My Hands are Delicious!!

On Pi Day Drek and invited over his cousins for pie after work. His cousin introduced us to the "pi song" which is quite interesting. The pies were pecan and cherry from Village Inn. I think next year I will make fresh fruit pie cups instead of having huge pies that aren’t very tasty. Eating pie just because it is Pi day is fine, but turning Pi day into an opportunity to make delicious pie cups is even better.

That night was girl’s night out. Married friends are always fun to hang out with because most of the problems you're going through are so similar, and you can't really talk to someone who isn't married yet, or is already onto the next phase of life. The other great reason married girls night out is so great is because at the end, I realize how lucky I am with my marriage, and my perfect husband. It makes me step back and appreciate how good he is to me.
There were four of us. We met at a yummy restaurant and had dinner. Afterward we went to the mall. We picked out prom dresses for each other and then tried them on because it seemed like something you do on a girl’s night out. Margaret needed a new outfit for a huge interview so we went around finding her a nice top and shoes that went with her skirt. I think we did a great job. I guess we'll find out on Friday.
Our wanderings took us into Victoria's Secret (of course). Megan grabbed my hand and sprayed something called "whipped body moisturizer" on it. It acted just like whipped cream, but was green, because it was "Appletini". I rubbed it over my hands to make them smell good and she did the same to her hands. A few minutes later she gasped and yelled out "lick your hands!!" as it turns out, this stuff is delicious. VERY delicious. We went back to investigate and were relieved to find out that is is, indeed, edible. Yummy.
Also yummy was later that night when Megan and I went shopping for ingredients to make caramel popcorn, which turned out amazing. I will have to make it another time.

On the Subject of Food

It seems that lately a lot of my energy has gone into food, rather than getting my energy from food.

Sunday morning I made chocolate mousse for my visiting teachee. It turned out amazing. I didn't have fresh raspberries to top it with, so I used maraschino cherries instead. The presentation itself was delicious.
My visiting teacher loved the mousse, and in return gave me something called "friendship bread". Apparently, some bread (like sourdough and the aforementioned friendship) need something called a "starter" to make. "Starter" apparently, means fermented. Who knew? Anyway, this liquid mix is inside a plastic bag. I have to mush it everyday for ten days, then add a bunch of stuff, cook it, and I guess it will be delicious. It will also make 4 other bags of this "starter" mess that I am supposed to pass on. The sheet of instructions that came with the bag had been copied about 50 times. It had been spilled on, torn and such in-between these copies. It was a mess. So I took it to work and typed up a fresh copy. While I was doing this, a customer around my age came in. She has been in before, and I have gotten to know her quite well. She noticed what I was working on, and commented "instead of using vanilla pudding, use chocolate, and also add shredded zucchini." Apparently this friendship bread really gets around.

Tuesday night Drek wanted crepes for dinner. Crepes meaning fresh made crepes filled with pie fruit filling and cool whip. He also suggested that instead of using cool whip, I use the yummy crème cheese stuffing his sister uses in crepes. He called her, got the recipe, we went to the store to get the ingredients, and I made him his yummy dinner. I was not content with such a dinner. I had already made the crepes, so why not go one step further? I sautéed the mushrooms, steamed the spinach cooked the eggs and expertly made hollandaise sauce. Voila!! 30 minutes later I had one of my favorite foods in the whole world: a spinach and mushroom stuffed crepe. Oh, I am telling you, it was amazing. AMAZING!!

Saturday is the Irish party, and I am making Irish scones and Potato Farls. I have never made either of these before, but from looking at the recipe I gather it will be much easier than hollandaise sauce or chocolate mousse. I am not anticipating problems. While looking through the World Wide Web for delicious Irish recipes, I also came across something called Champ, which I think I will make for dinner on the 17th. Yum.

The next dessert for my Visiting teacher is No Bake Lime Mousse Torte. It is the same dessert my sister made for her birthday. If I can make it half as well, it will be heaven for all taste buds.

Considering I didn't cook anything until 4 years ago, and I am teaching myself how to cook, I think I am doing well.

Fish funeral

Our front door is missing. Missing; As in: gone; Taken off the hinges. Drek informs me that he thinks the landlord took it to clean it. It might be returned before the weekend.

Saturday at work, we had a fish emergency. Our store has an enormous 125 gallon salt water tank. The boss has owned it for 26 years. He collects fish and anemones, and has the biggest Elegance in Utah. An anemone had died during the night, poisoning the tank. When we opened the store in the morning two fish were already dead, and the two blue tangs (aka Dorie fish) were on the bottom of the tank, lying on their sides, gasping ads hard as they could. The purple tank had white spots on it, and the fox face fish had turned brown. We frantically call the boss and the fish guy that cleans the tank. Finally, they both came over and began emergency procedures. I'm not really sure what they did, but there was a lot of running in and out of the store. They decided to put in a device that will prevent such things in the future, and began sawing the cabinet with an electric saw. This was very noisy, and some of the customers were very confused. In the end, there were eight casualties. Included in this was my favorite yellow tang, and co-workers favorite fish, a Mandarin Gobi. Also, one of the Dorie fish didn't make it. :(

Rest in peace, yellow tang. You are the only fish I have seen swim backwards. Your antics will be missed.

1 Month

I have exactly one month to lose 21 pounds. For the past few weeks I have been dieting and exercising, and I haven't lost anything. This is very frustrating. I'm thinking more drastic measures may be needed.

Come One, Come All

There will be a Happy St. Patrick’s Day party on the 15th of March. I will be making an Irish dinner. Everyone is invited; just bring something yummy that relates to St. Patrick’s day (green cupcakes, shamrock cookies, root beer).

The smoke smell is gone from our house. I think the key was the ceiling, after I mopped it with vinegar and baking soda the smell slowly faded. Thank goodness.

The sun has decided to come out again. Despite the sunshine yesterday, it was very cold. Today it is a little warmer.

On Tuesday Drek took me to see I am Legend. I highly enjoyed it, but I think there was more to it. It never explained how that Zombie guy was so smart...smart enough to set a trap? It is intriguing enough to read the book. Does surviving as the last man on earth count as a craft? Then I could use it toward BAMC. Drek and I are going to the Library tomorrow, I will see if they have it. Thus far, I am not impressed with the Library's new HOLD system. I have had three different books on hold for six weeks. I was supposed to be next in line on all three of them. Something has gone wrong.

On the subject of visiting teaching . . . One girl I visit teach realizes she needs to be visit taught and is very good about it. The other girl needs to be bribed. I started this last month, by bribing her with desserts, which she loves. Last month the dessert she requested for this month was chocolate mousse. I have never made this before, so I attempted to practice with the recipe last night. Half-way through, I realized instead of buying heavy whipping cream, I got half and half. It turned out tasty, but more chocolate milk than chocolate mousse. Oh well, I will try again on Saturday. I have to have it right by Sunday.

Catch-Up

Saturday after work my Manager and her friend took me shopping. We went all over the mall and bought jewelry, a pair of wonderful pants that are so amazing they make my butt look small, a skirt and a dress. When I wore these to work, everyone commented. Ah, so this is why people spend a fortune on clothes: the attention.
After the mall closed we went to PF Changs for dinner (on the Boss's dime of course). Crab Wantons with Plum sauce are amazing!! The vegetarian entrees there are still not worth it, the Great Wall of Chocolate is still the most amazing dessert at a restaurant.
We finished eating and talking around midnight, I got home around 12:30. Right before I walked in the door I realized Drek had called me 4 times. Uh-oh. I was in trouble. When I got home he said he even called my manager to see if I was alright, she didn't answer her phone either. He thought we were dead.
Work has been going great. March is going to be the best month ever. I'm expecting a raise, we're already way ahead in sales, and I've earned $300 in spiffs in three working days. Wahoo!
Today I got to go shopping with my sister. We went cloths shopping for my niece, (her daughter) who is almost a year old. Clothes shopping for a baby girl is so much more fun than clothes shopping for a baby boy. The Easter dress my sister bought her is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Also, http://bamchallenge.wordpress.com/
I am very excited for this. I'll keep you posted.

I'm Nordstrom Barbie

My boss keeps telling me that I need to look professional at work. When I ask for more details, he simply answers "the Nordstrom look". I have no idea what this is, and he will not offer any more information, so for the last 6 months I have tried a few different looks to get his approval. These have all failed. Finally, my wonderful manager talked him into getting uniforms for everyone. The uniform consists of three or four really cute shirts that we are supposed to wear. She also convinced him to give her money to take me shopping to give me the "Nordstrom look". Last night, after work, we headed to the mall. She got me shoes, socks, a pair of pants, jewelery, headbands, and even got me free samples of this new makeup that is supposed to be really good for your skin. I had a blast, and she loved dressing me up like barbie. The best part was, we were spending the store's money, not ours. Shopping is always so much better that way. She wants to get me more pants, so we will be off shopping again tonight. I'm so excited!

This morning Drek and I and a friend from Quark went out and played Frisbee golf at a Rotary park. The weather was wonderful. It was fun to throw a Frisbee around again. We're hoping the weather stays nice so we can organize an ultimate Frisbee game soon.

The smoke smell is still not gone. I am running out of options.

And There I Was, Mopping the Ceiling

The rain turned into snow. It did not take away the smoke smell. Well, it took away the smoke smell in the bedroom, and after a another cleaning, the smell in the kitchen was gone. Unfortunately, the smoke smell was still alive and well in the living room. I practically bathed the carpet in Fabreeze. It was time for another plan. I looked online, and discovered that vinegar and baking soda work well. Therefore, I produced a mixture of baking powder and white vinegar and wiped down all the surfaces. I then fabreezed yet again and placed boxes of baking powder around the room. I set an air purifier in the corner and got that working. In the opposite corner, I placed an air freshener that is supposed to absorb odors. Two hours later I could still smell smoke. This led Drek and I to sniff around our living trying to find out exactly where the smoke smell was coming from. The beanbag smelled like fabreeze. The carpet smelled like fabreeze. The counter tops and bookshelves smelled like vinegar. The curtains smelled...well, bad. Not like smoke, but bad. I want new curtains. So why did the room smell like smoke?
In the afternoon Drek and I went over to my parent's house to play games. we discussed the issue with them, and my dad suggested that the smell was coming from the ceiling. Brilliant!! That's where the smoke would have gone, right? That's where we haven't cleaned and we haven't smelled! It had to be! So I came home, made up another mixture of baking soda and vinegar, doused a rag with it, stuck it to the end of a stick and there you go!
I hope it works. If it doesn't, we might have to look into the possibility that Acouchi is stealing cigarettes from our neighbor and smoking them in the living room while we are gone.

Is Something Burning?

Last night Drek and I went up to his parents house to attend a surprise party for his cousin, Aaron. I was going to take the camera to take pictures, but I forgot. I forgot a lot of things, apparently.
When we came back to the house, three hours later, we opened the front door to discover our entire house filled with smoke. I had left the stove on.
Because it was freaking cold last night, we could not air out the house. When we went to Church this morning I noted with disdain that we smelled like smoke. The people that sat behind us noticed it too. Thus, we did not stay for the other two meetings.
Instead, I came home and took the opportunity to do some spring cleaning. We haven't been able to air out the house from painting or re-carpeting, and the sunshine today provides a good opportunity. Every window in the house is open, and the front door is open too. Fabreeze has been sprayed and re0sprayed over every surface.
My depression has peaked. It hasn't been this bad since before I was married. I'm really not sure what's wrong-except I know I have seasonal depression. Last night was very bad. This morning was not much better.
There is still snow on the ground, but it's melting. While cleaning I went outside to take out the trash and clean up outside the house. I went out without a coat. I went out without shoes. That made me feel a lot better. It also reminded me that I hate shoes.
It's raining now. It's not the winter rain that has been on and off over the last month, the kind that wants to be snow, but just didn't make it. This rain is different. This rain wants to be rain. This rain smells like spring rain. It reminds me of the condo. I hope this is a sign that spring is coming. I hope the rain cleans out the smoke smell.

Weather Crisis

I haven't seen the sun in months. The snow keeps coming down. The wind is still bitter cold. The only change is this dreadful Inversion that has settles down upon the valley, adding a deadly fog to the depressing climate.
I suppose this can't last forever, but I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.

Yesterday I booked a flight out of this cursed state. Drek and I are flying down to Texas to visit family and a very large water park. With any luck, the thought of being warm, in the sun, and in water will keep me going until this doleful weather moves on.

Before and After

On Tuesday I worked all day. As soon as I got off work Drek and I came home, moved all furniture from the living room to the kitchen, hallway and bedroom, unscrewed outlet covers, taped up what we didn't want painted, cleaned the walls, painted the walls and ceilings, ripped up the carpet, swept away the dust that 20 years ago must have padding, spent three hours pulling up cursed staples from the floor and then fell asleep exhausted. Wednesday morning the carpet guy showed up, stayed much too long, finished installing the carpet and left. Drek and I painted again, perfecting and re-touching, screwed the outlet covers back in, and moved most of the furniture back into the living room. It was was about this time that a can of paint was dumped over...ONTO OUR BRAND NEW CARPET. I could have died. I was already so exhausted from all the work, and not having eaten anything since Sunday night did not help. Luckily, most of it came up after an hour of scrubbing. You can't even tell anymore.

Before:
Acouchi is ready to start

Our poor kitchen.

Drek painted this wall
I painted this wall

The old carpet did not do to well while we were painting.
painting mostely finished. time to rip up the carpet

Uck.

Ready for the new carpet
After

Winter is Over, Why is There Still Snow?

Once again, I have become fat. I am getting to the point where people see you for the first time since you've been married, and they feel sorry for the husband. It is not unusual to put on weight after you are married, but I cannot stand this. This is a big problem, because there is still snow outside. You see, when wanting to lose weight, you have three options:
1) Exercise like crazy and no diet. This brings happiness because you can eat whatever you want, and more happiness because working out releases endorphins.
Alas, this is not an option because I cannot exercise. I can't afford a gym membership and it is too cold to do anything outside.
2) Exercise and diet. This brings happiness because when you make it through a day successfully dieting, you are very happy with yourself. And exercising releases endorphins
Alas, I cannot do this either, because I cannot exercise.
3) Just diet. This is not so fun, because you are only happy when you have the energy to be, and when you are not thinking about food.
And this is the only one I can do, thus, the one I started Monday. However, i found a diet that gives me quite a lot of energy, I does not make me obsessed with food. I am very impressed with this diet. I do not know if it works,because my scale broke, but I can pretend it is working. I am doing very well, and will continue to do this well until Friday or Saturday, when I plan to change diets and hope that it is warmer outside.
And this is the only one I can do, thus, the one I started monday. I am doing very well, and will continue to do this well until Friday or Saturday, when I plan to change diets and hope that it is warmer outside.

Acouchy Species?

Last night Drek and I went to library. This was a historic occasion. When we were dating, I discovered that Drek did not have a library card. He did read a lot, but he borrowed or bought books to read. He did not utilize Benjamin Franklin's brilliant idea. There have been a few times when we have gone to the Library and he has borrowed my card. The other day, he went to the Library without me and he got his own Library card. Thus, last night we went to the Library armed with our own individual cards. We checked out books, came home, cozied up on our oh-so-comfy bed, and read for about four hours. Breaking the silence he suddenly announced: "Hey! Acouchies!" I looked up from my book in confusion to find my cat, but then realized he was pointing to his book. The book was referencing small South American mammals named Acouchies. This morning I looked it up on Wiki. Yep, there is such a thing. 

Green Acouchi, Myoprocta pratti is a South American acouchy species from the Dasyproctidae family. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

The Writer's Strike is Over!!

This morning I was awoke to the news that my long-anticipated bed was being delivered in an hour. Huzzah!! The bed came, we set it up, and on my lunch break Drek's wonderful siblings came over to break in the bed (Tempur-Pedic material has a cover over each cell that needs to be broken off before the bed is soft). We put the mattress on the living room floor so they could jump on it, wrestle, and do whatever they wanted. They came up with a pretty good game.
My bed is amazing!!



Over the last week there has been a four inch needle being stabbed into my left temple (I am hoping my new bed will cure this). On Sunday, the headache finally caught up with me and I decided to stay home from church. I spent a good part of the morning online at ABC, NBC, and CBS .com watching shows (My Name Is Earl, Notes From The Underbelly, and Eli Stone). This was a new experience for me. By the time I was twelve I had was too busy to watch T.V., and never sat down in front of one without an specific show in mind, and that show was starting in less than four minutes. So on Sunday I got online and was trying to find something good. I came to the conclusion that I reached over two years ago: There is nothing good on T.V., and if there is, someone in Quark will have watched it, bought the DVDs, and lent them to me. If that show, by some miracle, had not been canceled by that point (Arrested Development, Miracles, Firefly), I would watch episodes online (Heroes) or even make it a ritual to watch it every week, even with the commercials (LOST).
Alas, there is no new good shows (Although it was to have a GodSpell flash back when Victor Garber started singing and dancing). Having discovered this, I fell asleep. Later, I was awakened by a friend who also skipped church, felt bad, and decided to drag me to her brothers ward. we never found it, but we did sit through a random Sacrament meeting.
At work, there was nothing to do, so once again I was online, looking for a good show.
And then...Success! I became mildly interested in a show. (Pushing Daisies) The plot was interesting, the material was new and exciting, the banter witty and comical. And the colors!! So very vivid! I haven't finished a whole episode yet, but at least I found a show that is promising!

I have been so productive. In the last few days I have done the following:
I talked to the landlords about carpet choices and painting. I set up the appointment with the carpet guy to have the carpet done. I finally got the "Preach My Gospel" book we're supposed to have because we are taking a "Preach My Gospel" Sunday School class. I set up visiting teaching for Sunday. I went shopping for my little Preemie nephew (Kris, I need a mailing address). I went Valentine's day shopping. I went to an enrichment night for the ward and was social. I did laundry. I cleaned my house. I cleaned my mother's house (a little). I helped set up for my sister's birthday party (which was a blast and I have never had a better cheesecake). I worked out credit-card confusion with my new bed. I watched Fight Club for the first time. I set up the Baby shower for this girl...oh dear. I am not going into that story right now. Let's just say how I got put in charge of this shower I will never know, as I don't even know this girl. This will be a very long ordeal.

Now, I want to be warm and eat chocolate. I am so sick of the cold. I am so sick of the snow. I just want to be warm! Why am I still in this stupid state?

Super Tuesday

Today was Super-fly for three reasons

1) I ordered my Tempur-Pedic bed
2) My Shutterfly Calender came in the mail! Huzzah! Now I can schedule things again!!
3) Quark Werewolf started!!

Today was not-so-Super-fly for 3 reasons

1) I didn't actually earn my bed, Drek just let me cheat. The last spiff I earned was supposed to be $100, but the check I got today was only for $50. This cannot be corrected.
2) The carpet guy that was supposed to come over today and measure our room, and give us a quote, never showed up.
3) Lunch with Drek's family turned out to be not so fun. This resulted in an argument between Drek and I, and it's not even Sunday.

After work Drek and I drove over to the polls so we (well, he. I didn't have ID, or any intention of voting, actually) could vote. The line went down a very long hallway, then curved back on itself and went continued on. The wait turned out to be around 2 hours long, so I left Drek there and went to a relief society activity. Soon, I started to get these text messages:

Lonely...I'm so lonely...

Day 3 it seems like I've been stranded here for months. The fluorescent lights are beating down...No water food. No sign of rescue, but I am building a fire.

Can feel myself going crazy. Am contemplating voting Huckabee. Another survivor slaps sense into me...signal fire unsuccessful. Eat leg.

Reached end of hallway! Line curves and goes back up other wall. Am standing next to fire alarm. Temptation is strong. Relize evacuation would reset line. Bad.

Discovery: Shouting "vote Huckabee!" at a Mormon polling station equivelent to "fire!" in crowded theater. Also bad

End of texts.

As it turns out, he did yell "Vote Huckabee!" in the hallway. Someone yelled back "Vote Romny!"

It's Great! Enjoy Japan, Hero of this Movie!

This morning I dragged myself out of bed extra early for a work meeting. I was in charge so I dropped by the bakery to pickup some fresh-out-of-the-oven orange rolls that I miss so much. mmmmmmmm. Who should be there? But Stefanie, my old boss. I asked how everything was going and discovered that Mark, also my old boss, is not doing well. He hasn't been into work since the beginning of December because he is hurting so bad. This is not good. Mark is an awesome guy, and really quite young. I am very worried.

The work meeting was a lot of fun. The best announcement was that three items in the store now have spiffs on them. Huzzah!! Also, today marks the six months I have been working here. I love my job!!

As much as I love my job however, I did take a two and a half hour lunch break to eun some "errands". This was actually my opportunity to watch Cloverfield with Drek, Rissy and Xirax. It was actually a great movie. I loved it. The only not-good part was at the very end, when I though the movie was over (but it actually continued on for ten more minutes). It was supposed to be a very sad scene, and the whole theater was dead silent. It stuck me as a hilarious way to end the movie, so I started laughing, which I felt bad about because of the people in front of us, so I put my hand over my mouth and tried to giggle quietly.

After work it was off to the Quark game night!! An entire room filled with nerds and geeks playing board games of every kind!! We brought Pirates Dice (thanks again Xirax!!) and taught a group how to play. Once taught, I abandoned the group to join a game of Ticket To Ride Europe. It was most exciting. I tied for first place with another player.
The best art of activities like that is not the activity, but rather, knowing that no matter what you do, you can be yourself, because everyone in the room will except you for who you are. I forgot how much I liked Quark for that reason.
At the end, Xirax was happily taking pictures. As I came up to him he pointed the camera at me and said "I'm documenting this. What do you think of this party?" Giggle giggle.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Acouchi likes Spaghetti noodles. I now have the film to prove this.

Of Course, That is Exactely What Heroes Are For!!

No, I did not get enough spiffs to buy my bed. And nothing else in the store has a spiff on it now. curses!!

Yesterday I went to Film Forum to see The Last Unicorn, which I haven't seen in ages. it was pretty good, I'll watch it in another ten years. Bradley stopped by the film forum to drop of the memory protectors I ordered from him, or from Close To My Heart, in October. Now I can finally finish my wedding Album!!

Acouchi likes Sphagetti Noodles.

LOST in 57 minutes!!

I Guess We're Staying in the Apartment...

Yesterday morning I was hit with the idea of getting new carpet in our living room. The carpet in there now is a dark brown and is oh-my-gosh-ugly. As I pondered this idea, I remembered Kris and I painting the Krayola box and the landlord payed for the paint. I also remembered buying $200 in flowers, planting them in front of the Krayola Box (I miss summer, or, for that matter, I miss the sun) and taking $200 out of the price of rent. I actually paid the same thing I did every month, but I got flowers out of the deal that month. So what if I could do that with carpet?

Thus began my new project. I looked online to find all about buying carpet, good deals, carpet padding, installation and such. After much research I decided that Nylon carpet would work best in our high-traffic area, and that a plush would work best with looking new year after year (for future renters) and for the comfort of Acouchi. Drek and I then priced what we wanted and, armed with knowledge, marched over to our landlords.

We presented our plan. She seemed thrilled by the idea and the only conditions were that it be a neutral color and hid dirt well. Huzzah!! New carpet for me!!

LOST in 1 day, 7 hours, 5 minutes!!!!

Many Things

I've been playing Werewolf online with Quark. It has been a lot of fun. I think I've lost my touch, i have no idea who the bad guys are, but that's ok, the game is fun anyway...or, was fun. I was lynched this morning. :(

Saturday night Drek and I went up to his parent's house to play games. We ended up playing Werewolf. We turned off all the light and just had candles lit on the table. It was a lot of fun.

Yesterday was a busy day. Church, Visiting Teaching, Visit Taught, Do Visiting Teaching Supervisor stuff...
I got a text as soon as I woke up: Ok This is lame but I am not allowed to call you. I am going in to labor and the baby will be here by tomorrow.

SQUEEEE!!! My Nephew!! After church, I had not heard anything, so I called and talked to NateBot. He gave me a quick update. This morning Krisface called and said he was born last night, via C-Section, and he was at a different hospital in the NICU. She is ok, and supposedly he is ok. I waiting for more updates.

Also yesterday, Drek and I watched a movie. When it was over we got online to check Werewolf, and all over QUARK, CNN, and KSL, was the news that President Hinckley had passed away. My phone was on silent during the movie, but when I checked it I had 4 text messages from different people informing me of the news, and 3 missed calls by different people informing me of the news. It has only been announced an hour before.
Drek, on the other hand, had no texts and no calls. Ah, the differences between his family and mine. He calls his family "practical" ("If each kid got a call like that it would take the whole night!") I call my family loving. :) Drek and I knelt down in our front room and said a prayer, just because it felt like the thing to do. It wasn't sad or any ting like that. I am sure he is very happy, and the church will be fine, but it felt like we needed to do something for the occasion. I guess that's the whole point of the gospel. When the Pope dies, it's a tragic event and a huge ordeal. Millions mourn, panic ensues and then the entire process of finding a new pope starts. In our church, the prophet dies and everyone is happy for him, God takes care of his church and in a few days a new prophet is announced, but until then the members know they are still taken care of, still being led.

Krisface, I think if your baby has an old man face, you should name him Gordon. Or maybe Tobordan.

3 days, 5 hours, 31 minutes to LOST!

At last! A Trailer for the new J.J. Abrahms Star Trek Movie! Mostly I just want to see Sylar as a Vulcan.

LOST in 5 days!!

The countdown returns

8 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes Until LOST Season premier. I think there will be a LOST party over at my parent's house.

Also, I want to have a Valentine's day party. The kind with married couples where you play cute little games. I am not sure, but maybe I will try and throw a party.

The Power of Prayer

When I graduated from High School I decided it was time for a new set of scriptures. I went to the Distribution Center and got the off the clearance table. They were on clearance because the binding wasn't done right, so some of the pages aren't actually attached. I got them like that, rather than prefect, because... well, I suppose because when you are religious, you should be poor. I guess. Religion should b free. So The fact that I had less-than perfects scriptures made me feel more religious, or at least, less like a hypocrite. When I had my name engraved on them, I purposely only had them do my first name. They were very concerned about this and called me several times to make sure I did not want a last name on my scriptures. I did not. I was a teenager, and trying to figure out who I was, so I wanted the scriptures to have my first name and no family name, so they would be mine, and not...well, I don't know. It was a teenager thing. Anyway, I loved these scriptures from the beginning. They were unique. They had had class, character. They had gumption.
I took my old and my scriptures to all church functions, so I could transfer markings from my old scriptures into my new scriptures. I wrote notes, made highlights, had a very precise color coding and marking system, and even signed my name in the front every time I finished reading them. I loved these scriptures, they were with me through my toughest times.
Then Drek and I were married we started attending this Married Student Ward. In September, I accidentally left my precious scriptures in the Chapel. They were stolen.
I lost my wallet in the parking lot of an ice cream store and it gets returned to my door, fully intact. Money, credit cards, drivers licence, everything.
I lost my cell phone in a mall and some 14 year old kid calls my dad to inform him that he had his daughter's cell phone. No prank calls were made, nothing.
I leave my scriptures in the chapel of an LDS church, and they get stolen.
Every Sunday I went to the lost and found looking for them. I asked the librarian, the Relief Society President, the ward clerk and that stake president.
When Christmas came, there was talk of getting me a new set of scriptures. I protested. I did not want new scriptures, I wanted MY scriptures. After Christmas, my mother offered to give me a pair of highly rare, highly expensive, real leather bound scriptures. Again, I protested. I wanted MY scriptures, and no others would be the same. Drek started praying for my scriptures the beginning of January, when it became clear that no substitutions would do. So, I started praying for them too. We would pray that I would find them, that whoever took them would return them etc.
Today we arrived t church early so Drek could prepare the sacrament. I found us a seat, and immediately headed for the lost and found. In that hall, there was a table set up with dishes in it, waiting for the owners to claim them. On the table, front and center, were my scriptures.
4 months later, there were my scriptures. It is a miracle.

What's Going On In My Life

Yesterday morning I stepped on an earing. It went one inch into my heal. It still hurts.

Yesterday Night I was supposed to go see Cloverfield with some friends. When we go to the theater, 45 minutes before the movie started, there were NO SEATS. let alone 4 seats together. After much debate I finally asked if I could trade the tickets for a later showtime, the answer was yes, but after traded in the current tickets, and before they could print off new tickets, the later show sold out. Half of me wanted to go to the dance, because I got two phone calls yesterday, saying THEY would love to dance with me, even though I am married. Both calls mae my heart happy. I think I will go to the next Quark dance no matter what. Half of me wanted to go home and sleep. Yesterday was quite the miserable day and that just topped it off. The friends we were with voted to go home and watch LOST (we have been introducing them to LOST with mini marathons. We have only had two) so both plans were vetoed.
However, LOST makes everything better. We watched a few episodes, and now the only episode left of the first season is Exodus (which is three episodes long). We will watch this on Sunday. Hooray!

We are looking for an apartement. I love the apartment we are in, and it is crazy cheap, but it is right next door to the family of the missionary I sent off two years ago. He gets home Feb 5, and I don't really want to live next to him, mostly for his sake. This is tragic, becasue I adore his family. I go over there often, to visit with his mom and little brother. His little brother started raising chickens and seeling their eggs, so I have been eating "cage free" eggs. When he comes home, not only will I lose the visiting, but my supply of eggs as well. The problem is, becasue of BYU, apartments are VERY expensive. The other problem is, Landlords know there a a million people trying to move into their apartment, so they don't have to take people with pets. We cannot find an apartment hat will take Acouchi. The search is not going well.

I love my job. In December and November, I was very good at my job. In fact, I was the best. This month, I am last. Only by $3,000, but still. I need to take it up a notch if I am to earn that raise I've had my eye on. In December, I decided to earn the money for my new Tempur-Pedic bed in spiffs only. This was a good December goal becasue all the massage chairs had spiffs on them for Christmas. As is turns out, I was the number one salesman for this massage company in the nation. Ever. I earned a lot of spiffs. Alas, i am still $100 short of my bed. Well, I have enough for the bed,but not enough for the shipping. Right now, there are only two thing with Spiffs on them. I am determined to sell them so I can get my bed.

In other news, LOST season starts in 12 days.

Yes Basketball, No Dances

I can't go to the Quark dance tonight. Drek says he wouldn't mind me dancing with other boys, but the problem is no boys will want to dance with me. :(

In an effort to "fit in" better in our ward, I volunteered to play relief society basketball. I supose this is an event unique to married student ward, as most wards would be worried about 80 year old women playing dirty. The games are on Wednesday nights. I went this week and had fun. I'm not very good, and most of the girls either play for BYU or played in High School. But all of them are nice. It's just a game to most of them, so there is no fear of getting stoned if you miss a pass.

Best Husband Ever

Yesterday Drek picked me up from work and took me out to eat at a very fancy restaurant. We had a wonderful time. When we went home, he opened the door and much to my surprise he had decorated the living room for me.



He even bought me 6 roses, one for every month we have been married (I know you can't see 6 in the picture, but they are there).
We had Sparkling Cider in fancy crystal glasses and ate yummy chocolate truffles. It was so much fun.
Cheers!!

1/07/08

Today is my 6 month anniversary of getting married. I have to work today :( so we couldn't really do anything fun. Drek is supposed to take me out to a nice dinner after I get off work (in 45 minutes) I am very excited. I went shopping twice with my married friends to try and get some things for today, but both attempts were unsuccessful.
I was also hoping to have a new bed for us. Originally, my plan was to have it delivered today. Alas, complications arose and the earliest I could get it is February. And now, more complications have arisen so it might be even later than that.
This just makes me more determined to make our 1 year anniversary more special. We will either go camping in Yellowstone, or go to Ireland. It depends on where we are in then, as our whole lives SHOULD change once Drek is done with school.
Anyway, Happy anniversary Drek!! I love you so much. You are my most favorite husband.

Year In Review

2007 brought major changes.
Major change #1) Marriage.
I still don't think I'm quite used to be married. I LOVE being married. It is the best thing ever, but I still feel that I'm awkward in social situations because of it. I don't know how to talk to guys anymore. Am I flirting? Am I just being friendly? Are they flirting? I don't know. It's something I intend to work on and fix in 2008.
Major Change #2) Work
I love my job. Most of 2007 was spent at jobs I didn't like. I jumped from one job to another looking for a job i would want to stay at. I have finally found it. I have been working here since August, and despite some early opinions that my boss wasn't going to work out, it HAS worked out. I love my job, I love the people I work with, and I love my boss. Not only that, but unlike the bakery, I get payed well. I don't get free donuts, but the paychecks are bigger and I get very nice bonuses every month. My Christmas bonus this year was a nice check, instead of a pie. I really think (and want) a future here. It's a nice change.
Major Change #3)Friends
Friends have gotten married, moved away and things like that. I've made some new, quite wonderful friends, but still kept in touch with old friends. The biggest change is Krisface, who abandoned me this year. The great thing about the end of 2007was that Krisface was here in Utah again. We had many adventures before she had to leave again. The strange thing was that while she was here, it was like she had never left. I am no longer apprehensive about her being so far away, because I know that it will always be the same. Whenever she comes back (June!!!) it will still be as if she's never left. The new friends I have found are also amazing. Both of them are married with no children just like me. I got to spend New Year's Eve with them and their husbands. It's hilarious how much we have in common. We were talking about kitchen items our husbands have forbidden us from using (cheese graters, electric beaters) because husbands get so sick of hand washing them (we don't have dishwashers). It's also a harsh realization that most of my guy friends don't want to associate with me anymore, because I am married. I knew that before I got married it would be an issue, I just didn't realize how much of an issue.
Major change #4) Babies!!
April 2007 gave me a niece. She is the cutest baby in the entire world. She has also proved to be amazingly intelligent. My sister is teaching her sign language and at 9 months old, she already understands certain signs.
Krisface is pregnant with a little baby boy. I'm sure he will be absolutely darling. I cannot wait to see my nephew.
My Parents got a dog. His name is Jake and he is a very smart, and very big dog. He knows that every time I am over at my parent's house I will give him a treat, so he will wait by the backdoor every time I am there, so I won't forget.

In Summary, 2007 was a great year, and I think the changes that were made will make 2008 the best year yet.

Ka-Boom!!

I was in a car accident yesterday. Now I hurt all over. Basically I want to go home and sleep away the sorenes. Instead, i am stuck at work on what was supposed to be my day off. This is NOT how you're supposed to start the new year.

Acouchi's Christmas

On Christmas morning, Acouchi decided to sleep in. After much coaxing, she finally came out into the living room to open her stocking.

She got a new brush, a dangly-toy, cat-nip two balls to spray cat-nip on, and the best present of all...


a laser pointer!!!

A movie of Acouchi playing with the laser pointer can be found here.

No LOST, No HEROS. Stupid Writers.

By LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Lost" will return next month after an absence of eight months, but fans of the TV drama may still feel deprived because of the Hollywood writers strike.

The series, like other dramas and comedies, faces the possibility of a season cut short by the strike, now in its sixth week. Eight episodes of "Lost" have been completed for the series' return Jan. 31 _ half the number originally planned, ABC said Friday.

Whether the entire 16-episode order for 2008 can be filled depends on the duration of the contract dispute between studios and the Writers Guild of America. The strike has sidelined production on dozens of scripted shows, and networks are running out of new episodes.

Prospects for a deal were hurt when talks collapsed Dec. 7. No new negotiations were scheduled.

"Lost" viewers can expect at least a mini-cliffhanger ending, no matter how long the season, the network said.

Happy Birthday, Drek!!

Thank you for the snow, Bradley.

Happy December to all!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Sunday my amazing husband figured out how to put Christmas lights outside. He decorated the bush in front of our house. It looks amazing. I put up our Christmas tree (otherwise known as Acouchi's favorite food) and started setting up my vast collection of Nativities. Drek the turned his attention to indoor Christmas lights. Our house in now entirely decked.
Also, tonight is the much anticipated TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA CONCERT!! So excited.

On the Subject of Shoes

It is no secret that I despise shoes. Perhaps a little less known is that even more than I despise shoes, I despise shoe shopping. Because of this, I only buy new shoes when the pair I ave are falling apart to the point where they leave a trail of debris wherever I walk. The last pair of shoes I bought were for working at the bakery. I bought them in August of 2005. Two years before that, I had bought a pair of sneakers to wear in the winter.
When I went to Mexico last Christmas, I took the old pair of sneakers, as the Bakery shoes were even more beat up than the sneakers. While working on a house of special needs children, my sneaker broke. Completely. I couldn't very well work barefoot, so Padre Jamie took me to a giant garbage bag filled with shoes that had been donated to the house. I picked out some very nice, almost brand new sneakers. I love those shoes. They are my Mexico shoes, and I even wore them when I went back to Mexico on my Honeymoon.
Last week my boss announced that my Mexico shoes (which I always wear to work) were now banned from the store because they were too beat up. This lead to Drek and I doing what I despise most. Spending money on items I don't want. Even worse, spending money on SHOES. Which I hate anyway. However, Drek is amazingly good at shoe shopping and managed to find a nice pair of comfortable, non-expensive shoes. He even bought them for me.
So I now have new shoes. They are not flip-flops, but I will wear them anyway.

There is no end to my Giggeling

"Here, Faint into My Arms"

Yesterday I biked to work. This not unusual, I have done it many times before. I felt fine before I left, I felt fine while on the bike, yet as soon as I got inside the building I felt very nauseous and light headed. I headed for the bathroom. About halfway across the room I crumpled.
It was really weird. I went pale as a ghost and I couldn't stand up without wanting to throw up/faint again. I laid down on a bed and my co-worker talked to me until I felt better. Weird.

This morning Drek drove me to work. I began doing my work, but about 15 minutes into my day my nose started spurting blood. I don't get nose bleeds very often, but when I do get them it's usually because I've hit my nose or something, not for no apparent reason. Also, usually it just bleeds a little, not to the point where I lock myself in the bathroom for ten minutes trying to get it to stop. Weird.

I told Drek he needs to take out a life insurance policy on me. He says I'm being dramatic.

A Sighting of a Non-Pregnant Girl in My Church Buidling.

In October, my visiting teaching companion became unreachable. She didn't answer her phone and wouldn't return my calls. Her husband said she was sick. I went visiting teaching without her. In November, I set up appointments and called my companion. Again, she did not answer her phone. I cancelled the appointments, thinking it was only the first week of the month, we could get together later. The next day, my companion left a message on my phone explaining that she hadn't told anyone in the ward yet, but "we're pregnant." (Why "we"? Like your husband is really going through anything remotely similar to being pregnant. Please.) She was very sick, but has new medication so she should be better. The next Sunday I met her husband at church, who was quite surprised that I knew his wife was *he looks around nervously and then moves his hand over his belly to imitate a bump* (What is wrong with these people?) he told me that the medication was not working, and his wife would not be leaving the house for at least the next month.
I was very frustrated. I already dislike visiting teaching, partly because I have no idea what I'm doing, and I hate parading around pretending like I want to be friends with these girls, but also because I have neither the time, nor the energy to fight everybody to do something I don't like doing. I told Drek I gave up on visiting teaching.
In Relief society I randomly took a visiting teaching sheet, even though I already had one. To my surprise I discovered that I had two companions. I asked the president about it. She said it was temporary, but she was new and they had no where else to put her. I was delighted. Maybe she wasn't pregnant!! Alas, no one knew what she looked like or if she had come to church that day, but I did have her phone number. I called her after church and left a message. The next day she return my call (She actually returned my call. no one in this ward has ever returned my call!!). She said she would teach the lessons if I set up the appointments. I called the girls and left messages on Monday. I called them again on Saturday. They were not in church today. I decided that it might be better to just give them a handout. I went home after church and printed off a Thanksgiving appropriate conference talk.
My new companion called me to ask if I had made any appointments (She was actually following up!!). I told her my plan, and she said she would love to come along. (As in, she was willing to go, almost like she wanted go) I went to pick her up and she had made thanksgiving cookies to go along with the handout (She made COOKIES!!). We visited each apartment (none of the girls were available) and left the message, the cookies and note. Afterwards she said she would set up the appointments in December if I would teach the lesson. She also added that she wanted visit them the first or second week and asked if that was ok with me. I was so happy, I almost couldn't answer.
Oh, and she's not pregnant.

Christmas Has Come Early!!

My dad decided to get a family package of Leopard. He gave me mine as a gift. MacLappy has been changed from a Panther to a Leopard. It is fantastic. The movie factor alone is so worth it.

My mom wanted to put Leopard on her computer, but wanted to wipe out the hard drive first. So she put my files on a external hard drive and gifted me the way-cool 320 GB external machinery of doom!! Oh, how I love it.

Also, I received a package from Arkansas. Most unexpectedly, tucked inside was a pair of Mgloves; Or, Glottins. Whatever. They are my new favorite thing. They go all the way up to my elbows, and have fingers cut off half way, and then a mitten you can pull over them. They are basically, the best thing ever, I wear them most everywhere now. They make a noise. They say "hpohmf" and I love them.

Please Silence Your Cell Phones

I am about to watch the last episode of 24, season one. It is entitled, "11:00"
Thank you
*1 hour later*
Stupid addictive 24. Now I have to watch Season 2. There were no answers in that ending!!! And what is the point of Special Features if there are no bloopers?! :( I wanted to see Jack fall off the pier.

I Should Never Have Watched Dante's Peak

Wednesday morning Drek and I ventured up an unknown mountain with some shady directions in hopes of finding the famed natural hot springs. The hike up was gorgeous. The closer we got to the hot springs the more blue the water became. First it looked green, then white, and finally up at the springs the water was amazingly blue.





As it turns out, there are several little "hot tubs" you can choose from. We picked the warmest. At first I was very nervous, but the spring didn't seem to get any warmer, and we weren't on a volcano to begin with. Finally I decided that only naked couples boil to death in sulphur springs. And we had bathing suits on.

It was a great trip. We (and Bob too, I think) and a a great time.

Let's talk about Marriage

Sleeping next to someone is highly addictive. Once you sleep next to someone, it becomes extremely difficult to sleep alone. Luckily, that is what Acouchi is for.

Yesterday, a women came into the store who had five children. Four of them were around the same age, all of them teenagers. The fifth child, was one year old. "Quite the happy surprise" She had said. She was buying a massage chair for her family's game room, because every year for Christmas she and her husband ( of 20+ years) buy a big present for the whole family, instead of lots of individual presents. She was a delightful women, who adored her kids and adored her husband. You could tell because she loved to tell stories about them.

Also yesterday, I had women come into the store who had been married for 20+ years. She wanted a pillow, and didn't care how much it cost. She had wanted this pillow for a while now, and was finally getting because "I have my husband's credit card and I need to buy everything I want now because I'm leaving him next week."
On that same note, a while ago, I had a couple come in (a older man and a young, blond girl) and look at massage chairs. They jokes around a lot, making comments about porn movies and giggling about the vibration on the chairs. He finally announced that he wanted one for their house. While he was paying for it, I discovered that the man was married, but not to her.

Loneleeeeeeeee, I'm so Loneleeeeeeee...

Has anyone seen this movie besides me? It is hilarious. I mean, the plot is ok, but the slugs throughout the movie are a riot. They sing. It kills me.

Drek is off on an adventure this weekend. I am home by myself. It is ok. have the slugs to sing to me.

Also

The NaNoWrMo website is a piece of crap. I am only putting this here because I am very angry with this website. You'd think with millions of writers/geeks around the world participating in NaNoWriMo, they'd make a non-crappy website.
How do they expect me to update my word count (2168) if the website is alway down/under repair.undergoing maintenance/forgotten my password for the 4th time?? Gah!!!!
I

My First Charity Dinner

Growing up in the church, in regards to prom dresses (or any dress for that matter) you are told to pose the question: Would you wear that dress if you knew President Hinckley would see you in it?
Now, all my dresses have been modest, so I guess I mostly got the point of that question. However, it becomes a whole new ballgame when you are shopping for a dress that President Hinckley WILL see you in. The question is not just: is it is modest? but: is it suggestive? It is form fitting? Is it slinky? Can you see my ankles? Can you see my elbows?
I have less than thirty minutes to find a dress that is not too formal, not too casual, not too eye-catching, but very pretty. I need a dress that is long enough, high enough, and has sleeves. I need a dress that does not show curves, but I still look good in. I need a dress that is modest, but not a Granny dress. Nothing ostentatious, but I need to look like I have money. In short: I need a miracle.
Luckily, I found such a dress. I will admit, at first I was terrified of the black lace, but it was either that, or a neckline that did not go up to my neck. Not only was this dress all of the above, but it was also little black dress (which every girl needs) and a size 4. I win.

Ready...Go!!

Happy NaNoWriMo everyone!

Goals:

1)No computer games AT ALL for the month of November. All time that would be used to play computer games/surf the web is now time for writing.

2)Re-write pages lost in death of MacLappy

3)Write like a crazy fiend

Plans are already in pace to have a NaNoWrimo meeting tonight at our house. Drek has invited his writing group. I was informed of this at 8:00 this morning. Ah well, I can always say cleaning has been postponed until December too. :)

Halloween

No Halloween costume this year. Will attempt again next year.
Drek dressed up as a Hawaiian.
Acouchi Dressed up as Shadow Cat.



Non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated Howie's Root Beer + Dry ice = Very fun drink.

So, very, drunk.

Halloween Events

Monday night was dedicated to a Halloween party for siblings. This came about when I discovered the Drek's younger siblings had not ever seen Nightmare Before Christmas (gasp). So I planned a a Halloween party. Some dressed up, all painted pumpkins, and we ate yummy spaghetti brains and fruit punch blood from skull goblets.





Drek made the most delicious Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that I have ever tasted. Oh!!! They were so good. It was around that time I discovered I had no way to play the movie. Rissy came to my rescue. We carted all the children over to her house, where we watched the movie on her way cool plasma screen. It was quite a good party.

As a side note, today I got home from visiting teaching to find that my husband had cooked dinner. This was not the only shocking thing, he informed me that his mother had called a few minutes ago, to tell him that his younger brother was getting married in a few minutes, up at the house, and we could come if we wanted. So, up we went. Mostly to return left-behind costumes and pumpkins, but also to show support to Drek's parents.

If you didn't care about getting married, but you were going to get married just so you could get some more help from your parents (who do not approve of you living with your girlfriend) why would you get married on October 30? Why not wait one day and get married on Halloween? That would be so much cooler.

My husband is Amazing.

The other day Drek decided it was "I love Child Day". He brought me a bouquet of flowers and took me shopping for chocolate. We decided to be daring and try a Lindt white-chocolate coconut.

Oh.

My.

Gosh!!!

The stuff was amazing. Possibly, the best merge of chocolate and coconut ever. Delicious.

Yesterday I stayed late at work. When I got off I was tired and cranky. Drek decided that we needed to to restaurant. He finally got out of me what I was craving and we went to this delicious Mexican restaurant. While there, I decided it was much too cold, so when we ordered we got boxes. We took our food and went to blockbuster, where Drek rented the first two discs of 24 season one. I had been wanting to get into a new series that I could watch all at once. we took our DVDs and yummy food home, curled up in bed and stayed up late snuggling, drinking Mexican Hot chocolate and debating if the show was pro-Republican or Democrat.

And that is why my husband is amazing.

Babies a go-go

My cousin's baby finally arrived. It was named Ryan Alexander. Ryan, for who knows why, and Alexander, because it is a family name.

Kratizling discovered that their expected baby is a boy. They are thinking of naming it Alexander Van. Alexander because it starts with "A" (and will go well with a girl's name when they have a girl) and Van because it is a family name.

I found out that my friend and his wife are expecting a baby. It is due in April. They want it to be a boy. They want to name it Alexander. Just Alexander, no middle name. I do not know why.

Drek and I went to the temple to do sealings. While waiting,a young couple came and sat next to us. The girl was obviously pregnant, and the fleeting thought came to mind "They would fit right in to our ward, being young and pregnant." A few minutes later the boy leaned over to Drek and whispered: "Hey, aren't you guys in our ward?" and, indeed, after further discusion, we discovered we were.

I'll bet they are naming their baby Alexander.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Allen Tudyk says the newly-released “Serenity : Special Edition“ DVD has been selling so hot, that there’s talk in doing another movie.

“They had to put [the new DVD] out because they’ve been selling out of the other one [the DVD that isn't the 'Collectors Edition'] and so Universal’s like ‘So, let’s do another one’", he says, adding "And now… there’s now a chance there’s going to be another movie”.

Do they dress like the Amish?

Today we had the rep. from Inada (THE massage chair company, as in, the company who invented the massage chair, and who still leads the massage chair industry) come and visit our store. He was there to teach us all about his chairs, why they are so great, and how to sell them. He was a fairly young guy, maybe late twenties, Caucasian, smartly dressed, and seemingly very intelligent. This guy makes a has been visiting all the stores across America and teaching the sales people how to sell an Inada chair. He flew in that morning and was scheduled to fly out that afternoon.

He brought us all Krispy Kreame dounuts and was very quick-witted. He made the early morning meeting quite endurable. After his presentation, he was talking to us about how well the chairs sell in our store. A co-worker of mine was explaining the region statistics. He was saying that even though the chairs sell like crazy in California, it is rare to sell one here. He explained that in this region, the population is very frugal. They have large families and $7,000 is more than they spend on a car. Here, he explained, in the LDS community...this is where the rep. interrupted.

"The what?"

Pause

"LDS? uh..."

"Mormon." I interjected.

"This is a Mormon community." My co-worker explained.

"Here?" The rep exclaimed, surprised. He glanced around quickly. I think he was hoping to catch a glimpse of the much fabled "Mormons."

I had to giggle to myself. With the Missionary Mall right next door, Deseret Book behind us, boarded by Dressed in White, The Distribution Center and the Sister Missionary Mall, I think he just might be able to sight a Mormon.

Rest in Peace, Flappie

Becasue my computer just didn't feel like my computer, last night I decided to download a new widjet to my mac. I downloaded Flappie, who is much like the little Nanopets that were so popular all those years ago. Flappie needs food, care, and he will show you current weather conditions in your area. He floats there and if you take care of him, he will evolve into something. I loved my Flappie immedidiety, and after I shut down my computer for the night, I felt better about my Mac.

And then my Mac died. Again. And all my music that I HAD JUST PUT BACK ON IT, all the videos that took all night to dowload, and, of course, Flappie, was instantly lost. Again.

Day Off to-do-List

My day off my job is not my day off from work. I find I am more exhausted on my day off, then any other day. For today:

• Ridiculous mound of laundry
• Go into work and move both massive and heavy boxes
• Massage little girl in neighborhood
• Massage Drek's visiting Grandma
• Go Picture Frame shopping
• Paint shelves

The painting of the shelves was my first project. They needed to be painted because, as newlyweds, we had no furniture, so we used hand-me-down bookshelves from my mother. My mother bought the shelves at a yard sale, some ten years ago, and I think they has been handed down before that. I think this because through the chips in the paint you can see that the shelves were originally painted white, then yellow, then red, and finally, cream. The shelves were dirty, chipped, and in desperate need of shaping up. Before I started they looked like this:

After hauling the books off, carrying the shelves outside, and painting them with two coats of paint, the front yard looked like this:


I then hauled them back inside restocked them, and now they look like this:




Hooray!! And then the rest of my day began. I am now very tired, but our shelves look so good.

The Mac store replaced my laptop. It is not the same. It is the shell of MacLappy, with no soul. It breaks my heart to use this souless computer. I am thinking of selling it. Anyone interested in buying a just refurnished, still under warranty macbook? I'll even through in a video ipod.
Work is going very well. My boss gave a raise, and the much promised bonus will go into effect in November. I love my co workers (all two of them) and I love what I d. Today I sold a chair that had a $100 stiff on it. My boss wasn't in, but when he called he promised me that tomorrow he would hand me a 100 dollar bill. Hooray!!

MacLappy is Dead

Pictures of Portland, Cortez and everything else
1000+ song
All my videos
3 seasons of LOST
All my writings
All my wedding pictures
Krazeizling's wedding slide show
My songless wedding slide show
Frets on Fire

Gone.

Forever.

For those getting married in the near future:

DO NOT REGISTER AT TARGET!!!

I got an email reply to my letter. It basically said, congrats on getting married, we stick by our return policy. too bad for you.

On the other hand, Bed Bath and Beyond is a fantastic place to register. They are very VERY nice (and will give you cash for items returned on your registry).

Target is terrible, and, even worse, stands by its terrible-ness.

Chocolate attacks and thought on death

Drek left me for a canyoeering adventure. He will be back tonight. I am so excited to see him. I have missed my husband. If possible, I think Acouchi misses him even more than I do. She keeps looking me at me and asking where he went, and when he will be back to play with her. Poor baby.

At work I was suddenly attacked by irresistible chocolate cravings. Not just any normal chocolate cravings either, I was being attacked by the giant deathly imported chocolate cravings. I used my lunch break to run to Walmart (which is so much higher on my list than Target) and browse the chocolate section. I decided on a bag of mixed Lindt chocolate and a milk chocolate Dove bar. It was exactly what I needed, and it helped me with my missing Drek.

Yesterday I went with Rissy to help walk her horse, Peety. Peety is the most spoiled horse I have ever heard of. His diet is not cooking, it is chemistry. He gets half a cup of this, half a cup of that, one cup this, half a container that, two squirts this, one squirt that. one forth of a cup light olive oil, one half cup virgin olive oil, a bag of Chinese herbs...it is insane. But he is a beautiful horse. He’s white and quite majestic. I love helping excises him and feed him. I love talking to him and rubbing his velvet nose. It is amazing.

Today I must clean like a fiend to have the house presentable by the time Drek gets home. It is also my dad’s birthday, so I will be going out to eat with the family. I am quite excited.

My new career plan is progressing nicely, with any luck I will be working from home by October. This means that Drek and I can actually celebrate Halloween, and we can go someplace for Thanksgiving, instead of me having to work the day before and the day after. And goodness knows I am NOT cooking any sort of thanksgiving dinner myself.
Huzzah!

On a completely different note, this morning My mother woke me up with a phone call. She wanted to know if I wanted to go a viewing. A few days ago, a friend that I had gone to all six years of elementary school with was killed in a car crash coming home from a family reunion. She and her husband had been married for a year and one month. They were both killed instantly.
I hadn’t planned on going to the viewing, but strangely, I did want to go. I hadn’t even talked with the girl since elementary school, even though we had gone to high school together, but I had known her back then, and I did know her family.
It was very strange, seeing so many people from my childhood. There was no one else there from my (our) age group. I think they stayed away because when the adults looked at you, you couldn’t help but think that they were thinking “why couldn’t it have been her, instead of my daughter?” She was only a month older than me.
The general idea seemed t be "thank goodness they died together, now they are together in death" but isn't that worse for the families? Now they have no one to hold on to. On the other hand, there is no one to remind them of the loss.
I wonder if they are happy they died together.

Work and more work

Tuesday I worked for eleven hours.

Way to early in the morning, I had to be over at BYU to steal college student’s money. Let me explain, I am a cashier in the text book department of the university. BYU pays me to sell books that students don’t want, for classes they don’t want to take, with money they don’t have. And the whole time I’m thinking: This is amazing!! What a brilliant scam!! It’s not even illegal!! These kids have to buy these books no matter what the cost or how much they don’t care about the content in the book. For instance, Chemistry 101 is a general class. Everyone must take chemistry (unless they opt with an equal credit but anyways). The Chemistry text book that the students must have is $119.00 There is an optional textbook students can purchase for $59.00. Also required, is something called an iclicker, which will allow students to take the quizs. iclickers are $35.35. So these students are shelling out money even if they have no interest in learning chemistry, or taking chemistry quizzes. They have no choice. The avergae bill was around $200. The most was $800. the second worst was $600. Both of those were for one individual's books, for one semester. Ouch.

After my shift ended there, I went to my fulltime job, and worked for six hours. I also got my paycheck and relized my boss has no intention of giving me the pay raise he promised, or of giving me the bonus “all” employees earn when the store does really well in a month. In fact, he’s just keeping me around becasue he dosn’t have to pay me hardly anything. This was a very disheartening relization, however, I did rethink my options, and a new career move is in progress thanks to my wonderful and brilliant husband.

Wednesday was more work on in the textbook department, and then it was off to Walmart, to work out a gift card issue. I had returned items to Walmart in exchange for a $90 gift card, but when I went to use the gift card the cashier informed me there was only $15 on it. She even double checked for me. So I had called Walmart, and they informed me to come in to customer service. I finally made it in yesterday, and spent an hour with the guy, trying to work it out. Finally, after searching the entirety of the Walmart computer database (which still runs on DOS by the way) he informed me that I either needed a receipt or the gift card for him to do anything. I FINALLY found the card and presented it to him. he scanned it to put the money on it and, lo and behold, it already had the money on it. All that and it turns out that the cashier just didn’t know how to use a gift card.