Youth Making A Difference

Just wanted to pass on some information on where my little sister Sarah is spending her next few weeks....India. She is with a great organization called Youth Making A Difference. Please check out the website and you can read about everything she is doing. www.ymad.org I'm so proud of you Sarah! Here is a journal entry from one of the group leaders....so amazing!

Hello Everyone,
I don't think I will ever get over the poverty and joy of this country. Today I went to the hospital and had them take me to the pediatric ward. Many beds had 2 children in them passing infection back and forth. The labor and delivery would make you cry. It has many women delivering at a time on filthy cots next to each other. No epidurals. Eli thinks he is on a movie set and any moment Steven Spielberg is going to come out and say "cut" and then they will get rid of the filth and poverty and return it to the "real world". It is very surreal for the teens and adults as well. They are all physically and emotionally spent. They are in the orphanages all day playing with the children and working on projects. They are in love with the children. I will have to do a bag check to make sure they don't pack any children in their bags to take home with them. God bless America!

My Darling Husband

Okay, I can't even begin to tell you all how utterly amazing my husband is. He is a girl's dream come true. Today I have been a little stressed out. I'm trying to get ready to go to Denver for Thanksgiving, delivering flowers, picking up more flowers, making wreaths, my back hurts and I got hypoglycemic to top it all off! I had to ask for a sucker at the bank....so glad they had some. So, I've been extremely grumpy today. I was even grumpy after Matt made me a delicious pancake breakfast. Later this evening, I walked into our bedroom and there was a wrapped gift and card. I new it was from Matt and I started weeping even before I read the card. He had gone out today and bought me the most beautiful blue maternity sweater with the most darling of cards. He said the sweater was to keep me and the baby warm, and how he can't wait to see me holding our baby boy. Aaaaahhhhh, is this guy for real? I just cried and cried, and felt so bad that I was grumpy. I sometimes take for granted how lucky I am to have someone like Matt in my life. I'm so blessed. I love you honey bear.

Flower Craft Day

I had so much fun teaching how to make a flower arrangement during craft day on Sunday afternoon. The weather was so perfect, and my students were so perfect! Each arrangement had a unique look and design...bravo! The arrangements consisted of: Nandina, Sunflowers, Safflower, Millet, Eucalyptus Pods, & Echinecea Cones....Fall Fabulous! Photo: Sassy, Krissy, Erika, Natalie & Michelle

La Fleur

Here is a collection of some of my favorite designs.

I Have Been Tagged!

I will answer the following questions for your reading pleasure.....

Okay, Kate want's some dirt.....I don't have bunions, but I do have a nasty cluster of plantars warts on the heel of my foot. Yuck! After baby is born, I'm having them injected with some sort of chemo-therapy drug that will kill them off. Hurray!!

I don't really have a great first kiss story...it was just a first kiss while sitting on my parents front porch. Duh, I wish it was a better story!

FAVORITE PLACES I'VE BEEN:
Maui & Kauai, Hawaii....Underneath the Water
Kiawah Island, South Carolina....On the Beaches Looking for Sand Dollars
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.....The Arch & Lovers Beach
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico....Chitza Nitza
Snow Canyon, St. George Area....The Hidden Pinon Trail
Yellowstone National Park....The Hayden Valley
Teton National Park....Jenny Lake
Zion & Arches National Park....The Emerald Pools Trail & Delicate Arch/Fiery Furnace
San Francisco, CA....Fisherman's Wharf, Baker Beach, The Muir Woods, The Presidio
Carmelle, CA.....Hiking Near the Coast, Great Shopping, Tide Pooling
Seattle, WA....Clam Chowder, Pike's Place Market
The Coast of Oregon...Tide Pools in Florence, Clam Chowder, Amazing Cliffs

SOME JOBS I'VE HAD:
Ride Operator at Liberty Park....This is Why I have a BAD Back! Cars & Planes Forever!!
Cookie Maker....Foothill Village, They always told me I Decorated the Best...Sorry Matt!
Barista...I Make a Great Latte!
Gift Shop Employee....My Most Favorite Job Ever! Changing Seasons in Sugar House
Interior Designer....Hoff Miller, Paula Berg Interior Design in Park City
Floral Designer....Susan's Designs, Artichokes & Roots

Shows I Watch:
Food Network-Barefoot Contessa & Nigella Feasts are some of my favorites!
Any Cooking Shows
Old Martha Stewart Living Re-Runs! I'm the Biggest Martha Fan!
American Idol
Grey's Anatomy
30 Rock

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW, or maybe you do?:
I Love sharks. I even went on a Great White cage dive on the coast of San Francisco...thanks Dad for going with me. It was the scariest thing I have ever done, and I can't wait to do it again.

I have a serious sickness when it comes to holiday decorating. Halloween is my favorite, followed by Christmas. I just love decorating my house, it's very theraputic for me.

I love, love, love throwing parties. Entertaining is so much fun. I want guests to come into my home and always feel welcome, cozy, & full of great food.

I try my best to freak people out with my obssesion with the Super Natural. Ghosts, Orbs, E.V.P's...I love it all. I even had my own Ghost Hunters club in elementary school. I would take my friends out on ghost investigations. I think we found proof in the neighbors shed one afternoon. I also dragged my friends and family to a ghost hunting club a few years back in October. Soooooo Freaky!! I'm a believer! Sorry to Kate for tramatizing her, and sorry to her hubby Brian. I think he still has to get up some nights when she has flash-backs!

I have my own floral design company called La Fleur. It's so much fun having my own business, but it's also a lot of work. I get so much enjoyment in working with such amazing materials, and I feel lucky I get to use my talent and creativity each week. I love working on weddings and I have a sweet gig with a large corporate company. They take me down to Las Vegas for a fun filled weekend, and all I have to do is come up with some killer arrangements! It's also great to know that I can do flowers and still be a mom. I plan on dragging Felix around with me...picking out flowers, buying supplies, and showing him how to make amazing arrangements.

My Favorite Things

I thought I would share with everyone some of my favorite things!

1. Halloween! I love: spooky decorations, the falling of autumn leaves, the smell of warming jack-o-lanterns, hot apple cider & donuts, watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas", little kids costumes, screaming with family and friends at a haunted house, & a cozy fire on a chilly evening.

2. Yellowstone National Park! I love: spotting bison, elk and bears, hiking around the mud volcanoes & other thermal areas, jumping into the rapids of Firehole Falls, hiking to Lone Star Geyser, watching Matt fly fish in the Madison, & wildflower trails.

3. Tide Pooling! I love: looking through tide pools in Oregon, finding sea urchins, crabs, & sand dollars, sticking my toes into warm sand, watching for ocean life in the surf & eating a bowl of warm clam chowda afterwards.

Sage & Leo

This is Sage & Leo, our cute Tabby cats. They are 9 months old and quite a handful! They love racing around the house, playing with paper bags and snuggling all over us. It seems like they think they are humans, not cats. Leo follows me around the house all day long, and Sage is always into trouble. My favorite is watching them snuggle together...brother and sister & best friends.

Maui

Last March we took the most amazing trip to Maui with the Bernhisel side of the family. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had. Maui is one of my favorite places on the planet...it truly has a spirit I can't resist. I love sitting out on the balcony, drinking my Kona coffee while watching Humpback Whales play so close to the beaches. This was Matt's first time visiting Hawaii and he is hooked for life! He enjoyed snorkeling and diving with the traditional Hawaiian spear he bought on-line. He didn't spear anything this time! We saw many gorgeous sea turtles out snorkeling, but the best were the ethereal manta rays. We can't wait to go back to Maui in the near future.