Last night I had an FHE scheduled with someone in our ward and the missionaries, so as soon as I got home I needed to go running. One time last week Josh wanted to go running with me, so we went around the neighborhood and later I drove it to see how far it was. Anyway, it's good to know how far it is, because now I feel like I can run the neighborhood and have an idea of what I've done.
So, last night I put on my new runnin' shoes (thank you Josh!) and set off. I ran .7 miles before I stopped! Look at me go! I'll build up to a whole mile, but I was pretty dang proud of myself. Maybe tonight I can do a whole mile and then I'll feel really good, but for now I'm proud of that, that's almost 3/4 of a mile, and I'm gettin' pretty tough.
As soon as I got home I jumped in the shower so I would be ready in time for the missionaries to come. I had exactly 30 minutes until they were supposed to be there, so I knew I could get ready fast enough if I hurried. So I hurried, and 20 minutes later they knocked on the doorbell. I got dressed as fast as possible, and pulled my hair up so it wouldn't' look like I just got out of the shower. 2 rings and 1 knock later I answered the door (I rock like that). They asked if I was busy, or if now was a bad time, (clearly I looked frazzled) and I told them I was just getting out of the shower, so I'd hurry and be right out. They can't come in because Josh isn't there, so I felt bad about that, but we have a bench on our front porch so they could sit if they wanted to. I grabbed my shoes and was all but ready to go, and looked in the mirror just to make sure I was fully dressed and appropriate and noticed this big nasty white stripe in my hair. Conditioner. Ew! So I didn't rinse my hair thoroughly! Bad bad bad! I towelled it out the best I could and we went to our appointment. When I got home I rinsed it much better, but it did weird things to my hair and my hair looks all funky today. I hate bad hair days like that. It wouldn't go straight, so I pulled it up, but it's still not doing anything quite right. Either way, I made it to my appointment and I was even on time! :)
Turns out going with the missionaries is a usually a pretty cool experience, who wouldda thought. I love our missionaries, one of them just went home and is planning to come back to go to BYU and I really wanna set him up with someone, but I don't' know who. I just think he was a great guy, and I want him to live happily ever after. So if anybody knows and perfect cute girls for me to hook him up with, speak up.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Hope
On Sunday we had a lesson in Sunday School that somehow brought up the concept/definition of hope. After a bunch of definitions, some nice lady behind me said she once heard that 'hope' is 'desire coupled with full expectation'. Not sure why, but I really like that definition. Hope is one of those words I use all the time without really stopping to think about what it means.
"I hope I get a million dollars."
"I hope I get this job." (Still no interview scheduled, stay tuned for future news.)
"I hope my husband doesn't die in a car accident."
"I hope my spaghetti sauce turns out yummy."
"I hope my best is good enough."
But the more I think about it, the more I love the word. I hope for a great future, I hope for good news from family members, I hope the 2nd coming is a great time for me, I still hope I get this job and that I don't burn the spaghetti. Now it means more, full expectation is powerful.
"I hope I get a million dollars."
"I hope I get this job." (Still no interview scheduled, stay tuned for future news.)
"I hope my husband doesn't die in a car accident."
"I hope my spaghetti sauce turns out yummy."
"I hope my best is good enough."
But the more I think about it, the more I love the word. I hope for a great future, I hope for good news from family members, I hope the 2nd coming is a great time for me, I still hope I get this job and that I don't burn the spaghetti. Now it means more, full expectation is powerful.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Marriage Enrichment
For our anniversary Josh's mom and dad gave us this thing called "marriage enrichment weekend" (for details see www.marriage-enrichment.org). This was the weekend. We were to arrive Thursday night, and since Josh and I got there early enough, we hung out in the hotel room for the first little while. Went exploring, watched a little TV, sent some e-mails, just chilled. Then we went to the opening thing.
In the first meeting they said all the normal stuff, 'welcome, we're glad you're here, etc etc etc' and then told us we were there to focus on the marriage relationship and that they suggested that we remove our watches (they'd keep track of time for us), turn off our cell phones, not check our e-mails, not call home, not call work, no TV, no movies, no leaving the hotel to run to the store, just be there. Really really there. We all laughed and kinda got nervous for what they termed "marital prison" but did it anyway. From that point on we were busy the whole time. It was great. They taught us some really cool stuff, dialogueing (which I'll explain later), conflict resolution, communication, fair fighting rules, rating, how to involve Christ and have a Christ centered marriage, etc etc etc.
For me the biggest thing was dialogueing. They asked a question like "how do I feel about our marriage relationship now and what can I do to enrich it?" and then we went in separate rooms to write for 10 minutes. And you have to write the whole time. Then we'd have 10 minutes together to read each other's and talk about it. You read them twice, and then discuss. It was really cool. I'm always amazed by the things my husband thinks and I talk 20 million miles a minute so I hardly ever get to hear his side of anything. So, this dialogueing thing was really cool.
We talked to Josh's parents a little about it when we got back, and I loved what his dad said. It's like a mission, you can tell people it's awesome and highly recommend it and all that, but until you've gone and had the experience, you'll never know what it was like. That's exactly how I felt. It was amazing the things that we learned about each other, and about our relationship. We really had a great experience and I'm SOO glad that we were given the opportunity.
We joked while we were there that we are marriage professionals because it wasn't as hard for us as it was for a lot of other people, mostly because we are so inexperienced. We were the youngest ones there, and everybody else had kids. There were 2 other couples that had only been married about a year, but they were both second marriages for all parties. And they all had kids from previous marriages, so I felt like we were the newliest weds. We don't have years and years of junk and misconception and hurt feelings that needed to be taken care of, and we're still open and honest with each other. We have our moments, but for the most part, we're still young and dumb and in love. So, for us, it was cool to think that when all the hard times come and we're in the middle of hard times, we have the tools to work through it effectively. Now we just have to hope that we can remember to do just that. :)
They talked about the "love cycle" which goes from romance, to disillusionment, to joy, back to romance and around and around. That was cool mostly because it makes me feel good that it's normal to have a hard time every now and again, and that joy comes after it and it works out. We're still stuck in romance, and loving every minute of it, and hopefully our "disillusionment" phase won't be too hard or too long.
The whole weekend was great because we focused on "our relationship" the whole time, which is comforting and makes us both feel close. We also set some goals, most of ours have to do with spirituality, and I'm really looking forward to it. So far we're doing good, but this will be our first week back in reality, and hopefully we can remember what we learned and decided and do good.
Anyway, if anybody out there has a hard time with their marriage, or wants to learn some cool stuff for the hard times to come, or just thinks that there's a possibility that it could be better, I'd HIGHLY recommend this weekend. It really was incredible. And well worth it. Everything was taken care of for us, we didn't' have to worry about ANYTHING ever. We never had to "share with the class" and everything was about us and we only shared with each other. We learned a ton and had a great time. We did learn from other people's experiences because the "lead couples" (the ones putting on the whole thing) shared some really personal stuff from their lives, which was very touching. The whole weekend was just great, I really loved it and think it would work for ANYONE anywhere.
In the first meeting they said all the normal stuff, 'welcome, we're glad you're here, etc etc etc' and then told us we were there to focus on the marriage relationship and that they suggested that we remove our watches (they'd keep track of time for us), turn off our cell phones, not check our e-mails, not call home, not call work, no TV, no movies, no leaving the hotel to run to the store, just be there. Really really there. We all laughed and kinda got nervous for what they termed "marital prison" but did it anyway. From that point on we were busy the whole time. It was great. They taught us some really cool stuff, dialogueing (which I'll explain later), conflict resolution, communication, fair fighting rules, rating, how to involve Christ and have a Christ centered marriage, etc etc etc.
For me the biggest thing was dialogueing. They asked a question like "how do I feel about our marriage relationship now and what can I do to enrich it?" and then we went in separate rooms to write for 10 minutes. And you have to write the whole time. Then we'd have 10 minutes together to read each other's and talk about it. You read them twice, and then discuss. It was really cool. I'm always amazed by the things my husband thinks and I talk 20 million miles a minute so I hardly ever get to hear his side of anything. So, this dialogueing thing was really cool.
We talked to Josh's parents a little about it when we got back, and I loved what his dad said. It's like a mission, you can tell people it's awesome and highly recommend it and all that, but until you've gone and had the experience, you'll never know what it was like. That's exactly how I felt. It was amazing the things that we learned about each other, and about our relationship. We really had a great experience and I'm SOO glad that we were given the opportunity.
We joked while we were there that we are marriage professionals because it wasn't as hard for us as it was for a lot of other people, mostly because we are so inexperienced. We were the youngest ones there, and everybody else had kids. There were 2 other couples that had only been married about a year, but they were both second marriages for all parties. And they all had kids from previous marriages, so I felt like we were the newliest weds. We don't have years and years of junk and misconception and hurt feelings that needed to be taken care of, and we're still open and honest with each other. We have our moments, but for the most part, we're still young and dumb and in love. So, for us, it was cool to think that when all the hard times come and we're in the middle of hard times, we have the tools to work through it effectively. Now we just have to hope that we can remember to do just that. :)
They talked about the "love cycle" which goes from romance, to disillusionment, to joy, back to romance and around and around. That was cool mostly because it makes me feel good that it's normal to have a hard time every now and again, and that joy comes after it and it works out. We're still stuck in romance, and loving every minute of it, and hopefully our "disillusionment" phase won't be too hard or too long.
The whole weekend was great because we focused on "our relationship" the whole time, which is comforting and makes us both feel close. We also set some goals, most of ours have to do with spirituality, and I'm really looking forward to it. So far we're doing good, but this will be our first week back in reality, and hopefully we can remember what we learned and decided and do good.
Anyway, if anybody out there has a hard time with their marriage, or wants to learn some cool stuff for the hard times to come, or just thinks that there's a possibility that it could be better, I'd HIGHLY recommend this weekend. It really was incredible. And well worth it. Everything was taken care of for us, we didn't' have to worry about ANYTHING ever. We never had to "share with the class" and everything was about us and we only shared with each other. We learned a ton and had a great time. We did learn from other people's experiences because the "lead couples" (the ones putting on the whole thing) shared some really personal stuff from their lives, which was very touching. The whole weekend was just great, I really loved it and think it would work for ANYONE anywhere.
Days off
On Thursday I got to go to work with Josh for the 2nd time this week. We had to be in Provo in the afternoon, and I took the whole day off work so I wouldn't have to worry about being late, so Josh and I just did Redbox until we had to be at the hotel for Enrichment.
Wednesday night I had a few errands to run, and really wanted to get a skirt, so I went on a quest for a dressy black skirt. I went to Fort Union and was AMAZED at all of the stores they have there. The stores I drove by included but were not limited to: Target, AND Walmart, Ross AND TJ Maxx, Deseret Book AND Barnes and Noble, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Linen's 'N Things, Cold Stone, Cafe Rio, Old Navy, Payless, Famous Footwear, and like a million others. I was SHOCKED. I knew as I drove in that this would be the most successful shopping trip of my life. I went to 3 clothing stores, and found ZERO count them, ZERO skirts. Well, that's not quite true, I did see a grand total of 2 skirts. Period. But they were both ugly. 2 skirts! I was shocked. Apparently, people don't wear skirts, because nobody sells them. Ew. Finally I gave up and went to Walmart to get some salt/pepper shakers and hangars. Only problem is that the Walmart is Fort Union is the most confusing, strange setup I've ever seen. You walk in and it's like you walked in the side door of a normal walmart. Anyway, I finally made my way around, but in doing so walked past the clothing section, and there it was. A suit skirt (exactly what I wanted). And they had really cute gray ones, only the gray ones had one kind of gray of skirts, and a different kind of gray in the jacket, weird. So anyway, I wound up getting my perfect black suit skirt (mostly because I want to look nice at an interview).
On my way to the salt shakers, I walked by the $7.50 movie rack, and there was Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 12. Last week Josh bought and Ocean's and we didn't have any of them, but love them all. So I decided to get the other one. Only problem was I couldn't remember which one he bought. So, I grabbed 11 and bought that too. A successful trip overall. However, we all know that 11 is the one that Josh already bought, and I didn't need 2 copies of it. Sigh.
We went to Park City and Heber, and once again it was BEAUTIFUL. I love fall, I love winter, I love mountains, it was great. While in Park City, we had to do a Walmart store, so I figured we'd take back Ocean's 11 and trade it for 12. Which we did. I took back 11 and tried to find 12, but on my way to find 12, I walked past the clothes again, and there was the cute gray suit! Only this time the skirt matched the Jacket, and it's CUTE! So I tried it on, and it fit and it's cute. So, I asked Josh pretty pretty please if I could have it and he said yes because he loves me. :) Yay for a new interview suit! It's cute and I KNOW I'll get hired. :) I find it particularly hilarious that the only place I can find a good interview suit is Walmart. Lame. But at least I didn't spend $150 on one from Dillards or something. Turns out that in the Park City Walmart, there is no $7.50 rack so we still have the wrong Ocean's movie, but I can deal with that.
In short, it was a great day. We got to the hotel with plenty of time, watched the snow fall, enjoyed the drive together and it was great. Everything was great. I love days like that.
Wednesday night I had a few errands to run, and really wanted to get a skirt, so I went on a quest for a dressy black skirt. I went to Fort Union and was AMAZED at all of the stores they have there. The stores I drove by included but were not limited to: Target, AND Walmart, Ross AND TJ Maxx, Deseret Book AND Barnes and Noble, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Linen's 'N Things, Cold Stone, Cafe Rio, Old Navy, Payless, Famous Footwear, and like a million others. I was SHOCKED. I knew as I drove in that this would be the most successful shopping trip of my life. I went to 3 clothing stores, and found ZERO count them, ZERO skirts. Well, that's not quite true, I did see a grand total of 2 skirts. Period. But they were both ugly. 2 skirts! I was shocked. Apparently, people don't wear skirts, because nobody sells them. Ew. Finally I gave up and went to Walmart to get some salt/pepper shakers and hangars. Only problem is that the Walmart is Fort Union is the most confusing, strange setup I've ever seen. You walk in and it's like you walked in the side door of a normal walmart. Anyway, I finally made my way around, but in doing so walked past the clothing section, and there it was. A suit skirt (exactly what I wanted). And they had really cute gray ones, only the gray ones had one kind of gray of skirts, and a different kind of gray in the jacket, weird. So anyway, I wound up getting my perfect black suit skirt (mostly because I want to look nice at an interview).
On my way to the salt shakers, I walked by the $7.50 movie rack, and there was Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 12. Last week Josh bought and Ocean's and we didn't have any of them, but love them all. So I decided to get the other one. Only problem was I couldn't remember which one he bought. So, I grabbed 11 and bought that too. A successful trip overall. However, we all know that 11 is the one that Josh already bought, and I didn't need 2 copies of it. Sigh.
We went to Park City and Heber, and once again it was BEAUTIFUL. I love fall, I love winter, I love mountains, it was great. While in Park City, we had to do a Walmart store, so I figured we'd take back Ocean's 11 and trade it for 12. Which we did. I took back 11 and tried to find 12, but on my way to find 12, I walked past the clothes again, and there was the cute gray suit! Only this time the skirt matched the Jacket, and it's CUTE! So I tried it on, and it fit and it's cute. So, I asked Josh pretty pretty please if I could have it and he said yes because he loves me. :) Yay for a new interview suit! It's cute and I KNOW I'll get hired. :) I find it particularly hilarious that the only place I can find a good interview suit is Walmart. Lame. But at least I didn't spend $150 on one from Dillards or something. Turns out that in the Park City Walmart, there is no $7.50 rack so we still have the wrong Ocean's movie, but I can deal with that.
In short, it was a great day. We got to the hotel with plenty of time, watched the snow fall, enjoyed the drive together and it was great. Everything was great. I love days like that.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Gaming
It's no secret that Josh and I love to play games. Our most recent favorite has been Ticket To Ride. Which is a blast. But, every once in a while you have to take a break from the "thinking games" and just play a little uno. Sunday we went to the Egberts for dinner and had a great time. Josh's Ron-dad is doing remarkably well. He's even to the point that he can take a few steps by himself, and he gets himself out of his chair. It's great to see him doing so well. After a lovely visit and dinner we headed out for a walk around Daybreak. It was just starting to get dark, and the view from their home is stunning. We went around one of the paths and took some pictures of the view, it really doesn't do it justice, but it's still pretty. The sky was incredible, the clouds overhead were dark and threatening.
After our short walk, we went back to say our farewells to the Egbert family and headed home. We had to stop by the Reilley household to say hi and pick up Josh's "box-o-swords" and somehow got sucked into staying for a visit.
I love the Reilley house. Mom-Reilley has her fall decorations out, and it smelled some something yummy and fall like. Caleb was making cookies, Braden and Cami were playing go fish, and Mom was just soaking in the Sunday goodness. You know how some people were just born to be mothers. They love every minute of it and they are really really good at it? That's Mom-Reilley. I don't think I've ever met someone who truly enjoyed their children so much. Even when they're horrible, she loves it. You can tell her life revolves around her kids, and she wants nothing more. She's so content to just see them and be a part of their lives. I love that about her.
So we came in, sat down, got in a couple of Go Fish games (turns I out I had no idea how to play that game, and I'm not so good at it....) then got out Uno attack. The Reilley's had never played it before so after a crash-course in the rules and special cards, the game began.
Caleb won the first round in about 2 minutes flat, which is impressive since we were playing with 7 people. So we played for second place. After that got over, and we all had the hang of the game, we started again. This time I'm convinced we hold the world record for the longest game of Uno. All the niceties were lost and we all played to win. It was hilarious. At one point 3 or 4 of the players had HAND FULLS of cards, and had for so long that there was nothing to shuffle. So, we made everyone with more than 20 cards (3 people) put half of them back. We all quickly got back up to that, and we played that game for an hour and a half. Even with the mercy acts and letting people put back bunches of cards, there was no end in sight. The kids needed to get to bed, and we needed to get on our way home, so we were all relieved when Braden (or Tato as we call him) finally rid himself of his last card.
I "heart" Utah
Here's the crazy thing. We were going to have a barbecue and play outside on Saturday, and then it rained all day long. We still ate summer food though. Sometimes I get my seasons mixed up and can't tell the difference between summer and winter. But I NEVER get as mixed up as mother nature this week. It was HOT last week, unbearably, blast the a/c, can't touch the metal in your car hot. Then it snowed. I love snow. I love winter. I love it when it comes early. I love to play in it. And mostly I love that my dear sweet husband loves it too.After a fun-filled weekend, we went for a drive 
yesterday. Every winter that we've been together we catch the "first snow" of the season. Even if we have to drive to it because it didn't technically snow where we live. So, yesterday we went up little cottonwood - or maybe it was big cottonwood....to be honest they seem like they're both the same size anyway - to find the snow. And we sure did find it! As we drove up it was beautiful because of all the fall colors. And then we all of a sudden hit the snow line. It was AMAZING because some of those trees just have snow halfway down them, and then it stops. Sooo beautiful! I guess that's one of the reasons that I love Utah. The crazy weather keeps you on your toes. The very first time we went up to the 
mountains to "find the snow" I got out of the car and immediately threw a snowball and Josh. He laughed and we had a great snowball fight. Now, I get bragging rights for throwing the first snowball of our relationship. Pretty lucky for me. However, he pulled into the lead this year and he's thrown the first snowball of the season twice now. Next year I'll be sure to get him first. But for now, I'll let him have his moment of glory. I got him better than he got me anyway. I guess that's just part of being married, sometimes you have to let your husband win so you don't hurt his pride. But beware Josh - you're GOIN' DOWN!!!
yesterday. Every winter that we've been together we catch the "first snow" of the season. Even if we have to drive to it because it didn't technically snow where we live. So, yesterday we went up little cottonwood - or maybe it was big cottonwood....to be honest they seem like they're both the same size anyway - to find the snow. And we sure did find it! As we drove up it was beautiful because of all the fall colors. And then we all of a sudden hit the snow line. It was AMAZING because some of those trees just have snow halfway down them, and then it stops. Sooo beautiful! I guess that's one of the reasons that I love Utah. The crazy weather keeps you on your toes. The very first time we went up to the 
mountains to "find the snow" I got out of the car and immediately threw a snowball and Josh. He laughed and we had a great snowball fight. Now, I get bragging rights for throwing the first snowball of our relationship. Pretty lucky for me. However, he pulled into the lead this year and he's thrown the first snowball of the season twice now. Next year I'll be sure to get him first. But for now, I'll let him have his moment of glory. I got him better than he got me anyway. I guess that's just part of being married, sometimes you have to let your husband win so you don't hurt his pride. But beware Josh - you're GOIN' DOWN!!!Friday, September 21, 2007
I got an interview!!!
Score! I got an interview, first step to getting hired is interviewing. :) Now I have something new to be worried about - interviewing is scary. Someone is literally looking at your personality and judging it based on the few minutes the spend with you...that's intimidating to me. How do you prove you're a nice, upstanding person who they'll want to work with in that short of time?
I watched a funny show last night about "beauty and the geek" and they have 9 ultra-geeky boys with no people skills, and 9 ultra-beautiful girls with no brains. Then they all learn from each other how to become more of whatever they're not.
As they interview tons of people all over the place to decide who gets to be on the show, they ask boys social questions:
"When was the last time you went on a date?" "umm....uh.... never." "what do you do on a typical Friday night" Now they get excited. "We stayed up all night long! It was crazy, we got like 6 people playing this ultimate game of Risk and we didn't start until late, like 10:00 and we played until 4 in the morning, it was so awesome!"
Then ask the girls brainy questions:
"What's you're IQ?" "um. slightly over not too dumb." "who wrote Beethoven's 5th Symphony?" "giggle giggle. I don't read books. I'm sorry, I only read magazines. giggle giggle."
The sad thing is none of these people know how pathetic they look to the other side. I guess interviewing makes me nervous for that reason. The person asking the questions has a clear idea of what the "right" answer is, and once in a while you just don't get it right.
Earlier this week in my interview the lady asked me what my "personal policy is for answering phones". My response? "um. Well, I guess that depends on what you mean. Like I believe you should answer the phone if it rings....." (Oh my gosh, did I just say that out loud? throw me a bone here! What are you looking for? Do you want to know what I'd say when I answer the phone? how often I should do it? If I think you should hang up on people who are dumb? give me a real question! I don't have a personal policy on answering phones! I just do it!) "For example, Brother Johnson believes that a phone should be answered within the first 3 rings. What do you think about that?" "Oh yeah, that's definitely reasonable. Obviously whoever is calling needs to talk to somebody and they should be taken care of. " (I hope she doesn't find out that I never answer my own phone unless I know who it is or why they're calling....)
Last night after my missionary meeting I spent 45 minutes discussing working, jobs, kids, cars, and other life decisions with one of the other wives-of-a-ward-mission-leader in my stake. She's an incredibly nice person, and she works for the church in the history department. She's going back to school just because she wants to learn, and she really doesn't need a degree by any means, but she's doing school because she likes it.
I asked about her experience working when she had kids, she said that sometimes she did work and sometimes she didn't, but she never worked more than full time, and she would leave work at work. She gave 100% at work, and 100% at home and she felt good about it. She did say that if you can stay home, it's well worth it, but she was tired of "poverty" (to use her word; they certainly aren't hurting for money now, but maybe they were then...) and she went back to work and loves her job. She's a very nice lady, and thinks highly of the people in CES Physical Facilities, as do I. Turns out she knows a lot of people who work for/in the church, and has done a lot of different jobs there. She said that since she'd worked for the church before, it was easy to leave to have a baby and come back when her babies were all in school, so that was kindof encouraging. If I ever have a baby, and if I ever decide to work post-baby I totally could. I guess we'll just have to see what happens.
I did decide that I'm thankful for the people around me, and the things I can learn from them. I love talking to people about their experiences making the same decisions that I'll have to make. It's helpful to know I'm not the only one that is in the situation. It's nice to have a vote of confidence, even if it's from someone I don't know well.
It's good to be taken care of.
I watched a funny show last night about "beauty and the geek" and they have 9 ultra-geeky boys with no people skills, and 9 ultra-beautiful girls with no brains. Then they all learn from each other how to become more of whatever they're not.
As they interview tons of people all over the place to decide who gets to be on the show, they ask boys social questions:
"When was the last time you went on a date?" "umm....uh....
Then ask the girls brainy questions:
"What's you're IQ?" "um.
The sad thing is none of these people know how pathetic they look to the other side. I guess interviewing makes me nervous for that reason. The person asking the questions has a clear idea of what the "right" answer is, and once in a while you just don't get it right.
Earlier this week in my interview the lady asked me what my "personal policy is for answering phones". My response? "um. Well, I guess that depends on what you mean. Like I believe you should answer the phone if it rings....." (Oh my gosh, did I just say that out loud? throw me a bone here! What are you looking for? Do you want to know what I'd say when I answer the phone? how often I should do it? If I think you should hang up on people who are dumb? give me a real question! I don't have a personal policy on answering phones! I just do it!) "For example, Brother Johnson believes that a phone should be answered within the first 3 rings. What do you think about that?" "Oh yeah, that's definitely reasonable. Obviously whoever is calling needs to talk to somebody and they should be taken care of. " (I hope she doesn't find out that I never answer my own phone unless I know who it is or why they're calling....)
Last night after my missionary meeting I spent 45 minutes discussing working, jobs, kids, cars, and other life decisions with one of the other wives-of-a-ward-mission-leader in my stake. She's an incredibly nice person, and she works for the church in the history department. She's going back to school just because she wants to learn, and she really doesn't need a degree by any means, but she's doing school because she likes it.
I asked about her experience working when she had kids, she said that sometimes she did work and sometimes she didn't, but she never worked more than full time, and she would leave work at work. She gave 100% at work, and 100% at home and she felt good about it. She did say that if you can stay home, it's well worth it, but she was tired of "poverty" (to use her word; they certainly aren't hurting for money now, but maybe they were then...) and she went back to work and loves her job. She's a very nice lady, and thinks highly of the people in CES Physical Facilities, as do I. Turns out she knows a lot of people who work for/in the church, and has done a lot of different jobs there. She said that since she'd worked for the church before, it was easy to leave to have a baby and come back when her babies were all in school, so that was kindof encouraging. If I ever have a baby, and if I ever decide to work post-baby I totally could. I guess we'll just have to see what happens.
I did decide that I'm thankful for the people around me, and the things I can learn from them. I love talking to people about their experiences making the same decisions that I'll have to make. It's helpful to know I'm not the only one that is in the situation. It's nice to have a vote of confidence, even if it's from someone I don't know well.
It's good to be taken care of.
Job hunt
Deep breaths. I'm the bravest girl in the world! I had a job interview with the mormons earlier this week, only it was out at the printing press that's on 1700 S and 2000 W. That doesn't solve my commute/bus problem, and it didn't pay as much as I wanted. But, I went to the interview, and the lady loved me and wanted me to come back again, and introduce me to everyone in the world and "spread my name around" so people could start getting to know me. I called her back and left her a message politely declining because I felt like it wasn't right for us because of the location. That kinda broke my heart, but at the same time, it makes me feel good that I'm qualified and that people would want to hire me.
The more I talk to Jamie the more I want the position that is opening up next week. I'm nervous that I won't get it, and scared that I'll curse myself, but really love the thought of working there. So, here are my thoughts of pros and cons:
Pros:
Working for good people
working WITH good people (that's you Jamie)
cafeteria (sounds dumb, but it's nice to have a near-by option for lunch every day)
40 hours a week = 40 hours a week
take the bus to work
wearing skirts on a regular basis
not being sued for making a mistake (I'm scared of David Allen)
being "in" at the COB
advancement opportunities
they'll be happy if I leave to have a baby
doing what I love
regular "seminary" class
no more ridiculous requests
Cons:
Leaving Kim high and dry
giving up overtime when I want more money
nylons
fear of killing mormon plants
wearing skirts every day
David Allen coming after me
less variety
I think you'll agree after reading my list that the pros outweigh and I do want the job. Now we just have to wait and see how it goes.
Fortunately, Kim, my nice boss, was very supportive when I told her that this job might available and I had to apply. She understood and was actually thankful that I told her before anything happened so she could be prepared. Sigh. Changing jobs is still scary, but I think we're tough and I can do it. I'm brave enough.
Wish me luck when I submit my resume!
The more I talk to Jamie the more I want the position that is opening up next week. I'm nervous that I won't get it, and scared that I'll curse myself, but really love the thought of working there. So, here are my thoughts of pros and cons:
Pros:
Working for good people
working WITH good people (that's you Jamie)
cafeteria (sounds dumb, but it's nice to have a near-by option for lunch every day)
40 hours a week = 40 hours a week
take the bus to work
wearing skirts on a regular basis
not being sued for making a mistake (I'm scared of David Allen)
being "in" at the COB
advancement opportunities
they'll be happy if I leave to have a baby
doing what I love
regular "seminary" class
no more ridiculous requests
Cons:
Leaving Kim high and dry
giving up overtime when I want more money
nylons
fear of killing mormon plants
wearing skirts every day
David Allen coming after me
less variety
I think you'll agree after reading my list that the pros outweigh and I do want the job. Now we just have to wait and see how it goes.
Fortunately, Kim, my nice boss, was very supportive when I told her that this job might available and I had to apply. She understood and was actually thankful that I told her before anything happened so she could be prepared. Sigh. Changing jobs is still scary, but I think we're tough and I can do it. I'm brave enough.
Wish me luck when I submit my resume!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Running
OK remember how I hate running? Well, I've been doing it anyway, like 3 times a week.
Last week, Josh let me buy running shoes because when I whined to my mom and sister about my shins hurting when I ran, they told me that was stupid and I just needed better shoes. So, last week Josh let me get some good running shoes. Yesterday was my first chance to use them for a "real" run instead of just walking around the neighborhood.
I went to Liberty Park and ran a half mile before I even wanted to stop! I was so proud of myself! So, I speed walked a little bit, and then ran more, and walked the last bit to cool down. It was so great! I was so proud of myself, and I didn't hate it, and it didn't take that long, and it didn't hurt that bad. Maybe I'll be converted to this whole running scene yet...never can tell.
I do know that I want to be able to run a full mile, and then walk a mile to cool down instead of having to break it up - and I think I'll get there. I know it's sad that my goals are not that hard, but I'm still proud of me, and I'm excited to keep getting better and better.
Last week, Josh let me buy running shoes because when I whined to my mom and sister about my shins hurting when I ran, they told me that was stupid and I just needed better shoes. So, last week Josh let me get some good running shoes. Yesterday was my first chance to use them for a "real" run instead of just walking around the neighborhood.
I went to Liberty Park and ran a half mile before I even wanted to stop! I was so proud of myself! So, I speed walked a little bit, and then ran more, and walked the last bit to cool down. It was so great! I was so proud of myself, and I didn't hate it, and it didn't take that long, and it didn't hurt that bad. Maybe I'll be converted to this whole running scene yet...never can tell.
I do know that I want to be able to run a full mile, and then walk a mile to cool down instead of having to break it up - and I think I'll get there. I know it's sad that my goals are not that hard, but I'm still proud of me, and I'm excited to keep getting better and better.
Job Interview
On Monday I got a call for Meryl (the first clue that she was Mormon was her name) who wanted to set up an interview for me for the position out at the distribution center. I set it up for yesterday at 3:30 and left work with plenty of time to be there on time. So, I got there on time, and then waited. Then waited some more. Then waited some more. And then it was 4:00 and Meryl said that the lady interviewing me should be right out. And then I waited 5 more minutes and she came. Fortunately I was waiting at the distribution center, so there was a set of scriptures to read on the waiting room table. I love the Mormons.
She came and got me, and we had a quick 15 minute interview, she liked me, she wanted me to meet the higher ups. She was nice. I'm qualified, blah blah blah. Only problem is, that the job is way out West, I don't get to work at the COB, and the pay is less than I wanted. So....that was a little disappointing. But, it was good interview practice. Anyway, they want to bring me back for another interview, but I think I'll politely decline and thank them for their time.
On the other side, Jamie's boss's are hiring a replacement secretary because the current two secretaries (Jamie and Janet) are having babies. So they're going to combine the jobs, and hire someone in October. They'll accept applications starting next week, and then interview, and then have someone starting mid-end of October hopefully. So, I decided that I'm qualified for that job, I'd work at the COB, which is great b/c I could ride the bus to work, be on temple square, eat at the cafeteria, and have plenty of opportunity for advancement. So, I'm going to try for Jamie's job. And, since Jamie likes me, and has been talking to her boss's about how cool I am, I'm hoping to get that position.
The only thing left to do is tell Kim, my boss. I decided last night that I think I'm going to tell her today that I may have my dream job offered to me, and if I do, I'll take it. That way she kind of has a heads up, but I haven't quit. So, hopefully that will go well. Wish me luck with both of those things!
She came and got me, and we had a quick 15 minute interview, she liked me, she wanted me to meet the higher ups. She was nice. I'm qualified, blah blah blah. Only problem is, that the job is way out West, I don't get to work at the COB, and the pay is less than I wanted. So....that was a little disappointing. But, it was good interview practice. Anyway, they want to bring me back for another interview, but I think I'll politely decline and thank them for their time.
On the other side, Jamie's boss's are hiring a replacement secretary because the current two secretaries (Jamie and Janet) are having babies. So they're going to combine the jobs, and hire someone in October. They'll accept applications starting next week, and then interview, and then have someone starting mid-end of October hopefully. So, I decided that I'm qualified for that job, I'd work at the COB, which is great b/c I could ride the bus to work, be on temple square, eat at the cafeteria, and have plenty of opportunity for advancement. So, I'm going to try for Jamie's job. And, since Jamie likes me, and has been talking to her boss's about how cool I am, I'm hoping to get that position.
The only thing left to do is tell Kim, my boss. I decided last night that I think I'm going to tell her today that I may have my dream job offered to me, and if I do, I'll take it. That way she kind of has a heads up, but I haven't quit. So, hopefully that will go well. Wish me luck with both of those things!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Sealing
On Saturday morning one of Josh's friends was sealed in the temple to her husband and two children. What an amazing experience. She invited us to the temple ceremony, which was incredible. She has a 2-ish year old boy, and then she married her husband, Jake, and together they have a brand new baby girl. So, on their one-year anniversary they were all sealed together. They did the normal advice for married couples thing, which was wonderful and made me think about things I should do better to make our marriage stronger. Then they invited in the kids. That little boy was so incredibly handsome. He had been waiting out in the hall and walked in wearing white, with a little vest and tie and everything. He was folding his arms and looks so calm, peaceful and reverent. It was incredible. He ran up to his new dad, and gave him a big hug, and wouldn't stop holding his hand. They brought in this beautiful baby girl, and together they walked to the alter. The little boy knelt down as close to his dad as he could get, and he put his hand on top of theirs. He could barely reach, but reverently did it. And they were sealed as a family for time and all eternity. The sealer talked about how being born in the covenant was one of the greatest blessings any child could have, and that now they were sealed together as though these children had been born in the covenant. He commended Ashley and Jake for making the choices necessary to be in the temple that day. He talked about what a wonderful blessing it is to have a family, and it was such an amazing thing to see them all together. Those children were perfect and happy and peaceful. After the ceremony, Jake (the dad) picked up the little boy and told him to look in the mirrors. He did and said "wow" and had a big 'ol grin on his face. I'm so happy for them, and can't wait to have my own babies that will be born in the covenant and have those same blessings. What an amazing blessing it is to have family, and to want family. I can't wait to be a mom.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Why to marry an RM
There are plenty of advantages to marrying a returned missionary: he knows how to do some essential household chores, laundry and cooking Ramen; he has a testimony; he can teach me stuff, how to talk to strangers, why we read Issiah, what Oregon looks like in the rain; he has reasonably good manners; but most importantly I inherited his Sunday music collection.
We've been married over a year and there are still Sunday CDs that are unknown to me. So, this morning I thought I'd broaden my horizons and listen to some new ones. I throw in Michael McLean and track 4 turns out to be "Homeless" from the Forgotten Carols. That was officially the beginning of this Christmas Season.
That's right, it's September 16, and I am full on listening to Christmas music now. It's official, the season has started and I am lovin' every minute of it. Josh had a companion on the mission that only listened to Christmas Sunday music, so he's OK with starting Christmas in September. And I'm glad because today I'm ready for it.
I just barely cleaned the canned snow off my front window from last year (thanks for noticing Jamie!) and I'm ready to put it back up. Mom-Reilley has started asking what we want for Christmas, and the Fugals already drew names. So it's on. I'm not holding back anymore, I'll have the "light of the world" tree up by Thanksgiving. That's for sure!
Happy Holidays everybody!
We've been married over a year and there are still Sunday CDs that are unknown to me. So, this morning I thought I'd broaden my horizons and listen to some new ones. I throw in Michael McLean and track 4 turns out to be "Homeless" from the Forgotten Carols. That was officially the beginning of this Christmas Season.
That's right, it's September 16, and I am full on listening to Christmas music now. It's official, the season has started and I am lovin' every minute of it. Josh had a companion on the mission that only listened to Christmas Sunday music, so he's OK with starting Christmas in September. And I'm glad because today I'm ready for it.
I just barely cleaned the canned snow off my front window from last year (thanks for noticing Jamie!) and I'm ready to put it back up. Mom-Reilley has started asking what we want for Christmas, and the Fugals already drew names. So it's on. I'm not holding back anymore, I'll have the "light of the world" tree up by Thanksgiving. That's for sure!
Happy Holidays everybody!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Hiking pictures
Proof that it's fall time. :) I love it when they're just starting to change.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.....and I.....
Everyone kept getting grumpy that I was taking so many pictures....I liked it anyway.
For the full album click here.
Confessions
So, it turns out that my husband loves me. He asked me last night what time I needed to leave for work and got up early early today so he could do all of his computer/home stuff before taking me to work and going to work himself. He's a real nice fella. He totally got me to work on time, and it was kinda nice to be able to talk to him on the way. I think I realized that I was missing that. As strange as it sounds, I'm secretly glad that we share now. I look forward to mandatory bondage.
I hate my job. I decided that I don't like it anymore. My boss is quite unreasonable, and it takes over my life, and I don't want it to. I'm tired of working nights and weekends, and I just want to have a job that I can leave at work.
I also don't like that I spend so much time doing things that are good for one person, but are really bad for so many others. I feel like I spend my whole day squashing people that shouldn't be squashed. I hate that feeling.
So, I submitted a couple of job applications at the church for secretarial positions. And Jamie's department is hiring soon, and I'll submit when they do it too. I'm ready to work for a good company. I want that now. So, there's my secret. I didn't dare tell anybody because I'll feel dumb if I don't get it, but, Sarah pointed out that if I can't tell anybody about my failures, nobody is my friend anyway, so why do I care? So, here it is. I'm applying for other jobs and I'm scared out of my mind.
I'm also terrified to quit here, I don't want to bring the wrath of David on myself, and I feel a little guilty about abandoning Kim, but I decided that I have to do what's best for me. And if I get a job offer that sounds/feels better, I'll do it, and if not I'll be a grown up and keep working for people I'm scared of.
Sigh. Wish me luck!
I hate my job. I decided that I don't like it anymore. My boss is quite unreasonable, and it takes over my life, and I don't want it to. I'm tired of working nights and weekends, and I just want to have a job that I can leave at work.
I also don't like that I spend so much time doing things that are good for one person, but are really bad for so many others. I feel like I spend my whole day squashing people that shouldn't be squashed. I hate that feeling.
So, I submitted a couple of job applications at the church for secretarial positions. And Jamie's department is hiring soon, and I'll submit when they do it too. I'm ready to work for a good company. I want that now. So, there's my secret. I didn't dare tell anybody because I'll feel dumb if I don't get it, but, Sarah pointed out that if I can't tell anybody about my failures, nobody is my friend anyway, so why do I care? So, here it is. I'm applying for other jobs and I'm scared out of my mind.
I'm also terrified to quit here, I don't want to bring the wrath of David on myself, and I feel a little guilty about abandoning Kim, but I decided that I have to do what's best for me. And if I get a job offer that sounds/feels better, I'll do it, and if not I'll be a grown up and keep working for people I'm scared of.
Sigh. Wish me luck!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
CRASH!
Wow. What a day THIS has been! Wow wow wow.
Josh called me today while I was at work and told me he got in a car accident, he said it was bad, and it was his fault, and he'd call me back. I hate those kinds of phone calls, but I guess I'm glad I had some warning to calm down before I really talked to him. Turns out he was fine, and the other person was fine, but Steve - our truck is not fine. It leaked a lot of fluid, bashed in the hood, the bumper and the passenger door wouldn't open. It doesn't look that bad, but it is. It definitely is. We both decided we weren't going to dump a lot of money into the truck again, and that the next time it needed major repair we'd just get a new vehicle. SOOO, new vehicle here we come.
Josh is scared because he drives for work, and he's not sure what an accident will mean for his job, but I'm sure it will all work out, it's stressful, and he feels icky, but it'll be OK because it always is. In the mean time, we're back to sharing a vehicle. We've stopped leaving our house at the same time in the morning, I usually leave before Josh does, so I'm hoping that we can have smooth mornings. You never can tell what kinds of things that'll do for a couple. Sure hope it helps us get along more better instead of fighting. We shared a car when we first got married, so I don't think it'll be too difficult, but we'll see how I feel in a week or so. :) Wish us luck!
Josh called me today while I was at work and told me he got in a car accident, he said it was bad, and it was his fault, and he'd call me back. I hate those kinds of phone calls, but I guess I'm glad I had some warning to calm down before I really talked to him. Turns out he was fine, and the other person was fine, but Steve - our truck is not fine. It leaked a lot of fluid, bashed in the hood, the bumper and the passenger door wouldn't open. It doesn't look that bad, but it is. It definitely is. We both decided we weren't going to dump a lot of money into the truck again, and that the next time it needed major repair we'd just get a new vehicle. SOOO, new vehicle here we come.
Josh is scared because he drives for work, and he's not sure what an accident will mean for his job, but I'm sure it will all work out, it's stressful, and he feels icky, but it'll be OK because it always is. In the mean time, we're back to sharing a vehicle. We've stopped leaving our house at the same time in the morning, I usually leave before Josh does, so I'm hoping that we can have smooth mornings. You never can tell what kinds of things that'll do for a couple. Sure hope it helps us get along more better instead of fighting. We shared a car when we first got married, so I don't think it'll be too difficult, but we'll see how I feel in a week or so. :) Wish us luck!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Kokopelli
Kokopelli is the native American fertility god. My mother in law is the regular old American fertility goddess. She's so baby hungry and SOOO excited for grand babies, and I have to say I think she'll be a GREAT grandmother, and I really really hope that we get to have the first grand baby on his side because our baby will be spoiled beyond belief and they'll be VERY happy with us for having a kid. :)So the Reilley's went to Yellowstone a couple of weeks ago and all the kids brought back souvenirs for us (the Reilley's are good at the love language of gifts) so we got pooping cow key chains, and Cami got me a really cute necklace, and then Mom Reilley said she had something special for us. It's a kokopelli statue in front of an arch, and it's really pretty. I laughed, and she told me that it didn't mean that they were pressuring us, just that they wanted us to have nothing but good energy when the time came. :) I love my family and I love it when they "encourage" us.
Hiking
On Saturday we woke up and Josh was completely done with Redbox. That's right 100%. Not a "one more machine to run to real quick" not ANYTHING. That was pretty exciting for me, as I'm sure you can imagine. So, we got up, and made breakfast. Mmmm....breakfast. And decided we wanted to go hike Timp Cave. Only by the time we got there, we couldn't really hike to the cave because we didn't have time, BUT we did hike up in Tibble Fork which was beautiful. We tricked Kate & Rand and Mom & Dad into coming with us, which was really fun.
It was beautiful, and you could already see the fall colors, which I can't WAIT for. I'll put up some pictures as soon as I find my camera.....I hate losing stuff.
Here's the exciting part, that means it's almost fall, which means it's almost winter, which means it's Christmas. Yes, that's right, Christmas. I can't wait.
On Sunday we went over to the Reilley's for dinner, which is always an adventure. Mom Reilley has already started her Christmas shopping and it's only September! But it got me thinking, I should do the same thing, so I'm going to start shopping for Christmas. I'll find great toys, and stuff, but I think our main Christmas will be going to Oregon. And possibly buying a house, depending on where we think we'll live for eternity......I'm not quite ready to be a grown up and decide where we're going to live forever.
It was beautiful, and you could already see the fall colors, which I can't WAIT for. I'll put up some pictures as soon as I find my camera.....I hate losing stuff.
Here's the exciting part, that means it's almost fall, which means it's almost winter, which means it's Christmas. Yes, that's right, Christmas. I can't wait.
On Sunday we went over to the Reilley's for dinner, which is always an adventure. Mom Reilley has already started her Christmas shopping and it's only September! But it got me thinking, I should do the same thing, so I'm going to start shopping for Christmas. I'll find great toys, and stuff, but I think our main Christmas will be going to Oregon. And possibly buying a house, depending on where we think we'll live for eternity......I'm not quite ready to be a grown up and decide where we're going to live forever.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Poor circulation
I decided to diagnose myself with "poor circulation" last night. I went running (a new hobby I guess....I only intend to maintain said hobby while I'm trying to listen to Deception Point because I can't listen to it any other time, once it's over, I QUIT) last night, and did my regular run-until-I-don't-feel-like-it-anymore-and-then-walk-some-more-until-I-feel-like-a-pansy-enough-to-run-some-more routine and about half way around the track my leg started going numb. Then it did that tingly thing (like you've been sitting on it wrong too long) for a little while, and then it totally fell asleep. I walked the rest of the way around the track, and felt bad for myself, and ruled out a heart attack (that's left arm, not right leg right?) and started to hit it. Yes, right there in the middle of liberty park I started beating on my leg to see if I could feel it. Nothing. I really couldn't feel it at all. So I just went home. As I was doing dishes, folding laundry and listening to "*just one more chapter" of my book my arms started falling asleep. I really couldn't feel either one of them. They kindof came in and out of numbness for the rest of the night, which is irritating. I have come to 3 conclusions from these observations. 1) I need more massages in my life....Josh didn't really agree.... 2) Running is bad for you. See? Told you so! 3) I have poor circulation. Anybody know the cure? I'm open to suggestion.
*I think the phrase "just one more chapter" started for me when I was in elementary school reading the book about the frog in times square. Thanks to my mom for teaching me to love to read. I still get addicted to the point of staying up way past my bedtime to read "just one more chapter"
*I think the phrase "just one more chapter" started for me when I was in elementary school reading the book about the frog in times square. Thanks to my mom for teaching me to love to read. I still get addicted to the point of staying up way past my bedtime to read "just one more chapter"
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Salesmen....they'll getcha every time.
On Saturday Josh and I were in Orem doing some redbox (surprise surprise) and decided to go to the mall to buy a game from Games People Play. Josh was doing the potty-dance in the store, so after we decided what we wanted, I told him to go find a bathroom and he could call me and we'd find each other in the mall after. Anyone who has ever done this, should be laughing right now.
I walk out of the game store and get bombarded by a very hairy Italian man. He asks to look at my nails. Since I have a couple of minutes, I tell him he's more than welcome to look at my nails. He does, and then compliments me (this is the beginning of the sales pitch). Then asks if he can show me something. Again, I have a few minutes to kill, so I say yes. He sits me down and starts talking fast, and I can't understand what he's saying because he has a ridiculous accent, something about the healing properties of the dead sea. He files my one nail, and buffs it, and shines it, and then it looks SO MUCH prettier than the others. And he tells me that I can have this nail buffer block, WITH a bottle of lotion AND cuticle oil for the small price of $39.95. I tell him no. He asks if I'd use it if he gave it to me. I say yes, and observes that money is the only issue. I say something about how that's the story of my life and let him continue his sales pitch as I start to look around for my husband. He makes me smell all of his lotions (which stink!) and tells me that it really would be good for me to use this nail buffing system.
Good for me? What is that supposed to mean? No thank you. I tell him I wouldn't pay him a penny for it, and he lets me leave. I hate salesmen, I hate feeling like I'm being sold. I hate being told what I need, I just want to get what I need and leave.
I go to grab my cell phone from my purse as I'm walking away, and realize that my cell phone is in the car.....and so are my keys. Josh has his phone, and his keys, and I have NOTHING. Except my new game. I figure worst case scenario I can just set up the game in the middle of the mall, and eventually he'll find me. So, I sit and wait. Nothing. I walk around a bit, and wait some more. I think of boy scouts and how they are supposed to sit in the same spot, and then decide to go out to my car. Nothing. I walk back in, and wait. And wait. And then I start to feel like a sad, lost puppy dog. All alone, nobody to take care of me. Just me and my game. And then I see Josh, he's down the hall holding the phone up to his head, looking around. Clearly looking for me. As soon as I walk up to him he starts the sales pitch.
And it can fold to be any size you want it to be. Plus it's like the sturdiest ladder in the world. See? Look how cheap! We're now standing right by the nail guy's kiosk, and looking at "dude gifts galore" or something. They sell love sacs, knives, camping stuff, and most importantly little giant ladders. Apparently Josh has been in this store salivating over the ladders while I've been down the hall lost and lonely. I tell him that he has that much in his jar and of course he can get it today if he wants to. His eyes light up like it's Christmas. Only better. LOL. He's a cute kid. So, we purchase the ladder and go to my parents to show it off.
Fortunately the slip-n-slide was out, so we did get to have some fun with that. Good times slip-n-slidin'. Now we're saving for something new in our jar, and I'm excited because I think it's going to be something for our house....a kitchen table.....a bed.......a couch........something exciting, that's for sure. Certainly not a $40 nail buffer.
I have to say his sales tactics worked, in part. He only buffed one of my nails, and you really can tell a difference, which means my nails were all sorts of lopsided. In a fit of rage I went to walmart and bought a non-dead-sea nail buffing block (for $1.88) and buffed the rest of my nails so now they all match the beautiful dead-sea-hairy-italian-man shine. :)
I walk out of the game store and get bombarded by a very hairy Italian man. He asks to look at my nails. Since I have a couple of minutes, I tell him he's more than welcome to look at my nails. He does, and then compliments me (this is the beginning of the sales pitch). Then asks if he can show me something. Again, I have a few minutes to kill, so I say yes. He sits me down and starts talking fast, and I can't understand what he's saying because he has a ridiculous accent, something about the healing properties of the dead sea. He files my one nail, and buffs it, and shines it, and then it looks SO MUCH prettier than the others. And he tells me that I can have this nail buffer block, WITH a bottle of lotion AND cuticle oil for the small price of $39.95. I tell him no. He asks if I'd use it if he gave it to me. I say yes, and observes that money is the only issue. I say something about how that's the story of my life and let him continue his sales pitch as I start to look around for my husband. He makes me smell all of his lotions (which stink!) and tells me that it really would be good for me to use this nail buffing system.
Good for me? What is that supposed to mean? No thank you. I tell him I wouldn't pay him a penny for it, and he lets me leave. I hate salesmen, I hate feeling like I'm being sold. I hate being told what I need, I just want to get what I need and leave.
I go to grab my cell phone from my purse as I'm walking away, and realize that my cell phone is in the car.....and so are my keys. Josh has his phone, and his keys, and I have NOTHING. Except my new game. I figure worst case scenario I can just set up the game in the middle of the mall, and eventually he'll find me. So, I sit and wait. Nothing. I walk around a bit, and wait some more. I think of boy scouts and how they are supposed to sit in the same spot, and then decide to go out to my car. Nothing. I walk back in, and wait. And wait. And then I start to feel like a sad, lost puppy dog. All alone, nobody to take care of me. Just me and my game. And then I see Josh, he's down the hall holding the phone up to his head, looking around. Clearly looking for me. As soon as I walk up to him he starts the sales pitch.
And it can fold to be any size you want it to be. Plus it's like the sturdiest ladder in the world. See? Look how cheap! We're now standing right by the nail guy's kiosk, and looking at "dude gifts galore" or something. They sell love sacs, knives, camping stuff, and most importantly little giant ladders. Apparently Josh has been in this store salivating over the ladders while I've been down the hall lost and lonely. I tell him that he has that much in his jar and of course he can get it today if he wants to. His eyes light up like it's Christmas. Only better. LOL. He's a cute kid. So, we purchase the ladder and go to my parents to show it off.
Fortunately the slip-n-slide was out, so we did get to have some fun with that. Good times slip-n-slidin'. Now we're saving for something new in our jar, and I'm excited because I think it's going to be something for our house....a kitchen table.....a bed.......a couch........something exciting, that's for sure. Certainly not a $40 nail buffer.
I have to say his sales tactics worked, in part. He only buffed one of my nails, and you really can tell a difference, which means my nails were all sorts of lopsided. In a fit of rage I went to walmart and bought a non-dead-sea nail buffing block (for $1.88) and buffed the rest of my nails so now they all match the beautiful dead-sea-hairy-italian-man shine. :)
Harry Potter
I finally finished Harry Potter. Hats of to good ol' J.K. That was a really fun series, and I have to admit, I'll kinda miss Harry.
As I read I kept getting excited, and scared, and nervous, and anxious, and happy, and relieved, and scared again, for Harry and his posse (I just decided that they were a posse). Josh kept laughing at me, and when I'd offer to tell him what was happening, he calmly refused with the same response every time "I'll just wait for the movie."
"The movie?!?! That's not for YEARS!"
"I know, but it's better if you don't know what happens."
Ew. I can't imagine having to wait for the movie, why does he care if I tell him that Harry is the Horcrux and has to die? Why does he care if I ruin the ending? He's going to forget by then anyway. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait to enjoy it with him in a couple years when the movies finally catch up to the books.
As I read I kept getting excited, and scared, and nervous, and anxious, and happy, and relieved, and scared again, for Harry and his posse (I just decided that they were a posse). Josh kept laughing at me, and when I'd offer to tell him what was happening, he calmly refused with the same response every time "I'll just wait for the movie."
"The movie?!?! That's not for YEARS!"
"I know, but it's better if you don't know what happens."
Ew. I can't imagine having to wait for the movie, why does he care if I tell him that Harry is the Horcrux and has to die? Why does he care if I ruin the ending? He's going to forget by then anyway. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait to enjoy it with him in a couple years when the movies finally catch up to the books.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Running
Growing up my mom went running every single day of her life. She ran marathons, my dad ran marathons, my sister followed their footsteps, and I could never understand why anyone would EVER do that to themselves. I've established that nobody really likes it, and people that run are just masochists. Think about it, when was the last time you saw somebody running with a big fat smile on their face? Never! People don't really like it, they just do it because they have to.
However, once in a while (like maybe once a year.....if that) I get the urge to "go running" which for me is not really running, it's like run for 2 minutes and walk for 5, run for 2, walk for 5. Usually it's a stress relief thing, a get out of my house and listen to music and ignore real life situation. The funny thing is, that running makes me crave JoDee Messina. Not sure why, but it does. So, I always listen to JoDee Messina when I "go running".
Yesterday I decided I wanted to "go running" when I got home. So, I ripped my JoDee CD and put it on my ipod. I drove over to Liberty Park and started the run. I've heard that Liberty Park is a mile if you go around the path. So, I figured I'd just do a quick mile and go home and be happy and satisfied. I cranked JoDee and ran about half of it and thought I was going to die. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I walked some, and ran some more, but ouch! I did feel good afterward though, I just think it's sad that it was that hard for me. Maybe I'll do it again, and maybe I'll get good at it. Who knows. In the meantime, I decided I really like Liberty Park. There's a pool, tennis courts, Tracy Aviary, and tons of "park", ponds, birds, etc etc etc. It might be my new favorite place.....we'll see. In the mean time, I'm sticking to the idea that nobody really likes running, and that I kindof enjoyed it last night, even though it hurts today. :)
However, once in a while (like maybe once a year.....if that) I get the urge to "go running" which for me is not really running, it's like run for 2 minutes and walk for 5, run for 2, walk for 5. Usually it's a stress relief thing, a get out of my house and listen to music and ignore real life situation. The funny thing is, that running makes me crave JoDee Messina. Not sure why, but it does. So, I always listen to JoDee Messina when I "go running".
Yesterday I decided I wanted to "go running" when I got home. So, I ripped my JoDee CD and put it on my ipod. I drove over to Liberty Park and started the run. I've heard that Liberty Park is a mile if you go around the path. So, I figured I'd just do a quick mile and go home and be happy and satisfied. I cranked JoDee and ran about half of it and thought I was going to die. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I walked some, and ran some more, but ouch! I did feel good afterward though, I just think it's sad that it was that hard for me. Maybe I'll do it again, and maybe I'll get good at it. Who knows. In the meantime, I decided I really like Liberty Park. There's a pool, tennis courts, Tracy Aviary, and tons of "park", ponds, birds, etc etc etc. It might be my new favorite place.....we'll see. In the mean time, I'm sticking to the idea that nobody really likes running, and that I kindof enjoyed it last night, even though it hurts today. :)
Monday, August 27, 2007
The PERFECT weekend
Yes, we had the perfect weekend. It's true, there's no point in trying to top it now, because as long as I live, I will never have a better weekend.
Friday night after some debate as to whether or not it was worth it, Josh and I decided to go to Alexander Lake. Josh has this thing about chicken, monopoly, and mountains. I guess when he was a kid they would get KFC and go play monopoly in the canyon. Anyway, I've tried more than once to fulfill that, but it's been a little rough. We've done monopoly, and we've tried for chicken, but it's hard! So, last time we went to Alexander Lake we stopped at KFC on our way and ate in the car. The problem was, they got the order all wrong.
Josh: "Can I have a #2 with wedges instead of mashed potatoes and a biscuit"
Order guy: "kshht (in the radio voice) that's a #2 with mashed potatoes, no biscuit."
Josh: "no a #2 no mashed potatoes, and a biscuit"
OG: "kshht what to drink?"
Josh: "lemonade."
OG: "kshht got it. anything else?"
Josh: "Yes, a 3 piece leg and thigh combo, with corn and cole-slaw"
OG: "kshht leg & thigh combo, slaw and potatoes."
Josh: "no. corn and cole-slaw."
OG: "kshht got it, kshht what to drink?"
Josh: "lemonade."
OG: "please pull up."
We pull up, pay the guy, and he hands us 1 drink, and the bag of food.
Josh: "Didn't we get 2 drinks?"
OG: "kshht (now he's just making the noise with his mouth, it's not the radio sound) they only come with meals."
Josh: "didn't we get 2 meals?"
OG: "no, you got a meal and a combo."
Josh: "you asked us what kind of drinks we wanted twice."
OG: "didn't you want lemonade?"
Josh: "yes. 2 lemonades."
OG: "you only get 1 drink, they only come with combos."
At this point Josh is beyond frustrated and decides to just drive off. As we drive off we look at the order, Josh wanted 3 chicken parts and only got 2, the 1 lemonade we did get was water, I didn't get a biscuit, and they gave him mashed potatoes instead of cole-slaw. We were disappointed, but in a hurry, so we went anyway.
This time we decided we'd give it another try. We pull up to the window, hesitating and trying to decide if this is the best choice for us. We were brave enough and pulled up to the order place.
OG: "kkkshhht. may I take your order?"
Josh: "one moment please."
OG: "kkkkshhht. ok. That'll be 95 cents for the first moment, each moment after that will be 83 cents, and the moments will begin counting at the beep. beeeep."
Me and Josh look at each other, laugh, and knew that it would be OK this time. We both got what we wanted, NO mashed potatoes, YES corn and and cole-slaw, NO water, just lemonade. It was perfect.
We continued our journey, and listened to a book on the way, had great conversation, laughed, and enjoyed the drive. We pulled into our camp site just as it was getting dark, set up the tent, built a fire, and had a great time! We poked the fire and made s'mores and looked at the stars, and hung out until time for bed. In our search for firewood, we walked down by my family's camp site, and found a painted rock in the lake. :) My family rocks.
First thing in the morning we built another fire, cooked breakfast (yay for camping pancakes and eggs!) and then decided it was time for a game. We broke out monopoly and Josh pretty well kicked my butt at that game. Then after sitting in the sun for so long we decided that we could go for a swim. Wow, what an adventure.
We brought a tube with us, and wanted to float on it. It was big enough for both of us, but we still had to balance. We launched from right by our camp site, which didn't have a beautiful shore, but we were brave. It was slimy and muddy and dirty on the bottom. Somehow we both got on the tube, and used lily pads for oars. Josh kept trying to tip it, and leaning on my side, I kept laughing and telling him to stay on his side. Finally we both jumped off and it was COLD! But so much fun. After coming in and drying off we decided we were ready to go home, so we packed up and headed home from the beautifullest place in the world. *sigh*
Saturday night we wanted to play games with someone, so we called Katy and Randy. They fed us dinner (nothing like inviting yourself over to dinner...) and taught us how to play pinnacle. Wow, that's a good game. Kate and I kicked trash, and the boys were ready to go home with their tails between their legs. EXCEPT that we played spades afterward. Turns out Josh and Randy rock at spades. We taught them how to play suicide, and oh man, that was funny. They kicked our trash and Josh and I headed home.
Sunday morning I went visiting teaching (yay! I'm a grown up) and Josh went to the most productive missionary meeting we've ever had. He got all of the things I needed him too, and now I don't feel so bad about going to my meeting on Thursday. Hopefully it will be a success. After church we made dinner, and Josh started chasing me around the house. Before long we were wrestling and laughing HYSTERICALLY. We played games, and laughed and laughed until everything we said/did was funny. I love being in that mood. Josh has the greatest air-sucking laugh of all time and we had a great night. We really had tons of fun, and went to bed early. So, this morning we weren't that tired.
I LOVE weekends like this! I feel like I could take over the world, and that makes me happy. I'm excited for a new week and to finish up everything I've now started. :) Happy happy weekend!
Friday night after some debate as to whether or not it was worth it, Josh and I decided to go to Alexander Lake. Josh has this thing about chicken, monopoly, and mountains. I guess when he was a kid they would get KFC and go play monopoly in the canyon. Anyway, I've tried more than once to fulfill that, but it's been a little rough. We've done monopoly, and we've tried for chicken, but it's hard! So, last time we went to Alexander Lake we stopped at KFC on our way and ate in the car. The problem was, they got the order all wrong.
Josh: "Can I have a #2 with wedges instead of mashed potatoes and a biscuit"
Order guy: "kshht (in the radio voice) that's a #2 with mashed potatoes, no biscuit."
Josh: "no a #2 no mashed potatoes, and a biscuit"
OG: "kshht what to drink?"
Josh: "lemonade."
OG: "kshht got it. anything else?"
Josh: "Yes, a 3 piece leg and thigh combo, with corn and cole-slaw"
OG: "kshht leg & thigh combo, slaw and potatoes."
Josh: "no. corn and cole-slaw."
OG: "kshht got it, kshht what to drink?"
Josh: "lemonade."
OG: "please pull up."
We pull up, pay the guy, and he hands us 1 drink, and the bag of food.
Josh: "Didn't we get 2 drinks?"
OG: "kshht (now he's just making the noise with his mouth, it's not the radio sound) they only come with meals."
Josh: "didn't we get 2 meals?"
OG: "no, you got a meal and a combo."
Josh: "you asked us what kind of drinks we wanted twice."
OG: "didn't you want lemonade?"
Josh: "yes. 2 lemonades."
OG: "you only get 1 drink, they only come with combos."
At this point Josh is beyond frustrated and decides to just drive off. As we drive off we look at the order, Josh wanted 3 chicken parts and only got 2, the 1 lemonade we did get was water, I didn't get a biscuit, and they gave him mashed potatoes instead of cole-slaw. We were disappointed, but in a hurry, so we went anyway.
This time we decided we'd give it another try. We pull up to the window, hesitating and trying to decide if this is the best choice for us. We were brave enough and pulled up to the order place.
OG: "kkkshhht. may I take your order?"
Josh: "one moment please."
OG: "kkkkshhht. ok. That'll be 95 cents for the first moment, each moment after that will be 83 cents, and the moments will begin counting at the beep. beeeep."
Me and Josh look at each other, laugh, and knew that it would be OK this time. We both got what we wanted, NO mashed potatoes, YES corn and and cole-slaw, NO water, just lemonade. It was perfect.
We continued our journey, and listened to a book on the way, had great conversation, laughed, and enjoyed the drive. We pulled into our camp site just as it was getting dark, set up the tent, built a fire, and had a great time! We poked the fire and made s'mores and looked at the stars, and hung out until time for bed. In our search for firewood, we walked down by my family's camp site, and found a painted rock in the lake. :) My family rocks.
First thing in the morning we built another fire, cooked breakfast (yay for camping pancakes and eggs!) and then decided it was time for a game. We broke out monopoly and Josh pretty well kicked my butt at that game. Then after sitting in the sun for so long we decided that we could go for a swim. Wow, what an adventure.
We brought a tube with us, and wanted to float on it. It was big enough for both of us, but we still had to balance. We launched from right by our camp site, which didn't have a beautiful shore, but we were brave. It was slimy and muddy and dirty on the bottom. Somehow we both got on the tube, and used lily pads for oars. Josh kept trying to tip it, and leaning on my side, I kept laughing and telling him to stay on his side. Finally we both jumped off and it was COLD! But so much fun. After coming in and drying off we decided we were ready to go home, so we packed up and headed home from the beautifullest place in the world. *sigh*
Saturday night we wanted to play games with someone, so we called Katy and Randy. They fed us dinner (nothing like inviting yourself over to dinner...) and taught us how to play pinnacle. Wow, that's a good game. Kate and I kicked trash, and the boys were ready to go home with their tails between their legs. EXCEPT that we played spades afterward. Turns out Josh and Randy rock at spades. We taught them how to play suicide, and oh man, that was funny. They kicked our trash and Josh and I headed home.
Sunday morning I went visiting teaching (yay! I'm a grown up) and Josh went to the most productive missionary meeting we've ever had. He got all of the things I needed him too, and now I don't feel so bad about going to my meeting on Thursday. Hopefully it will be a success. After church we made dinner, and Josh started chasing me around the house. Before long we were wrestling and laughing HYSTERICALLY. We played games, and laughed and laughed until everything we said/did was funny. I love being in that mood. Josh has the greatest air-sucking laugh of all time and we had a great night. We really had tons of fun, and went to bed early. So, this morning we weren't that tired.
I LOVE weekends like this! I feel like I could take over the world, and that makes me happy. I'm excited for a new week and to finish up everything I've now started. :) Happy happy weekend!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Death by a salesman
A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting at home, minding my own business (aka watching so you think you can dance) when the doorbell rang. Now, because I have no friends that just "drop by" I was 99% sure it was "the mormons" as I so affectionately call them. Only the mormons stop by unannounced. So, I do the quick checklist (as I stand up to make sure I look appropriate for door answering) home teachers were here last week, visiting teachers haven't come in months, I paid my tithing, I have a calling, Josh has a calling, we both did our home/visiting teaching, it's the beginning of the month, neither of us are teaching next week.......by this time I'm walking toward the door mostly out of curiosity and as soon as I open it my heart sank. I knew immediately I had made a mistake. I tried not to let it show in my face, but I wanted to rewind the last 30 seconds and go hide in the back room pretending I wasn't home. There, on my porch stood a "poor starving college student, just trying to make a difference, change my life and earn some money so I can go to college, no I'm not asking for a donation, in fact you'll get more out of this purchase than you ever would have dreamed possible 20-something year old door-to-door salesman". I hesitated before opening the glass door, and stood in the doorway so I wouldn't have to let him in.
DTDD(door-to-door-dude): "why you must be the princess of the house."
Me: what does he mean princess? is he trying to be nice to me by telling me i look young? that's not flattering until you're like 40, does he think I look 40? oh my gosh, do I look 40? "Uhh....I guess you could say that."
DTDD: "Well is your mom here? I have something here that could change her life."
Me: Duh. He meant that he's been talking to people in my neighborhood who have kids my age. I'm such a dork. "Umm...actually I'm the grown-up here."
DTDD: "You at such a young age! Amazing, you're the queen of the castle then!"
Way too much enthusiasm. Since I'm still regretting opening the door and not quite following everything he's saying, he's speaking WAY to fast. The fact that he's from Chicago and doesn't speak the same language is Utah, doesn't help.
Me: "I guess you could say that."
DTDD: "Well let me show you this revolutionary product............"
Me: Oh no, I've let him start his sales pitch, I need to tell him now that he's wasting his time because I can't afford whatever he's selling. Is he ever going to breathe? I wonder if I should listen to what he's saying.
DTDD: "-So, do you?"
Me: Do I what? Help! What did I miss? One wrong answer and he'll launch again, how do I get him off my doorstep. "I'm really not interested in your product. But good luck."
DTDD: "Why you haven't even seen what it does yet! Is this your front door?" He points to the front door.
Me: Nope, that's my pet dog. Here's your sign. "Ummm.......yes."
DTDD: "Well, that is a shame, would you look at these waterspots?"
He then proceeds to demonstrate all the abilities of this super-duper cleaning stuff. It's perfectly natural, safe, and will replace all of the harsh chemicals in your home. "You don't want your kids getting into those hard chemicals, do you mama?"
Me: Don't call me mama you sico. "I don't have kids."
He washed a part of my front door, then felt the need to prove it more since I obviously wasn't going to buy it. He rattled off a list of chemicals that it would replace, he was talking so fast I couldn't even understand what he was saying, but it was an impressive list. "How long has that spot been there?"
Me: What spot? Don't point out my dirty house. Oh good, he's pointing to the driveway. "Longer than I have."
DTDD: "Well, with this revolutionary new product I can take the rust spots off your driveway. Yes, that's right, just one squirt, a little scrub with my little brother's toothbrush and look at that come right off."
Me: "Wow! Rust off the driveway! That's pretty cool." How did I get out on my driveway with this guy? This is crazy, but did you see that? And he did clean my front door....and he actually drank some of this.....it's strong and safe and natural. Josh would be pretty impressed with this stuff.
DTDD: "All this, this solution is only 2 tbsp concentrate, and the rest of this squirt bottle is filled with water. In face, I'll even mix your first bottle for you."
Me: "How much?"
DTDD: "You can get these 3 enormous bottles, plus these scrubbies, toothbrushes and squirt bottles, for just $100."
Me: "My husband would kill me if he comes home and I tell him I spent $100 on a window cleaner."
DTDD: "This is not just a window clean-"
Me: "I don't have $100 for you. Sorry. I'd love to take your card, see a website, or order it another day, because I really think it's cool, I just can't give you $100."
DTDD: "Well then, today is your lucky day. I'll sell you just one bottle for $30*"
*plus tax, title licence, and fees, in only 4 easy payments of $29.99
Me: "I can spend $30, that's a lot of cleaner. Come in and I'll write you a check."
DTDD: "You don't have cash?"
Me: "Do I look like I have cash?"
DTDD: "Of course, you're so young, living in such a nice neighborhood......"
Me: Again with the flattery, that's weird. "Check or nothing."
DTDD: "OK. Check it is. Let me write up your receipt."
I give him the money and he goes on his way. I suddenly have the desire to clean everything, too bad it only lasted long enough to clean my tub, then I didn't want to anymore. However, I do have a HUGE bottle of cleaning stuff, that I can drink if I want to because it's safe. It doesn't have that horrible strong smell like when you clean with other stuff, AND it took hard water off all of the glass in my house. It works wonders, and I am impressed with it, I just felt dumb for buying it.
Enter Josh: I bought some cleaner from a door to door salesman tonight. Josh chuckles like "oh you poor little thing, got sucked into buying a piece of crap because of a salesman."
I quickly defend myself. "No, it's really cool. Look at this clean spot on the front door. I didn't finish cleaning it yet, but look!" Josh just laughs some more and we forget about it.
Fast forward to last night. I pull in the driveway from work and Josh is all excited to see me. "I have to show you the coolest thing we got at work today!" He whips out a bottle of the cleaning stuff. "They did this demonstration and you can use this stuff on ANYTHING in the whole house, plus it's safe! The guy even licked it!"
Me: "I know! Isn't that cool? AND it will take rust off the driveway, not that I'm going to scrub the rust off the driveway, but I could if I wanted to!"
It just goes to show 2 things, #1 DTDD can suck you in faster than anyone else I know. I just wish I had gotten him to clean more things in my house. #2 When you know the mormons don't need you, it's probably not them.
DTDD(door-to-door-dude): "why you must be the princess of the house."
Me: what does he mean princess? is he trying to be nice to me by telling me i look young? that's not flattering until you're like 40, does he think I look 40? oh my gosh, do I look 40? "Uhh....I guess you could say that."
DTDD: "Well is your mom here? I have something here that could change her life."
Me: Duh. He meant that he's been talking to people in my neighborhood who have kids my age. I'm such a dork. "Umm...actually I'm the grown-up here."
DTDD: "You at such a young age! Amazing, you're the queen of the castle then!"
Way too much enthusiasm. Since I'm still regretting opening the door and not quite following everything he's saying, he's speaking WAY to fast. The fact that he's from Chicago and doesn't speak the same language is Utah, doesn't help.
Me: "I guess you could say that."
DTDD: "Well let me show you this revolutionary product............"
Me: Oh no, I've let him start his sales pitch, I need to tell him now that he's wasting his time because I can't afford whatever he's selling. Is he ever going to breathe? I wonder if I should listen to what he's saying.
DTDD: "-So, do you?"
Me: Do I what? Help! What did I miss? One wrong answer and he'll launch again, how do I get him off my doorstep. "I'm really not interested in your product. But good luck."
DTDD: "Why you haven't even seen what it does yet! Is this your front door?" He points to the front door.
Me: Nope, that's my pet dog. Here's your sign. "Ummm.......yes."
DTDD: "Well, that is a shame, would you look at these waterspots?"
He then proceeds to demonstrate all the abilities of this super-duper cleaning stuff. It's perfectly natural, safe, and will replace all of the harsh chemicals in your home. "You don't want your kids getting into those hard chemicals, do you mama?"
Me: Don't call me mama you sico. "I don't have kids."
He washed a part of my front door, then felt the need to prove it more since I obviously wasn't going to buy it. He rattled off a list of chemicals that it would replace, he was talking so fast I couldn't even understand what he was saying, but it was an impressive list. "How long has that spot been there?"
Me: What spot? Don't point out my dirty house. Oh good, he's pointing to the driveway. "Longer than I have."
DTDD: "Well, with this revolutionary new product I can take the rust spots off your driveway. Yes, that's right, just one squirt, a little scrub with my little brother's toothbrush and look at that come right off."
Me: "Wow! Rust off the driveway! That's pretty cool." How did I get out on my driveway with this guy? This is crazy, but did you see that? And he did clean my front door....and he actually drank some of this.....it's strong and safe and natural. Josh would be pretty impressed with this stuff.
DTDD: "All this, this solution is only 2 tbsp concentrate, and the rest of this squirt bottle is filled with water. In face, I'll even mix your first bottle for you."
Me: "How much?"
DTDD: "You can get these 3 enormous bottles, plus these scrubbies, toothbrushes and squirt bottles, for just $100."
Me: "My husband would kill me if he comes home and I tell him I spent $100 on a window cleaner."
DTDD: "This is not just a window clean-"
Me: "I don't have $100 for you. Sorry. I'd love to take your card, see a website, or order it another day, because I really think it's cool, I just can't give you $100."
DTDD: "Well then, today is your lucky day. I'll sell you just one bottle for $30*"
*plus tax, title licence, and fees, in only 4 easy payments of $29.99
Me: "I can spend $30, that's a lot of cleaner. Come in and I'll write you a check."
DTDD: "You don't have cash?"
Me: "Do I look like I have cash?"
DTDD: "Of course, you're so young, living in such a nice neighborhood......"
Me: Again with the flattery, that's weird. "Check or nothing."
DTDD: "OK. Check it is. Let me write up your receipt."
I give him the money and he goes on his way. I suddenly have the desire to clean everything, too bad it only lasted long enough to clean my tub, then I didn't want to anymore. However, I do have a HUGE bottle of cleaning stuff, that I can drink if I want to because it's safe. It doesn't have that horrible strong smell like when you clean with other stuff, AND it took hard water off all of the glass in my house. It works wonders, and I am impressed with it, I just felt dumb for buying it.
Enter Josh: I bought some cleaner from a door to door salesman tonight. Josh chuckles like "oh you poor little thing, got sucked into buying a piece of crap because of a salesman."
I quickly defend myself. "No, it's really cool. Look at this clean spot on the front door. I didn't finish cleaning it yet, but look!" Josh just laughs some more and we forget about it.
Fast forward to last night. I pull in the driveway from work and Josh is all excited to see me. "I have to show you the coolest thing we got at work today!" He whips out a bottle of the cleaning stuff. "They did this demonstration and you can use this stuff on ANYTHING in the whole house, plus it's safe! The guy even licked it!"
Me: "I know! Isn't that cool? AND it will take rust off the driveway, not that I'm going to scrub the rust off the driveway, but I could if I wanted to!"
It just goes to show 2 things, #1 DTDD can suck you in faster than anyone else I know. I just wish I had gotten him to clean more things in my house. #2 When you know the mormons don't need you, it's probably not them.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Aaahhhhhh!!!
It was one of those days yesterday. I had way too much to do and way too little time. I was supposed to go to the Collin Raye concert with my super-cool mother-in-law. Then work was CRAZY. I have 12 projects sitting on my desk that all have to be done yesterday afternoon and I was stressed. I needed to finish my family history names because it was the last day, I needed to go grocery shopping so my poor husband could eat lunch, make lunches, make dinner, clean my house, do 3 batches of laundry, water the lawn, pick the garden, plan my lesson for our missionary meeting, file my mound of paperwork, pay the bills, plan my primary lesson, AND I really wanted to read a couple of books I just got. Instead I came home and cried and my husband was nice to me. He laid down with me for a few minutes while I cried because I was too stressed, and then I fell asleep. He woke me up right before I left, and I had to call mom to tell her I couldn't go to the concert because I had a huge work project. So, I worked on a couple of my projects for work, I got my family history names done, watered the lawn, changed the laundry (only once though), went grocery shopping, and made Josh's lunch for today. It doesn't sound like I did that much, but I really was busy the whole night, only I didn't feel good about. Sometimes I feel great after anight like that, like I've just conquered the world, but this time, I just wanted to cry the whole time. I was just stressed and anxious and not happy about the whole thing. Blah blah blah!!! I didn't want to do any of the things I was doing, I wanted to take a long bath, read a book, take a nap, go to a concert and just relax. But, today I feel a little more like my life is in control...not completely, but closer. I just plain tired, that's all there is to it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Technology advances
First of all you have to know that I "heart" the Salt Lake County Library System. You have access to like a million different libraries and you just pick a book, put it on hold anywhere you want it, and go pick it up. It's fantastic!
Anyway, I had a book on hold, and went to pick it up last night. Pulled it off the hold shelf, and went to use the self checkout. Now, I've used my fair share of self checkouts before, but nothing like this. It's just a touchscreen computer, and no scanner or anything else. I fancy myself somewhat of a computer literate person and thought I'd have no trouble with the cool checkout system. So, I push the "touch screen to start" button, and it flashes that I need to put my library card into the counter. Yes, that's right, into a tiny slot in the countertop. So I do. It sucks my card in (not like I'm putting it in and swiping it back out, it just sucks it in. I jump a little (like an old lady who's never had a computer talk to her and it does for the first time), and then decide it's OK that the countertop ate my library card (sounds like a good title for a children's book huh?). In the meantime I had set my books down on the counter (while I dug through my purse to find my library card which is topic enough for a whole other blog....) then, the screen pops up with a notification that I have a book on hold. I'm thinkin' man this computer is pretty dang smart, knows who I am and what I want to read! I say "OK" because I (like the computer) already knew that I had a book on hold and had even located it on the hold shelf all by myself. The computer tells me which books I have selected. Keep in mind that only one of the books I had was on hold, and as far as I knew, the computer had no way of knowing what other books I had wandered around and selected from the shelves. But it knew, right off the top of it's head. It popped up with the title, author, and isbn on each book I had. I'm thinkin' Wow, this thing is good! then it pops up with the instructions, that I'm supposed to set each book that I want to check out on the counter in stacks no larger than 4 and it lists them. I look for the barcode reader, and it isn't there, I kinda look around a bit trying to figure out how this is working, maybe it's a really fine tuned scale and it knows the exact weight, or number of pages of each book and figures it out that way. Maybe there's a scanner in the ceiling. Maybe that librarian has extra good vision can read from across the room and is just typing in what the title is to impress people. Maybe there's an x-ray under the counter and it reads the barcode through the counter. Maybe - and the nice male-librarian comes up and asks if it's working.
Me: I look down embarrassed and say "yes, I just wanted to see how it worked, so I was playing with it."
Library-man: "OK, just wanted to make sure it was doing it's job."
Old library-lady: "there are microchips in each book. When you put them on the reader it knows what you have."
Me: Feeling like I'm about 100 years old and should've known that. Thinking this is worse than the time the kid at the grocery store asked me if I "wanted help out to my car with that MA'AM". "Nice."
old library-lady: "Yep, technology has made some pretty significant advances these last few years." Like this is old news and I'm way behind the times.
Me: "Sure has. Thanks for your help!" yeah right, in the last few years, what do you know, you still use bobby pins in your hair! I'm way more technologically advanced than you are, and I know it. I'm the queen of technology, I invented microchips in the books that the scale can read! mean old library lady.
Now wouldn't it be cool if that happened at the grocery store checkout. No more of that annoying voice "an unexpected item is in the bagging area, please remove the item." "item removed from bagging area, please replace the item."
Anyway, I had a book on hold, and went to pick it up last night. Pulled it off the hold shelf, and went to use the self checkout. Now, I've used my fair share of self checkouts before, but nothing like this. It's just a touchscreen computer, and no scanner or anything else. I fancy myself somewhat of a computer literate person and thought I'd have no trouble with the cool checkout system. So, I push the "touch screen to start" button, and it flashes that I need to put my library card into the counter. Yes, that's right, into a tiny slot in the countertop. So I do. It sucks my card in (not like I'm putting it in and swiping it back out, it just sucks it in. I jump a little (like an old lady who's never had a computer talk to her and it does for the first time), and then decide it's OK that the countertop ate my library card (sounds like a good title for a children's book huh?). In the meantime I had set my books down on the counter (while I dug through my purse to find my library card which is topic enough for a whole other blog....) then, the screen pops up with a notification that I have a book on hold. I'm thinkin' man this computer is pretty dang smart, knows who I am and what I want to read! I say "OK" because I (like the computer) already knew that I had a book on hold and had even located it on the hold shelf all by myself. The computer tells me which books I have selected. Keep in mind that only one of the books I had was on hold, and as far as I knew, the computer had no way of knowing what other books I had wandered around and selected from the shelves. But it knew, right off the top of it's head. It popped up with the title, author, and isbn on each book I had. I'm thinkin' Wow, this thing is good! then it pops up with the instructions, that I'm supposed to set each book that I want to check out on the counter in stacks no larger than 4 and it lists them. I look for the barcode reader, and it isn't there, I kinda look around a bit trying to figure out how this is working, maybe it's a really fine tuned scale and it knows the exact weight, or number of pages of each book and figures it out that way. Maybe there's a scanner in the ceiling. Maybe that librarian has extra good vision can read from across the room and is just typing in what the title is to impress people. Maybe there's an x-ray under the counter and it reads the barcode through the counter. Maybe - and the nice male-librarian comes up and asks if it's working.
Me: I look down embarrassed and say "yes, I just wanted to see how it worked, so I was playing with it."
Library-man: "OK, just wanted to make sure it was doing it's job."
Old library-lady: "there are microchips in each book. When you put them on the reader it knows what you have."
Me: Feeling like I'm about 100 years old and should've known that. Thinking this is worse than the time the kid at the grocery store asked me if I "wanted help out to my car with that MA'AM". "Nice."
old library-lady: "Yep, technology has made some pretty significant advances these last few years." Like this is old news and I'm way behind the times.
Me: "Sure has. Thanks for your help!" yeah right, in the last few years, what do you know, you still use bobby pins in your hair! I'm way more technologically advanced than you are, and I know it. I'm the queen of technology, I invented microchips in the books that the scale can read! mean old library lady.
Now wouldn't it be cool if that happened at the grocery store checkout. No more of that annoying voice "an unexpected item is in the bagging area, please remove the item." "item removed from bagging area, please replace the item."
Monday, August 13, 2007
Bourne
Oh man. Coolest movie of the summer. No doubt about it. Saturday night we went to see Bourne Ultimatum and it was SOOOO cool! I have loved the series, but that one just keeps getting cooler and cooler. The stunts, fights, and story were awesome. I was pumped after seeing it, that's the sign of a good movie. We had to sit on the 2nd row of the theater cuz we got there right before it started, but it was still really good. Josh said he got a little sick watching it, but I just loved it. Highly recommended viewing.
Alexander Lake
Yes, it was everything I hoped for and oh so much more. :)
Turns out that we got off work early Friday afternoon and headed up to the lake. So, we had time to swim and hang out on Friday night. We looked at stars and I saw a shooting star for the first time in my whole entire life. We built the raft, the zipline was already up, we ate banana boats, what more do you want? 
The little boys were HILARIOUS and Tyler (Sarah's youngest) was the mascot for this year. We looked at pictures after and he and Ryann were the subject of most of the pictures. 
It was good times. Tyler kept throwing "wocks" (rocks) in the lake because they were like "bombs!" He was hilarious. He's just wander around gather rocks and throwing them in the lake.
It was good times. Tyler kept throwing "wocks" (rocks) in the lake because they were like "bombs!" He was hilarious. He's just wander around gather rocks and throwing them in the lake. 
Right when we got there I was ready to jump in the lake, so I did, and then we waited while the big strong boys built the raft. Sarah and Katy were nice enough to get in the lake with me so I didn't feel so lonely. They're nice. We swam and swam, and played in the water. Big Josh (he got a new nickname because both my nephew and husband were there, so we had to start making the distinction between the two of them) played with his guns and then even he got in the water! The in-laws in my family are notorious for boycotting all cold wet activities at the lake, but Josh wanted to play and I was SOO glad he did! It's certainly my favorite part of the lake, so I was relieved that he had fun doing it too. Randy is the other brave in-law and spends as much time in the lake as anybody else. He's brave too.
That night we made banana boats (which were a big hit, thanks Reilleys!) and sang songs around the batter-powered-lantern. 
We couldn't have any fires at all, which was funny because some people across the lake did, and the little boys kept yelling at them "you're breaking the law!" wanted to make sure they knew that they were being really naughty and when their mom's found out they'd be in big trouble. :) We sang some really funny songs and I learned some things about my family. There's this horrible song that we all grew up singing and I realized just how horrible it is."I'm a villan a dirty rotten villan and I leave a trail of blood where e're I go (I go)
My chief delight is to pick a fight And I beat little kids on the head 'til they're dead.
I have gotten a rep for being rotten I put poison in my mother's shredded wheat (her wheat)
I put a stain on the family name And I eat-raw-meat!"
The best part is that I was like 10 or 12 years old before I knew that it wasn't the same song as
"I'm a mormon, yes I am!" Horrible. But we also know a lot of nice songs too, so that's good.
"I'm a mormon, yes I am!" Horrible. But we also know a lot of nice songs too, so that's good.
I guess a couple of years ago when we went Clint (Sarah's husband) started the legend of the cyclops. The cyclops lives on the other side of the lake and he eats naughty little kids, so you're not allowed to go over there without a grown up. Well this year, Clint stopped by Best Buy and found a victim of the cyclops which quickly made it's way up to the lake. They hid it, with a note, where the cyclops lives for the little boys to find on one of their walks around the lake. Needless to say, it worked.
The next day on the lake, there were pirate ships, and attacks, and bomb squads, and all manner of wickedness. At one point Randy literally jumped from the homemade raft to the other raft, grabbed Josh and brought him down into the lake. Meanwhile 5 year old Dallin is "manning the ship" all by himself. He was so brave, he knew he'd be fine and just sailed alone for quite some time. Until Captain Spence came and jumped back in the raft, nearly tipping it. Oh man we had fun. I'm sure our neighbors appreciated our shouts of "attack!" "direct hit!" "we're goin' down!" "we're commandeering another one!" "avast ye maytees!" it was a regular pirate war. 
Saturday Josh helped me go down the zipline, it scared me. You had to walk off a home-made plank, which was way worse than the actual ride down the zipline. I was fine on the ride part, but balancing on the log and walking off it made me REAL nervous. I'm a big baby. This is Spence building it - he's braver than I am.
All in all it was a great trip, and I'm glad that Josh came with me so he could understand why it's the happiest place on earth for me. He's really good about appreciating the things that I love. He had a great time, and I'm fairly certain that we'll go back. :) Mission successful.
Friday, August 10, 2007
I can't WAIT!
Oh man. Today is the day. Yes, that's right, we're going to Alexander Lake! It's been a crazy week, we originally thought we could just leave today after work, but it turns out that some people in my family really want to be home Saturday/Sunday. so they are leaving Saturday. So, we're trying to do everything in our power to get up there as early as possible today. That way we'll have all day tomorrow, and half of today to hike, swim, canoe, etc. But, it's been a crazy week getting ready to go. Josh went up to Layton on Monday to get his movies so he could start his route and be done by Friday - only one of the titles he was putting in machines wasn't there. And it wasn't there Tuesday, and it wasn't there Wednesady. So he started Wednesday afternoon, hoping to be almost done on Thursady. so he had 2 days to do his weeks worth of work. Gross. Fortunately my husband is amazing and nice and is almost done! Yes, it's Friday morning and he only has a few machines left, so maybe we can leave at noon today! Now I just need to make sure I do my work so I can leave as early as he can. I can't wait!!! It's better than Christmas.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
It's a small world after all
It seems like this past week has been one where I talk to a lot of people I don't normally hear from. It's been really fun. Old roommates, friends from high school or the BC, etc etc etc. I actually kindof enjoy weeks like that because it means people remember who I am which means at some point they knew I existed. I always think I know a lot more people than know me. Like I know who they are, but they wouldn't have a clue who I was.
Anyway, one of those "old friends" (geez, I sound like I'm OLD and attending like my 30 year high school reunion or something!) was Anna from Student Council at the Business College. She was one of those people who absolutely shocked me the more I got/get to know her the more I like her and the more I think we have in common.
Student Council was a bit of "stretch" for me (understatement of the year), but she was always really nice and accepting even though I didn't feel like I fit in that position very well. Anyway, the point is that she e-mailed me! And then I told her about facebook, she got on, I had a comment about going to Alexander Lake, one thing leads to another and it turns out that she and her husband were there last weekend!
Alexander Lake is one of those places that I grew up thinking was built just for my family. Like when God was creating the world, he put Alexander Lake there and showed my daddy how to get there so we would have somewhere to go on vacation. And nobody else knew about it, much less went to it. Turns out the older I get the smaller the world is and the fewer places are "secret".
Anyway, I got all kinds of excited that someone else knew where it was, and that they went and loved it too! It really is my favorite place on the planet. It's filled with happy memories, and all of the things that I think are required for beauty. After I get back I'll post some pictures and maybe you can see why....but pictures just don't do it justice. Turns out that the older I get the smaller the world is and more and more people have random connections in my life.
At work we deal with one specific title company a LOT. They send a "runner" up to our office all the time, and this person changes quite regularly. It's usually some high school kid that doesn't want to work at work, so he thinks that driving around all day is the perfect job - he gets to talk on the phone, listen to music, and hang out and get paid for it. Anyway, the newest runner happens to be dating our Project manager's daughter. So he called and said we should give him grief and make his life miserable. So far I haven't thought of anything really funny to do, but I'm workin' on it. All he does is come pick up some papers every once in a while so there's a not a lot of interaction, but we'll figure something out. Good times playing practical jokes on people. I'm open to suggestions......
Anyway, one of those "old friends" (geez, I sound like I'm OLD and attending like my 30 year high school reunion or something!) was Anna from Student Council at the Business College. She was one of those people who absolutely shocked me the more I got/get to know her the more I like her and the more I think we have in common.
Student Council was a bit of "stretch" for me (understatement of the year), but she was always really nice and accepting even though I didn't feel like I fit in that position very well. Anyway, the point is that she e-mailed me! And then I told her about facebook, she got on, I had a comment about going to Alexander Lake, one thing leads to another and it turns out that she and her husband were there last weekend!
Alexander Lake is one of those places that I grew up thinking was built just for my family. Like when God was creating the world, he put Alexander Lake there and showed my daddy how to get there so we would have somewhere to go on vacation. And nobody else knew about it, much less went to it. Turns out the older I get the smaller the world is and the fewer places are "secret".
Anyway, I got all kinds of excited that someone else knew where it was, and that they went and loved it too! It really is my favorite place on the planet. It's filled with happy memories, and all of the things that I think are required for beauty. After I get back I'll post some pictures and maybe you can see why....but pictures just don't do it justice. Turns out that the older I get the smaller the world is and more and more people have random connections in my life.
At work we deal with one specific title company a LOT. They send a "runner" up to our office all the time, and this person changes quite regularly. It's usually some high school kid that doesn't want to work at work, so he thinks that driving around all day is the perfect job - he gets to talk on the phone, listen to music, and hang out and get paid for it. Anyway, the newest runner happens to be dating our Project manager's daughter. So he called and said we should give him grief and make his life miserable. So far I haven't thought of anything really funny to do, but I'm workin' on it. All he does is come pick up some papers every once in a while so there's a not a lot of interaction, but we'll figure something out. Good times playing practical jokes on people. I'm open to suggestions......
Monday, August 6, 2007
Slip 'N Slide!!!
Oh man! My family is hands down the coolest family of all time. So with the Fugal's from Washington here we are doing fun things all the time. Tonight was FHE and for activity it was Slip 'N Slide! So, we had our lesson about how "everybody is special" and we don't need to worry about stars and gray dots, and they can just fall off instead.
Then came the fun part. At my house we don't just buy a slip 'n slide. We do industrial grown-up sized slip 'n slide. At the beginning there is an old waterbed mattress filled with water, but it leaks and we keep it nice and wet and my dad even adds dish soap to make it extra slippery. Then is a big stretch of black plastic and the goal is to get clear to the end of it and slide onto the grass. So we did. We slipped and 'slode' (yes that is the proper past tense of 'slide') all over the place. Here are a couple of highlights.
You can't even tell, but that's nice FLYING down the slip 'n slide. You'd be surprised how much speed you can get off of these things!
All of the boys were nice enough to hold still for a picture. That's Josh showing off his muscles (not my husband, my nephew), Nate in the t-shirt, Randy with grass stains on his front, Spencer, and Dad. Some of my favorite boys in the world.
All of the boys were nice enough to hold still for a picture. That's Josh showing off his muscles (not my husband, my nephew), Nate in the t-shirt, Randy with grass stains on his front, Spencer, and Dad. Some of my favorite boys in the world. 
This is Katy and Randy. They're cute. Katy's fun at things like this, but she did get cold, and was even brave enough to admit it!
The little boys didn't quite slide like the rest of us so we did "surfer man!" instead. We'd have them just stand and drag them down on their feet, which they thought was AWESOME. Then we invented, double surfer man! They both got to go at the same time. It was RAD.
Then they figured out that they wouldn't get in trouble for jumpin' on the bed. Good times.
Spencer and randy started a contest to see who could go the farthest down the track without running, just a single jump and dive, all three of them made it clear to the end on one dive, that was pretty rad. Then they started trying "with style" and oh man, the competition was fierce. Spencer and Randy figured out that you can barrel roll while you're going down the thing - good discovery. Then Randy was pullin' some crazy somersault, and flippin' moves. It was a good time, that's for sure.
The little boys LOVED being "surfer-dude" (which I'm pretty sure they think is a hero) and laughed and giggled till they couldn't anymore. I must say, I have the cutest nephews on the planet.
Tender Mercies
I really think that since Elder Bednar's talk the term tender mercies has been stretched to mean "just about anything good that happens to me....EVER". At least I know I've stretched it.
A couple of years ago (shortly after the aforementioned talk) I was waiting at a red light to cross the street to temple square. It's one of those "pedestrian" lights, meaning that it has no purpose other than to let people walk through the middle of the road. The light seems to be cursed for me because I have NEVER seen it green for anyone. You always have to wait until there's a handful of people waiting for it before it turns green. However, on one particularly hot day, I had been waiting for the light for a couple of minutes and some sister missionaries walked up behind me. The exact second that they approached the street, the light turned green. I quickly pointed out that the light turns green that quickly only for sister missionaries. She responded "that's just the kind of tender mercies you get when you're serving the Lord!".
Today however, I have been given a real live tender mercy. Last night Josh and I wanted to make something yummy in the middle of the night. I wanted it to be peanut butter bars, he doesn't really like peanut butter-y treats. So we settled for the greasy Blondies instead. Just now Neil (a guy who works in my office) brought down a plate of something yummy that he said his wife made him promise to share. You guess it, peanut butter bars. I told him it was an answer to my prayers. :) Thank goodness for tender mercies, no matter how small!
A couple of years ago (shortly after the aforementioned talk) I was waiting at a red light to cross the street to temple square. It's one of those "pedestrian" lights, meaning that it has no purpose other than to let people walk through the middle of the road. The light seems to be cursed for me because I have NEVER seen it green for anyone. You always have to wait until there's a handful of people waiting for it before it turns green. However, on one particularly hot day, I had been waiting for the light for a couple of minutes and some sister missionaries walked up behind me. The exact second that they approached the street, the light turned green. I quickly pointed out that the light turns green that quickly only for sister missionaries. She responded "that's just the kind of tender mercies you get when you're serving the Lord!".
Today however, I have been given a real live tender mercy. Last night Josh and I wanted to make something yummy in the middle of the night. I wanted it to be peanut butter bars, he doesn't really like peanut butter-y treats. So we settled for the greasy Blondies instead. Just now Neil (a guy who works in my office) brought down a plate of something yummy that he said his wife made him promise to share. You guess it, peanut butter bars. I told him it was an answer to my prayers. :) Thank goodness for tender mercies, no matter how small!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Cafe Rio
I'm starting to love 1:00 church. Well, I don't really, but I'm appreciating it for the time being. Yesterday we didn't even start to get ready for church until 12:15, yes we really were that lazy, we woke up, but stayed in bed all morning just being lazy and boring. I liked it. :)
Then I decided I wanted to make cafe rio salads for dinner, so I hurried and threw the chicken in the crock pot so it would be "almost ready" when we got home. Ha! That totally didn't work. I barely had time to get the chicken cooking, and definitely didn't have time to arrange it nicely in the crock pot. so since it was frozen, it stuck out the crock pot a little bit making the lid not quite closed. Well, when it thawed, the lid didn't quite seal, so it wasn't quite done when I got home. So, I rearranged, and let it sit for a lot longer. Then we bummed around some more, and at like 7:30 started to make the rest of the dinner. Oh man! That was some GOOD grub! Josh wanted to make homemade tortillas, so he did (all by himself, he's pretty good at that actually)! I made the yummy tomatillo dressing, and the rice. Mmmm! It was GOOD! We didn't even eat until like 8:00, but it was well worth the wait. Now I can't wait to turn the leftovers into enchiladas, and eat those too! Yummm!!!
At about 11:30, we were ready to go to bed, and Josh was starting to fall asleep, but since we had slept ALL DAY LONG I wasn't tired enough yet. So I made him wake up and talk to me, the I remembered about these things called blondies. I hadn't ever heard of them until I was visiting teaching, but they're like brownies, only vanilla flavored. So I really wanted to make them, and Josh just wanted to sleep, but I wanted him to keep me company. So he woke up with me and helped me make blondies in the middle of the night. I love my husband. Turns out the recipe I found online for blondies wasn't that great - REALLY greasy. Maybe that's how they all are, but it kinda grossed me out. They didn't taste bad, they were just like eating baked crisco and sugar. Anyway, if anybody has a good recipe for blondies......I'm looking! Otherwise I'm goint to start experimenting, and that might be scary!
Then I decided I wanted to make cafe rio salads for dinner, so I hurried and threw the chicken in the crock pot so it would be "almost ready" when we got home. Ha! That totally didn't work. I barely had time to get the chicken cooking, and definitely didn't have time to arrange it nicely in the crock pot. so since it was frozen, it stuck out the crock pot a little bit making the lid not quite closed. Well, when it thawed, the lid didn't quite seal, so it wasn't quite done when I got home. So, I rearranged, and let it sit for a lot longer. Then we bummed around some more, and at like 7:30 started to make the rest of the dinner. Oh man! That was some GOOD grub! Josh wanted to make homemade tortillas, so he did (all by himself, he's pretty good at that actually)! I made the yummy tomatillo dressing, and the rice. Mmmm! It was GOOD! We didn't even eat until like 8:00, but it was well worth the wait. Now I can't wait to turn the leftovers into enchiladas, and eat those too! Yummm!!!
At about 11:30, we were ready to go to bed, and Josh was starting to fall asleep, but since we had slept ALL DAY LONG I wasn't tired enough yet. So I made him wake up and talk to me, the I remembered about these things called blondies. I hadn't ever heard of them until I was visiting teaching, but they're like brownies, only vanilla flavored. So I really wanted to make them, and Josh just wanted to sleep, but I wanted him to keep me company. So he woke up with me and helped me make blondies in the middle of the night. I love my husband. Turns out the recipe I found online for blondies wasn't that great - REALLY greasy. Maybe that's how they all are, but it kinda grossed me out. They didn't taste bad, they were just like eating baked crisco and sugar. Anyway, if anybody has a good recipe for blondies......I'm looking! Otherwise I'm goint to start experimenting, and that might be scary!
Pictures
Anybody who's ever tried to take a picture of more than 5 people at a time will probably be able to relate to my weekend.
My brother, Spencer, and his wife, Emily, and their 3 kids, are here from Washington to visit. Given that we had our most recent family picture taken like 2 years ago, and there are 2 new adults and 4 new kids since then, my mom decided on Thursday night that while they were here we needed to take a family picture. So, she called to see when we're available. Kudos to my mom for coordinating 6 family's schedules with the photographer. We went, we survived, we did a great job. Here's hopin' for no more babies/weddings for a while, because I know I can live without that stress for a while.
Mom said the reward for smiling really big at pictures was a barbeque at her house. Which was a success as always. Here are a couple of pictures that I took while they were doing individual families pictures.
This is Katy and her baby Ryann. That lucky girl got her mom's eyes!
This is my little brother Nate, and Sarah's youngest boy, Tyler. Nate can make that kid laugh like nobody else! They're bestest buds.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Crypt Raider
OK. Jamie got me addicted to this new game so I added it to the blog. It's called Crypt Raider and the point is to get all of the "mystical-magical-balls" through the doorway. Level 1 is really dumb, but once you get up there....it's cool and I PROMISE you'll get addicted.
Just a day just an ordinary day
Today seems to have been an extraordinary day. I keep seeing things that you don't normally see. Like on my way to work, I'm driving up state street (just below the capital) and it's lined with trees. It's a beautiful street. Anyway, as I'm driving I saw a couple of little green apples fall off the trees. It's one of those things that you wouldn't normally see, it just happens when nobody is watching, but not today. Today I saw it - sounds dumb, but it was kinda cool.
As I continued to follow a big fat truck up the hill, he started to pull up his back wheels as he was driving. I know that's not really that exciting, but I've never seen it before, and I won't lie, I half expected the truck to turn into a giant robot and start 'roller-skating' down the street. My life is straight out of transformers.
The weekend is getting closer and closer, and I can't wait! It's been a crazy week, but it'll be an even crazier weekend. My brother and his family are here visiting from Washington and I can't wait to see them, and meet my brand new neice, she's cute I already know. :) The real adventure is that we're getting family pictures taken. Now THAT will be fun. Ha ha ha!!! Wish me luck!
As I continued to follow a big fat truck up the hill, he started to pull up his back wheels as he was driving. I know that's not really that exciting, but I've never seen it before, and I won't lie, I half expected the truck to turn into a giant robot and start 'roller-skating' down the street. My life is straight out of transformers.
The weekend is getting closer and closer, and I can't wait! It's been a crazy week, but it'll be an even crazier weekend. My brother and his family are here visiting from Washington and I can't wait to see them, and meet my brand new neice, she's cute I already know. :) The real adventure is that we're getting family pictures taken. Now THAT will be fun. Ha ha ha!!! Wish me luck!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Manna from heaven
Sometimes I'm AMAZED at how prayers can be answered. You know when you really know you should be doing something, but you drag your feet and drag your feet and then all of a sudden it's like Heavenly Father just says "if you're not going to do it by yourself, I'll do it for you!" and drops a pile of whatever it is that you should be doing in your lap and you're kinda forced to do it? Yeah, that's how I feel a lot of times.
When I was on Student Council I felt like that and decided that we are often given opportunities to grow, and when we choose not to take them, that's when we're given "experiences".
Well, the summer before Josh and I started dating I really felt the need to do temple/family history work. I even thought about going through the temple and then couldn't because I wasn't old, or missioning or marrying. But I still thought I should start doing family history somehow. THEN I met Josh, we got married, go to the temple regularly and I kinda thought that would satisfy the urge, but I still thought I really ought to learn how the family history system works. We had a lesson about temples in Relief Society a couple of the ladies in my ward talked about the family history work they do. They do indexing for the church once a week and love it. I asked them about it afterward, and they couldn't really give me any solid answers - but I knew you could do it from home, and it's basically just entering data from old records into a good computer format. So, I thought I'd look into it, I did a google search one night and didn't find anything that looked really fruitful. So, I guess you could say I tried, but I didn't do much more than what was convenient. I should've done more.
Yesterday the Ensign came. If you haven't seen it yet, there's this huge article about the new indexing website and it has the website in the article, and you just sign up for it and it's SUPER easy. There I go again, getting hit with a 2x4. "Do it! You've been pretending like you were going to for 2 years, it's time to get off your but and get at it!" That's what I heard in my head. So, I signed up for an account, and maybe I'll get some done tonight. :) I'm sure that the article touched more people than me, and I'm sure that a million people will start doing the work now, but it really was exactly what I needed, so I'm excited to get started.
The rest of the Ensign was pretty amazing too, I didn't read the whole thing, but I did my flip-through, and am really excited to read a lot of the articles. Sometimes I think I'm more in tune with the spirit and recognize the things that I can get out of the Ensign much better than other times. This is one of those times that I'm really excited for.
When I was on Student Council I felt like that and decided that we are often given opportunities to grow, and when we choose not to take them, that's when we're given "experiences".
Well, the summer before Josh and I started dating I really felt the need to do temple/family history work. I even thought about going through the temple and then couldn't because I wasn't old, or missioning or marrying. But I still thought I should start doing family history somehow. THEN I met Josh, we got married, go to the temple regularly and I kinda thought that would satisfy the urge, but I still thought I really ought to learn how the family history system works. We had a lesson about temples in Relief Society a couple of the ladies in my ward talked about the family history work they do. They do indexing for the church once a week and love it. I asked them about it afterward, and they couldn't really give me any solid answers - but I knew you could do it from home, and it's basically just entering data from old records into a good computer format. So, I thought I'd look into it, I did a google search one night and didn't find anything that looked really fruitful. So, I guess you could say I tried, but I didn't do much more than what was convenient. I should've done more.
Yesterday the Ensign came. If you haven't seen it yet, there's this huge article about the new indexing website and it has the website in the article, and you just sign up for it and it's SUPER easy. There I go again, getting hit with a 2x4. "Do it! You've been pretending like you were going to for 2 years, it's time to get off your but and get at it!" That's what I heard in my head. So, I signed up for an account, and maybe I'll get some done tonight. :) I'm sure that the article touched more people than me, and I'm sure that a million people will start doing the work now, but it really was exactly what I needed, so I'm excited to get started.
The rest of the Ensign was pretty amazing too, I didn't read the whole thing, but I did my flip-through, and am really excited to read a lot of the articles. Sometimes I think I'm more in tune with the spirit and recognize the things that I can get out of the Ensign much better than other times. This is one of those times that I'm really excited for.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)