Car Insurance

Today I called our insurance company to try to lower our premium. The guy who helped me was great. He explained everything really well. We figured out what to change to lower our payments, and then we upgraded our plan so we have multiple accident forgiveness. Ironically, after 40 minutes on the phone, when you combine all 3 times I talked to him (in between talks with Karl), we are now paying 50 cents more per month. There is a plus side though. At the end of each renewal cycle we will get back a check for 5% of our premium, so in the end we're paying less. I just thought it was funny that I called to lower our premium and ended up raising it, I guess that means we have a smooth talker for an insurance agent.

Kaleb's Quilt

A few weeks ago I was at Wal*mart looking at fabric and Kaleb fell in love with some. I decided to make him a quilt from it, so here is a picture of the quilt, (with a very happy boy).

Silly Me

I had something funny happen so I thought I would share it.
My van has been making funny sounds when I push the brake. Karl couldn't hear them, so I thought I was imagining them. Especially since sometimes I heard it and other times I didn't.
The other day Karl drove the van and he asked if the sound was there when the road was icy. I thought about it and said yes.
He explained that it isn't a sound as much as a feeling under my foot (why he couldn't hear it when I was driving). The feeling is what anti-lock brakes feel like, it is a good thing to hear.

Quilts

I was looking at pictures of some of the quilts I've made and thought I would share them.


This quilt I made for Iris and Merrill (Karl's Parents)This is Chris and Della's Christmas quilt. They run group homes, hence the house theme.This is Mike and Elise's Wedding quilt. They specifically asked for this fabric. It is hard to see the dragons and the flames in the picture, but in real life it looks cool. (Elise was about 8 1/2 months pregnant in this picture, that's why she looks really tired). This is Brian and Lydia's Christmas quilt. They are in the Army and have lived in many different homes, so I thought the home theme worked for them too.

I've been Tagged!

My friend Jordan tagged me on her blog, so now I'm supposed to answer these questions.

Two Names You Go By: 1) Carrie 2) Dom (from Kaleb who can't say M at the beginning of a word)
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: 1) Dansko shoes (way comfy) 2) size 1 jeans

Two things you Want (or have) in a Relationship: 1) Communication 2) Fun
Two of Your Favorite Things to do: 1) spend time with my boys 2) Kickboxing
Two things you did last night 1) Finish the quilt top for Kaleb's bed 2) Watch X-men 2
Two people you Last Talked To: 1) Karl 2) Iris (Karl's Mom)
Two Things You're doing tomorrow: 1) Teach CTR 4 kids 2) Rest?
Two Longest Car Rides: 1) Provo to Houston, and back 2) Provo to North Carolina, and back.
Two Favorite Holidays:(As an adult) 1) Valentines Day 2) Thanksgiving
Two Favorite Drinks: 1) Good Root Beer 2) Sparkling Pear
Two Things About Me you may not have known: 1) I make really good Swedish Meatballs. 2) I'm good at Age of Empires.
Two jobs I have had in my life: 1) Administrative Assistant at MSDW 2) Costume Seamstress
Two Movies I would watch over and over: 1) Pride and Prejudice 2) Star Wars (all 6)
Two of my Favorite Foods: 1) Apple Crisp 2) White Chocolate Truffles from Sees
Two places I'd rather be right now: 1) Cross Country skiing in Aspen Grove 2) The little Italian restaurant at about 50 North 100 East in Provo.

I now tag Lydia and Lillie. Your turn!

Why I'm working on losing weight

I want to share my feelings on my weight loss. I have always felt like I was bigger than I wanted to be. The only time this wasn't the case was right after I got home from my mission. I had lost 70 pounds on my mission- about 40 of those I had gained on my mission. But soon after getting home I got married and had a baby, so those 70 pounds came back. I had lost 30 of them when I was ready for my second baby and gained the 30 back, plus 8 more.
Since I had Von in February I wanted to lose my weight, but realized I was missing a real reason. As I pondered I realized that my main reason for losing weight has always been to look better, and that isn't enough of an incentive to put the work in. Last August I decided it was time to really change. I wanted to be able to play with my boys (all 3 of them) and know that I will have a long life to spend with them. So I started exercising. My main concern with dieting is that I didn't want to have a short term change, I want to change my lifestyle. So I found a nutritionist and have been meeting with her on a weekly basis. We cover all types of topics and I'm learning how to actually eat healthy. My goal is to change my lifestyle, not just my weight.
So far it has worked pretty well. I haven't been losing weight fast, but it is slowly coming off, and it feels really good. But more importantly, I can run around with Kaleb and not get winded, I can wrestle with my boys and it doesn't wear me out. That is more important to ME than the fact that I can wear size 18 jeans instead of size 24, although that is nice too. And it will be fun to show up at my 10 year high school reunion wearing the same size I did at graduation (or maybe a smaller size.)

Working Woman

Today I did something I haven't done for awhile. I went to work. Jordan called me this morning. She was a little stressed and frustrated and needed some help. So I dropped off the boys at Grandma's house and went to work. I spent the next 4+ hours talking with Jordan while I hemmed pants. I have slowed down, but that's to be expected since I haven't worked for about 5 months.
I really enjoyed the day. It was good to get back to my boys though. I missed them.