Working 11 hour days without a break=not so fun.
But I do love my job. A lot. So it's not so bad.
Yesterday was Tetris of the human kind part 2. It was not the spectacular event I was expecting, but we still had fun. Afterward I was introduced to Dr. Horrible and SQUEE!!!!!!!! It is so freakin funny. Watch it fast; Tomorrow it will be gone.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Texas Aught 8
This post will continue to grow as I get more pictures and more time to blog about them.
The trip started at 4:00am. That is freakishly early. Much too early. Drek and I met the family, loaded into the van and were off on a 22 hour drive. For most of it I immersed myself in Stephanie Meyer's The Host, which I LOVED!! I finished it on day 2. Drek entertained the group by playing a game called Even or Odd, which is quite simple: get a bag of individually wrapped candies (in this case, we used Starbursts) and divvy them out evenly. Next, players grab a handful of candy in their fist, hold it up to another player and ask "Even or odd?" the player answers if the number of candies in the fist is even or odd. If he is correct, he gets the candy. If he is wrong, he owes the player that many candies. I was no good at this game.
We stopped at Las Cruces to spend the night. New Mexico is gorgeous and I am in love with it. While there, I convinced Drek to take me to a restaurant to get real New Mexican food. NOM!!!! It was so good! At that made that part of the trip worth it.
We finally made it to our destination and the reunion began!! Right away was dinner; Texas brisket and green salad and fruit salad. Apparently, the brisket was phenomenal, as people could not stop talking about it, and snacked on it for the rest of the reunion. After dinner I stood on the front porch and talked to Drek's cousin, whom I came to adore. She is the most remarkable women and I learned so so so much from her. She has five beautiful children, all of whom I also adore.
We got out t-shirts (mine ended up as a small. hmm....) and finally called it a night.
Day three was spent mostly lazying about and playing in the pool. The older kids finally got in and the younger kids swarmed around them. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew there were some pretty fancy formations going on. This is one of my favorites:
Just look at the girl on top. Isn't she gorgeous? And that pose! A natural performer.
The trip started at 4:00am. That is freakishly early. Much too early. Drek and I met the family, loaded into the van and were off on a 22 hour drive. For most of it I immersed myself in Stephanie Meyer's The Host, which I LOVED!! I finished it on day 2. Drek entertained the group by playing a game called Even or Odd, which is quite simple: get a bag of individually wrapped candies (in this case, we used Starbursts) and divvy them out evenly. Next, players grab a handful of candy in their fist, hold it up to another player and ask "Even or odd?" the player answers if the number of candies in the fist is even or odd. If he is correct, he gets the candy. If he is wrong, he owes the player that many candies. I was no good at this game.
We stopped at Las Cruces to spend the night. New Mexico is gorgeous and I am in love with it. While there, I convinced Drek to take me to a restaurant to get real New Mexican food. NOM!!!! It was so good! At that made that part of the trip worth it.We finally made it to our destination and the reunion began!! Right away was dinner; Texas brisket and green salad and fruit salad. Apparently, the brisket was phenomenal, as people could not stop talking about it, and snacked on it for the rest of the reunion. After dinner I stood on the front porch and talked to Drek's cousin, whom I came to adore. She is the most remarkable women and I learned so so so much from her. She has five beautiful children, all of whom I also adore.
We got out t-shirts (mine ended up as a small. hmm....) and finally called it a night.
Day three was spent mostly lazying about and playing in the pool. The older kids finally got in and the younger kids swarmed around them. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew there were some pretty fancy formations going on. This is one of my favorites:
Just look at the girl on top. Isn't she gorgeous? And that pose! A natural performer.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Back in Cell Phone Range
Texas is wonderful. This vacation has been wonderful. Drek is wonderful. The car ride down here: Not so wonderful. Alas, it was worth it. Drek and I have had such an amazing time and now we have new life goals/plans.
Our plan includes Money amd children. The big question is: How do we have both? It's a conundrum.
I'll post about the vacation when it is over (i.e. Thursday). This has been my only exposure to the interwebs since we left and I thought I would take advantage of it (oh glorious highway of information, I have missed yooooou).
Our plan includes Money amd children. The big question is: How do we have both? It's a conundrum.
I'll post about the vacation when it is over (i.e. Thursday). This has been my only exposure to the interwebs since we left and I thought I would take advantage of it (oh glorious highway of information, I have missed yooooou).
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
I Had Hoped It Was You
In May, The #1 Massage Chair company in he United States started a campaign: Test Drive a 7450 (a zero gravity massage chair, retail value $3,999) and enter a drawing to win one! One massage chair will be given away every week, from May till August. Also, the sales associate who showed the chair, will win the one (this means the more people I show the chair, the more I increase my chances of winning a chair) Only 150 stores will be participating, and the average entries each week have been 400-500. Not bad odds.
Of course, I get all of my family to enter, all of Drek's family to enter, and all my friends who I can convince to come into the store. Week after week: No luck. This was my last week. I showed the chair to a bunch of customers, faxed in the entries and hoped. I leave tomorrow and won't be back until the campaign is almost over, so this was it!!
I finish up work, say good-bye to everyone and Drek and I head off to run errands. A few minutes later my boss calls:
"K la?"
"Yeah?"
"Michael Hamm is on the phone, he has something to tell you." (Micheal Hamm is he president of the massage chair company) I grab Drek's arm.
"K la? This is Michael Hamm. I have a present for you!"
Of course I screamed!! I JUST WON THE MASSAGE CHAIR!!!!! THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING NEWS!!!!!
So amazing. The only thing more amazing would be if someone I knew won the chair with me. Alas, it went to some guy I can't even remember showing the chair to. I hope he liked it.
I for one, love that chair. I'm so excited!!! It will be waiting for me when we get back from Texas. Hooray!!
Of course, I get all of my family to enter, all of Drek's family to enter, and all my friends who I can convince to come into the store. Week after week: No luck. This was my last week. I showed the chair to a bunch of customers, faxed in the entries and hoped. I leave tomorrow and won't be back until the campaign is almost over, so this was it!!
I finish up work, say good-bye to everyone and Drek and I head off to run errands. A few minutes later my boss calls:
"K la?"
"Yeah?"
"Michael Hamm is on the phone, he has something to tell you." (Micheal Hamm is he president of the massage chair company) I grab Drek's arm.
"K la? This is Michael Hamm. I have a present for you!"
Of course I screamed!! I JUST WON THE MASSAGE CHAIR!!!!! THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING NEWS!!!!!
So amazing. The only thing more amazing would be if someone I knew won the chair with me. Alas, it went to some guy I can't even remember showing the chair to. I hope he liked it.
I for one, love that chair. I'm so excited!!! It will be waiting for me when we get back from Texas. Hooray!!
If I Were to Tell You I Adore, Would You Have Me Do So...Stintingly?
07/07/08: Our one year anniversary. I can now officially say that I have been married for over a year. Weird, huh? On the one hand, it seems like the wedding was just a few days ago, on the other hand, now I can't imagine my life without Drek.
So, being married is the best thing ever. I am quite aware that Drek and I are still in our honeymoon phase, and most of this post will have you rolling your eyes, but this is actually how we are and I love it!
Saturday Kris picked me up from work. When we got to my house, Drek was not there. Just then, I received a text message from that said: If you get home before I do, there is a present for you on the table.
I went into the kitchen and found a beautiful bouquet of a dozen red roses on the table.
The day of our anniversary started out with Drek making me the most wonderful breakfast. He put it all into our Scarlet Pimpernel picnic basket and we went on a breakfast picnic. Afterword, he went off to work and I spent the day cleaning the house (like a fiend, getting ready for our trip to Texas) and setting up for his return.
Dinner was Lasagna, garlic bread and steamed broccoli. It was the most romantic thing I could think of that we had ingredients for.
After dinner Drek took me to play Frisbee golf. He, of course, is stellar at the game, but I do think I am improving.
We got home, had a dessert with a fudge brownie base, with cherries and homemade whip cream on top. YUM! This was accompanied by Sparkling Cider in wine glasses. I then presented him with the decorations:
I has set scented tea candles all over the bathroom and the bedroom and decorated the bed with the roses (very romantic). I then gave Drek a massage, and he gave me a small, blue box. Inside, was a small white box, and inside that was this:
Isn't it beautiful??!! It's two hearts, both made out of diamonds. The picture doesn't catch the sparkle, so I'll just tell you: It is amazing!!
To end our day, we ventured into the freezer to retrieve our wedding cake. On our wedding day, the cake was DELICIOUS!! It was made by Drek's mom, and never was a more delicious cake ever made. It was so good, that on our one month anniversary, Drek and I took it out of the freezer and ate some slices. Afterward, we wrapped up the remaining slices in tinfoil, and decorated it. She has been the steward of our freezer ever since.
It was disgusting. Year-old cake is not yummy. It tastes like spongy freezer.
Happy anniversary, Drek. You are the love of my life. I love you with all my heart and I always will.
So, being married is the best thing ever. I am quite aware that Drek and I are still in our honeymoon phase, and most of this post will have you rolling your eyes, but this is actually how we are and I love it!
Saturday Kris picked me up from work. When we got to my house, Drek was not there. Just then, I received a text message from that said: If you get home before I do, there is a present for you on the table.
I went into the kitchen and found a beautiful bouquet of a dozen red roses on the table.
The day of our anniversary started out with Drek making me the most wonderful breakfast. He put it all into our Scarlet Pimpernel picnic basket and we went on a breakfast picnic. Afterword, he went off to work and I spent the day cleaning the house (like a fiend, getting ready for our trip to Texas) and setting up for his return.
Dinner was Lasagna, garlic bread and steamed broccoli. It was the most romantic thing I could think of that we had ingredients for.
After dinner Drek took me to play Frisbee golf. He, of course, is stellar at the game, but I do think I am improving.
We got home, had a dessert with a fudge brownie base, with cherries and homemade whip cream on top. YUM! This was accompanied by Sparkling Cider in wine glasses. I then presented him with the decorations:
I has set scented tea candles all over the bathroom and the bedroom and decorated the bed with the roses (very romantic). I then gave Drek a massage, and he gave me a small, blue box. Inside, was a small white box, and inside that was this:
Isn't it beautiful??!! It's two hearts, both made out of diamonds. The picture doesn't catch the sparkle, so I'll just tell you: It is amazing!!To end our day, we ventured into the freezer to retrieve our wedding cake. On our wedding day, the cake was DELICIOUS!! It was made by Drek's mom, and never was a more delicious cake ever made. It was so good, that on our one month anniversary, Drek and I took it out of the freezer and ate some slices. Afterward, we wrapped up the remaining slices in tinfoil, and decorated it. She has been the steward of our freezer ever since.
It was disgusting. Year-old cake is not yummy. It tastes like spongy freezer. Happy anniversary, Drek. You are the love of my life. I love you with all my heart and I always will.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Congratulations! Your Team Has Successfully Completed the WOMAN Challenge!
Today marks the end of the WOMAN Challenge. My mom, my sister and I were all on a team. We worked hard, and together we completed the route! I'm so proud of us!
I really got into the habit of working out! I've done Tao Bo, Palates, Jogging, Swimming, Biking, and I feel that I now have a more active lifestyle.
I'm definitely more in shape (evident by the fact that I can play whole games of Ultimate Frisbee with out walking for most of the game, and that I biked all over my city yesterday for the 4th of July) but my goal when I started was to lose weight. I have not. Well, I've lost around three pounds, which puts me right under the "overweight" category. I am now officially, a good weight for my body size, but it's still no where near what I want to weigh. I do feel like the goal is attainable though, and I know if I stay active I'll be able to reach it.
Overall, I'm so glad my sister got me into this, and I'm so glad I participated on such a great team!!
I really got into the habit of working out! I've done Tao Bo, Palates, Jogging, Swimming, Biking, and I feel that I now have a more active lifestyle.
I'm definitely more in shape (evident by the fact that I can play whole games of Ultimate Frisbee with out walking for most of the game, and that I biked all over my city yesterday for the 4th of July) but my goal when I started was to lose weight. I have not. Well, I've lost around three pounds, which puts me right under the "overweight" category. I am now officially, a good weight for my body size, but it's still no where near what I want to weigh. I do feel like the goal is attainable though, and I know if I stay active I'll be able to reach it.
Overall, I'm so glad my sister got me into this, and I'm so glad I participated on such a great team!!
YAY! It's Fireworks Day!
Yesterday I made a patriotic breakfast for us. My original idea was to make the entire pancake in the shape of a star using cookie cutters, but I discovered the night before that the Cookie cutters were plastic. That would be a bad idea. The only metal star was very small. So, I made circle pancakes and cut a star out of the middle of them. That shape was then filled with whipped cream, and topped with Strawberries and Blueberries. It was the most 4th of July-y breakfast I've ever had!
I even used blue plates and silverware, and red cups.
Drek and I ate breakfast and then glanced around...Now what? We didn't wasn't to go to the parade, or the Freedom Festival, we wanted to play games, but no one was available to play with us. Drek wanted to have a waterfight, but it's no fun with only two people. So we did...nothing!! We lounged around the whole day. Mostly, we just stayed in bed and played on our laptops. It was great!!
At five we went up to Drek's parent's house for a 4th of July dinner and a Birthday party for Drek's youngest brother. It was here that Rissy called, and we drover over to her house, played a game of Elixer, drove to our house, watched The Mole and then biked to stadium to sit with Drek's family to watch the fireworks. Yes, we biked. It was so cool!! It was dark, and there were hundreds of people everywhere, over two miles!!
Our spot was perfect. It was across the street from the stadium, so you could hear the Blue Man Group and Miley Cyrus perform, but you could also see it on the huge screens inside the stadium. It was amazing!
We bike a few blocks to say hi to Kris and her very cute Toby, and then booked it back so we wouldn't miss the firework show.The firework show was spectacular and we had such a great view. We were so close we could see what was happening inside the stadium and hear the movie music they were playing to go along with it. When the huge fireworks exploded inside the sky it seemed they would rain down on us. In fact, I do think a few ashes came down on us.
And then it was over, the mass exodus of thousands of people began, and Rissy, Drek and I biked home. It was a very exhilarating ride. On the way to and from the event, We discussed the rules of our own versonion of the Mole, and came up with some brilliant ideas. Ideas still forming, game will be announced later.
We ate Nachos, watched LOST and the Rissy slept over. It was so much fun!! Happy July 4th!!
I even used blue plates and silverware, and red cups.
Drek and I ate breakfast and then glanced around...Now what? We didn't wasn't to go to the parade, or the Freedom Festival, we wanted to play games, but no one was available to play with us. Drek wanted to have a waterfight, but it's no fun with only two people. So we did...nothing!! We lounged around the whole day. Mostly, we just stayed in bed and played on our laptops. It was great!!
At five we went up to Drek's parent's house for a 4th of July dinner and a Birthday party for Drek's youngest brother. It was here that Rissy called, and we drover over to her house, played a game of Elixer, drove to our house, watched The Mole and then biked to stadium to sit with Drek's family to watch the fireworks. Yes, we biked. It was so cool!! It was dark, and there were hundreds of people everywhere, over two miles!!
Our spot was perfect. It was across the street from the stadium, so you could hear the Blue Man Group and Miley Cyrus perform, but you could also see it on the huge screens inside the stadium. It was amazing!
We bike a few blocks to say hi to Kris and her very cute Toby, and then booked it back so we wouldn't miss the firework show.The firework show was spectacular and we had such a great view. We were so close we could see what was happening inside the stadium and hear the movie music they were playing to go along with it. When the huge fireworks exploded inside the sky it seemed they would rain down on us. In fact, I do think a few ashes came down on us.
And then it was over, the mass exodus of thousands of people began, and Rissy, Drek and I biked home. It was a very exhilarating ride. On the way to and from the event, We discussed the rules of our own versonion of the Mole, and came up with some brilliant ideas. Ideas still forming, game will be announced later.
We ate Nachos, watched LOST and the Rissy slept over. It was so much fun!! Happy July 4th!!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
If I Had Actually Used Alchohol, Would My Trifle Have Caught On Fire?
I love Independence day. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. I have many found memories throughout the years. Independence day has always revolved around a huge community breakfast, an American dinner, fireworks when it got dark and, of course, camping out to watch the spectacular firework display that is such a famous occurrence here. Independence Day has always been spent with my family. On extra special years, the 4th was spent with my family and my cousins from Texas. That was always a blast. This year, sadly, will be different.
My parents left for California today, they will be there over the 4th of July. My older sister and her little family headed out for Washington DC today. They too, will be gone over the 4th of July.
So, we celebrated early. Yesterday my mom threw an early Independence Day celebration. She made fruit salad, my dad made potato salad, my Aunt brought watermelon, we had hot dogs, and I brought dessert.
I wanted to do a red, whit and blue dessert, and after looking through Internet recipes, I found the one I likes: Trifle. I have never attempted trifle before. In fact, I have never even tasted trifle before. Thus, I wanted it it to be both delicious and look AMAZING. I think it worked:
Instead of soaking the fruit in Sherry, I soaked in in orange juice. It worked really well. Drek and I took my masterpiece over to my parent's house and had dinner! When it came time for dessert I added the finishing touch: Sparklers!!!
Very Patriotic, no? It was also delicious. And there you have it, my very first Trifle was a success. I think I shall attempt to make this again.
The celebration was perfect. There were no fireworks (besides the one on the dessert) but it still felt like Independence Day.
Tomorrow Drek and I are supposed to celebrate most of the 4th with his family. I've planned a big breakfast with just the two of us (supposing, of course, I can't convince Rissy to invite drek and I to a her old ward's breakfast) and I suppose we'll take it from there. I have it off of work, so that's good.
My parents left for California today, they will be there over the 4th of July. My older sister and her little family headed out for Washington DC today. They too, will be gone over the 4th of July.
So, we celebrated early. Yesterday my mom threw an early Independence Day celebration. She made fruit salad, my dad made potato salad, my Aunt brought watermelon, we had hot dogs, and I brought dessert.
I wanted to do a red, whit and blue dessert, and after looking through Internet recipes, I found the one I likes: Trifle. I have never attempted trifle before. In fact, I have never even tasted trifle before. Thus, I wanted it it to be both delicious and look AMAZING. I think it worked:
Instead of soaking the fruit in Sherry, I soaked in in orange juice. It worked really well. Drek and I took my masterpiece over to my parent's house and had dinner! When it came time for dessert I added the finishing touch: Sparklers!!!
Very Patriotic, no? It was also delicious. And there you have it, my very first Trifle was a success. I think I shall attempt to make this again.The celebration was perfect. There were no fireworks (besides the one on the dessert) but it still felt like Independence Day.
Tomorrow Drek and I are supposed to celebrate most of the 4th with his family. I've planned a big breakfast with just the two of us (supposing, of course, I can't convince Rissy to invite drek and I to a her old ward's breakfast) and I suppose we'll take it from there. I have it off of work, so that's good.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
For Who Could Hate or Bare a Grudge Against a Luscious Bit of Fudge?
Next week Drek and I will drive down to Texas to attend his family reunion (hopefully. If we go, this will be the first vacation this year that was planned, but not canceled.) Yesterday, over IM, Drek informed me that we will be earing matching t-shirts at the reunion, and he needed to know my T-shirt size. I answered that in women's sizes I am small or medium, in normal t-shirt size I am extra small. After a while he sent me this:
Drek: Dad is asking if you're sure an XS is right for you. Are you sure you're not a S?
I take a deep breathe. Before I go on, let me explain: I love Drek's dad. I adore Drek's dad. But at this moment it is apparent where Drek inherited his tact.
me: get me a large
Drek: Are you sure?
me: get me an extra large if you want. Tell your dad I'm planning on gaining a lot of weight.
I need room to grow from all the donuts I plan on gorging myself on. Now that you have a salary, I plan on spending the entirety of it on French pastries and a Segway, so I never have to move.
I'm not sure what part of th conversation Drek passed onto his dad, but a little while later he emailed Drek saying that Drek's mom had sizd up the family as soon as she heard we needed Tshirts, and informed him that I was, indeed, an XS.
Alas, now I'm thinking that large might be a better idea. I do like French pastries...
Drek: Dad is asking if you're sure an XS is right for you. Are you sure you're not a S?
I take a deep breathe. Before I go on, let me explain: I love Drek's dad. I adore Drek's dad. But at this moment it is apparent where Drek inherited his tact.
me: get me a large
Drek: Are you sure?
me: get me an extra large if you want. Tell your dad I'm planning on gaining a lot of weight.
I need room to grow from all the donuts I plan on gorging myself on. Now that you have a salary, I plan on spending the entirety of it on French pastries and a Segway, so I never have to move.
I'm not sure what part of th conversation Drek passed onto his dad, but a little while later he emailed Drek saying that Drek's mom had sizd up the family as soon as she heard we needed Tshirts, and informed him that I was, indeed, an XS.
Alas, now I'm thinking that large might be a better idea. I do like French pastries...
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
New Hobbies
Did you know there is a movie of the Kon-Tiki? The film is actual footage they shot on the raft with Thor talking about what you're seeing. Since he speaks Norwegian, you hear a British guy doing the voice over. It won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1954. That was before Hawaii was declared a state. Weird.
Anyway, Drek and I discovered the movie last night and went to the library to check it out. While there, I noticed that the summer reading program is full of awesome prizes: Gift certificates to The Quarry, Eisenstein Bagels, CLAS ropes course...and a million other places I would like to frequent. This also being a great way to recover the non-reading-ness of June, Drek and I signed up. Thus, Hobby #1: Reading and doing book reports
On Sunday (our last Sunday in the dreaded married student ward, Thank. Goodness.) our ward was challenged to start doing indexing. I looked over the web site at work (http://www.familysearch.org) and for Family Home Evening I presented it to Drek. I am now strangely addicted. I started doing Illinois Birth certificates from 1909, Drek started Louisiana Death certificates in the 1930's. The only part we got confused on was color/race. Some put down American (what color is that?) and a few of Drek's put down colored (can we put that in the report? it that politically correct? What do we do???).
You can volunteer too, btw, it's really easy and highly intriguing. Thus, Hobby #2: Indexing.
I'm doing much better at biking to work everyday. Somedays I still make Drek drive me, but overall I think I'm doing pretty good. Megan gave me a gym pass to 24 hour fitness (I love that place) and I really need to go. I've had the pass for two weeks and I've gone once. I need to start going everyday after work. Hobby #3: Working out
So this summer should be very busy. My hobbies should keep me busy enough. Maybe a little too busy. :)
Anyway, Drek and I discovered the movie last night and went to the library to check it out. While there, I noticed that the summer reading program is full of awesome prizes: Gift certificates to The Quarry, Eisenstein Bagels, CLAS ropes course...and a million other places I would like to frequent. This also being a great way to recover the non-reading-ness of June, Drek and I signed up. Thus, Hobby #1: Reading and doing book reports
On Sunday (our last Sunday in the dreaded married student ward, Thank. Goodness.) our ward was challenged to start doing indexing. I looked over the web site at work (http://www.familysearch.org) and for Family Home Evening I presented it to Drek. I am now strangely addicted. I started doing Illinois Birth certificates from 1909, Drek started Louisiana Death certificates in the 1930's. The only part we got confused on was color/race. Some put down American (what color is that?) and a few of Drek's put down colored (can we put that in the report? it that politically correct? What do we do???).
You can volunteer too, btw, it's really easy and highly intriguing. Thus, Hobby #2: Indexing.
I'm doing much better at biking to work everyday. Somedays I still make Drek drive me, but overall I think I'm doing pretty good. Megan gave me a gym pass to 24 hour fitness (I love that place) and I really need to go. I've had the pass for two weeks and I've gone once. I need to start going everyday after work. Hobby #3: Working out
So this summer should be very busy. My hobbies should keep me busy enough. Maybe a little too busy. :)
Monday, June 30, 2008
June BAMC: The Kon Tiki
I'm not going to lie: I didn't read very much in June. For most of June, I was waiting for books to read (The Host, Fountainhead) and I did start those books once I FINALLY got them, but I was not a good reader in June.
One of the best things about being married to my husband is that he reads to me. Although we enjoy the same books, we tend to read very different books. When we were first married Drek started reading me his favorite books. This month we read The Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft by Thor Heyerdahl.
This is an amazing adventure. The author of this novel wanted to prove that Polynesia was populated by migrants from Peru. In order to prove this, he built a raft exactly like what he theorized the ancient Peruvians built, and sailed across the Pacific Ocean. The novel is the tale of his incredible journey.
June's BAMC was Knowledge. This book is the perfect book to fit that word, because this man was truly in search of knowledge. Not only did he prove his theory, but the journey also benefited the study of ocean currents, marine life, and ancient civilizations.
I highly encourage everyone to read this book. It is both captivating and educational. Thank you, Drek, for reading me this amazing story.
One of the best things about being married to my husband is that he reads to me. Although we enjoy the same books, we tend to read very different books. When we were first married Drek started reading me his favorite books. This month we read The Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft by Thor Heyerdahl.
This is an amazing adventure. The author of this novel wanted to prove that Polynesia was populated by migrants from Peru. In order to prove this, he built a raft exactly like what he theorized the ancient Peruvians built, and sailed across the Pacific Ocean. The novel is the tale of his incredible journey.
June's BAMC was Knowledge. This book is the perfect book to fit that word, because this man was truly in search of knowledge. Not only did he prove his theory, but the journey also benefited the study of ocean currents, marine life, and ancient civilizations.
I highly encourage everyone to read this book. It is both captivating and educational. Thank you, Drek, for reading me this amazing story.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Grown-Ups
My Husband now has a Grown-Up job. It has a salary, it has benefits. It is for Grown-ups only.
He is amazing!! He can work from home except on Mondays, when he has to drive 40 minutes to work. Using Grown-Up words, he telecommutes through out the week, and the has a 40 minute commute to the city on Mondays. He's doing PHP programming for a company that is planning on selling out in two or three years. When this happens, Drek and I will take our portion on the money (he gets equity in the company) and use it as a down payment on a house. Yes, a HOUSE. As in: what Grown-Ups live in.
He is 26. I am 22. So are we officially Grown-Ups now? Or does that not come until you have a baby and a mortgage and do not have marshmallow wars at 10:00 at night in a park with random friends and three strangers whom wanted to join in?
Sigh. For now, We will still live in our tiny, one-room apartment with crazy neighbors. I will work full-time, so will Drek. We will still play Human Tetris, try and figure out how to simulate a The Mole game, and try to shirk all non essential responsibilities. Today, for instance, I quit my church calling (because being a visiting teaching supervisor SUCKS!!!!!!!!). We will have fun, and love each other. We will try to save all our monies to buy a house.
My secret plan is in two years, the housing market will crash, and we will be able to buy our dream house for $10. I think I can save that much in that time...
He is amazing!! He can work from home except on Mondays, when he has to drive 40 minutes to work. Using Grown-Up words, he telecommutes through out the week, and the has a 40 minute commute to the city on Mondays. He's doing PHP programming for a company that is planning on selling out in two or three years. When this happens, Drek and I will take our portion on the money (he gets equity in the company) and use it as a down payment on a house. Yes, a HOUSE. As in: what Grown-Ups live in.
He is 26. I am 22. So are we officially Grown-Ups now? Or does that not come until you have a baby and a mortgage and do not have marshmallow wars at 10:00 at night in a park with random friends and three strangers whom wanted to join in?
Sigh. For now, We will still live in our tiny, one-room apartment with crazy neighbors. I will work full-time, so will Drek. We will still play Human Tetris, try and figure out how to simulate a The Mole game, and try to shirk all non essential responsibilities. Today, for instance, I quit my church calling (because being a visiting teaching supervisor SUCKS!!!!!!!!). We will have fun, and love each other. We will try to save all our monies to buy a house.
My secret plan is in two years, the housing market will crash, and we will be able to buy our dream house for $10. I think I can save that much in that time...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Human Tetris
Rissy came across this, then decided we needed to try it for ourselves.
I requisitioned the delivery guys from my work to save huge pieces of cardboard, but didn't get it in time. Cherie donated cardboard from her recent move, and Rissy and Lizzy spent the day creating masterpieces:
Let the games begin!!
I requisitioned the delivery guys from my work to save huge pieces of cardboard, but didn't get it in time. Cherie donated cardboard from her recent move, and Rissy and Lizzy spent the day creating masterpieces:
Let the games begin!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Social Day
Yesterday I had a long talk with my mom, visited my sister and my niece, ate lunch with Stephi and Megan and hung out with Kris for most of the evening. I had a great time at all. H
Hanging out with Kris was a blast. We watched The Mole (I scared poor Toby into tears when I shouted for joy at one point during the show. PS: Clay is the mole). the she made me a delicious vegetarian dinner, followed by a trip to IKEA, which was AMAZING!!!!!! While there, I thought of Val (who is fluent in Swedish), and texted her. Kris and I then talked about Val, and I realized they would probably get along. I think a trip to the Castle Of Chaos Murder Mystery is needed to test this theory.
Anyway, Kris is amazing. She is a great mom, and is doing so well. She is not only someone I have a blast hanging out with, but someone I can also look up to.
Hanging out with Kris was a blast. We watched The Mole (I scared poor Toby into tears when I shouted for joy at one point during the show. PS: Clay is the mole). the she made me a delicious vegetarian dinner, followed by a trip to IKEA, which was AMAZING!!!!!! While there, I thought of Val (who is fluent in Swedish), and texted her. Kris and I then talked about Val, and I realized they would probably get along. I think a trip to the Castle Of Chaos Murder Mystery is needed to test this theory.
Anyway, Kris is amazing. She is a great mom, and is doing so well. She is not only someone I have a blast hanging out with, but someone I can also look up to.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Four Young Wedded Couples and a Funeral
The trip to Wyoming:
Interspersed with humor to keep the funeral part from being too sad.
We drove in "The Green Car". Three and a half people in back (Anona is eight months pregnant), a driver, a passenger, and me in the middle squished with no leg room up front. We are caravaning with "The Last Car" (occupied by two adults and thee children under four) and The Van (occupied by one adult, one teenager, and Grandma. Yes, that's right, a dead body. The coffin was surrounded by dry ice, covered in sleeping bags, and the van had to be kept under 40 degrees. oh, and van was hauling a trailer behind it.) We went at least 5 miles below the speed limit. We stopped at what seemed like every possible place to stop.
In Heber, the van driver calls The Green Car passenger, and informs her he left the "Coffin Saddle" at home. Apparently, this is a device that allows flowers to be placed on top of the coffin; It is a necessity. We pull over (Van leading, followed by The Green Car, followed by The Last Car) and the two run into the nearest building to ask for directions to a floral shop. The nearest building happens to be an H&R Block. The passenger of the Last Car comes up to my car and asks "did they have a pressing need to do their taxes? quite confused as to why we had stopped.
At this point, I am DYING!! And am about to text Krisface about his Hell that is a road trip. I open my phone and find I have a text message from my mom, which reads: I am in the Sacred Grove!!
I giggle ferociously as the opportunity seems so perfect: I am in Hell!!
The journey continues, and is not that bad. The trip takes about ten hours. The two mot notable stops were at Little America (which was very nice!) and in a town in Wyoming where the tomatoes had been pulled from McDonald's (because if the Great Tomato Salmonella Scare of '08), resulting in no ketchup packets. In the same town, the so-called "Sandwich Artist" at Subway did not know what bell peppers were, or what "the works" meant. Sad.
The view from the car all along the drive was nothing great, however, this part was more exciting than the rest:
We make it to our destination! Drek shows me the farm. I love it immediately. It is so awesome!! The young married couples are staying at a very gracious ward member's house. Thank Goodness!
I go to the church to arrange flowers with Drek's mom and sisters. We have a wonderful time.
The next morning we attend the funeral. It was so so so well done. All he children got to share a memory, and a lot of the grandchildren showcased their musical talent. This is also where I learned that Grandma had two great-grandchildren on the way. (Two? I only know of one. "Who is pregnant?" a cousin asks me. I have no idea an am looking around. The question is passed on a few times before Drek casually says: "What? Oh. It's Vi."
I die. For reasons I shall not go in to, this is not good news. And why am I finding out now? My dear husband has obviously known this for a few days.
Next was the burial. I was cold. Drek took a picture:
And then the luncheon (which had no less than five dishes containing Jello). It was then time to take family pictures. This can only be described with an LOL:
After pictures Drek and I went home. The ride back contained two and a half adults in the back seat, and Drek and I up front, with no caravan. The trip took eight hours.
Trip: Successful!!
Interspersed with humor to keep the funeral part from being too sad.
We drove in "The Green Car". Three and a half people in back (Anona is eight months pregnant), a driver, a passenger, and me in the middle squished with no leg room up front. We are caravaning with "The Last Car" (occupied by two adults and thee children under four) and The Van (occupied by one adult, one teenager, and Grandma. Yes, that's right, a dead body. The coffin was surrounded by dry ice, covered in sleeping bags, and the van had to be kept under 40 degrees. oh, and van was hauling a trailer behind it.) We went at least 5 miles below the speed limit. We stopped at what seemed like every possible place to stop.
In Heber, the van driver calls The Green Car passenger, and informs her he left the "Coffin Saddle" at home. Apparently, this is a device that allows flowers to be placed on top of the coffin; It is a necessity. We pull over (Van leading, followed by The Green Car, followed by The Last Car) and the two run into the nearest building to ask for directions to a floral shop. The nearest building happens to be an H&R Block. The passenger of the Last Car comes up to my car and asks "did they have a pressing need to do their taxes? quite confused as to why we had stopped.
At this point, I am DYING!! And am about to text Krisface about his Hell that is a road trip. I open my phone and find I have a text message from my mom, which reads: I am in the Sacred Grove!!
I giggle ferociously as the opportunity seems so perfect: I am in Hell!!
The journey continues, and is not that bad. The trip takes about ten hours. The two mot notable stops were at Little America (which was very nice!) and in a town in Wyoming where the tomatoes had been pulled from McDonald's (because if the Great Tomato Salmonella Scare of '08), resulting in no ketchup packets. In the same town, the so-called "Sandwich Artist" at Subway did not know what bell peppers were, or what "the works" meant. Sad.
The view from the car all along the drive was nothing great, however, this part was more exciting than the rest:
We make it to our destination! Drek shows me the farm. I love it immediately. It is so awesome!! The young married couples are staying at a very gracious ward member's house. Thank Goodness!
I go to the church to arrange flowers with Drek's mom and sisters. We have a wonderful time.
The next morning we attend the funeral. It was so so so well done. All he children got to share a memory, and a lot of the grandchildren showcased their musical talent. This is also where I learned that Grandma had two great-grandchildren on the way. (Two? I only know of one. "Who is pregnant?" a cousin asks me. I have no idea an am looking around. The question is passed on a few times before Drek casually says: "What? Oh. It's Vi."
I die. For reasons I shall not go in to, this is not good news. And why am I finding out now? My dear husband has obviously known this for a few days.
Next was the burial. I was cold. Drek took a picture:
And then the luncheon (which had no less than five dishes containing Jello). It was then time to take family pictures. This can only be described with an LOL:
After pictures Drek and I went home. The ride back contained two and a half adults in the back seat, and Drek and I up front, with no caravan. The trip took eight hours.Trip: Successful!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Meltdown Complete
Gosh, where to start?
WEDNESDAY: Co-worker skipped town. He stole a car, $5,000 of stuff from Rent-a-Center, lots of stuff from the store, and left no one to take care of the store. The boss is on Vacation, the Manager is moving and isn't supposed to work, and I'm supposed to be in Colorado. Good thing I'm not. Jerk.
THUSDAY: At 10:30pm Drek gets a call from his cousin saying that Grandma took a turn for the worst and she is going up to visit Grandma in the hospital, and do we want to come? Drek says later. At 11:00pm he tells me and I am confused. Grandma is in the hospital for tests, she is just fine. How did she take a turn for the worst? What does that even mean? We are visiting the hospital at 11:00 at night? Don't visiting hours end at, like, 7:00?
I call the cousin back to ask the room number and to see if the hospital let her in. She says she is the waiting room of the ICU and "we" are just waiting. I ask who "we" is. Apparently, "we" is everyone. All aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and such. In the waiting room of the ICU. At 11:00 at night. I hang up and tell Drek I think something very serious is going on. We talk about it, and decide that if it were serious, his parents would have called and told us to come to the hospital, not a cousin calling and inviting us.
We get to the hospital. We walk in. It becomes very apparent we were wrong. People are crying, people are calling Grandma's siblings and telling them she won't make it through the night. People are going two by two in to visit Grandma to say good-bye.
Drek and I go in and say good-bye. Grandma passed away on Saturday. It worked out nicely, everyone was here for the family reunion, so everyone got to see her before she died, and everyone already took time off work, so everyone can go to the funeral on Thursday. I worked it out so I work Monday and Tuesday, and Cherie works Wednesday and Thursday so I can go to Wyoming with the family for the funeral.
SATURDAY: On KSL I found a story about a little girl raising money to give her cat a surgery. The cat, Patches, had an accident as a kitten that resulted in her dragging her back leg around. Somewhere the girl was told that Patches would have a more normal life if that leg was amputated, but the surgery would cost $700, for all the best medications, the best antibiotics and so forth (please note that this is not a life saving surgery, but a life improving surgery). I talked to Drek about this, and he organized a way for people to donate money to ucpets.com, and the money would go to Patches. In two days, lots of people donated anywhere from $5-$75, and we had all $700!!! We then took the money over to a bank where a fund was supposed to have been set up. Two days later, it was and we deposited the money. In that time, KSL reported that 3 individuals volunteered to pay all of it themselves, and countless people had sent checks via snail mail, not to mention dozens of people stopping by to give the girl money, and donating to the fund once it was FINALLY open. So Patches had about six times what he needed. Great right? No. KSL reported that Patches underwent the surgery, and died. Yes, died. I can't tell you how upset this made me, so I can't even imagine how upset that poor girl is.
The whole time all this was going on, I was miserable. I was dieting, and I didn't realize how witchy that made me, until Drek and I got into our seventh fight in two days, and we never fight. I went off of my low-calorie diet on Sunday, as it wasn't doing ANYTHING and I was so cranky. Drek was about to kick me out of the house. I am no longer allowed to diet to the point where I snap at everything that moves.
Everything is looking a little brighter now. Thank goodness the meltdown is over.
WEDNESDAY: Co-worker skipped town. He stole a car, $5,000 of stuff from Rent-a-Center, lots of stuff from the store, and left no one to take care of the store. The boss is on Vacation, the Manager is moving and isn't supposed to work, and I'm supposed to be in Colorado. Good thing I'm not. Jerk.
THUSDAY: At 10:30pm Drek gets a call from his cousin saying that Grandma took a turn for the worst and she is going up to visit Grandma in the hospital, and do we want to come? Drek says later. At 11:00pm he tells me and I am confused. Grandma is in the hospital for tests, she is just fine. How did she take a turn for the worst? What does that even mean? We are visiting the hospital at 11:00 at night? Don't visiting hours end at, like, 7:00?
I call the cousin back to ask the room number and to see if the hospital let her in. She says she is the waiting room of the ICU and "we" are just waiting. I ask who "we" is. Apparently, "we" is everyone. All aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and such. In the waiting room of the ICU. At 11:00 at night. I hang up and tell Drek I think something very serious is going on. We talk about it, and decide that if it were serious, his parents would have called and told us to come to the hospital, not a cousin calling and inviting us.
We get to the hospital. We walk in. It becomes very apparent we were wrong. People are crying, people are calling Grandma's siblings and telling them she won't make it through the night. People are going two by two in to visit Grandma to say good-bye.
Drek and I go in and say good-bye. Grandma passed away on Saturday. It worked out nicely, everyone was here for the family reunion, so everyone got to see her before she died, and everyone already took time off work, so everyone can go to the funeral on Thursday. I worked it out so I work Monday and Tuesday, and Cherie works Wednesday and Thursday so I can go to Wyoming with the family for the funeral.
SATURDAY: On KSL I found a story about a little girl raising money to give her cat a surgery. The cat, Patches, had an accident as a kitten that resulted in her dragging her back leg around. Somewhere the girl was told that Patches would have a more normal life if that leg was amputated, but the surgery would cost $700, for all the best medications, the best antibiotics and so forth (please note that this is not a life saving surgery, but a life improving surgery). I talked to Drek about this, and he organized a way for people to donate money to ucpets.com, and the money would go to Patches. In two days, lots of people donated anywhere from $5-$75, and we had all $700!!! We then took the money over to a bank where a fund was supposed to have been set up. Two days later, it was and we deposited the money. In that time, KSL reported that 3 individuals volunteered to pay all of it themselves, and countless people had sent checks via snail mail, not to mention dozens of people stopping by to give the girl money, and donating to the fund once it was FINALLY open. So Patches had about six times what he needed. Great right? No. KSL reported that Patches underwent the surgery, and died. Yes, died. I can't tell you how upset this made me, so I can't even imagine how upset that poor girl is.
The whole time all this was going on, I was miserable. I was dieting, and I didn't realize how witchy that made me, until Drek and I got into our seventh fight in two days, and we never fight. I went off of my low-calorie diet on Sunday, as it wasn't doing ANYTHING and I was so cranky. Drek was about to kick me out of the house. I am no longer allowed to diet to the point where I snap at everything that moves.
Everything is looking a little brighter now. Thank goodness the meltdown is over.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
4 Days to Meltdown
This morning Mei Mei got a call saying her trip to Palestine (scheduled to leave Sunday) has been cancelled due to crap going on with the Prime Minister and the raised threat level.
This morning I got a call saying my trip to Colorado (scheduled to leave Saturday) has been cancelled due to Grandma being hospitalized.
Today has not been a good day. I am not foreseeing this week getting better, only worse. Doom is coming. Impending doom. The bright side: Megan will home tonight!!! Thank goodness. I'm taking her out for ice cream tomorrow, after her husband takes her to get a massage. Also, Kris is supposedly in Utah. I am not sure when I will be allowed to see her. But, she is here.
Also, for those keeping track: My vacations scheduled this summer: 3
My vacations cancelled within the week of leaving on them: 2
Vacations still left to be cancelled: 1
This morning I got a call saying my trip to Colorado (scheduled to leave Saturday) has been cancelled due to Grandma being hospitalized.
Today has not been a good day. I am not foreseeing this week getting better, only worse. Doom is coming. Impending doom. The bright side: Megan will home tonight!!! Thank goodness. I'm taking her out for ice cream tomorrow, after her husband takes her to get a massage. Also, Kris is supposedly in Utah. I am not sure when I will be allowed to see her. But, she is here.
Also, for those keeping track: My vacations scheduled this summer: 3
My vacations cancelled within the week of leaving on them: 2
Vacations still left to be cancelled: 1
Monday, June 02, 2008
Intruder Alert
Saturday night I stayed up as late I could, not wanting to go to sleep alone. I finally went to sleep around 2am. I'm not sure what time it was, but a little while later I heard someone come in to the bedroom. What is that, a murder? Aw, I've got to get some sleep.
It took a few seconds to register that is was my wonderful husband, home a day early. Hooray!!
He had come in, taken a shower, and only when he came into the bedroom did I wake up enough to hear him.
Sunday, while I was cooking dinner, I talked to Kris a little bit. While I was doing this, Drek was cleaning out his canyoneering gear, which included putting some of his gear out on the front porch. Kris was just leaving Tulsa, making her exodus out of Arkansas and back home where I have missed her so much. She was telling me that her cats were none to happy about the move. She wanted me to listen to them, so she but the phone up to one so I could hear them. At the same time I heard her cat meow, I heard a dog bark and a cat hiss, all in very close proximity to me. I look over into my living room, and there is Acouchi, up on the shelves, hissing like crazy, at the dog that is in my living room. Yes. A dog in my living room. Drek left the door open, the dog saw my cat and invited herself in my house. I chase the dog out, flinging my fork I was cooking with around in the air, resulting in the carpets being splattered with refried beans. At this point, Kris comes back on the phone, and is highly confused.
Kris isn't even back in Utah yet and already we're having crazy adventures again. I take that as a good omen.
It took a few seconds to register that is was my wonderful husband, home a day early. Hooray!!
He had come in, taken a shower, and only when he came into the bedroom did I wake up enough to hear him.
Sunday, while I was cooking dinner, I talked to Kris a little bit. While I was doing this, Drek was cleaning out his canyoneering gear, which included putting some of his gear out on the front porch. Kris was just leaving Tulsa, making her exodus out of Arkansas and back home where I have missed her so much. She was telling me that her cats were none to happy about the move. She wanted me to listen to them, so she but the phone up to one so I could hear them. At the same time I heard her cat meow, I heard a dog bark and a cat hiss, all in very close proximity to me. I look over into my living room, and there is Acouchi, up on the shelves, hissing like crazy, at the dog that is in my living room. Yes. A dog in my living room. Drek left the door open, the dog saw my cat and invited herself in my house. I chase the dog out, flinging my fork I was cooking with around in the air, resulting in the carpets being splattered with refried beans. At this point, Kris comes back on the phone, and is highly confused.
Kris isn't even back in Utah yet and already we're having crazy adventures again. I take that as a good omen.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
I Volunteered to Work for the Octogon Free of Pay
Drek left on an adventure yesterday and will not be back until Sunday. I thought sleeping alone would be hard last night, but I was so tired from only getting 4 hours of sleep the night before I didn't notice. Still, an empty house is quite dreaded now. I avoided it by spending time with my parents and then watching the 2 hour season finale of LOST (again) over at Josh and Cherie's house. They have an enormous big screen and Perfect Chairs. Josh served vegetarian pizza and Cherie got me a blanket. They discussed the show during the show (there was even a few screams) and Josh even caught a vital piece of information I totally missed last time. Can LOST watching get any better? I submit that it cannot!
My refrigerator is now full of deliciousness. My wonderful mother donated green salsa, red salsa, an enormous bowl of fruit, a gallon of whole milk (no more evil 2%! Hah! well, at least until this runs out) and a dozen Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits to my refrigerator. All this is leftovers from the Senior All Night Party.
This makes me so happy. I have recently gone on a dreaded "low calorie" diet. I am mostly dying. Before this, everything I heard said how evil low fat and low calorie diets were, and how they screwed up your body, so I never even bothered to learn what a calorie was.
It is a huge learning process. I researched like crazy on the Internet, did crazy math equations, and am now counting calories. I'm even keeping a food journal, because I read that that is the essential part of any diet. I'm still learning that how to balance it all out and how to still eat what I want (a new idea was just introduced: you can still have crazy calorie foods from restaurants, you just only eat a few bites. But then, you just wasted precious calories and are still hungry, not to mention the wasted money, food, and poor starving children in Africa). The fact that my fridge is now stuffed with food I can eat is amazing. So happy.
Is it working? I have no idea. The batteries on my scale went out a few weeks ago and I have yet to get it replaced.
My refrigerator is now full of deliciousness. My wonderful mother donated green salsa, red salsa, an enormous bowl of fruit, a gallon of whole milk (no more evil 2%! Hah! well, at least until this runs out) and a dozen Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits to my refrigerator. All this is leftovers from the Senior All Night Party.
This makes me so happy. I have recently gone on a dreaded "low calorie" diet. I am mostly dying. Before this, everything I heard said how evil low fat and low calorie diets were, and how they screwed up your body, so I never even bothered to learn what a calorie was.
It is a huge learning process. I researched like crazy on the Internet, did crazy math equations, and am now counting calories. I'm even keeping a food journal, because I read that that is the essential part of any diet. I'm still learning that how to balance it all out and how to still eat what I want (a new idea was just introduced: you can still have crazy calorie foods from restaurants, you just only eat a few bites. But then, you just wasted precious calories and are still hungry, not to mention the wasted money, food, and poor starving children in Africa). The fact that my fridge is now stuffed with food I can eat is amazing. So happy.
Is it working? I have no idea. The batteries on my scale went out a few weeks ago and I have yet to get it replaced.
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