The Big News

Well, it has been FOREVER since the last time I blogged. Not too much has been going on, but one big piece of news officially was set in stone today....

I am now a proud homeowner!!

Matt and I bought a house in Saratoga Springs, UT. For those of you who don't know where that is, it is on the west side of Utah lake, south of Lehi. It is a really cool new area that is constantly changing..and best of all, we have an awesome view of Utah lake.

We built it (or at least told them how to build it from the ground up!

Here is Matt with the lot that we chose! We then chose the floor plan, and let the fun begin!

The foundation almost finished

The framing getting started

Looks like a fully framed house

Jumping for joy at the sight of the house

We absolutely love our new house and can't wait to start the next chapter of our lives in it! We got the chance to pick out the carpet, flooring, cabinets, paint, countertops, and customize it ourselves...but all those pics will come later when we've actually moved in.

A Night of Hearing Loss

On Saturday Matt and I ventured out to Rocky Mtn Raceways for the IHRA National Championiship. There were all sorts of racers from low-end dragsters to a jet engine semi.

This is one of the "regular" dragsters, which traveled the quarter of a mile drag in around 8 seconds.

We were all smiles until the the big boys came out! The alcohol fueled dragsters were INSANELY loud! We had ear plugs in, and our ears still rang as those guys raced past! Unfortuanately between the camera being low on batteries and the fact that they went from 0 to 60 in approximately 0.7 seconds...we didn't get a picture of those dragsters!

Here is a pic of a dragster and a "funny car". A good funny car will finish the quarter mile in 10 seconds or less! (Remember, on the Fast and the Furious...he was promised a 10 second car!

Matt getting a closer view of the races!

One of the highlights of the evening was the jet engine semi! This puppy went over 250 mph, and that was probably not even maxed out (it was late, and there was a sound ordinance in effect so it probably didn't do its full potential!) It was amazing the amount of flames this thing put off and the heat it radiated!

This was one of the fire trucks on hand, but I'm not sure how effective it would have been. Jelly Belly is known for delicious jelly beans, but not it's fire extinguishing skills! But the good news for me is that I caught some jelly belly candys thrown into the crowd after all was said and done. Yum!

Overall it was an awesome evening! We can't wait till it comes back next year. And hopefully our eardrums would have healed by then!

My New Favorite Way to Eat Ice Cream

Most of you are well aware of the fact that I love ice cream! Well, I've figured out a fun new way to eat it...and brownies!! I got the idea out of a Costco cook book, but made it my own a little.
The basic idea is to make a brownie ice cream sandwich. First you make or buy brownies, and then put brownie pieces in a food processor and make small crumbs. Layer the brownie crumbs, followed by the ice cream of your choice, topped with more brownie crumbs in each cup in a muffin tin. Then place back in the freezer for a couple of hours.
Yummo!! So tasty! I made mine with a babyruth flavored ice cream and it was great! I totally recommend trying it. It is super simple and a nice proportioned snack!

I'll Add It To The List...

This just in on the list of things that I just don't get ...

(it's a very long list mind you)...

In N Out Burger!

What is the BFD? It's a burger people! And not even a great burger! I ate there when I was in St. George last weekend, and wished I hadn't. There is just such a food turn off when you can see the grease seeping through the paper bag! Plus waiting 10-15 minutes for an average burger? No thanks! Sure it is cheap, but that's about the only good thing about it! So why doesn't everyone stop complaining about the lack of In N Out in Utah and stick to Wendy's burgers.

And since I'm on the subject, I'll add in 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. I guess since it's good enough for President Obama to eat at everyone else suddenly wants it..but once again, it's just a burger and it's not worth battling the crowds to get!!

Words to Live By

I found this quote on my new phone and set it as my background. I'm quite fond of it, here it is:

"Fall in love, or fall in hate. Get inspired or be depressed. Ace a test of flunk a class. Make babies or make art. Speak the truth or lie and cheat. Dance on the table or sit in the corner. Life is divine chaos. Embrace it. Forgive yourself. Breathe. And enjoy the ride..."

I think those are good words to live by!

My Favorite New Toy

I'm probably not cool enough, and defintitely not important enough, but I've upgraded my phone to a G1. It's the T-mobile Google phone, which is their cell phone to compete with the Iphone and Blackberry.

My brother upgraded to an Iphone, so I got his old Google phone. I've been having so much fun with it so far! I've downloaded a couple of apps such as Shazaam (which listens and then identifies a song), a magic 8 ball (which answers any of your yes or no answers magically...and accurately [?]), a dictionary, labrynth game, and much more. It is so fun to use, that I might actually start using Facebook again..but I'm not gonna get ahead of myself.

First Time For Everything

I've been driving for 11 years now. I've been in accidents, I speed constantly, I've been pulled over a few times, but yesterday was the first time ever that I have gotten a speeding ticket. I always thought I was lucky to not have gotten one, but yesterday my luck ran out! I've driven down the road probably a couple hundred of times, I've always known it was a speedtrap, but if finally caught up with me! Dang!! I guess it's karma for all of those times I've gone been speeding on that road! You know what they say...Karma's a bitch!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I'm so confused...but when in the world did I move to Seattle? Wait...I'm not in Seattle?? Well why in the world is it raining so much?? And why have I been craving Starbucks? :) It has been crazy here in the Salt Lake valley. It has rained more in these first 9 days of June than it has in any other complete month of June in Utah. It has been kinda nice, but I'm getting a little sick of the mid-afternoon rain. Plus I can't go fix my rock chip on my windshield until it doesn't rain for 24 hours. At this rate...that might be a long time!!

I Don't Get It

The cast of Twighlight

"Edward"

I finally watched "Twightlight". I've never read the books, and knew little about what it was all about. Pretty much I knew it involved vampires, and that people have huge crushes on "Edward".

Well, after watching the movie I cannot understand what all the hype and talk is about. First of all, the movie was LAME!! And second of all, "Edward" aka Robert Patinson....is not attractive!!


I JUST DON'T GET IT!!!

Silly Me...

It's been a few days since my most recent post, but I have an addendum to it. I totally forgot to mention probably the top 2 things that had happened in the last couple of weeks. (Even more exciting than seeing dogs at the pet store...which is pretty tough to beat!!)

1. For my birthday Matt gave me a spa gift certificate so that I could go get a massage, facial, manicure and get my hair cut with highlights. A few Fridays ago I went in and got my hair cut and highlighted. I've wanted to for quite a while, but never knew where to go get it done. Well Matt made that easy for me, and I loved the work the lady did. If I can ever have a good hair day on my own I'll post a pic!!
2. My sister gave me cute flip flops, a pedicure kit, and lots of different toe nail polish. Matt spoiled me (or tortured since I don't like people touching my feet) and painted my toenails (and nails, which is less painful!) for me. I like having cute nails, I just hate feet. Maybe with enough exposure I can get over my weird foot aversion.

I can't belive I forgot those groundbreaking events in my life!! Silly me!

Top Five

It has been a little while since I last blogged, and nothing of great importance or significance has happened. But that has never stopped me from blogging before, and it certainly won't now. So here is my list of the top 5 things that have happened since I last blogged:

1. Matt installed a new faucet in the kitchen. Our last faucet was leaking like mad, so it is nice not to have the constant dripping noise in the background.
2. We got a new water filter on our faucet. Since we replaced the last faucet it meant that the water filter didn't fit anymore, so I spent about 15 minutes at Walmart looking at all the water filters. Ultimately I made the tough decision, I just hope it was the right one!!
3. I saw a bunch of cute puppies at the pet store in Sandy. My mom and I went to lunch at Riches Bagels and then headed next door to the pet store. I got to pet full bred Shitzu's, Chiahuahas, Yorkies...and a lot more. Let's face it, I was in dog-lovers paradise!!
4. Matt and I went to the park on Saturday for a picnic and to throw the football around. Not only was my Subway sandwich totally tasty, and my spiral was spot on...but I got to play with 9 week old golden retriever puppies!! Yeah!!
5. On Monday and Tuesday this week I actually got a full 8 hour work day. Normally I wouldn't be so excited about this, but due to the decreased mail volume full 8 hour days have been few and far between. It feels great to actually accomplish a full days work, something that I have missed as of late!!

I hope that most of you have had a more exciting week than me, but to each his own. Right??

Laughing In Bed

Have you ever woken up from a dream laughing? I did last night. It was so funny!! The dream is hazy, but it involved a dance rehearsal and a hound dog. The rest of the details are sketchy, but what I do remember is being woken up partly by my laughing and partly because Matt was concerned about why I was shaking.
This is actually the second time in a few months that this has happened, and it is hilarious!! The last time involved lettuce. I know, hound dogs and lettuce?? What's so funny about that?
I guess you just had to be there!!

First Time This Year...

Matt and I decided to buy some golf clubs late in the year last year. We really enjoyed going to the the driving range and putting green, but never played a round of 9 or 18.
We've been excited for spring to come so that we could get back to the golf course and get our golfing groove on again! But of course it didn't live up to the expectations we had built up during those months and months of having to play golf on the wii and not in real life!
I totally sucked it up today!! I think I was even worse today than I was the very first time I even picked up a club!! It was a bit discouraging because I was really starting to make some progress at the end of last year, but now all of that progress is gone!! The future is not completely doomed though, so I'm looking forward to the progress to come!!
Eventually I will be ready to play those 9 or 18 holes, and I will be dressed to the nine's when I do. I'm talking argyle socks, capris, polo, visor....the hole nine yards!! If...or when it happens, I'll post pictures. It'll be awesome!!

Injured Dog Shuts Down NYC Expressway

This story is so sweet!! Dog lovers don't worry, it isn't very gruesome! This is why a dog is mans best friend.

What Happened???

For some reason the clip that I put with my last posting went away after a day. Here it is again, hope you enjoy!!!

Birthdays

It was my birthday yesterday, and I don't say that to make people feel guilty if they didn't remember, I'm just stating the fact. To be quite honest, as I grow older, birthdays don't matter as much. Although that doesn't let Matt or my family off the hook for it!!
I'm a fan of Jim Gaffigan, and I heard this sketch again today and it made me laugh! I hope it makes all of you laugh too!!!
Thanks to everyone who made my 27th birthday something to remember!! I love all ya'll though!!

Happy Mommy's Day

Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there! But most importantly, happy Mothers day to my mommy!! Not only has she always been there to love, support and encourage me as my mom, but as my friend!!

Personally I'm glad that I'm not a mom because I don't think I'm ready to have those responsibilities! But I guess in a way, I am a mommy. I have 2 beautiful cats that I love and adore, and get annoyed by! I know it's not the same as having a human child, but in some simple ways it is the same! As my mom said, I'm a 'kitty mama'! It's kinda like a 'baby mama', but with cats! I love those darn cats just as much as I probably will by future babies, so I'll still celebrate a tiny bit on this mothers day....aka "kitty mama day"!!

One of the Signs of Spring

One of my favorite ways to tell that it is springtime is the appearance of baby geese and baby ducks! It is the cutest thing to see the families walking around together.
Today as I was walking up to my apartment I came across two families of geese with their little geeselings (??) The parents are really protective of their little babies.
A few days ago they were hanging out right by the staircase and everytime I took a step forward the Mom took a step forward and hissed at me. I was nervous that it would attack me if I got to close, so I just patiently waited for them to wander away. They are adorable though, so I didn't mind!

Weekend Getaway

3 day weekends are rare, and will essentially be non-existent during the summer months to come. So when Matt learned he had Friday-Sunday off, we decided to bolt down to St. George for a weekend getaway!
The weekend was pretty uneventful, and at some times similar to what we would have done if we were in Salt Lake, but it was nice to have a change of scenery! (And having warmer temperatures didn't hurt either!) We did drive by a random small car show and saw some very nice vintage Corvettes and Shelbys. Too bad Matt's dream car wasn't there... a 1966 Cobra. I guess with a price tag of around $1 million, we weren't expecting to see it. I fell in love with a vintage Stingray. I'll put it on my Christmas list!
On Saturday afternoon after playing a round of mini golf we decided to head to gamble away a small fortune in Mesquite. It's only a 30 or 40 minute drive, so we coudn't resist!! We ended up staying longer than we were expecting because Matt was doing quite well at the Texas Holdem table. Overall I ended up losing $20, but Matt ended up earning $20 after all of his game play! So really we ended up breaking even, and got hours and hours of entertainment, so I call that a success!!
Sunday was bascally devoted to cleaning, eating, and driving. We had recorded the Jazz vs Lakers game and were excited to get home so that we could watch it. Unfortunately that excitement left all too soon due to the lopsided score. We didn't let that bring us down after a great weekend though!! I wish I had pictures, but we had so much fun that we completely spaced bringing it with us to any of the fun events. Oh well, you know what we look like!

My Dream Job

I heard a report on KSL about a new airline that caters to pets. Instead of flying with the animals in the cargo area while their owners are up in the cabin fighting to get a full can of soda and an extra packet of peanuts, it is an airline which keeps the animals in their own seat in the cabin.

I love animals, and have at times considered being a flight attendant because I love to travel. I thought that this would be a good combination of two of my passions. The company is called Pet Airways , but unfortunately since they don't have flights out of Salt Lake, so I don't think I'll be relocating for this job. But it gives me hope, that one day I can serve dog biscuits and water in a goblet to a canine at 30,000 feet!!

Life is Pretty Rough

Check it out...I actually worked 5 whole hours today. 5 hours!! It was pretty rough.
Normally I wouldn't be complaining about that, but since mid-March my hours have been cut back a ton. I've been averaging about 3-4 hours a day lately, so 5 seemed like an eternity.
Maybe ya'll need to write more letters so that I have more work again. I've got 2 cats to feed after all!!

10 Things About Me

I got tagged FOREVER ago for this, but I figured it was about time to fill it out. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if I end up surprising myself, as well as you the reader. So here we go.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

1. I love grocery shopping!! I secretly would like to start my own shopping service, but I'm not sure that people hate grocery shopping enough to pay someone else to do it.

2. I love the Biggest Loser! You would die laughing at me if you could watch me watching it. I laugh, I cry, I dance, I binge on sugary foods, I jump up and down, and do my own exercises in front of the t.v. It is quite a site!!

3. I love watching infomercials! There have been many a Saturday morning that I've lost numerous hours watching them. My favorites are the Magic Bullet and the GT Express.

4. I have depression. I have a therapist. It's cool though!

5. I listen to hours and hours of talk radio each day. My day usually begins with the robotic Grant and Amanda in the morning, followed by either Radio from Hell or the Morning Zoo. Then I go back to ksl to listen to the Doug Wright show. I used to even listened to the evil Sean Hannity during election season, but I can't stand the sound of his voice anymore! But don't judge me for my poor past judgement, I've learned my lesson.

6. My most embarrassing moment happened in front of my ex-boyfriend and his best friend. I had been sick with the flu and on our way home from a wedding reception I threw up in the car and....well I'll just put it this way, I was losing it from both ends!! Horrible!!

7. When Matt and I were visiting San Diego in November 2007 we made the horrible decision to drive down to Tiajuana, Mexico. We had intended on parking on the U.S side of the border and walking across into Mexico, but since we weren't paying attention we ended up driving into Mexico and proceded to get lost. We were 2 white people in a brand new convertible in Tiajuana, so needless to say we stuck out a little! We got pulled over by an officer who claimed we were speeding. Whatever! And not only were we supposedly speeding, but he also informed us that we violated our rental car agreement by leaving the U.S. and he needed to impound the car....unless of course we wanted to fork over $600. As horrible as it was to part with the money, it sounded better than losing the car and being put in a Mexican prison!

8. My biggest pet peeves are people eating popcorn, the sound of clipping your toenails, and people chewing their gum like a cow or popping their gum. There are a lot more that bother me too, but thats probably the top 3!

9. I can't use a public restroom if I just saw the person who previously occupied the stall leaving it, or if there is anything in the toilet bowl besides just water. And I can't talk while using the bathroom. I'll talk in a bathroom, but the minute I enter the stall all conversations end and can be resumed after I exit the stall.

10. I have a girl crush on Jillian Michaels, the trainer on the Biggest Loser. That doesn't mean that I'm into chicks, not that there's anything wrong with that, but I just think she's awesome! She's kinda my role model because she's intelligent, got a rocking muscular body and is the kind of trainer I always wished I was, but don't have the personality for.

Whew! That's a relief to have that done! Has everyone who's filled this out had as difficult a time as I had? I sure hope so!!

April Fools??

So....this is awkward!! I'm not retiring from the world of blogging. I'm back baby!!
Actually I never left. I've got NO idea where the last post came from...seriously. Matt won't admit to it being done by him, so the mystery remains!!
I toyed with the idea of actually retiring, seeing how it had been over a month since my last post, but I'm no quitter. So sorry to say that you will still be subject to my randomness!!
Since it is like a new start for this blog, I changed it up a little! Changd the style, changed the title, but its the same old blog as before! So enjoy!

I RETIRE!

Yes, it's true. I'm retiring from the world of blogging. You never know, I might pull a Jordan and come out of retirement, but only time will tell! Thanks for those of you who have been faithful readers! See ya on the flip side!!

A recomendation..

Here's a piece of advice if you live near a Macaroni Grill - Go there and order the Pinot Grigio Chicken! Matt and I picked up Macaroni Grill to go on Valentines Day and both ordered it! One of the two of us usually gets it, but that night we both had to have it!
We had intended on eating at the restaurant on Valentines day, but when we saw the wait was 110 minutes, we ordered it to go and took it back home! It only took 10 minutes to get our food and then we got to have our own romantic dinner in front of our fireplace at home! Plus we had the meow-sical styling of DJ Chazzy Chas! Now that's something you don't get at the Macaroni Grill!!

Just In Case

Just in case you tuned into my post titled "Cupcake Trance" and was disappointed the video didn't work, I updated it. The new video is not as funny as the one that was on "The Soup", but it is still hilarious! You totally have to check it out! It's just a little scroll down from here....

Speaking of...

Since I mentioned the show "The Soup", I've got to ask if anyone else thinks that

my brother....

looks like Joel Mchale??

Cupcake Trance!!

I've never watched the show "It's Me or the Dog", but if every episode is this hilarious I might consider it. I had a video from "The Soup" showing stains the dog, but it decided not to work. This one's funny too though. I've never seen a dog in such a trance. Those must be really good cupcakes!

The Easter Bunny Must Love Me

Finally a pet peeve of mine finally worked in my advantage. Let me explain:
My pet peeve is when stores put up holiday decor way too early. For example:

• The day after Halloween the stores start loading in all of the Christmas decor...totally skipping over Thanksgiving.
• The day after Christmas the stores start loading in all of their cheesy Valentines Day presents and decor.

But even though it is months in advance, and Valentines Day hasn't even passed, I couldn't possibly be mad at the fact that the store had Easter candy....because they had one of my favorite candies.

These solid milk chocolate eggs with a crispy sugar shell are damned near impossible to find outside of the Easter season, so you can imagine my elation of not having to wait until March to get them. I'm usually not a fan of plain chocolate candies, but Cadbury has the magic recipe for deliciousness!! Happy Easter! (Even if it is months in advance!)

I'm Not Dead

I'd just like to put the rumors to rest:

No, I have not died. I am alive and well.

I haven't blogged in quite some time, but no news is good news right? II tend to get lazy in the winter because it is so cold outside that I have a hard time doing anything. The cold and dreary weather makes me want to curl up and hibernate for the winter. I think bears have the right idea!

Since I can't be as lucky as a bear, I've been passing my time in front of the television. As usual I have found myself sucked into reality shows. My guilty pleasures include American Idol, The Batchelor, and Rock of Love Bus.

I didn't ever watch Rock of Love (1 or 2), but I was drawn to watch the Rock of Love Bus because they've got a chick from Utah on it. I think her name is Kelsey, but I can't be sure. At least she's not quite as skanky as the other girls on the show. But I do have to question her sanity....because who would want to compete for this??

The American Idol episode tonight was filmed in Salt Lake. I kept my eyes peeled for someone I recognized, but alas didn't spot anyone I knew. Too bad! I love American Idol and I can't wait until we have to stop watching the train wreck auditions and can focus on the good ones.
Well, don't you feel better now that you know what I've been up to. Pretty exciting huh? Yeah, I didn't think so either. But at least there's no bad news to tell, so it could be worse.

Smooth...

On Sunday Matt and I went to the BodyWorlds exhibit, which was very cool! The theme of this exhibit was the heart, so there were numerous facts about it in addition to all of the plastinated bodies. One room in particular had about 15-20 huge barrels with a plaque that said this represented how much blood is circulated through your heart each day. I commented to Matt about how impressive that was. To which he responded....

"Yea, and you got to figure mine pumps twice as much because my hearts been racing ever since I met you"

Smooth.
Even the woman standing in front of us turned around and commented about how smooth he was. It was pretty funny!

Just For Diana

This is a shout out to Diana Olsen, because I have no other way of getting in contact with her.
Everyone else can just ignore this message, no offense to you...thanks for checking in!!

Diana Suzanne Hanks Olsen---
A few weeks ago you made your blog private, but I'm not authorized to read it. Your family is so cute, I'd love to keep up with you guys. I was hoping I could give you my email address and you could add me as an authorized person. So since I don't have your email address or phone number, I have to hope you check in on my blog sometime soon and read this. Also Lisa Syndergaard Thomas gave me her email address with hopes you could add her too. So my email is: hammy_32@hotmail.com and lisa's is: lisat563@yahoo.com
Thanks Di!!

Funny Story

So yesterday I decided that I needed to give my blog a face lift (the finished product is what you're viewing right now). Well while I was working on it, I changed quite a bit of the look, and was quite proud of it. After finishing all of my hard work I decided to do a little blog stalking. I pulled up my sisters blog to see what kind of crazy stuff her cats had done lately....and there it was, staring right at me. The exact same blog background! It was like looking at my own blog, but with her face all over it!
Most of you probably wouldn't have noticed, but it was the principle of the matter. I had to give it another look immediately, so I went back to work on the colors, background, and template. I guess there was a reason I was drawn to the same background as my sisters blog...its in our DNA! And she always said I was adopted....