Follow My Blog...

Laura mentioned a few months ago, that I have a blog that is geared toward sharing the gospel with my non-member friends.  I talk about our religion and bear testimony using examples from my own life.  I would love to increase traffic to my site and have added a "Follow My Blog" gadget.  I would love it if you would choose to either subscribe to or follow my blog.  (You can do this by clicking on those words on the right side of my blog:  http://beinglds.blogspot.com)  I am hoping that you will read a post here and there and share these messages with your friends when the spirit moves you.

Announcing the arrival of baby Schacher

Susan had her baby!!! Katelyn (middle name to be determined) Schacher arrived around 2pm this afternoon, Utah time. She is 8 days early, weighs 6 lbs exactly and is 19 inches long. She has lots of dark hair like her brother Cedric did when he was born. Susan was in activer labour for just under 4 hours and the doctor didn't even make it to deliver little Katelyn. Once Susan sends some pictures, I'll post those. *edit- pictures are here, obviously!*

Congratulations Susan, Eric & Cedric!!! We're so excited about your new arrival!

Getting to Know You

I know that we all "introduced" ourselves at one point or another but I thought it would be interesting to get to know a little more about you. So, starting at the beginning, where were you born? I was born in Missoula MT (but grew up in OR and now live in 'bama).

New Contributor

Hello everyone, my name is Molly Stump and I have been a reader of this blog for some time now and Linz just asked me to join. My sister is Katie Brooks from this blog and I know Linz from Michigan State as well. My husband Robert and I have a 4 year old son Austin and an almost 3 month old baby girl named Kalli. My husband is a police officer and I am fortunate enough to get to stay home with my kids and I love it. I will eventually post a family picture but haven't taken one since Kalli arrived and I am yet to shed pregnancy pounds and still avoid cameras like the plague! I am not sure how to add my blog site to the side list, but it is http://stumpsnippets.blogspot.com/
I look forward to contributing to this blog and for the great advice and knowledge I will receive from all of you!

New to the Group

Hello Sugar & Spice girls! My name is Claire and I’ve been lurking and commenting on this blog for several weeks now and I’m so excited that Lindsay invited me to join. I think this blog is such a great idea! I lived down the hall from Nate and Lindsay during my freshman year of college… Nate use to take my trash out for me! He’s such a sweet guy!! Linz got a good one!

I live in the Phoenix area with my husband Scott and darling little girl, Cecelia Shannon. Scott is a police officer and I’m a mom. He loves his job and I absolutely love mine! I started college at MSU studying Interior Design, but have since put school on hold to have a family. I hope to eventually finish my degree; though I’m not sure I will finish with Interior Design… we’ll see what happens! For now, I’m perfectly content to be at home with Cecelia.

I met Scott 4 years ago, during my freshman year. He was serving his mission in Lansing and was one of the elders assigned to my student ward. It wasn’t until I moved to Utah and he got home from his mission that we got in touch and decided that we liked each other. He came up to Utah to visit me after about a month and a half of talking on the phone. By the time his 5 day visit ended he had proposed and 2 weeks later I moved down to Arizona to be with him. We got married in August of 2005. I actually had a huge crush on him while he was on his mission, but it wasn’t until he got home that he had any interest in me! But that’s how it should be, so it worked out perfectly! Six months after we got married we bought a house that we’ve had a lot of fun painting and remodeling. 10 months after our wedding we found out I was pregnant. Cecelia joined our family in March 25, 2007, 14 days after her due date!!

I love to spend time with my family, scrapbook, sew, play piano, read, cook, sing, shop, and travel. My big project for the moment is starting an organization for the wives of police officers in our city. Among other things, we hope to offer gun safety courses for the wives and children of police officers and raise money to help the families of local officers who are wounded or killed in the line of duty.

New Contributor

Hi, my name is Heidi.

My husband and I met while we were both working at USU in Logan, Utah. We live in Alabama where my husband is an art professor at Jacksonville State University. Our six month old daughter keeps us laughing and very busy. In addition to these things, I am interested in a cappella music, reading, cooking, blogging, public radio, crocheting, sewing and hope to learn how to garden in 'bama.

Cramster and I were roommates about ten years ago. I've been reading this blog for a while and have posted comments from time to time. Then I got an invitation to join and I was excited. I told my husband that I just got invited to be in the "in group" and he immediately said, "did you get asked to be a contributor to Sugar and Spice?" It made me laugh. I'm looking forward to getting to know all y'all better through this blog. Thanks!

New to Group

I started to introduce myself and realized I sounded a little too much like an AA member...you know 'Hi my name is Teriney, blah blah blah.' Anyhow, my name really is Teriney. I am a sister in-law to Liz. I actually joined the group a month or so ago, but am really blog shy...but decided to take the leap!

I am originally from Arizona. I went to college in Utah, and graduated from the other other college, UVSC. I have a degree in Integrated Studies: Business Management & Communications. I am married to Joe, and the mother of a 16 month old girl and another girl on the way (due at the begining of March). We have been living in Arkansas for the past 2ish years, while Joe is working on his JD degree. He is in his finally year and we are excited to see where life takes us next!

I tend to think of myself as a dabbler in hobbies so I'll only list a few. My current favorites are: jewelry making (clearly I am not a photographer!) and sewing. I am definitely a beginner in the sewing department but I find it fun and relaxing. Anyhow, me in a nutshell! ps. Sorry for any spelling errors...I am not sure if the spell checked worked ;)

Hi Everyone!

Hello! I'm Jenny Lowe (aka Jen... I added my last initial to my name since I see there is another Jen). I'm really excited to be apart of this blog! I've been reading for about 2 weeks now and figured I should just join :) I know quite a few of you from MI, and I used to live above Lindsay and Nate at the Living Center.

I've been married to Michael for almost 2 1/2 years, and we have a beautiful daughter, Margaret. She is 10 1/2 months old and a JOY to have in our lives! Earlier this month she started standing on her own, so we're getting excited for those first steps to happen. She loves dogs (that was her first word other than "ma ma" and "da da") and calls everything from squirrels to deer dogs. But I love being a mommy, and I'm so blessed to be able to stay at home with her!

We currently live in Ithaca, NY and LOVE it here! The saying is "Ithaca is Gorges" and I think you can see why at right. This is my favorite gorge/waterfall. Michael is attending Cornell for his PhD in Chemistry. So we'll be in the area for about 5 years. But the area is fantastic, and I could live here the rest of my life! If anyone plans a trip to Palmyra, let me know! We have lots of floor space :) That's our temple district and we're about 1 1/2 hrs away.

I love cooking/baking, sewing, canning, camping, being outside, finding new ways to save money, reading, painting, photography, being with Michael (which is rare these days), and of course, spending my days with Margaret. I currently teach piano lessons and studied vocal performance at Central Michigan University.

I think that's about it. Anything you want to know, just ask :) OH!! I read in a past post (from april I think) that someone has a brother serving in the New York Utica mission... well we live in that mission! I'm sorry, I can't remember who wrote the post but what is your brother's name? Maybe we'll meet him :)

Hello new friends

My name is Bethany. I've been reading the posts for a bit and noticed there is someone else here named Bethany. To keep things from being confusing I've added my last name initials to my screen name. Linz introduced me to this blog.

I live in Texas. I moved here almost two months ago with my husband, Jason, and our son, Luke. Luke will be 7 months on the 21st. He is our first child. Jason and I will have been married for five years in September. We moved from Utah where we were assigned to Hill AFB. Before that we were at BYU in Provo. Jason graduated a year ago. I have yet to start college. Some day I will and I look forward to it! Jason is in the Air Force and is going through Navigator training here. Are any of you in or married to the military? I am enjoying TX so far. Jason is really busy so we haven't been able to see many sights.

I like to sew. I am not very good at it, yet. I want to improve my skills. Right now I am working on some simple blankets for Luke and curtains for his room. I like to cook. I pretty much follow recipes to the T but I'm starting to venture out own my own. I'm just happy that I've prepared a dinner menu for the last few weeks and have been able to stick with it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE taking care of my son. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with him. However, there are those moments when I don't know what I'm doing or why Luke is doing something and it gets frustrating. I also like to read and watch movies. I don't usually like to read or watch things twice, I just don't see the fun in it when I already know whats going to happen. There are some exceptions.

If any of you would like to see what I or the rest of my family looks like you can see my personal blog at http://usafwifo.blogspot.com

Introducing Tiffany and Megan

Hi everyone! I knew Lindsay, Staci, and Katie Earp growing up in Naperville and I just got invited to join this blog and I'm so excited! I totally have NO IDEA what I'm doing as a new mom...and I love advice from other people--esp. ones in the same boat as me. :)

Anyway, I grew up in Naperville, IL (near Chicago), went to college at BYU (Go Cougars!) where I met a very handsome man who was terrified of me (I won him over). 14 months later we were married, and now almost 2 years later we have a BEAUTIFUL, gigantic 3 month old. I like to laugh because after our first date my husband went home and his roommates asked him, "How'd your date go?" and his response (no joke) was, "We'd make big babies." And we did. ;)

Anyway, I majored in Elementary Education and taught second grade for a year in Heber City, UT while my husband finished school (he majored in Mechanical Engineering). After graduation he got a job working for Boeing in Washington state, so here we are. :) I substitute taught until February when Megan was born, and now I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom and chill with my baby. It's very fun getting to know her little personality and I feel very blessed to have her in my life. I love to sing, I love to read, and I love sports (but cannot play any of them...I'm no good...rough). My dream for the world is that it would turn into a musical just for one day...seriously, how awesome would that be? You're just walking somewhere and then all of a sudden everyone busts out into song and dance? It would pretty much rule. I am shamelessy addicted to American Idol and I love cheesy movies. That's pretty much me. I'm excited to get to know the rest of you!

Chantel- New Blogger

Hi all you mommies! I am new to the whole blog thing, but was convinced by Linz that it was the place be, so I am excited to share tips with all of you.

My husband and I recently passed our 5 year marriage mark and are excited for the next 5 years. We have two kids, McKayla who is 3 1/2 and Parker who is 17 months.

We live in the San Antonio, Texas area and are adjusting to all the heat and humidity, which we are definitely not used to. We moved here from Utah, where we were studying at BYU. I am orginally from Highland, Utah and my husband is from Rochester, Minnesota.

I recieved my bachelor's degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development, so I love learning anything about these subjects. I am currently using my degree to help me keep up with my two very active kids as I am a homemaker.
My favorite thing to do is bake, which I try not to do to often because of my love of eating the things I bake. I also enjoying reading a good book and relaxing in the bathtub as my husband watches the kids, an extra special treat.

I love being a mommy and my kids have taught me so much. They opposite personalities keep me on my toes, but their love of life and learning keep me laughing, although I must admit that sometimes it takes me a couple of days to find the humor.

I hope to get to know that rest of you domestic divas through your posts and comments as we share the adventures of raising children!

Jocelyn Christensen - New Spice Sister...

Hello, Domestic Divas! I know, you are wondering, "What is she doing here?" (I don't supposed the excuse "I carried a watermelon..." would ring any bells for you ladies?)

Well, here goes: Laura Roth (of The Grapes of Roth blog and Sugar & Spice contributor!) invited me to this great group of cyber sisters! Laura and I hearken back to our undergrad days at dear Miami University in Ohio. And we also spent some time together in Columbus. She fared much better in that town than I did, I must say! My fave city is Washington, DC...which also happens to be where I met and married my catch-of-a-husband Steve. (Aw!)

Steve and I will have been living in matrimonial bliss for three years on May 22nd. (Is that enough "sugar" for you gals???) We have one sweet son named Guy who will be 18 months in May. We are expecting bundle of joy #2 some time around May 17th. (We don't know the gender. We enjoy the surprise!) Add to that that my husband is graduating from Penn State with his MBA on May 13th, and we'll hopefully be moving for a job - and you've got one busy month for our fam!

Before I got married, I worked as a TV producer for CNN, which gave me lots of good memories and unbelievable stories to tell my kids some day, although they probably won't believe me! (Do you recognize JFK, Jr. in the pic below? Thought I'd add some eye-candy.) Nowadays, I write my heart out...just for me and my family. I like to write poetry, follow interesting news stories, and I publish a monthly family newsletter for my family that I get way too into. It's a fun outlet for me.

I am afraid that I might not be able to add much by way of great recipes, because I am what I'd consider a lazy cook! I like to get in and out of the kitchen as fast as possible! Ha ha! Mostly just a way to keep myself from eating everything in sight! (I do prefer baking tho...much sweeter pay-offs in baking!) I do however hope to add my own bits of spice here and there, although with all of the amazing women on this blog it might be difficult to add something new! But I will try! :)

What else can I tell you about me? My personal website is http://jocelynandsteve.bravehost.com/ If you go there, you can read an article that I recently had published in a magazine here in State College on my experience leaving a career to become a stay-home Mother.

I like to cross-stitch. I love milk. My fave sports are volleyball and softball. I consider make-up the equivalent to a shot of V8...a double-shot is even better! :) I would NEVER bungee jump - even if you paid me a million dollars. I drive a VW named Wolfie -- my dear friend Wolfie! :) I like to dream. I like to make frequent references to movie quotes from my fave films...(I'm not a movie buff tho.) Did I stump you with the line in my first graph? Hope not - it's from D.D. - Do you need anymore clues?

Cannot wait for Spiderman 3 to come out on May 4th...Now to find a sitter! :)

Thanks for inviting me to this fun group, Laura! You are one awesome WOMAN! I am glad we are friends! Looking forward to getting to know each of you and learning from your experiences!

Hope to hear from you soon! - Jocelyn

PS - So glad there's a spellcheck on this puppy! Prediction: Today it's lasick (sp?) eye surgery...Tomorrow people will be getting spellcheck microchip implants! haha!

GTKY--Skipper

Hello Everyone! First of all I have to tell you that I absolutely love the concept behind this blog...seeing as how I have no idea what I'm doing as a first time mom.



My lovely long, lost friend Staci invited me, and I hope you don't mind. My name is Skipper (actually, my name is Stephanie, but nobody has called me that for years) and I'm getting ready to move back to Utah. My husband and I have been living in South Carolina for the last year, and it has been a whirl-wind experience that I think I'm going to miss.



I've been married nearly three years and just had my first baby in January. His name is Spencer and so far he's been a hoot. I obviously don't have a lot of experience raising a baby, but I feel pretty confident saying that Spencer is VERY independent and determined for a 3 month old. So far he's called all the shots: when to wean himself to the bottle, when to sleep through the night, and as of last week he no longer lets us coddle him...he only wants to be held while sitting up on his own.



I'm excited to get to know all of you in this very fun cyber community!

Jennifer - AKA Jen

Hi!
My name if Jennifer. My friend Stephanie introduced me to Sugar & Spice. Stephanie and I were in the same ward last year and became really good friends.

I live in East Lansing, Michigan, while my husband attends Law School. However, we will not be in Michigan much longer. He finishes in August and then we are moving to Las Vegas. My husband and I are originally from Colorado and just moved here for school. We have been married almost five years and we have a 20 month old daughter who makes life very interesting.

I little bit about me. I have a BA in Psychology and a minor in Art. I love anything with art, decorating, and a new found hobby is sewing. I love to shop (although I don't have any money), camping, and most sports. I love being a mother and a stay at home mom. I'm so excited to get know you all!!

Go Mommies

Look at me, I'm blogging! This is my very first blog so I hope it will be as much fun as it looks. I got invited to this blog because like you all, I have a wonderful, beautiful child. Sometimes it's weird to think I'm a mommy but I love (almost) every second of it. It's snowing today so I thought I would put in a 'dressed up for snow' picture. Ok i guess I should tell you about myself...

My name is Hollie and almost 4 years ago I grudgingly went on a blind date with this cute guy named Brian and well long story short or should I say short story shorter, 3 months later we were engaged and 3 months after that married. We loved being married and had lots of fun together but finally decided it wasn't enough and that it was time to start our family. Well we were ready and thought we had our entire lives planned out perfectly but a higher power wanted to teach us something like patience and that He was in charge. It took us about a year to get pregnant which compared to a lot of people is farely short but it didn't make it any easier or make any less tears fall as we watched that dang pregnancy test keep coming up negative. But finally we were blessed with our beautiful little girl Briley.

She is now 7 months old and is the joy of our lives with her big blue eyes and radiant smile. My husband is a new real estate agent trying to get on his feet, but until that happens I am a full-time working mommy which honestly sucks. I just want to be home with her and not miss any part of her constantly changing and growing life. But until then I just have to suck it up and keep on keeping on.

Well I guess that's enough about me. I'm pretty excited to read all of your posts and talk 'mommy talk' which is what we do best!

GTKY-Aubrey & Bauer

I know it's taken me forever to do this so I figured I better just sit down and do it or it'll never get done!
My name's Aubrey and I have the sweetest, most energetic 17-month old son. I love being able to stay at home with him and watch him grow into his own little person. It's amazing to me to see the things that he learns even when I don't think he's listening to me at all!

My husband, Matt, and I have been married for just over four years. Right now he is working full-time and is in school studying Computer Graphics and Web design. We live in Michigan and love it (even though I don't know why sometimes with the crazy weather!) and we plan on being here for a while. I didn't figure out what I wanted to go to school for until after we had Bauer, so I hope to go back at some point. I would like to study music. I play the flute and the bassoon and I'm slowly learning the piano. Music is one of my biggest passions and now I can't wait to study it! (I know, I'm a big nerd!)

We got married a few months after Linz and her hubby did and we ended up moving in right next door to them in a townhouse complex. I kind of knew them from the singles ward we went to but after we moved in we started hanging out all the time and it was so much fun! They're some of the greatest people that we've ever met and Texas is really lucky to have them.

Anyway, that's me in a nutshell and I'm really excited get to know more of you and get some words of wisdom from other moms!

Trying to Get Back to the Land of the Living!

Hi Everyone! My name is Katie Roll, and after a 4 week absence I'm going to try to get on this blog. I never did a "Getting To Know You" post, so I'll do it here. The reasons for my absence are pictured here - Mason and Hayden Roll were born on January 29th! They are identical twins, and life with them has been crazy and wonderful. I am so in love with them, and although it has been quite an adjustment and sleep is very rare these days, they are worth it!

Lindsay and I were roommates at MSU; actually I've lived with several blog contributors: Stephanie, Kristi, Bethany, Linz, and Katie Brooks pretty much, although we didn't technically live together:) I married my sweetheart Adam in May of 2005, and we live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I have been in college for 8 long years now, and I am finally going to get my doctorate in physical therapy in August after I finish my last clinical rotation this summer. I hope to only have to work part-time after I graduate so that I can spend as much time as possible raising my boys.

I am excited about this blog, but I'm afraid I might not have much to contribute as far as being a domestic diva. I'm an awful cook and very new at the mom thing, so I'm hoping to learn a lot from all of you. I do love anything related to exercise and fitness, so if there are any posts on these subjects, I may be able to throw some knowledge in. Besides the fact that these are the focus of my career as a physical therapist, I'm currently trying to lose the extra 20 pounds of baby weight I'm carrying around, so I'm pretty much obsessed with anything related to working out:)

GTKY--Tagteamo3

Hello, newfound cyber friends across the country! My name is Lisa, and I am the newest contributor of this fantastic blog. I learned about Sugar and Spice through Laura, my friend and cyber penpal (we met through our husbands, who were mission comps). Here are some interesting facts about me:

1. I grew up in Colorado but I can't ski to save my life.
2. I can't ice skate, either.
3. Or rollerblade.
4. And I have a bike phobia.
5. In fact, I stink at anything that has to do with balance.
   
6. But I can horseback ride and swim like a fish. So I do have some fun once in a while.
   
7. I met my tall, dark and handsome husband, Jeff, at BYU Provo. Even though he's really good at skiing, ice skating, rollerblading and bike riding, he's also good at swimming and horseback riding so it worked out.
   
8. Now we live in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (good for swimmers) while the tall, dark, handsome one goes to dental school. He's in his second of four years.
9. In November our tag team became three with the arrival of Collin, who is small, balding and handsome. He's not very good at anything in facts 1-6 yet but he is really good at eating, sucking on his fingers and filling up diapers. He also has a fantastically cute smile:
   

I am excited to be a part of this blog and I hope to become a domestic diva like all the other ladies here!

P.S. If you want to learn more about us (or see more pictures of Collin--I know that's all anyone really wants anyway!), check out our family blog by clicking here!

Hello!

Hi Everyone!

I am a friend if Staci and I'm so excited she invited me to this blog. It looks like soo much fun! What a good Idea!

Well I have been married for about 3 1/2 years and have a one year old little boy named Sam. We live in Logan while Bronson (my husband) is getting his masters in Landscape Architecture. He has about a year left. I am from St. George and Bronson is from Kaysville. We have enjoyed our time here in Logan but I think we are both ready to move on.. haha. Its way to cold here for me! I went to hair school a while back and did hair for about 3 years. I needed a break from it so after I had my baby I stopped. I now work at Icon, testing exercise exquipment a couple times a week. The best job I've ever had! And I am also a Modbe consultant now.

My Grand Entrance

Hello Ladies!

Joni here. I'm kinda late joining y'all, but I took a look at the blog and said, Hey I have got to get on there! I'm Staci's friend from Nu Hoz (college choir). I'm 27, live in Omaha, NE and I have 2 kids. Teia will soon be 4 and Radley is 18 mo.

I'm a singer, a reader, a writer, and a lover of fine chocolate (that would be anything finer than those yucky chocolate coins you used to get as a kid). My husband is a CPA. If and of you know someone looking to go into that field, discourage them if they are the type of person who likes working less than 70 hours a week. I play single mom a few months out of the year and while I feel I'm getting better at it, I still hate being away from my man.

I have my own blog called Oopsa-Daysies. Stop on by and leave me a comment sometime.

Can't wait to get caught up.
Love, Joni