Marshmallow faced babies, meditating wrestlers and dogs with birthday hats on.

Since I am so behind, I will do one of those all encompasing catch up posts we are all so familiar with. Well, here goes...

For Memorial Day my friend Sami had a bunch of us up to her family's cabin. Sami origionally told me it was only about 30 minutes outside the valley, but when we met to carpool up there, she revealed it was in Oakley. Ok, so for those of you who know your Utah geography, Oakley is NOT 30 minutes away. More like an hour or more. Oh well, we made it. We roasted hot dogs with her sister's friends and then roasted marshmallows before it got to cold to be outside. We only stayed a couple of hours cause I was in the car with the child (I rode with Vivian and Xander), but we weren't the only ones with kids, so it wasn't a big deal for us to leave early. We all had a good time, and it was fun to get out of the city for even a little while. It was very pretty. Oh, and as we were leaving I managed to sprain my ankle about 10 feet from the car. Go me. I was also carrying Xander and I pride myself on not falling on the child as I fell. Viv even said it was kind of graceful how I got to the ground. Lucky for me Vivian is an EMT and was able to take good care of me and get me to the car with no problems. The pain went away pretty quick, but came back about half way down the canyon. Glad I wasn't driving. I was a big gimp the rest of the day (though I did manage to play some Rock Band with Viv and Jake when we got home) but here I am a week later and I am mostly better. Similar to being mostly dead, so no going through my pockets for loose change.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the outing.







Later, on Memorial Day Nik's family had a party as well. Since I was such a gimp I had a good excuse to just sit on the couch and hold the baby. I have such a hard life. I wasn't much hungry so I just watched everyone else. It was a pretty sweet get together and Nik and the kids were happy cause they all got to wrestle. There was even a surprise ambush by Emilee and a retaliation by Kersten. It was an intense match. Here are some pictures of the night:


Nik taught the boys to meditate before they wrestle, the is about as serene as they got. They even said "ohmmmm." It was pretty cute.

Sofie looks so cute in this picture, Kersten, not so much.


Finally, we had a birthday party for our good friend Spencer Slade the other day. It was supposed to be up the canyon, but it was on the second day of that first crappy week-long storm we got, so Spencer's Wifey imporvised and we had it at his parents house (which is fine, they live up the street from us) and used their new fire pit to do the same tin-foil dinners we were planning for the mountains. It was so much fun! And there was a great turnout. Spencer is truely well loved. Jess even made some delicious strawberry short cake. A good time was had by all. Happy Birthday again Spencer!

Poll Results

It's that time again! That fun happy time when we find out what you all thought about what ever stupid question I asked this month!

A little back ground: I started thinking about this a couple weeks ago when Nik convinced me to see Prince Caspian for our anniversary, and all I could think of was, well, at least the prince is cute. It was a surprisingly good show though. I recommend it to everyone, even if you didn't like the first one. I didn't really like the first one. Then a friend came into work and I mentioned my newly developed crush on Robert Downey Jr. and he said that he only saw the Tomb Raider movies cause Angelina was is grey spandex.

So, the question was, have you ever seen a movie just because the main character was attractive. And a special thanks to Mom and Lisa who actually told me what movie(s) they had seen! It looks like everyone who ready my blog voted! That makes me very happy. And the results are that we are all more than a little shallow when it comes to our entertainment. Only two of the voters said something other than Yes. Good for you for answering truthfully, but I encourage you to see some stupid movie just because of the eye candy. You will be surprised how much better the movie is!

Well movie go-ers, keep movie going and we will talk about Sex and the City soon!

I have a cure for Leprosy!

For the last few months I have had this spot on my eye lid that closely resembles Leprosy. Well, I'm not sure HOW closely it resembles it, but either way, my skin was falling off and it was not pretty.

When I was in high school I got a funny rash called Pitoriosis Rosiea (I am sure I spelled that wrong, but it is as close as I am going to come), which translated from Latin means Red Spots. Origional huh? Anyway, ever since that went away I have had periodic red, flaky spots about the size of a dime. I didn't think anything of it till I got a couple of bigger, redder spots. I finally went to the doctor and he said it was Leprosy. No, not really, he said it was eczema. And he gave me a cream to put on it to make it go away. I was skeptical, but it seems to be working. I have less of a creepy red spot. This might be more of what Steph was talking about with TMI, but what are blogs for, if not to share our most intimate moments with people who hardly care?

Gifts

I forgot to mention in the Anniversary post the gift I/We received. Nik gave me the new Jason Mraz CD. I did't even know it was out! It is pretty good. So far there are only one or two that have really stuck out to me, the rest are pretty mellow, which is ok, it just takes longer for me to warm up to them. He also got me a cute little green watering can for my house plants. It is so great! I have just been using cups from the cuppord, and this works so much better. I think the plants might just survive the summer.

My parents were way too generous and got us tickets to the upcoming Dave Matthews Band concert out at USANA in August. Nik is freaking out. He is so excited. Dave is his favorite band and he has missed them coming the last 2 time. The sad thing is that the last time Dave came (two years ago) he came with Jason Mraz, my favorite artist. And we missed it! Bummer. This show should be a good time though, it is my first Dave concert. I am glad it is with Nik.

I married him for the adventure.

Or at least that's what he tells me. I will give this warning now, this WILL be a long post. You've been warned.

Sunday, May 18th was mine and Nik's 2nd anniversary. We had made no plans except that I took Monday off so we could have a full day together. Some time late Sunday afternoon we received confirmation that we could indeed go to Nik's cabin. Which we weren't expecting. So we hurried and packed our bags, told Charlie that we would not, in fact, be making it to his dinner that night, and headed off. We left about quarter to seven and after stopping for gas and picking up the key from Nik's aunt, we were on our way.

Shortstop: Did anyone hear about the accident up Parley's Canyon? After being pulled over by the police, a man sped off and crossed the median and headed straight into a tanker. He was killed. The resulting accident closed east bound Parley's Canyon (all 3 lanes).

That accident was "supposed" to be cleaned up in a couple of hours, and we left at least 3 hours after it happened, so when we saw the police cars blocking the entrance to the canyon, our spirits sank. We were not out of ideas though. We turned around and I called my Dad. He was kind enough to check UDOT for us and found that they really had no idea when it was going to be opened. We tried our luck again with the other entrance, and found no police blocking our way, but quickly found that that did not make a difference. We were stuck at Exit 133. Just short of the East Canyon exit. Numerous cars and semi trucks had pulled off to the side as to not get stuck in the lines of traffic backed up from mile marker 137, where the clean up was taking place. We pulled off as well and Nik got out to talk to some of the people there and heard a rumor that the road would be open at eight. It was now 7:30. Wait in the car for at least a half an hour, hoping it would open, or turn around and find something else to do. We chose something else. What else, though, we didn't know.

Nik suggested seeing a movie to pass the time, so we headed down to the Gateway and found that not only were there no movies playing before ten, but nothing is open on Sunday! I know, I know, Sabbath, we talked about it. So with nothing open, and no plans for a place to stay (besides giving up and going home, which was not acceptable) we took out the trusty Lappy and sat outside the Apple Store (the suck, but they have WiFi) and looked up hotel possibilities. While Nik was on the Lappy I called Dad again to see if there was any progress on the road in the last hour and a half. Nope. Nothing. He gave us the website and we looked at the traffic cameras and saw that none of the semi's that were stopped with us had moved. It was now nine o'clock. We decided to stay someplace nicer, since it had been a bad evening, and after all the possibilities, it was only a little more to go to the Anniversary Inn than say, Little America. And they still had some cheap rooms available, so we headed to 5th south. They were really nice and we went right up to our room. I didn't know that the AI went that high up. We just kept climbing! It was a beautiful room though, The Rose Garden Room. It even had brick walls. The bath tub was huge, and since we were both exhausted, that was the first thing on the agenda. We put in Indiana Jones number 2 while the tub filled (it took forever!) and after the bath we were both so relaxed that we barely made it through the rest of the movie.

Despite being very relaxed, I still didn't sleep very well. Foreign bed and all. The next morning they brought us breakfast right on time, and we took another bath. And this might give my mom a heart attack, but, seeing as it was our anniversary, we did the typical anniversary stuff, and near the end we may or may not have called a friends house. I had my phone on the bed. I will not mention who it was, just in case they didn't know it happened. But if it was you, we apologize, it was an accident.

Not wanting to go right home, we went back to the Gateway and saw The Chronicle's of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Nik REALLY wanted to see this, and I was "meh" about the whole thing, but I was surprised. It was a really good show. The prince is cute, which doesn't hurt, but the story was interesting and as Nik pointed out, the children are much better actors, so you sympathize with them more. There were good fight scenes and there is one that is a little sad. Good show.

After the movie we walked around some of the shops and got lunch, then headed back home. I took a little nap while Nik played video games and then we headed out again. To Target! With nothing particular on our shopping list, we weren't there too long, but we did buy a paper shredder. And Nik bought me a little green watering can as part of my "Versary" present. A couple more stops and we were back home. Nik made some great burgers for dinner, and even though my twice baked potatoes didn't work out, I figured out a way to make something work, and we had a very fulfilling dinner.

All-in-all, it was a great weekend. Thank you Nik for making me so happy for the last two (or more) years. You are a wonderful man. I love you so much, and I always will.

So here we are, 11:07pm, on the eve of starting full time at work. I should really go to bed. Oh, and stay tuned for pictures of the adventure. Didn't have a chance to download the camera yet....

Poll Results

So, who plays the sexiest superhero? Looks like it is Christian Bale, hands down. Well, of the 7 people that voted, he had three votes, and the other four were split between Robert Downey Jr. (my choice after Ironman) and Hugh Jackman. That one surprised me a little. Poor Val Kilmer (as Batman in Batman Forever, alongside Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris O'Donnell, and Drew Barrymore) didn't get any votes! I remember he was quite the heart throb after that movie came out. Maybe it was the hard rubber muscles. I know thats what I liked. I guess that is part of what I like about Ironman too, only his suit is hard metal. Not quite as forgiving. Maybe if we could get Mr. Downey Jr in the Batman suit....oops. Now I am day dreaming. Back to the post. Congradulations to Christian Bale, the new Batman. I look forward to your movie this summer.

Come On, Eileen!

You know how sometimes you are just having a bad day, and then you hear a song on the radio and suddenly your whole day is better? That happened to me today. I was feeling pretty crappy, and not happy about needing to go to work feeling so crappy, and half way to work I hear this song. Part of the "90's At Noon" on 101.9, which I usually don't listen to because I despise most 90's music. But not as much as most 80's music. But that is besides the point. Anyway, I hear "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners (don't you just love one hit wonders?) and my whole out look on the day changed! Suddenly I was feeling marginally better, work was going to be ok today, and I was pretty sure that Nik and I would be naming our first born daughter Eileen. I haven't brought up this point with him yet, so everyone wish me luck.

I have linked you to YouTube and the music video for Come On Eileen if you click on the title. I think you all know how that works. I hope this song brightens your day like it did mine! Come On, Eileen!

Friendly Get Together, Flower, Adventure

Like I mentioned before, my friends and I had a Friendly Get Together Saturday night.  Not a ton of people came, but it was a good time anyone.  Everyone brought food, so that was good, and it was fun to catch up with the people who came.  Here are some pictures from that night.  Not good pictures, but at least it was documented.  Notice how many little kids there are....

This is Rachel, her husband Cameron, Kathryn, Denise holding her youngest Rachel and her oldest son Jonathan in the front.  Jonathan is SO cute!  Denise has another son, Alex (not shown) and they all came to play with me a couple weeks ago, and we had so much fun!  I love those little guys !
Here is Denise again with Rachel, there is another picture of Rachel down below, she is such a happy baby!
I wish I could remember this name, but the little boy is Richard and Maria's son and the girl is Cam and Rachel's daughter Megan.  They are both adorable.  And possible betrothed. 

This is Richard and Maria.  That is their son's head at the bottom of the picture.
From right to left: Aaron, Kimber (Matt's wife), Matt (Kimber's husband), Vance, and Denise again.
Denise's adorable daughter!  She was so happy that day!
Steve and Annie, they are engaged.  Getting married on August 5th in the Salt Lake Temple.  We set Steve off to "bond" with the boys after this and the girls went to visit Sami who couldn't make it to the party.  I think Steve will get along just fine with our other husbands.  Good pick Annie!  Oh, and you can see Christi's back and Nik's head in the picture also.  

Sorry there aren't pictures of everyone, I was trying to do them incognito and I didn't get around to everyone.

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Here is my flower:

Isn't it beautiful!  I stole this plant from Emilee's trash can when she was moving last summer.  It had 5 green leaves to start with and only went down hill from there.  By start of winter, it was all dead.  No green at all.  I was heart broken!  I hate killing plants.  Mom convinced me not to throw it away because it was a bulb, and might come back.  So it sat on my side table for months, and sometime in February it started to look a little green again.  And in March it got a leaf, and in April it got a stem and a couple of days ago it bloomed!  You can imagine my  excitement!  It was all I could talk about for days!  And here is a picture of it for all to see.  I was going to post a picture of me with the pretty flower, but Blogger is sucking with picture posting tonight, and I am out of patience. 

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Tonight Nik and I went on an adventure.  I suggested we go for a walk because it was so nice outside and we ended up walking around the neighborhood, up to the church, and following a path that Nik only suspected existed.  It leads from the church out to 3rd east and then to Gordon Lane.  Where we live.  He said that his scouts take this way home and had always wondered where it came out.  Here are some pictures from the adventure:

Yes, it involved climbing through a couple holes in chain-link fences.   Ok, I lied, here is A picture from our adventure.  STUPID Blogger!  The rest of the pictures are of Nik hiking through wooded and overgrown trails  Oh well.

Thanks for tuning in!

Finally

So I got everything sorted out with my new phone and now it works wonderfully and I am having a great time figuring out all the cool stuff it does. Because of the pedometer feature I know I walked over 2000 steps yesterday. That was probably a good day though, because I went shopping and to a movie, where as today, I didn't have to work till 2 and I just sat at home all morning. Lazy butt. Oh well. Cool phone.

As Nik mentions in his blog, we got to see Ironman last night! It was such a good movie! I am totally hooked on Robert Downey Jr. now. I may love him more than my husband. No, that is a little extreme. But it is close. Ironman was a good movie and an even better superhero movie. Nik is right, superhero movies have fallen short lately, and this one definatly steps up. Go Lucasfilms!

Quick update on Jeff. He is doing great now! He is even back at school for half days now, and his teachers have been great about letting go some of the past homework, so I think his grades are actually better than when he left. He still has a lot to do though. He had a Dr.'s appointment yesterday and they removed the staples and told him he has to shower everyday and repack the wound stuff. I don's ask questions about the wound stuff. He doesn't think he should be back in school yet, but I think that is normal. Mom is ready to have him back full time, I'm sure. He came with us to Ironman. It was for his "birthday." Meaning it is not his birthday yet, and we will probably do something else too, but this is what he really wanted to do. It was a kind-of surprise. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I tried repeatedly to blow it. Luckily Jeff is just a little dense and he didn't figure it out right away.

Tomorrow I have a big get together with my friends from high school, or at least I hope it is big. I planned it with a friend and informed everyone through Facebook, so I am hoping that everyone remembers. I do still have some directions to give, but I if everyone that expressed interest shows up, it will be good enough sized. More on that later!

At&t Giveth and At&t Taketh away

As some of you know, I have had my eye on the Sony Ericksson W580i cell phone from At&t. I fell in love with this little phone months ago but, alas, we could not afford it, even at its sale price of $50. But I knew that soon we would be able to afford it, so I did not give up hope. And like clock-work, we received our first tax return! After ok-ing with Nik that, yes, I really could buy the new phone. I headed down to the Spring store nearest me and walked right up to the place where the display was last time....and it was gone! No more phone! Not that easily deterred, I started looking around and found that the phone was not on sale anymore. The cheapest I could get it for was $129! Now, as reasonable as that may be for a phone, it is not reasonable for me. I was heartbroken. I would never get my phone now!

Feeling slightly hopeless, I decided to check online to see if there were any deals worth looking at. Surprisingly, no one was selling anything of worth in the classifieds, but I did find something on the At&t website. A refurbished Sony Ericksson W580i, black, for $19.99. Sweet! I followed all procedures and ordered it over the phone. Total: $21.57. SWEET! Screw Spring!

My brand new, used phone arrived yesterday afternoon to much excitement. As I was on my way to work, I couldn't look at it till after dinner. It is so cool! But I had to activate it before I could really do anything. So I followed the directions on the booklet on how to do it over the Internet. To no avail. Being very anxious to use my phone, I just called the 800 number. After a 20 minute conversation with a nice lady named Monique, we figured out that some how the SIM cards got mixed up and one had been shut off, but it was the wrong one, so my new phone won't work. I will find out tonight if I have to send it back or if there is anything I can do on my end. Oh well. I will have my new phone soon.

Way Behind

So all this stuff with Jeff has got me behind on my posting. Also, our website is down for a while, so I don't have a place to put up my pictures, so that makes it hard to post at work, which is where I usually post. But I am going to attempt to post, with out pictures.

St. George

The weekend of the 12th we went down to St. George to celebrate my mom's 50th bithday. It was a great weekend and a great party. So many family members came! It was really great. It was good for me to see how many actually came because I was the one planning it and it was a devil of a thing to plan. I am just glad that we weren't keeping it a secret from mom. We had the shindig at a great park that had a great play ground for the kids. And Nik.

Sunday we took a trip to Zion National Park to see the sights. Nik planned to do some out door painting and I was hankering for some picture taking. We drove around for a while and went on a "short" hike to an Outlook. It was a really great hike and not too strenuous. We drove a little more and found a place for Nik to paint and for us to eat lunch. After eating Dad and I took a "walk" to take some pictures. It was a beautiful place to talke pictures too. I was trying to get the hang of depth of field on my new camera, and some of them worked out. I got some good ones anyway. I will tell you though, I paid for that "walk" the next day. I could hardly move. I walked like I was pregnant because my legs would move properly. And the dive home the next day was a plesant experience, I tell you what.

Speaking of the drive home, Nik and I stopped in Beaver for dinner and gas, and just as we were getting in the car to get back on the road a guy from the tire store on attached to the gas station knocked on our window and pointed out that my back tires were on the verge of blowing. We agreed to let him put the car on up to take a better look (trust me, I was warry too. I didn't want to get scammed, but I also didn't want a blow out. My spare would not get us back to Salt Lake) and he showed us where the tires were worn down to the buffer. It was a little scary. We had just had the tires rotated, so the wear that was showing on the insides of the back tires was created on the outside on the front. Fearing that we would not make it back to SLC on these tires we deliberated and decided that I would need new tires soon anyway, and that we might as well get them here, and not risk getting stranded on I-15. I was still a little wary, but we went a head and did it.

The funny thing is, we had been complaining that my car would shake vilolently when we approached 82mph (not that we would EVER go over the 75mph speed limit). And as soon as we were back on the road with the new tires, nothing. No shaking, no matter how fast I was going. Yay! Nik commented that even though we forgot to say a prayer before we left St. George, we did pray that we would arrive at our destinations in safety before we left home. Maybe this was the only way we would make it safely. The car runs great now!

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Curtains

Yesterday Nik and I both had the day off and decided to make the most of it. Besides going to Costco, and having family night with Noah, we finally hung our curtains in the bedroom! I mean, Nik hung the curtains in the bedroom. I watched. Then took a nap. Its hard work watching someone do something that manly. They look amazing! I am been wanting curtains in the bedroom to help block the light in the morning. While it is easier to wake up when it is light outside, and I usually have to get up around 7 am, I don't ALWAYS have to, and its those days I curse the heavens for it getting lighter earlier. And I look back on fond memories of the sun making its way into our eyes at 5 in the morning during the summer, and I wanted to nip that in the bud before it nipped me. I win! Great, great curtains.

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Short Movie Review

In the last couple weeks Nik and I have seen a couple movies. The first was "21". The story of the MIT card counters. I loved this movie. I will admit that it was a little slow in places, but I loved the cinamatography and the characters. Especailly Jim Sturgess, who played the main character. You may remember him in such films as "Across the Universe" (if you don't remember him in that movie, you need to see that movie) and, well, that is probably it. Oh! Wait, it says he was in "The Other Boleyn Girl", but I didn't see that one. He's cute. Very cute. Kevin Spacey was in it too and he was amazing. But he can really do no wrong in my eyes. I love Kevin Spacey. If you are not familiar with the story of the MIT card counters, it is worth a look into. It is a good story made better when you know it is true. I have seen many a documentary about these kids, and the theatrical version is a good second. I give it a B.

The second movie we saw just last night, "Juno". Now this movie I LOVED!! It was a little weird, it had a strange sense of humor, but I love strange humor. We heard a lot about the sucky sound track, but I actually liked it. I think I liked it because it added to the just-offness of the story. For those of you who do not know this movie, it is about a 16 year old girl (Ellen Page, or Kitty Pride from X-Men 3) who gets pregnant and decides to adopt out the baby. The story evolves as her Dad and Step-Mom, Best girl-friend, best guy-friend (also the father), and the adoptive parents-to-be become involved in her and her pregnancy. It has a good ending. I give it an A-. I want to see it again just for all the great lines. I think a couple of my favorites are: "I think this is the most awesome discarded living room set I have ever seen." and "Thats right, doctors are sadists that like to watch the lesser people scream." If I got that last one wrong Lou, please correct it. It was a great line!

Ok, thats all for now. Sorry it was so long!

Quick Update

Some of you may remember that Jeff has been sick. Well, there is more. But first, here is how it started. He may not be happy with me for tell you all this stuff, but oh well, he's sick, what's he going to do about it?

A week ago Sunday Jeff started to get sick. Stomach flu. Yuk. He was really sick Monday and Tuesday and on Tuesday mom took him to the Doctor (I hope that date is right) and the Doc confirmed, its the Flu, but its a really bad strain and he will be sick for a while.

He was still sick Wednesday, but mostly from intense pain. Mom and Dad started checking for rebound pain and home and Jeff said there was none. He was filling better enough on Friday to come down to St. George with us for the celebration, but didn't do much else. He missed out on Zion, and breakfast with Grandma Dumas, but he did come to the movie. He spent most of the weekend in Grandma Mitchell's recliner.

We all came home on Monday and he seemed at least as good as he had been all weekend, but mom said she would get him another appointment for Tuesday.

He woke up early Tuesday morning sick again, he couldn't even keep water down. This was worrying, so mom took him to Granger Medical and they suggested Primary Children's. So up they headed.

Late afternoon yesterday they did and CT Scan that revealed a burst appendix and a bowl obstruction, and something else, but I can't remember what it was. He was put on the schedual for the next available surgery time that night. Around 7:00pm.

As of last night at 11:00pm-ish Jeff had successfully come out of an appendectomy surgery.

As of this afternoon, he was running a fever that they can not get down, and he still can't eat or drink anything till he body gets up and running again. But he want's to play his DS. So Nik and I will be bringing him our charger, so he can at least have some fun while he is stuck in bed. They had him walking around a couple times today, he didn't like that much. They think he could be in the hospital for about a week.

Ok, there it is. If anyone has any other questions, or would like to go see him in his invalid state, feel free to give myself or my mother a call. Please keep him in your prayers.

Poll Results

This was a close one. It looks like most people would rather be golfing or reading a good book. Maybe at the same time. Personally, I am not a big golf fan, but I know quite a few people who like the sport, so I guess that is a reasonable use of time. I like the reading a book idea, but if I really had to choose, I would rather be shopping. But I want to have the money to support the habit. Which I don't right now. Oh well.

Thanks for participating in the poll, and stay tuned, Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel!

FIVE

5 years ago I was ... getting ready to graduate high school, killing time after the AP tests, hanging out with my friends all the time, Working at Bath and Body Works, registering for SLCC.

5 months ago I was ... Helping Lou get her house in order for the baby, doing minor Christmas shopping, struggling with being out of a job, spending too much time at my moms house, helping Nik register for school.

5 hours ago I was ... sleeping, yep, that's about it.

5 minutes ago I was ... helping members, calling the Call Center, counting cash, thinking about the girl scout cookies I am going to order, talking to a friend at work about the GS cookies.

5 things on my 'to do' list today: lots of laundry (I probably have 5 loads to do), Taxes, maybe shopping, turn in Nik's paintings to the Art show at school, order the GS cookies.

5 recent pieces of mail I've received: Haven't checked the mail in days....GQ magazine (for me), Entertainment Weekly (for me), Coupons, Bank statements, credit card offers.

5 things I would do if I became a billionaire: Buy a house, a new car (maybe three), pay off parents house (maybe by a new one), same for Grandparents, donate a bunch.

5 of my bad habits: popping zits (I know, you wanted to know that), chipping off my finger nail polish, never doing the dishes, never putting clean laundry away, vacuuming.

5 good memories: Any time at Grandma Great's house, when we went to Disney Land (Splash Mountain to be specific), my 21st Birthday party, my wedding in the Temple, any time I get to hold the baby!

5 films I watch over and over again: The American President (I watched it last night..."Good, cause if that was an 'undecided', we need to work on our people skills"), She's The Man, Batman Forever, Any Harry Potter movie, Gilmore Girls (isn't a movie, but I watch it all the time).

5 places I've lived: Only 5? Oak Harbor WA, LaVerkin, U of U Student Housing, Em's Basement, current semi-trash appartment

5 songs I love: Hum Halleluiah (Fall Out Boy), Love Song (Sarah Berellis), There's a Good Reason These Tables are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Figured it Out Yet (Panic! At The Disco), Love Today (Mika), Push (Matchbox 20).

5 jobs I've had: Jr. Zoo Keeper, Checker/bagger, fake receptionist, real receptionist, barista in training (and now teller)

5 things most people don't know about me: I can't whistle, I love to do the laundry, I love the smell of foam (like Nerf foam), etc.

5 things in my virtual shopping bags: Black MacBook Pro with green carrying case, pink Sony Erickson slide phone (soon to be a reality), new 400+ thread count sheets that won't rip when we adjust them, Matching front-load washer and dryer, Spring work wardrobe from Kohls.

5 books I love to death: Midnight in the Garden Of Good And Evil, Angels and Demons, The "Full" series, The "Gem" series, The Nanny Diaries.

5 things that are out of place around my house: Everything is out of place! I haven't cleaned in weeks!

5 films I want to see: The New Batman, Wall E, Mrs Pettigrew, Kung Fu Panda, Indianna Jones.

5 things I love to eat: Ice cream, smothered flank steak, mac and cheese, cold cereal, pop corn.

5 destinations I'm dying to see: Europe, Oak Harbor, New York, Greece, Chile

5 scents I love: Nik, my bed, my Grandparent's house, my Grandpa's roses, clean clothes

5 people (who are not blood relations or in-laws) who have had a positive impact on my life: Talina, Ben, Mrs. Kelsey, Hal, Bishop Loertscher

Tagged! Again....

So, I often read other people's blogs and see the tags and think, "That was fun to read, but I don't think I will do it." But I always end up doing it! I am such a push over! So, here's another one...

Here's how it goes:

You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don’t have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you’ve been tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and answers.

Middle name: Michelle (here it goes)

M: Music Lover

I would love to say that I love all music, but that is not true. There is a lot of music that I really do not like. But when I find an artist I like, I tend to stick to them. I love to see bands live, and love it even more when I know the lyrics to the songs they are singing. I love to get a new CD and listen to it till I know all the lyrics to all the songs. Then I like to listen again for phrases that stick out at me. My Fall Out Boy CD is number one for that right now.

I: Intelligent


I don't want this one to sound like I am boasting or anything, really. I do think of my self as being relatively intelligent. I can hold my own in most conversations. I know what a lot of words mean. My spelling isn't great, but I can usually figure it out. I like learning about the world and how things work. I understand most pop culture references, even some that were before my time. It may not sound like much, but it makes me feel good about myself.

C: Cautious
I over think a lot of things because I don't want to make a wrong decision. Some things I go over and over in my head to see if there was another way to go. Some times I do all the figuring in my head before I say anything out loud, and sometimes I say everything out loud in hopes of getting another opinion. Now, I know that some of you are thinking that I am anything but cautious, and in some respects, that is true. I love to do crazy things, and say crazy things, but in the long run, I am a very rational person.

H: Helpful

Sounds like a nursery answer. "How can we help our family?" "Doing the dishes!", "Cleaning our rooms", "Not hitting our brothers even though they totally deserve it!". Right? But I love to be helpful. I love to know that something I have done has made some ones life easier. I am not a door mat though. I will not just let you tell me what I have to do. And I will not volunteer if I do not think I have the time and energy to do it. "When we're helping we're happy!"

E: Empowered

I am not actually sure what makes me empowered, but I like the ways it sounds, and in the definition it sounds like I should have a super power of some kind, and I like the way that sounds.

L: Little

I am a small person. Two people at work today commented that I am short. One even asked me my height. In high school I thought I was 5' 4" but when I started going to the doctor more after I got married, I found that I am actually 5' 3". I am shrinking at 23. Yay. Not that it is a bad thing really. If I was much taller, I would be eye to eye with Nik, and I like that he is taller. I always liked that I was the favorite dance partner when we were learning swing, though that did result in lots of bruises. It was still tons of fun!

L: Lollipops

I hate lollipops.
There are maybe two kinds of suckers in the whole world that I like. The idea of pure sugar that tastes like cherry cough syrup, on a steeek, does not appeal to me. I like Dum-Dums (no comments from the peanut gallery) and I really only like, maybe 3 flavors, and only for about half the sucker. Oh well.

E: Extra

As in extra E, cause I did this one already. I did the extra L, but you can see what happened there. I was obviously not made to have such a long middle name. It should have been Eve or something. But even then there is a extra E. I am doomed to the extra E. At least my first name just has one. Oh! And my last name only has one. But that means I have 4 E's in my name. I am totally hoarding all the E's. Maybe I will do it on purpose now. Name all my kids E names, with double E's in them. That way there will be no E's for anyone else. Hahahahaha!!!

Oops.

Ok, someone else's turn now.

(Oh, and just so you all know, I originally miss spelled Intelligent up there.)

Poll Results

Well, its unanimous. Indiana Jones is the Must-See movie of the summer. Now, there are many more movies coming out in the months ahead, and I obviously just picked the ones I am interested in. Please feel free to let me know if there are other movies you are waiting to see. I know that Nik can't wait for the new Batman and that my brother Jeff is salivating over Iron Man.

Thank you to all those who voted, and keep checking back for the next poll!

Human Stupidity

It is time to vent about work. Everyone, please take this as friendly advice for the next time you go to the bank.

As most of you know, I work at a bank. Or a Credit Union to be exact. I have been here for just about 3 months now, so I figure I have the gist of the job figured out. There are still some things that I haven't mastered and some things that I don't need to know because of my lowly teller position, but for the most part, I get it. And I definitely know what bugs me.

1. The sign that says "Please wait here for next available teller" is not there to look pretty. It is serious. Please wait HERE until I am available. I do not become available just because the last guy leaves. Besides possibly still having his personal account information up on my computer, there are things I need to do to finish up the last transaction before I am ready for the next one. And nothing is more nerve wracking that having some stranger watching from less than two feet away. Please, wait at the sign until I call you over. Promise it won't be more than seconds.

2. If you are depositing large amounts of cash (which I hope all of you are able) please know how much is there. Count it three times if you have to. When I count it and you don't know how much is there, you have no room to pitch a fit if I put the wrong amount in you account. To freakin' bad. Also, the deposit and with drawl slips are there for a reason. It provides us both with proof of the transaction. If there is a problem and you didn't fill out a slip, there may be nothing I can do for you. From the other side, if you don't fill out a slip and my drawer is off, I might get in trouble if we can't find the outage. Be kind, rewind.

3. Our security measures are in place for a reason. We had you set up a password for a reason. We ask you your password for a reason. Please do not get mad if I ask you your password. Just give it to me! Anyone who has suffered from fraud of some sort, should appreciate this action.

4. For all intensive purposes, you only have one account number. Yes, I know, many of us have multiple accounts at multiple banks. But here is what I am getting at. When you come to me and say "I want to move some money into my checking." That is not a different account. That is a different suffix. Quit telling me you have four accounts. You have one account that has a savings, a checking, a money market and you have a car loan (for example). Its all under the same account. Trust me.

5. No matter how funny you think you are. When you are getting $50 cash back and I ask you how you want it back, you do not say "In hundreds." Its not funny. You are not so much more clever than me that I will think "Oh, he wants hundreds, I should pull some out of my drawer." I know you are just getting $50, and if you don't say something I will give you two twenty's and ten. Deal with it.

6. It is not my fault your checking account is in the negative. When you opened the account we told you that if you spent more money than you had we would charge you a fee. Every time. If you wrote 5 checks and the third one takes your account in the negative, so you are charged 3 fines, it is not my fault. You should have been watching your money closer.

Ok, I guess that is enough venting. Please take this information to heart, and feel free to pass it around. Maybe some day people will learn.

True color?

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Orange

You're a bold, confident orange. A warm, powerful color that indicates a strong, welcoming personality, orange is the mark of people who are social and extroverted by nature. Vibrant, with an upbeat attitude, you have a bright, inviting demeanor. Energetic and fun-loving, you're a real friend-magnet. Your easy charm and unassuming manner make you the sort of person people want to meet and get to know better. Well-rounded and fun to be around, you enjoy helping others, so it's no surprise that orange also symbolizes attraction. Orange is an extraordinary color — for an extraordinary person.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Catch up #2

Told you there would be more. There is always more.

Wrestling

Nik is teaching little Noah to wrestle just like the big boys. Spencer has just about mastered the art of living room wrestling and just won the Belt in a 2 on 1 tag team match with Noah. It was intense! Here are some pictures from a recent match in F's living room in which Allie decided to step in and help Noah.

The back breaker!
In the pain!
Pile Driver!
Then Allie steps in to help Noah...just in time!

You can see that Allie is a natural as well. This should be interesting....

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Painting!

The following pictures are some refference shots we took last night for another painting Nik needs to do for class. I picked some of my favorites and I am going to ask all of you in blogger land to help us pick the best one for Nik to paint. Please take in to account the lighting, contrast and value of the objects in the shot, and the composition. Also, if there are parts of one that you like, let us know. You can just reffer to them in numbers. Thanks for your help!

Look forward to the feedback!

Oh! If you haven't read the Catch Up from below, check it out!