Happy Birthday!

Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Nick and I had the opportunity to help Santa out last night. It really helped bring the Christmas spirit, and made it Christmas for us.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Well, it will definitely be a White Christmas!


These are the branches that couldn't hold the weight, and fell. Luckily, they didn't break anything on their way down.






The snow keeps piling up. I think we got a foot or two from the storms. I know we've shoveled a lot! And it is now high enough that when Stitch jumps in he disappears up to his back. He is not afraid of the snow and keeps begging to go out in it.




Stitch loves to chase snowballs. However, he can't figure out what to do when the snowballs hit the ground and blend in. So he sticks his nose in the ground looking for the ball. He will also jump for them in Nick's hands....which usually results in a snoutful of snow.



Hope you are all enjoying the white stuff! I will. But not until Monday afternoon when I am done work until Friday and don't have to drive in (or be a passenger in) the car.

It's not peaceful anymore

I used to like our apartment. Sure it's small. Sure it's odd shaped. The bathroom and kitchen are minuscule. I can barely turn around in the shower without hitting a wall. Literally. Yeah, we can't really have anyone over unless it's summer weather and we can eat on the porch. But, it was fairly quiet. Our landlord upstairs was a fairly quiet neighbor. She didn't have a lot of company regularly. She only had really loud and obnoxious drinking parties about once a quarter. There's a yard of sorts for Stitch to play in.

But not anymore. Now she has company, loud company, alot. Her parties have occurred about every other weekend. Today has been bad. Today I've been afraid someone is going to come through the ceiling and land on my head.

I think it's partially because we didn't plan on living here this long. A year max. But jobs changed, and we really love it out here. It is a very big push to find a place of our own. Especially when we get discouraged in our never ending quest to find everything someone else loves.

Entertaining Blogs

http://mormonhusbands.blogspot.com/

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

I love that we can find joy in our culture!

Another House Bites the Dust

'Nuff Said.

Not Quite World Peace

http://www.freerice.com

But at least I feel like I'm learning and it's addicting.

Vocabulary not your strong suit? Try changing subjects Math and Geography are also options.

A Funny Old Memory

So my last post was very sad and angry. Inspired by a friends blog, I'll share an entertaining story about bumps and bruises.

I'm not sure who's idea it was, the 9 year old (me), the 6 year old (likely), or the 5 year old. Regardless, the idea of playing hide and seek tag came up. There were very simple rules- you must put a coat over your head and find your siblings then tag them before they run away. As the youngest, of course Dustin was "It" first. As we ran up the stairs around the cedar chest- he didn't. Instead he hit the corner at full blast, and then the screams came at full blast. He managed to not get blood on the coat, but there was a fair amount of blood on the chest, on the floor, and on my brother.

We went to the Emergency room. Which by the way is a great punishment for the older kids. We sat and sat and sat. No television or gameboys or ipods or anything. Just a verbal lashing. And then my brother finally went back, they determined he needed stitches, and pulled out the needle to numb his head. He yelled and screamed SO loud that all the other kids in the emergency room started crying and some of their parents had to leave with them.

We never played hide and seek tag again, although we did end up at the emergency room a few more times, usually because of my dad.

Argh. And a Rant.

We put an offer in a great place over the weekend. After much hemming and hawing, it came back denied. Someone else put in a higher offer. Higher than the asking price. In this market. SERIOUSLY????

And while people mean well, I think if I hear the phrase "Well, that means the house for you is still out there" one more time I will scream. Loudly. My head may know that that's true. But I don't want to hear it. I'm not finding it. So unless you'd like to find the house for me- do not use that phrase.

In fact, while I'm thinking about it, there are a lot of things that applies to. I think as a human race we suck at trying to sympathize and in trying to "make" others feel better. Most funerals I have been to have included the phrase "At least he/she is in a better place". Really?!? How is that supposed to be comforting to someone that just lost their soul mate/child/parent? Are we that afraid of grief?

Slightly Single

I dropped off Nick at the airport today. He is in the air on the way to Washington, D.C. where he will be in a work class for 2 weeks.

So, it's just me and the dog. Today it's cool. I'm enjoying it. And I'm sure I will like it tomorrow. But by Tuesday I will definitely be missing him. However, I am looking forward to leaving my scrapbook stuff, and other craft stuff out, without it being in anyone's way but mine. And having whatever I feel like for dinner (I think Hawaiian Haystacks are on the menu!).

My "will be funny later" story

Not much has been happening lately. We are trying to get into a lot of debt, but it's not working very well! By that I mean, we are trying to buy a house.

Our future home must have:
1. a minimum of 2 bedrooms
2. a kitchen with a real size stove, not an apartment sized one
3. washer and dryer hookups

We consider it a huge benefit if there is also a small yard, off street parking, and a dishwasher.

We have looked at a few. And this is how it goes:

We find a place that meets our criteria. Then 1 of 2 things happen: It goes under contract, or we go see it.
We arrange to go see it. Then 1 of 2 things happen: It goes under contract, or we go see it.
We like it, and decide to put on offer on it. It goes under contract.

We have never made it past this step. This has now happened with 4 or 5 houses. Actually only on 1 have we made it to the seeing part so far.

Therefore, we would like to offer our services to anyone selling a house. We are happy to feign interest in your home, and even go see it. For this appears to be a guaranteed way of selling to someone else, regardless of it being on the market 7 days or 240 days.

And yes, this will be a story we laugh about someday. But not yet.

I've been Tagged!

I've never been tagged before, so we will see how this goes...

RULES
1. Post rules on your Blog.
2. Answer the six "8" items.
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.

8 Favorite Shows:
There are few shoes that I religiously follow, but here are my favorites for background noise and watching in no particular order
1. Pushing Daises
2. The Office
3. Top Chef (Love the train wreck factor!)
4. The Amazing Race
5. Simpsons
6. Law and Order SVU
7. Peoples Court
8. The Office

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to Salem on a car ride
2. Watched the Macy's Day Parade (yes, I tivo'd and watched it today)
3. Laundry (I hate laundromats!!!)
4. Dreamed about a house
5. Shopped
6. Made a Thank you card
7. Slept in
8. Took the husband and dog for a short walk

8 Things I Look Forward to:
1. Seeing people self destruct on television
2. Hanging out with friends
3. Buying a House
4. Catching up on Blogs
5. Rainy Days when I don't have to work
6. Lazy Afternoons with Nick
7. Christmas Music
8. Being a stay at home mom

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Del Taco
2. Micheal's Place in Wilmington ( I love their Buffalo Chicken Fingers!)
3. Outback Steakhouse
4. China Pearl- but only their lunch buffet! Otherwise, too expensive
5. Uno's Pizza and Grill
6. Artu's in North End (almost any North End Italian actually!)
7. Tony Romas- Their Baked Potato Soup is delicious!
8. Longhorn Steakhouse

8 Things on my wish list:
I am content and happy. However...
1. I wish for more motivation to work out everyday
2. I wish people would stop buying the houses I want to buy
3. I wish to not close myself off from others
4. I wish for my sister to have more confidence
5. I wish to expand our family
6. I wish to develop all my relationships more
7. I wish to use my washer and dryer, and not the laundromat!

And of course...
8. I wish for world peace :)


8 People to Tag:
I don't think I know 8 people, so I guess this ends with me...

Randomness of today

So today, we met with a real estate agent. When we walked into the office, she was finishing a phone call about a property at 666 Main Street.

So of course later my curiosity was peaked when I read that the numbers 6-6-6 were the winning numbers in Illinois the day after the election. The article went on to be very rude and derogatory, so I didn't finish it. But I find the emphasis that is put on certain combinations of numbers to be interesting.

Oh, and on that note, did you know that on September 11, 2002 the winning numbers in New York were 9-1-1?

It's interesting to me how much faith and/or significance that people put into inanimate and completely random circumstances.

My Own Language

I like to make up words. Sometimes it's because I can't think of one already in existence (such as sueholics). Sometimes it's because my mouth talks before my brain thinks (such as when things get "smallened"). The only drawback is the English major I married. It irritates him. At least a little.

Blogmaginitis is one of my new favorites though. Definition: the disease affecting those who blog in their imagination. This is quite common for me. I will write an entire blog post in my head while I am at work, or trying to sleep, or on a car ride. And then I think I blogged about it. But when I open my blog, I realize: nope. It was all in my head. Oh well. If you could only read the blog in my brain.

Just for Fun

While I have no intention of seeing the movie, I thought I'd add a little extra Twilight to my life...


I'm a Bella

You are observant, diplomatic and often aim to please. You are unaware of your
attractiveness and despite being uncomfortable with any form of attention, people enjoy your company. You can be impatient, stubborn and headstrong, but you are true to your word and mature for your age, often taking care of your family and enjoying a good book over chatting with girlfriends on the phone.

My Birthday (belated post!)

So my birthday was last Friday (17th). I got to do something I've always wanted to do, just a little differently.

I've always wanted to go to Italy and ride on a gondola. For my birthday, I got to ride a gondola down the Charles River. It was a cool, crisp night, but we had a blanket and some apple cider to help warm us. (And I wore 3 layers of jackets!)Plus, with Nick sitting by me I stayed plenty warm. The river was right there, so close I could reach out and touch it. The moon was full, and I had a great time. I highly recommend it for others as well.

My Menu Plan

I have a love-hate relationship with dinner.

I love to cook. I love to eat. I even love to grocery shop.
But....
I hate to plan. I hate not knowing what's for dinner. I hate to think about what's in the fridge, cupboards, or freezer.
So....
Here is my new plan. Pull out a recipe that sounds good. Check ingredients. Dinner is on it's way!




We'll see how well it works.

The "Biggest Twain Eva"

According to Easton and Tyten that is. And of course, it had to be rebuilt every day, or twice a day if cousins Cloe and Broc came over. Tyten called me yesterday to ask when I was coming over to build his train again. Apparently "No one else builds them good like you".

In case you are curious, I have been going through summer photos.

Chocolate Frosting makes the dog

Tyten was quiet. Too quiet. When I went to check on him, this is what I found. Hunter puts up with a lot.

Can't Win Either Way

Complaints commonly phrased as questions I hear at the hotel: (And what I'd love to say to the people!)

"What? No breakfast?" (We used to have breakfast and people complained. Now we don't and people complain.)
"You can't give anyone my room number?" (These people need to watch more CSI, or even the news)
"What do you mean I need to show ID to get a new key?" (Again, more CSI or the news. We are only concerned about your safety)
"I have to evacuate for the fire alarm?" (Would you rather burn in your room?)
"Why don't you have more smoking rooms?" versus "Why do you have any smoking rooms?"
"Why do you need to see ID? Don't you trust me?" (Have you heard about identity theft?)
"Why can't you use my *insert relative name here*'s credit card without them being here?" (Again, have you heard of identity theft, or even just stolen credit cards?)
"Why can't I have 8 people in a room with 2 beds meant for 4 people?"(Well, we could, but I'd like to not be fined by the fire department.)
"Why do your rates change? They are higher when it's busy." (DUH!?)
"Why did Travelocity/Expedia/Hotels.com/etc. charge me a booking fee/extra person fee/etc?" (Well, they have to make money, after all they are a business. Where do you think they make it?)
"Why are prices so expensive in Boston? I can get the same room for $40 in Podunk, USA." (And how many people come to Podunk for vacation? How expensive is it to live there?)

And the most annoying question I get asked:
"What can I do in Boston?"
(Seriously? You planned a trip to Boston, booked a hotel room for 3 days, and never once stopped to consider what you might do while you are here?) I don't mind when people want a little more specifics, for example: How do I get to the Freedom Trail? Where's a good place for lunch? But to have no idea of what you want to do at all?

If you made it this far, Congratulations! You are now ready to work in the hospitality field.

P.S. Thanks for listening.

My weekend in Canada

I got to visit my hometown this past weekend for my cousins wedding. It was really fun. They did a hand fasting ceremony which I hadn't seen before. Then of course at the reception my mom's family was the ones who had to be kicked out at the end of the night. What can I say? We like to party!

Favorite Childhood Candy

Anyone remember these?I just had to buy them when I saw them at the gas station today. I love Razzles!!

A Very Happy Day!

Stitch has been found! And is safe at home again.

He stopped to play at a neighbor's house, and the neighbor flagged down a cop. He willingly climbed in the backseat (silly dog loves car rides!), and was taken off to the Animal Hospital in Wakefield. We had left messages with the surrounding animal control officers (great thing to do if you lose a pet), so we received 4 calls this morning: 1-neighbor who saw our flyer we posted up, 2-animal control in Woburn, 3-Microchip company, 4-Animal control in Winchester (which is also Stoneham's).

Upon picking Stitch up, they let us know that he wanted to go home. In fact, he escaped from the kennel they put him in and made it out the first of the double doors. When the employee arrived for work, he was stuck between the two doors!

We are very happy to have him home safe and sound. And he is definitely more cuddly today.

A Very Sad Day

My puppy is missing. He got off his chain around 2:30pm. We have been looking everywhere, and have even put up posters. Unfortunately, he knocked his tags off, so all he has is his microchip, and collar (we hope!).

So far, no news.

Sick, Patriots and a Couch

"I cannot go to school today,"
said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles, and the mumps,
A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.

Sick, by Shel Silverstein


I memorized this poem once a long time ago (I think it was Grade 9 drama class). And now every time I get sick, it's the first thing that runs through my head. I hate summer colds. They don't go away, and I feel worse because it's summer! I should be playing and laughing, not coughing up a lung!

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to a Patriots preseason football game this weekend. And there was no way I was missing it, so me and my sniffles, coughs, and Kleenex went with Nick to the game. It was fairly anticlimactic, as the Eagles scored 2 touchdowns within a minute or so. Then more flags, poor offense, and lackluster defense lead to the halftime score of 24 to 3. Most of the crowd gave up at the end of third quarter. Not us! We stayed to see the end. And we cheered loudly in the 4th for the touchdown. So with a final score of 27-17 we made our way to the parking lot.

I am very happy that we have been able to take advantage of this area and attend major games. We can now say we have been to an NFL game, NHL game, MLB game, NBA game (Jazz), and of course MLS (soccer). I would rather watch football on tv. I'd rather not watch basketball. Hockey I'd go to again, and baseball is only good in person, although there isn't much difference to me between the major leagues and kids. In fact, kids can be more fun to watch.

The other major event for us is (drumroll please)....
For the first time in 2.5 years we have a couch! A real couch! A couch people can sit on. We didn't get it in time that I could enjoy laying on it while sick. But at least I have it now.

Yes, pictures will come. But they will have to wait until I have the motivation to get the camera, and that is not right now.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to the love of my life.

My smart, funny, silly husband turns 30 today. He is nervous about it. Not sure why, can't stop the clock or turn back time. So today, my post is devoted to him based on one of our favorite movies.

Ten Things I Love About my Husband

I love the way he makes me laugh, especially with our twisted view on society, and our "I hate people" days.
I love the way he can quote music, movies, or books to fit almost every situation.
I love the way he mocks my made up language and gives me the proper English words.
I love how gentle he is with all children he meets.
I love how much fun we have when we play games, even when we pout because we are too competitive with each other.
I love his willingness to bring me back to earth when I offer him with the moon and the stars.
I love how he subtly rolls his eyes when the occasion calls for it.
I love his desire to provide for our family.
I love the red hair and crooked smile ready to grin at the slightest incentive.
I love how much he cares for all people he is close to.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!

A Compliment

Today Nick's name floated across Bill Marriott's desk. Yes THE Bill Marriott. Or at least Bill Marriott's assistants desk. It started as a wonderful compliment- That Nick is great, and don't let him go. Then came the 'roll your eyes' part of: But your hotel is so expensive. Can you help me out?

It's good for someone else to recognize the greatness that hides inside the love of my life. I see it daily, but unfortunately it's missed by a lot of people.

Ice Cream and Monday Drives

Not being particularly good with Family Home Evening as there are only two of us, we have started to go for drives on Monday night. Yes, gas prices are high (but falling-we found $3.79/gal tonight), but I think a nice drive that revives the soul and allows undistracted (almost!) talking is worth a few bucks. But I digress...

When on these drives we invariably find a place to stop for ice cream. We've yet to stop at the same place twice. Tonight was Mac's Dairy Farm in Tewksbury. I had a very rich and creamy chocolate walnut. Nick had a Milky Way. My lesson? A small is not a small. It is more like a small box. I will need to order kiddies size next time. Due to the massive size, and the beautiful night, the ice cream melted faster than I could eat it. So my shirt helped. We'll see if the chocolate comes out.

Next week we will wander towards Kimball's and discover if it is worthy of the recommendations.

Tomorrow? The gym-with an extra 30 min added on.

Not this year

So Chels does not get to sing this year. They told her to try again next year. She is undecided as to the probability of that.

Good Luck Lil'Sis!

My sister is auditioning for American Idol today. She is currently waiting in line. I'm very excited for her!!

GO Chels!

Cleaning and Clutter

I have been spending the rainy days cleaning and decluttering. I read a great book my Don Aslett called "Clutter's Last Stand". It really helped me to see how to free myself of things. For example, a couple of years ago my dad collected shot glasses from the different places he visited to add to the small collection I had. Now I have outgrown the idea of collecting shotglasses. But I didn't want to just throw them away. However, with Don's idea of taking a picture, and tossing the glasses, I can record the collection, and even add a page to my scrapbook about the experience of collecting with my dad, but I don't have to use up precious space to hold something that doesn't make me smile.

Using his principles, I've been cleaning out all the clutter I (emotionally) can. There is something very freeing about clearing it out from where it was stored. The rooms have a more productive, liveable, and comfortable feel to them. Probably the definitiion of feng shui. But as I keep moving it all to the office, the office feels all too cluttered which defeats the purpose.

Now to find a Goodwill/Salvation Army to get rid of it! But not until the rain stops...

My Quiet Book

My quiet book is getting done. I had high hopes of finishing it today, but alas, I have to find the cord for my sewing machine first. That may take awhile. I still have a goal to finish it this week.

However, in the course of looking for the cord, I did find the beginning of my other flannel quiet book. So, once i find my cord I am in business to have two quiet books done. Now I just need someone to keep quiet... I may have to ask for volunteers.

Sweatshirts and Summer Storms

I am wearing a sweatshirt. No, really I am. It is about 70F outside, and I am bundled up in a sweatshirt. I shouldn't complain. Really. There are worse things to happen. My apartment is the basement of a house. All utilities included in rent. We control the heat in the winter (heat rises) and she controls the central air (again, heat rises). This is well and good as we tend to put on a sweatshirt, or wrap up in a blanket before turning the heat on in the winter. We also open the doors and windows to let in a breeze in the summer. But not now. Now the air is on. All day and all night. I currently wear a sweatshirt most of the day, and cuddle up in heavy blankets at night. There are worse things in life, and I know this. But I'm getting tired of going outside to warm up. So if you are suffering from heat, feel free to visit my ice cube home.

Which leads to summer storms. My favorite part of this area has been the summer storms. I love the way the rain and wind whip through the trees and drench anything and everything that dares to make an appearance outside. They can come up quick, and leave just as fast. But the beautiful green that they leave behind is priceless. I love to sit on the warm porch and enjoy the rain. Stitch enjoys the rain as well, although his fascination leans toward the frogs that can be heard and seen in our backyard.

Definitely Strange, Probably Odd

That's me. Especially today.

I should be figuring out what to make for dinner. Am I? No, instead I am avoiding dinner by making cookies, banana bread, and now white bread. This moves me into the definitely strange, probably odd category.

So any quick suggestions on what to make for dinner? If not, I think I may be making tortillas next.

YEAH YEAH YEAH

YEAH!!!!!!!!

Nick got the job! We don't have to move, we don't have to leave our ward. We get to stay in Woburn! I am so happy and excited. The only sad part is I'm still in Utah and can't celebrate with him.

ARGHHHH!!!!

Some days....or weeks....

We are in a waiting state. A very anxious waiting state. It doesn't help that he's in Boston and I'm in Utah.

To back up: we had the wonderful opportunity to be with my family as my two new brothers were sealed to our family. The used to be my nephews, but were legally made my brothers three weeks ago, and eternally made my brothers last Saturday. Since I currently am (happily) unemployed, my dad asked me to stay with the 3 youngest boys while him, mom, my sister and a brother went on a pioneer trek. Sure, why not. Nick had to fly back for work, so he left on Monday.

Monday we were anxious (when exactly is "early next week?"). Tuesday...still anxious. I hadn't heard from him yet, and was hoping for Wednesday. Then the text message came! Still in the running! Yeah!!! An interview was set for Wednesday. Unfortunately, the interviewer was sick. So it was tentatively rescheduled for today (Thursday). Unfortunately, still sick. So here we sit.

It wouldn't be so bad, but it's hard being this far apart. I know that if it's where we should stay, all will be well.

So Far So Good!!!

Well, Nick had his interview today. It went well; in fact as far as we can tell it went really well. Stay tuned, we will find out next week whether there is a next step.

I really hope so because I don't want to leave my current ward!!!

Possibly Crazy, Definately Tired...

So I did it. I quit my job. Why? Well, the reasons are complicted and many. The two biggest ones are:
1- The building is moving in July. It's only moving about 5 miles up 93, but as we share a car, this would add at least another 20 min to our timing in the morning, and would lengthen my day by about 40 minutes total. Nick would be fighting traffic both after dropping me off and to pick me up. It's not cost effective to buy another car at this time-especially with the price of gas.
2- The second major reason is time. While it is nice to have a regular 8am-5pm job, it is taking up 45 hours a week. I do not like to spend this much time away from my family, and my home. Too much falls apart, or gets ignored.

My solution? I am now waiting tables. Sure it's not glamorous work, but it's high energy, fun, and the hours are varied. It's easier to have a night off here, and a day off there. It's also easy to pick up an extra shift, and I love having cash on me. I can stop fighting my night owl tendencies, and be on a more regular schedule. I also will be abe to get more gym time in. Is there a trade off? Well, of course. My paycheck isn't guaranteed, my hours are not consistent, and I don't have guaranteed weekends off. I can live with that though.

So here I sit tired. Tired from lifting trays on my training shift tonight. Tired from running back and forth between two jobs this week. It started Sunday evening, and Ive been doing payroll all day, and server training at night.

I have the weekend off for my SCRAPBOOKING PARTY!!!!

Gotta keep the priorities straight :)

Pictures

Yeah! I got my pictures back from Disney. You can check them out at muir.myjalbum.net Here is one of my favorites. Me, my husband, and nephew. This was the day we splurged and spent $15 on a cab ride rather than wait forever in the line for the bus. The line hadn't moved in the 15 minutes we'd been waiting, and there were at least 2 busloads of people ahead of us! It was the only time we had a bus issue the whole trip.

A cute song

We've been talking about the apostles in Primary. Then my mom sent me this catchy tune.

Check it out:

My Disney Vacation

The short version: Lots of fun, laughter, pictures, and fun. My nephew was pretty good, and we were relaxed.



The long version:



Our vacation consisted of me, my husband and my nephew, Tyten, who turned 4 while we were there. We opted to try the Disney Dining Plan because we wanted to take Tyten to a few character dinners. I am definately a fan now. We had plenty of food, fun treats, and it was nice to be able to meet characters while sitting down, instead of waiting in long lines. Plus, each character came to our table so Tyten got one on one time. And the food was pretty decent!

Highlights included: Tyten riding Dumbo with Donald Duck. Playing in the rain and watching most everyone else hide under the canopies. "Thumper" the rabbit saying Good Night every night just outside our hotel room door. Taking tons and tons of pictures. Riding in the front of the monorail. Seeing Tyten excited to meet any character. Getting to meet my favorite: Stitch. Getting a score of over 100,000 on Buzz Lightyear.

I love vacations. It's always so hard to come home.

Bunco Bunco BUNCO

Hey, I said bunco, stop rolling the dice!

Bunco. What an odd name. I wonder where it comes from, but I'm too lazy to Google it right now... It was probably made up by some bored women who wanted an excuse to leave their house and hang out for a few hours for minimal money (almost less than a tank of gas nowadays!)

However, I thoroughly enjoy playing. It's a laugh and a half, you never know how you are truly doing until the end (unless you hid the travelling dice!) and there are always great treats. I won a tape measure today!!! I am so excited. Seriously I am. I did not tell Nick, and I refuse to. I don't want it to get lost in his tool box.

Speaking of gas....anyone seen that forward about how much it would cost if your car ran on X? X being vanilla extract, oil, and other random things. Well, I remember milk being on there. I'd like to point out that I bought milk for cheaper than gas today. Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently, I would be better off if my car ran on gas.

Which brings me to an odd coincidence. We were discussing grocery bills today while waiting for everyone to arrive. I was slightly surprised at how much groceries cost everyone! I was sad to see my bill rise from about $175 to about $220 a month all by moving east. Granted, I have not been as researchy (yes, that's a real word) in my grocery ads, and have been able to use some of my food storage (store what you will eat!). So, I think I will start that game again. I'll have to check out the Sunday paper and see which one has the best coupons. I'm going to make it a goal to get my groceries back down. And no cheating by eating out!

The coincidence part is that "Unwrapped" on the Food Network is all about food and especially groceries. It features one of those ladies who has managed to make her coupon clipping come close to paying her to shop. I don't think I can quite meet that level.

Man, this is a really random train of thought. I'll have to save my other two randomness thoughts for another day. (Music and Houses if you were wondering).

My Scrapbook Page

Here it is: The page inspired by Jen:

Notice the strip of three photos on a piece of paper.
Notice the too big title down the side.
Notice the finger measure from the side (2 fingers, instead of 3).
Also, although not completed at 3 am, it was finished the day after being up until 3 am at about 6pm.

I like it though. And I like "Sara Evans" as well!

Friends and Good Times

It's been a weekend full of friendly faces. It started with my favorite activities: Scrapbooking and talking. Combined in one night. Lots of laughs, and definitely lots of fun. We stayed up way past a few bedtimes. And I got an idea for a layout from Jen's "Sara Evans" layout. (Seriously, I did!)I didn't get my Disney photos completely done, but progress is progress. And I learned a lot about other people. I enjoyed the conversation that ranged from politics to husbands to "Mothers who Know" (insert rolling of eyes here). I know that the R.S. theme this year is the reason I'm in Primary. Although I appreciate the talk, and found some good things in it during Conference, I would not be able to take a whole year of the topic. I love knowing that we have a date set up next month already. My goal: To be finished with the current Disney photos.

Then we topped the weekend off by having Easter dinner at the LaPierre's. I love being over there. Laree reminds me of my little sister, and there is always some lively conversation (today why we are glad to have moved out of Utah). Ellen brought the most delicious mint chocolate brownies...YUM YUM YUM!

Amy L. made the Sunbeams day today. Upon seeing them in the hall, she was quick to compliment them on their reverence. How excited they were! It was a great motivator. I'm going to try to remember to compliment other children on their reverence. Maybe it will help encourage a more reverent atmosphere.

I'm off to work on other things, but (due to request) will attempt to blog more. I have way too much to say, you'd think this would not be a hard thing!

Craigslist and Cricut

Well yesterday Nick surprised me with a late Christmas and early anniversary present:

a Cricut Expression!!!!
I was tickled pink when he told me. And I was speechless when I got to open it. It still seems slightly surreal!! He bought it at AC Moore (on $ale my thrifty husband!), and it came with 4 cartridges and the color ink pens. I have been playing with it, experimenting with it, and making mistakes. First rule of thumb is to notice how thick your paper is.

So where does Craiglist come in? Well, with a Cricut, I find the need to clear out my Sizzix stuff. Ebay is a pain I found out after reading all the ^{fine print}. So off to craigslist I went. I'm sad to see it go, as Sizzix has been my friend for a long time. But I just can't justify both. I got it all posted, now starts the waiting period. Which is bad because while I will be plenty impatient tonight, I will have to remind myself to be persistent in checking my email this week. At least I can play with my new toy while I wait...

Plus, hopefully I'll make some money and be able to buy some more cartridges for my Cricut!! Now I can't wait until scrapbook night!

Here's wishing to good vibes on Craiglist :)

In other news, my hubby is sick. I hope his fever breaks soon. He seems to be doing better than this morning, and he's able to keep liquids down so that's good. And I would much rather he was sick now than when we go on vacation!!

D-31

This is the display on Nick's new phone. The Rumor from Sprint. Luckily, we were both able to get one, which has meant easier texting, and of course- less dropped calls. A bonus was the ability to sweet talk the sales girl into $30 for both phones. Now I just need more people to text!

His display is counting down to our first real vacation in years. In fact, our first real vacation since we got married.

It's the first real vacation because:

We are both on PAID vacation time
Neither of us has school work to contend with
Neither of us has been working graveyard shifts so we won't sleep for the first day and a half

Where are we going? To Disney World. I had the pleasure of going with my family in December, and I promised Nick I'd take him to experience the whole park. What better time to go back than to celebrate our 7th anniversary? We went to Orlando, and MGM-Studios on our honeymoon, so it only seemed right to go back.

Nick is flying to Utah first to attend a wedding, and pick up my 4 year old nephew. Then it's off to 8 days and 8 nights of Disney Magic!

Now to keep up with the gym so I can look good in all those pictures!!

Gym and Health Conscious

I'm doing a Biggest Loser contest at work. No one gets kicked out, but the highest percentage of weight loss gets 50% of the pot. 30% for 2nd, and 20% for third. I'm determined to at least place, although I would really like to get first! I would love to buy some new clothes but I'm going to need to lose more than my 9 lbs.

So today, to help kick up my weight loss I joined a gym. Pretty decent deal-I get to take a guest everytime I go. Nick has kindly volunteered to be my guest. So now I have a new goal to get up early every morning and go workout. Nick laughed at me for this, since neither of us likes to be up before the sun rises. I'll have to find some extra motivation to do it.

Changing our eating habits has been going well. We haven't brought junk food in the house, we've been concentrating on portion sizes, and we are focusing on eating at home.

We planned a trip for Disney World in April, so right now we both have 6 week goals. This is providing a little extra motivation.

Sidetracked again....

I'm on a homemade kick right now. My goal? Avoiding processed foods...or at least avoiding the ones I can make myself, and especially the ones I can make cheaper. So I started today with high hopes and big plans- bread, pocket pies (courtesy of Good Eats), pasta noodles, maybe some cookies....Also I wanted to make some pudding and Jello so it would be ready for lunches next week.

First on the list bread. I pulled out my new KitchenAid Mixer (thanks to Dad and Nick for my pretty red Christmas present). Pulled out the recipe that goes with it. Read through it, checked on the ingredients, and was ready to go. Well, of course, in order to make something in my miniscule kitchen, I have to wash the dishes. While I'm washing the dishes, I decide I might as well dry and put them away. So I do. While I'm putting them away, I notice that the rice is still in two different containers, so I combine, and create another dish to wash. And since I'm putting the pitcher away, I might as well make Kool-Aid and put it in the fridge so it's ready for later. And I need to pull out hamburger for dinner. Well, I might as well straighten out the freezer since I'm already moving stuff around. And I'll pull out the chicken for the pocket pies. After all this, I start the bread and get it to the point where I'm waiting for it to rise.

So I cook up the chicken, dice it, then stick it in the fridge. I reevaluate my plan, and decide not to make pasta today. Side trip to Costco for rice, yeast, and oil. Of course the roads were packed, and Costco had the longest lines I've ever seen. So our short sidetrip took much longer. Off the list comes the cookies.

I finished with the bread and put it in the oven. Time to make dinner- Hamburgers and French Fries. Luckily, I have a bag of fries that I was finishing from the freezer. So dinner didn't take too long. But now it's time for the Patriots game. We bought a new shedless brush for Stitch. While the game is on, we tackle Stitch and brush him. I was amazed at the amount of hair it pulled off him. Almost enough to make another dog! But that's less hair that will be on my floors, and on my bed, and everywhere else. Now, I hurry to make the pocket pie dough. Then I sit with Nick and shape it out while I watch the end of the game.

Mentally I start to reevaluate what I will truly have finished today. Not much, but my kitchen is clean, the bread looks, smells, and tastes wonderful, the pocket pie dough is all set for filling, the fillings are ready, and the dog is brushed out. Oh, and I have enough yeast, oil and rice for at least the next 6 months!