my little super hero capes

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's my mom's latest creations!

My mom has been making these capes for years, but now she's selling them on Etsy. Each cape is handmade, embroidered, and adorable. The capes fit safely around the chest (instead of tying around the neck) and they're machine-washable. They're sturdy and they've withstood the test of time in our family. Trust me--they're worth every penny.

(We put them on the grandkids one morning to take pics last week and they seriously wore them until bed time. In fact, Rylee went to bed wearing hers!)

Check out my mom's Etsy shop to learn more!

one year down...

We have officially been Team Shafer for exactly one year.



Here's to an eternity more! Happy Anniversary, babe!!

elf magic

I have 1 million things to do today, yet I took the time to make this. Trust me, it was worth it.

Season's greetings.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9531425123

a football man: a short video

Doug's team had a rough run last night, but he had a killer game the night before. See the video for evidence.

a football man

There's no doubt about it--Doug is a football man. He's not crazy-obsessed like a lot of guys, but if I let us get football sheets I'm sure he'd sleep better at night. So when the time comes around for Doug to play BYU intramural football, it's like it's Christmas every time there's a game. He talks about all day and cherishes every little football second. The only thing about this type of Christmas, though, is that there are referees and opposing teams that can ruin the whole thing for everybody. Other than that, the joy is the same for Doug.

Doug's team is in the tournament now, and they're doing better than any other team Doug has ever been on (at least he's ending his intramural career on a high note). Please enjoy some pics and footage from his last game where his team basically rocked the casbah. It was a good game, even for someone like me who's mostly confused about what's going on most of the time.

(above) Doug looks literally crazy about football while Justin flashes a gang sign

(below) Some of The Football Men



(below) Here Doug is the tiny tiny white dot playing quarterback. He ran it and dove into the endzone, but the ref claimed a kid pulled his flag before Doug made it there. We keyed that ref's car after the game.

biodiesel, baby!

My bro-in-law Dan owns Alta Fuels, a company in Alamosa, Colorado that produces biodiesel. It's a crazy-cool business--they take agricultural products and turn them into fuel. Done and done. It's a way smart business.

On a side note, sometimes when I drive home from work I listen to National Public Radio(NPR) because I can't help but like it (shut up, Doug!!), and during my commute they play a news program called "All Things Considered" that I quite enjoy.

Well, it's with great pride that I recently figured out that Danny and his company were covered on this program last year and--gasp!--he was even quoted on the air!! I'm sure my sister told me about this months ago, but as a new NPR convert I didn't truly appreciate it.

So check out this link if you want to listen to the interview and support (a) me, (b) Dan, or (c) renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic forms of energy fuel.

a week of firsts

I experienced two firsts this week:

1. My first random drug test at work. Nothing like preparing a urine sample with a lady patiently waiting right outside your stall. "Please don't flush the toilet before I inspect it, please." There's no way she gets paid enough.

2. My first time voting. I'm 25 years old, and I really have no good excuse. But I voted, baby, and I got the "I Voted!" sticker to prove it. I wore it all last night and I'm seriously considering wearing it to work today.

human tetris

Oh thank you, Japan, THANK YOU!!



Go to yahoo.com, select the video tab, and look for the Human Tetris video. You won't regret it!!

halloween recap

October 30
21:00 hours
Meet at Heather and Chad's for a pumpkin carving extravaganza. We picked a difficult Jack-from-Nightmare-Before-Christmas pattern that took forever.












22:00 hours
While carving, we enjoy Chad's homemade rootbeer and his amazing Halo costume (both took my breath away for very good reasons).













23:00 hours
We finally finish our pumpkin (see first pic) and bring 'er home. We decide it's late so we might as well use that opportune time to hang our spooky spiderweb stuff we bought last year but never put up.

October 31
8:00 hours
Jackie heads to work where Halloween is bigger than any other holiday. I dressed up as Jackie Chan and greeted my co-workers' kids that come around trick-or-treating. I got about 3% of my normal workload done.
16:00 hours
Doug surprises me at work dressed like a cowboy. He steals candy from my desk.
20:00 hours
We head over to the Allers for an off-the-hook Halloween par-tay. We teamed up with the Allers and the Spurlocks to eat, played Guitar Hero, and pose for pictures.

Please enjoy:
Dwight K. Schrute & Jackie Chan
Cowboys from Brokeback Mountain (yes, seriously) and Cow
Cholo Thug & Paris Hilton

tag-a-licious

Madeline tagged me, and it's hard to turn a girl down.

She tagged me to post 6 facts or details about myself here. Then I might tag some more folks. Or something.

So I've chosen to share 6 things about my day:

1. I started by day by eating Marshmallow Maties (my husband has had quite the influence on me--I would have NEVER eaten sugar cereals before!!) and then I ate a donut at work. And then lots of candy.
2. I can usually tell by about 7:45 am or so if I am going to have an "ugly day" or not. Doug denies that said days exist ("Babe, you always look great!"... sweet, but inaccurate). So when my hair was being stupid and I committed to an outfit that didn't really work, it sealed the day as an "ugly day."
3. A magazine from an industry outside of ours said they'd do some editorial for one of our new products, and I realized maybe I can do my job even if no one ever trains me. Crazy!
4. I ate Top Ramen for dinner. On purpose! (It just sounded good... don't be a hater)
5. I watched Doug play a soccer game, and I wished I had smarter feet that were capable of such feats. (Pun not intended at first, but then left because it's a pretty good one.)
6. I called the Wal-Mart photo place, and when they put me on hold they were playing Christmas music. What the what!

So there you have it! My day summarized in six easy points.