People Call Me Galby

A Quick Update

2011-01-22T14:31:00.019-07:00

So once again I managed to fall into the black hole of blogging, but I am back to give you an update of the last few months.

October:

The weekend before Halloween we did a little work in our front yard and put some decorative rock in the area between the sidewalk and street. This is the before picture (but after we tore down all the weeds, which were everywhere!!!) Luckily since Matt works in construction, we had connections to get the rock for free. Our friend Wyatt volunteered his 1967 Ford truck to haul the rock from the pit to our house.

Even more impressive than the fact that this 45 year old truck still runs, is the fact that it has a bed that dumps like a dump truck.
Once all the rock was unloaded, the grading began. Matt was at work, so he missed all the "fun", but I'm glad Wyatt was able to help me shovel, rake and grade the almost 8 ton of rock we had delivered.
This was the finished product...well, sort of. The rock had a lot of dust and dirt on it, as you may notice in the picture below. The wet rock is a better representation of what the rock actually looks like than the white rock. Eventually we will be planting 2-3 trees in the parking strip, but that will be sometime this summer.

November:

We celebrated our Thanksgiving a week or so early since my sister Melissa was in town from Arizona. We had a mini Thanksgiving meal that weekend and it was delightful! Since we had already sort of done the Thanksgiving thing, over the actual holiday weekend Matt and I decided to head south to warmer weather and spend Thanksgiving in St George. It was lovely to get above freezing temperatures, especially since the Salt Lake valley was suffering with 10 degree weather as the high temp.

December:

We had a great Christmas this year. We played it pretty low key, but Matt and I decided to start a few traditions this year for our little family.

Tradition #1- Pj's on Christmas Eve ( I know...so original) Here we are on Christmas morning sporting our new jammies! Tradition #2- Having a fresh Christmas tree. Last year we didn't want to bother since we had just moved in, but this year we decided to go for it. Hopefully next year the stringing of lights will be a little easier.

We had a lovely Christmas Eve with Matt's family, and on Christmas day went to my parent's house. Here I am showing off my new Cricut from my brother and sister, which is probably my favorite gift that I received. I can't wait to finally get caught up on all my scapbooking!

Even Mojo got a Christmas present...as if he isn't spoiled enough all year long! :) Here's my dad helping Mojo show it off!

Of course the holidays are always a nice excuse to get together with family, but I was especially happy to see my grandparents who live in Arizona be able to come celebrate with us this year. And of course my brother too, who I see more often than my grandparents, but still only once a month or so!

January:

Two weeks ago we found this little guy walking around our neighborhood cold, hungry, and scared. With a face like this, we couldn't just leave it.

We brought the dog into our house and since it didn't have any tags, we decided to keep it until the next day when we would take it to the vet and have it checked for a microchip. Since it was an older dog, it didn't have one. I quickly fell in love with the dog we affectionately called Amberger (we found her on the way to Burger King and our first meal together was sharing a hamberger.) I would have loved to keep the dog, but the cats didn't like that idea, so that just wasn't an option. I couldn't bare the thought of this awesome pooch going to the shelter and being put to sleep, so I sought out a family to adopt her. When that didn't work out, a friend stepped up and offered to be a foster mom until she did get adopted. And (fingers crossed) she will have a permanent home soon)

And just last weekend, we said out with the old... And in with the new. More specifically a 2007 Nissan Xterra.

We did love the Jeep, but it proved much more hassle than was worth it. We are thrilled to now have a SUV that is MUCH more reliable!

So, as exciting or not as that is, that is what we've been up to for the last few months. Let's hope it's not another few months before I blog again :)

Happy Holidays

2010-12-12T18:55:00.002-07:00

Thanks to my friend Jenn I was reminded of the holiday fun of "elfing yourself". Here is the link to our latest family video:
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/nPakZAB9rSxsVTor

Our Song!!

2010-11-06T19:39:00.000-06:00

At my friend Jenn's wedding, my other friend asked me if me and Matt had a song. We had been dating for over 2 years at the time, but as much as I wanted to say that we had this ultimately romantic song that summed up our feelings for each other in a perfect way...ultimately I had to say that we did not. "Oh well" I thought, "I'm not in a high school relationship anymore, so no big deal." And...I didn't think about it again...until...

.... a couple of weeks ago Matt informed me that we now had a song. I had never heard the song before, so we pulled the video up on youtube and watched it together.

If you've already pushed play..you know what the video is about. But, I was completely surprised when I saw it that this is what Matt had thought was "our song" and represented our relationship. But...since he had only listened to the song on the radio, he also was totally surprised by the video also..

I think Matt picked a good song for "our song". The lyrics are great and the video is hilarious... and I think it makes me love the "our song" even more.

An Indulgent Post..

2010-11-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm calling this an indulgent post because I want to blog about some of my favorite kitty pictures.... I'm calling it.....

"The Top Ten Most Kitty-licious Moments Caught in Pictures"

(in no particular order)

#1- The human and the CatThis is one of my favorites because Stormy hates to be held, and this is a rare picture of her with a human..most importantly...me!!

#2- Kitty vs the Laptop
The newest kitty Ella loves to jump up and chase the cursor on my laptop...she's so curious about everything...I love it!!...even if she does step all over the keyboard and cause my laptop to freak out!

#3-Christmas kitty
Chas is such a good sport to let us drape tinsel all around him for a photo opportunity.

#4-Chas exploring the pantry
In our new house we have a nice big pantry...which Chas loves to hang out in and climb all over the shelves. Luckily he hasn't broken into any of our food while exploring.

#5-Stormy and her kitty tent
My mom bought the kitty tent for my cats at IKEA and Stormy especially grew very fond of it. This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Stormy...she's so cute!!

#6- Chas in the hamper
We got Chas when he was just a little guy, full of curiousity and spunk. He obviously was jealous of the time I spent with the laundry, so he thought that he'd better get in there so he could get attention too!!

#7-The one and only

Until 6 months ago, we just had the two cats Stormy and Chas....this is the only picture I have of the two of them together...precious!!

#8- Chas with eyebrows

Boredom is a dangerous thing...as illustrated by this picture of Chas..with eyebrows drawn on by Matt. Hilarious!!!

#9- Toilet training

I think this is a sign that Chas is ready to toilet train!!

#10-pure excitement

This picture was taken at the adoption fair where we got Ella...the excitment on Matt's face tells it all!!

Halloween

2010-11-01T15:11:00.000-06:00

I've never been a huge fan of Halloween. Of course I've never had anything against the holiday, afterall, I've got no complaints with a holiday that gives free candy to children...or at least I didn't have an complaints when I was the kid getting the free candy.

Since it was our first Halloween in our house, we decided to dress up and have a mini Halloween party of our own. I dressed up as a rocker chic and Matt dressed up as...umm..I'm not sure...but it was pretty scary! Here we are in our outfits...

...and here is a close up of Matt's face in all his scary glory! Unfortuately he didn't keep in his outfit very long since the wig made him want to itch his face...which doesn't work too well when covered in face paint!

Our friends Daniel and Dominique came over...along with Daniel's brother Steve.

Here we are all just goofing off! Steve-the crazy gun nut (And don't worry---it's not loaded), Daniel-the escaped prisoner, Dominique-the old-time bar maid, Matt-the guy in the Avatar wig, and Kristin-the rocker chic!!

We had a great first Halloween in our new house, and we had a lot of cute trick or treaters show up for free candy...despite the rain!

Birthday Boy

2010-10-31T14:42:00.007-06:00

It was Matt's birthday on October 14th. This year he turned the big 29!! The age actually isn't too significant, except for the fact that I kept giving him a hard time by telling him it's the last one before hitting 30!!

Since his birthday was on a Wednesday we didn't do anything too elaborate or exciting to celebrate. I did leave work early so that I could decorate the house before Matt got home.

I put up a "happy birthday" banner in the mud room since that is the first room in the house he goes into after work. I put balloons and his present on the table.

He was a little confused about what would be in a bag of that size that would be for him.
But was quite impressed when he saw "Fine Jewelry" printed on the box.

It was not a decoy box, but rather contained a titanium bracelet for him. And boy did he like it!! He's so afraid that he will damage it if he wears it at work, but the minute he comes home he is thrilled to be able to put it on. Of course the present isn't the most important part, but I'm glad he liked it and I'm glad that I have such a special person to celebrate their birthday...because that is the most important part!!

The Tour: Part I

2010-10-08T15:19:00.010-06:00

As promised for quite some time, here are some pics from inside our house. If the pictures don't quite do it for you...feel free to visit and see it in person. Upon walking through the front door you will see a picture timeline of the progress of our house construction. I got all the frames from the D.I and painted them to make them match, but keep their uniqueness.
As you continue to walk in the staircase to go downstairs is on your right, as is our huge Eiffel Tower canvas. This was quite a task to hang up, and Matt almost fell off the ledge and down the stairs. Stormys favorite spot in the whole house is to sit on the ledge. It gives her a great view, plus keeps her from getting to close to the other cats.

This is the guest bathroom. It's hard to get a good picture since because of the size..but you get it...afterall its just a bathroom.

Here is our kitchen/dining room area. We love the openess between the living spaces.

The view from the kitchen into our living room. As you can see, Matt did a great job of haning the television and surround sound sans visible wires.

The view from the sliding glass door looking towards the living room.

The view from the hallway looking back on the living room and kitchen.

The cats feeding area.

And possibly my favorite room...the mud room! This room connects the kitchen/dining room and the garage. Not only do we love having a washer and dryer, but we love having a buffer zone where Matt can shed his muddy shoes before entering the rest of the house.
Well that takes care of the "common areas" of our house. I will work on getting pictures of the bedrooms up soon.

Priorities

2010-10-05T04:38:00.009-06:00

We were very overwhelmed with all that was on the "to do" list upon moving into our house. So what did we do???...prioritize.

Our #1 priority...television.

Finally, since we weren't in an apartment we could hang our tv on the wall instead of just having it sit on our tv stand. Matt took upon himself to complete the task, and I was there to document it. step #1: drill holes for the box

Step 2: Using the drilled holes as starting spots, cut the box using a jigsaw.
Step 3: Attach the green boxes into the drywall. Now you have places for your cords to connect to your devices. Step 4: After finding the center of the wall, mark a level line parallel to the floor.Step 5: Use the parallel line as a guide for where to attach the mounting bracket.Step 6: After bracket is firmly attached, lift the television and attach it to the bracket on the wall.

Ta-da!!

Now comes the really fun part...running the wires through the wall!! But first you've got to figure our which cord is which!

Continuing the Adventure

2010-09-30T15:29:00.006-06:00

First Night in the New House

Matt and I were pretty exhausted after moving all of our stuff inside the house, but my desire to not live in complete chaos was motivation to start organizing. First stop, Walmart. Unfortunately, that was also my last stop. After spending hours at Walmart shopping, most of my motivation was gone by the time I came home. Gone also was my motivation to have a nice home-cooked meal our first night at our new home.

Instead...TGIFriday's frozen skillet meal was on the menu.

It was a pretty yummy meal...but not very filling. Their definition of "a meal for two" is only true if those 2 people are children, or my mother (who eats probably less than most children).
The excitement of the night came when we got a delivery of what is probably my favorite thing about having a house...

...our washer and dryer! Finally, years of going to the laudromat at the apartment complex is over!!! Yeah!!

And how did the cats adjust to the new house?
Stormy was quite adventurous, hopping in every box, curious about everything.

But Chas was a little more timid about exploring, and found an old familiar friend to get through the transition with.

Beginning the Adventure

2010-09-24T16:33:00.012-06:00

As most of you know, despite the lack of blogging by myself, Matt and I moved into our very own house in December in Saratoga Springs, UT. Even though I haven't kept current with blogging, I still can't just show you all of the finished pictures without first sharing the adventures along the way.

Adventure #1...moving:

We moved in on December 5, 2009 thanks to a lot of help from Matt's sister Jenn, his brother John, my brother Steve and my Dad.

John, Jenn, and Matt "carbing up" for the big move!

They needed all the strength they could muster to move all of this, plus more!Stormy took refuge in the spare tire on the deck while all of the action was going on.And once everything was out of the apartment, Chas just didn't know what to think about it.After loading up the apartment, our final stop was my parents house to pick up our refrigerator. Luckily it all fit in the Uhaul..who knew we actually had that much stuff?

Once at the house, the real fun began! Especially trying to get the refrigerator into the house..The refrigerator couldn't make it in through the garage like everything else, but luckily it made it through the front door, even without having to take it off of the hinges.While everyone was bustling about carring boxes and furniture to and fro, Ashton (my nephew) got to watch the Disney Channel...lucky duck!

Once everything was finally in the house Matt had to take a break among the madness. Now there was only one thing left to do...

...feed the troops!! Luckily one of the few eating establishments in Saratoga Springs is Little Caesars. We have definitely grown to appreciate their $5 Hot 'n Ready pizza and this was the perfect lunch after a lot of hard work. Thanks to everyone who helped us make the move quickly and easily...but for Matt and I...the work had just barely begun...

New Addition...kinda...

2010-09-21T17:10:00.006-06:00

I have a goal to be a better, more consistent blogger. Those of you who know me well know that I will probably only do well for a week or two..but that's better than nothing right? So I will start updating you on some things that have happened within the last 9 or so months..

We got a new addition to our family on May 1st. We adopted a new kitty...

This was taken at the adoption center (with a cell phone camera, which explains the blur) after we officially adopted her. At the time her name was "Athena", but we knew that didn't match her. After a day or so getting to know the young cat, we decided on the name Ella.

And once home it didn't take Ella long to find a good hiding spot. She was 9 months old when we adopted her and she quickly became best buds with Chas...at least in her mind they're best friends! She's been a blast to have in our lives, and we refer to her as our "latin kitten" because she rolls her rrr's! She is such a curious little buggar and is always getting into trouble, but we love her!

Especially when she finally tuckers out and cuddles on your lap while you watch tv!

Lucky Streak

2010-03-29T14:22:00.002-06:00

As you may have read, or can read below this post, I won a contest earlier this month and got to go to the Jazz game and be a true blue fan. Well my luck has continued. This morning on the KSL news at 6 they have a contest during the final weather segments. The question had to due with the Panda Express menu. It was:

Panda Express has a new entree, is it Honey Nut:

a. chicken

b. shrimp

c. kabob

Do you know the answer? I did....Luckily Matt and I had been to Panda about a weak prior and got to try the new Honey Nut Shrimp. So when I heard the weatherman finish the question I luckily had my cell phone next to me which has email on it. So I quickly typed the answer (B) and sent it away. I didn't get an email back, so I assumed I lost. Then magically I heard and saw my name on the television saying that I had won a $50 Panda Express gift certificate! Yummy...that will buy a lot of Panda! I'm wondering what good thing will happen next...I'm thinking I should give Wendover a shot!!!

True Blue Jazz Night

2010-03-08T10:57:00.012-07:00

Matt and I love to watch JAZZ games on television. (More specifically we DVR them and watch them at our convenience, but either way!) During the game they have a graphic on the bottom of the screen and it tells you to text the number and you could win something. Well I entered the "true blue jazz fan" contest which was an opportunity for you to pick a job within the arena and be able to "work" for a night. Some of the different choices were ball boy, team president, security, tv producer, superscreen, game operations, etc. Well out of 20,000 text messages I won and got the chance to work with the game operations team at Saturday nights game versus the LA Clippers.

We arrived at the ESA at 5:30 a nd went into the Jazz 100 club downstairs for a nice meal of rolls, salad, veggies, pot roast, and yummy desserts. Each contest winner (two for each job) got to bring a guest, so of course I brought Matt. The vice president of the team spoke to us for a while and surprised us with a jersey of our very own.On the back of the jersey it says "Jazz True Blue Fan 2010". It is pretty cool and authenticMatt was jealous that he didn't get a jersey, but all was forgotten when the Jazz dancers showed up!!

As I said, my "job" was with the game operations team. These are the guys that coordinate all of the pregame,timeout, and halftime entertainment and contests. They have a log of approximately when all timeouts will be and who does what during this time. There wasn't a lot of "work" to do during my time with them, but I did get to hold a banner for Toscanos while the Jazz dancers handed out food to a chosen section. Don't feel too bad for me that I didn't have much to do, because I got to stand on ground level and watch the game. It was so awesome being that close to the action!!

Plus I ran into the Lil Bear! I'm not sure if its an L.P. in that costume or a kid, but either way I thought it was awesome! I must have been looking hot this night or something, because Baron Davis is staring right at me with a huge grin on his face! I mean, what else could he be so happy about? During halftime we got to walk onto the court and be announced as contest winners and what our "jobs" were. It was pretty neat, and pictures should be coming soon! So after all the fun and glory of the first half, I was sent up to our seats where Matt had been sitting the whole game. It was quite a hike to get up there! But ultimately even though we were in the upper bowl we still had a pretty good view of the game!All in all it was a great night! Now I just hope my luck helps me with the other contest for a 42" HDTV!!

Where Have I Been?

2010-03-03T18:02:00.003-07:00

Most of you have probably seen this video, if you haven't been living under a rock like I have! Apparently this little kitty took youtube by storm and its not hard to see why!!

I've tried to get stormy or chas to do this same thing, but so far it's not working...darn cats!!

The Big News

2009-12-01T23:24:00.008-07:00

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

2009-06-28T18:58:00.012-06:00

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

2009-06-25T18:19:00.003-06:00

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...

2009-06-22T11:13:00.002-06:00

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

2009-06-12T10:42:00.002-06:00

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

2009-06-11T20:51:00.003-06:00

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

2009-06-10T18:25:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-06-09T19:05:00.003-06:00

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

2009-06-09T16:00:00.000-06:00

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...

2009-06-08T17:28:00.003-06:00

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!!)

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!!
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

2009-06-03T21:23:00.002-06:00

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:

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.
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!!
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!!
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!!
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

2009-05-19T19:52:00.003-06:00

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...

2009-05-17T19:50:00.002-06:00

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

2009-05-15T20:09:00.001-06:00

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???

2009-05-15T19:17:00.001-06:00

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

2009-05-14T20:50:00.003-06:00

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

2009-05-10T20:17:00.004-06:00

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

2009-05-07T20:30:00.007-06:00

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

2009-04-21T22:07:00.000-06:00

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

2009-04-20T19:47:00.004-06:00

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

2009-04-16T15:44:00.002-06:00

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

2009-04-10T18:46:00.006-06:00

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??

2009-04-09T18:33:00.002-06:00

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!

2009-04-02T16:09:00.004-06:00

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..

2009-02-16T16:43:00.004-07:00

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

2009-02-04T19:58:00.003-07:00

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...

2009-02-03T19:05:00.005-07:00

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!!

2009-02-03T19:00:00.004-07:00

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

2009-01-29T18:25:00.004-07:00

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

2009-01-28T20:50:00.006-07:00

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...

2009-01-05T14:04:00.003-07:00

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

2009-01-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-01-03T19:36:00.002-07:00

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....

So Long 2008

2008-12-31T19:11:00.005-07:00

The caption is kinda blurry, but reads:

"Remembers: No drinkin n drivin- comes home safe to your kittehs n goggies n those other hoomins u keep in deh house"

Happy New Years everyone! Hope you had a great 2008, and have an even better 2009!

Furry Thief

2008-12-29T19:50:00.001-07:00

Our Christmas

2008-12-27T14:45:00.028-07:00

I know it's 2 days late, but Merry Christmas to all! I hope your holiday was as nice as mine was.
We spent Christmas Eve with Matt's parents and sister. We had a tasty turkey dinner, opened presents (I got a soft blanket and slippers while Matt got some tools. Thanks Patti and Wendell!), and had a Christmas moment about the symbolism behind Christmas trees.

Our Christmas tree
Stormy loved to hide under the tree
Santa came to our home a little early, so on Christmas eve we just had to open our presents from the big guy. Matt got a mini remote control car, and the cats love to chase it and be chased.

So small it fits in the palm of your hand!
Stormy and Chas look like Godzilla cats compared to the remote control.
On Christmas morning we woke up around 8:00 and found that Santa had filled our stockings with goodies!Stockings by the fireplace

Showing off our loot

Santa brought Matt some body spray, Andes mints, a Homer Simpson ornament, shaving
cream and a Save A Blade. Santa brought me a couple ornaments, gloves,
and chocolate covered cherries.

Matt and I spent the morning opening up the presents from each other, saving one each to open at my parents house later that afternoon. I gave him a hard time about the gifts that he gave me, but I really did love them. See if you notice any theme to the gifts...

Crock pot and pots and pans? I joked around that he was being a sexist by getting me these gifts as a way to hint that I should be spending more time in the kitchen. And then later that afternoon I opened a fitness game for the wii fit featuring Jillian from the Biggest Loser. So now he's telling me I'm fat and need to lose weight? Sexist pig? NO! I actually had all of the gifts on my Christmas wish list, so it was great. But I did love giving him a hard time about it...and still do!
I hope Matt liked his presents as much as I liked mine.

Showing off his new shirt

Doing his best model pose in his new shirtI confused him a little by disguising his next gift

But he figured it out and was very excited. (It's an Ipod)
Then he was happy to get an FM transmitter (so he can listen to the mp3
player over the car radio)

And don't worry, we didn't forget about the cats. They got their own feast on Christmas day! Fancy Feast to be precise! It was so fancy it almost looked good enough for me and Matt to eat!

Chas and Stormy chowing down

Later that afternoon Matt and I went to my parents to continue to Christmas celebrations! The four of us sat around the living room and took turns opening presents in the fine tradition of youngest to oldest!

Me and Matt at my parents

The tasty spread of goodies

Mom showing off her new slippers

Mojo the Christmas puppy

Yeah, a wii fit! Thanks Melissa!!
I finally got Matt his dream car. I think it's a little small though..
Matts new Putt n Hazard. Thanks mom and dad!

Christmas was only missing two things: my brother and sister! It's too bad we couldn't have the whole family together, but they were there in spirit! There were also many other great gifts, I just don't have photos of everything. If there's not a photo of a gift, it doesn't mean that I liked them any less though. It was a great Christmas, so thanks to everyone who made it special for us!

Boots Brought Us Together!

2008-12-26T21:22:00.005-07:00

Who knew that on a trip to JCPenny that I would come with boots, and leave with a date. Two years ago my parents had gotten me a pair of boots for Christmas. Unfortunately they didn't fit, so I had to brave the elements and the crowds the day after Christmas in order to try to exchange them. This is when I met Matt.
He was working in the shoe department and helped me try to find a new pair of boots. After a little bit of talking (and he claims me staring) he asked me out, and we've been practically inseperable ever since!!
Since we can't remember when our first date was, or when we officially became girlfriend/boyfriend, we celebrate today as our anniversary! Matt actually claims we celebrate today because it was when he fell in love with me, but I'm not sure if that is true or it he's just watched too many chick flicks!
Seeing how it is so close to Christmas, we didn't celebrate very elaborately. Except for....
the beautiful necklace and earrings Matt gave me! What a good boyfriend!

Is it Christmas Yet??

2008-12-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm just as impatient as a three year old waiting for Christmas to come. Just in case there's any confusion about if its Christmas yet or not, check out this website:

http://isitchristmas.com/

Mission Accomplished!

2008-12-24T15:57:00.002-07:00

This note is a cease and desist from writing any more letters. Last week I asked you to write lots of letters with sloppy addresses so that I could get more hours. Well I was able to get a few hours of overtime without the risk of going postal, so good work everyone! Thanks for all you help. You can resume your perfect handwriting.

I Need Your Help

2008-12-11T14:41:00.002-07:00

Christmas is only two weeks away, yikes! Which means I've got to be buying Christmas presents for my loved ones. I love shopping, especially for others, but something is missing. Money! I thought that I'd be swimming in the proverbial overtime cash, but not this year..at least not yet.
This is where each of you comes in. I need you to write REAL mail, not this electronic mail that I've heard about. And not do you need to start using the United States Postal Service, you need to write the recipients address almost illegible. Don't write it completely illegible, otherwise that card or letter will probably end up in Singapore. But, if it is written sloppily enough that the computers can't read it, and it will get sent to me. The more letters we get, the more overtime we get, and the more money I get...and the more presents others get. So really this is your chance to do a little charity, and it will only cost you $0.42 per letter. What a bargain!
For now I'm encouraging using real mail over the use of email, but please be ready to go back to email in about a week. After I get a few days of 10-12 hours of work I will be cursing every letter that comes through to me. But for a short while I will be excited to see them, so help out if you can.

Finally!

2008-12-09T22:30:00.004-07:00

I was so excited that it snowed on Monday. Finally the weather is actually starting to act like we are in December and only weeks away from Christmas. I really do hate to be cold, but I like the snow, and it just seemed wrong for it to be 60* in December. I just hope it keeps snowing so we can have a white Christmas!

Mold!

2008-11-30T19:20:00.002-07:00

I love decorating for holidays, especially Christmas. It's my tradition to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. I had gotten the 24 hour Christmas music station on, taken out my big tupperware box of Christmas decorations...only to lift the lid and find MOLD!!
Not everything had mold growing on it, but as we dug deeper to find the source, we found some black mold. At that point we put everything back in the container, closed the lid, and threw the container out in the garbage! I was sooo sad that all my Christmas goodies were gone, but I had heard bad things about black mold, so we thought our health was worth throwing away $200 worth of decorations.
There was a little good news to come from this, I got to go shopping for new stuff. But the bad was that I don't have enough money to replace everything, and some stuff had some funny memories behind it. Oh well, I'll just make new memories with the new stuff!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished!

2008-11-26T15:39:00.002-07:00

Not to toot my own horn, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving I made a donation to the Utah Food bank. All week various radio stations have been doing food drives, tugging on the heart strings of their listeners, and it finally got to me and I decided to go to the store and buy some various Thanksgiving-y food items.
As if it weren't enough to just do something nice for those less fortunate...I got rewarded also. They gave me a c.d. of local artists, and some Jazz tickets for the game vs. the Boston Celtics in February. I almost felt guilty taking the prizes....but who am I to refuse??
I know the economy has affected all of us in different ways, but I encourage you to seek out a local charity that you could help out, even if there's not any prizes in it for you. As they said on the radio, if you know where your next meal is coming from then you're better off than a lot of other people out there!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!

I like it, I love it...

2008-11-23T20:23:00.007-07:00

...I want some more of it. Bolt, that is! Matt and I saw the movie this weekend, and I loved it!! In fact I think that Matt and I laughed more and harder than anyone else in the theatre. The cool thing was that we saw it in 3D too! I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you are an animal lover like me! It's fantastic!

I Thought This Day Would Never Come..

2008-11-13T15:44:00.002-07:00

Finally!! I found gas in the Salt Lake valley for under $2. Yes, I filled up at $1.99 per gallon! When I started driving in 1998 and gas was less than a dollar per gallon, I never would have thought about being happy paying $2 per gallon. Well after paying over $4 a gallon during the summer, I was so ecstatic to be paying $1.99 that I wanted to take a picture and scrapbook my receipt!

High School Musical 4 ???

2008-11-10T20:46:00.001-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

BFF's

2008-11-10T16:19:00.001-07:00

Jesus is My Friend

I Rocked The Vote!

2008-11-04T15:33:00.003-07:00

I did my civic duty and voted today. I wasn't planning on it, but since I didn't have to even go out of my way or wait in a line I decided that I might as well. Some people waited in line for hours just to vote, so I would have felt lazy for not taking 5 minutes to go and cast my ballot.

Why I Love Halloween...

2008-10-31T16:46:00.006-06:00

...And why pets probably hate it...

Thanks to Jenn for sending me the email with all of these cute pictures. There were even more, but these were some of my favorites.

Wii Love it!

2008-10-26T14:36:00.006-06:00

As if Matt and I don't spend enough of our free time in front of the television we found another reason to. Yep, we both a Wii!
It is so much fun! It came with the Wii Sports games: bowling, tennis, golf, boxing, and baseball)
My two favorite games are golf and tennis!
We also bought Mario Kart, which is a fun racing game that you play with a hand-held steering wheel.So even if you're not a huge gamer, I would still recommend the Wii. It is nice to be playing something that is interactive. Eventually I think will get the Wii Fit and be able to get a good workout at home!

Picture Tag

2008-10-24T17:13:00.002-06:00

Koriann tagged me, and I was actually happy to be tagged because I love pictures!! So here is what you do. Go into your pictures and choose the 6th folder. Once you've opened the folder, go to the 6th picture in it, post it, and give the story of the picture.
I was hoping I would have stumbled upon an embarrassing picture of someone other than me so that I would have a legitimate excuse to post it, but instead the picture I came to was one of a whole bunch of USU people at Diana and Cameron's wedding!
Diana was my very first roommate ever in college at Utah State. During our second year of college we both lived in Old Farm, but weren't roommates. (Jenn was the lucky one who got to be roommates with her!) That was the year that she met her future husband Cameron. We all knew that one day those two would get married!
They finally got married in the summer of 2004 (I sure hope that is right!) in the Manti Temple. Jenn and I made the trip down there and stayed at Koriann's house (even though I was totally freaked out by all the dolls they had in the hallway. I swear they were watching me when I woke up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Creepy!) Their reception was later that night, and Jenn and I were assigned to the book since we were the unofficial bridesmaids.
You can't tell in the picture, but my dress showed off quite a bit of my cleavage. This became a source of embarrassment when people who came to sign the book got quite the view from above since I was sitting. And I was known as cleavage girl for at least a few weeks after that!!
One of my other favorite memories from that night was Diana's mother trying desperately to give us wedding cake. We tried to say no, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. So we tried to just share pieces of cake, but she insisted that each of us have a piece of cake. Some of us even ended up taking a piece home too! She was a cute lady!
So the photo was taken near the end of their reception in Alpine. I can't name everyone who's in the picture, but I know the important people because they were my good USU buddies and still are good buddies today! It was a fun evening, I wish I could see that gang more often.

Car Drama

2008-10-23T12:59:00.003-06:00

On Saturday the 18th Matt got into a car accident on his way to work. The other car involved careened into the side of his car when the tire basically fell off and made the car lose control. Luckily he was at a stop light and the other car was attempting to slow down, so both were able to walk away from the accident. We were told that everything would be taken care of by her insurance, but that the claims adjuster would have to come from Denver and would look at the car either Monday or Tuesday.
Sunday night we tried to get a rental car, but most places were closed, so we set it up to pick one up on Monday. So we both made it to work on Monday with just one car between us. Later that evening I picked up the rental car. I was the one who had to rent it because I had a credit card and Matt doesn't. Well since I only have liability insurance on my own car, I had to get insurance for $18 a day from Enterprise. I'm sure when Matt saw the rental car, he was glad it was for me to drive.
While I drove the Bug, Matt drove my car. The Beetle was fun to drive, but ultimately not worth the cost of the rental plus insurance. So Tuesday came and went, but still no word from the insurance company or claims adjuster.
On Wednesday we decided to return the rental car because we were worried about being reimbursed by the insurance company since we hadn't heard from them yet. We decided we could suck it up for a few days and share a car so we could save some money. Later that evening Matt finally got a hold of the adjuster and found out that the lady that hit Matt was delinquent on her insurance payment, and therefore didn't have coverage!!!
Thankfully Matt has full coverage, so he's going to go through his insurance and only has to pay the deductible to get his car fixed. Geico has treated him much better than those flakes at American Family anyway! They offered a rental car, but we would have ran into the same problem as we did before, so he turned it down.
Thankfully I have the best parents in the world!! My parents had an extra car at their house, so we played musical cars with them so that we all could have a car. My dad is now driving my brothers car, while I drive my dad's car and Matt drives my car. We'll be finding out soon how long Matt's car will be in the shop, but just hope no other car drama happens in the mean time. Thanks for helping out M & D!!

Don't Invite This Guy to Your Wedding

2008-10-21T20:28:00.001-06:00

Not Useful, But Funny

2008-10-16T17:11:00.001-06:00

Yet another thing I came across by listening to the radio for hours. The Incredible Peeing Pug! Hilarious!

Useful Info

2008-10-16T16:57:00.003-06:00

Since I listen to mostly talk radio while I'm at work, I get at least 8 hours of people rambling in my ears, usually about mindless stuff or politics (which makes me go mindless!) But today they read an interesting article from Yahoo called 10 (more) Reasons You're Not Rich. I thought it was very interesting and somewhat educational, so I thought I'd pass it on! If you already have all the money that you need then don't bother, but I think the rest of us could use some advice!

God Bless HDTV

2008-10-06T17:29:00.002-06:00

We have had our plasma HDTV for a couple of months now, but up until Saturday we were HD-less. We held off for those few months for a couple of reasons, but with football season already started we decided to bite the bullet and get HD set up.
I was skeptical that the difference would be noticeable and worth the hassel of having it installed, but the minute I saw the HD in all its glory, I knew it was worth it!
Actually the first thing I saw in HDTV was LDS General Conference...the Mo Tab has never looked so good, and the apostles have never looked so old! I had heard stories about news anchors being upset with being in hi-def because it showed their flaws. Well, I hate to say it, but some of them have a legitimate complaint!
Now HDTV, just like the DVR, is an extra convenience that I will not be able to live life without!

Funny Politcal Stuff

2008-10-01T18:25:00.005-06:00

With the election coming up in November it seems the world has gone crazy. At least the world wide web has. Whether you're Republican or Democrat or other, you don't have to search hard to find videos, blogs, or pictures supporting or degrading your presidential choice. Here are just a few things that I found either funny or interesting.

If you're not a fan of Sarah Palin, and are a fan of pitbulls check out this website.

Or maybe you really love Sarah Palin and would like to name your children like she has. Try the Sarah Palin baby name generator.

I think most everyone has seen Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, but just in case here it is. The resemblance is amazing, she's even got the accent down.

This one might be my favorite.. John Mccain gets Barack Rolled

A Day at the Zoo

2008-09-29T17:52:00.011-06:00

Since we've got great Fall weather to enjoy, Matt and I went to the Hogle Zoo. I love animals, so the zoo is one of my favorite places.

We sure had quite the adventure. First I almost got my head bitten off by a lion...If it hadn't been for the glass separating us, I'm sure this little guy would have tried to throw monkey poop at us!

Matt really liked the monkeys! Maybe a bit too much...

...and I did my best gorilla impression to fit in...
After fleeing the monkeys, we ran into Casper the "Ghost of the Bayou". Our Santa Clause friend at the front gate had told us how there are only 10 albino alligators in existence. He also said that they are all male, so they are definitely on the path to extinction. Poor fella! We were happy we came when we did though, because Casper was getting ready to leave the zoo on Wednesday.

Casper the Alligator
Me and the "Ghost of the Bayou"

Most of the animals are in cages or enclosures of some nature, so I was shocked when I came face to face with this cute animal on the loose.

...Then a bald eagle just landed on my head...

...Luckily for me some elephants showed up and scared the eagle away before it clawed my eyes out.And while the elephants were getting a drink we snuck out safe and sound! It was a great day at the zoo though!

Where Did the Week Go?

2008-09-28T09:51:00.002-06:00

Somehow despite having a 6 day weekend, I never found the time write anything on my blog. Then again, maybe it wasn't a lack of time, just a lack of something interesting to write about.
Working for the evil postal service as a transitional employee they technically fire, and then re-hire me every 3-9 months and then give you a mandatory 5 day unpaid break. It's weird, and actually really stupid, but it gets them out of having to offer us benefits. I guess it's good to know that some aspects of our government is trying to save money, I just wish they didn't have to screw me over in order to do it.
I tried to get a lot of scrapbooking done this week. I haven't done it in so long because I'm so behind that it is too intimidating. It is also a very timely process, probably requiring on average 1 hour a page. In the past couple of days I probably finished 15 pages, so I'm pretty happy about that.
I also ended up going to the gym quite often, sometimes even twice a day. I'm kind of a weirdo and actually enjoy going to the gym. It is one of my favorite things to do when I'm bored. That is probably a good thing because one of my other favorite things to do when I'm bored is eat...especially ice cream.
Because I scrapbooked in the living room, I watched a lot of t.v. too this week. (I have to have something else to focus on when I'm having a brain cramp.) I love having a DVR, if you don't have one, get one...life will never be the same for you again. I had the DVR loaded with my favorites, such as: "The Biggest Loser", "The Hills", the new "90210", "House", "King of Queens", "America's Got Talent", and "America's Funniest Home Videos". It was nice to catch up on all my favorites.
Recently Matt and I have taken up golfing. So on Friday we hit the driving range and the putting greens. We bought a set of clubs to share a few weeks ago, and have hit the driving range 5 or 6 times in the last month. We're trying to improve our driving and short game first, but hope to hit the course for 9 holes before it gets too cold. I never thought I could be into golf, but surprisingly it is a lot of fun. Plus it's something that we can both have in common where one of us isn't a ton more advanced than the other.
And as far as I can remember it, that was my week. It was nice having a couple days off, and at the time it even seemed a little too long and I kind of wanted to get into work. But now that it is Sunday and I have to work tomorrow, I'm totally dreading it! Can't wait for my next mandatory firing!!

We All Need Friends Like This...

2008-09-22T19:16:00.000-06:00

more animals

Arghh Matey!

2008-09-19T20:31:00.004-06:00

I know the day is almost over, but I didn't want to let it pass without mentioning that today is "Speak Like a Pirate Day". So dust off that wooden leg, put on that eye patch and really get in the true spirit of it! And if you need more inspiration you could try drinking a lot of rum, it seemed to be the thing to do in the movie!

Ride Along

2008-09-15T21:20:00.005-06:00

On Saturday I got to ride along for a few hours while Matt was working. For those of you who don't know, Matt works for Hadco driving a dump truck and pup. I always knew he had a hard job, but I got a new perspective riding along with him.

His truck and pup can hold 32 whopping tons worth of material! Now that explains why trucks always move so slowly!! And not only does the truck weigh a ton (figuratively, not literally) but he then have to maneuver sharp corners through the uneven dirt job sites avoiding all of the little wood markers. I didn't think it was a big deal if he hit one, but apparently if one wooden marker gets bumped or ran over they have to bring a few expensive pieces of machines out to redo the whole job site! Talk about performing under pressure!! And probably the hardest part of the job is just driving on city streets with all of the CRAZY Utah drivers!!
I'm glad I got to see my man in action and get at least a small idea of what his work day is like. He's such a hard worker!!

Matt's old truck with Phoenix Construction. He's with Hadco now, but his truck is pretty much
the same so I thought it would work to illustrate how big it is.

Ego Boost

2008-09-12T15:50:00.004-06:00

My mom sent me a funny email with the title "When you're feeling really stupid...read this" It had various quotes from some famous people that I thought were pretty funny. These were my favorites..

"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not will all those flies and death and stuff."
---Mariah Carey

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."
---Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body."
---Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky Basketball player

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
---Mayor Marion Barry, Mayor of Washington D.C

"I'm not going to have reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."
---Hillary Clinton

"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."
---Dan Quayle

In September 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.
Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever."
---Miss Alabama

Well it certainly made me feel better about myself, hope it did for the rest of you too!!
P.S--I don't know why some quotes came across as different sizes, they were all done in the same font. Crazy blog!

Scary

2008-09-04T17:50:00.002-06:00

The thought of having a child already scares me, and after this I'm even more scared to have one. I at least thought that if Matt and I ever decided to have a kid that we'd at least make a cute one. Well, I guess I was wrong. Meet my future children...

Little Baby Boy

Little Baby Girl

SCARY!!! Don't be expecting to see any babies out of me for a long while. I'll already be having nightmares about these kids, and they aren't even real!

We've Gone to the Dogs

2008-08-31T18:30:00.004-06:00

We went to the Sheepdog Championship this weekend at Soldier Hollow. Here we got to see dogs do all sorts of amazing things. It featured the sheepdog herding competition, a duck herding competition, wild things animal show, the Ultimate Canines Dog Entertainment Show, and a splash dogs competition.
I think the splash dogs were my favorite thing to watch. We took video of a few of the dogs.

Splash Dogs 1

Splash Dogs 2

Some of the dogs weren't as enthusiastic as others to jump into the pool.

Since I am a big animal lover I loved the whole afternoon. It is amazing to see how well disciplined and trained these dogs can be. I was especially impressed with the sheepdogs ability to know what way to guide the sheep down the mountain just by the way the handler blew his/her whistle. I don't think Mojo, or very many dogs for that matter, could do what those ones did. It was cool!

The Other Patient

2008-08-29T21:45:00.002-06:00

I know y'all are probably getting sick of hearing about all the cat drama going on, but this face just had to be shared. It is so tragically adorable!!
Chas got to come home this afternoon and has been feeling pretty good so far (probably because he is pretty doped up still!) We came home from the store and found him with his cone head in the water dish asleep!!! Unfortunately I don't have photo proof, but trust me, it was adorable! And don't worry, just the cone was in the water, not his face.

Kitty Update

2008-08-28T19:10:00.008-06:00

Good news- I am not as bad of a mother as I thought I was.
Bad news- It turns out I'm actually worse!
Good news- Stormy's surgery was a success!
Bad news- Chas has to have surgery tomorrow! The vet examined Chas today and found he had the same problem Stormy did (but on only one paw). I guess Chas just 'manned up' to the pain, because he showed no signs of any problems.

Stormy's paw post surgery. You can see the incision and stiches

Good news- After Chas' surgery tomorrow, my cats won't be broken anymore.
Bad news- They'll have to be on pain medication and antibiotics for 10 days. That means risking my life and limb trying to get them to take it. (At least they can only get me with 2 paws now!)
Bad news- they shaved the fur away on Stormy's paw so that they could get a good look at the pads.
Good news- even though it looks a little silly, it is adorable!!
Bad news- Stormy has to wear a cone on her head so that she doesn't nibble on her feet and take out the stitches. She doesn't like it very much.
Good news- (I feel a little bad saying this, but...) It is sooo freaking cute to see her wearing her cone. It usually doesn't last long, but I was able to catch a few pictures with her wearing it.

Stormy does not look amused!

The Animal Diaries

2008-08-28T09:02:00.001-06:00

I had seen these before, but just recently found them again. I loved them....but I'm kinda an animal freak, so maybe it's just funny to me.

A day in the life of a cat and dog

The Dog's Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 PM - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 PM - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 PM - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 PM - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.
They dine l avishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an Attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a \"good little hunter\" I am. Bastards!
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of \"allergies.\" I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my
tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and Snitches.
The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously Retarded.
The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the Guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an Elevated Cell, so he is safe.
For now.

I'm a bad mother...

2008-08-27T18:30:00.004-06:00

I'm sure all mothers have the feeling that they are a bad mother from time to time. I'm currently feeling this way. As most of you probably read, we got Stormy and Chas declawed a while ago. Chas was back to his playful self within a week of the surgery, but Stormy was still walking gingerly. I didn't think too much about it because Stormy is so timid, and Chas is just a little spas, it just seemed to fit their different personalities.
Well, weeks have gone by and Stormy was still favoring one paw. Finally I took her to the doctor today and they said she was not healed correctly because a little piece of bone was sticking out of the pad on one of the digits.
What a horrible mom I am!! I should have taken her in right away, but I figured the problem would just heal itself. So poor little Stormy has to go into surgery again tonight to stitch the skin so it will heal over the bone. (....or something along those lines)
Hopefully this surgery will fix everything and Stormy can get back to normal. I'll have to buy her love again with lots of play time and soft treats when she gets back home. And now instead of risking being a bad mother again, I'm going to turn into one of those crazy, obsessive, OCD moms....GREAT!!

the patient Stormy

Go Bees

2008-08-25T13:32:00.002-06:00

On Saturday night Matt and I went to a Salt Lake Bees game. After talking about going to a game all summer long, we finally made it on the second to last game of the season. Better late than never! Matt hadn't been to a game since he was a very little kid, so it was like a first for him.
The Bees won the game, and best of all we got to go onto the field for a fireworks show. The grass was so soft on the field, it was awesome! If I were a cow I'd like to graze there.

Kristin Day!!

2008-08-17T20:13:00.012-06:00

Friday August 15, 2008 was officially declared "Kristin Day" by Matt. We both had the day off, and after a court appearance by Matt early in the morning, we had the rest of the day to spend together! Kristin Day was nothing horribly fancy or elaborate, but it was perfect in every way!!

After a yummy lunch at Subway, we took a scenic drive through Provo Canyon. I didn't know what the plan was, and was trying to guess the whole time. A hike? Timp Cave? Picnic? Park City?
I was certainly surprised when we ended up in Heber City...at a bowling alley! Most surprising was how much fun we had. It was a "ma and pa" bowling alley with a quaint country feel. We loved it and had a blast!! Best bowling ever!

Matt in action

Let's see him pick this spare up!

Having a good time

Cute? Scary? You make the call!

As always Matt and I put a small wager (housework, etc) on the game... and history repeated itself when I got my butt kicked by Matt!
I eventually turned to the helper ramp and finally picked up a spare! But it was too little, too late!

Matt was certainly excited that he beat me! (Especially since he doesn't have to do the housework for a while!)

After our time in Heber we headed into Park City to browse Main Street. I ran into some unique wildlife while we were doing our shopping...

A moose wearing pants? How silly!

I loved Franz the Bear. He's so cute!

After browsing Main Street for a while we wound up back in Salt Lake and ate dinner at The Macaroni Grill. (I totally recommend the Pinot Grigio chicken..yummy!!) Finally we ended up back at home and ended the Kristin Day celebration with some good old fashioned "America's Funniest Home Videos". (We love that show!)

And that was Kristin day!! It may not sound like much, but I loved it!! It doesn't matter what I'm doing, I just love spending time with Matt!! I just hope Kristin Day becomes tradition! Wait...he's so sweet that everyday seems like Kristin Day!!

What's In A Name?

2008-08-12T20:32:00.003-06:00

Here's another tidbit of information so that you parents (and future parents) out there can avoid raising a promiscuous child. It's all in the name...

According to the North American Journal of Sexual Health, a survey involving over 5,000 guys found the top 5 names of women who are most likely to sleep with a guy on the first date. In no particular order, they are:

Lindsey
Jenny or Jenni
Christy or Christi
Nicole or Nikki
Erin

The survey also found increased odds with girls whose name ends in an "I" or draws a little heart over an "I". Women with two name first names, like Ann-Marie or Mary-Jo, are also in the top ten. What about girls who go by their full given name, like Jennifer or Patricia? They're less likely to go to bed on the first date.

I know there's already a lot of pressure in naming a child, I guess this just adds one more thing to consider!

Yummy!!

2008-08-11T20:21:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago my parents came over to the apartment and Matt and I made a gourmet meal. My mom has asked me for the recipe a couple of times, and since I'm kinda ditzy I keep forgetting. Well since I finally remembered I thought I'd put it up here for her and then the rest of you can enjoy it too!
Don't be fooled by thinking "I've had hamburgers, these can't be much different..." Oh, sooooo tasty, give them a shot! I've copied the recipe exactly, but then put my own notes from our cooking experience on the bottom! Enjoy!

Prize Grilled Hamburgers

2 Lb lean hamburger
1 Lb pork sausage
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 cup instant mashed potatoes
2 eggs
2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk

Mix all ingredients well. Shape into patties. Grill for 5 minutes on each side. Turn once (may be wrapped in foil after grilling and heated in the oven).
Makes 10 servings

***We did not add the milk to the meat mixture. By the time all the other ingredients were together the consistency was already really sticky, we couldn't imagine adding another cup of liquid to it.
***Some burgers shrink as you cook them...these didn't! The recipe says it should make 10 burgers, but I still think that is a lot of meat for one burger. So unless you are a huge meat lover I would make at least 12 patties.

Are You Doomed?

2008-08-05T15:18:00.004-06:00

On the radio this morning they were talking about weddings (how much they cost, how many guests, etc.) and the DJ relayed a stat that he had either read or heard (I'm sure it was from a very reputable source. After all, he's on the radio, he can't just be making stuff up...) Anyway, what some study apparently found out was that....
people who spend over $20,000 on their weddings only have a 15% success rate!!
Which leads me to ask...is your marriage doomed? I'm not married yet, but I wish I had enough money to be doomed! Just kidding! If I had that much money I'd rather take half of that amount and put it towards a down payment on a house, but that's just me!

Teaching An Old Dog a New Trick

2008-08-03T20:29:00.002-06:00

Have you ever tried to re-train yourself to do something differently than you have done it for the last 8+ years? It's kind of frustrating! I just got a new cell phone on Saturday and got one with a "Qwerty" keyboard. I didn't know this until I saw it, but a qwerty keyboard is just like the keyboard you use with your computer, but it's on a smaller scale on your cell phone. Whats the big deal you ask?
I'm a pretty big fan of texting and am used to the regular 9 key pad on a cell phone where there is 3-4 letters per key, and they are in alphabetical order. So it's quite an adjustment to have a totally different keypad. You might think that since I'm on a computer typing all day long that it would make texting easier...and you would be wrong!!!
I'm willing to bet in 3-4 days I will be loving life with my qwerty keyboard, but for right now it is just frustrating to readjust. Each key on my keypad has two letters on it, rather than just one per key like a computer keyboard, and this has been causing me all sorts of problems. It now takes me about 10 minutes to compose a simple text message so I feel about as uncoordinated as my mother trying to text! (sorry mom!)
So to those of you who I do text, please be kind and forgive me for taking a long time to respond and forgive me if I send you a totally jumbled message. We'll see if this old dog can't learn this new trick!!

Cute Video

2008-07-29T20:49:00.002-06:00

If you haven't seen the Christian the Lion video, you have got to watch it! It is quite amazing! It is only 2 and a half minutes and it'll make you smile on the inside and out! I love the music in the background too, it's my favorite!!

The Price of Pimping

2008-07-25T16:55:00.011-06:00

So I've already bragged about the new furniture, but there was a slight problem. The cats and the leather did not peacefully co-exist. After even a few hours we noticed some small scratches in the leather. Since we plan on keeping these couches for quite a while and want to keep them looking nice, we decided that it was time to get rid of Chas and Stormy.
Just Kidding!! I could never do that, I'm much more attached to those darn cats then I am to any possession. The solution we came up with was to have them declawed. Now I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about declawing, and I've heard the pros and cons, so please don't come at me and tell me how horrible I am for doing it.

Stormy's now declawed paw

Chas post showing off the battle wound

I took them in to the Utah Pet Center (formerly the Fun Dome and the 49th Street Galleria) on Monday morning for their procedure. The people were super friendly and seemed to be very thorough. They even kept the kitties overnight for observations. It was a lonely, but quiet night here on Monday.

Tuesday afternoon I went to pick them up, and boy were they happy to see me! Okay, actually I think they were happy to go home, but pissed at me that they had their surgery! Chas yelled (meowed) at me most of the afternoon, and Stormy ran under the bed and was not seen until the next morning.

Stormy hiding under the bed

Antibiotic and pain reliever for the patients

The cats are making a great recovery. I have to give them their medicine twice a day, but overall they are feeling much better now, and getting to be more active again. After days of constant attention and treat overload I think the cats have forgiven us. We're looking forward to being able to play fight with them and not get the crap clawed out of our hand! And we just hope their back claws won't destroy our new furniture...but we refuse to remove all 4 claws, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed!!

Stormy's feeling better

Pimping Out The Pad

2008-07-23T15:11:00.008-06:00

I don't want to sound ungrateful to those who gave me the furniture I did have in my apartment (Mom and Dad, John and Jenn), but it was about time to stop living like a college student and get some more comfortable furniture, that actually matched!
Last Saturday I spent the majority of the morning cleaning the living room, moving the old furniture, and waiting for Ashley Furniture truck to make their delivery! We spent a few last precious moments with the old furniture. Afterall, we had many good memories on the furniture!

Matt and the Lazy Boy

Me with the couch and chair

We put the furniture by the dumpster in hopes that someone else could get some good use out of the furniture. And sure enough, a couple of hours later it was gone! Now it was just a waiting game for the new furniture!
I usually hate waiting for deliveries because they always give you a 4 hour window that they'll come within, but after waiting, scared to leave the house even for a few minutes, they end up showing up 15 minutes before being considered late.
Not the case this time. The nice folks at Ashley told me the furniture would come between 12 and 4. Well it wasn't later than 12:20 and those nice delivery men were knocking at the door with the furniture! Yippee!!

Me and the new sofa (2 seats recline)

Our new Recliner

The new living room set-up

We are totally loving our new stuff! It is soooo comfortable, looks sooooo much better, and it gives it more of a feeling of home! Plus, we had to have a comfortable place to watch the new t.v.

I know I've posted a pic of the t.v. already,
but we got a new stand

So now everyone can feel free to come visit because we can now seat more than just 3 people!

Since when did I become a movie critic?

2008-07-18T16:56:00.006-06:00

While millions and millions of people are going to be flocking to theatres to see"The Black Night" movie, I joined the other millions of people (largely women and men dragging their feet) and saw "Mama Mia". I was skeptical about this movie for a couple of reasons.
First, I'm always skeptical when they turn a t.v. show into a movie, or in this case, a Broadway play into a movie, it just never seems to translate as well.
Secondly, I had downloaded some of the tracks off the soundtrack and at first I was very disappointed. Since I've had the Broadway Mama Mia soundtrack on my Ipod for the last year my expectations were high and weren't met.
All this being said, I loved the movie! All my skepticism went right out the window! Some could argue the movie is a better medium to see Mama Mia because you don't have to have front row seats to see what is going on and to get the facial cues and body language that you miss sitting in the nosebleed section of Capital Theatre. I think one reviewer put it best when he said that since it's on the big screen they had to get people who were actors first, and singers second...but you hardly notice or care because it's so darned entertaining. And after seeing the movie I already like the soundtrack more because now I know the story and emotion behind the song.
All the actors really held their own with the singing...except for Pierce Brosnan. I like him as an actor, but I found myself laughing every time he started to sing. In my own humble opinion it wasn't very good, and he had odd facial expressions as he sang. But hey, he's 007 and is pretty dang sexy for a man his age, so I don't think he has anything to worry about!
If I were a real critic I would give this movie 3 1/2 stars, but mostly because I'm a sucker for chick flicks and musicals! But I really do recommend it, but you might want to leave the boyfriend or husband at home, unless of course he's in the dog house and you want him to suffer!!

Yee-haw!

2008-07-13T19:25:00.004-06:00

Matt had never been to a rodeo, so I had to make sure that we went to at least one this summer. I thought about going to the Day's of 47 Rodeo, but it just didn't feel authentic enough. So, I heard the Ute Stampede Rodeo was coming up, and best of all, it was in Nephi, UT. Not to be disrespectful to the people of Nephi, but I was picturing a lot of mullets, cowboy hats, and Wranglers. Sounded perfect to me!!

Originally we were going to drive down and back the same evening. However we decided to get a room instead so that we wouldn't be driving 80 miles back to Salt Lake at 11 p.m. We ended up getting a room at the luxurious Super 8 motel. Oh yea, we're living the high life!! Our room was adequate, but it was lousy with grasshoppers. They were EVERYWHERE, but at least they weren't in our room and not one grasshopper sight at the rodeo!
The rodeo was fantastic! It started with a parachuter entering the arena with a huge American Flag attached to him. He had a perfect landing and the National Guard was quick to pick up the flag and display it. We had great seats right over the chutes, so we got a great view of the bareback and saddle bronc, and the bull riding. (Unfortunately we our camera batteries died by this point...so no pics!)
The "host" and clown were pretty entertaining but when of the highlights of the night was the "One Armed Bandit", and it wasn't just a clever name! He really only had one arm, and yet rode his horse while cracking his whip in the air. And remember, he only had one arm, so if it was cracking the whip...that meant he wasn't holding on to the horse at all! He was able to take his horse on top of his trailer, and round up 2 HUGE Bison onto the top of the trailer as well. It was pretty cool!
I had an awesome time but the important thing was that Matt had fun at his first rodeo. I'm sure we'll definitely be going to more rodeos in the future! Yee-haw...giddy up!

Greatest Show EVER!

2008-07-10T21:50:00.013-06:00

If you're an animal lover you have to start watching "The Greatest American Dog" on CBS. I was actually surprised that the show was as entertaining as it was. The premier episode was last night and I've already picked my favorites.

Travis and Pressly

Laura and Preston

David and Elvis

They've put the contestants up in a lavish mansion, complete with a super dog suite! It has a golden bone key, a huge bone shaped door, toys galore...it's great! But it's sad when I see dogs living better than me! :)
You've heard that dogs and their owners sometimes look alike...well some of these teams prove it! Take for example...

Beth Joy and Bella Scarlet

So, Thursday nights 7pm Channel 2....check it out, you'll love it!!

Scooter For Sale

2008-07-10T14:04:00.003-06:00

I'm sad to be doing this, but I'm selling my scooter. It is 2005 PGO My Bubu 50cc scooter. It gets awesome gas mileage (80-100 mpg) and gets up to 50 mph. It is so much fun to cruise around on a nice summer day, and can even fit 2 people! I'll miss Boo, but I would be happy to know she went to a nice home, so if any of you out there are interested let me know. I'm selling it for $1200 and it comes with some extras. Here's the link to the KSL ad in case you want more information.

I love reality tv!

2008-07-09T13:45:00.005-06:00

Monday night was the finale of "The Batchelorette". It was bittersweet. I was so excited to find out who won, but I was sad to see it end! I know, it's kind of pathetic, but what might be more pathetic is that I cried at the end.
I tend to get really involved in these kind of shows, and always have. Back in college Jenn, Diana, Jesse, Becki, and I used to watch "The Batchelor" religiously! It was an event every Monday night and we always had lots of fun bashing on the contestants together. It's not quite the event that watching a reality show used to be, but I still enjoy them. And since the invention of the DVR, I don't even have arrange my schedule around the t.v show, it's fantastic!
I won't spoil the ending of "The Batchelorette" just in case you, like me, recorded it and are waiting for a few spare hours. However, if you 8 minutes to spare then you can watch the exciting conclusion here! I loved it, and you will too!!

The Mystery Is Solved

2008-07-07T18:10:00.006-06:00

All this time I was blaming my cats for the disappearance of my Ipod. I had thoughts of them jamming out to the music and then holding it for ransom (more treats, a different kind of food, etc). Given what really happened, I would have preferred the ransom, it would have at least made a better story!
But it turns out that it was all Matt's bosses fault! Here's my reasoning: Matt was supposed to work on Thursday, and if he had then we would have found the Ipod on Friday morning. But NOOO...since he had a 4-day weekend we didn't find it until this morning, when Matt was putting his work shoes on! And there it was, staring up at him like it was mocking us!! Of course I had already gone out and bought a new Mp3 player since Matt swore up and down it was not anywhere in the bedroom! Just my luck that my Ipod had fallen from the bed and perfectly landed in his shoe! What are the odds? My new Mp3 player is much superior as far as storage and the bonus of having a FM tuner, but who needs 2 Mp3 players? I guess now I'll have a back up in case the cats ever do mutiny against me!

You know it's depressing when...

2008-07-06T20:09:00.003-06:00

...the cat gets mail, and you don't!! No joking! Stormy got a birthday card from Petsmart, and she even gets a free treat or toy. I wish I got mail that good! All I ever get is bills or credit card applications. I guess Petsmart knows who really runs this house!

The Cats are Rebelling!!

2008-07-03T12:35:00.006-06:00

Sure, they might look cute, but don't be fooled! They are tricky little devils! I'm under the assumption that one or more of my cats has stolen my ipod. I had it yesterday as I was laying in bed, but when I was just about to run out the door to the gym...it was gone! Vanished!! The only possible place it could have been was the bedroom, and it isn't there! Matt and I have checked everywhere, and since it's not a very big room, there's only so many places it can hide. Since I would NEVER misplace anything, I know it must be them! But those darn cats aren't saying a word! We even tried playing good cop, bad cop with them for hours, and still nothing. We'll continue the investigation, but in this case, I'm assuming guilt until proven innocent!