Playing the Angel

New Post....what??

2011-03-06T16:09:00.002-07:00

So yeah. Still upholding my status as worst blogger ever. But, I thought I would give a brief dusting to this corner (even updated my pic and bio, when I saw it still showed me as 24...). You can mostly find me on Facebook and Twitter these days, as they more easily indulge my "snapshot" memories/random trains of thought.

But, life is good. Really good actually. There's been some tough times and crazy rough moments these last few years. But through it all, I've really started to gain that mysterious quality called "confidence." Which has done wonders for me. I'm definitely not perfect, and still have my crappy days(/weeks/months sometimes), but overall...I've really started to try caring more about myself, and in turn, let that reflect on the people I care about.

So...there you go. Can't promise I will be around here again soon...but, figured I would "pop in" to say hello. :)

Passage

2010-01-15T12:57:00.002-07:00

It's been almost a full year since my last post in here.

And I don't know if I can call this a proper "post" - more an acknowledgement, that indeed - I am still alive and kickin' ;)

This past year has FLOWN. Yet in some ways, seems like such a long time. Lots of things happening.

Good things, rough things....just a lot going through my head.

Anyways...I highly doubt anyone peers in this dusty corner anymore (Journaling has never been a strong point for me...obviously, haha!), but...just thought I would say hello (:

Hopefully I will come around more often (:

Isn't she beautiful?

2009-01-18T22:50:00.005-07:00

Despite having a full masectomy.

Despite her hair never growing back in all the way.

Despite her arm swelling due to lymphadema.

Despite her taking poison and all it's ill effects into her body for almost 5 years, to fight the poison growing inside her.

She's the most beautiful woman I've ever known.

Always putting others before herself. Never complaining. Full of love. Prone to giggle fits. So many, many amazing qualities...

It's been hard. Really hard. I think it's harder now than it was when it happened. The shock is wearing away, filling up with reality.

This is the only way I get to see her face now.

But I'll be ok. I have such great support - Mark, my family, my friends. I don't know what I would do without you. I'm sorry for being so gloomy lately...I just, feel it's imperative that I write some of these feelings and thoughts down. And so often I have a hard time expressing how I feel in words, so when I actually semi coherently gather my thoughts (ha!), I figure I should share them somehow. It's cathartic, or something.

I know I'm not the only person who has, does, or will experience this - obviously at some point, death of loved ones happens to all of us, and all the conflicting, ridiculous emotions along with it. And I know death isn't the end of me being my mother's daughter - I will see her again. It's just that sometimes, it's easy to lose yourself in the temporary loss of it all. Today kinda felt like one of those days. But I had Mark there taking care of me, showing his love for me - offering to listen, but not pushing me to speak. Family and friends checking in on me. My cousin and her husband coming by (with brownies!) just because. Talking to my dad (and Chrissay!), as I do every day. These kinds of things help push me up out of the fog.

...Alright, now I am totally rambling. Just had been thinking about this picture lately for some reason, it's one of my favorites of mom. So, I thought I would share it. If she were here...she would probably bust me big time. (:

Sinking In

2009-01-11T21:26:00.003-07:00

Right now, I would give anything just to talk to my mom. Hear her voice. Talk about the everything and nothing of our days. Give her a hug.

The closest I'm going to get is hearing the recording of her voice on the answering machine back home.

....This sucks.

Christmas Pics!

2009-01-03T22:43:00.003-07:00

I know I am terrible at updating, but I do have a smattering of fun pics from Christmas. Christmas was good...but hard. Just...so weird not having mom there, and sad. But much of my family was together, and we were there for over a week! It was so nice having a good chunk of time "back home" and being together.

...And because I am super lazy, please check out the pics which have been uploaded to my facebook - just easier than doing the whole thing again here (:

Christmas Pics!

Hope you enjoy, and all had a wonderful holiday (:

Mom's Obituary

2008-12-02T22:55:00.003-07:00

I thought I would post a link here to my mom's obituary, on the chance that anyone would like to see it. The funeral home we went through in Colorado, Horan and McConaty, was outstanding. I will never forget the kindness, gentleness, and respect shown to my mom and my family by our director Michael and the other staff there.

http://obit.horanandmcconaty.com/obitdisplay.html?id=608071&listing=Current

Thank you

2008-11-29T01:11:00.002-07:00

I wish there was a better way to respond to individual comments where I know you would see them, but I just wanted to tell everyone thank you for your kind thoughts, prayers, words, and just...everything. It really helps bolster me up, and give me a lift during the day. Thank you just doesn't seem to express how much it means to me. (:

At a loss.

2008-11-27T13:42:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if this is the best way to do this...but honestly right now, it's the best way I can think of to get the message out to all of you who are such good friends to me.

This morning at 5:57 AM, my beautiful mother Irene passed away at the hospital. Needless to say it's been a rough day for my family. My mom is just...the greatest lady you would ever know.

Right now, I really don't think I can go into details. I am thankful that she was able to go pretty quickly, so she wouldn't have to continue to suffer with the pain she has been having lately over an extended time.

I am so thankful for everything my mom has done for me. I truly can't express in words what a wonderful mother she has been. I am so thankful that she doesn't have to hurt anymore - that she is now I am sure, overjoyed to be reunited with her loved ones that have passed on before her, and free of the pain she has been going through these past few years.
I am so thankful for my belief and knowledge that families are forever, and that this separation is just temporary. That we will all be reunited again when we have passed on. I am so thankful for my family, for my friends, for all of you who show so much kindness and love to me.

Just, thank you all for everything...I wish I had time to let each and everyone one of you know personally whats going on right now, and I am sorry for this somewhat impersonal way of doing so. Please don't feel like you can't call or email if you would like to - if not, I totally understand too. I am just thankful to have so many good people in my life. And even though she isn't upon the earth any longer, I know my mom is always watching over me. I will miss her so much...

Downer

2008-11-23T22:20:00.002-07:00

My mom was taken in to the hospital today. Lately she's really been struggling with shortness of breath, and just feeling overall "icky." Granted, the new chemo she is on is not reacting as well with her as the previous ones she's been on, so she usually has a few bad days right after her treatment. However, during my usual after work call with her on Friday, she mentioned she really wasn't feeling good, and she hadn't had a treatment in over a week. Then today, as she was trying to walk from her car to the church building, she literally felt like she wouldn't make it - so my dad took her down to Lutheran. We're talking maybe a 20 ft. walk here.

So they've admitted her and are going to run some more tests - she's recently been having tests done on her lungs and heart to try and figure out whats going on, but nothing conclusive has come back yet. Hopefully the tests they run during her stay at the hospital will have more answers, because I don't see how she can keep going like this - where literally walking from one room to another will make her feel faint.

I'm just...tired of seeing her in pain like this. Tired of both my parents having to deal with health issues. Tired of being stuck here in Utah and not close by where I can tangibly help more. Tired of wondering what's going to happen next. More than anything, I just wish I could see them feeling "back to normal" again.

I'm sorry for the short, downer post...I don't know, just been feeling bummed out tonight. I'm so terrible at writing things down, and I just...felt like I needed to get these thoughts out in writing somehow. I hope I can look back on them in the near future and think "I'm so glad we all pulled through okay." I've just got to hang on to that. I'm so thankful that Mark and I are going out there for Thanksgiving this year so I can spend a few days out there, and then it's just a short time until Christmas. There are so many things in my life that I have to be grateful for, and I just need to hang on to those things and be as optimistic as I can.

RRoD

2008-11-15T11:50:00.004-07:00

For those not familiar with nerd speak, "RRoD" means "Red Ring of Death."

Which means our XBOX 360 had an epic fail. And we have to send it away to get it fixed, which will probably take about 2 weeks.

Which totally. sucks.

Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:39:00.004-06:00

I am terrible at updating, so rather than taking time to reupload a bunch of pictures, check out our Halloween pictures on my facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35591&l=986a0&id=525909732

Things are going well. My dad's surgery on his stomach went smoothly, and he's gearing up to start radiation for his prostate cancer in a few weeks. My mom is on her new treatment plan - she's having some difficulties with her lungs/shortness of breath, but hopefully they will pinpoint what's going on soon and get her feeling better. Life just keeps plugging along (:

Rollercoaster

2008-09-14T14:20:00.003-06:00

Labor Day Weekend: Went home to Colorado from 8/29 - 9/3 since Mark was going over there for work anyways. Super awesome. I always love going "home." Thumbs up!

Sunday, Sept. 7: Mark comes home after being in Denver for 10 days (I saw him once while I was out there). Thumbs up!

Monday, Sept. 8: Mom has a biopsy done on a lump in her neck that's been bothering her, despite great results from her PET scan just recently. Biopsy comes back positive...which, contrary to the nature of the word, is bad news. Positive means malignant. This means they will have to figure out a new treatment plan (she's been on chemotherapy as a "preventive" measure the past 1 1/2 years or so). Major Thumbs down.

Tuesday, Sept. 9: My Birthday. excellent day, with lots of thoughtful well wishes/gifts from family and friends alike. Actually got to spend my birthday with Mark. Melting Pot for dinner. Huge improvement over Monday. Thumbs up!

Wednesday, Sept. 10: Mark leaves for Australia until the 21st. Super jealous. Kinda in the middle (sad/lonely when he's gone so long, but also excited for him to experience it all)

Dad finds out his prostate cancer is a more "aggressive" form, and radiation seeding won't be sufficient. Treatment plan established to be hormone therapy in conjunction with 8 weeks of daily external radiation. Prostate cancer = Major Thumbs down.

Thursday, Sept. 11: 9/11 a sad/downer day in general. Thumbs down.

Start crying at work. Thumbs down.

Mom comes to Utah for a visit through Sunday. Thumbs up!

Friday, Sept. 12: Lunch with mom, Mel, Liz, Mike, Dee and Sandy at Joe Bandito's. Thumbs up!

Cheesecake Factory for dinner with good friends. Thumbs up!

Fiona is born. Thumbs up!

Saturday, Sept. 13: Baptism for 3 girls in our ward. Thumbs up!

Spending the day with mom and the family. Thumbs up!

Today: Mom headed back home. By myself again (at my house, at least - mom stayed with me since Mark is gone). Thumbs down.

Just had to get this craziness written down somehow!

Meme-o-rific

2008-07-24T00:07:00.001-06:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

3. If you can't say anything nice, don't comment. If you do, I'll delete it OR point out what a jerk you are! (he he)

I didn't make up #3, it was already there. Just saying.

Thought this was a fun one, stole it from Diana (:

Steamboat Springs

2008-06-18T19:23:00.002-06:00

One of my most favorite places in the world.

We were up there over Memorial Day weekend, and since then I've been meaning to post a few pictures from up there, but just haven't taken the time to do so. It was so nice being up there. My parents were there the first night, My sister Mary was there for a night and most of the next day, and "Chrissay" was up there the whole weekend with us. It was seriously the perfect getaway, and I wish we went there more often (we hadn't been there in 2 years!) Just a few quick memories I want to remind myself of...

- Our issues with the new hot tub. They recently remodeled the exterior of the building where my parent's condo is, and put in a new hot tub. New hot tub does NOT equal better hot tub. New hot tub is smaller - fitting 3 people in there almost overflowed the thing. The temperature controls make zero sense...literally. It was a stroke of mad luck that I figured out how to, you know, make the hot tub start getting hot again (rather than it's kind of chilly 92 degrees at the time). Thankfully, the "clubhouse" has a nice big hot tub, but it's only open til 8. Not good for those 9:30 needs.
- Talking with Mary. It had been a while since I had just sat and talked with her, and I know she has a lot going on in her life right now. So it was so nice to just sit there in the hot tub (we got in a lot) and talk. I miss being around her more.
-Locking ourselves out of the condo. Just me, Mark, and Chrissay. Funny thing is...we literally had 3 keys to choose from. 3! And none of us grabbed one. Stupid. Totally had plans to go get a fun dinner, and ended up settling for Taco Bell so we could wait for the maintenance guys to let us in. (Ironically enough, in the 10 minutes we were gone to Taco Bell, they showed up the first time. We were told they would call. They did not. So we sat around another hour.)
- The electrical substation explosion. Holy. Crap. Weird, and freaky. All because of a curious raccoon...poor buggah'.

Ok, on to a few pics!

The view from my family's condo - isn't it pretty? (Well, with me and Mark spoiling it...and the "in progress of grooming gross brown ski hill" ;))

Oops! How did that get in here...?

View of Fish Creek Falls from the Overlook point (Make sure you click on the picture, can't figure out how to make it not all "stretchy"...). Seriously, one of my favorite places to visit, and it's only 4 miles outside of town.

View from the bridge below

Mark, Me, Mary, and Chrissay - what a strange crew we make ;)

That was weird.

2008-04-17T22:15:00.003-06:00

So, I stopped over by Lou and Diana's tonight, planning to watch the office. However, Diana ended up getting called in to work a game last minute, but I ended up staying a while and talking with Lou about video games, and then Diana got back so we were all just chatting for a while. The topic of "blacking out" came up, and I mentioned my issue I've had the last few times of getting stomach flu/severe nausea of blacking out.

No joke, like...20 minutes after this conversation, I'm getting ready to head out, and I am suddenly hit with this overwhelming dizziness/feeling like I'm going to pass out. No nausea before or anything, just out of no where. Cold sweat and all. So I sit and chat with Diana while having a glass of juice, until I am feeling back to normal after about 10 minutes. It was just...bizarro.

Who knew that just talking about it could elicit such a strong physical response? ;) Seriously though...no idea why it happened.

That was weird.

So...apologies to Diana (and Lou) for my weird little "sode" there before I left, and thanks for the juice! It actually really helped, so thanks to Lou for the tip!

Quick Words

2008-04-11T21:04:00.003-06:00

I am really enjoying my new job. It's fun learning an entirely new industry, and I think it meshes with my personality really well. The people I work with are great - I've loved getting to know everybody, and it's just fun to be there. The pay definitely doesn't hurt either :) I really miss working with Mike on a regular basis, but I'm glad I'm still able to help him out. But all in all, I think this was a good change for me.

I wish I believed in myself more, and had more confidence in myself. I don't know why it's been such a basically life long struggle for me, but I really do have a hard time recognizing my merits. I'm thankful for a husband, family, and friends who all give me boosts, and I wish I was better about being gracious in my thanks (rather than blushing and mumbling a "thanks" or trying to talk down the compliment). But really - thanks for making me feel good about myself. Really.

I've been feeling kinda down today. A family in my "home" stake in Colorado is going through an extremely difficult time right now. The father was involved in an incredibly serious car accident, suffering burns over 70% of his body, and passed away yesterday. They are an incredibly brilliant family, and my thoughts and prayers are with them. At the same time, I feel thankful for the knowledge I have that death isn't the end. Life is but a blink in our existence, and even though we lose loved ones for a time, we don't lose them forever. They will see their father again.

I am so thankful for my family. I have been extremely blessed in having parents who have always shown love for each other and each of us kids. I have sisters nearby who, despite being over 15 years older than me, are so much fun to be around, and talk to. Fun nieces and nephews to hang out with, and get excited over video games with. Really, I am so thankful for everyone in my family, and in my family "in law." Between all of them and great friends, I have some pretty awesome people in my life.

I seriously ate too much Cafe Rio salad tonight. Blargh.

And....I think that's it for my little "mind spew." Just felt like putting a few thoughts down. Now...off for some game time until Mark gets home.

Semi-Hiatus

2008-03-25T12:58:00.002-06:00

So...if you couldn't tell, I've been *really* bad about updating this thing. And truth is, I really haven't been spending that much time on the computer at home. Just a quick check of the email, the news, and if I actually sit down at the computer (rather than standing while brushing my teeth or something), my blog/livejournal friends.

Anyways, guess what I am saying is I apologize if I haven't been great at updating/commenting, but really - it's been kinda nice to not feel "obligated" to the computer at home, especially since I am on one all day at work. I'll try to update as fun/exciting things happen (I really need to be better at journal keeping in those regards), but really don't think I will post about my everyday existence - it's pretty boring. (: (Today I got up, went to work, came home, had dinner, played games/went to Primary Presidency meeting/helped with math, etc., went to bed). So yeah - that's just me. (: And I do enjoy/keep up pretty well on everyone's blogs/entries, I just don't always have something to comment about/have time to comment. So apologies for my somewhat "lurkerish" status as of late. (:

Anyways, just thought I would blow the dust off this thing for a bit, and let you all know I'm still living, and keeping pretty busy. (: Things are going good, new job is going really well, and all that fun stuff. (:

Truly a Great Man

2008-01-27T22:42:00.001-07:00

The leader of my church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), President Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away this evening at approx. 7 PM.

He has been president of the LDS church since I was about 12 years old...so he has been a comforting presence to me for many of my formative years. I have always had such tremendous love and respect for him, which I think can be said for virtually all members of the LDS church.

I'll miss you, President Hinckley.

Church Statement on his passing

Evening Self Reflection

2008-01-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

This has been a very up and down week for me - Some great highs, and deep lows. Even within the same day sometimes. I often feel disjointed, and even more self-conscious than usual when I'm "roller-coast-ery" like this. But I'm so thankful for those great times that helped pull me up out of my slump. For good friends and family.

This evening I am feeling much more at peace. I know there are so many things I need to improve on, mistakes I need to stop repeating. But, I know I am a good person - a loved person - and nothing will ever change that. I need to remember that more often.

Typing Test

2008-01-10T10:47:00.001-07:00

So for a fun little break at work, I took this little typing test. I type faster than I thought!

140 words

Touchtyping

Happenings

2008-01-05T11:20:00.001-07:00

These past few weeks feel like they have flown by. Here's a quick run down of the main events/thoughts:

Christmas: Excellent as always. We were "home" in Colorado, and got to spend time with both of our families. I was ecstatic about Mark's big present to me/us - a new camera! It's a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, and I LOVE it. We seriously have taken almost 1,000 pictures since he gave it to me. He was sneaky too - he packed up this big box with peanuts and a photography book, and took a picture of me opening that with the new camera. I'm seriously way excited. (: I always love being in CO for Christmas, and I'm glad we got to spend a few days there.

New Years: We did our usual party over at Liz and Mike's house, which is always a lot of fun. Mark decided he wanted to bring Rock Band over, so much of the evening was spent playing that. I'm so glad we have some of my sisters close by to hang out with.

Sickness: I've had this ridiculous lingering cold that decided to get really bad the last few days. Hates it, wish it would go away.

Mary's Birthday: I still need to send her a birthday present - I'm a lame sister.

Mark's Birthday: OK, this hasn't happened yet, but it will next weekend. Two of Mark's friends from CO are driving over, so it should be a lot of fun.

Alright, my brain is seriously fried right now, so...kind of a boring entry. Here's a few random pictures from the last couple of weeks, enjoy!

New 'Do!

2007-12-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

So...for those of you who have known me for a while, my hair has always been some shade of blonde, pretty much. Sure, I started highlighting a couple years ago to brighten my fading natural blonde, but yeah...really don't get too adventurous with my hair. Well, I got it cut today for the first time in like, 6 months (yikes..), and thought, why not - let's go dark. And reddish. And because our camera is in a semi-broken state, I had to go with Photobooth on the mac. So don't mind the crappy lighting and such. Anyways, here's a few pictures to show!

Please ignore the dumb look on my face - this one gives a good idea of my hair color and length previously.

Oooh, look! I can hold my hairs!

Blond and shaggy - it was seriously starting to get ridiculous (for me - my hair has rarely been longer than this in my life. It starts to irritate me, and look all stringy if I let it get too long)

Whoa! What happened?

Seriously though, I'm diggin' this new look (:

Took this one just now - please don't mind the big fuzzy robe (tis chilly in here), lack of any sort of makeup (not that I wear much, but still - oi, the acne), messy hair-ness, and glasses (trying to wear my contacts more...I miss them. If only they didn't make my eyes feel like they are on fire. Which luckily, hasn't been the case the past few days, so fingers crossed(!) that I can keep wearing them. /ramble.)

So yeah...thanks for humoring me. :D

2007-12-10T22:58:00.001-07:00

Thanks for your comments on my last post. (: I've been in a weird vibe lately. I think I am stressed out about work, and various other random things. And being too hard on myself lately. But it sure helps to have good friends, and good family. (:

This time of year is just craziness. I can't believe Christmas is 2 weeks away! Seriously??!?! I am excited to go home to Denver though, even for just a few days. (: This week I have my primary meeting (as it is every week), our ward Christmas Party, the Brewer family Christmas party, and hopefully a concert Saturday night (BT - his music is amazing). I just gotta keep on going!

Anyways, just a quick little post. Really, not a whole lot of noteworthy stuff going on lately. Though we did have book club this last Friday, and that was a lot of fun. (:

Alrighty...should probably head to bed!

...

2007-12-02T11:25:00.001-07:00

Today is just one of those days where I woke up feeling depressed, and wanting to cry (not to mention that it has actually happened) - for NO reason that I can think of. It just happens. I hate this!

Hopefully I can kick it by the time we go to church!

Rock Band

2007-11-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

So Mark and I went to Wal-Mart late last night, in hopes that we would be able to get this game (without having pre-ordered it). Surprisingly, when we got there, we were one of the first people there, and thus able to get on the list right away. So just after midnight, we were walking back to our car, ginormous box in hand, and ready to rock. Well, at least try it out before bed.

For those of you unfamiliar with this game, I'm guessing at least most of you have heard of Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero is a music game you play using a controller that's actually shaped like a guitar, and it's a lot of fun. Rock Band takes that idea to a whole new level. The bundle came with a guitar, a drum kit (picture below), a microphone, and the game. You can also use another guitar controller to do bass, thus creating 4 playable "instruments." You play with your band, either together in the same living room, or you can do online quickplay with anyone else who has Rock Band. Most of the songs are pretty well known, or by well known bands, with a few obscure ones thrown in. Anyways, long story short - this presents you an opportunity to pretend like you are in a band, and rock out hard in your own living room. It's ridiculously fun, even though it may sound silly. Trust me - it's addicting.

So yeah...Mark and I had to try it out last night, and thus...I am very tired this morning. But I can't wait to play more!! Hooray for joint Christmas presents. :D

Quick Post

2007-11-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

These past couple of weeks have been pretty busy, and I've been feeling kind of a general "burn out" as it is. So yeah.

Anyways, looking forward to Thanksgiving this week! Mark's mom is coming out on Wednesday, so it will be good to have her visit. Last time she was out here was for my Graduation in April 2006. We're actually breaking dinner tradition a bit, and having a roast instead of Turkey. Either way it should be tasty.

This past weekend was a busy, but fun one. Friday night we went out for sushi with our friends Kent and Cynthia (and baby Kent). It was so much fun! We play D&D with them every other weekend, but really hadn't done anything together outside of that, so it was fun to go enjoy a meal and conversation with them. (: And the sushi was delicious - I hadn't had it in over a year. Saturday, the morning was spent cleaning, and then we had our D&D group that afternoon and evening. It's a really fun group (2 other guys in addition to Kent and Cynthia), and we've been playing for hmm...I think just about 2 years now. Yesterday was church, and just kinda kicking back.

Mark and I ACTUALLY made it to the gym this morning. It actually felt great - I was up earlier, didn't feel rushed, felt like I was doing something good for me, and it was fun to spend some time with Mark before work. I hope we can be consistent with it. We are going over to Kent and Cynthia's a few times a day until Wednesday to take care of the their 2 (awesome!) Dobermans while they are off to California for the week. So the need to get up early to make sure the puppies are doing good will help us get up earlier this week - we just need to stick with it after that ;)

Other than that, nothing too much that I can think of to talk about. My life is either boring, or consisting of things most people who read this would find boring. Like getting an XBOX 360. And going to get Rock Band for it this week (yes!!). But hey, really - I need to be better about recording the little details like that, for me. My memory is pretty abysmal - so keeping track of even the every day goings on would do me well.

Also, sorry for the lack of pictures. Still no camera.

Hope everyone is having a great day so far!

Child's Play Charity

2007-11-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

If anyone is looking for a simple way to do some good this holiday season, check out Child's Play. It's put on by the Penny Arcade guys, and they currently have 45 partner hospitals around the globe they are working with to bring some happiness to sick kids during the holidays (with more hospitals likely adding over the next few weeks). A lot of the hospitals have "wishlists" you can shop directly from through Amazon, or you can send money directly to them. They have items ranging from less to $10 to over $100, so if you have a little extra money, this is definitely a charity I support this time of year. (: Last year, over 1 million dollars worth was raised.

Anyways, just thought I would put this out there for anyone who might be interested!

It's freezing in here.

2007-10-22T14:04:00.000-06:00

Soooo....I've continued to be a lame blogger. I can't promise that things will be better (though I always have hopes it will be). I think it comes down to laziness, work being consistently busy (taking a quick break now to update), and not a whole lot of computer time at home. And nothing really exciting going on in my life. So here's a few random thoughts for those of you still coming around this dusty little corner.

-Our heater at work isn't working at the moment. The thermostat is currently below 60 degrees. I hope my fingers stay attached to my body. Maybe I should get some of those fingertipless gloves...but then again, those always kinda exude creepiness to me.

-My parents and sister are coming into town tomorrow, and Mark is leaving town on Wednesday. At least I will have family here to keep me company for those few days!!

-Our camera is pretty much broken, and we'll probably need to get a new one. It sucks, but hey - new and shiny could be nice. It's just a matter of the money. Stupid money.

-Is anyone else loving the change in seasons? I love fall/winter/spring time. Notice the exclusion of summer. Once the temp gets about 85, it's not fun anymore. Except for swimming.

-I'm playing a video game right now where the characters are SPACE PIRATES. How cool is that?

-....I should probably get back to work now.

Eight Random Things

2007-09-20T22:00:00.000-06:00

Hannah tagged me to do this on her blog a little while ago, so I thought, why not? Eight random things about me right now:

1. I love playing video games. That's a given at any moment in my life. NERD to the CORE.

2. I have had a cold all week, and it sucks. I haven't had a "real" cold in several years, and was feeling kind of spoiled. Back in high school, and early in college, I would get colds ALL THE TIME. Seriously, I would basically have an ongoing cold the whole winter season, often including larengitis as well. But since I've been married to Mark, I'm relatively sick free (even though he hasn't been).

3. It's my nephew's 13th birthday today. 13!!! That makes 3 teenage nephews! It's kind of weirding me out to see these kids growing up so fast.

4. I feel like I am rarely on the computer at home anymore. Because I am on the computer at work so much, I guess I just kinda feel burned out on it by the time I get home. This obviously results in slacker blog posting. Though I do take little breaks at work to try and sneak in a few comments.

5. Our bathroom upstairs is utterly disgusting. Truly. I would be embarrassed if anyone saw it. It must be cleaned on Saturday. MUST.

6. I wish I was better at keeping in touch with people. Jessie sent me an awesome email today, that just brightened my whole day. And I WILL be writing back tomorrow! (:

7. I need to start exercising again. Like, desperately. As soon as this cold is mostly kicked to the curb, I need to get back into gear. I hope to be going on many walks with Diana. And maybe walks in the morning with Mark too. It all just needs to happen.

8. Pandora internet radio seriously makes my work day. I love how many new songs and artists I have discovered through it. If you haven't already, you need to check it out. Just type in pandora.com to start a loving relationship with music.

Uhhhh...

2007-09-01T03:31:00.000-06:00

Some exorbitantly drunk guy just broke into Mark's car.....and sat there. And has now been arrested in our driveway.

At 3 AM.

I'm glad Mark woke up and knew well enough to call 911. Yikes!

PAX '07

2007-08-30T20:23:00.000-06:00

So Mark and I spent the last weekend in Seattle for the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo.

I don't think the word awesome is strong enough to describe just how much fun it was.

We flew out there Thursday afternoon, and met up with 4 friends Mark knew from his working at Gamestop days - Jason, Matt, John, and Brandon. And even though I had never met 3 of the 4, I felt so comfortable, and had so much fun hanging out with these guys. I didn't feel out of place at all, even though I was the only girl in the group. Needless to say, it was so fun getting to hang out with them, and of course Mark, during PAX. (:

PAX was basically the epicenter of all nerddom. And wow, what a broad spectrum of nerdliness exists. Seriously...I mean, I am pretty nerdy. But I can't hold a candle to some of the people I saw out there. And oh, some of the odors that assaulted the senses at times. Like Foot Man. I think you can gather what that means.

Anyways, we had the chance to see a lot of new games coming out, test some of them out, sit in on some fun panels/demos, go to a nerdy music concert (The One Ups and Freezepop!), eat some delicious food, share some HILARIOUS moments (watch out for Guy #3), and overall, just have one amazing time. I really, really hope we are able to do it next year. Just...need to not spend money.

I shamelessly stole a few pictures from Matt's MySpace, since he got a lot of good ones. Unfortunately, our camera battery was dead the first day (we discovered this after leaving the hotel), and it's been having some issues anyways, so we didn't get a whole lot. But I thought you guys might like to see a few. So without further adieu...

Here we are waiting in line Friday morning (well Mark, myself, and Jason). We actually got there several hours early, and managed to snag an early spot. It eventually got to be pretty insanely long. Good thing we had our Nintendo DS's to help pass the time!

Here's a pic of Matt, Me, Mark, and John playing Rock Band. I cannot tell you how geeked out I am about this game. If you have ever heard of Guitar Hero, this is basically that times awesome. You have a microphone, a guitar, a bass, and a drum set. And you have your own virtual band to rock out with. Seriously...so awesome.

And here's just a pic of Mark and I enjoying ourselves in the Exhibition Hall. Notice my sweet PAX shirt? ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed the all out nerd post! Here's hoping for PAX '08!

Going crazy

2007-08-19T21:41:00.000-06:00

So...life has been extremely busy this month. I've been wanting to make some updates, but really have not had any time to do it. I just had to make a little written reminder for myself to update later. About all sorts of fun stuff. I just flew back this afternoon from San Francisco, and Mark and I are heading out this Thursday for Seattle (hooray for PAX!), so hopefully after that I will be able to make a proper update!

Already Missed

2007-07-25T20:29:00.000-06:00

So I am not so great with words, and definitely not very good at taking pictures (wish I had inherited that part of my family), but I can say already that I really miss Timm and Jessie. I've been in a definite funk today. It just...won't be the same without them here. Several times today at work, I just wanted to give Jessie a call, and knew that I couldn't.

But I know this is an exciting, new chapter of their lives, and I really wish them the best. (: After all, miles don't determine friendships, and I know that Timm and Jessie will always be good friends. I'll have to step up to "long distance" means of keeping in touch! Anytime I come across an "internet fieldtrip", I'm definitely sending it your way Jessie.

I wish you guys a safe journey, and just know that you are sorely missed already in the Youngquist house.

SPT - Geek

2007-07-17T13:30:00.001-06:00

So, I have never done an SPT before (and alas, I am at work eating lunch, and do not actually *have* a picture with me, but I will add one later), but I just couldn't resist sharing the geek/nerd in me.

I am pretty much an all around geek, with an emphasis in video games.

Besides a C+ 6th grade in Handwriting, I didn't get a B on a report card until I went to BYU. So I am definitely a school geek. Haha...I graduated from BYU in 2006, and I'm STILL working on a research project I started my last year of school! I go in once a week. It's coming to a close this August though, when I go with my group to present our posters at the American Psychological Association's Convention. I'm honestly glad, and impressed with myself that I stuck with it! I also hope to go for a Master's Degree in the not too distant future.

So...school geek.

A lot of my interests are also very geeky/nerdy. I like to watch Anime (Japanese animation), I do like some sci-fi/fantasy books (So excited for The Golden Compass movie coming out this Winter!!), my husband and I play Dungeons and Dragons every other week with a group. And like I mentioned, I really like to play video games.

I first started playing video games when I was little, when my sister and I got an NES to share for Christmas. We both enjoyed it, but it was just the beginning for me. Since then, I have gotten a Super Nintendo, a Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance SP, Playstation 2, a Nintendo DS (I just got a pink one!), and together with my husband, throw in a Sega Dreamcast, a Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii, XBOX, and just recently, Playstation 3. Not to mention that we have a few duplicates of these, from the years before Mark and I were married. I only spend a little bit of time playing games on the computer.

Needless to say, one of my major hobbies is playing video games. It is so much fun to me, and so relaxing. And, it's a lot of fun getting to share that Mark. In all honesty, if it wasn't for video games, I likely would not be married to Mark.

Mark and I both went to the same high school, and our Junior Year, we both were "Student assistants" for the same teacher. Mark came in one day with a not yet released in the US Game Boy Advance. Well, given my geekiness, I thought that was pretty cool, so I asked Mark if I could try it out. He said sure, and just requested nicely that I don't save over his game (he had no idea that I was a gamer, because well, girl gamers seem to be "rare" - though we now make up a pretty significant percentage!). That was just the very beginning of a very close friendship we developed, which obviously developed into even more. ;) We would often get together and play games. Mark and I even shared our first kiss while playing a round of Mario Party. So needless to say, our common "geekiness" played a big part in bringing us together.

Anyways, this is probably getting boring for most of you, but, as you can tell...geekiness is something I'm pretty passionate about. It's a way of life! ;)

Bunny Post

2007-07-13T23:15:00.000-06:00

So, Mark and I had to give away 4 of the 6 baby bunnies July 3rd. Needless to say, it was really hard to do. I had grown really attached to all of them, but I knew that there was no way we could keep 7 bunnies at our house. Luckily, we were able to keep 2, along with Toffee. So that's a lot of fun. (:

Anyways, I just thought I would post a couple of updated pictures, since you guys haven't seen pictures since they were like this!

Here's some updated ones, taken just before we gave most of them away:

Ah, food time. They never could quite figure out that we provided TWO bowls...

Hanging out during cage cleaning time (We ended up giving them hay to keep them occupied, as they were still small enough to be escape artists)

This is Bandit, taking over Mom. He's one of the "keepers" - we've always been attached to him, as he was always the "runt" of the crowd.

A back view of Crackers (aptly named by Jessie's daughter Bella), our other "keeper." The thing that really endeared him to us is his ear that just stopped standing up one day. What's funny, is its actually gotten even worse, and sometimes affects both sides. I think he wants to try and be a lop eared bunny or something.

Anyways, just thought you guys might want to see that they really do get to be cute, once they pass the "pink rat" stage!

P.S. One last cute picture of Mark holding Toffee - can you tell she is our baby for right now? ;)

Anniversary weekend

2007-06-27T22:11:00.000-06:00

So I need to do an update on Mark and I's little "getaway" last weekend, because it was so much fun. And I need to write it down for my poor memory's sake.

We celebrated our 3 year anniversary this year by doing an overnighter in Salt Lake. So last Saturday (the 23rd), we headed up I-15 to have our FIRST official lunch at Chipotle in Utah. And man, was it amazing. It had been since last Christmas, so both of us just relished it. We also discovered that Paradise Bakery and Cafe (another Colorado treat not previously seen over here) is in the same complex! So...sometime on a free Saturday again, we will need to head up there. After our lunch, we headed down into the city to check in to the Hotel Monaco. It was very nice, though the room was a bit small. But still - down comforter and pillows in a hotel are always good in my book. After we checked in, we walked over to Temple Square to see the new Joseph Smith movie at the memorial building. It was really nice, I'm glad we had the chance to do that. We also perused around Temple Square for a bit, but it didn't last long, as it's been ridiculously hot out here (with no end in sight *sigh*).

We headed down to the Gateway mall for a little bit too, to buy me a copy of Elite Beat Agents for my shiny new PINK Nintendo DS. It's so cute! I even made some vinyl stickers for it at work, so it has little flowers on it. We figured I needed to get my own DS, as we are going out to PAX (an incredibly awesome gaming event in Seattle) in August, and...2 people sharing 1 DS just wouldn't work. We both want to play! So we bought it through RC Willey with 90 day no interest, which comes out to like, 40 bucks a month. I can handle that. Anyways...enough geek talk for now ;)

After the gateway, we headed back to the hotel, and...played Elite Beat Agents with each other on our respective DSs (I was lying on the geek talk being over, but what can I say. That's what we are.). For dinner, we went to the Melting Pot - oh my, do I love that place. For those of you who have never been, it's an all fondue restaurant. So you start with cheese fondue, then have a small salad, then have a main course, where you cook your meat in the fondue pot, then of course...chocolate fondue for dessert. It's seriously, one of my favorite places to go. Unfortunately, it's also very pricey...so it's definitely for special occasions. Dinner there always takes a while, so that pretty much wrapped up our night.

The next morning, after checking out, we went and had breakfast at the Original Pancake House. Once again, with the culinary delights. They have the best breakfast, hands down. I'm SO glad they opened one in Utah. I got an omelette with sourdough pancakes. Mmmm....

We then decided to check out the new IKEA store on our way home. Wow, is that place enormous. And amazing. The whole upper floor is a "showroom" where they have rooms all furnished and set up with their stuff. Mark and I are planning on getting some new bookshelves soonish from there.

And...that pretty much wraps it up. Once again, I was pretty lame about getting pictures. But I just needed to write this down so I don't forget!

Oh, one other discovery on our trip. Mark and I stumbled across a Scottish imports store that actually carries IRN BRU, which Mark has been searching for for FOREVER. It's a soda that somewhat resembles cream soda, and seriously - he has not been able to find it anywhere before now, where you don't have to pay ridiculous amounts of shipping dollars. So...needless to say it just about made his day.

The end.

BIG FOOD NEWS.

2007-05-23T14:20:00.001-06:00

I totally forgot to include this in my ramblings the other night, but I've got big news.

CHIPOTLE HAS OFFICIALLY LANDED IN UTAH.

You don't know much joy this stirs in my little heart. It's in Bountiful, which is a good 45 minute drive from here...but still, 45 min > 5 hours minimum.

Mark and I may have to make a trip up there soon.

Once Utahns have been infected with the sweet, sweet love of Chipotle burritos...hopefully they will build one closer to Provo. Or even IN Provo.

Ramblings

2007-05-21T22:58:00.000-06:00

Mark took off for Toronto this morning - he gets back Saturday late afternoon/early evening-ish. I tell you what, though I am very grateful for Mark's job, and the many comforts it brings to our family (and for how much he enjoys doing it), these week-long trips he is taking every month is kinda tough. Hopefully it won't be too much longer...I just miss having him at home.

But at least this week, I have my parents in town. My mom has been here for several days already, and my dad gets here on Wednesday. They both go home on the 30th. I love when they come to visit!

The baby bunnies are doing famously. They are definitely getting to that "ridiculously cute" stage. I'll have to post some updated pictures soon. A few of them are slightly dehydrated, so we have to give them Pedialyte - apparently it's the universal hydrator.

The twins Collin and Connor are also, ridiculously cute. They are both just over 5 lbs. now - so teeny! I am so glad that the boys and mom (my sister Liz) are doing really well (:

Mark and I have bought plane tickets, made hotel reservations, and bought our passes to attend the ultimate weekend of geekage - PAX, or Penny Arcade Expo. I am seriously so excited to go, it's like waiting for my Birthday.

Alrighty...I think that's about it for my stream of thoughts right now (: Just felt like making a quick post.

Twin boys!!!

2007-05-12T00:16:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to say that my sister Liz had her baby boys tonight! Woohoo!! Mark and I just got back from the hospital. She had a C-section, I would say shortly after 10 PM. One was 5 lbs, 2 oz and 18 in. long; the other 5 lbs, 4 oz. and 19 in. long. Mom and babies are doing really well so far. (:

They are pretty decided on the names Colin Brewer and Connor Eliot, just not sure which is which yet (and I'm not too sure on the spelling either...) ;)

So anyways, it's been a very exciting night. (:

6 new additions!

2007-05-06T23:09:00.001-06:00

I know I have been a lame poster as of late, for which I apologize. Work seems to be sucking the life out of me or something, and when I get home, I usually don't want to hop back on a computer - rather, just veg out and play a game, or play with Toffee or something.

But anyways, I figured Toffee having 6 babies was definitely needing to be posted (Mark even posted about it!) It happened this morning, and needless to say, Mark and I are both quite the concerned "Grandparents." Mark has been especially good/fun to watch in his care and concern of both Toffee and the babies. Right now they are just little and pink, but I'm pretty excited to see how fast they grow (:

We are pretty definitely that we will be keeping one - and if anyone around here would like one, comment to let me know! We will be keeping them all until they are 7-8 weeks, and then either give them to friends/family, and any that aren't taken we will be giving back to Mark's coworker (who gave us Toffee).

And now a picture.

Newest addition to our family

2007-04-15T14:25:00.000-06:00

Nope, this isn't a pregnancy announcement ;) That's still a little ways off.

These are pictures of our bunny, Toffee. Mark got her from a coworker of his. She's still getting used to her new setting, but I am definitely smitten with her. She's so pretty! We are so excited that we can have a pet. My sister is our landlord, and she definitely doesn't want a dog or cat in the house - but she was ok with a bunny, so long as when we let her out, we keep her pretty much contained to the kitchen area, where there's no carpet. She definitely likes to explore everything - more than once.

Anyways, just thought I would share! Sorry for the lack of update lately, I've been pretty burned out with work, and being on a computer there all day, I typically don't spend a whole lot of time on at home. Hopefully things will even out pretty soon.

Oh, and by the way, thanks for your nice comments on my "Self-Evaluation" post...I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to respond to each of you who commented individually, but your words really did mean a lot to me. Sorry to have been on such a downer, but I really am glad that I posted it. I've been feeling better, and trying to look on the brighter side of things. (: I have such great friends, and I know that I can be a great friend too! (:

Self Evaluation

2007-04-04T17:26:00.000-06:00

My Disney World post will be soon - these past few weeks have gotten away from me. And I just don't feel like switching over to Mark's side, so I can access the photos we uploaded. So....yeah.

Anyway, I've been feeling a little stressed/down on myself lately. Now let me make a disclaimer here, for those of you who actually read this: This is NOT a "poor me, please pour on the sympathy" post. Not at all. I'm just actually deciding to write out how I am feeling at the moment, even if it's not fantastic. So really - I'm not fishing for comments or anything. Just wanted to be sure and establish that.

I always get to be more this way when I am under stress. And the past couple of weeks have been pretty stressful. My work launched a brand new company on Monday, and needless to say it has been crazy. We have had so much to do, and it literally feels like there is not enough time to do it. It just seemed to come up so fast. And I feel so unsure of myself sometimes at work - I have a hard time making big decisions, because I put so much pressure on myself that if I screw up, it will cause a huge set back, etc. But at the same time, I need to make those decisions, because no one else has the time to. So it just kinda wears on me. Probably a good thing in the long run - it's helping me be more assertive, confident in making decisions, etc. But yeah - stressful, and doesn't add to the good vibes to myself.

I've also been feeling so....replaceable, I guess is the word. I don't feel that way with my husband (that would be a problem), and with my family, it's more in my social acquaintances, and friendships, and such. Really, I feel like this sort of transient being that can provide a good ear to listen, or a shoulder to lean on, or to have a good laugh with. But I'm so sporadic with keeping in contact with people, or doing nice things for people, that I allow myself to be a lame friend. And I hate that, because I want to be a good friend - just like my friends are to me. But I feel like I fall short, or something.

I don't feel like I am creative - though I do think I am getting better. I just get so frustrated with myself about it, because I am always comparing myself to others who are very talented and creative. And I know that's not the point, or what I should be doing - but I still do it regardless. I've been a "comparitive" person my whole life. I feel like I don't have any real talents, or the ones I do have, I have let slip away, like my piano playing. Basically it comes down to I am too lazy, and I don't let myself feel like it's worth trying, because it's never "enough."

Ok, so I am seriously sitting here debating on whether I should actually post this or not. Looking at it, it totally comes across as a sympathy post, which as I mentioned, is not what I want to it to be. But, I'm going to go ahead and post it here before I wuss out - maybe it will be good to just get these thoughts out here. Maybe it will help me realize that this isn't really the way I feel - this is just the somewhat stressed, kinda down on herself Robin talking. And that's not the real me.

Off to Florida we go!

2007-03-15T13:18:00.000-06:00

In just a little over an hour, we will be in the car, on our way to airport. I've been nervous all morning, but doing my best to calm myself, and tell myself that explosive decompression REALLY isn't that common on airplanes.

Truly though, I am way excited to be going to Florida. It's a fast trip, but who could pass up an opportunity to go to Disney World? Not this girl.

My iPod shuffle is reloaded and charged, I've got my book, The DS is charged, and bringing along some good games, and camera batteries are charged. Hopefully I can keep myself distracted enough for the 4 hour flight time.

I'll update when we get back! Woohoo!

Facing some fears

2007-03-13T13:56:00.001-06:00

So I am facing 2 of my fears this week: dentists and flying.

Going to the dentist has always made me nervous. Growing up I went to the same doctor, and he definitely made it less scary. But now that I am living out in Utah, I had to find someone else. And that was scary. Especially give that last year, I hadn't had a checkup in oh...2 or 3 years? Maybe longer? So Mark and I found someone through our insurance, and went in. He seems to be an ok dentist, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I was expecting my mouth to be full of decay, or gum disease or something. Last year, he did find a very small spot that could develop into a cavity, that he said we just needed to keep an eye on - not to the point of needing a filling or anything, but a spot that could develop into one. Kinda scary to me, but it was ok. I just really hate dental work of any kind - the whole needles in your mouth, drilling, etc....HATE it. And it causes some serious anxiousness on my part.

Fast forward a year. I used to go to the dentist every, but neglected to make an appointment 6 months later, and it had now been a full year since my last visit. Needless to say, the last couple of months I have started to have some serious anxiety about this "watch" spot, thinking it may very well be a gaping hole of decay by now. I've been driving Mark batty to try and nail a time down in his schedule, to schedule appointments for both of us. But it's a busy time of year for him, so that has not been successful so far. Finally yesterday, after a recent bout of paranoia about the deal, I buckled down and made an appointment just for myself, at 8 AM this morning (I was impressed they could get me in so soon!). I wanted to get it done with, so I quit worrying about "what's happening."

So I went, expecting him to say that that little spot of possible decay? Yeah, gaping chasm now. But to my great surprise...it hasn't changed at all. It still isn't enough to be considered a cavity, and basically has not changed since last year. Needless to say, I felt a great deal of relief upon hearing that. I also couldn't help feeling proud of myself for practicing such good hygiene this past year. Maybe regular flossing really CAN pay off!

So yeah, I've been fretting over nothing. At least for now...

I did see a guy getting a shot of novacaine today, that totally gave me the willies. GAH I hate dental work. And the only work I've really had is cavities (aside from wisdom teeth, braces, and an expander when I was little). I haven't had the joys of root canals and the like yet. I can only hope that that is a long way off, or in an ideal world, never even happens.

Ok, enough rambling about the dentist, now to flying.

Mark and I are going to Florida on Thursday. I am REALLY excited. Except for actually getting there and back. Although I know flying is the "safest way to travel" and all that jazz, it still makes me nervous as all get out. Seriously, sleeping on an airplane? Doesn't happen for me. I'm too busy getting pangs of fear on every bump of turbulance, and hoping we take off and land safely. My fear is more pronounced the longer I go in between flights, and this will be the longest flight for me in a while. My recent flights have only been to Colorado, and that takes a little longer than an hour. This will be like, 4 hours. *sigh*

I'm sure everything will be fine, but yeah...the nerves are already setting in. I don't know why I get so nervous - I mean when I was 17, I flew by myself to Germany. Over ocean. And I was totally fine. But 17 year old self can't convince current self that there's nothing to worry about. I'm just glad mark will be there with me.

Alright, this post was totally rambly and random. But maybe by getting my fears out in writing, I will feel better about them.

Or...maybe not. *shrug*

I better get my iPod charged, and some serious distraction tactics (book, Nintendo DS) ready for Thursday.

Home Sweet Home

2007-03-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

Man, for some reason today I am having some serious homesickness for Colorado. Although I really don't mind living in Utah, and there are many good things about living here - Colorado will always be "home" to me.

I really wish it wasn't so expensive to live there - both Mark and I would love to go back there someday. But we both have good jobs here right now, and really can't justify a move out of state right now.

I just love the environment and atmosphere there. Denver is a great metro city to live nearby - small enough to not be a huge sprawling mass of...city...but it has a great culture, and a lot of fun things to do. And it was only 15-20 minutes from Golden (where I lived). I like Salt Lake, but sometimes a 40 minute drive seems kinda long if you just want to go to dinner or something.

Anyways, not to put Colorado on some majestic pedestal or anything - I just love it there. And miss it. Mark and I will have to try and visit sometime soon...hopefully this summer. I got spoiled with our week+ long visit there over Christmas ;)

Also, sorry for not posting in a couple weeks. Admittedly, I think I've just been lazy. I'll think about something to blog, but then never get around to it. And forget.

Mark is in Toronto until Friday. He was telling me last night that the wind chill factor was -40 degrees. That's insane. I hope he stays warm.

Hmmm....anything else right now? Nope, don't think so. All of my blogging thoughts flee my brain when I actually get down to it.

Valentine's Day

2007-02-15T10:44:00.001-07:00

Valentine's Day was so much fun this year. I just felt really carefree yesterday, and mark and I were laughing and talking and having so much fun the entire night.

After we both got home from work, we did our gift exchange. In keeping with his gift tradition, Mark got me something to "go around my neck." He got me this really cool choker necklace:

He got it from Lia Sophia - I have several jewelry pieces from them, and they are great because they are reasonably priced, but still have really cool designs. I think he was nervous I wouldn't like it, especially given that it's a choker style - but I love it! He was thinking of getting a different chain, but I told him there was no need. (:

Afterwards, I gave Mark his presents - I gave him

A Mono (kissing disease) plush microbe - mwahahahaha! I figured it was appropriate for Valentine's Day ;)

The Zombie Survival Guide - what better way to show your true love, than by providing the tools that will save you from the living dead?

And just for fun, these are cool little magnets that make cool sounds when you play with them.

I also got him a fun little "novelty" thing from Spencers...that I won't go into detail on here. ;)

We went to dinner at Guru's in downtown Provo - I love that place! Not only did we get right in there, but their food is SO GOOD. I got the vegetarian rice bowl, and it was so delicious. I told Mark, "If I could eat healthy like this every day, I would have no problem dieting!" Seriously, I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner, then Mark went and got the car and picked me up outside. (: We went to Provo Towne Center mall to wander around for a while afterwards. We wanted to see if EB games had Wii Play, but alas...no luck. We'll get it eventually. We went to Dairy Queen for Blizzards, and then watched a few episodes of The Office before going to bed. (:

It was such a nice evening. It was so nice to just be relaxed. I hope all of you had a great day as well, whether you were celebrating with a significant other, and/or having fun with friends or family!

Now Playing: Royksopp

Just a note that my husband is awesome

2007-02-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here at work, and the door opens...and it's Mark. Holding a bouquet of roses, and a box of chocolate covered strawberries. :D

He surprised me today for an "early valentine," because he has a really busy day of training tomorrow at work, and wouldn't have time. So we went to lunch (I had already had a little bit, but I wasn't about to pass up on a surprise valentine's lunch with my husband!) at Quizno's, and it was so nice! I've been kinda down today, and feeling really tired, and this was just the sort of pick me up I needed.

Hooray for Mark! He's the best husband I could ask for. Tomorrow night, we're going to have dinner at Guru's, and just kick back and watch a movie at home. He has definitely made Valentine's Day a happy day for me.

Anyways...just had to share. (:

Tagged by Hannah

2007-02-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

6 randomly weird things about me:

1. I LOVE the smell of tires. My dad's family owned a tire business for many years, and my dad has a warehouse for his antique cars down at the former corporate offices in Colorado. There's a warehouse behind his full of truck tires. I seriously love to go back there and inhale the smell. And walking into a place like Discount Tire is so heavenly and nostalgic for me.

2. Meat in "canned" items like soups and such totally sketches me out. I've never gotten sick from it or anything, and I'm quite confident I never would...but it still grosses me out. I avoid it if possible. Chicken is the worst. Oddly enough, I'm totally fine with canned chili.

3. I have never felt "comfortable in my own skin" - literally. I hate my skin. All my life, I have had extremely dry skin. I have to lotion my entire body after I shower, and anytime my body gets wet, otherwise it will feel like it's stretching tight against me. It's not a pleasant feeling. I have always struggled with excema too. On the same token, my skin is also oily, so I always have zits not only on my face, but on my arms and upper chest as well. Needless to say...I hate my skin. Curse you!

4. Soggy wet leaves gross me out.

5. Even though I have played piano for going on 16 years, I still always get nervous when playing around people. I am ok around family, and a few friends, but other than that, it can be quite anxiety producing. For example, this past weekend I played for my niece's baptism and nephew's eagle court of honor, and you would think I was back in high school on stage, playing a solo. And this was literally, just accompanying out of the hymn book - no one really listens that closely. I also have a habit, when I make a mistake, of verbally expressing it - not good if you want it to go unnoticed. However, when I have served as like, Relief Society pianist - that didn't bother me.

6. When I was little, my mom had a pot that emited a fairly high pitched whistle - I think it was some sort of pressure cooker? That pot SCARED ME TO DEATH. I would cry whenever she would cook with it, and I could hear it. I called it "the Melting."

6 random things that make me happy right now:

1. playing Zelda on our Wii
2. Watching movies with Mark
3. really, just hanging out with Mark - we have a lot of fun together
4. "checking in" with my mom everyday. I feel like there is so little I can do to help her right now, since I don't live near them, but I know that talking to her, and checking up on her is something I CAN do.
5. having a closer relationship with my 2 oldest sisters. They weren't at home very long while I was growing because there is a 16-18 year gap between us. But since moving here, I get to see them and their kids often, and it's been so much fun getting to know them better, and to have nieces and nephews around.
6. a fun upcoming week - dinner tonight with my friend Heather, Valentine's day Wednesday, Book Club Thursday, Night of Fun at Jessie's on Friday, seeing another friend Heather on Saturday...just a lot to look forward to. (:

It's for real this time.

2007-02-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

The Smashing Pumpkins
6th album
'Zeitgeist'
07.07.07

HOLY CRAP!!!

2007-02-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released on Sat., July 21st, 2007!!!

It's pretty pathetic how very excited I am for this book. I just started re-reading Book 5, and completed the previous 4 last month. I'm so glad I will have it all pretty fresh in my mind for the release of the last book. With the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix just the week before in theaters, July is looking to be an amazing HP filled month.

Alright, sorry for exposing you all to the "silly fan girl" in me - I just had to get it out!

Fight the Disease

2007-01-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

I feel an obligation to share this product. I've never been a regular flosser. I hate the time it took, I hated feeling like a masochist who enjoyed flaying my gums on a nightly basis. Yet the more time in between I went, the worse it was (duh.). So begrudgingly, I've been trying earnestly to get into the habit. I was improving. It even came time that I flossed my way through my free trial from the dentist I got like, a year ago. (Yes, I'm that bad). So, I bought some at the store, not knowing the revolution that was awaiting me.

Gentle Gum Care, what wonders you have done. Your woven strands are so much more gentle on my gums, and glide so quickly. I've started flossing on an almost daily basis - it's a miracle.

So if any of you have had trials in being a regular flosser - I highly recommend trying kind. This is a completely shameless, no monetary compensation involved endorsement.

In other news, just had a dinner date with my husband at Brick Oven, and it was delicious. I think we may go play some Lego Star Wars now.

That is all.

Mmmm...Ovaltine

2007-01-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

So...I'm kinda backing out of a "catch-up" post. Suffice it to say, our time in Colorado was awesome. We just missed the first snowstorm (thank goodness we drove, otherwise we may not have actually made it for Christmas), got to experience the second big one, and had an awesome time seeing family and friends. We were able to spend about 10 days there, which is the longest amount of time we've been able to spend there at one time, well...probably since we got married. But amazingly, it still went just as fast. I really want to be back there sometimes...however, it just wouldn't be wise on our part to do that right now. Mark's job is FANTASTIC, I am having a fun time seeing my work develop and grow, and financially, it's so much more expensive to live there. But maybe someday...

Just for fun, here's some photos of my parent's house as a result of the first storm:

Alrighty, I've just had some delicious, rich chocolate Ovaltine, and considering it is Monday tomorrow, which means going to the gym at 5:30AM...I better head to bed. Plus, I'm right at the very end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (re-reading them all - I love those books!), so I think I will go finish!

Crazy

2007-01-26T15:39:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post - apologies for not updating since we left town for Christmas. I've been going pretty crazy since then - from relaxing and getting snowed in in CO, to some big changes going on at my work, I have been neglecting writing in my blogs. So, I will be updating with a pathetic "catch-up" post soon, and will try to be at least a "once a week" blogger. I mean, we have this nice shiny Mac at home - I can definitely give it a little more love! It's so easy to upoad pictures to as well! So what excuse do I have, really, besides laziness?

Hope everyone is having a good new year so far!

Hopefully we don't get buried

2006-12-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

It looks like Mark and I are going to take off tomorrow for CO, rather than Saturday, as it appears to be the best traveling day through the mountains. More snow will move in on Saturday, which is never fun to drive in over Vail Pass. I can promise you that.

Let's just hope they have some of the craziness from the past 2 days plowed down in Denver! The city where my parents live got 34.5", according to the news. That's some intense snow, if you ask me.

Good thing Mark has 4 wheel drive in his car. Always a bonus. I think my civic would be eaten.

Needless to say, I have not mailed any sort of Christmas Cheer yet, because I am horrendously lame, and have been really busy (which is not a good excuse, as all of you who have sent such fun things are crazy busy too). Needless to say, it may be more "Post New Years" cheer coming from me, even if it still wishes Merry Christmas. But hey, just lets the Christmas Spirit live on a little longer. I am really excited to mail out some cards, and I do apologize that they will be arriving late!

Hopefully I will have a chance to update from CO, but if not, I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Christmas, and a Happy New Year! (:

More News

2006-12-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Man, December always seems to go by so fast. And I really need to get some pictures up on here soon, dang it.

As I am at work (again), this will be a really quick update, for those of you who want to know the latest with my mom. She got the results from her PET Scan back, and thank goodness, her cancer is really just localized to that one area - it hasn't spread anywhere else. She will be doing intraveinous chemotherapy, but the one she will be taking has comparitively minimal side effects, which will definitely be a help. We are so grateful that it will be easily treatable, and that it isn't anywhere else in her body. Good news for sure!

Other than that, just preparing to go to CO on Saturday. Mark and I are driving over, and we get to stay for a little more than a week! WOOHOO! Unless the weather gets crazy, then we can cut it short a couple of days. I am really looking forward to going "home." Colorado still feels like home to me. It will be so nice to see both of our families, and old friends.

Alright, back to work!

Update on my mom

2006-12-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

So....unfortunately it isn't good news.

She has cancer again. We all just can't believe it. She will go in for a PET scan, *hopefully* before they come over for my cousin's wedding this upcoming Wednesday. That would be ideal - but if not, as soon as possible. They just need to see if it has spread anywhere else - which we all pray it hasn't. That's the next big thing that we are all hoping for. Her other next step will be getting what's called a port surgically put in. Basically, it's this little device that goes in on her chest to make drawing blood and administering intraveinous chemotherapy easier for her and her doctors. She had one the first time she had cancer, and it will be especially needed now. Since she had lymph nodes removed when she had surgery in 2004, which has caused a condition for her called lymphadema(?). She can't have any blood drawn from that side of her body, and her arm has swelled up quite a bit. They think it may be affecting the other side too, so they don't want to take any chances. Plus, my mom has seriously small veins - she's always had problems with needles. I fear I have the same veins >_<

I've just been really depressed about this whole thing. It just doesn't seem fair. But, I know we all have our trials, and if anyone has the guts to take this on again, my mom does. I just really hope it all goes ok for her. And I want to try really hard to give her all the support that I can, even though I live far away. That's one of the hardest things for me - knowing that I can't be there helping her through this. But I am all the more grateful now that Mark and I will be able to take a little more time at Christmas to be there.

I've just gotta do my best to stay positive, and hope that things will turn out ok. I really appreciate all of your comments - I apologize for not having responded individually. (:

Mixed Blessings

2006-11-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

This time of year is always so wonderful, kicking off in September. I love the Fall, usually enjoy the winter (except for driving in snow), and there are so many great holidays and times to think of and be with family.

Thanksgiving this year was pretty quiet, but really awesome at the same time. Mark and I did Thanksgiving dinner with just the two of us this year, and it was a lot of fun to cook and spend the day with him. We slept in, lazed around in the morning, did some cleaning, and cooked our "feast." We were much smarter this time than our first year (when we also did it just the two of us). Our first year, we seriously cooked enough food for like, 6 people. We made mashed potatoes with 8 whole potatoes (because you know, I eat four potatoes at a time. What were we thinking??), tons of stuffing, rolls, etc. This time, we gauged much better. I'll try to post pictures soon (doing a quick work post - man, I really do not want to be at work today).

It was so nice just to relax with Mark. I am so thankful for him. He is a great support to me, and always tries to cheer me up when I am feeling down.

That night, Mark went and camped with Linc (Hannah's husband), Linc's brother and sister-in-law. to get a new Wii (by Nintendo). Let's just say that their persevance paid off, all coming away with new Wii's. They were 1st, 3rd, and 4th in line, and that Gamestop got 6 consoles. Mark said that by this morning, there was probably 50 people waiting in line. Mark is so excited (me too, of course), and I am sure he is enjoying his day off at home playing with our new Christmas present. ;)

The reason I call this post "mixed blessings" is because I also found out some potentially bad news on Wednesday. My mom might have cancer again. She had noticed a small little pea sized lump near the same place her cancer came back last year. She went to her doctor's appt. earlier this week, and her doctor is very concerned about the spot as well. She goes in for a biopsy on Monday. We are all really hoping (of course), that it's nothing serious. She has only noticed this for the past 2 or 3 weeks (it wasn't there at her previous appointment 6 weeks ago). I just pray that it's nothing serious. She would have to go back on intra-veinous chemotherapy. She has been continuously taking the pill form since her last bout - her body reacted really well with it, so her doctor just decided to keep her on it in hopes of better staving off further recurrences. But if it is cancer, the pill obviously hasn't been keeping it away.

It just really hurts to see the possibility of her going through this again. Literally, she will have had fought cancer on separate occasions every year since she was initially diagnosed in 2004. This would be her 3rd time.

Yet as always, my mom has such an amazing attitude about it. She always keeps her chin up, and just meets it head on, doing everything she can. She is already preparing herself for the possibility of it being malignant, and having to go through treatment again. She remarked to me as we talked about it that she felt really compelled to get all of her Christmas shopping done, and her Christmas cards out much earlier this year. Now she realizes, it was probably some sort of "premonition", because now she may not have been physically able to do it.

So for those of you who still come to this little blog corner, and happen to read this - if you happen to think about it over the next few days, please keep a prayer in your heart for my mom and my family. We are all really hoping that it's nothing serious. It would be awesome if it wasn't cancerous at all, but if it is, hopefully it's easily treatable, and not spread to anywhere else. She can use a lot of prayers, and any additional ones you all could offer would be much appreciated. (:

I know I am fairly "quiet" when it comes to our blogging community, but I want each of you to know that I am thankful for you. So many of you I just always look up to as strong, caring, wonderful friends and people. Truly, there are parts of each of you I wish I could be more like. You are all such great examples to me, and I appreciate the kindess and friendship you extend to me (:

Lazy days

2006-11-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I was so lazy. And it was great. I have had a sneaking cold the past few days, that just won't become a full blown cold and get over with it. No, it's in that annoying achy, fuzzy-headed, dry throat kind of stage.

Therefore, I took the liberty of just lounging about as much as possible over the weekend. Saturday was glorious - pretty much just lazed about in my comfies, playing video games, aside from a brief trip to Wal-Mart to get a new computer desk for our new computer. (Mark and I are getting a new iMac, it's quite exciting. It should actually be delivered today, speaking of. We hope in the next year to get a video camera, and this will be great for making our own movies. Plus, with GarageBand, I can hook it up to my digital piano and make CDs - definitely want to do some cds at least for my family (: .)

Yesterday, Mark and I had to give brief talks in Sacrament Meeting on missionary work. I confess, I love it when they tell you "it only needs to be 5 minutes." I get nervous when I speak in church, and the shorter, the better. We also practiced for our Primary Program next week during our entire Primary...time? It was a lot of fun, (aside from it being a long time to keep a room full of kids sitting still - who can blame them?) and I am really proud of my class. It will be fun to do the program for all of their parents next week.

After church, I read, took a nap in our Love Sac, and played some games. Again, totally lazy afternoon. It was so nice. Now if only I could shake this cold, or just have it go all out and get it over with.

Is anyone else loving the weather today? I just wish I was home (again becoming one with the relaxation), rather than being stuck at work.

Now Playing: A100 - Billy Corgan

Gay Old Time

2006-11-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

Friday night, my cousin Becky and I went to the Pet Shop Boys concert at the Ford Theater at the E Center. Wow, that's kind of a mouthful.

Anways, for those of you unfamiliar with the Pet Shop Boys, they have been around since about 1981. They are a British electronic music group, and my brother is the one who really got me into them (along with many other bands, including my "ultimate favorite," Depeche Mode). I think a lot of their music is so much fun, and you would probably recognize a few of their songs if you heard them, such as "West End Girls."

The venue was fairly small, and it wasn't completely sold out - so it was a fun change, after the past few concerts I've been to (which were in bigger venues, and pretty much sold out). Interesting mix of people as well. My cousin and I were a little concerned that the section we were in were going to just sit there and be boring, but finally all the people behind us stood up, so we could finally get our "dance on." I'm glad I finally had the chance to see them live.

Also, being a video game nerd, Mark and I got Final Fantasy XII last week. I have been anticpating this game like you can't believe. And so far, it is definitely not disappointing the expectations I have had for it. It is ridiculously fun. The picture above is a screenshot from the "opening movie" of the game. Since I am sure most of you are quite bored by this, suffice to say that if I allowed myself to, I could sit there and play this game all day. After day. After day. Until I finished it. But, I cannot shirk all responsibilities just to indulge myself in a fun video game. Plus, I have to share playing time with Mark, as we are both playing it separately.

Other than that, this past weekend was entirely lazy. It was delightful. Mark and I watched a movie, slept in - loved it.

Now Playing: Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again

Blue Man Group

2006-10-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Mark and I went up to SLC to see the Blue Man Group last night. I've seen their Las Vegas show once before, and LOVED it. This one was definitely just as fun. They are such an entertaining group to watch, and to be honest, their music is SO fun to listen to! It just makes you want to shake it. They also try to get the audience involved as much as possible. There wasn't as much audience participation in this show as in Vegas, I am sure due mostly to the vast difference in Venue size. But nonetheless, the audience participation was great. I mean, who can resist being asked to "raise the roof" and jump up and down?

One cool aspect about this show in particular is some of the songs feature vocalists. Their featured artist was Tracy Bonham (she also opened they show). I hadn't heard much of her music, and I must say I really enjoyed her voice and style.

If you have never heard of/been to a Blue Man Group show, I would highly recommend it should the opportunity arise. They definitely keep you entertained, incorporate a lot of humor into their show, and just have great, cool music. Really, they have some creative instrumentation - aside from the "main" unique instrumentation by PVC pipes, they also play a piano by directly pounding on the strings with a giant mallet, have these cool "swishy stick" things (I don't really know what they are called, they just make a neat swish sound through the air), and lots of percussion and guitar.

It was awesome.

Stupid Re-Caps

2006-10-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

I was doing so well for a while there. But alas, I feel the need to do a bit of catching up, as much for my sake as anyone else's. I apologize if this is boring.

My work just moved out of our office, and into our warehouse facility (which also has a few offices). It will be a good move in the meantime, a little more cramped, but it will be good for now until we can afford to get a bigger place. However, there are a few drawbacks. 1) It smells like serious NASTY here. I can't even explain it, and some days are worse than others. It honestly smells like poo. We think it comes from the storm drain in the warehouse itself, so as long as we keep that well flushed it's not so bad. But again, some days are definitely bad. 2) I am the only person downstairs. Seriously, it's almost like "no girls allowed" is posted on the door upstairs (seeing as that I am the only female). Really, that part doesn't bother me, I just give my co-workers a hard time about the male/female separation, but it does get kinda quiet and lonely down here. Thank goodness for iTunes! Other than that, it's actually a pretty good arrangement here for the time being.
Mark recently went on a business trip to Hawaii for a few days. Is anyone else jealous of that?? Granted, he WAS cooped up in a training room most of the time, but still. I would love to go to Hawaii again - I went when I was a younger teenager with my parents and sister, and it was amazing. Mark and I hope to go there in a few years.
Jessie and I are still persevering with going to the gym in the mornings. I am quite proud of us. This morning, we even tried the Spinning (cycling) class. Oh man, it was rough. Probably the hardest I have ever worked out, and my butt HURT really bad on that seat. We're going to give it another shot Wednesday, so wish us luck.
Along the workout thing, you would think that being so diligent with working out, plus earnestly trying to watch what I eat better, would have good results. But have I lost any weight? No. None. Nada. It's VERY frustrating. Granted, I'm not a "perfect" eater, but I definitely am watching portions, making better choices for the most part, etc. - a change from my "old" ways for sure. I really need to start seeing results soon.
Including the past couple of days, this is shaping up to be a fun week. On Saturday, we took Jessie and Timm to the Pizza Factory and to see The Prestige, which was a very fun time. For those of you who haven't heard of it, or haven't seen it, I definitely recommend seeing The Prestige at some point, even as a rental. Very cool movie. Yesterday, we went up to Ogden for my cousin Tyler's mission farewell. He's going to Hamburg, Germany. It was so fun to see some family I hadn't seen in some cases, years. One thing that never fails to freak me out a little bit is seeing my Grandma's twin. My Grandma died when I was a Senior in H.S., and she has an identical twin who lives up in Ogden, my great aunt Irene. When I first glanced past her at the farewell, my heart literally stopped for a second because I thought it was my Grandma. Always a little freaky. For the rest of the week, Mark and I are going to see Blue Man Group tonight at the Delta Center, tomorrow is Halloween, and Friday night I am going to see Pet Shop Boys with my cousin at the E Center. Two Concerts and Halloween within 5 days sounds like a lot of fun.

Though I know there is more I should probably write about, I can't think of anything else right now. Which is why I shouldn't fall behind on my blogging - if nothing else, so I can keep track of what's going on. I hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween tomorrow!!

Now Playing: Only When I Lose Myself - Depeche Mode

Also, a quick shout out!

2006-10-10T14:42:00.001-06:00

I really wish I had a picture, but seeing as how I am just taking a brief moment at work to do this, I do not. But I really need to thank Jill for sending me some super cute Good Mail labels, as well as a thoughtful note. (: Thank you so much Jill, you really are an inspiration to me. I hope I can overcome my good mail inferiority complex(?), and start sending out even simple notes with a joyous little sticker on front. I just need to buy some cute notes, so I have something handy without feeling like I have to sit down and struggle to make cards to send good mail (my creativity is truly lacking in this department, so it's a time consuming endeavor). I think I worry too much about not sending out "enough," or fun enough stuff or whatever. But as several people have mentioned, even just a nice note is good mail.

So anyways, thank you Jill for your thoughtful good mail. (: I will do my best to get on track with good mail, since it is only a positive experience all around!

Also, a quick shout out!

2006-10-10T14:42:00.000-06:00

Isn't this problem supposed to be over by the end of your teenage years?

2006-10-10T14:13:00.000-06:00

So today I finally went to the dermatologist. I have been needing to go for a long time. Ever since I was little, I have had problems with excema. My skin really is not kind to me sometimes, and has these excema outbreaks. Well, a month or so ago, I started to get excema all over my stomach. Subsequently, it has also appeared on my arms, legs, and feet. So much fun.

So I determined that if it was still bad when I got back from CO, I would make an appointment if it hadn't cleared up. The weird thing is, while I was in CO, it cleared up. Which makes no sense, because I spent the first 18 years of my life, and spent plenty of those years with excema. *shrug* And what do you know, within the first day of being back in UT, it flared up again. Must be something in the air here.

I also have a bad problem with acne on my upper arms. It's been around since I was a young teenager. You would think once I passed 20 my acne problem would start diminishing - but no. It's still pretty bad.

So now I have 3 new prescriptions - a steroid creme for the excema (thank goodness, amazing what a prescription will do to that stuff), a wash for the acne, as well as a daily antibiotic for the acne, which I will take for an indefinite amount of time right now. Yay. I really do hope it helps to clear up the problem though, that would be amazing. No more embarrassing arms!

Alright, that may have been more information than anyone really wanted to know, but I just felt a need to get my skin woes off my chest. The incessant itching on my stomach right now compelled me. Relief is coming soon.

Now Playing: Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Denver Pictoors (in no particular order)

2006-10-05T19:57:00.000-06:00

This definitely doesn't include all the pictures. Since I so brilliantly didn't bring my camera, credit for these pictures is to Chrissy and Kathy.

Jellyfish are so creepy and so cool at the same time.

Awww, look at us posing with the Shark. Chrissy, Me, Kathy.

Our Pre-Tennis playing shot. Kathy and I on the left, Gordon and Amy on the right.

Some sweet tennis guitar(?) moves from Gordon.

Ah, the joys of karaoke. My throat was definitely struggling after that night.

Me being a nerd, and trying to be one with the fish. See the pucker?

Caught in the action of getting my groove and sing on.

Chrissy, Kathy, and I in Boulder.

Andrea, Kathy, me, and Rod all posing at the Aquarium

Kathy in front of some ginormous Beer Copper...thingy at the Coors Brewery.

This guy had some SERIOUS teeth. I mean, this doesn't even fully capture it.

Another aquarium shot. Definitely one of the less flattering shots of me.

You killed Steve Irwin!! Ok, not you specifically. You were actually a cool little guy, and kinda slimey to the touch.

Denver Update (be warned of hugeness)

2006-10-05T19:16:00.000-06:00

I've been home since Sunday Night, and just kept neglecting to update my blog on my trip! Denver was amazing, as it always is. Going to Colorado still feels like going home. I had SO much fun, and it was SO GREAT to see my friend Kathy. Kathy lived with my family my freshman year of high school as an exchange student from Germany. Let's just say I think of her basically as a 5th sister. I visited her in Germany for 2 weeks following my Junior year of High School, she came to my wedding, and she was in Denver doing an internship at a hospital just recently. Hence, the main reason for my extended trip to Denver. I planned to arrive there on the last day she had to work, so we were able to spend the whole week together. It was sooo much fun, really. And of course, it is always so good to see my family.

Just because I am horrible at doing day by day recaps (especially since I procrastinated a week...), I'm basically just going to list the things we did, and of course, provide some lovely pictures.

Ate WAY too much cheesecake. Between Kathy making a German Cheesecake, eating at the Cheesecake Factory, and getting New York Cheesecake Frozen Custard from Good Times. Let's just say I was amazed I didn't gain weight on this trip. Seriously.
Going to Flatirons mall with Chrissy, Kathy, and my mom. Just walking around up there, doing some window shopping mostly. It was fun to just hang out with the girls (:
Getting some exposure to the Gilmore Girls (though they were watching the 6th season - I really should start from the beginning). I must say, I found myself really enjoying the show, despite not knowing much about what is going on. Kathy had bought the 6th season to take home - in Germany, it was just barely starting on the actual networks. A year later.
Mom's Lazy Lasagna. I just need to write that recipe down. It's my favorite lasagna, because it has no ricotta cheese. Just cottage cheese. And it's delicious.
Hanging out with my sister Mary at her new townhome. She is such a fun person to be around. She's taking guitar lessons, and I had the chance to hear her sing and play some tunes on her "sweet ax." (: Her kids are so cute too - Joey even gave me a hug, woohoo!
Also hanging out with my brother Rod and sister in law Andrea. It was definitely good to see them. I finally met their "new" puppy Kimi, that they have had for probably a year. We watched Anchorman at their house, as well as a selection of music videos Roddy has on DVD, such as "Weird Al," ABC, and New Order. So fun!
Eating out at many of my favorite places: Chipotle (twice), Old Chicago, Good Times, Table Mountain Inn, Paradise Cafe, The Cheesecake Factory, etc. Also tried one of my dad's "regular" places, Joe's Cafe. Which has amazing pancakes. Sadly, none of these places are in Utah *sigh*
Seeing my good old friends, the Flammers. Seriously - it had been ENTIRELY too long ago that I hung out with these guys. Kathy was also good friends with them when she lived with us 8 years ago, so her being in town also provided a good reason for me to freaking finally get together with them again! The last time I had seen Amy and her mother was at my wedding reception. The last time I had seen David and Gordon could quite possibly have been early high school. Way too long. It was SO much fun hanging out with them a few times while I was home.
Such as doing Karaoke. We went out to this Asian Karaoke place in Aurora, and it was a blast. If only all you faithful blog readers could have heard our rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody." Just...wow. Haha!
The Coors Brewery Tour. I grew up literally 5 minutes from it, seriously. Growing up, I always hated the smell of the hops that would waft throughout Golden. Going home now though, ironically, it's a smell I miss. Smells like home. Kathy had never done the tour (which is honestly, quite interesting), so we decided to go for it. Some people just go just for the free 3 8 oz. samples at the end (or just take the "short tour" straight to the lounge). I was just fine with my free Dr. Pepper, thanks (:
The Denver Aquarium. Another attraction Kathy didn't have a chance to visit when she was in CO 8 years ago, as it was still being built. It has been since bought out by a Seafood Restaurant (there is something inherently disturbing about that...), but is still an AWESOME aquarium! I think so at least, for being in the Rockies ;) Rod and Andrea came along as well, and it was just so fun!
Our little Boulder day out. Boulder is definitely an interesting place. Some even refer to it as the "People's Republic of Boulder." But I think it is great. We walked around Pearl Street Mall, and met up with my friend from high school Jules and FINALLY met her fiance Daryl. Such an awesome guy! We all ate at the Cheesecake Factory, stuffing ourselves silly. Mmmmmmmcheeeeeesecake. And I was amazed - no free spirit college students asked me for my leftovers afterwards! It was a first!
You know those little sponge capsule animals that you put in warm water? Kathy had never heard of those. I decided we needed some to ensure she wasn't entirely deprived of this childhood delight.
My poor dad having to get a shot IN HIS EYE the day I got there. Poor Guy. He has bad glaucoma/complications resulting from diabetes in his right eye, and is doing everything he can to help his vision. I sure hope this shot clears it up for him. It was so sad :(
Tennis on Saturday afternoon. Once again, with the Flammers. Just awesome (:
Getting to see my mom's new "boobs." I think I have mentioned this before, but my mom had a full masectomy when she first had breast cancer in 2004. I have gotten pretty used to seeing her "boobless", so it was quite humorous to me that she went and bought some new ones! They are these cool silicon inserts that are really quite realistic. She wanted them to help fill out some of her dresses and such, since they don't fall quite right otherwise. I think it's great (:
The Classic Car Club Fall Tour. My dad is a total car nut, seriously. And one of the clubs he belongs to had a little tour where we went to the Golden Railroad Museum (which is really neat, btw), and drove up Golden Gate Canyon to see all of the beautiful changing leaves. It was seriously so amazing driving up there. We had lunch at the Black Forest Inn, which was delicious! One of my favorite things to do ever since I was little was riding around in my dad's old cars. I'm glad I had the chance to while I was home (:
I finally bought myself a new cell phone. It was about time, for sure. My old one had been around for 5 years, and had reached "crap" status. My new one definitely has no frills, but it's like a new technological wonder for me. I mean, it's COLOR. Color! Wow.

I am sure I am missing some things. Curse my horrible memory! Chrissy or Kathy(when I finally email her my blog URL), if you happen to think of anything I am missing, please comment with it. Because my brain struggles.

Alright, I am now thinking I will do a separate post with pictures, as this one is long enough already.

Now Playing : BT - 1.618

Off to CO I go

2006-09-25T15:53:00.000-06:00

As of 9:20 AM tomorrow, I will be on my way to CO. A little over an hour later (I'm glad it's a short flight), I will be seeing this fine sight (though in the daytime) - Denver International Airport. Really, it's a cool airport.

Woo hoo! I'm so excited! Just as long as I can survive the flight ;)

Curled up with a Blanket

2006-09-20T10:36:00.000-06:00

....Is what I wish I was doing right now. Seriously, the weather is SO awesome right now. Really low clouds, cool, a little rain. I think Seattle and I could definitely get along.

But instead, I am sitting here at work, longingly looking out the window. Wishing I was at home all curled up with a blanket and a good book or a game or something. Oh well.

You know, I really wish my body would just decide to either succomb to some sort of cold, or get rid of it. This in between fuzzy-headedness crap sucks.

This Binary Universe

2006-09-18T13:22:00.000-06:00

This is one of the cd's I got the other day, and I am really enjoying it. It's quite different from his other work. This one is definitely ambient in sound - very little vocals. One of the coolest things about it is it comes with a DVD that has a visualization of each of the songs, and is in 5.1 surround sound. I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but so far it REALLY cool. They definitely aren't your "mainstream" music videos - they are very artistic. Each one is synchronized to the song seamlessly - it's almost like you are "watching" the music. I think it's really cool, but I am also pretty nerdy (:

The gaming extravaganza at Hannah and Linc's on Saturday was a whole lot of fun. It was nice to be able to hang out and relax at their house for a while (: Thanks for letting me come "crash" for so long!

Mark came home last night, hooray! He definitely seems wiped out from his busy week. I'm really glad things went well for him. (: But it is so good to have him home. Now we are together for a week, until I take off for Colorado myself next Tuesday. It will be a great trip - I am so excited to see my family, and my friend Kathy from Germany. She came to live with us as an exchange student my freshman year of high school, and is now over there for a month doing an internship at a local hospital. She's basically like a long-distance sister. I'll be there just as she wraps up work, so we will have plenty of time to just hang out! (:

For some reason, I have developed this irrational fear of flying. I've flown several times, and though I always get a bit nervous, I'm feeling really nervous for my flight to CO next week. The flight is like, an hour long, maybe an hour and a half. Not long at all. It's really quite pathetic.

Now Playing: Hidden Houses - Dave Gahan

Friends, Food, and Fun stuff

2006-09-16T17:08:00.000-06:00

Last night was my Book Club birthday dinner, and what a treat it was! We went to California Pizza Kitchen, which is always guaranteed to be delicious. It was so much fun to have a "bonus round" of Book Club friends. They all chipped in for a gift card to Borders for my birthday, which is VERY appreciated!

Has anyone else been LOVING the weather these past couple of days? Finally I feel like Fall is here. Fall is my favorite season. I love the crispness of Fall.

This morning I went with my sister as she ran a few errands, and went to lunch with her family at Bajio's. Again - so full of delicious. Though I am so bummed with this whole spinach E. Coli ordeal, because that means Spinach Enchilada Wednesdays are going to be a bust for a while. They are so good.

Early this afternoon, I ended up going by myself to check out Borders, since I had gifted money to spend there (: Places like Borders and B&N are so dangerous for me. Too much stuff I want. I ended up spending a good chunk of my money, and bought Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I have been wanting to buy that movie forever, it's about freaking time), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon (I will borrow our next Book Club book from my sister, so I thought I would get this one in good advance), and two cds: "This Binary Universe" by BT, and "The Garden" by Zero 7. I am definitely excited about my new goods. Thanks girls (:

All By Myseeeeeeeelf

2006-09-13T10:17:00.000-06:00

Mark left yesterday for his trade show in Denver. Which leaves me Mark-less until Sunday evening. It's always tough when Mark is away for extended periods of time. It hasn't happened very often since we have been married, so it feels pretty lonely without him. It's funny, when we were dating, Mark and I were lucky to see each other once a month for most of the year, while I was here in school. Now he's gone for a few days, and it's killer.

Luckily, I am definitely keeping busy this week. As a matter of fact, I don't think I will have much "down time" by myself at all, which is good for the most part (though sometimes it is nice to just have some time home alone for a few hours). Yesterday, I got Zupa's for dinner (yum!), then headed up to BYU to work on a research paper due for submittal today. See, even though I have already gradumicated, I've been continuing work on a project I started the first of the year, and felt it would be valuable to stick with even after I was finished with school. It's great research experience, I hopefully get to present at some conferences, and have authorship on a couple of papers. .....I think I have blogged about this before, but there's a recap anyways.

So I get up to BYU at 7, expecting to be done by 9...and didn't leave until 12. There was much work that still needed to be done. Thankfully, I think we made a lot of progress, and aside from a bit of revision as I have a chance this morning, it is done. It has to be, because it has to be submitted no later than 3 PM.

It's pretty exciting to be involved in research like this for me. I hope our paper gets accepted, but if it doesn't, we'll just have to work all the harder on the second half of the project for submission in December to the American Psychological Association.

Ok, you guys are all probably bored to tears. I was proud of myself that even after getting to bed after 1AM, I still dragged myself to the gym with Jessie this morning. It definitely wasn't my hardest workout, but the effort was there nonetheless.

Now Playing: Until the End of the World - U2

Mark's job and my birthday

2006-09-11T13:39:00.000-06:00

Mark recently moved into the Training Dept. at Vantage Controls, and he has really enjoyed it so far. It has definitely been a good move for him, and for us. He got a significant raise, and has the opportunity to travel some. He will be gone this week to a big trade show in CO, and will fly to Hawaii next month to do some training. I must admit, I am jealous ;) But I am also really grateful. We've already noticed a difference, and have been blessed so much recently, especially financially. When I think back to when we moved out here after getting married, and his job with Dish Network fell through, it was so scary. We didn't know what kind of job he would be able to get. But he was hired by Vantage, and it has been infinitely better for him and us than Dish Network would have been.

This last Saturday was my birthday. It was such a nice, relaxing day. Weekend birthdays are always a special treat. Mark and I slept in that morning, then went to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. It was delicious, but our waiter was a total dud. Afterwards, we went and walked around the mall for a bit. Mark needed some new pants for the trade show, and also wanted to buy me some Bath and Body works stuff for my birthday. I also bought myself a new game for the Game Cube - Paper Mario (:. On our way out, Mark bought me a Coldstone cake - yummy! Cookies and cream ice cream with devil's food cake. It was an awesome cake, seriously. We then headed home, and just relaxed for a while. It was super nice. I talked to my family, and had several renditions of Happy Birthday sung to me over the phone. At 4, we left and headed up to Salt Lake for dinner at the Melting Pot. I hadn't been there in years, and remembered how much I LOVED it. And oh my - was it AMAZING. Definitely a special occasion kind of place, but wow, was it awesome. I'm glad Mark enjoyed it, as he had never been. We just took our time with dinner, and it was so nice. After dinner, we went home, and took the cake over to Jessie and Timm's to share and watched Best In Show. It was so much fun, and I love mockumentaries.

On Sunday, we went to Regional Conference at 9 AM. It was a great conference, and nice to get out of church at the time we are usually starting! My sister Liz and her kids came over that afternoon to help polish off some more cake. Timm had invited us to dinner that morning at church, so we went over at around 4:30 and had an awesome dinner (great cooking, Timm), and played Apples to Apples with Jessie, Timm, and Charlotte.

It was such a great weekend. So simple, but I just really enjoyed it. I'm not looking forward to Mark being gone all week, but I am excited for him to go to this trade show.

Overall, things have been going well. Jessie and I are sticking to our morning gym routine, and working out hard. I still can't quite shake my whole funk. I am way too "comparative" by nature, and I just need to take things one step at a time. The gym is definitely a good step. Now I just need to ease into a few other things, and not put too much pressure on myself to be "perfect."

Now Playing: "Groove Is On" - Groove Armada

Lame Blogger

2006-09-10T21:24:00.000-06:00

It has come to my attention both on LJ and my Blogger account, that I am indeed, a lame blogger. And though I don't feel a pressing need to update you all on the mundane, every day details of my life, I do want to be more consistent about updating in general. Not only is it a good habit for me to get into, but with as much as I enjoy reading all of my friend's blogs, I have to think, maybe *someone* out there actually enjoys reading mine. When it is actually updated. So here is a new beginning.

I'm not promising everday. Maybe not even once a week - though I do hope to do at least that. But, at least to do better. I've just been on the computer MUCH less than I used to, which is honestly a good thing. But I figure, a few minutes here and there to chronicle what's happening can't be a bad thing.

Man, I really need to re-commit to piano practicing too. I definitely have a lot to work on.

I think I will try cross-posting my entries to both LJ and Blogger - so my friends from each have easy access. I just hope I can stick to it. (:

2006-08-21T21:55:00.000-06:00

I have been intending to update about my friends Zack and Jeanine's wedding in CO a couple weekends ago. But...here I am blogging, the camera is downstairs, and I am feeling too lazy to go get it.

I'm really frustrated with how many "good intentions" I have, yet actualize so little of said intentions. I get all gung-ho about being better at practicing piano, or making good mail, or reading scriptures, etc. etc. But I always seem to fall short of establishing a good habit of these things. It goes well for a few days, then I am back to square one. The one I have been able to stick to is going to the gym in the mornings. And I largely have Jessie to thank for that, as she relies on me to get my butt out of bed and pick her up. (:

I hate the circle of Funk. It seems like once I start feeling de-funked, I start moving back into it. And tonight, I am feeling funkified. It hasn't been a good night anyways, and that just lends itself to negative thinking.

Sorry to be so "angsty" in these past few posts. But hey, something has to be better than nothing.

*How do you turn good intentions into good habits? Any suggestions?*

Guilt Free?

2006-08-10T21:51:00.000-06:00

I have decided to try and not make myself feel guilty over my blogging habits of late. I can relate to Jessie in that I feel guilt over not blogging. But, I have decided to try and blog guilt free, and do so when I want to without feeling obligated to "catch up." I thank those of you who have endured and still actually check this little corner of the blogging world. I hope I do not disappoint. (: But maybe if I take a fresh approach blogging will feel more like fun again, and not an obligation (on my part - not due to any of you making me feel obligated). Meanwhile, I have always continued to enjoy reading blogs, I just have a hard time sitting down and thinking of something worthwhile to say.

I think I have a little cold, and that's never fun. I am determined to still get up in the morning and at least do something at the gym. This system Jessie and I have worked out truly is awesome.

Was anyone else kinda weirded/freaked out by everything going on in the UK today?

Pictures

2006-07-27T22:49:00.000-06:00

Enjoying the grand 4th of July parade in Provo. My BIL Mike has been judging the floats in the parade for YEARS; thus, we always get sweet bleacher seats.

I have always been fascinated with hot air balloons. Thought this picture turned out pretty neat (especially when you are as untrained in photography as I am).

Another balloon shot. I liked that I got the traffic light in on the action.

My sister Mel and her family at the blessing of Brielle. Aren't her kids all so cute???

Couldn't resist a baby shot. I love how she is poking her tongue out.

Tidbits from the past little while

2006-07-27T22:31:00.000-06:00

One of the unfortunate things in not blogging things as they come, is that I forget a lot of the "little" things going on, and thus, have lost them to poor memory for forever. Or until something sparks a vague memory.

Here, in no particular order, are my thoughts at the moment. Some random pics to come in a following post.

My niece Brielle was blessed on July 8th. She is such a beautiful baby.
Mark and I's temple recommends expired. In like, June. And we still haven't gotten them renewed. I told Mark we had to remember to call today to make appts., but of course, I didn't remember, and he was crashed on the couch most of the evening after dinner. One of the most frustrating things about myself is that I am all about "good intentions," but I have such a hard time realizing them. I am so spacy when it comes to things like that, and it's very frustrating to me.
Along those lines, I have been in a funk for the past little while. Just feeling generally down on things, and on myself. I don't know what particularly sparked it, and what all is contributing to it. But it's been frustrating, and I really want to shake it. I hate how "the funks" affect me in so many subtle ways. Like, just the kind of thoughts I have throughout the day, or the attitude I take towards things.
Mark was out of town last weekend. He went to CO to visit his friends. The house definitely felt lonely without him. Luckily, I was able to keep busy, and keep in good company most of the time. (:
My sister also came into town that same weekend, to stay a few days. Chrissy is always fun to have around. She's a dweeb. ;)
I re-signed up at 24 Hour Fitness. Jessie and I have a goal to go together in the mornings at least a few times a week. I really hope I keep up my end of the bargain! I dragged my butt out of bed this morning, and went by myself (we haven't officially started going together yet, as we both have had lots of stuff going on this week). I was surprised at how refreshing it was. I really hope I can stay consistent with this. Part of "the funks" has been body image/weight related. I don't feel a need to be stick thin, but I want to be in good shape, and for sure lose a few pounds. So here's to hoping I establish a good habit.
Money disappears entirely too quickly.

Alright, I think that is all for this post right now. Time for a few pictures, then off to bed so I can wake up early!!

Now Playing: Pretty(Ugly Before) - Elliot Smith

Quick Shout Out

2006-07-25T10:29:00.000-06:00

I know, I know - the lameness continues. Someday, I will be better about blogging. I resolve to be. But I am at work right now, so this will be quick.

I just want to wish Jessie and Timm a happy anniversary today!! You guys are such great friends to Mark and I. We love you guys!

Excuses

2006-07-12T00:53:00.000-06:00

I just need to stop coming up with excuses for my blog hiati(?) and accept the fact I am a sub par blogger. And build from there.

Things have definitely been pretty hectic, with family in town and other such things. But I will be making up for lost time soon. I need to try and not get flustered and write everything down in random posts all the time. I want to make several entries about specific things, even if they are delayed. Better late than rushed, eh?

Alright, It's almost 1AM and I need to get to bed. I apologize for the randomness - just didn't want you all to think I was dead. Blog dead.

Steamboat Getaway

2006-07-02T20:09:00.000-06:00

Mark and I got back from Steamboat Springs, CO this afternoon. I have to say, it was tough to leave. My family has had a condo up there longer than I have been around, and I have so many memories of this place. It's basically like another home to me. Mark and I went there for our honeymoon, and he loves it up there as well. The weekend went by SO fast, but it was such a great time. We had so much fun! Here are a few pics.

This is the view from the condo's balcony. It's gorgeous. It really is in such a great location - my dad knew what he was doing when he bought it ;) It's right on the ski mountain.

Mmmm....the delicious Ore House restaurant. Steamboat has some unbelievably good places to eat. The Ore House is always a must visit. They have this house potato that is SO GOOD. Great way to get our trip off to a delicious start!

Mark's allergies were really bugging him up in the mountains, so here is a delightful pic of him with a Claritin redi-tab. It definitely helped him out.

A picture of me on a bridge next to the Creekside Cafe, where we had breakfast Saturday morning. I had forgotten my make-up when I packed, and I am showing some serious gums in this picture. So don't mind the scariness.

Mark and I went golfing. It was my first time, and I was uh, pretty bad. Though I did get better as I went, and it was actually way fun. This little guy is a marmot - they were all over the course, seriously. But they were way cute. I was nervous I was going to hit one of them with an errant golf ball.

Cugino's. One of my favorite parts of Steamboat. It's that good. We ordered delivery, and enjoyed it from "home."

Mark and I played tennis for a bit this morning. We have a great pool and tennis court by our condo, so we took a few swims and "played a round" of tennis throughout the weekend. Really, we just tried to hit the ball back and forth to each other without it going over the fence. We had 1 casualty.

Our "goodbye" picture. We took one of these on our honeymoon too, and thought we ought to make it a little tradition.

So there you have it! I can't emphasize it enough - it was a fantastic weekend. I think we both needed a little break away from the daily grind. My only regret is it wasn't a day or two longer. ;) Hope everyone had a great weekend as well!

Promised Pic

2006-06-30T00:28:00.000-06:00

Sorry to not have more, but I really need to get to bed. But I did promise at least something. I will post more pictures when I get back from our Steamboat getaway. But this is the beautiful Brielle (please don't mind my ugly arm in the background). This is when she is less than a day old. So cute!

Alright, more when I get back. Today has been one heck of a day.

Quick words

2006-06-27T23:40:00.000-06:00

Ok, I officially dub myself the "blog lame-o." Sorry for the slow posting/slow commenting. Sheesh.

Bigger post w/ pics coming probably tomorrow night, but I just wanted to throw down some quick words. My sister had her baby on Sunday, and boy is she beautiful (: I took pics...which will be up tomorrow. Ah, the cruelty. Her name is Brielle, and if I weren't still planning on waiting a few years and if I could skip the whole pregnancy/labor part at this point...I would totally have a baby. Bri will suffice in the meantime, until I am ready. ;)

So my mom is in town, and in between visiting the hospital and all around other busyness, I have been absent on the blogging front. Someday I'm not going to have a decent excuse.

More to come!!

Anniversary

2006-06-22T22:30:00.000-06:00

Mark and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on Monday, and it was exactly what I needed, especially given my recent funks. (BTW, thanks to everyone who commented on my last post - it really helped a lot :))

We both had to work, and I had to go to my research meeting after work until 6. So needless to say, our celebrating got underway pretty late in the day. When I got home from BYU, there were some beautiful roses and a nice card waiting for me on the kitchen table.

There was also a surprise waiting for me in the fridge:

A whole tray full of delicious, chocolate covered strawberries. And trust me - they were delicious. We went to dinner at Red Lobster, which was really yummy. We then went to the mall to exchange the pj pants Mark had bought me for our anniversary, as they seriously almost slid off my butt. I decided to try on a medium pair of pants that Mark was originally going to get me, but then decided not too after the girl helping him told him that a size 10-14 girl could not fit into them. Well guess what? They fit me just fine, a MEDIUM pant! Definitely a huge boost to the ego. And she must not know what she is talking about or something.

Once we got home, we just ate some strawberries, watched some Simpsons, and spent time together. It was so relaxing, and it really helped boost my spirits. We are going on a weekend trip to Steamboat Springs, CO in a little over a week for our anniversary "getaway," and I am really, really looking forward to it.

Hooray for 2 years. Even though I am by no means a perfect wife, nor Mark a perfect husband, we really do compliment each other well in so many ways. I love having a husband who I can be serious with, and romantic with. But I also love that we can sit down together and play a video game, or have a pillow fight like old friends. Here's to many more happy years together. (:

Ashamed

2006-06-18T22:47:00.000-06:00

Really, I am the biggest blogging loser of all. 8 days?? And let's just say I haven't been the most consistent lately *sigh*. Once again, a recap:

Having Mary, her kids, and Chrissy in town was lots of fun. I hadn't seen Mary and the kids since Christmas! Alas, I was dumb, and did not take a SINGLE photo. I really need to be better about that. But it was fun having all 5 sisters together at the same time, as well as all the nieces and nephews (minus Joelee, my bro's daughter...whom sadly, we probably won't see again).
Lots of quality time with Jessie and Hannah - with Book Club, helping out Thursday with last minute Lola's Legacy prep, game night, and the great event itself on Saturday, I saw them pretty much every day. Which is a good thing (:
Book Club at Diana's. Though small in numbers this month, it was still lots of fun, and I had the chance to talk to Diana for a little while beforehand. (: I love the friends I have made through Book Club.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSIE! WOOHOO FOR THE 1/4 CENTURY!!
Lola's Legacy was so fun. My first album was a bit of a struggle, but the whole thing went so well, and it felt so good to be doing something productive for others. Plus, the sandwiches and lemonade pie were delicious.
My typing seems to not want to change from italics now. Odd.
Ok, there we go. D&D on Saturday was fun as well, and Drew (one of the friends we play with) made this ridiculously delicious dinner. Can you tell I love my food?
Father's Day. I sure wish I could have been there with my dad. I've been missing him a lot. My family will be out soon though, with the impending birth.
2 year anniversary tomorrow. Just planning on going to dinner and maybe a movie, as we will be going on a little "getaway" at the end of the month. (: Mark got me some really comfy pj's and some handweights. (Yes, we already gave presents. Sometimes we struggle with surprises).

I have so many good things going on, but I sure have been struggling the past few days as well. Sparing details, I have just been in a personal rut, and a rut with Mark as well. Hopefully it's something that dissapates soon, as feeling this way really is a bummer, and I tend to let it spiral.

*What are some suggestions you have for pulling out of a personal and relational funk?*

EDIT: Haha, I just re-read the part about Father's Day this morning, and thought I should clarify. It's not MY impending giving birth, it's my sister.

Out of Touch

2006-06-10T17:02:00.000-06:00

Wow, I have felt out of the loop on blogging lately. I apologize if I have been a rather scarce presence on any of your blogs lately. I haven't spent as much time on the computer this last week.

I don't have much to say, really. Work is staying hectic as usual. But, I think I am finally "catching up" to the pace. I'm finding that I have felt less stressed throughout the day, and I feel a little more in control of what I am doing. I'm definitely learning a lot, and it's fun to watch our small business just expanding like crazy in such a short time. I hope this trend continues!

My sister Mary, her kids, and my sister Chrissy are coming into town tomorrow. It will be so fun to see them. I haven't seen Mary and the kids since Christmas, and so much has gone on in her life since then. I hope the trip is a refresher for her - having just finished up the school year as a kindergarten teacher, finalizing a divorce, and moving into a new place, she definitely needs a break. I will do my best to remember to take pictures. If I don't, I invite you all to throw things at me.

This morning Mark and I did some cleaning around the house. Our bathroom needed it SO BAD, and the house was just getting icky. I loathe the actual cleaning, but the feeling when it is over is so refreshing. It's really a catch-22 - I hate a messy house, but I also hate cleaning it. I wish I had that odd trait of enjoying cleaning.

Alright, I have to type up a word strip for my Primary lesson tomorrow. Hopefully week 2 goes smoothly! Looking forward to game night tonight!

Fun weekend

2006-06-04T20:57:00.000-06:00

This weekend was exactly what I needed after feeling quite tense and stressed, and overall kinda icky this past week.

Friday was the big event: the blog party. And what a fun party it was! It was so cool finally putting all of these names and lives I read all the time with faces. And there were quite a few there whom I hadn't "ventured" much into their blogs yet. Let's just say that has changed. ;) It was such a fun group, and I was surprised at how comfortable I felt around everyone. It usually takes me a little while, especially in a group that size, to ease up. But it just felt like everyone there clicked. I was glad that I stayed longer than I had originally intented to for sure, and next time, I am staying for the whole thing! I just wish I had remembered my camera. Dang it.

I pretty much missed out on our D&D game, as they were wrapping things up by the time I got back. We ended up having this 2 hour discussion afterwards though, that was quite interesting. It was predominantly on politics, which really isn't my thing. But it's always interesting to hear other's views, and it was honestly a refreshing conversation.

I was able to sleep in on Saturday, which was WONDERFUL. I needed it. Mark got his hair cut short (it was definitely time, he was getting pretty shaggy). That afternoon, we ran some errands and relaxed some, then went over for game night at Jessie and Timm's. Game night is so awesome - I love having the chance once a week to get together with good friends, and just kick back and chat/play games. We played Trivial Pursuit, which was killer. We didn't even finish it. Then, Pictionary. I hadn't played Pictionary in YEARS. And that game makes me tense, holy crap. I didn't think Pictionary could create such anxiety within a person, but it is definitely possible.

Today, we went to church, and I taught my first lesson as the "official" CTR 6 teacher. It will be fun to do, and the kids I teach are all really cute. The attention span of 5 year olds is astounding....ly absent. But, at the same time, they make some really insightful comments, and are overall great kids. The only boy, Alex, had a tic tac container partially filled with water, and he was pretending it had fish. Ah, kids. (:

I was really grateful for friends this weekend. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in myself, I forget what wonderful people I have around me.

On that note, I leave you with a random flower picture. I've got nothing.

Blur

2006-06-01T23:25:00.000-06:00

I feel like I am always doing these random, montage posts of my life up to the point of blogging. I'm sure a lot of it is rather inane, and boring to trudge through. And so...I apologize in advance for subjecting you all, yet again, to my mindless mumblings.

This week has felt like a blur. Honestly, I have been feeling pretty anxious, and overwhelmed inside recently. I try not to let those feelings come out, and I regret to say that when they, it is usually Mark who has to deal with the mood swings, the apathetic attitude, and overall badness. I am thankful to have a husband who is patient with this, as I get on my own nerves all the time. I can only imagine how he feels some days when I come home really crabby and snappy, and stay in such a state the majority of the night without a good answer as to what's causing it.

Work is insanely busy right now. We recently rolled all of the operations of a now non-existant company into ours, taking on essentially more than 1,000 distributors overnight. The preparations for the change, in addition to my shipping responsibilities now, have been intense. And it will be intense...for quite a while. It's frustrating, because I feel like I am a good employee, and that I am trying really hard, yet I always feel like I am a few steps further back at the end of each day. I hope I grow more confident in myself, as I feel like I still have so much to learn, especially when it comes to shipping.

Jessie's mail on Tuesday was definitely a bright spot in the week. I love the cute cards, and the embellishments. That really was so thoughtful of you, Jessie, and I hope you know how much it means to me that you were thinking of me. (: I hope I do a good turn around on the generosity you have shown me!

Last night we had scuba class, which was so much fun. I admit, I was pretty anxious for the closed water session. Not having passed my mask clears last week, and just being in an anxious mood overall definitely contributed to that. I was happy with how well I did on the last quiz and final exam. But once we got in the water, I was feeling pretty nervous. I did loosen up with time, and felt much more comfortable after half an hour or so. Going into my 2nd attempt at redeeming my mask-clearing-tard status, I was a bit nervous again. But Timm, being the awesome instructor that he is, was of course really patient and encouraging towards me. And lo, after a failed attempt or two, I finally got it! Twice in a row, I was able to do all 3 clears. I was ecstatic, to say the least. And it's ridiculous, because once I got it, I had to wonder at why I struggled with it so hard before. It was so easy. Hopefully I will be able to pick it right back up when we do our open water dives. Timm, seriously - thanks for being awesome.

Tonight, I met up with my good friend and former co-worker Heather and her cousin Chels for dinner, which was great. I hadn't seen Heath in what seemed like forever, and she looks so great. Jessie and Hannah, you should see her hair - she cut it short! It's above her shoulders now, and so cute! It was so nice to hang out with her a bit. I need to do so more often.

Tomorrow is going to be another crazy busy day. Work, then I will head straight to our friend's house to begin that Mark and I Play D&D with every other week. (If you haven't caught on to the fact that I am a huge nerd by now, that just completely blew my cover). I will also be sneaking away from it for a while to make an appearance at the blog party! I am really excited for that, and truly, a little nervous. To confess, I am somewhat intimidated by my blogging friends, from those I only know "on blog," to those I know well, and see on a regular basis. You all seem like such....I dunno, "super people" is the best I can come up with right now. I just feel like the lame-o of the group. But, that is the extremely comparitive nature I have speaking. And it has been exceptionally active lately. I wish it would go away! Because truly, it will be so cool to meet more of you in person, and get to know you "behind the blog" - even though these are pretty good windows to peak through (:

Alright, this post is reaching the length and content of ridiculous. I should really get to bed anyways.

Now Playing: Spinning - Zero 7

Random weekend thoughts

2006-05-29T20:37:00.000-06:00

I got a new calling on Sunday. Turns out that my teaching the CTR 6 last week was some sort of trial run. I'm on to them. So I will now be teaching in the Primary, the CTR 6 class. I am TOTALLY open to any suggestions. I must admit, I am a little overwhelmed at the prospect. But it sounds like a lot of fun too. Jill, I see you teach Primary - please feel free to expound wisdom at any time. ;)

I went in to work for a bit this morning. Things are going to be NUTS there for the next few weeks. At this point, I can't even fathom. Let's just hope it all goes smoothly.

Mark and I went up to Salt Lake this afternoon, to walk around the Gateway. We had lunch at the DoDo, which is one of my favorite places to go. They have these delicious soups (today, it was mushroom, onion, and cheddar), and they have this sausage sandwich that is SO GOOD. I'm normally not the type to see something like a sausage sandwich on a menu, and think "Oh man, that looks good!" But this one is yummy. We walked around for a little while, got some frozen yogurt, and Mark bought this bizarro, intriguing book book called the House of Leaves. I'm definitely interested in reading it, and I will have to post pictures of it sometime. Because the layout of the text is so cool. Really, bizarre is the best word I can think of. We also went to the Virgin store, which only made me want a ton of CDs RIGHT NOW. Like another Zero 7 cd, Groove Armada, This way cool goth electro tribute to Depeche Mode, and so many more. It's ridiculous, how much I want more music. That's my purchasing weakness.

I also gave in and bought DDR MAX 2 online. I couldn't find it anywhere around here! So I am excited for it to arrive. At least I bought something that will encourage me to get off my butt.

I made a card for someone yesterday, hooray! I bought some adhesive and envelopes today at Robert's, so I hope to be a little more on the ball with making things to send out. You all inspire me.

We have diving class this Wednesday. I'm excited, but I admit, a bit nervous too. Hopefully after this next pool session I will feel much more confident in myself.

Ok, that is all my brain can expel right now. I'm off to read for Scuba!

Now Playing: All This Time Still Falling Out of Love - Erasure

brief, brief update

2006-05-26T01:58:00.000-06:00

Seriously...I am lame with updates. But I do at least try to squeeze something in as often as I can, so that is at least redeeming...right? Right??? OK, maybe not.

Tonight Mark and I went to the pool to do our first "in the water" session for Scuba. I admit, I was pretty nervous. It definitely took a little bit to get used to breathing 'canned' air. And I was definitely a scuba retard when it came to mask clears - wow. I think I subconsciously, am always breathing even the *tiniest* bit through my nose. I definitely need to work on those, but I am trying to feel confident I will get it. It was pretty clear - it will be interesting to see what next time holds. (: I was feeling more comfortable with it by the end of the night, and I hope to continue that trend. Otherwise, I might explode. Seriously.

Ok, I'm done, See? Brief. It's 2AM. I need sleep. Damn laundry.

Brief words

2006-05-24T00:28:00.000-06:00

Cause I need to get to bed. I'm afeared I may be getting back into old habits of "midnight or later is perfectly normal."

Mark started to feel a bit better today, thankfully. He tried to go in to work for about 2 hours, but ended up coming home because his stomach was still upset, and he just felt crappy still. But he managed to eat a bit, and seemed in overall better spirits when I got home. He was also able to venture out on a small journey with me, to try and find DDRMAX2. But alas! It was nowhere to be found! I guess I will have to order it online and wait for it *sigh*. I was so looking forward to playing it too.

Speaking of which, I have been rather happy with myself, as I have been much more faithful in playing DDR most nights. I'll usually play 3-4 sets of 5 songs, which easily burns 150-250 calories. I hope I can keep up with exercising, as I have been a little down on myself as of late. I am so quick to pull myself down, and compare all of my faults to others strengths. I really hate when I get into these kinds of ruts, as it is really difficult for me to pull myself out of it. It's like swimming against a strong current.

/end late night word purge

Ack! So excited.

2006-05-22T23:24:00.000-06:00

So I decided to check Billy Corgan's website to see if anything had been updated, and lo, this is what I see. "It's official, The Smashing Pumpkins are currently writing songs for their upcoming album, their first since 2000. no release date has yet been set, but the band plans to begin recording this summer." I am SO EXCITED! I figured the Smashing Pumpkins were another of those bands I unfortunately came to know and love AFTER they were no longer a band. But! Now they are putting together new material! YAY! I am so excited to see what they do.

In other depressing news, poor Mark has been sick, Sick, SICK today. He woke up this morning feeling really nauseous and extremely sick to his stomach, so he called in sick to work. I talked to him at about 1 while I was at work, and he just sounded terrible. So I came home, as he actually wanted me to take him to the doctor. At that, I knew he must have really been feeling crappy, as he is usually the kind of person to "tough it out." I took him to the InstaCare in Orem, where they proceeded to inject him with drugs and rule out the possibility of flu, citing possible food poisoning, some sort of gastro-intestinal virus, or the worst case scenario - appendicitis. Coming out of the hallway in the doctor's office, Mark looked extremely pale. I went out to pull the car around, and out comes Mark being pushed along in a wheelchair with his head in his hand by a nice male worker. He could barely stand on his own two feet. :( So I took him home, went and bought him some gatorade, and he literally spent the rest of the day resting on the sofa, until I was able to persuade him up the stairs to bed around 10 PM. I sure hope he is feeling better tomorrow :(

Couple of random thoughts

2006-05-22T00:32:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a quick, random post. Because I feel the need to post something, but haven't had a chance 'til now. And it is time for me to go to bed.

Went to my nieces' dance recital yesterday. It was so good. They both are growing up so much, and every year I see how much they have improved. They are both quite the dancers. Anna is really starting to become a graceful little girl. She looked so grown up on the stage.
I forgot to mention that on our way home from game night at Hannah and Linc's on Friday, Mark and I had a little adventure. They had a "sheriff's checkpoint(?)" set up on Geneva Road. It was kinda creepy going into it, as we started seeing these cones saying things like, "prepare to stop, checkpoint ahead," "have your driver's license ready" as well as an increasing amount of cars along the side of the road, and flashing lights. I felt slightly Twilight Zone-ish. It was kind of funny, as Mark and I were stopped, waiting for someone to come check us out, we overheard a conversation similar to the following:

Cop: I'm going to have to ticket you unless you tell me where that tequila came from.
Girl: (whiny, slightly desperate) I don't know where it came from!!! Why are you going to ticket me??
Cop: Because it is an open container.

Needless to say, Mark and I got through just fine.
Yesterday was Bella's birthday (Jessie's little girl). For the whole 10 minutes of the party Mark and I were able to be there for, it was lots of fun. What a cutie. I was bummed that we missed Linc and Hannah (sorry guys, we ended up having to leave a little earlier than planned for the dance recital), but I did get to meet Jessie's sister Michelle briefly, which was nice (:
Talked to my cousin Becky for a little bit today. She has a new boyfriend, and I am excited for her. It sounds like he is a good guy, and this is probably her longest standing 'exclusive' relationship thus far. I hope things work out for the two of them.
I have been eating WAY too much crap lately. I really wish I had better self control when it comes to food. It doesn't help that I have this obsessive-compulsive habit of weighing myself at least twice a day. And I make the mistake of also doing it at night. I really need to consider taking Jessie's advice and only doing it once a week and stop being a freak about it. Because...the scale has been an enemy recently.

Alright, I'm sure there is more stored up in my brain, but I've got to end the stream for now. As I need to get to sleep, so I am not a complete zombie at work tomorrow. Ah, how I sometimes miss the days of functioning on <5 hours of sleep a night.

Campout

2006-05-20T10:16:00.000-06:00

It has been a busy week. First, a random recap of what I can remember:

- My work is currently acquiring another company, which, hopefully when it is all a finished deal, will be a huge boost to our Representative base. It also means that things around the office are getting increasingly crazy, so that should be fun to look forward to.
- Book Club was on Wednesday, and it was so much fun! I felt like I hadn't been in forever, and I remembered that I had to miss April's, which definitely added to that feeling of "forever-ness." It was at my place, so I was in charge of dinner as well. For those of you who don't know this about me, I am incredibly domestically UNinclined. It is something I am rather embarrassed about, and I really do want to be better. I just get really frustrated. So cooking a meal for all of my wonderful, extremely talented Book Club friends was I'll admit, pretty intimidating for me. The hardest part for me is timing, and when Jessie and Hannah showed up, I was uh, fairly frazzled because the timing wasn't going well. Thankfully, they were both willing to help me out, which I really appreciated (: It was so much fun seeing the girls again, and having a good chat, and talk about the book. Afterwards, we hooked up DDR for a while because Rachelle had never seen it. It's always fun to play DDR.

That is all my brain is recollecting for now. See, another reason I need to blog on a regular basis - I record things before they are lost to the labryinth in my head. Yesterday, Mark and I went to a few more Parade of Homes homes. "House #18" was absolutely GORGEOUS. Mark and I both fell in love with it, and rue the fact that such a house is only in our dreams. Afterwards, we drove up to Hannah and Linc's house for Game night. It was just myself, Mark, Timm, and Linc as Jessie was busy with Bella birthday preparations, and Hannah unfortunately had to work. But it was fun nonetheless, and I got to play a lot of DDR. They recently got DDRMAX2, and I really liked that mix a lot. Mark and I want to get it. We stayed there until around 11, then headed home for our living room "campout." Do not be deceived by Mark's sleepy appearance in the picture - we had only just begun when I took the picture. Mark played Kingdom Hearts 2 for a little while, until he got frustrated with it. We then watched a few episodes of the simpsons, and fell asleep. I love when we have these little campouts - it's a simple, fun way to do something out of the ordinary together (:

Ok, I've probably bored you all to tears with this everyday minutiae post. Hopefully I will be better about blogging this upcoming week.

Time flies

2006-05-19T12:51:00.000-06:00

Wow, have I been a bad blogger this week. For that, I apologize. This is just a quick note to let you all know that I am not dead. I have just had a busy week, and will do a better post later. I am so bummed I didn't take pictures at Book Club on Wednesday - I always think of these things afterwards! So I will have to make due later with some other random photos.

Anyways, bigger update coming later! I'm at work , so I can't exactly put a lot of thought into an entry right now...

Now Playing: Reign - U.N.K.L.E.

Garden State

2006-05-15T21:06:00.000-06:00

Mark and I finally watched Garden State, which we had had since earlier on in April from Netflix. With all the graduation stuff and family being over and such, we just didn't have time to watch movies. But I must say, I loved this movie. A rather quirky story, but so fun and sincere in a lot of ways. Natalie Portman was so cute in this show. Loved it, loved it, loved it. We also watched Willow last night. Talk about a blast back to childhood - I hadn't seen it in YEARS. Also enjoyed watching that one again - in all of its cheesy, but lovable glory.

This weekend was so nice, because I got to relax. A lot. It felt so good to not have any pressing responsibilities. I talked to my mom on Mother's Day (she liked the card (: ) - I wish I could have been there with her. Mark's mom is actually in Las Vegas, so I hope she is having lots of fun (:

This evening I went grocery shopping Book Club dinner. I'm excited! I hope everything turns out alright - everything I am making I haven't made before. Which doesn't say much, because my culinary expertise is slim to none. But it will be so much fun, it feels like it has been such a long time since I have been at Book Club!

Good Mail (:

2006-05-13T14:51:00.000-06:00

Yay! Thanks so much to Jessie for this cute card and letter 'R' as a "beginning to a scrap stash." She wrote me the nicest note, and I think the 'R' is so cute! Good mail definitely is a great thing - it's amazing how a little something like this lifts your spirits. I'm excited to get started (:

Mark and I also get to spend some quality time with Jessie and Timm's cats the next few days. Whenever they go out of town, Mark and I "catsit", and stop by there to make sure they have everything they need and check in on them. Seriously - we really enjoy doing it, as we both adore the cats. So no worries there Jessie ;)

Today has been a pretty lazy Saturday so far. My sister Chrissy took off for home this morning - it's always nice to have her here for a visit. It seems like everyone is on their way to Colorado - Jessie and Timm, my sister, Mark's friend Jason. I'm jealous! I hope we get to go for a visit sometime soon. Colorado still feels like a home to me.

My brothers-in-law have also been over here getting things up and running with our swamp cooler. My sister is our landlord, which is why they would be up to the task ;) I really appreciate them doing it though. I wouldn't have the slightest idea as to what to do - that must be one of those things you learn when you have your own property.

Alright, I suppose that is it for now. Off to laze for a little while longer!

Now Playing: Lonely Soul - U.N.K.L.E.

Opinions needed

2006-05-11T23:08:00.000-06:00

Alright, so while my sister and I were looking for Mother's Day cards today, I thought to myself, "why don't I just make one with the fun stuff I got from Jessie today?" And that is what I did.

Now, please keep in mind I am very much an amateur when it comes to the creative dept. I would really appreciate some constructive feedback - please feel free to criticize, or point out good things - I am in need of both. (By the way, I apologize for the bottom of the card looking crappy - it was a weird angle, bad lighting, and the card wasn't completely "flush" in it's closure.) I really had fun making the card, and I hope my mom likes it a lot too (: But I know I definitely have room to approve, and would appreciate any comments, tips, ideas, etc. for future projects. I'll be making another card soon for my first "good mail"ing.

Today has been a pretty good day. Work went well, my sister and I got to spend some time together this evening, and met up with our friend Kathy at "Pudding on the Rice." Delicious, by the way - if you like rice pudding at all, give it a try. They have lots of flavors! Jessie, Bella, and Timm stopped by to bring me the supplies I bought, and I got to make a card. I found myself having fun coming up with an idea and working it out with the card - that must be how all of you creative people feel (: The only downside is that Mark is sick with a nasty cold, and was feeling pretty out of it all night. I hope he gets feeling better soon!

New Skills

2006-05-09T23:03:00.000-06:00

The title is actually not in reference to the picture. Though I do hope my skills at DDR continue to improve. I need to play it more often...

At work the past 2 days, I have been working on some Powerpoint presentations for our Reps, doing step by step guides teaching them basic things, like signing up a new customer, or placing an order. It's been fun, and I appreciate the chance to play around with Powerpoint a little more. It's fun to be working on something a little more productive and useful, and I hope more of these kinds of projects continue my way.

Tonight Mark and I watched our nieces and nephews for a little while. We played PayDay with the girls, which was fun. It's a simple enough game so they can understand it, while still being fun for us "big" kids.

My "Now Playing" has been suffering as of late, as I haven't had music on the past several times I have made a post. I need to get that going again. If nothing else, turn on iTunes and post the first random song to come up. Sharing music is one of those things I love to do.

Alright, I'm off to DDR it up. I am in serious need of exercise. The huge pan of brownies one of our Reps brought by today that I kept snacking on definitely doesn't help.

/end random post

Old Friends

2006-05-08T23:09:00.000-06:00

So I have just been perusing the website of an old high school friend of mine, Annaleigh Ashford. She is currently in the touring production of Wicked!, as part of the ensemble, and as the understudy for Glinda.

I'm really excited for her, and for how far she has already come. In high school, we all knew that she would succeed, and I am sure she will only continue to do so as she is seen more and more.

Annaleigh has always been such a nice, genuine, hilarious person. I loved to be around her, and am grateful for the chance I had to perform with her both in a choir setting, and on 'stage' in 2 of my high school musicals. She was a good friend, and I wish I had kept in better touch with her these past years - though it is doubtless she has kept extremely busy (: Best of luck to her on her road to success!

Not a whole lot to say

2006-05-08T22:13:00.000-06:00

I need to get back into taking pictures on a more regular basis. Cause...I feel like I am using the recent Thanksgiving Point trip as a back up a little too much. ;)

Not a whole lot going on...one of those "inconsequential" posts, as Jessie would call it. Last night, Mark, Chrissy and I watched The Bourne Supremacy. Those movies are a whole lot of fun. I really enjoyed it, and I want to pick both of them up sometime.

Today, back to work. It was a decent day, kind of slow. I had fun creating a powerpoint for some "step by step" guides we are going to put out for the Reps, to help them with the basics. Other than that, it's been...well, a pretty average day. Went to Quizno's with Chrissy, and I played Sonic Mega Collection. Mark joined me for a little while. I really like how both he and I are kinda huge nerds - we have a lot of fun just playing a video game together.

I am thinking I want to start in with good mail here in the near future - I have a couple of ideas, really basic ones. I'll have to go assess my meager on hand things I can send, and see where I can go from there (: