Mormons have this semi-annual thing called General Conference. It’s a meeting for all members of the LDS church around the globe. It’s held in two, 2-hour sessions on Saturday and two, 2-hour sessions on Sunday. Since church headquarters are in Salt Lake City, the Conference Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City is the [...]
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I’m one of those old fashioned people. I believe in raising your own kids. Now, I don’t care if it’s the mom or the dad — or some kind of mixture of the two. Do what works for your family. But if you can’t admit that having someone else — no matter how qualified — care [...]
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Right up front let me say I hate homeowner’s associations (HOAs). They do far more harm than good and create the perfect breeding ground for really lousy neighbors. I had never heard of HOAs until we bought our first house in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1993. Fresh out of college and excited to be in [...]
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Utah is an earthquake prone zone. In fact, my house is pretty much sitting smack dab on the Wasatch Fault. Perhaps it’s not the brightest place to build a home, but given the multiple hurricanes that threaten Florida’s Gold Coast every year, I figure no matter where you live, you’re choosing one natural disaster or [...]
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One of my favorite decor looks is a softened industrial. While I’m not into sharp lines and stark rooms, I love a touch of toughness in a room. Like the blue jeans I wore in high school with ruffly, silk blouses, having a warm, inviting comfortable room with some shiny metal pieces and masculine elements [...]
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So, you’ve got a fabulous spice rack in your kitchen. But did you ever think of alternate uses for the clever, stylish inventions?
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Living in South Florida for ten years, we soon became acclimated (no pun intended) to the wild weather. The first week we lived there, we had a torrential downpour that dumped 12 inches of rain in 24 hours. In Utah, where I grew up, average rainfall is 16 inches — per year! It was then [...]
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As I write, I’m sitting in the gorgeous Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. I just finished speaking on “Monetizing a Blog” at the Story@Home Conference. Now that’s all well and good, but I’ll save that story for PopCre.net. What I want to tell you about is the cake. I’ve been dieting for…forever. [...]
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This post brought to you by Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.. All opinions are 100% mine. Having just built a new home, we are fortunate to have a brand new yard. While it doesn’t remotely have mature plantings, it has the advantage of being fairly low maintenance, due to updated materials and new fixtures. Still, it’s [...]
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In these difficult economic times, people are looking for just about any financial relief they can get. When you look at various options, be sure to research carefully and thoroughly. Read the fine print. Make sure what you are doing is: Legal Ethical Clear The past few years I’ve been hearing and seeing advertisements from [...]
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The older I get the more libertarian I become. If you have read Pix2Brix — or any of my other writing — much, you’ve realized I’ve been a fairly staunch conservative all my life. Even when we were dirt poor college students. In my mind, real principles don’t change just because they aren’t convenient or [...]
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Guest Post by Shelly Garcia My dear friend, Krista, and her husband, Phil, are expecting their first child in September. After trying many times, shedding many tears of a “negative” pregnancy test, they are finally going to become parents. They are going to make wonderful, loving parents and I couldn’t be happier for them. Krista [...]
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When I lived in England, an adult friend of ours collected pigs. She had pigs of just about any sort and material you can imagine. She said that wherever she went, people gave her pigs. Not because they were extremely close friends, but because every time they saw any kind of pig, they thought of [...]
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According to BankRate, there are a few home upgrades that pay off for resale. The suggestions are: Upgrade the kitchen with nicer cabinets, fancier hardware, and good fixtures. Make your kitchen appliances match in color/design. Spruce up the bathrooms with new toilets or contemporary vanities. Brush a fresh coat of paint on just about everything. [...]
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[Sitting with mom, in the wee hours of the morning, guiltily watching the train wreck known as Toddlers & Tiaras.] Belinda (21): You know what’s scary about this? Mom: What? Belinda: These people can vote.
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When I was 19, my dad took a sabbatical to the United Kingdom — he was a math professor and did collaborative research at a university in Leeds, England. Even though I was only there a few months, I take the fact that I actually lived there as some kind of indicator that I have [...]
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For the past 16 years I’ve been the accountant for our engineering company. That explains why I get crazy angry and show signs of battle fatigue and hair loss once per quarter — on approximately January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31 of every, single, solitary year. The certified idiots public servants who [...]
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[Looking up requirements for various Boy Scout merit badges online.] Samson (11): Mom, all of these require explaining. Mom: Yea. Samson: Well, I don’t really like explaining.
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If it’s about organization, I’m all over it. And with the information era has come a barrage of incoming stuff to organize. It can be overwhelming. This week I found a great (and free!) online organizing tool called clipix. I signed up for an account to try it out. You simply drag a link [...]
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When we built our first home, there were a number of windows that had to be made of tempered glass or safety glass. Due to their location, regular window glass wouldn’t be strong enough to provide the needed safety. For example, our second story balcony walkway ran right next to an enormous glass window. The [...]
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