a paige is born.

Pregnant Skeleton

2011-10-30T09:25:00.001-07:00

In case there is any pregnant ladies out there looking for a last-minute costume, I thought I would share what I put together last night: a pregnant skeleton!

It was super easy, though a little time consuming. I bought some full-sheet label/sticky paper and drew all the bones I needed. The baby itself was a little tricky, but I found a picture on a mug that I thought looked good and just copied it freehand. Then, I just cut out the bones and sticked them to black clothes that I already had.

Just a few tips:

I used scissors, which is what took most of the time (especially for the small baby bones and cut outs), but I bet if you had an exacto knife or some sort of scrapbooking thing, this would go a lot quicker.

If you can, try to find sticky paper with lots of perforation on the back. And, when you are drawing your pieces, try to position them over the perforation so you don't go crazy trying to peel the backing off.

Draw your bones on the back side of the sticky paper so that your pen/pencil marks don't show if you're not a perfect scissorist. And, don't forget that the picture will be reversed when you're drawing on the back side.

Pregnancy and Drugs

2011-09-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

When I first found out that I was pregnant, I begrudgingly gave up almost all medications and drinking. I thought giving up these things would be mostly annoying, but doable. In the end, I found that being almost completely "drug free" for six months has really taught me a lot!

First of all, I learned that headaches go away. (Editor's note: I'm talking normal headaches--I don't know anything about migraines or other severe headaches.) I used to pop a pain pill anytime I had a headache, but since that's mostly a no-no during pregnancy, I started trying other solutions first. When I felt a headache coming on, I would make sure I was hydrated and not hungry, go out into the sun if I had been inside all day, take a nap, and--if I still had a headache--take a pain pill. By the time I got to taking a nap, the headache was always gone.

Another pill that I took without really thinking was allergy medication. Granted, this isn't like the pain medication that I found out was basically unnecessary. I need allergy medication. I went through a half a box of tissues every single day in the spring this year and had to put myself on mute for conference calls because I was sneezing so much. It was a pretty intense allergy season. BUT the interesting thing I learned about my allergies is that they go away in the summer! Who knew? I never had a clue because I would just start taking medication in the spring and quit in the fall. Next year, I will definitely take my allergy medication again, but I will lay off it in the summer and only start up again for a little bit in the fall.

And, finally, drinking. I thought the worst part of not drinking would be feeling "left out" at parties, concerts, or other social situations, when really, I've almost had more fun in these situations since being pregnant because I don't hit that drunk/tired wall halfway through the night. This summer, I was energized enough to stay late after a concert to get an autograph, which I never do. And, we stayed through an entire Bee's game. Turns out, it's more interesting when you're not tipsy by the 5th inning. Surprisingly, the thing I miss the most is a simple glass of wine at dinner or a "happy hour" beer with the family.

I'm not convinced that I should live this way all the time, even after the baby is born, but it has been an educational experiment. And much more positive than I would have assumed!

Utah Birth Center

2011-08-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

If you're interested, here is a cool interview with one of the midwives from the birth center that we're going to:

http://www.abc4.com/content/about_4/gtu/featured_on/story/Other-Birthing-Options/fWyixWdkfUO9Nq5dYJjg2A.cspx

On being spoiled...

2011-06-27T10:25:00.001-07:00

I had an awful week last week, ending with the worst Thursday ever. Sometimes work is truly work. BUT! I'm not going to complain about it for one more second, because the terrible week was followed by an amazing weekend!

My wonderful bosses felt my pain and gave me Friday off. (I already had 43+ hours by Thursday, so it made sense to not put anymore time in for the week, anyway.) I took full advantage of my day off and was spoiled by everyone around me:

Dana and I went up to my parents' house in the morning to borrow their trailer and my mom made us breakfast. First free meal - check!
Then, we used the trailer to go buy a new rocker/recliner from ShopKo that was on sale. It is amazing and the first official item bought for the new baby room.
Dana had to work for a client in the afternoon, so my mom picked me up and took me and Topher out to lunch. Second free meal - check!
My mom and I went to the mall and I spoiled myself with a new haircut.
Because she is amazing, my mom continued the spoiling and got us both mani/pedis.
When Dana got home, he decided that we need to go out since I was all dolled up, so we went downtown to the Arts Festival. We ran into some friends and also got some amazing food at Bayleaf Cafe.

What a Friday! We spent all Saturday cleaning the house and yard to get ready for a party, but all the hard work on Saturday meant a very lazy Sunday, so all-in-all it was basically the best weekend ever.

The Beauty of Staycations

2011-05-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

I was convinced we'd stay home this Memorial Day weekend because the Old 97's were coming in concert, but when it actually got here, I got nervous that we should have gone to Palm Springs with my parents or down to Scandanavian days in Ephraim for more of a real vacation.

However! We had a lovely Friday night in and got so much work done in our yard Saturday. We finished our new front bed and mulched it before it started to rain.

We convinced Ben to go to the Old 97's concert with us. It started off a little rocky with waiting in the rain and a slow opening band, but then our boys came on and they were so amazing! Every time I see them, I feel guilty for not pestering every friend I have into going to the show because it's such a wonderful, entertaining experience. Even Ben loved the show, and he has hardly listened to them before that night.

During the show, Rhett said that he would go to the merch table after the concert. I was debating on getting a shirt anyway, so we went for it and bought one. Rhett was no where to be seen, so we just waited around. Ken, the lead guitarist, came out and Dana said I should get his signature. I wasn't all that interested, but he said it looked easy (and we weren't doing anything else), so he took the shirt and weasled his way up to the front. Some girl was talking Ken's ear off, so Dana couldn't get him to sign my shirt. But then! Rhett showed up and walked to right where Dana was standing with my shirt! The same girl immediately started talking to Rhett, but after a little while, Dana got my shirt in there and got a signature. Yay!

Look! He loves me, he really loves me! (I mean Dana, of course. Even though that heart looks pretty sincere, Rhett.)

So, needless to say, I was very glad that we stayed home this weekend. What an absolutely perfect staycation.

Belated Mother's Day Review

2011-05-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

I know Mother's Day was a few weeks ago, but I just downloaded this cute picture from our adventure day on Mother's Day and I wanted to share it. We spent the day together and went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It wasn't that great, but it was great to spend the day with my wonderful mom.

Thanks for everything, Mommo!

bunny buddies.

2011-05-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Our feline friend hasn't been coming around as much anymore, but we have even newer pets: bunnies! And by "we," I mean Dana. He couldn't stand the thought of his co-worker sending them to the humane society, so he adopted them. They are a bit more... wild than we had expected, but they sure are cute.
Notice that we only have pictures of us holding the gray one. The black one gets pretty crazy when you try to pick him up, so I avoid it at all costs.

Thank You, Savings Account

2011-05-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

As usual, I've slacked off on the blogging and it's not because my life is less eventful. Instead, it's because a lot of things have been happening, and only a small fraction of them have been good things.

Less than a month ago, we made the decision to take money out of our savings to make a big purchase. A big, $4000 purchase, to be exact. That's what savings is for, right? You save up and then buy something you want.

Wrong.

Savings is for what happened last week. On Sunday, Dana drove the car to work. He even drove it home. But 15 minutes after he got home, we hopped back in and it wouldn't start. It sat sadly in our driveway for two days until we grudgingly hauled it to the mechanic (after checking obvious things like the battery and if it was or was not on fire). He said it was a burnt-out fuel pump and would cost $910. Ouch.

Not two days later, Dana smelled natural gas in our basement. He put some soapy water on a flexy pipe to our water heater and found a leak. We found a new pipe at Home Depot, but Dana spent at least two hours trying to get the old hose off and driving back and forth from Home Depot to get new converters and parts. After all that work, he still smelled the gas. In fact, removing all the old pipe seemed to strip the coils in the water heater and made it impossible to make a tight seal.

So, to make this long story a little shorter, we ended up having to get a new water heater, too. Add $595 to the total taken out of Savings this month. (If you're doing your math, we're up to just over $5500.)

Ugh! What a blow.

The best news of this post, though, is that we were able to do it! I've never been so thankful that we have a Savings account that we can depend on and even when we do make big purchases, we leave a little extra to make sure we're not up a certain creek without a paddle when certain stuff hits the fan. And, now that we have a new water heater and a working car, we can go back to normal life and at least know that those two things are covered for the next year while we start building our savings back up. Silver lining, anyone?

feline friend.

2011-04-11T08:49:00.001-07:00

We've got a new pet! Well, not really. But there is a new cat in the neighborhood that visits our backyard regularly, and I've named him Oscar. I love him for three reasons:

He is beautiful.

I'm hoping that he's scaring away the rats that used to live in our backyard.

I don't have to feed or clean up after him.

I tried to go out there one day and pet him, but no luck. I'm only allowed to admire him from afar.

Unfortunately, it seems that he likes to chase away our birds as much as (I'm hoping) he likes to chase away rats. He's a pretty smart fella. He goes right to the source:

Pet Peeve #11

2011-04-11T08:40:00.001-07:00

11. Being forwarded an email that I was copied on in the first place.

I don't understand this at all, and it happens to me all the time. I'll get an email from a client and see that it was sent to two or three other people I'm working with. Then, an hour later, those same people will forward me the email. How hard is it to look and see who was copied on the email in the first place?

Lent and Why I Love Not Having Choices

2011-03-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't done anything for Lent in a long time, but this year, Dana and I decided to give up eating out. Regardless of your beliefs or what Lent means to you, I think it is good practice in discipline to give something up for 40 days (or 46 days, if you're counting the Sundays).

It has been two weeks now, and I have been loving it! I'm so surprised. I think the thing I like the most is just not having the option to eat out. We almost always eat out on weekends, and it ends up being a lot of decision making: Should we eat out for breakfast on Saturday, or should we wait and see if we'd rather eat out for lunch or dinner? Should we plan a meal for Friday night or wait and see if some of our friends want to go out to eat? Should we eat out to celebrate something, or make a fancy dinner at home? Stay home! Decision made!

Another thing we've been guilty of time and again is making a great meal at home, saving the leftovers, and then forgetting about them the next day and eating out. Then we have leftovers from the restaurant, and by the time we remember the original leftovers, they've gone bad. By not going out to eat, we've been eating those leftovers sooner and saving money on not getting a completely new meal--from a restaurant or from the grocery store.

Anyway, I'm sure all of this sounds pretty obvious, but it took actually doing it for me to learn the lesson. How long do they say you have to do something to make it a habit? Hopefully after Easter, we'll be so used to eating at home that we won't even think about eating out unless it's truly a special occasion or we're invited by other people.

Happy Patty and Year Three

2011-03-17T07:46:00.001-07:00

It's St. Patrick's Day, which also means that it's my anniversary date at work. Three years ago today, I had my first day of work that consisted of filling out paperwork, proofreading an eLearning course for an insurance company, and drinking beer in the office. An odd first day, but it was definitely meant to be.

Today, I'm working from home, wearing green even though no one will see me, managing multiple projects, and drinking Throat Coat to soothe my sore throat. Not nearly as exciting, but I'll take it.

What a Little Paint Can Do for the Loo

2011-03-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

While Dana was off from work, I convinced him that we needed to paint and redo the bathroom. He did the bulk of the work and even dealt with my constant instructions on how to get clean lines. Here's how it ended up:
I know the blue is a little "standard," but the orange in the shower is pretty fun, right? We also painted the cupboards that color.

Our artwork from Hood River also looks a lot neater on the blue than it did on the white.
We had already replaced the brass handles on the cupboards with brushed silver ones, but then we painted the orangey wood with... well... orangey paint.
I'm not sure if I'm sold on the painted wood yet. It looks more yellow than orange, and it just seems a little boring. Or cheap. I'm wondering if I could "distress" it by sanding and staining it, but I don't want it to look too crazy. And would it be weird if the wood was antiqued, but the knobs and handles were still modern looking?

Also, I'm not a fan of that faucet at all, but that will have to wait for another time. (And maybe at that time we can replace the sink itself, too.)
But overall, I'm really happy! It looks a lot better than the stark white walls and old wood. Now, if I could just figure out or decide what to do with that painted wood... What do you think I should do?

Get bent, Taxman!

2011-02-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

We did the unthinkable this year: we paid someone to do our taxes.

I'm a pretty organized and good with numbers, so taxes don't usually scare me. I never would have considered using an accountant in the past. But, this year, I was getting nervous just gathering all the documents we needed for taxes. We had a new house, multiple home energy credits, deductions for working from home, contributions, and a new IRA. Instead of even attempting it, we packed up all these things and headed right to my parents' accountant. He put things in order and promised to have it done soon.

We got the invoice today and my jaw dropped when I saw how much we owed him. Fortunately, my jaw dropped even lower when I saw our return and how much money we'd be getting back this year. Woo hoo!

Unlike some years when I felt like we were just getting money back that was ours in the first place, the return this year feels like free money. Getting money for interest on our mortgage and appliances we would have bought anyway sounds like a good deal to me. We can put it right back into the house, and have a lovely little money cycle.

Anyway, I don't think we'll be using a taxman in the future. It worked well this year, but now that he's figured out all our deductions, I think I can just copycat him in the future. (Or at least I hope I can.)

Crabby about Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T18:13:00.001-08:00

Psych!

I had a wonderful Valentine's Day! The only thing that made it crabby was the king crab legs that we cooked at home.
Every year, we cook our own dinner for Valentine's Day so that we don't have to deal with the crowds and unabashed PDA at every restaurant around town. This year, in addition to the crab, we had buttery garlic shrimp, mashed Yukon gold potatoes, asparagus, and homemade rolls. It. Was. Amazing.

Also keeping with tradition, we opened a special bottle of wine. This year it was Quenett's Redd Wine, which we picked up in Hood River for our one-year anniversary last year. It was pretty tasty, but nothing to write home about.

Everything was so delicious and so messy. After our first few picks at the crab and buttery shrimp with our fingers, we soon discarded our forks and ate everything with our hands. Yes, even the mashed potatoes. Did I say that we don't go out because of the crowds? It could also possibly be the fact that we'd have to use utensils at a restaurant.

Dying My Wedding Dress

2011-02-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

Just typing the title to this blog I could hear all of you gasp. But, trust me, it's okay.

Inspired long ago by Young House Love, I've wanted to dye my dress for quite a while now. When the cruise came along and gave me a reason to wear a fancy dress, I decided it was time and kicked the dying process into high gear. The couple of weeks that followed were filled with a fun mix of high hopes and major disappointments.

Before we get too far, though, I have to admit that I did not do it alone and give credit where credit is due. My dress was floor length, and I knew I would never wear a long dress in any color. I'm lucky enough to have a very talented seamstress for a mom. She told me repeatedly how scared she was to work with the material on my dress, but I forced her to cut it and hem it short anyway. We didn't realize that the three different layers of fabric were sometimes sewn together at seams and sometimes not, so I was asking her for way more than I had thought. But she is a pro and not only hemmed it up, but also took in the sides to make me a nice, slimmer and shorter version of my dress.

The benefit of cutting a long dress short is that I had some extra material to play with. I used some left-over Rit dye to practice on a few samples. I measured them before and after to make sure that the hot water wouldn't shrink my "dry clean only" fabrics. I tried purple, which turned out too pale, and orange, which turned out awesome, but a little too intense for my taste in fancy clothing.

The colors didn't really matter, though. The purpose of the test dying was to see if it would even work. And it did! The fabric didn't shrink and each piece (or layer) was a consistent color.

With that confirmation, I took a deep breathe and put my dress into a tub of hot, dark teal water. And here's what I got:

Gorgeous, right? Wrong.

The teal color was noticeably darker under the arms and made some weird stains on the skirt. Thinking that the teal was just not dark enough, I went to the store and bought MORE dye--this time in black. I figured that black would cover everything. Wrong again. The black dye turned the dress a pretty grayish blue color, but the exact same stains remained.

Confession time.

Those stains were there before I started dying. I thought that it would be silly to get my dress cleaned before possibly ruining it with dye, but it turns out that the dye reacted differently to those areas that were not clean. Doh!

We considered many options (hemming it up to be a mini-skirt, turning it into a shirt, embroidering over the stains, etc.), but decided on the funky decision of sewing on new beading around the stains.

So, here it is... what you've all been waiting for... Before and After!

Not too bad, right? If nothing else, at least I wore my dress twice instead of once.

So, really, there are three morals here:

Clean your dress before dying it.
Take some risks.
Never give up.

New blog design

2011-02-09T09:58:00.001-08:00

I don't know if I like it yet, but at least it's better than being *under construction*.

Cruise Highlights and Lowlights

2011-02-07T19:36:00.001-08:00

Well, we made it back safe and sound, and overall we had a great time. Here are the ups and downs of the trip.

Highlights

Seeing our extended family that live far away
Spending lots of time with my two favorite boys and roommates for the week
Making never-ending movie and t.v. references with cousin Jenna
Acting classy
Getting professional pictures taken and not buying them
Spending time with Grandma on her 80th birthday
Hiking unexpectedly in Catalina
Eating soft-serve frozen yogurt for every meal
Mini-golfing
Singing Karaoke
Seeing whale blow holes
Going on a Mexico tour
Making fun of our Mexico tour guide
Drinking with our Mexico tour guide
Getting off the boat alive
Finally seeing sun in Palm Springs

Lowlights

Feeling every wave that passed under our boat
Wearing rain jackets instead of tank tops and swim suits
Watching a man have a seizure and almost die
Being subjected to a Western-themed "musical"
Planning too much and not experiencing more
Drinking TOO much with our Mexico tour guide
Acting less than classy
Moving almost non-stop for a straight week

I'm glad we did it, but it might have been enough cruising fun for a lifetime.

Coupons and Other Meaningful But Easy Gifts

2011-01-31T08:47:00.000-08:00

I think people stress out when they hear "homemade Christmas," but sometimes the best homemade gifts are as simple as a good coupon. Here are some examples from our party:

Dad gave Mom many coupons for free back massages (or "messages" as he wrote on some of the coupons)
Jeanne gave us each a few coupons for homemade dinners
Dad gave each of us a coupon for a complete car detail
Dad (he's good at this coupon thing) gave us a coupon for help designing and installing a sprinkler system

This isn't a coupon, but it's meaningful and free. Dana wrote a poem just for me. It didn't cost him anything, but he put a lot of work into it and I'll keep it forever. Way better than anything store-bought.

And that's it! I don't know if we'll do the homemade Christmas idea again, but each of these gifts were really great, and a lot of them I wouldn't mind getting every single year. So why not? It could be a new tradition.

Miscellaneous Crafts

2011-01-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of other random crafts that we gave/were given:

Jeanne gave a craft set of stamped paper to Mom
Mom gave us wool balls (for the clothes dryer) and homemade detergent
Mom also made us golf score counters

I made Mom mittens out of felted wool sweaters (with lots of help from Jenny!)

Mom also made me an apron and kitchen-y things

Felted Hand-Warmers and Other Yarn Gifts

2011-01-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

My mom had the busy needles this year, creating lots of knitted gifts.

She made me these felted hand warmers to wear while I work. (Yes, Dana does keep the house that cold that I need to wear fingerless gloves while I type.)
She also made hats and scarves for all the boys, which you've probably noticed them wearing in a lot of the other posts.

I kinda cheated and re-gifted this sweater to Topher. I made it for him a few years ago, but the neck was too tight. At the time, I didn't feel confident taking it out and doing it again, so I just kept it in my closet. I finally took the time to re-do it and gave it to him a second time!

(He is also wearing the fleece hat and gauntlets that Mom made for him to keep warm while also looking like Batman.)

Victory!

2011-01-29T07:22:00.000-08:00

I won the bet!

AND I completed boot camp. One other girl and I were the only ones who made it every single day for the four weeks. I guess it worked, because I won the bet with my folks.

It was extremely close. The deal was that Dad had to lose 1.5 lbs for every 1 lbs my mom and I lost. He ended up at 10.3, Mom at 7.8, and me at 8! It was so close, in fact, that if we had established the rules any differently, each person had the opportunity to win! Dad would have won if he didn't have his handicap, and Mom would have won if we had done it by percentage of weight lose (the advantage of being short).

Anyway, we're all pretty happy with ourselves, but I'm sure I'm the most pleased. I guess I could probably buy them dinner on the trip. And every other meal, for that matter.

Foody Treats

2011-01-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

There were quite a few food treats given on Christmas, but they were all very unique and fun.

My mom made a few of us never-ending vanilla extract. She had to order the vanilla beans, but all she had to do was add whiskey and let it sit. Then, when it runs out (if it ever runs out!), we can just add more whiskey and the vanilla beans will still flavor it. Cool, huh?

My aunt is a great cook, so she made us all sorts of treats:

Chocolate, mint chocolate, and peanut butter covered pretzels
Frozen cookie dough shaped into logs so you can just cut and bake
Homemade caramels
A "packaged" meal that included a recipe and all the ingredients to make that meal
Jalapeno jelly

Including drinks with "Foody Treats," Dana made homemade wine for everyone to enjoy on Christmas! He had plum wine and apple cider. The majority of us liked the plum more, but they were both pretty good for a first attempt. (He's since tried many more wines. I guess he should have been a scientist. Or a vintner.)

Here is Mom enjoying the homemade wine. Isn't it a pretty color? He'll have to try the plum wine again this next year.

CD with Original Songs

2011-01-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

This was probably the best gift of all, and I certainly can't claim credit for it.

Topher literally wrote a song for each of us, and then recorded himself playing the songs and compiled them onto a CD for us. He also wrote a nice note in the front about what inspired each song, and I dare you to read it outloud without crying, because I couldn't do it.

He probably has some sort of fancy software to record these, but if you have the capability, you should do this as a gift. It's a wonderful thing to receive.

Chalkboard Speech Bubble

2011-01-26T08:43:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a picture of this gift, but it was totally cool and easy, so I wanted to share the idea.

My brother's girlfriend and her little boy spent Christmas with us since her family lives in Alaska. (By the way, having a little kid at Christmas is awesome. He was so excited about every single gift.) We wanted to make a gift that they would both like, so we made chalkboard speech bubbles.

It was as easy as cutting out pieces of cardboard in the shape of speech and thought bubbles and covering them with chalkboard paint. Let them dry, and voila! You can write things on them like, "Thank you!" or "I'm five!" and take a picture with the speech bubble by your head. (You would have thought that it would be the perfect opportunity for pictures, but a little boy + chalkboard just means scribbling, so I guess we just forgot to capture it.)

Desktop Calendar

2011-01-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know if my dad was all that thrilled with this gift, but I decided to include it on here anyway. Someone else might love the gift of a calendar/almost scrapbook.

To make it, I used the cardboard from a new set of sheets to create the base, and created the months in Word with pictures on each month. No purchases necessary!

Homemade Paper

2011-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

My aunt is a scrapbooker and card-maker, so Dana and I made paper from scratch for her to use in her crafts. There are a lot of how-tos out there, and they are all pretty much the same. We used scrap paper and red tissue paper to make the pink color, and we might have thrown in some dried leaves and cardboard. Some of the tutorials said to trim the edges, but I like the rough look.

Moccasins Kit

2011-01-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

This gift wasn't completely homemade, but it did require some assembly. I got the moccasins kit from Tandy Leather, but they also have them at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. It comes with everything you need, and really it's not much harder than lacing a shoe. Dana loves them, so I'd say it was homemade enough.

And they fit!

Decoupaged Clock

2011-01-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

We are a family that loves Mod Podge, so there were a couple different decoupaged gifts at Christmas.

Dana and I made Topher a clock that had his favorite bible verse on it: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life..." Get it? It talks about hours and we put it on a clock! In case it wasn't obvious enough, we put "one hour" and "one minute" on the hands. We also put a picture of a raven and lilies to help remind him to consider them, even though we didn't include that part of the verse.

The clock hardware came from Michael's, and the piece of wood came from an old desk that we sawed into pieces.

Mom made Topher a T.V. tray with old pictures on it.

And she made all of us tissue covers with pictures of us on them.

DVD Home Movies

2011-01-21T10:38:00.000-08:00

This was actually the most time consuming and frustrating gift that I put together, and the final product is a little less than thrilling in this picture, but I took a whole box of VHS home movies and put them onto 12 DVDs.

I had to buy a converter, and it really didn't work great. But I figured it out. It took hours upon hours and many mistake DVDs, but I finally got them all recorded, organized, (some silent ones put to music,) and burned. Whew.

I'm not sure if I would suggest this for anyone else. It is nice that we can get rid of all the VHSs, but as a gift... it was a little much. If you are going to do it for someone else, start now for next Christmas.

Boot Camp Week 3

2011-01-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that I survived another week. I made it to Boot Camp every day, but I wasn't really watching my diet, so I only lost a pound. Oh well. Next week I'll lose 3 and be fully prepared to don my swimsuit in California/Mexico.

Homemade Christmas

2011-01-20T10:29:00.001-08:00

I know, it's a little late to be talking about Christmas, but I wanted to share the outcome of our homemade Christmas. There were SO many lovely gifts, and I wanted to tell about each one and how we did them, so I've decided to split this up into many posts. (I don't know about you, but I'd rather read a short post once and a while than one freakin' long one.)

So, here is a general list of everything we did. Check back to see pictures and find out how we did them!

DVD Home Movies
Decoupaged Clock
Moccasins Kit
Homemade Paper
Desktop Calendar
Chalkboard Speech Bubbles
CD with Original Songs
Foody Treats
Felted Hand-Warmers and Other Yarn Gifts
Miscellaneous Crafts
Coupons and Other Meaningful But Easy Gifts

LivingSocial Deals

2011-01-19T11:08:00.001-08:00

Remember how I told you that my mom and I got that boot camp deal for $25 and it should have been $299? It was a deal from LivingSocial, and I'm pretty sure anyone who isn't doing this is missing out. Which is why I'm going to be a sales person and tell you all to go check it out: LivingSocial Deals.

You put in your email and your city and they will send you a daily deal for your area. It may seem a little spam-y, but one email a day isn't too bad and it's totally worth it because so many of them are such good deals. They have a different spa/gym/boot camp one almost every week, so if you are paying for a normal gym membership, you're probably wasting your money.

Dana and I also used LivingSocial to get tickets to 3 operas for only $20 (as in $40 for the both of us to go to 3 operas). Not too bad. Plus, it made us "Symphony Members," so we can get discounts to the symphony, too.

Today is a $20 Amazon gift card for $10. It never expires, so I can't imagine how I won't use that. If you ever think you'll get something from Amazon, it's absolutely worth it.

Okay, spiel over.

Week 2 - Still Alive

2011-01-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

Victories this week in boot camp:

Made it there every day (might seem like a small victory, but our class is half the size it was in week 1)
Jumped rope for more 15 minutes
Did more than 120 lunges in one class
Did 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 250 squats in less than an hour
Went the whole week without walking like a zombie (as in, I wasn't nearly as sore this week as I was last week)
Lost 2 more pounds!

Heat Nazi

2011-01-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

I always make fun of Dana for keeping the house so cold. Here's a little insight to our life, from this morning:

D: It must be cold out there, the heater keeps coming on.

P: Well, I turned it up this morning when I was getting ready.

D: Oh, you did?

P: Yeah, but I turned it back down when I left for boot camp.

D: It was still coming on every 3 minutes.

P: I turned it down to 65.

D: DOWN to 65?

P: Yeah, what was it at before?

D: 62.

P: Oh, sorry. I turned it up to 70...

D: 70?! Our thermostat doesn't go that high.

P: It goes to 85 or something.

D: Not in this house.

Boot Camp Week 1

2011-01-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

I survived!

My mom and I signed up to do this boot camp through a LivingSocial deal. It's normally $300, and we got it for $20. It's five days a week, for 4 weeks. We both thought it would be a great idea. Not only is it the start of a new year (weight loss resolutions, anyone?), but it also ends right before our cruise! I might still be glowing white, but at least I won't have love-handles (hopefully).

Well, the first week was insane, but I lived the tale to tell about it. I've never done so many lunges and squats in one week's time in my life (including those weeks with Beth, Nicole!). And I can barely walk, but I've lost 3 pounds already! Which is awesome, because my dad decided that we needed to turn this into a bet again. So, the more I lose the closer I am to having some extra spending money for the cruise.

And, don't tell anyone, but I have an unfair advantage because Dana is still off work, and I've made him into my personal chef (a.k.a. slave). He's made me a healthy glass of apple/carrot juice every day after my workout, and he's been cooking very healthy meals all throughout the day. What a guy! His reward will be a skinny, sexy wife.

I'll post again next week. We'll see if I'm still chipper about this whole idea by then.

Day 19 - Hopes, Dreams, and Plans for the Next 365 Days

2010-12-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

Did you like how I planned that out so that this post would be on New Year's Eve? I did. I find myself to be very clever.

Before I get to the real meat, let's recap what happened in 2010:

House. We bought a house! And we spent a lot of time and money making that house comfortable and livable.
Travel. Because of the house, we traveled less than usual. But, we still found a way to piggy-back on a work trip and visit Sacramento and Napa Valley. We also went up to Hood River for a weekend to celebrate our one year anniversary.
Work. I got a fancy promotion, and I'm working from home now. Both have been hard to get used to, but overall really good.
Family. Whew, where to begin? My family has had some major ups and downs this year, but I'm really happy with the way we've kept it together and supported one another. And, coming from a family where we don't "air out our dirty laundry," I'm very proud of the way we've shared feelings, personal situations, and even disappointments with each other. It's been a big year for us.
Friends. It makes me feel old when I think that it's been a good year because I've seen all my closest friends at least once this year. I do wish that we had friends who lived closer. Luckily, we've tempted our less-far friends to visit us often, and once a year for those far-away ones isn't too bad.
Love. S'all good.

Now, same categories, new year!

House. We've been doing a lot better about keeping a budget, and I hope that translates into having some extra monies to improve the house. If we could finish the basement in 2011, I would be the happiest woman alive. But, I'd settle for at least a livable space in the basement by the end of 2011.
Travel. We already have one trip planned at the end of January (a cruise to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday), which I'm very excited about. Even more exciting, I had to get a passport for it, so I FINALLY have the ability to go wherever I want! Well, wherever I can afford to go. In addition to hoping that we have monies to improve the house, I would love if we could go somewhere really exciting at the end of next year... Put that passport to good use!
Work. I will be on my fourth year in 2011, which is by far the longest I've ever worked for one company. My only hope in this area is that I still love it. (Next year I'll have more vacation time, too! Yet another reason to start planning that exciting trip...)
Family. I hope for a lot less drama next year. Not that it wasn't barrels of fun, I just think we (and by "we," I mean Topher) deserve an easy year.
Friends. My dream is that Steven, George, Maggie, Ben, Jeannie, Derek, and all our other friends decide to move to our neighborhood. Since that's not really plausible, I'm going to plan to make more play dates with all of them so I can see them more.
Love. More of the good stuff, please.

Day 18 - A Person I Love

2010-12-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

Boy, it looks like about 70 percent of these are pretty predictable. And why stop now?!

The person I love more than anything else in this world:

Day 17 - A Funny (True) Story

2010-12-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of the Christmas season, I'll tell my favorite Santa story. Some of you might not know this, but for a couple of years, I worked as "Santa's helper" at the Fashion Place Mall. It was a surprisingly good job. We had to wear Christmas aprons and red bow-ties, but definitely no striped stockings or curly shoes. Most of the time we just took pictures and ate peppermint sugar cookies. But, by far, the worst part of the job was dealing with the parents of kids.

One mom-duo (I think they were sisters or sisters-in-law) was especially bad. I knew they were going to be trouble from the get-go because each mom had at least 4-5 children and they wanted all of them in the same picture. Usually, we would try to take charge and arrange the children in the way that looks best and fits in the picture, since you know that's what we were hired to do, but these moms would have none of it. They would decide who sat where.

While they fiddle-faddled with most of the children, I noticed one of the little boys staring wide-eyed at Santa. This is not uncommon, and I tried to distract him from looking at Santa, because I knew it could only get worse. He stayed calm, but inched away from the rest of the group.

Completely oblivious to the child's fear, one mom grabs the boy under the arms and plops him right in front of Santa. The boy immediately starts crying. Still not noticing, the moms admire their work and decide that everyone is in the correct spot. They distractedly bat the boy's reaching arms away from them as they come back to the camera and tell me to snap the picture.

Surprisingly, the picture looked good. The boy had put his arms down and, with so many other people in the picture, you didn't immediately notice that he was crying. But, for reasons that completely escape me, the moms did not think this picture would do. One of the other children had a "cheesy" smile.

By this time, the crying boy had run to the fence imprisoning him into the North Pole and was trying to escape. When his mom had decided that they absolutely must do a new picture, she started to pull him back to the rest of the children. He started crying so hard that his nose started to bleed. Again not concerned, his mom asked for a Kleenex and dabbed at his face. The nose continued to gush as he fought against her to stay as far away as possible from the jolly old man.

Finally realizing that her son would not stay in the picture on his own free will, the mom grabbed him around the waist and got in the picture herself, "hugging" him to her chest.

"Take the picture!" she said cheerily.

I took it and the boy was released to sputter blood all over our set. The moms compared both pictures trying to decide which one was truly the best while I followed behind the screaming child with paper towels to clean up what was starting to look like a murder scene.

The moms called me back to tell me that they had decided: they would like the second picture. But only two copies, because it's not great. They'll probably have to try again some other day.

The next few people in line who witnessed this ridiculous show patiently waited for us to clean things up and gave us sympathetic smiles. The fifth or sixth families in line, however, had no idea what had slowed things down and gave us grumpy, almost threatening, looks. That is, until they glanced into the trash and saw all the bloody tissues. Then they thought better than to complain.

Day 16 - A Favorite YouTube Video

2010-12-28T07:14:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this is my favorite, but it's pretty funny.

"Don't punch. Our car." ... "...I'm gonna punch your car."

Day 15 - Nicknames I Have

2010-12-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

...and why I have them.

Most of my nicknames through the years have originated from the fact that "page" in Spanish is "pagina." This can be pretty cute when pronounced correctly (like "pah-heena"), but most of my friends have enjoyed sounding it out in English. As if that wasn't enough, a select few have christened me "pagisil."

It's no surprise, though. I've had bad nicknames all my life. When I was a baby, I was a little chubby (to say the least) and my parents called me "Refrigerator Paige" after the football player Refrigerator Perry.

Day 14 - A Favorite Recipe

2010-12-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

Sloppy Joe Casserole
Serves 8 (or 2, for about 3 meals)

Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 carrots, grated
2 lbs lean ground beef (or turkey)
2 cups ketchup
4 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups chedder cheese, grated (Dana can't do 4 cups, we usually do 1 and it's still pretty tasty)
2 tbsp melted butter (we usually use the butter/garlic sauce that you get with Papa John's pizza)
1 package of premade dinner-roll dough (or homemade, if your husband loves to make bread)
sesame seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.
In a large skillet, heat oil and saute onions, garlic, and carrots until soft.
Add ground beef and cook until browned.
Stir in ketchup, molasses, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from stove, transfer to a 3-quart casserole dish, and sprinkle with cheese
Place dinner roll dough on top of cheese to cover casserole.
Brush rolls with melted butter (or Papa John's sauce) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake uncovered until rolls ae golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Day 13 - What I Believe In

2010-12-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

I was going to get all philosophical for this post, but in the spirit of a lovely Christmas, I'm going to simply say that I believe in family.

We did a homemade Christmas this year where all our gifts had to be made instead of bought. Not only was it fun because we got things we probably wouldn't have normally, but because so much thought and love went into each gift. It made me realize how lucky I am to have been born into such a wonderful family and to have found such an amazing man to start my own family with.

Day 12 - A Habit You Wish You Didn't Have

2010-12-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

By far, my worst habit is judging people. I don't know why I think I know how to run everybody's life better than they can, but I often do. And, it's the worst type of habit because it's automatic: just a thought. I don't go around telling people what's wrong with them, but I definitely think it.

In the same vein, I often worry about what other people think of me. Probably because I assume they are all jerks like me and are secretly judging how I live my life.

Since we're getting close to New Year's resolutions, I'm going to try to make a point of thinking about people's good attributes and try to crowd out all those mean thoughts.

Day 11 - Next 3 on "Bucket List"

2010-12-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

I just reviewed my last "Before I Die" list, and I haven't gotten much done on it yet. I got married (check!), and I got a passport (check!). Some of the things on there don't seem as important anymore, so I'm only going to steal one of them for my next three:

I have the passport, but now I need to use it. Before I die, I'd like to visit (at least) Mexico, Canada, Europe, and Australia. I've already got Mexico checked off, and I really should be able to get to Canada easily. The Europe and Australia might need a little more planning.
Have kids. Preferrably well-behaved ones that don't interfer with my traveling plans (ha!).
Run a 5K without dying.

Day 10 - My Dream House

2010-12-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

I'm very conflicted on what my dream house is. Or rather, I love different parts of different houses and wish I could put them together into some sort of Frankenstein house without it looking, well, Frankensteiny.

I love the small, Victorian-style houses that you often see around Salt Lake. They have steep, sloping roofs, round-top doors, and interesting details. They are almost always brick, and 98 percent of the time they are itsy, bitsy, tiny, weenie.

My dream house would look like that from the outside, but when you go inside, it would have large, open rooms; big bathrooms; and modern heating, cooling, and electricity.

Oh, and it HAS to have a fireplace.

Day 9 - A Favorite Quote

2010-12-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

I'm going to cheat a little on this one because I only have 45 minutes left to get this blog posted today.

We saw TRON: Legacy tonight, and on the way home, Dana said his favorite quote from the movie was "Tron, what have you become?!" That pretty much encompasses how we both felt about the movie.

Day 8 - A Favorite Book

2010-12-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

I never know what to say my favorite book is because I enjoy most books that I read, but then after a year or so, I can't remember why I liked them. So, I'll say my favorite book right now is Last Night in Twisted River because I read it recently enough that I still remember why I liked it.

I usually like non-fiction books, but John Irving is one of my favorite fiction writers. And this one is especially interesting because it's just barely close enough to his own story, that it makes you wonder how many of the things that happen to the characters actually happened to him. It's a fun story; I would definitely recommend it.

Day 7 - A Favorite Food

2010-12-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

Again, this won't be much of a surprise. I love, love, love pizza. Since that isn't very interesting or surprising, I'll use this time to advertise for my favorite pizza places. (Sorry to any out-of-state or out-of-Salt-Lake readers, these are mostly local places.)

Big Apple Pizzeria is the best pizza in town. Go there now.

Wasatch Pizza is second best. They have amazing specialty pizzas (and really good vegetarian options, if your into that sort of thing).

Settebello is a new discovery for us. If you're planning a fancy dinner, but you still want pizza (happens to me all the time), go here. The huge wood burning stove AND the chef came right from Napoli.

Papa John's is a last resort. If you absolutely can't get any of the above-mentioned pizza, this is an appropriate option. The garlic butter sauce they bring with it makes a good cooking sauce, if you don't eat it all with the pizza.

Day 6 - A Favorite Movie

2010-12-18T12:46:00.000-08:00

While it's no surprise to all of you, I cannot deny that Back to the Future is (and always will be) my favorite movie.

But, to make sure this isn't a boring post, I'll share with you some BTTF trivia that I've accumulated over the years:

The label below the flux capacitor says, "Shield Eyes From Light."
The "To Be Continued" at the end of the first movie was supposed to be a joke, but people liked the movie so much, they made part II and III.
Billy Zane plays the part of one of Biff's minions, and Elijah Wood is the little kid who says, "You mean you have to use your hands?" about the video game in the future
Doc Brown got his first name (Emmett) because "time" spelled backwards sounds like em-it.

And, my own personal set of BTTF trivia includes the following:

I told my family and friends that Michael J. Fox was my boyfriend until at least Jr. High.
Completely unrelated to the tidbit above, I got Dana purple Calvin Klein underwear as a wedding gift. ("I've never seen purple underwear before, Calvin.")
I was born in 1985 (the year Marty begins at) and my mom was born in 1955 (the year he goes back to). It's no secret that I hope to have a kid in 2015. I mean, it's just too perfect.

Day 5 - A Favorite Song

2010-12-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

I think about 93 percent of my favorite songs have gained that distinction just because of the memories they remind me of. And, because of that, I will forever love every song on Beck's The Information.

This one goes out to Jeannie, Derek, Dana, Steven, and Steve's Carpet Barn.

Day 4 - Top 10 Pet Peeves

2010-12-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

This one should be easy, because a lot of things drive me crazy. Here are my top 10 pet peeves (for today):

Inconsistent blankets. I rarely make the bed; however, I hate when we've gone a few days without making it and suddenly the sheet is long enough to go over my head and the comforter is at my shoulders. All covers should line up perfectly under my chin.
Food that goes bad at rapid speeds. Since Dana does not tolerate anything lactosey, I find it really hard to go through even a half gallon of milk before it goes bad. Then you start playing the "smell it" game, which I'm really no good at.
Chronically late people. After your third excuse, I'll set your clocks forward for you.
Parents who don't set rules/boundaries for their kids/dogs. Both children and animals need rules. How will they ever know what is right, if you never tell them what is "bad" or a "no no"?
FDA (Facebook Display of Affection). If it's your anniversary, I'm happy to hear that you love your bf/gf/dh/wifey/partner/parrot. Otherwise, I want to just assume you love the person you're in a relationship with or married to without feeling like I just walked in on you two in the bedroom.
Similarly, people who say, "If you don't want to hear it, just don't read it." How do you know that you don't want to read it until you already have?
Rooms with a window, door, or closet on every single wall. Like my mother, I love moving furniture around. But it's nearly impossible when your room has obstacles on every wall. My bed can only go in one place, and while I think it's fine there, it will forever bother me that I couldn't move it if I wanted to.
People with absolutely no health problems being against universal healthcare.
People who would not be affected by gay marriage being against it.
People who use their blog to complain about other people's choices, opinions, and actions. I mean, seriously, who does this girl think she is? Queen of common courtesy land?

Day 3 - A Favorite Photo

2010-12-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

There are so many pictures that I love, but most of them are on Facebook, and I assume that all of my friends have seen them before. I was searching for a rare gem, and I found this one:
Ha ha! Years ago, I found this on my phone, and Maggie and I couldn't remember who took it or why, but we figured out where it was taken and consequently realized that it's from the very first day that Dana and I met! So, even though I don't remember anything about the photo (and even though Dana isn't actually in the photo), I love that I have a small token from that day.

Also, I can't imagine why anyone ever thought Maggie and I were a couple. We definitely don't look like lesbians in love in this picture.

Day 2 - Last Year and This

2010-12-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well, one thing that has changed since last year is that I've been taking a lot less pictures! I tried to find the most recent picture of myself and it was from Halloween! I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving or my birthday this year, how disappointing.

But I think this comparison gives us a lot to consider on how things have changed, or not really chagned.

Appearance: I had longer, darker hair last year and less demonic eyes. Both years, I seem to be drawn to monochromatic clothes.
Habits: Every year, I make easy, homemade costumes, go to Ben and Richard's, and drink out of a plastic cup. (We are so original. My other picture options were from Thanksgiving in Ephraim both years or our honeymoon and one year anniversary both in Hood River.)
Newness: I was a newly wed last year and a new home owner this year.
Stress level: Last year, I had gotten married, gone on a honeymoon, and went on a work trip to Cinncinati in the 15 days before this picture. The only thing I can remember about the 15 days before this Halloween was watching 30 Rock while making my costume, so it must not have been a stressful time. But I seem pretty happy in both pictures, so it's good to know that the stress level doesn't affect my happiness meter.

19 Day Challenge - Day 1

2010-12-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

My friend, Kari, has been doing this 30 day challenge, and I've enjoyed reading her responses, so I decided to do it, too. Except there are few I don't like/can't think of something interesting, so I'm just going to change them or delete them. We'll just call this the 19 day challenge, and that way it will end on New Year's Eve.

Day 1 — 5 things about you that no one really knows
Day 2 — A picture of you last year and now and how you have changed since then
Day 3 — A favorite photo
Day 4 — Top 10 pet peeves
Day 5 — A favorite song
Day 6 — A favorite movie
Day 7 — A favorite food
Day 8 — A favorite book
Day 9 — A favorite quote
Day 10 — Your dream house...
Day 11 — Next 3 on “Bucket List”
Day 12 — A habit you wish you didn't have
Day 13 — What I believe in
Day 14 — A favorite recipe
Day 15 — Nicknames I have, and why I have them...
Day 16 — A favorite Youtube video
Day 17 — A funny (true) story
Day 18 — A person I love
Day 19 — Hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days

And with that, let's start on Day 1!

Day 1 — 5 Things About Me that No One Really Knows
I talk about myself a lot, so I'm sure some of you know these things, but I'll try to think of things that I don't mention so much:

I LOVE PopTarts, but I only like the strawberry flavor with no frosting.
Nicole Hansen was my imaginary friend when I was growing up.
Since I don't wear my glasses in the shower, I usually just shut my eyes the whole time.
When I get really excited, I make what Dana calls the "bug noise." It's pretty much what it sounds like. (With Christmas around the corner, he'll be hearing it a lot.)
If I don't have time or energy to properly clean something, I won't do it. I would rather live with a messy room/desk/closet than do a half-assed job at cleaning or picking up. If I'm going to clean, I want it to be REALLY clean and organized when I'm done.

People Pleaser

2010-11-02T09:30:00.001-07:00

I can't decide if being a people pleaser in my line of work is a good or bad thing. I had a client that was unhappy with work my colleague did over the weekend (God forbid she might have wanted to save some time to celebrate the holiday), so I busted my butt to get it done on Monday. This resulted in a 14-hour day. Oh yeah, did I mention that I worked this weekend, too? Oh, and the Sunday before.

I need to learn how to make clients happy and still say no sometimes.

One Year Down

2010-10-19T19:15:00.001-07:00

Dana and I celebrated our first anniversary this weekend by taking a short trip up to Hood River, Oregon. It was relaxing and exhilirating, and definitely a good break.

They say that the first year is the hardest, and I hope that's true because it was a piece of cake. We did a lot this year (looked for a house, bought a house, moved into a house, fixed things in the house... basically doing many house-related things), and we kept most fighting and bickering to a minimum. As long as I don't push too hard for a sprinkler system next spring, I think we can hold onto this peaceful existance for another year.

Here's to many more happy anniversaries!

Bringing Home the Bacon

2010-10-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

I know that this will come as a surprise to most of you, but owning a home is expensive! Holy crap. I remember the good old days of ordering pizza every night, going to Jazz games or the Symphony on a whim, and actually buying souvenirs to remember our vacations. No more. We actually have to stick to a budget these days. Which makes this next news extra super exciting...

Dana won't be laid off this year! He has what we in the biz like to call a "seasonal" job, where he works during the season and then has "time off" from about the middle of December to the end of February. The smaller income flow for those few months hardly affected us at all last year, but boy was I relieved to find out that he is the one and only seasonal employee that they are going to keep all year. Yay for being able to make our mortgage payment and still put money into savings. They love him, they really love him! (They can only offer him part-time work in December, but that sounds just about perfect to me. Maybe my job will do the same. Har har.)

Though I shouldn't rag on my job too much because we won the Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility for the sixth year in a row. I was pretty stoked about it because it means that I get to go to the awards ceremony at Little America, but the Salt Lake Chamber had to poo poo my excitement by making me go be interviewed on camera on what workplace flexibility means to me, and they're going to show it during the awards banquet. Gag. But, it is still nice to work for a company that is flexible, and it's nice to not have to worry about being laid off each year.

And finally! I'm going to be a complete hypocrite and tell you what we extravagantly bought recently... a new washer and dryer! I can't even describe the great joy that it brings me to be able to wash clothes in my own house. And! We didn't have to pay for a handy-man to come set them up because Dana drilled a hole through the house and set up our dryer vent. There was a little swearing and lots of grunting, but he did it and it looks great. In fact, it was so good, I'm going to keep him on as a full-time handy-man through the winter months.

Good work, Husband!

Being Childless

2010-09-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Maybe this phenomenon is only happening in my circle of colleagues, but lately, it seems quite trendy to use your children as an excuse to make everyone else work around your schedule. I absolutely want to help support people in managing a work/life balance and I understand that your life becomes more complicated when you have kids, but I don't think that it's fair that I have to make everyone else's schedule fit, just because I don't have children.

I just worked all weekend long, worked 9 hours already today, have a 5:00 meeting scheduled, and was hoping to get off early on Friday. But, alas, I agreed to an afternoon meeting on Friday, because that's when little Ralphie is in school and his mom couldn't possibly get a babysitter to attend a morning meeting.

Transitioning

2010-07-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

Since I'm such a blabber-mouth, most of you already know that I got a promotion at work. Woo hoo! My official title is "Manager of Custom Projects." Basically, I'm doing the same job I did before but with more focus on resourcing, managing schedules and scope, and billing. I'm going to be the only project leader going forward, but I'll be doing less writing and editing to make time for the extra management work. So far, it's been really great. And the raise doesn't hurt, either. Maybe we'll be able to finish our basement sooner rather than later.

And as I transition roles, we're finally transitioning offices! I know, I wrote about going virtual months ago and it's just barely happening. My desk is all set up at home and I'm only working a few hours in the old office this week. Next week, I will be working from home for good. I have no idea how it's going to work out, so I'll have to keep you updated.

That's pretty much all that's been happening lately. I think it's stressing me out more than I want to admit, so I hope that I can settle down soon. I've been having headaches and really bad acne, and last night I had a dream that I had a baby that kept turning into a fish. When it was a fish, it was always close to dying, but it was always healthy when it was a baby. I'm going to assume that it means that working at home with my new position is the healthy baby and the fish is my old job and office. No matter what, it has to be a good sign that the fish was dying and not the baby, right? Right.

Porchin' it.

2010-06-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a before and after of the porch. Not too bad, eh?

Sorry, Nicole. You'll have to find a new way to identify our house.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

2010-06-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

This Memorial Day Weekend was SO good. We got so much done and still had so much time to just hang out and relax. It was perfect. So, I'm going to copy my sister-in-law, Jen, and recap with a top 10 list. Here's what we did to make it so wonderful:

10. Walked to Sugarhouse the morning of my first day off and had breakfast at Rocky Mountain Grill. (We were the only ones there. No one else wakes up at 6:00 a.m. on their day off?)

9. Went to Big Lots and got a charcoal grill for $25! Then my brother, Topher, came over to play our new favorite game (Munchkins--cowboy style), and we had grilled hotdogs and corn on the cob. Cheaper than going out to dinner, and way more fun.

8. Walked to Milcreek Garden and got 4 discounted strawberry plants.

7. Bought 2 rose plants and a vanity mirror with gift cards from our house warming party. (Thanks, friends and family!)

6. Planted roses, strawberries, and grass seed.

5. Put up the vanity mirror (and a pot rack that my parents handed down to us).

4. Painted cutesy sillouettes on our coat closet. (I know, I'm girly. The secret's out.)

3. Read a lot in our backyard.

2. Painted our front porch and railings. For some reason, we keep working on the back yard where no one can see what we're doing. So, we finished the porch to show our neighbors we care about our yard and house.

1. And the number 1 part of the weekend was... Getting a new bike! Dana got an inner tube for the bike that his co-worker gave him as a hand-me-down. With the new tube, it was ready for a big ride, but he would have had to go alone because I've been bike-less for about 3 years since mine was stolen. So, he casually suggested we go to Target, and walked straight back to the bike section and pulled down the bike I've been fawning over for about a year! I love it so much, and we went on a bike ride every morning of the long weekend. The perfect topping to a perfect weekend.

Paint Stripper is Scary

2010-05-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

The former residents of our house painted the front porch an awful, pink color. The residents before them painted it white, the residents before them painted it green, and the residents before them painted it red. When we started scraping the paint that was already partially coming off, I thought, "Why didn't any of the past people who lived here just remove the paint?"

I'll tell you why: Paint stripper is scary.

Paint stripper eats through paint and makes it "easy" to remove from the surface below. However, paint stripper also eats through the following: t-shirts, jeans, latex gloves, and skin. After lots of burning pain and multiple running trips to the faucet to rinse off, I wondered why Lowe's would put latex gloves next to paint stripper when they are so obviously no defense to the power of the scary chemical.

Worst of all, after all the burning, scraping, and fumes inhaling, the porch looks worse than it did when I started. Instead of being pink with a few colors popping through, it now looks like a half-eaten jaw breaker.

Dandies

2010-05-10T10:23:00.001-07:00

Our new backyard is a little overgrown with dandelions. As in, you can't really see the grass. Here's a picture:

Yikes, right? So, we tried spraying them and, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but they didn't really change much. They still looked alive to me and they definitely didn't disappear. But then I read that for already established dandelions (established? Try colonizing), you need to dig them up. But you should dig them up with a shovel because, as one site put it, "Make sure you dig down deep, because their long taproot can stretch down as far as 10 inches."

"As far as"? Clearly they didn't have a contest to dig up the longest root like we did:

And we didn't just find long ones, we also found tricksters like this guy. You think he's going one way and then zoom, he sends out his root to the side.

And after three days of digging, digging, digging, we're only about half done. With the back yard. Whew. And the side that's "done" looks a little like it's been attacked by a mole.

But we're getting there! Hopefully sometime soon you can see a real "after" picture.

Moved, not quite settled

2010-04-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

We've officially moved. As in, we took the final things out of our apartment yesterday, cleaned it up, and are turning in our keys today. I had no idea how good it would feel to be completely done with the apartment. Granted, we still have LOTS to do on the house, but at least we won't be driving back and forth anymore.

Moving those last few things were such a pain and it made me realize how thankful I am for all the help we had moving the bulk of our stuff last Saturday. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. So, here's a little shout out to each of you:

Mom and Dad: Thank you for helping us move all our big, heavy stuff when you guys are busy moving yourself! Thanks for bringing the trailer, being Tetris box masters, and driving back and forth between places.

Topher: Thanks for showing up so early and working so hard all morning before your meeting. You provided much needed physical help, as well as comedy relief.

Morgan: Thanks for chasing us around the valley and helping us move all the big stuff into the new house as our "early workers" got tired.

Jen and Gracie: Thanks for the sidewalk masterpieces and for making bouquets out of our weedy flowers.

Adam: Thank you SO much for constantly finding things to do to help, taking control when both Dana and I were frustrated, bringing boxes and a drill, and sticking around until we insisted that we didn't have anything else for you to do. You were so much help, and I'm glad you called Dana to offer to help since we would have been in a much crazier state if you weren't there.

Lisa and Dave: Thanks for bringing cinnamon raisin bread—it was our breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the days before we could go grocery shopping—and for getting us such a hearty breakfast after moving. Thanks for bringing in boxes, unpacking, and helping put up our blinds.

We couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks SO much!

Frustration

2010-04-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Moving is hard.

Like, really hard.

Every time I feel like I got something done, all I have to do is walk to a new room and see all the boxes, dirty floors, garbage, and half-started projects to feel completely overwhelmed again. Or, I could take Dana's approach and try to do things as fast as possible and then loudly voice my frustration when it doesn't work out perfectly. To make things worse, we haven't cleaned (or completely emptied out) our apartment yet and I seem to be developing a cold. Perfect timing.

BUT! I just have to keep reminding myself that it's very exciting to have a new house. And, instead of immediately running into that other room to get overwhelmed, I take a moment after each task to relish in the small victory that that task was. And when Dana loudly voices his frustration, I calmly pry whatever tool he has clutched and re-focus his attention elsewhere. I think we make a pretty good team.

More Changes

2010-03-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

I hinted at this in an earlier post, but it hadn't been "announced" at work so I didn't go into very many details. By the end of July, the company I work for is going virtual! Sounds pretty sci-fi/hi-tech/so-cal, right?

I think it will be interesting. I'll be working from home full-time and just getting together with co-workers for specific projects or meetings. I think it will be good. I'm not completely clear on all the details yet, but I'm excited none-the-less.

A new development as of today is that I might be working full-time for a single client for a couple months. I'm not as excited about that since it's for instructional design and involves driving to West Jordan three times a week, but I would get a small bonus for those months, which would be nice. I could use the extra money to buy myself a home office trunk:

No major house news today. Problems keep popping up, but we seem to be successfully hurdling them.

Discover What Matters

2010-03-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Have I gone off on a rant about how much I love Discover? If I have, too bad, I'm doing it again. My parents have used Discover cards for a long time, but I never thought much about it. But last year, I was talking to my mom and realized that she received much better and many MORE rewards on her Discover card than I was getting with my WellsFargo Visa. And, I was paying $19 a year to be part of the Visa "Rewards Program" that was giving me points that didn't seem to be redeemable for anything useful.

So, I signed up for Discover and soon signed up Dana on the same account. For every dollar we spend with our Discover, we get 1% back. As in, free money. Additionally, each quarter they have a cashback bonus on a specific type of purchases where you get 5% back on all money spent in that specific area.

It doesn't hurt that our life seems to perfectly align with the cashback bonuses. The category was "Travel" in the quarter during our honeymoon, so we got 5% back on all our gas, hotels, and restaurants. And, now, we should be closing on our house this month and the quarter is just changing to the "Home Improvement" cashback bonus! Don't mind if I do.

And look how pretty my card is!

P.S. I promise Discover is not paying me to be their personal advertiser to the three of you who read this blog. I just thought I'd mention how amazing they are in case you were thinking of switching credit card companies.

Ch-ch-changes

2010-03-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

The apple tree house is almost ours! The Decontaminator (close relative of the Terminator) has decontaminated and all the test results came back negative. He also recommended getting the electrical and plumbing checked to make sure his cleaning chemicals didn't screw anything up (which the seller is doing and paying for). He also recommended getting a new furnace, which the seller is doing! And he had to rip up all the carpet in the basement, so we're getting new carpet in the basement and they're refurnishing the hardwood floors upstairs.

If all goes as planned, we should be closing on April 26. Have I showed you a picture of it yet? Here it is:

The other big news is that I might be working from home soon. Good thing I'll have a home to work from.

No Fear

2010-02-28T19:56:00.001-08:00

I'm not going to be afraid of the apple tree house anymore. (Yes, the apple tree house is the same as the meth house, but if it's eventually going to be my home, I don't want "meth house" to catch on.)

I really wasn't that afraid to begin with, but a lot of our family and friends were apprehensive, so I researched and educated myself as much as I could about the issue, and I realized a not-so-surprising fact: news stations and news articles' primary objective is scaring people. No need for real facts when you have one sob story about children getting sick in a former meth-lab house.

Luckily, the Health Department website, decontamination specialists, and police officers who have worked with these types of houses are not so interested in trying to scare people and have really helpful information. In fact, almost everyone we talked to (who could care less if we got this house or not) were very confident in the clean-up process and voluntarily mentioned that they would move their own family into a house that once had low levels of meth and was properly cleaned.

My parents even talked to a man at their church that deals with hazardous waste in Utah, and he said he knew the guy that's cleaning the house and recommends him. He said we shouldn't be worried about it at all.

So, here's hoping that it all goes well and that we'll be home owners in the month!

P.S. Don't pretend you didn't have a crush on that boy who always wore No Fear t-shirts in 6th grade. Yes, I'm talking to you, Steven.

Meth house?

2010-02-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

So, we put an offer on yet another house about a week ago. We knew that we were the back-up offer, but it sounded like the other offer would fall out. Which it did. But only because the house was inspected and found "small" traces of meth.

The seller is paying to have it completely decontaminated, and since we're now in the primary offeror positions, it's ours if we want it. But how on earth are we supposed to know if we want it now?

Here are the facts:

The level of meth found was so low that it would've had to have been someone smoking in the house, no actual creating/cooking/labbing
The level was actually so low that Utah says that it's still "healthy" but the seller still decided to have it cleaned
The company decontaminating it is on the list of certified Decontamination Specialists in Utah
The only reason it was tested was because the other offeror asked the neighbor's around the house and someone mentioned meth. How did the neighbors know about it?

I almost feel like I have a social responsibility to still buy it. I mean, what if you heard a story about a house that just wouldn't sell because it once had traces of meth, so they had to tear it down? That's so ridiculous. And, there's also the fact that at least we know the history and know it's taken care of. Other houses out there might have traces, too, but we won't know unless we test every house (and then WE would have to pay for the decontamination).

What do you think? What would you do?

What lives in Temple Square?

2010-02-16T12:39:00.001-08:00

Every weekday morning, I walk through Temple Square to go to work. It's so beautiful, but I've found that I generally just stare at the ground as I walk. Maybe it's because I'm terrified of my clumsy feet tripping over a mystery object or maybe I'm trying to avoid contact with overly chatty sister missionaries in the morning. There's no way of knowing.

Regardless, by always having an eye on the ground, I've noticed that at least once a week I pass the half-eaten remains of what I assume to be a bird. It's gross.

Obviously birds are part of the food chain, but why does this sight seem so out of place? I can't think of ANY where else that I've seen bits and pieces of bird laying around, and yet I now have the pleasure of seeing them once a week. Do other animals clean up better after themselves? Or do they just pick less people-infested places to hunt? Like the wilderness, for example.

What I'm trying to get at is: What type of animal is lurking in Temple Square? And is the said animal big enough to attack me at some point and leave my bloody bones out for everyone to walk by?

You can never go back

2010-02-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's weekend, Dana and I went to Logan to see some of the old sites and visit Ben. The trip confirmed for me how odd Dana and I are, and how perfect we are for each other. Here's what we did:

Went to Pepperidge Farm and bought a huge bag of cookies and a huge bag of goldfish
Went to Gossner's and bought a case of little milks that don't need to be refridgerated
Ate at the Indian Oven
Saw an old classmate and didn't say hi
Stalked the people who moved into our apartment and searched for our barbeque
Went to ShopKo, saw an old coworker, and bought shoes
Went to the Liquor Store and bought Root Beer Shnapps and saw an old professor
Drank coffee at Einstein's and saw the entire Utah State hockey team
Met up with Ben and Jeff
Ate dinner at Juniper Take-out, made a scene, and was severely disappointed with the food
Played darts at the White Owl and stole some birthday baloons
Went to the Factory Pizza for fourth meal and ate our pizza while walking down Main Street

I actually had a blast, but I was very ready to leave this morning. Here's to not going back for another year or two. Thanks for the fun, Ben and Jeff!

Cross your fingers and toes

2010-02-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Dana and I made an offer on a house!!

I told myself I wouldn't post this news because I'm already getting too excited about the possibility of this house, and it's not for sure, but I figured that good wishes, hopes, and prayers from my random readers might be the tipping point for us to get it.

I know what you're thinking, didn't you already make an offer on a house? Yes. We did. But it was a short sale, so it could take months and months. And this one is bank owned, so it's the complete opposite. The bank has to tell us if they accept our offer before Wednesday at 10 a.m. And if we DO get it, we can cancel the other offer.

Here's a link to see some specifics and pictures of the house: http://searchallutahrealestate.com/fine/real/estate/home_view/938227/frommap/mlsname/WFRMLS

In other news, I'm doing pretty well in the Lose Weight or Lose Money bet with my family, but my Dad keeps beating me by one pound each week! What a jerk. :) Oh well, I've lost seven pounds, so I feel great. I guess the game should be called Lose Weight AND Money.

January News

2010-01-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

I have been extremely busy and stressed for almost the whole month of January. I've been working on two proposals for the exact same companies and giving myself a brain cramp trying to keep them straight. Then, like a crazy woman, I fought to work on an additional project (because it's actually what I want to be doing with my career), which added many late nights and extra hours of work. I had to forgo one of my holidays, drive to price to conduct a two-day meeting, deal with crazy government regulations on the proposals, and... it made me sick. Literally.

I'm on my third day "off" from work and it feels wonderful. "Off" in quotations because I'm actually working quite a bit from home. It still feels good, though. I can nap whenever I start to feel groggy and watch the Australian Open while I create a succession plan for a small credit union. It almost makes me want to work from home permanently.

Another reason I'm pleased with working from home is because Dana and I are seriously looking at buying a house! We're in the process of making our first offer, and I've been able to print and sign things between projects. The one we're making an offer on is a short sale, so it's a long shot, but it's still very exciting! And it's extremely exciting to have our lender tell us that we've been pre-qualified for the loan amount we want. Thanks, automatic savings deposit.

Dana got a call from Red Butte yesterday and found out that they for sure want him back on March 1 (no big surprise), AND they're giving him a 50 cent raise! Woo hoo! Honestly, I didn't think Dana would be able to wait two months without working, but I'm glad he did because he's a much happier person (and more fun to be around) when he's working for Red Butte. It's the only job since I've known him that he regularly comes home in a good mood. And the raise doesn't hurt, either.

Well, that's about it. I've got to get back to working/watching tennis.

2009 in Review

2009-12-30T06:33:00.000-08:00

I know this is long, but I think we all know this is more for me than it is for you. Here is a review of good ole 2009.

First of all, 2009 has been full of firsts. Here are all the new things I got in 2009 that I've never had before:

Fancy jewelry to wear on my left hand
A "new" car (Diego) and a car loan
A husband (Dana)
An alcoholic drink on an airplane
A T.V. that's bigger than a breadbox

Best/Worst

By far, my favorite game to play at the end of the year is the best/worst game. Here are my personal best/worsts for the year 2009:

Movie

Best: Role Models
Worst: Inglorious Bastards (Sorry, everyone, but I just can't handle that level of violence)

Book

Best: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Thanks, Jeannie!)
Worst: Man in the Middle (No one needs to know that much about Jon Amechi)

Projects at work

Best: Setpoint Unload Machine manual
Worst: ARC. Let's just leave it at that.

Surprises

Good: Free Cracker/Booker T. concert with free food
Better: New T.V. for my birthday!
Best: Being forced to hike in the rain to get proposed to
Worst: The parachute not working as a wedding decoration, and instead giving me a big bruise on my wedding day

Meals eating out

Best: Macadamia encrusted halibut at the Cafe on Franklin street in Fort Bragg, CA
Worst: Bojangles in North Carolina

Meals eating in

Best: Buffalo chili (or lamb meatballs, or homemade spinich calazones... I have the best husband ever)
Worst: An Indian food packet (the Indian equivalent of pasta roni)

Addictions

Best: Fancy tea
Worst: The Bachelorette

Quotes

Best: "Speaking of young love blossoming..." -Dana asking my parents for their blessing on us getting married
Worst: "I'm not a fan of sentences starting with 'we' or 'our'." -A client telling me to write in passive voice for a proposal

New Year's Resolutions

My new year's resolution last year was to travel more. Unknowingly, I took it more serious than I meant to:

Las Vegas in February for Dana's birthday
Palm Springs in March to visit grandparents and Roger Federer
D.C. in June for American Red Cross
Capital Reef, Highway 12, and Bryce Canyon in August
North Carolina in August to visit Maggie
Bear Lake in September for George's birthday
Oregon and Cali in October for the honeymooners
Cincinnati in October for work
Dana Point in November to visit Jeannie

This year, my family is doing our own "Biggest Loser" called Lose Weight or Lose Money so I guess that's my new year's resolution. My main motivation is that I'll lose $10 a week if I don't lose enough weight. I guess I better put the candy and booze away and dust off my gym membership and Richard Simmons videos.

Happy 2010, everyone!

Good Monday Surprises

2009-12-22T07:48:00.000-08:00

I thought this short week before Christmas was going to drag terribly, but I had such a good day yesterday, full of good surprises.

First, I fought to work on this one project at work because I'd like something different than proposals. I had to come in at 7:30 to get started on the document, and it was a bit of a rough start, but the final product was very cool. I was happy with it, my boss was happy with it, and I think the client was.

Even better than enjoying the project that I fought to work on, I didn't have to work on the two proposal projects. My one meeting got pushed back a day, and the other project's deadline got pushed back a month, which means no meeting in Ogden on Wednesday! Glorious.

At the end of my work day, my bosses gave me a Christmas card with a bonus in it. Very cool since I didn't get a bonus last year and the economy still sucks.

After work, Dana and I went to look at a house for sale in Sugarhouse. I wasn't expecting much since it was a foreclosure and needed some work, but it was very nice! I like it a lot, actually, and it actually seems within our price range.

Now, the next two days just needs to cooperate and it will be a lovely Christmas week.

Crazy technology

2009-12-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

After four years of pretty good use, my iPod finally gave up for good. It pretended to break a couple times and I even paid to have it professionally fixed once, but this time it's definitely dead.

So, we started looking into new iPods with a startling conclusion: new iPods are huge! And you have no option of less-hugeness. I mean, you can get an 8 GB or 16 GB nano, which seem like normal sizes to me, but I like the physical size of the classic iPod. And the ONLY available option for the classic iPod is 160 GB!!! That is so insane!

My old iPod was only 20 GB and over four years I only filled it with about 14 GB of music. How would I ever find eight times as much content to put on a new one?

An Ode to My New Husband

2009-10-30T13:48:00.001-07:00

A little belated, I know, but here's the recap: We did it! We got married!

Maybe someday I'll have the energy to recap it all, but probably not. If you weren't there, you missed out.

Immediately after our honeymoon I had to go to Cincinnati for work. When I got home, Dana had bought me flowers and a new book! Just for coming home! Now, one day later, I'm at work and he's busy putting our Halloween costumes together and baking bread. Did I pick a good husband or what?

Sigh.

2009-10-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm going to give you all a break from my wedding garbage, because I read something in the Trib today and I can hardly think straight because I'm so frustrated by it.

"LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks on Tuesday likened the post-Proposition 8 backlash against Mormons to the persecution blacks endured during the civil-rights struggle."

WHAT?!

I can hardly think of what to say because I'm so baffled.

I think it's AWFUL that people were violent, disrespectful, rude, etc., to the LDS church after the Prop 8 thing. It's a despicable way to disagree with someone, and I'm sure it really scared a lot of people. It would have scared me if it happened to my church.

But, PLEASE! Does he know anything about the civil rights movement? The events after Prop 8 were no where NEAR the violence and persecution that people endured during the 60s!

It's just so selfish, self-centered, and close-minded. I can't believe that he can't take one step outside his bubble to see how off-base he really is. After running a mile, does he liken himself to Olympic athletes? "What's the deal with the Olympics?! I mean, I ran a mile. It's wasn't that hard!" When his child is a few minutes late coming home from school does he issue an Amber Alert? Does he go to a surgeon for a paper cut?

As such a prominent leader, I wish he would think before he speaks. I know I'll think before I trust anything else he says.

Name change

2009-10-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Lately, during meetings at work when I normally doodle, I've been practicing signing my soon-to-be new name. It makes me feel like a Jr. High girl wishfully signing my first name with my crush's last name, but I really feel like I need to practice so I don't look like a fool when I start using it sometime in November.

Plus, is it really that bad of a thing to feel girly when preparing for wedding-relating things?

October madness.

2009-10-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's already October! And what a month it's going to be . . .

October 12-15: Friends and family start flowing into the great state of Utah.
October 16: Last minute planning and setting up, and rehearsaling.
October 17: Wedding!
October 18-25: Honeymooning in Oregon and California.
October 26-30: Going to Cincinnati for work
October 31: Halloween! (a.k.a. hiding in the house)

Whew. Think I can do it?

Amazon registry

2009-09-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

I love the Amazon wedding registry so much. Let me list the ways I love you, Amazon:

Amazon has EVERYTHING. I mean, literally, everything. They even have a "universal registry" button. Which means you can go to any store online and add it to your registry. How cool is that?
Since Amazon has everything, you're not settling for anything. When you register at a department store, you might register for the sheets that feel okay, because they are the best they have. But with Amazon's limitless possibilities, you get the best sheets in the world!
Amazon's registry is organized. So wonderfully organized.
As the couple, you can rate items as "Want to have," "Like to have," and "Love to have," and your guests can see what you're really excited about and sort your list by priority, price, or type.
Amazon is cheap. They almost always have the best prices. How can you beat that?

Unfortunately, I think I'm the only one who loves Amazon this much. It certainly is not for the procrastinators who want to quickly pick up a gift the day before. And it's not for those older guests who are afraid of the World Wide Web. Oh well. I love you none-the-less, Amazon.

Control freak

2009-09-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

I am so, so lucky to have so many people helping me with wedding plans. It makes me feel so supported and loved and fortunate.

With that said, I've been finding it increasingly frustrating to give up duties and have my friends and family members help. I wish it wasn't true, but deep down (and not so deep down), I am a control freak. I want to organize things the way that makes sense to me, I like knowing my status on every detail, I like to make decisions on my own, and I generally want to rule the world.

I tried to skirt this personal problem by giving people small tasks that I think have no room for error. And then my faithful helpers come to me with something completely different than I had imagined. It has the same function, works perfect, but it's not the way I would have done it on my own.

While my first reactions are sometimes close to rage and/or fear, I always end up realizing that it is far better to have everyone's personalities into this wedding than just mine.

Turns out, planning a wedding is really good practice for real life. Today's life lesson: Stop being such a freak and let other people enjoy being a part of your wedding. You'll all be happier in the end.

Three years and still kicking.

2009-09-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Dana and I celebrated our third year together yesterday. Because he's such an excellent man, he bought me flowers and took me out to a fancy dinner. We dined at The Wild Grape, which was delicious, but way too hoity toity for us to ever go again, I'm afraid. For example, instead of serving bread or chips as an appetizer, we were given what looked like a little piece of salami with fancy sour cream on it. It was surely something nicer than that, but it didn't taste much different. It seemed ridiculous to serve such a tiny piece of food for an appetizer, but the one bite took about 15 minutes to chew, so I guess that made it worth it.

I ordered a lamb burger which was amazing. Dana's meal was a little less amazing (some sort of stuffed chicken), but he had some of mine, so he was happy. The burger was from the "On the lighter side" menu, but I'm not sure why since it was about twice as much food as Dana's. Maybe they meant lighter on the wallet. I also got a lavender vanilla martini which was dangerously delicious. It tasted like liquid candy.

I realized however, that this was going to be our last "dating" anniversary and it made me a little nostalgic. Over the years, we've been to many fancy (and not-so-fancy) dinners, dealt with many awkward waiters, and laughed at our inability to actually act high class. We've found many reasons to celebrate: birthdays, holidays, friends in town, family in town, friends getting married, new jobs, quitting jobs, and long-awaited returns from business trips. Once, we even went out to eat at the sketchy China Buffet in Logan because Dana (and I quote) felt "in the mood to get sick." (The mini squid he consumed did not disappoint.)

So, here's to three years and many delicious dinners with the one I love. Soon, we'll be back to square one with our new anniversary date. Hopefully we'll have many more scrumptious, uncomfortable, and memorable dinners in the future.

Be my pickers...

2009-07-22T07:40:00.001-07:00

Dana and I went to Red Butte Gardens last night to get some engagement pictures taken. I know it's hard to believe that we were able to get Dana to smile in ONE picture, let alone 50+ pictures, but we did and now I'm left with the inability to decide which one to put on our wedding invitations. Pick for me!

Here are the best five (in my opinion), let me know which one you think is best. All the gorgeous picture-snapping credits go to my wonderful Mama.

To greed or not to greed

2009-07-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Wedding plans are chugging along, and I find myself very confused in terms of what to spend money on and what not to. My extremely generous parents have given us a lump sum to spend on the wedding. Anything we don't spend will go straight into newlywed pockets. Isn't that nice?

Now, if we were planning a wedding that we were paying for, there are a lot of things I would have thought, "No way! I'm not going to spend money on that! That's outrageous!" (Don't worry, I've been saying it plenty, regardless.) But! Now we have a certain amount of money that says WEDDING on it, if we DON'T spend it on the wedding, I'm going to feel like we were being cheapskates just to keep this very generous donation all to ourselves.

That train of thought leads me straight towards spending the money on wedding-related (but completely unnecessary) things: Personalized stamps? Yes, please! Fancy beverage dispensers? I'll take three! But, really, by making these purchases, aren't I STILL just spending the money on myself? Sure our guests will see them, but do they care? No. Only I do. Not even Dana. Which makes it worse than saving it, because at least he would enjoy it if we used it towards the honeymoon.

And yet, what about things that fall in-between? Wouldn't our guests like a little nicer meal? Or maybe live music? Should I be spending the money on those things so the guests will have more fun at the wedding? What if it DOESN'T make it that much more fun? Won't it be a waste?

Sigh. I hate you, decisions!

One thing on my mind.

2009-06-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

I know that it's annoying when someone gets engaged and suddenly her (or his) future wedding is the only thing she can talk about. Well, tough noogies. Just be glad that our engagement is only four months long.

We're planning to get married on October 17 of this year, and according to theknot.com, that means that I should have picked out my wedding dress 3 months ago. My mom and I attempted this feat last Friday with much frustration. The "bridal consultants" at each dress shop were so infuriating. Here is how most of our conversations went:

Me: "I want something simple, comfortable, and easy to dance in."
Woman: "No one is ever comfortable on her wedding day," she says, handing me a 50 pound dress covered in sparkles and beading.

Me: "I don't want a train."
Woman: "I can talk anyone into a train. Once you try it on, you'll fall in love. Trains are good for walking down the aisle and for taking pictures. Plus, when will you ever have a chance to wear a train again."
Me thinking: "Hopefully, never."

Me: "This dress is pretty, but I can't lift my arms high enough to dance."
Woman: "You won't find any dress where you can lift your arms that high. Just dance like this." She imitates an awful looking stance as if she were a jr. high boy dancing for the first time.

Me: "I'm not sure if this color would look good next to Dana's suit."
Woman: "It doesn't matter. The bride can do whatever she wants. She's the center of attention. No one will notice what the groom looks like or how they look together."
Me thinking: "My mistake. I thought this process was a two person deal."

Needless to say, none of their annoying cajoling convinced me to buy a dress, so theknot.com can just deal with the fact that I'll probably find something at Sears the week before the wedding.

The rumors are true.

2009-06-08T11:03:00.001-07:00

Well, it finally happened. Dana popped the big question, and I responded with the big affirmative. I know you're just dying to hear all the gushy details, so here it goes.

On Sunday morning, Dana insisted that we go on a hike. Since it was raining quite hard outside, I resisted, argued, and fought against it. He's always been a fan of the rain and the giddy look on his face as he longingly peered out the window finally convinced me. We drove to Red Butte Gardens and walked around with our umbrellas in the pouring rain. The fact that we were the only ones there made it that much more delightful. We trotted around with our umbrellas and Dana showed me the plants and flowers that were just blooming.

Just walking around the gardens I thought I had gotten out of the hike that Dana had originally insisted on when suddenly he suggested, "Let's go into the natural area." Making things as difficult as possible, I argued some more and said we should just go home. He looked up at the mountain he wanted to climb and saw lightening strike and agreed that maybe we should just venture into the "secret garden" that only the workers at Red Butte know about. I was fine with this since it seemed a lot less strenuous.

We climbed down some rickety, wooden stairs and came to an old bridge with a stream flowing below us. Unknowingly, I commented about how romantic the bridge was with the rushing water underneath and overgrowth of plant life above. With rain still trickling down through the overhead trees, Dana put down his umbrella, took off his cap, held my hand, and got down on one knee on that wet bridge.

Yada, yada, yada... I cried and said yes.

Internal proposal? Done and done.

2009-05-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

Part of my job is writing proposals. Companies hire us to help them write proposals to win large contracts. However, usually I'm just a side note on these projects. I help edit and incorporate "win statements," but I always feel pretty separated from it.

About a month ago, I was asked to help write an internal proposal. Meaning our company is writing a proposal to win a contract for work that we actually want to do ourselves. Here. If we lose, we don't get paid for that time spent writing the proposal.

I was so stressed the whole time writing it. Plus, not having a client meant that my BOSS was now my client. She has had 20+ years writing proposals, so of course she's going to be a harsher reviewer than a client who is hiring this job out because he acknowledges that he can't write a proposal as well as our firm.

To make matters even worse, the job is in Washington DC and local vendors are also bidding on this project. The chance that they'd hire someone in Utah is slim to none.

Well, we submitted the proposal on April 27th and today we found out...

WE WON!!!

The proposal I helped write WON!!!

They love me! They really LOVE me!!!

I don't know why I let things bother me.

2009-04-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

First of all, I don't know why I even watched the Miss U.S.A. contest to begin with, but since I did, I feel like I'm in a position to be angry about the "controversy" that has come of it.

The basic story is that the judges narrowed it down to five contestants, each contestant was asked a question, they narrowed it down to two, one won. Makes sense, right? The controversy is that the runner-up answered a question that essentially said she didn't support gay marriage and now "people" think that this answer lost her the competition.

So many things upset me about this.

First, how on earth can you determine that it was that specific thing that lost her the competition? Maybe her dress was ugly. (It was!)

Second, if the judges were SO offended, why did she still make it to the top two?

Third, this is a competition! With judges. With individual opinions. Every contestant answered very political questions that could have swayed judges one way or the other. That's just the way it goes. Why even ask the questions if the judges aren't allowed to, ahem, JUDGE the contestants by their answers?

I know, I know. It doesn't even matter. But it upsets me nonetheless.

Lessons learned

2009-04-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

I learned two very important life lessons today:

1. Don't step in a puddle when wearing canvas shoes.

2. Don't throw your lunch remnants in the trash can under your desk unless you want to smell them for the rest of the day.

Gullible and bored.

2009-04-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

First of all, I can't believe how gullible I am. I have been thinking about April Fool's Day all day and wondering what I could do to trick people. I even read a blog about funny tricks, and many of the stories were fake pregnancy jokes. Less than an hour later, I hear someone is pregnant and I'm instantly thinking up baby names. Talk about fool.

Also, sometimes my job is really boring. The first half of my day I created a compliance matrix, which is simply taking apart a government request for proposals and putting each requirement into a table. Not hard, just boring and time consuming. The other small part of my day I spent changing all 2008 months to 2009 in our online availability calender. Once again, mindlessly moving tables around.

I'm hoping to use my brain at some point today, but the forecast looks grim.

Fickle forcast

2009-03-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

March is such a tease. She tempts me with her sunny skies, fresh tulips, and frisbee-worthy grass one day and then shoots me down with wind, snow, and a dead car battery the next.

Sickly Curious

2009-02-25T18:46:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm finally starting to feel better after 10 days (and 4.5 boxes of tissues) of being sick. I still have a nagging cough, but compared to the torture of the last week, I feel like I could run a marathon... or possibly enter an Iron Man competition.

When my sickness was just a tickle in my throat two weekends ago, Dana and I visited another Utah Curiosity site: Gilgal Gardens! And boy is it curious. The book makes Gilgal sound like a quirky sculptor, but after visiting his garden, I've decided he was a down-right kook. The largest sculpture in his garden appears to be some sort of shrine to himself. Himself wearing brick pants. I mean, the sphinx with Joseph Smith's face is pretty weird, but the fact that he put himself, instead of Joe, in the large shrine in the center of the garden seems to be more upsetting to me. The stack of books and mansion bird house, however, please every piece of me.

Quote of the Day

2009-02-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Writing well means never having to say, 'I guess you had to be there.'
- Jef Mallett

Irritations

2009-02-12T15:10:00.001-08:00

I am so irritated today, I don't know what my problem is.

First of all, I cannot concentrate at work, so I keep lollygagging around the internet. As I do so, I am constantly frustrated that links aren't working or aren't working fast enough. Sure, all I'm doing is wasting my time, but I want to waste it faster.

I am also irritated by the people protesting Governor Hunstman. Here's a man who says he believes in traditional marriage, but also thinks the state should do more to extend civil rights to all people. I can't even comprehend why people would protest this. For one, it doesn't affect the people who are protesting AT ALL. How do you justify protesting against civil rights? What year is it? I just don't understand the argument here, and it makes me sad and upset.

Finally, I am upset by Lakers fans (as usual). I was so excited about the Jazz winning last night, and today I have to read and hear all these lame ass excuses for why the Lakers lost and how the Lakers are better than the Jazz. Of course the Lakers are better than the Jazz. Just let us enjoy the victory. It probably won't last long, anyway.

Okay, rant over.

One too many balls

2009-01-29T10:50:00.001-08:00

Could our president be any cuter?

I have to constantly remind myself that he is still a politician and he will most likely let me down in one way or another very soon. But, come on, how could you not like this guy?

A veritable conundrum, literally.

2009-01-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

I hate when people say literally when they are describing something that is not literal. For example, "I am literally freezing to death," or "He ate a ton of food. Literally." Those are what we like to call exaggerations. Which are fine (if not a little cliché), as long as you recognize that you are exaggerating. My all-time favorite "literally" phrase was on a radio ad: "These dogs are larger than life, literally and physically." No. They're not.

But lately I've come upon a conundrum: the word "veritable." Dana uses this word often, and I started using it myself when it occurred to me that I don't really know what it means. So I went on an internet dictionary search and found these definitions: "true, as a statement or tale," "being truly or very much so," "being in fact the thing named and not false, unreal, or imaginary," and "often used to stress the aptness of a metaphor."

What? So, this word is used to say that something is real and true. However, that "something" could be a tale or a metaphor... which are not real. And it can describe something that is "truly... or very much so." So, almost true is good enough to be described as "veritable."

Alas, I must admit I love the idea of a word meaning something, but not always meaning it in a literal, LITERAL sense. I can live with these definitions as long as similar definitions don't start creeping onto the "literal" definition page. Sometimes this democratic language this is just more than I can keep up with.

Oral proofing

2009-01-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

This morning, I was given the challenge to proof a 75 page document in an hour and half. This task normally takes about 5 hours, but the client just wanted someone to quickly look through the document and make sure nothing was REALLY embarrassing before they sent it to print.

Unfortunately, the 43MB file didn't want to send through Outlook or our client's YouSendIt account. When I tried to re-open it and save it down to a smaller file size, Word told me that the file was corrupt. No matter what I did, the file wouldn't open, move, copy, or print. It was completely lost. Meanwhile, the client is repeatedly telling me that the document has to get to the printer.

To make a long story short, I had to get on the phone with the client, proof the entire document again (from scratch), and explain the changes as I went so she would enter them into the document. It very well may be the most challenging thing I've ever had to do.