Birthday Murder Mystery Party! I was attempting to decide which character I would play and if I were to play certain characters, what would I wear!? I looked and looked at evening gowns from 1961 online and I thought, "I wonder if my wedding dress would look retro enough? I decided I wanted to try it on to see. So I pulled it out, and after 2 1/2 years of sitting in a closet it still looked great! I turned it over so it's backside would show and the lace-up on the back was completely undone.

I took the time to lace each one back up so that I could just slip right in it and tie myself up to surprise my Husband when he came home! But when I was done and attempted to jump in I realized I would need to have it more loosened up than it was. I turned around still standing with it at my knees loosening it up and pulling, and loosening it up and pulling. Finally I decided that it HAD to be loosened up enough! And that going in through the top obviously was not going to work.

Heads first then! I pulled the dress up over my head arms straight in the air and let it fall as much as it could. It STILL wasn't enough! "Well," ... I thought to myself. "I'm certain it is enough. If someone were here they would be able just to tug a little and it for sure would be on." I leaned my leg against the bed and caught the bottom of my dress with my foot and pulled it down. Then I did the same to the other side. Then back to the previous side again. With each tug it got tighter and tighter and I knew it wasn't going to get on all the way without assistance. The only problem now was, I was stuck! I couldn't get it on, and now I couldn't get it off! And my arms were still Straight up in the Air! I had to think quick. I picked up my phone and using my left arm bent my elbow to reach my right ear and called James. He answered (and was out of class now waiting for someone at the Institute).

"I'm Stuck!" I said. "What?!" He answered in confusion, with a little bit of concern. "I tried to put my wedding dress on and now I'm stuck in it!" He laughed out loud and the people near him were informed of my sad little predicament and I heard them laughing too. "Help!" I pleaded. "My arms are sticking straight up in the air!" Laughter. "I'm loosing circulation in my right arm!" They burst out laughing even more. He informed me that he was on his way. I layed down on the couch, trying to help my arms get blood to them, struggling a little bit for freedom, then I Started to pull my weight upward attempting to pull the dress down. IT WORKED! I had the dress on and my arms were saved! Double bonus! I quickly called James and told him I got it on.

I then decided I wanted to eat spaghetti. I heated it up put on an apron, Layed on the living room floor and enjoyed a saucy lunch. In my wedding dress :) When he came home, he tied and tightened up the back of my dress so that I could fully enjoy sitting in it properly, and ... laughed at me a little more.

Love Always,

Mrs. Fray Fray

Top 5: Future Pet Possibilities

Number One on my list is the; German Short Haired Pointer. Pointer Size: Medium. Large. Coat: Silky. Straight. Coat length: Short. Grooming: Easy, low-maintenance. May drool. Moderate shedding. Very high activity level. Likes to swim. Bred to hunt game birds. Moderately intelligent. Somewhat harder than average to train. Tolerates other pets well. Tolerates strangers very well. Good with kids four and up. Very affectionate. Moderately independent. Fairly quiet. Long estimated lifespan. In America, a rare breed. Not well suited for apartment living. I rated 67% compatibility with this dog on my Dog quiz list and he ranked #6.

Number two is the Labrador retriever. Labrador Retriever Size: Large. Coat: Straight. Coat length: Short. Grooming: Easy, low-maintenance. May drool. Moderate shedding. Very high activity level. Likes to swim. Bred to hunt game birds. Very high intelligence. Somewhat easier than average to train. Tolerates other pets very well. Tolerates strangers very well. Very good with kids four and up. Very affectionate. Moderately independent. Fairly vocal. Good watchdog potential. Somewhat shorter than average estimated lifespan. A very popular breed in the US, according to AKC records. Ranked on my quiz #3, with 69% Compatibility. Number Three is the Poodle, Standard. Poodle (standard) Size: Large. Coat: Soft. Curly/Corded. Coat length: Short. Grooming: Easy, low-maintenance. Very unlikely to drool. Little to no shedding. Reportedly tolerated by allergy sufferers. High activity level. Likes to swim. Very high intelligence. Comparatively, among the easier to train. Tolerates other pets fairly well. Tolerates strangers very well. Good with kids four and up. Very affectionate. Very dependent. Fairly vocal. Good watchdog potential. Somewhat longer than average estimated lifespan. A very popular breed in the US, according to AKC records. Ranking as #2 on my quiz (First being a mixed Breed of my top 10 breeds) with a 73% compatibility. Second time on Quiz still #2 With 77%.Golden Retriever Size: Large. Coat: Soft. Silky. Straight. Long/Double coated. Grooming: Easy, low-maintenance. May drool. Moderate shedding. Very high activity level. Likes to swim. Bred to hunt game birds. Very high intelligence. 1 Tolerates other pets very well. Tolerates strangers very well. Very good with kids four and up. Very affectionate. Moderately independent. Fairly vocal. Somewhat shorter than average estimated lifespan. A very popular breed in the US, according to AKC records. Ranked #4 on my Quiz with 68%.Portuguese Water Dog Size: Medium. Coat: Soft. Curly/Corded. Coat length: Medium. Grooming: Easy, low-maintenance. May drool. Little to no shedding. Reportedly tolerated by allergy sufferers. Very high activity level. Likes to swim. Highly intelligent. Somewhat easier than average to train. Wary of other pets. Tolerates strangers very well. Very good with kids four and up. Very affectionate. Moderately independent. Fairly quiet. Somewhat shorter than average estimated lifespan. Slightly above average popularity in the US. After a few tweeks on the Quiz it ranked #3 with 71% Compatibility.

How to Be Lovely

James and I went to another couples home in the ward and I noticed she had many Audrey Hepburn books, which I LOVE AUDREY! I have seen books on her before in Chapters, I just never actually bought them because, well, I'm poor. But I really did want to read some of them. I asked if I could borrow one, and was told yes. The book I borrowed was by Melissa Hellstern entitled, "How to Be Lovely." Before I give the book back, I wanted to document a few of my favorite quotes of Audrey from it. She is such a positive and uplifting person, it's hard Not to feel inspired when you read even a little bit about her life.

Audrey spent a lot of her time at her home in Switzerland. She said of it;

"What I always wanted, and what I still want, is to create a warm and loving atmosphere for those I care about - my family and friends."

"It's the flowers you choose, the music you play, the smile you have waiting. I want it to be gay and cheerful, a haven in this troubled world."

Other things she said;

"The most important thing is to enjoy life-to be happy-that's all that matters."

"I heard a definition once: Happiness is health and a short memory! I wish I'd invented it, because it is very true."

"Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come. . . . The past, I think has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future."

"Not to live for the day, that would be materialistic - but to treasure the day. I realize that most of us live on the skin - on the surface - without appreciating just how wonderful it is simply to be alive at all."

"I could always hear my mother's voice saying, 'Be on time,' and 'Remember to think of others first,' and 'Don't talk a lot about yourself. You are not interesting. It's the others that matter.' "

"It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so don't fuss, dear; get on with it."

"I didn't expect anything much and because of that I'm the least bitter woman I know."

"My greatest ambition is to have a career without becoming a career woman."

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." -Maya Angelou

"You have to be as relaxed as possible about food and fitness and the rest of it, or you'll be a slave to your beauty habits . . . You may have great skin, but you'll become a robot."

"I'm not the one who has rules. I am not a person who must have so many hours of sleep so that my skin will look good. I love to walk, so I do get lots of air . . . lots and lots of oxygen. And I sleep marvelously well. I need eight or nine hours to make me completely happy; otherwise I long for a nap.But if I don't have one, it doesn't destroy me. I'm very relaxed and unmethodical about myself. I do what I have to do and let it go at that."

"When you have had the strength to survive starvation, you never again send back a steak simply because it's under-done."

"I seem to have a sort of built-in leveler. I've a tremendously good appetite - I eat everything, everything - but as soon as I'm satisfied, a little hatch closes and I stop."

"I eat very well and I eat everything that I want."

"I'm not a snacker. But I eat awfully well at meals and all the things I like."

"I'm grateful for everything that's green. When I didn't have a dime, I held the dream of one day having my own orchard with fruit trees and a place to grow vegetables."

I love Audrey, And I loved these quotes. I hope you can gain from them as I have.

Love Always,

Mrs. Fray Fray