Before / Almost After

Decorating takes me awhile. 

So I decided I will just start posting pictures as I get things done otherwise it would be years before I finish everything.

I am not even done with my living room yet but I thought I would post about my wall.

I have this big blank wall, full of potential. However, the thermostat placement is super convenient. I love that it makes it so I can't center anything above my couch. 

So what should I do? 

A collage of course!

It still isn't quite done, now that I know what pictures I have in each frame I'll probably spray paint them so everything is a bit more uniform.

ps You've got to love our couches. Inherited from my parents they are older than me!

200th Blog Post!

Whatever?! Seriously, this is my 200th blog post. 

I joked on my 100th blog post that I should have a giveaway.

So that's what I am going to do! 

Prepare yourself for April Millar's very first 

GIVEAWAY!!!

I have THREE gifts!

If you have been reading my blog you will recognize them:

First:

Catnip & Fennel 

read about it HERE

This is wonderful if you have a baby or kids, especially if they have digestion issues. 

Second:

1 Jar of bottled chicken

Read post HERE

Along with this gift, if you live close enough and want to learn how, I will help you bottle your own chicken.

Third:

Chocolate Covered Mint Sticks

Yes, the candy I was fired from Ross Dress for Less for! except these ones won't be out of the garbage.

Read the full story HERE

The giveaway will close Wednesday April 4th @ 11:59PM.

How to enter:

You must be a follower of the Trev & Ape blog and then leave a comment on this post.

I will announce the winners on Thursday April 5th.

GOOD LUCK!!

Fashion According to Bridget:

Ladies, you don't know skinny jeans unless you are wearing jeans three months too small.

Curl up and Dye

Wowza we had a busy weekend. 


But first things first... I got my hair done. 
I woke up on Friday morning and couldn't handle it anymore. 


My kitchen shears were in my hands ready to take a whack at the lady mullet. You remember this monstrosity, right?

I decided that would probably be something I would regret so I called up my sister-in-law, Stacy, and told her to drop everything she was doing because this was obviously an emergency.


When I told Trevor I was going to get my hair done he asked me if I lost the 10lbs? (rats! he remembered). 
Uh, Almost. 
(it's kind of true, I only have 5 more lbs. to go.)


The real reason I wanted to loose the 10lbs. is because I really wanted to try out bangs and I was afraid if my face was still chunky it would look funny. 


I took some after pictures but for the life of me I cannot get my camera to work so you get some awesome photobooth pics. Please keep in mind this is just after I woke up I haven't brushed my hair yet.... or teeth.

It was kind of funny, I was nursing Bridge on Saturday flipping through the channels and A Walk to Remember was on and I thought, I look like Jaime Sullivan.

Hey, look who just woke up!

 And stinks really bad. 

Looks like a bath for us this morning.

 I got a phone call and Bridge took matters into her own hands. Should I be worried my 6 month old already knows how to use a computer?

 Here you go, a naked baby picture to help you get through your monday.

Casino Night

For my brother-in-law's birthday my sister threw him a party.

But not any party, it was a casino party.

She indicated "formal attire optional"on the invitation. However, when guests arrived not in suitable dress they were directed to other more appropriate options....from my costume box.
I guess you could say it was "formal attire enforced."

Aleena know's how to throw a party, it was a blast.

My Ruthie

It's my Ruthie's birthday today.

Ruthie is the mom. 

Because she was born so close to the first day of spring it is rumored that her parents almost named her Spring instead of Ruth. 

She used to suggested when a new granddaughter was born that we could name her Spring, after her.

It took her a long time to love the name Ruth. 

I have always loved it, because I love her. 

She is Brilliant. 

I have never met someone who has so much desire to learn. 

But it's not just learning for learning's sake, she soaks up anything that will make her a better person, anything that will help her understand more this life.

She is beautiful and elegant.

She is wise.

Even as a teenager I realized my mom was special, mostly because I didn't have the same relationship with her as all my friends had with their moms. 

She and I never talked about who I had crushes on, she never cared to hear the drama of high school, and I never had the desire to tell her. 

Instead we talked about what we were learning. 

We were always eager to share any new and interesting concept we had grasped with each other. She desired to know any insights I had on any subject, and especially as a teenager that was profound.

She is everything good.

She is silly and fun.

She is thoughtful and generous. 

She is also by far the busiest person I have met.

She is a wonderful grandma.

A lot of people have mom's but I have a Ruthie.

And Bridget has a Grandma Ruthie.

Happy Birthday, here's to many more.

Weird Weather

Because of the recent snow storm and chilly air it has made me feel gloriously happy for the sunshine we have had.

I will be first to admit that it has been a strange winter. 

Very mild. 

Oh no, I am not complaining. 

It was about a week ago when I took Bridget on the first walk when she wasn't confined to her car seat attached to the stroller. 

The first walk where she got to see more than just the sky.

I have never seen a more intensely interested face. She kept staring at each new thing then looking back up at me as if to say "Have you seen these, what you call trees???"

We sat on the grass for awhile drinking in the sun. 

She lunged twice trying to "get" her shadow coming away not with the dark moving figure but with handfuls of grass, which would be enough to distract even Peter Pan. 

Transferring the blades from one hand to the other it was hardly a split second before they were stuffed inside her mouth. 

The new flavors didn't stop with nature, 

the stroller straps turned out to be pretty tasty too.

Holiday Weekend

We had a great weekend full of a lot of friends and family. 

In the spirit of St. Patty's Day our meals consisted of:

-Sushi

-Navajo Tacos

-Chicken Pot Pit

-Meat Loaf

So yes, there was a definitely a lot of Irish International pride. 

We did however wear our plaid to balance out the lack of corned beef and cabbage.

 I guess plaid could be construed as Scottish and not Irish. 

But Scottish we Millar's are,

So raise your non-alcoholic Guinness to William Wallace!

St Patricks Day

Hope you all have a fun filled weekend full of rainbows and lucky charms.

p.s. I have never understood the whole pinching thing about st. patricks day.
I'll google it.
It says something about wearing green to be invisible to leprechauns, and pinching, something, involved... I still don't understand.

Here is a conversation from Bridget to get you to the weekend:

Hey! What IS this stuff???

Hair? You call this hair? 

It IS intriguing. What will it do if I poke it.....

 Whoa! Wait. Mom! I wasn't done with it.

I feel so naked.

Herbs...

Since writing THIS post about a few herbs I can't live without, I have had a few questions from people, So here is the followup.

The herbs I posted were from Natures Sunshine. If you are interested in purchasing from their website I have good news for you!

You can get the wholesale price on products if you sign up as a member all you need for that is a sponsor number:1418693 (it's my mom's number), and your first purchase has to be over $40. But other than that there are no other obligations.

I was asked about a good reference book for herbs, I recommend Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing by: James F. Balch & Phyllis A. Balch

It's like a textbook, it has it all.

For those who may not know I thought I would give a little background on how I got into herbs. 

It wasn't me, it was my family. 

My mother & sister co-owned an herb store. 

My mother is an emotional release facilitator and my sister is an Iridologist. 

Basically Ruthie takes care of the emotional side and Aleena has the physical side covered.

I just worked in the herb shop in high school. I honestly don't know much but I have some pretty good references on my speed dial.

Restaurant Review: Savory & Sweet

Trevor and I have been loving the Orem/Provo area, especially when it comes to little eateries.

We lived in Draper before and unfortunately it has mostly chain restaurants, which is fine but I personally feel the little family owned restaurants just taste so much better.

There are I think three crepe restaurants in the area, we have been to two. Both very good but comparatively we love Savory and Sweet (on Orem Center Street.)

They load their savory crepes, and with a side of roasted potatoes, you get a ton to eat.

I am serious:

savory&sweet

Trevor and I have tried most of the savory crepes (we ate there every week for a month) but our favorites are the Chicken Cordon Bleu & the Southwestern Steak.

And as far as the desert crepes: brownie sundae holy Bathsheba it is gooooood!

Prices are comparable, there is one thing that is $9 and the rest is between $6-$8.

They also serve breakfast all day which looks divine!

(on a scale 1-5)

taste: 4.5 - 5 (depending on what you order)

appearance: 5

quantity: 4

price: 4

atmosphere: 3 (cute, but not super cute. The other crepe place is super cute)

family friendly: 4

Needless to say we highly recommend it.

My New Desire

People are down right amazing. 

After I posted last week that I wasn't feeling well I experienced an outpouring of love. Sometimes I am so touched by how kind and thoughtful people are. 

I had a wonderful friend stop by to see if she could take Bridge for a while so I could sleep. 

Another incredible friend dropped off some delicious soup. 

And still another neighbor chatted with me for a while keeping me company, then after some time I found out her husband was out of the country for ten days. 

I do believe I have learned my lesson.

two things actually:

# 1. There is no need to complain. 

Otherwise you will be humbled. 

In my case I was humbled through the sincere graciousness of good hearted people. And I felt pathetic in my murmuring.

# 2. Act. 

I had people text and call or write me messages of well wishing, it was so nice.  

Then three amazing women did not wait for an invitation, they took it upon themselves to help me.

The shameful thing is how many times I have had the thought throughout my life: 

"Oh I should call so-and-so and see how they are doing, see if they need anything." 

Yeah right. Have you ever when someone asked if you needed anything truly took them up on it? 

"No, I'm fine, Thanks though."

I am sure is the response 99% of the time. Because of the typical response I don't often even make the phone call.

But since when do we need permission to serve?? When the act of service is performed it is never unwanted. Often the emotion encountered is overwhelming gratitude.

And that is what I felt, intense gratitude for these ladies, whom if they would have asked I would have denied them on the spot.

So I have decided I want to be more like them. I need to start acting, I know I won't regret it.

and in case you are wondering, we are feeling much better round these parts. night and day difference.

A Single Parent

The last few days have taught me I could never be a single parent and I have great respect and sympathy for those who are. 


The day Trevor left for his trip I came down with the flu. 
No big deal the flu is easy to handle: take my vitamins, drink lots of fluids, and get plenty of rest. 


Did I somehow forget Bridget in that equation? 
I quickly realized there would be no sleeping in bed all day.
However, she did take an exceptional morning nap which I participated in so I thank her for that.


As the afternoon progressed I started to go down hill: with a pounding head, the chills, and every part of my body aching, even my teeth. Whenever I move I can hear the whooshing of blood throbbing in my ears.


I have a heavy flow from my nose but seeing as it is already chapped, I started shoving toilet paper up it to catch the ooze (don't pretend you haven't done that in your life). 


Bridge is fascinated by this new thing coming out of mommy's nose and created a new game of grabbing the toilet paper and ripping out the self made snot damn. She has gotten really fast, and particularly in my current state I can't keep up.


But perhaps the worst was when all I wanted was a relaxing bath to drive away the aches and chills. Well, seeing as there was no one else to take care of the little lady while I took my bath I figured it would be great if we took a bath together. 


She has recently figured out how to splash, so fun. 


But the best part was when she got to see her "food" in a setting other than when she's eating and got excited and gave me, for lack of a better word, "titty twisters."
Needless to say, my bath was not as relaxing as I had hoped. 


So all of that and then add on top having to work to support the family to be a single parent?
I know could not do it. 


It's still a few days until Trevor comes home... I cannot wait. 

Miss me?

Trevor is traveling to Rhode Island this week for work. 
It's weird. 
Not that he is traveling. But that we are grownups enough that he goes on business trips. 
I know, I realize we are grownup enough to be married.
We are even grownup enough to have a baby. 
But for some reason it seems like one is really grownup when one travels for work.


I am thankful because he doesn't travel a lot, about once a month. If there has to be business trips I can handle once a month.


But since he is away and can't hold his baby girl. I thought I would post a few pictures to make him extra homesick.

Trev, don't forget about me either. I kind of like you.

Sitting up

This little girl is awesome.

She sits up so well when she's not trying to eat her toes.

 But she falls over.

 Which is great because anything that makes it easier for her to get to her feet is the best thing ever.

 And sometimes she planks.

Birthday wish list

Apparently my ability to take pictures is directly related to the charge in my iPhone.... and thievery.


I stole my mom's DSLR Cannon camera for a while. 
For some reason she wanted it back.


But now I don't take as many pictures. Yes I have a point and shoot but the downfall of point and shoot is the time it takes it to realize I have hit the "take the picture"button. 
That is crucial time with a 5 month old, every picture I have is blurry. Oh just not cute.


My birthday is next month.
Trevor, this is all I want:

Or I'll take a Nikon. I'm not picky.

If any of you know about cameras I would love some advice. 

Another Car?

If you have been reading my blog longer than 6 months you will perhaps have remembered THIS post about our "new" car.


I mentioned in that post that the black honda was the seventh car Trevor and I have owned since getting married.


Can you believe that since then we sold Louis (the black honda)? 
It's because Trevor hit an air-pump on the freeway (it fell out of a guys truck) and did a bit of damage. 


One thing about Trevor is that he LOVES cars! And the best thing about that is that he is really good at fixing and working on cars. When he looks under a cars hood, he knows what he's looking at. 


Well he knew it would take too much time and money to fix the honda and it wasn't worth it to him so we sold it. 


He told me that I could pick out the car this time since I would be driving it. 
I told him I just wanted something that had a bench seat in the front, a roomy backseat, and good trunk space.... I like my space. 


So when he came home from work one day and I told him I had found the most perfect car for exactly the right price. He could tell I was really excited about it. 


Here is where we learned a little bit about April, and a little bit about Trevor:


I pulled up the listing on KSL.com:

A 1986 Cadillac Deville 

via

His face fell.

Trev: Are you serious?

Ape: Yeah! Of Course! Look how great it is, it has the room I want and only 75,000 miles and it's only $1,500!

Trev: But it's a grandma car. 

Ape: Exactly! Don't you love it?!

Trev: It doesn't look very good.

Ape: It looks great.

Trev: No, it's not good looking.

Ape: So?

That's when we both realized that Trevor cared what a car looked like on the outside and April did not. 

Somehow, Trevor thought that the beautiful big truck he drove when we dated / got married played a factor in my attraction to him. 

I think it was a little devastating to him to figure out that it did not. 

I tried to console him:

Ape: Aren't you glad I am not high maintenance with cars? I mean as long as it runs I am pretty much a happy camper.

Trev: Yeah, I guess so. But you really don't care what it looks like?

Ape: I care if it has 4 doors. 

At that point I left so I could give him some time to process it. 

In the end we made a compromise and bought Hector:

A 2000 Chevy Impala

(I was too cold to go scrape off the snow)

It still has my grandma elements with a bench-seat, a wonderfully spacious backseat, and a fantastic trunk. But I guess it looks better than the deville.

And guess what? the other day we were driving around town when we were on a road with a lot of construction and Trevor said:

"You know, watching that truck in front of us bounce around on this road with all the potholes makes me realize how smooth the drive is with this car."

I just smiled. 

It may have been a smug smile.