My Little Monkey

I'm beginning to wonder if the nickname "Monkey" has started giving Kalianna a complex. Does she indeed think she is a real monkey? She loves this little monkey doll, and carries it around with her everywhere. In fact, she is more mothering with her baby monkey than she is with any of her human baby dolls (which she prefers to throw).

She will only take a few steps on her own, preferring to move about on all fours. And she is constantly climbing things, in order to get higher and higher. She will move toys to climb them, to get to other things to climb. If we had a vine in our house, I can guarantee you she'd be swinging from it!

She loves to eat food (surprisingly preferring spaghetti over bananas).

But she loves to throw it even more. Good thing she's wearing a diaper, so we don't have to worry about her throwing the same stuff monkeys in the zoo do!

Kalianna is starting to hate clothes. She realizes monkeys don't need to wear clothing, so why should she? Getting dressed cuts into her playing time, and you've never seen a happier girl than when she is moving around, freely, in nothing but a diaper. And her limbs keep getting longer and longer! Making it difficult to keep her in clothes, much to her delight.

The most worrisome monkey-trait we have noticed lately, however, is she has started to bare her teeth. Whenever she gets really excited over a toy or her blankie, or whenever mommy turns on the camera, out come the pearly whites.

I just hope she doesn't actually grow a tail. Cutting holes in all her pants would be a nightmare!

Book Cover Contest - Update

I would really love to design a book cover for my book The Princess Sisters, but unfortunately have absolutely no artistic abilities. That is why I am coming to you! I know many of you are very artistic, or have a husband, brother, or next door neighbor's uncle who is. All you have to do is design, draw, or photograph a cover for me. The contest will run until June 26th. The winner's artwork will be displayed prominently on my blog, along with their name, for some free marketing. The winner will also receive a $20 gift certificate to the restaurant of their choice. For rules and to enter the contest, please leave a comment with your e-mail address or e-mail me directly at pinkstacy@gmail.com

For an added bonus, if you put a link to my contest on your blog, on facebook, or e-mail it to your friends who might be interested (and then tell me about it), you will be entered in a drawing to win a free game! Zigity is made by the same creators of Cranium, and it's a lot of fun! So pass the word along! Cause who doesn't love free stuff?

Hey, that reminds me of...

Do you ever have moments when something you say or do reminds you of a TV show, song, or movie? Or is that just how my brain works? Because I have to use serious restraint sometimes to prevent myself from screaming, "Monkey, monkey, underpants!" at someone who tells me their brain is a mess sometimes.

I am convinced that any event or conversation in life can be related back to either Friends or Gilmore Girls.

Yesterday, Matt was telling me about a math problem he had to do, using a pivot, and I screamed, "Pivot!" like a mental patient.

And in my family, when someone says, "You look happy." It's not an uncommon response to hear, "Did you do something slutty?"

Sorry, it's a little bit longer video, but I couldn't find a shorter one. Still entertaining though!

I've also noticed that we adapt these shows into our lives. Matt and I often like to try and scare each other by screaming, "Danger!" as the other person comes out of the bathroom, or around a corner.

And whenever there's a lull in conversation, my friend Errin and I always fill it with, "Oy with the poodles already!"

Sadly, however, both of these shows are no longer on the air. (Moment of silence, please).

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Now our favorite show to quote, that is currently on the air, is My Boys. Have you seen this show? Some of the best one-liners ever! The wit and humor is fantastic!

My brain is chock-full of funny quotes, so next time I blurt something out and you have no idea what I'm talking about, just sit there and smile. (you only need to watch to minute 1:09 to see what I mean)

I Am Writer, Hear Me Roar

About six months ago, after a yummy Chinese dinner, I opened my fortune cookie to find this:

That was about the time I was still pursuing my novel, but not working on it as much as I would have liked. So I taped this fortune to my computer, and there it has rested ever since. I look at it every day as I finished my book, and now as I continue to edit, edit, edit. Someday I will be a published author. Not so I can become rich and famous, or so people will know my name. But because it is my dream! I want to see my ideas in print. I want to hold a book I imagined in my hands, and see others gain joy from reading my words.

As I continue down this bumpy road, (it is HARD to get published!) I have been absorbing as much information as I can. Trying to make myself a better writer, as well as learn techniques for getting agents to notice you. Because one thing I have learned from my journey is you need an agent. In today's publication world, it's almost impossible to find a publisher to even look at your work, unless it was given to them by an agent. That is, unless I want to write for a specific publisher, like Deseret Book or Covenant. Unfortunately, my book is not strictly LDS fiction, so I want it to reach a broader audience. Hey, if you're gonna dream, dream big right? So I have this Writer's Market book back from when I was trying to get a children's book published (it is even HARDER to get a children's book published!) And I found some agents through that, but the book is from 2006. So Saturday I decided to go to the bookstore and purchase this:

It has tons of tips and advice for writers before, during, and after submitting their work. Plus it has a list of hundreds of agencies who are accepting new clients, as well as their specific guidelines for sending in your query letter or manuscript. I have to admit, reading all the articles became a little discouraging. But I will prevail! One of the tips I learned is you need to get your name out there, if you want to be a successful writer. So it suggested starting a blog (woo-hoo! I'm doing one thing right!) and also be on facebook (yes! another gold star for me!) Because JK Rowlings and Stephenie Meyers are few and far between. Rarely does a new author's name spread like wildfire. Most agents are looking for people who are already marketing themselves, because who is going to buy a book from a new author they've never heard of? So I come to you and ask (maybe even beg a little) that if you enjoy my blog and my writing, then please tell your friends. Because apparently what I am lacking is more fans.

Mother's Day

So these are out of order, but I don't really care. I keep forgetting to blog about Mother's Day! We had stake conference the week before, so Mother's Day was a fast sunday for us this year. I have to admit, I was kind of cranky about the idea. We usually have a yummy brunch in relief society, so I didn't like the idea of not getting our food this year! (you have to understand, I love food!) But it ended up being a really nice day! First, Matt got up with Kalianna and let me sleep in. (my next favorite thing, after food) Church ended up being really, really nice. Having Mother's Day on a fast Sunday turned into a fantastic idea! The testimonies were all really wonderful, and the spirit was really strong. Then Matt took Kalianna to elder's quorum with him so I could enjoy the relief society lesson (isn't he sweet?). After church, I took the three kids on a walk in the warm sunshine, while Matt made dessert for my parent's house later that night. I had an interesting moment that day while getting ready for our walk. Kalianna had a poopy diaper, so I was changing her. I briefly had the thought, "I shouldn't have to do this, it's Mother's Day!" But then I quickly recovered and realized, "What better way to celebrate Mother's Day than by being a mom?!" That afternoon, we went to Matt's parent's house for dinner. He grilled the steaks, while his sister, Miranda, made all the sides. Dinner was super yummy! Then we went over to my parent's house for O' Henry bars for dessert. It was such a wonderful Mother's Day! I hope everyone else had a wonderful day as well!

Girl's Day

On Saturday for girl's day, we met at my mom's house in the morning to make freezer dinners. Have any of you ever done freezer dinners before? I hadn't, but we had lots of fun! The only way to really do freezer dinners is in a big group, so you can split the cost of food. We made five meals for $18 total (each)! I was very impressed! I'm excited to try out my dinners now and see how yummy they are, they looked really good as we were making them. It was a pretty casual day, but fun to talk and laugh as we went shopping for all the ingredients and made all the meals together. It only took a little over an hour to actual put the five meals together. We went to Mimi's Cafe for lunch that afternoon and had the oldest server I have ever seen. It's sad she was still having to work at her age! I kept thinking, "You should be on the beach somewhere in Florida or traveling the country in a huge RV!" It's a good thing we weren't in a big hurry because after taking our order, it literally took an hour to get our food. We just laughed about it. We had all ordered a salad or a sandwich, so its not like we had to wait for something to cook. And the restaurant wasn't even very busy! She was such a cute old lady, but she got several things wrong, our food took forever to come, and then when it did come, our fries weren't even hot anymore. Funny adventures! So afterwards, we went to the DI to buy some picture frames for making earring holders. I have one already, but my earrings have outgrown it, so time to make a bigger one! All you do is take the picture frame of your choice, paint or decorate it however you want, then tack some screen to the back. Then voila! You have a beautiful earring holder! I'll post a picture when my new one is done. After making food and working on our frames, we turned on Mama Mia and pianted toenails. Such a fun, relaxing day with the girls!

Card Group

Isn't this super cute? I made this lovely Father's Day card for my card group this week. And I'm quite proud of how they turned out! I love card group! I haven't had to buy a card for birthdays, baby showers, weddings, etc. in a very long time! Plus homemade cards are so much nicer anyway! Card group is where 12 ladies (myself included) get together every other month and exchange cards. We each make 12 identical cards, and then we swap so everyone goes home with 12 different cards! Plus we get to sit and visit when we get together too. I'm one of the newer members of the group, so I'm still learning. But I feel like my cards are getting better each time. Its lots of fun, I really enjoy it! Plus I don't have to spend $3 on a boring store-bought card anymore! If you want a fun group to start in your ward/neighborhood, I highly recommend it!