Yard Sale Season!

I am so excited! It is starting to get warm, and the sun is out in the morning, and the yard sales are out! I love yard sale season. It is probably what I look forward to the most in the summer.



Saturday, while Nik was sleeping, I took advantage of the warmth and went to my first yard sale of the season. I was glad to see how many were out, but there weren't a whole lot out there. The first, maybe, three that I found, didn't have anything interesting, and I passed them up with out even getting out of the car. I did find a small gift for Kristin, which I haven't given her yet, and a super cute blue elephant for Vivian's baby, and perhaps my favorite find, and something I will consider a good omen for the season to come, was a pair of slip covers for chairs, that match my slip cover on my couch! Great huh? The best part is that the family was moving to Singapore (spelling) and needed to sell everything, so I got them both for a dollar. Great! They don't fit exactly, but they fit well enough and I love them in my front room. I feel like I could actually have people over and they could sit down!

I know I have revived an interest in yard saleing (this is one of those verbs that is not actually a verb, like scrapbooking) in my family and friends, and I hope that they too can make it out soon, and see what the world has to offer!

My Favorite Things

In an effort to improve my life and happieness in general, I have decided to list all the things I can think of that make me happy. Please forgive any duplicates.

* Nik
* Talking to a good friend I haven't seen in a long time.
* Playing games with my family.
* Finally understanding something I have been struggling with for a long time.
* Finishing a book you just couldn't put down.
* Getting flowers from a loved one
* Helping someone who wasn't expecting it.
* Opening presents
* Continuing family traditions
* Getting new clothes
* Sharing a friends good news
* Decorating a room by myself
* Having my boss tell me I did a good job.
* Going to a floral shop.
* Watching my favorite movie.
* Giving someone hand-me downs that they appreciate.
* Going yard-saling.
* Getting a new plant.
* Making Nik laugh.
* Playing with babies.
* Having friends over.
* Playing a murder mystery.
* How I feel the day after a good cry.
* Finishing a project that was your idea.
* Laughing at an inside joke.
* Watching my favorite TV shows.
* Having standing plans with friends.
* Going to the Temple.
* Going to the Temple with friends.
* Listening to my favorite song on the radio.
* Getting a new CD of my favorite artists.
* Listening to Nik laugh, when he is really laughing.
* Realizing again that I have great friends.
* Getting a message from friends or loved ones saying they were thinking of me.
* Being excited to see someone.
* Finding someone with the same random interests as me.
* Falling back asleep when I realize I woke up too early.
* Waking up and feeling Nik asleep next to me.
* Surprising Nik with breakfast
* Being able to help someone who needs it.
* Sunsets
* Cloud formations
* A clear morning after a big snow
* The first time I can wear shorts in spring.
* French toast
* Gerber daisies
* Taking pictures


I hope you have been inspired to think of all the things that make you happy. I will add to this list as often as I can.

Having Friends and Being Married

When Nik and I were dating, we were very social. Nik had so many friends from Encore, and such, that there were always parties and friends houses to hang out at. I had a couple of friends within hang out distance, so there was no shortage of social interaction. I thought this would always be a normal for us, but was brought to a realization the other day.

Last Friday Nik suggested that we invite some friends over that we hadn't seen in a long time. I was suddenly upset that he would rather hang out with friends than have an evening home with me. After thinking on this for a moment, I figured there was no harm in calling a couple friends over for the evening. Nik called Spencer and Jess (an engaged couple that he has been friends with for a long time). At first I was just a little disapointed when they were able to come over, and I was afraid I would be upset, or unpleasent the whole eveing. When they showed up, however, I realized how much fun I have with them, even though I do not know Jess very well. We talked for an hour or so (the boys in the computer room) and then decided to watch a movie. When the evening ended and Spencer and Jess went home, I thought about how much fun we had, and how good it was to see them again.

The following day, I was up early for a morning with Vivian, then an afternoon tending my niece and nephew, then my best friend and her husband came up from Provo and we spent the evening with them. This is probably the most social contact I have had a long time.

In church on Sunday I was contemplating my full weekend and I was surprised at myself when I thought about how upset I had been about friends coming over. I never thought I would rater sit at home by myself (essentially) than have fun with friends. I think I forgot how much Nik thrives on being social. And how much I thrive on Nik. He has a social personality, and I had been stiffling it by insisting we spend every evening alone together.

I love having friends over and I love going to friends houses. I just need to be reminded of how much fun it is every once in a while.

Tried and Tested

I have been thinking recently about a "fight" I had with one of my best friends a few weeks ago. I went into the discusion with an open mind and willing to work through any issues we had. But as the argument progressed, I began to realize that I was not going to make any headway. And it made me sad. I had the sudden feeling that this might be the end of a long standing friendship, and I couldn't even get her to understand my point. We talked for about half and hour, and I was almost in tears by the end. I was terrible. I have disagreed with my friends choices before, but nothing to the extent that my friend seemed to disagree with my choice in this matter.

I was particularly worried because I had been thinking that maybe my our friendship was on the way out, and that we were only friends still because we had been friends for so long. And that this was going to be the final blow.

I went to bed sad, and without telling Nik what had happened. That forboading feeling stayed with me the next day as well. I just couldn't get over it. When Nik finally returned home that night I decided to tell me what had happened. He was very understanding and helped me to understand my friends point a little better, but mostly he was outraged as well. Well, I was scheduled to see this friend the following week, and I wasn't sure if I could go.

I finally decided to give it a chance and see how it went. Surprisingly, nothing seemed to have changed. We both acted as we always do around each other. Frankly, I was surprised given the strong feelings expressed only a week earlier. But it was fine. All fine. We have enjoyed each other's company numerous times since the fight, and it is like it never happend. Now, I will admit that everytime I talk to her I have this thing in the back of my mind that reminds me of what happed, but I never let it get past a fleeting thought.

I am proud of both of us and our grown up abilities to put petty things behind us and move on, better for it. My advice, please try to remember how amazing relationships like this are and don't let your pride get in the way of a true friendship.

Southern Utah Blizzard

Over the long weekend Nik and I (and my family) took a last minute trip to St. George. It was a blast! The weather was warm, and sunny (though I still frequently "mentioned" that it was cold outside). Due to several family functions this weekend, I was able to see family members I hadn't seen since my wedding. I even got my favorite St. George treat twice! I know, I am spoiled.

We had planned to leave monday afternoon, but didn't have a set time. After eating, taking naps, and putting it off as long as we could, we finally left around 3:30. And it was raining pretty good in St. George. By the time we were outside Leeds, it was snowing. And if anyone knows Cedar City weather, you will know what is coming next. We had white out conditions clear through Cedar and into Beaver. To top it all off, there was an accident about 5 miles south of Cedar, so we were stuck in traffic for close to an hour. Needless to say, I had to pee when we got there. The weather cleared inbetween Beaver and Filmore, and there was a beautiful sunset, so I guess something good came out of it. I do feel bad for those people in the accident though. I can't imagine being in the middle of nowhere and in a three-car pile up. It was bad.

My parents were about hours ahead of us and they were sending me pictures from their phones of the conditions ahead. Very encouraging. Lucky for us, they weren't as bad by the time we got there. But it put us about an hour behind schedule, not to mention that we were starving by the time we got to Nephi, so we stopped for dinner. It felt like we had been on the road all day.

Luckily, I was in the car with my wonderful husband, and he helped pass the time. He has such great sense of humor and a positive outlook on things, that I forget that we still have four hours left in the car. I love you Nik.

Happy Valentine's Day

My wonderful husband and I decided to exchange Valentine's gifts last night, as opposed to today. Mainly because he was so excited to give me mine, that he couldn't wait. When he returned from work he rang the doorbell instead of just coming in the house. When I answered the door he had a dozen red roses for me. And a box of fresh chocolate covered strawberries! I was so excited! My husband is the best.

I had be not so subtlely hinting that I wanted flowers, and I was really hoping he would get them for me for Valentine's. I immeditally put them in the only vase I have and arranged them with the beautiful green filler they came with. I repeated many times last night how beautiful they were and how happy I was that he had given them to me. Even now I am anxious to get back home to see them displayed in my home. I was so excited about the strawberries too, I usually have to share them with someone, but not this time! I was savoring them last night. I still have about five in the box.

I just want my husband to know how much I love him and everything he does for me. He works so hard to provide for me, and I am so proud of him for it. I know he sacrifices a lot to have a full-time job, and I want him to know that I completely understand how it is. I love you so much Nik. Always.

Sweet Tooth

Last night, after returning home from Toast, Jam and Cheese, I had a major sweets craving. I don't know why...I had just had three pieces of toast and jam...isnt that sweet? Anyway. Due to a problem with our kitchen sink drain I was not able to do the dishes this weekend and therefore did not have any clean cookie sheets. So no making cookies. And, a rarety in my house, but we didn't have any ice cream either! The horror! I didn't even have any sweet cereal.

I had just resigned myself to having popcorn instead, when I noticed my husbands newly purchased bag of marshmallow gun ammo. Then i had an idea. I popped a bag of microwave popcorn and melted half a stick of butter and half the bag of marshmallows (rice crispy treat style) in the microwave and then added the popcorn. Since Nik had yoinked a small bowl of the un-mallowed popcorn, I ended up with a little more gooey than popcorn. After mixing I sprayed a pyrex dish with Pam and dumped in the mallow corn. I smushed it around a little and let it set in the fridge (I didnt have the patience for it to set at room temperature) for a few minutes. After that I was in sweet tooth heaven. It was awesome. Even Nik liked it. Sort of.

So, please try my newest solution for sweet tooth cravings, and tell me what you think!

Child vs. Grown-up

Nik and I are in the nursery in our ward and really enjoy it. I don't want kids for a long time now... :) Nik particularly likes it because he gets to play with toys and little kids for two hours, and heck, that is better than the grown-up alternative. Nik has invented a new game with our nursery little ones: he lays down and announces that he is tired and going to take a nap. This alerts the kids that it is time to jump on Brother Nik and wake him up. He then makes a show of waking up and waits a little bit before needing another nap. I think Nik enjoys this almost more than the kids do. Which is great. That means that I get to build with the blocks.

This little-kid attitude was reinforced yesterday when we were at Lou and Ten's house and Nik spent the evening playing with Noah. Noah is a big fan of light sabers and, you guessed it, so is Nik, so this is a great time had by all. Nik has also taught Noah how to use his Force powers, so the play isnt as physical as it used to be. I love that my husband is so young at heart. He has so much fun bringing out the inner child with his nieces and nephews that sometimes I have a hard time getting the Grown-up Nik back.

I know that Nik will be a great Dad someday, and I hope that our kids will help keep their dad young for many more years. Love you Baby.

100 Random Things About Me

So this 100 random things is contagious amoung my in-laws, so here I am. Enjoy the randomness. (ps- I have edited some of them...)

1. My middle name is taken from my mom's maiden name of Mitchell.
2. I thought Nik was really annoying when we first met.
3. I actually like to clean the house. Even if it is in the state it is now.
4. I was the first granddaughter to graduate high school, on my dads side, and so far the only one that doesn't have a baby out of wedlock.
5. I really admire my cousin Lacy. She is single, divorced and has a 6 year old son. But that is not why I admire her.
6. I am not a hopeless romantic.
7. I am dreading and awaiting the immenent arrival of my frizzy red-headed children.
8. My favorite color is Green, but it wasnt until my mother-in-law gave me a hat and scarf collection for christmas the first year Nik and I were dating.
9. I can't remember having ever been on a real plane.
10. I have never been out of the country.
11. I have only been to Disneyland once, and it was two years ago.
12. I do not wish I had taken piano longer as a child. I hated piano.
13. I wear a size smaller shoe now than I did in high school.
14. I can't sing to save my life. But I love to.
15. I like the idea of scrapbooking more than I like actually doing it.
16. I don't like micro-brewed root beer.
17. I hate eating fish, and anything that smells like fish.
18. My favorite flowers are Gerber daisys, and I am still heartbroken when I think that I didn't have all of them at my wedding.
19. I hate most 80's music.
20. My grandpa was devistated when I told him I no longer wanted to go on a mission.
21. I am really a pretty good photographer.
22. I know the exact age and birthday of all my immediate family members. Which I think trumps my parents.
23. I am very smell-oriented.
24. I love to read out loud. Sometimes I read better that way.
25. I am terrified of becoming a mother.
26. I miss my cat, but I love my two fire bellied toads.
27. I have the worst eyesight in my family.
28. I love vanilla-based ice cream.
29. I can't eat peanuts.
30. I love the smell of foam.
31. I hate scary movies.
32. I love romance novels.
33. I love talking about sex with my best friends.
34. I am a morning person. I love getting up early, but I crash mid-day if I do.
35. I get really bad PMS.
36. My mom taught me how to decorate cakes.
37. Until I met my husband, I hadn't had a nick-name since I was one.
38. I have had glasses since I was eight, and needed them since I was 6, and my eyes are still getting worse.
39. I can't drive stick.
40. I don't care that I can't drive stick.
41. My favorite book is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". It's a good movie as well.
42. I wish I could go on "What Not to Wear", but I think I dress too well.
43. I still sleep with a blanket.
44. I am allregic to metal. I can only wear the real expensive stuff. Honest!
45. I can't swim. Despite three years of lessons when I was little.
46. I love popping zits.
47. My favorite board game is Clue.
48. My favorite computer game is Sims2.
49. I was raised using Macintosh computers. And am back using them now.
50. I wasn't going to do this...just because everyone else was.
51. I don't understand my younger brother.
52. My favorite memory of my Grandma Great is watching "The Price is Right" with her in the mornings. And having her make toast.
53. I hate mexican food. Except tostatas.
54. I have accepted the fact that I am a messy person.
55. I was friends with all the guy cheerleaders in high school.
56. Three of my friends from high school are now gay.
57. I look really bad in baseball tees.
58. I was a dancer in The King and I in 8th grade.
59. I also love post-it notes.
60. I love to do stained glass. I will teach you sometime Amy.
61. I hate doing creative stuff on the computer.
62. I prefer analog to digital.
63. I love polka-dots.
64. I am still amazed that I am married.
65. It has taken me almost 4 years to complete a 2 year degree.
66. I am the oldest in my family. And the only girl.
67. I have only been skiing once, I was in 6th grade. And I don't really care to go again.
68. I was born in Oak Harbor WA. On an island in an island.
69. I am a high brown belt in Tae Kwon Do.
70. I hate math, but am pretty good at it.
71. I am excited about Nik going back to school.
72. I went from having no sisters to having four. It was a little overwhelming.
73. My family is one of only two families on both sides that dosn't live in southern utah. St. George to be exact.
74. I love to know the artist and correct lyrics to music on the radio. How can you sing along if you don't know the words?
75. I like cinnamon flavored gum. But hate bubblegum.
76. I love watching "Gilmore Girls" and "One Tree Hill" with my best friend and her sister once a week. It is awesome.
77. I want four kids. Tops.
78. I am worried we will have all girls.
79. I love strawberries, but not artificial strawberry flavor.
80. I love the theatre.
81. It really bugs me that Nik won't do the dishes.
82. I love watching movies, but I am kind of particular about what I watch.
83. I don't care what the critics say about a movie.
84. I love that Nik can sing.
85. I love ripped jeans on guys.
86. I am more like my dad than I like to admit.
87. My mom and I talk more now than we did before I was married.
88. My little brother loves me more than I can comprehend.
89. I am two years, and two days older than my best friend from elementary school. And we aren't friends anymore.
90. I dont remember meeting my two best friends.
91. I love garlic, but it doesnt love me.
92. I don't think my dad is proud of me.
93. I don't like my hair long.
94. I LOVED emo music as a teenager.
95. I get nervous when speaking in public, but I am a very good speach writer.
96. I love my big vocabulary, and hope to reach my dads level some day.
97. I will think of an excuse for what I am doing, before I do it, just so I am prepared for any questions about it later. I also replay situations in my head and think of anyway they could have been better.
98. I like doing laundry.
99. My mom says I am the reason her and my brothers are in the Church.
100. My friendship with one of my best friends was tested recently, and survived.

Well, there you go. 100 semi-random things about Lena. Thank you to those who already posted this, and gave me inspiration for my 100 things. Take the challenge, if you dare.

School vs. Employement

Earlier today I was talking to a friend of mine at work about school, and our spouses. We both are recently married and only have one semester of school left. Our spouses are different. His wife is going to get her masters in English and Education and my husband hasnt even started school yet. My friend is a little different than me though, after he graduates with an associates, he is moving on to do optometry, so he has a bit of school left too. As we were talking, I couldn't shake the feeling that my schooling has been a waste of time. I have been at a two-year college for more than 3 years, and even though this is my last semester and I am glad to be done, now what? My degree is not what I want to do with my life. I recognize that I have gained some valuable skills at school and I know I have made some friends. But I have no idea what I am going to do when Nik goes to college. Do I try for something I am really interested in, or do I just get anything that pays enough to get him through school? Do I wait till he is employed to do a serious job hunt, or do I make him wait on school till I am gainfully employed? None of these options sound good. Hopefully we will beable to come up with something before it is a necessity.

I know, I have just been rambling and complaining, but I can't help it. My best friends have busy lives too, who else am I going to vent too?

Ode to a Classic

Today I am going to talk a little about traditions. Specifically, Christmas traditions. Everyone has them. Whether it is going to see the lights downtown, a special meal with the whole family, or specific movies that you watch every season to get you in the spirit. One of my family’s long-standing traditions is one of the latter: watching “Scrooged”, starring Bill Murray every year and practically reciting the whole thing, all the way through. I love this tradition. We have even adopted my husband into our clan and hope to have him learning his lines by next year.
The reason I bring this up is because of a very disturbing article my father read a little while back. It was a list of the top, and bottom 10 Christmas movies of all time. Of course, in the top ten were classics like “A Christmas Story”, but I could not believe what ended up in the bottom ten. Yep, you guessed it…”Scrooged!” Can you believe such an injustice? Talk about mocking one of the only things I hold dear! Ok, maybe not one of the only things, but you get the idea.
Have the critics ever even seen the movie? I would pose the argument that they have not. No one who has witnessed the genius of Bill Murray portraying one of histories greatest success stories could ever even think of demoralizing such a classic. Maybe they just didn’t get the close resemblance to Charles Dicken’s heartwarming tale, “A Christmas Carol.“ Does that seem a little harsh? Maybe, but I have some very strong feelings toward this movie.
What is the moral of this story? Don’t judge. No, wait, its, be wary of other people’s feelings. Or maybe it is to watch as many old, cheese, or uplifting Christmas movies as possible before the season ends. Yeah, I think it’s that last one.

3-D Nightmares

Friday night my loving and adoring husband took me to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D. It was possibly one of the single coolest things I have seen in a long time. Don't get the wrong idea, I have seen some very cool things in my day. I love that movie to start with and it may seem a little redundant to see a stop-action movie done with three-dimentional puppets in 3-D, but it is totally different. Not only to the figures themselves have debth, but you can actually tell how far away they are from their surroundings and each other.
I was amazed with the famous scene where Jack is walking down the hill with the curly-cue on the left side, and it uncurls as he walks down. Well, in this scene even the moon behind Jack is in 3-D. And you can see that he is far away from it, and how thick the curly-cue is. Probably the most essential, and most taken for granted is that, as a character moved around you could see how far way their limbs were from other limbs, or other characters, or from picking something up. It made the whole movie so much more realistic. So cool...
Anyway, there is just something about a flat movie screen that just doesnt do this movie justice, and if you even liked it a little, it is totally worth it to see it again in......THRrREeeEE-DeEeeEE(imagine that coming out toward your face in the manner of old, cheesy 3D movies)!!

Ghost Investigator Squad

The other day I was listening to 101.9 The End on the way to work and they had a special guest on from the Ghost Investigator Squad. I love it when this group is on, and they are on every year. This year they had two shows infact, and I was lucky enough to catch them both. For those of you who don't know who the GIS is, they are a small group (about 6 people) who go to supposedly "haunted" places and take pictures and EMF (Electromagnetic Frequency) readings to determine if there is ghost activity. These readings can be kind of spooky when you know what you are listening for. The GIS member says "We made this recording at the Old Mill in Utah on November 3rd at two o'clock in the morning. (then they tell the story of what they were looking for and why the owners had them come in) You will hear Roger talking to Sandy, then something in the background that sounds like a child saying either 'he touched my head', or 'he broke my neck.'" Then they play the clip and YES you can hear all of that and you want to wet youself because of how unnerving it is. But dont take my word for it, listen for yourself.
Now, I know some of you out there are skeptics. And you have every right to be. But keep an open mind as you look through some of these pictures and videos. Some of them are amazing. I especially encourage watching "The Door" video. It is probably the best one. I liked a lot of the photos too.
As far as I know they us a mix of regular 35mm film and a high resolution digital cameras. They scan and flatten the images for the website so they dont take up as much space, but they dont doctor them at all. Some are filtered (probably in Photoshop) to show more detail in the ecto but, thats all. This site is the perfect time passer for the halloween season. ENJOY!

But I don't wanna!

School sucks. I hate to sound like a pouty sixth grader who's teacher gave her too much homework, but it does...it really, really does. I know that I brought my school situation on myself, but these night classes are killing me. I HATE working all day just to go to school for another 3-4 hours. I want to go home and be with my husband. Or at the very least shop. But by the time my teachers deem it too late to have a life, I am too tired to care what we do as long as I get to sit down. I'm not even taking hard classes. I dont even have homework. I really shouldnt be complaining. But I am. If it werent for working all day, I could have graduated this semester. But instead, I got stuck taking the classes they stick the Adjunct teachers with that are taught whenever they ****ing feel like it. So, I am only able to take one (count it, ONE) class for my major this semester. Anyone want to guess how many more years I will be a this wretched place if I continue at this pace? Yep, five grindingly boring and useless years. Someone tell me it's ok to drop out of college with only (technically) one semester before graduation. Please...

Count down-two weeks, two days. What am I counting down? Why, Halloween of course! Halloween is by far my most favorite holiday. When else are you encouraged and rewarded for dressing up and causing trouble? Not to mention the loads and loads of candy and treats. But my all-time most favorite part of Halloween is the costumes. I love being creative and trying to out think the other costumers. My cousin once went as a basket of laundry. He cut the bottom out of an old laundry basket that went over his waist and then tied straps to the handles so it would stay on his shoulders. Then he pinned socks and underwear to his shirt. I thought that was awesome. The best part of that costume I think is that he made it himself. Well, my aunt helped out, I'm sure. My biggest pet peeve about Halloween costumes is that most of them are pre-made and packaged with nothing left to creativity. All you have to do is decide what you want to be, and go to the specially designated Halloween store to pick it up. Oh there might be a small selection of hair color or tail length, or if your lucky, there will be three or four witch costumes to choose from. I would much rather spend a few days searching family attics and thrift stores for just the right pieces to make my costume exactly how I want it. Its usually cheaper that way too. So, with this wonderful, joyous event almost upon us, please, think twice about getting a pre-fab costume from a store that is only open two months out of the year. Make a trip to your local thrift store and exercise your creative side. Thanks for listening.

Yesterday I was in a car accident. Don't worry, I'm fine. The car is a little scraped, I think my back bumper is a little tramatised, but that is nothing compared to what i did to the other car. Yes, you heard me, it was my fault. I was backing out of a parking space a the community college to correct my horrendous parking job, and I only looked one way. Not the way the car was coming. I backed right into a 2005 Scion tC that didnt even have plates yet. Fun huh? Luckily no one was hurt (I wasnt even accelerating, just letting off the break) and they were really good sports. They werent going to buy me dinner anytime soon, but they didnt pull a noose out of their trunk either. I felt so bad that they had more damage than me. I wouldnt have been half as bad if my car would have gotten this huge dent or broken a window or something. Not that I want my car to suffer, but it would be better than me suffering. Needless to say, i didnt go to class that day. I went home to my loving husband who told me it wasnt that big of a deal, and that we would be ok with what ever happened. He is so wonderful. He made me feel so much better. Plus I got to watch Gilmore Girls...that helped alot too. I love Gilmore Girls. Anyway, the accident wasnt bad, and I will get over any damage that was done, both psycologically and vehicular. Thanks for caring.

Ok, so I love my in-laws...really I do. And that is really saying something if you ever met my husbands parents. No, they are great...just unique. Sunday September 24th was my 22nd birthday. I share this day with my sister-in-law and we are only a few days away from my other sister-in-law, so we all got together to celebrate with the family. Everyone but my father in law and his wife. This is fine, he lives in magna and we dont see him much. To compensate for this, he threw a similar party to include his wife's family. Despite having to drive magna, I was looking forward to this party...afterall, they are celebrating me too! I felt kind of bad, since my husband wasnt feeling well and I made him go, and stay. When we finally got to presents I told him that when they got done with me, we could go. After three or four little girls I dont know and two sister-in-laws I was getting a little excited about my turn. You can imagine my surprise when my turn never came. I was skipped right over. I wasnt very upset at first. I mean, I dont get to see that side of the family very often, and I dont know the step mother in law very well. But the more I thought about it, the more upset I got. I mean, I have known this family for more than two years. Everyone else remembers my birthday. Why cant my father in law! Especially at a mass family party? Now, step-mom-in-law called later to apologize again and ask me what I wanted so they could celebrate me in october. I was apeased. But I still get a little steamed when I think of someone else taking my place on that chair. Oh well, its all part of being a new in-law in a new step family.

So, I hoped to have something profound and inspiring to write for my first blog, but alas, here I am, at a loss for words. So I will say just this: My name is Andrew Shephard, and I AM the President.