Bowling and Pink Puff Hearts

Goodbye youth...

2012-01-05T12:35:00.007-07:00

Here's just a few reasons how I know I'm becoming a grown-up:

1. I love to eat vegetables. Grown-up ones like squash, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, peas...all the things I hated as a kid.

2. My night is over at 9:00. Period. That doesn't mean I'm asleep by then (wouldn't that be lovely?) but rather that I would simply laugh in the face of any friend calling to say, "We're going to see this movie and then build a bonfire and then watch the meteor shower that starts at 3:00 in the morning, and maybe stop off at IHOP on the way home. Then we'll go home and sleep for few hours before getting up to go to that all-day event that starts at 10:00 tomorrow."

You get the picture.

3. Often times I prefer listening to talk radio or *gasp* NO radio. There's not a whole lot of music on the radio worth listening to these days.

4. I LOVE documentaries. Really, I do. And it doesn't matter if they're about history, nature and ecology, science, fashion, sports, politics, food, culture, or the rise of the underdog. It helps that we're too poor to go to movies like we used to, and that Netflix has a plethora of documentaries ready to watch at any moment. Here's just a few that I've watched. The King of Kong (I loved, loved, LOVED this one!), Pulling John (who knew Salt Lake was home to such a champion?), Grey Gardens (talk about your hoarders, wow), Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Food, Inc. (I'm this close to investing in an industrial juicer!), and at this very moment I'm watching A State of Mind. It is almost inconceivable to hear the citizens of North Korea say that any suffering their country has experienced or will experience is due entirely to the United States and the United States alone. Though that's not what the movie is about. It's really about training for a HUGE, crazily-choreographed show that is put on each year. Truly fascinating.

5. I drive slowly through neighborhoods. There's small kids out there, you know.

6. My Christmas season is quite complete without eating a single candy cane.

7. I worry about things like bills and taking on massive student debt, instead of buttering up my parents to pay tuition like I did in the early days. (It's nice being one of the youngest, and therefore, more spoiled.)

8. I'd rather eat oatmeal for breakfast than Lucky Charms. I can still enjoy a sugary bowl of the Charms, but just not as a start to my day.

9. I think it's rewarding to pull weeds in my garden, although I would rather they not grow at all.

10. When we went to Disney World last summer, I preferred the slow "floating boat" rides like "It's a Small World" to any of the roller coasters-too fast and jerky for me.

Check out The Amazing Evan!!

2011-11-23T21:10:00.002-07:00

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I'm thankful for so many things, too many to list here. And Evan's thankful for a job that he loves! If you want to read all about it, check him out in a nice article that was printed in our town's local paper. Enjoy!!

Seven amazing decades!!!

2011-09-10T11:17:00.003-06:00

I'm sure grateful that 7 decades ago this beauty was born...

Married this man...

Spent a lifetime shaping the young minds of today (both of her own flesh and blood and not)...

And is continuing to set an example to us all by serving the people of Guatemala.

Happy Birthday, Mom! You are beautiful inside and out, and WE LOVE YOU!!!

I have a test coming up...

2011-09-04T19:34:00.003-06:00

You know how you can tell? Because I'm blogging when I should be studying. I'm a MASTER at putting things off til the last minute. Just to let you all know about school, cuz I'm sure you're dying to know, it's hard and it's only been two weeks. But look, that's all I'm going to write cuz it's back to the books. I promise!

P.S. Utah football rocked this week! (And by Utah, I do mean the whole state-I'm being nice.) While you will never find me openly cheering for a certain team to the south of Salt Lake, I'm glad the South Eastern Conference was shaken up a bit this week. And how about them Aggies nearly taking last year's national champs? GO BIG BLUE!!! Granted, it would have been a better game if the Aggies could have held them off for a few more seconds, but no one can deny that they gave Auburn a run for their money!

Success, finally!!!

2011-08-23T12:19:00.009-06:00

What's all this? Did I recently join Bountiful Baskets, you ask? I didn't need to...we just picked all this from our garden last night, and it's only the beginning!

We've not had the best luck with our garden since we moved here because, truthfully, we didn't spend all that much time tending to it. In fact, with school and everything else going on we didn't even attempt a garden last summer, and I was convinced we wouldn't have one this year either for a few reasons. First, the spring was so cold and wet that I didn't think we'd have a long enough growing season. Second, I had to do rotations this summer for school, meaning I worked 40 hours a week at whichever sites the school placed me (while still having to work every week at my regular job), and I didn't think I'd have the time for a garden. By the way, not only was I working for free but I HAD TO PAY tuition in order to do it. Isn't that cruel? I ended up loving it, though, and I learned a ton.

Back to the garden... I am queen of impulse projects, with no thought to planning, and it drives Evan crazy. I came across some seedlings for really cheap and immediately convinced myself that we could not live without a garden this year. So I bought a bunch of plants and came home, expecting a few hours' work to get the garden prepped and the plants in the ground. Evan laughed...and laughed...and laughed...and after few weeks, countless man-hours (mostly by Evan, bless his heart) and a rockin' irrigation system (of course, also by Evan) we had ourselves a beautiful garden!

***This is where I publicly thank my incredible husband because had this garden been left entirely to me, it would have failed within a few days. (Who am I kidding? It would have failed if even 20% had been left to me. He's really done it all this summer.) THANK YOU EVAN!!! You amaze me with all you do.

I'm skeptical about our tomatoes making it, though. We've had a lot of blossoms but not a lot of developing fruit. Any gardeners out there know why that is? (Evan suggested maybe they're not getting pollinated, which led me to dream last night that we enlisted the help of a bee the size of a rabbit to get the job done. Seriously.) I've got 9 or 10 tomato plants of differing varieties, but none of them are doing very well. Anyway, the beans, peppers, cucumbers and zucchini are doing great, and we've got several squashes, cantaloupes, and watermelons growing bigger each day! I can't wait!!!

In case you're wondering, there are two kinds of peppers in the picture-a regular green pepper, and what I thought would be a golden yellow but has turned out to be more of a chartreuse. I know peppers develop their color the longer they're on the plant, but these guys haven't changed color for about two weeks so we decided to cut them off last night. Now the question is, what dish can I make that will incorporate zucchini, green beans, cucumbers and bell peppers? Any suggestions? Maybe just a good pasta salad?

Just when I'm starting to feel a tiny bit smart...

2011-08-20T11:25:00.002-06:00

a 13 year-old kid comes along and shows me just how unintelligent I really am. Here's an article that sums it up, and here's the full article from the American Museum of Natural History. All I have to say is..WOW!

My Stress Barometer

2011-06-15T22:36:00.001-06:00

Stress...lovely, lovely stress. I believed I'd experienced it before, I really did. I mean, everyone gets stressed, no one's life is free of complications, and everyone's been pushed to their limit, right? I was certain I knew the boundaries of that limit, but Spring Semester just barrelled right through it and kept on sailing. I survived, but only just BARELY, and now I can say that I'm half a pharmacist-I'm a pharm! YAY!!!

So, I'm going to share one of my deepest, darkest secrets: I'm a stress plucker. It's true. When things get tough, the tweezers get goin'. The more stressed I feel, the thinner my eyebrows are. I'd expound a little more, but what else is there to say? Here's what I looked like during the last two weeks of school...

What? You thought I'd post an ACTUAL picture of freakish-looking me? How little you know me, my friends. How little indeed. Why bother? Natalie Portman gives a great demonstration of how normally gorgeous people turn instantly freaky without eyebrows, so imagine the results when the person (ie-me) is just ok-looking. YIKES. (I have no idea if she really was ever "eyebrowless" or if it's just photoshopped.) And, a little FYI, did you know that Mona Lisa didn't have eyebrows? Well, at least not at the particular time that she sat for this somewhat famous painting...
I thought about spilling my secret here on the blog during the height of my affliction, but then I decided it was wiser to not tip people off. So instead, I painstakingly drew them in each day, and from far away they looked so-so but it became very obvious once you got up close that they were only 2D eyebrows. I think some people noticed. I could see it in their faces, but they never said anything about it. Emily Post would be so proud!

Seeing as how I could now choose for my eyebrows to look anyway I wanted, I considered all the options. Here are just a few...

These are actually a nice shape, but clearly drawn on and VERY dark:

These are pencil thin and WAY too close together:

This is a good option for all the "Hollywood in the 30's" parties I'm always invited to:
Again, pencil thin and WAY too close together, among other things:
Check out these geometric beauties-a math teacher's dream!
All I have to say is...wow:

Finally, this poor sweet girl. You can tell she's really trying but...honey, no one's eyebrows grow that far apart and that hook-shaped:

Let me ask a question, and I'd really like to know your opinions. What do you think of makeup tattoos? I've NEVER imagined myself as the type to get a tattoo, but now I'm not so sure. I mean, suppose I fall victim to this sort of calamity again?? It'll cut out the extra time I had to set aside each morning for precise stenciling and eliminate all the worrying I've done that I'd accidentally rub my face and smudge something at some point during the day. Here's a stunning before and after shot...nice eyebrows, huh? I don't think I'd bother with the eyes or lips, but the eyebrows are really tempting!

Or there's always this tattooing option. Evan's reaction to this shot was classic..."Man, she clearly didn't have any good friends to tell her beforehand how stupid an idea that was."

Do you have any idea how hard it is to wait for your eyebrows to grow back? Luckily, I haven't had too many social engagements over the last 6 weeks, so I've been able to wait it out in private. Phew! But don't worry, I'm well on my way to looking like I used to. For those of you who may not quite remember, here's a photo to jog your memory:

And last but not least, a clip for you to enjoy. We love Arrested Development around here, and Evan sure loved being able to tease me for the last few months that I was Stan Sitwell.

Tiffany's Little Known Pride and Joy...Ogden!

2011-05-16T12:59:00.005-06:00

How in the world did I make it through the 80's without seeing this little beauty? Oh yeah, because we didn't have cable when I was growing up. And then even when my parents succumbed to cable, they had MTV blocked for the first few years. Anywho, for your viewing pleasure, I present Tiffany's music video of "I Think We're Alone Now", mostly filmed around Ogden! A few spots you might recognize include the once-great and now extinct Ogden City Mall, Union Station, the Ogden Airport, and 25th Street.

Here's just some of my favorite must-see moments:

~0:00 Of course I TOTALLY love that the video opens on the sign from the Ogden City Mall, but the magic really happens when the camera pans down to show a stagehand unloading sound equipment. No, make that a smoking hot stagehand with awesome hair/beard, sporting some manly Daisy Dukes.

~1:10-a couple of hotties doing some serious crowd control. I mean, I don't even want to think about what could have happened if they hadn't been there to hold back the crowd.

~2:31-WOW!!! Who knew that old men with sweaty, flapping comb-overs could still move like that??? Impressive!

~3:19-This clearly wasn't her first time working it on the wing of an airplane. That kind of natural sexiness just can't be taught.

~4:04-I imagine the direction went a little like this... Director: "Ok, when I say go, start pointing to each letter in the sign. Try to stay on beat with the music, like a heartbeat. Wait a minute...isn't there a line in the song that says something about heartbeats? It'll be perfect!"

Simple Math...Evan+Seven=Heaven

2011-04-24T04:38:00.004-06:00

I know you've seen this before, but here it is once more just because I love it so much.

I can't believe it's been seven years already! WOW! I love you, Evan!!!

I've been waiting all winter to show off this beauty!!!

2011-04-16T21:20:00.009-06:00

Now that I've found my suit for the summer, who's ready to hit the beach with me? Someone in my family probably already has 3 of them...you know who you are, im-Kay.

They're going fast, but don't worry! Those of you who sew like the wind can order the pattern, whip up a matching set for you and your kids, strut around the neighborhood, and then charge your neighbors an arm and a leg for a set of their own because they didn't pay attention in 8th grade home-ec. SUCKAS!!! Who's laughing now???

You can check them out here, but don't fall into the trap like I did! I know it's tempting, but set your cell phone alarm or an egg-timer or something to make sure you walk away from the computer before you've spent a month's worth of grocery money on new swimmies. Unless of course, your husband is as great as mine. He said he'd gladly eat dry top ramen for a month just to see me in a few of these. (I may have spent the grocery money and the utility money. We can't even boil water, but I'm worth it!)

Why are kids so awesome?

2011-02-14T09:07:00.009-07:00

The last two years I've helped out with a balloon fundraiser, and for several months now I've been searching high and low for deals on latex and mylar balloons. For the most part I was only able to find generic "Happy Valentine's Day" mylars to sell, like this:

but I happened upon these two darling monkey bunches that my friend and I gave our husbands:

When we were getting ready to deliver the bouquet to my neighbor's husband at his work, her little 4 year old girl said, "I think I know why you're giving my dad a monkey in his underpants...it's because my dad sleeps in his underpants!"

And that's why kids are awesome. Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S. Last year I gave Evan this frog, and it just might be my favorite ever. A monkey in underpants is pretty cute, but how can you beat a frog in a red argyle sweater?

How Silent Scott Got His Name

2011-01-16T18:25:00.017-07:00

Let's reflect back on the great works of Rudyard Kipling, you know the ones. Didn't we all succumb to reading them as a kid because we'd already read and re-read "The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree" (pictured below...) until it literally fell apart, and there was nothing left to read in the whole house?
(There was plenty, by the way. With a school teacher for a mom our house never lacked books. Let's simply ignore that The Berenstain Bears was far too juvenile for me since it belonged to my younger brother but I insisted on reading illustrated stories for far too long, AND that I only convinced myself to read Just So Stories because it had simple, black and white sketches sparsely placed throughout the pages, AAAND because the stories were short enough to make it seem less like a grown-up book...OK! I know what you're going to say! I know it's also referred to as Just So Stories for Little Children but it was normal-paperback-book-sized, like a Louis L'Amour,so I always assumed it would be like one of my dad's boring western books! Sheesh!)

Um, wow...that has got to be my longest, most incoherent opening paragraph ever, so I'll get on with it before things get weirder. I mean weird... Here's a lovely journal entry from Dec. 1, 1997. I was a Loganite, living on Darwin Avenue in the one-bedroom apartment with 2 sets of bunk-beds.

"A couple weeks ago I went to a dance with Katie. It was the Green and Gold Ball put on by the Institute for the handicapped ward. Katie's friend Arthur was in charge of the music and he told Katie we should go so that we could ask the handicapped kids to dance. He brought his friend Scott, who was sure an interesting guy. He was such a true-blue, through and though cowboy, which I normally love, but I thought I was going to die! He wore black Wranglers, his legs were skinnier than my arms, he wore a black leather vest with fringe that he made himself, and he wore a black cowboy hat but it wasn't the cool kind. It looked like this:

And he had a handlebar mustache like this:
(Side note: I really drew pictures like this in my journal.) He was the shyest boy I've ever met, but that didn't stop him from asking me to dance the whole night. I thought the point was for us to dance with the handicapped kids! (Side note #2: Is anyone else cringing when they read the word "handicapped"? It just doesn't sound very kosher now-a-days, does it? Let's substitute it with the much more p.c. version "special needs".) To top it all off, he was 30! I could not believe it! It was so horrible. (Side note #3: I'll give you a little peak inside my 19 year old (or so) head. When I was 21 and about to leave on my mission, I thought this 23 year old girl in my ward who had just gotten home from her mission was a sad, washed-up, lost cause. So a 30 year old? When I'm only 19??? Forget it! Ok, sorry for the interruptions. I'll get back to the original writings...) Well, he called me last night, but I wasn't home so I called him back. This was our whole conversation:

Me: "Hi, Scott. This is Robin."
Scott: "Oh, hi."
Me: "My roommates said you called."
Scott: "Yeah."

Then there was this huge silence. Finally he said, "How was your Thanksgiving?"
Me: "It was fine. How was yours?"
Scott: "Good."

Then there was another loooong silence. Then he asked me what I was doing this weekend but I made up an excuse so he asked me about the next weekend and I told him that my brother is getting married (he really is). So he asked me out for the weekend after that but I'll already be home for Christmas Break. Then there was another HUGE long pause for about 5 minutes. My roommates were gathered around, and they asked me what he was saying so I mouthed, "Nothing!" They thought I meant something like, "Nothing much, just rambling, etc." since I wasn't talking at all. But I was like, "No, he's not saying ANYTHING! It's totally silent on the other end!" Finally I told him bye and hung up. I feel really bad that he is 30 and doesn't even know how to talk to someone. That was the worst experience of my life. Well, I am going to go now.

Love, Robin"

Oh please. The worst experience of my life? What a drama queen I was! And honestly, did I seriously ignore the fact that a phone call takes two people?? Why in the world did I stay on the phone in the first place and even let there be an awkward 5 minute silence? I'm not exaggerating, it was 5 minutes long. Why didn't I just say goodbye after 20 seconds? Try it, right now. Sit in silence for 20 seconds (imagining you're on the phone with a boy you don't want to talk to) and tell me you'd let that drag on for 5 whole minutes! I was just as socially challenged, if not more so, because I was oblivious to my faults. Whereas I'm sure Silent Scott was keenly aware that he had trouble talking to girls, putting him one step ahead of me.

Anyway, one of my favorite memories of this whole story comes from me telling my sisters and their husbands about it a few days later, every detail from dancing to the phone call. At one point my brother-in-law said, "A nancing!?!" and laughed and laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. No, I didn't misspell it. He said a nancing. He had mistaken what I said and of course he had no idea what a nancing was (since it doesn't exist). But he didn't want to miss out on something funny so he laughed right along with everyone. We probably laughed harder about that than the original story.

To sum up a very long story that will have Mr. Kipling rolling in his grave...that's how Silent Scott got his name.

P.S. I was wrong-it is a word! I just looked up nancing online and Urban Dictionary defines it as a verb meaning "to spread joy and happiness with true genuity." It couldn't be more fitting because that's what that memory of my brother-in-law does to me!

P.P.S. I often gave nicknames to boys that liked me but that I didn't want to have anything to do with. I'll write about that tomorrow since this post is longer than any post should ever be.

Wow, I'm not nearly as memorable as I thought...

2011-01-11T17:24:00.006-07:00

So, I had this grand plan to work up to my birthday this Friday by posting a journal entry every day this week from all my birthdays. It was going to be hilarious. I was going to relive the best day of every year for the last something-something years. Come to find out, I sucked at recording my birthdays! Well, I didn't technically suck at recording my birthdays because I often wrote about them. I was just horribly boring anytime I wrote about them. I thought it would totally be like my entry on March 5th, 1989:

"Dear Diary,

If Melanie is reading this she already knows what I'm going to write. What I'm going to write is who my boyfriends are. Really she only knows one of them. The first one is Eli. He's really cute and I've had a crush on him since kindergarten. The people that I sit by at school are Jason, who is hardly ever around; Justin, who is the most decent boy on our table; and the last boy is Torry. He is a total geek! He has broken both legs about two times. I have to go now.

Love, Robin"

See? Those are the kinds of journal entries I remember! Now here's the journal entry of my birthday that same year:

"Dear Diary,

Today is my birthday. I got a purple sweater, a dress, some jeans, and some smelling markers. See you later.

Love, Robin"

BTW, I was talking about these markers...smelly (ie-scented) markers.

Where's the birthday hilarity? Where's the endless laughs?? Where's the embarrassing secrets of my rapidly passing childhood??? I'm so disappointed in myself! Don't worry, I'll still post journal entries this week cuz there are some good ones (like Silent Scott). They just won't have anything to do with my birthday.

The perfect holiday treat!

2010-12-07T23:40:00.007-07:00

The holidays are filled with one get-together after another...a work party here, a friend party there. Who has time these days to make a delicious treat for all to enjoy? Beyond Glaze, that's who! You may remember this post. Well, they now have a downtown location! Just stop by 54 W. 700 S. and pick up a dozen or two! It's between Main Street and West Temple, but I will warn you though, Trax runs down 700 S. so you have to get there coming from Main Street and not West Temple. The new location isn't listed on their website yet, but I'm pretty sure the hours are the same. Enjoy!

My husband, the intelect...

2010-11-29T22:32:00.006-07:00

For those of you wondering what it's like living with someone who has a completely scientific mind...

Right now Evan is watching The Jeff Corwin Experience, an Animal Planet favorite of his. Jeff just captured some snake and since I have not been closely following (interpret...not watching at all) I asked if it was a venomous snake. To which Evan simply replied, "Well, many of those new-world colubrids are opisthogliphous." Aaaaaand...left it at that. Oh, of course! How could I forget? Thanks for clearing that up for me, Babe!

P.S. For you simpletons (ie-ME!) who don't know what opisthogliphous means, its fangs are in the very back of its mouth and facing backwards, meaning they can't inject you full of venom in one strike like a rattler or a cobra. You would essentially have to stick your hand down its mouth and let it chew on you for a very long time in order to do any damage. Oh yeah, and colubrid is the genus or species, or something. Or maybe both. I don't want to look it up.

P.P.S. I would normally post some kind of relating picture since one sister has told me that blogs without pictures are not interesting (and she's right), but another sister of mine would never visit my blog again if I posted a picture of a snake. Love you both! And I love you too, Evan!!! Oh, how I love you and your scientific mind!

Come clean, people!

2010-11-06T08:51:00.003-06:00

OK, who desecrated an Indian burial ground? Or ticked off the local witch? Or disturbed a mummy's grave? WHO WAS IT???

I don't know what it was about yesterday, but it seemed that if it could go wrong, it did. It doesn't help that I committed to working full shifts at both jobs, which is more than I've done in a long time. Or that at one point during the week I didn't sleep a wink because I had majorly procrastinated a project. I guess all of that can add up to feeling more frazzled and less able to handle.....wait a minute, what am I doing?? I cannot reason away the truth! I WAS CURSED! So help me, if anyone tries to tell me otherwise I'll run away screaming!

Let's just hope next week is a little better than this one was.

Isn't this what moms have to deal with?

2010-10-26T16:06:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we were sitting in church and all of a sudden Evan got the giggles like you can't believe. It was during Sacrament, which if you've never been to an LDS service, it's about the quietest 10 minute stretch in all of church. His shoulders are shaking, his hand is strongly clamped over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud, and I'm trying to shoosh him without further disrupting the reverence. Then he points to the floor...to this...

That's right. My 30 year old husband, who's probably been dressing himself now for 28 of those 30 years (I'm assuming his pickiness for clothes started young) put on two different colored shoes. Needless to say he quickly went home and corrected the situation, but that didn't stop us from laughing about it all day long. What am I saying...I'm still laughing about it!

Here's a smile for you...

2010-10-09T13:27:00.004-06:00

I love the Old Spice commercials as of late. You know the ones. Well today a friend directed me to this video, and I must pass it on. With no kids 'round these parts I don't usually watch children's television, but this is worth it.

Mean Lines

2010-10-05T09:20:00.007-06:00

I have mean lines. Yes, it's true. You probably do to, you just don't call them that. I'm talking about the vertical lines between the eyebrows that appear when you scowl. Except I don't only get them when I scowl, I get them when I'm concentrating or when I'm tired, and probably a lot of other times, too. Which means lately I've had them ALL THE TIME. The other day I was listening to some music and one of my favorite songs came on. It's happy, it's upbeat, it's catchy, and I was singing along in my head (I was surrounded by other students so I wasn't about to sing out loud). It's impossible for me not to smile when I hear this song. I happened to catch my reflection in my laptop as I was listening to this song, and it totally surprised me. I assumed I'd be wearing a happy expression since I was listening to such a great song. I was smiling with my lips, but holy cow-my mean lines were so fierce!! My neighbor said she always looks to see if your smile reaches your eyes, and until now I didn't really understand what she meant.

Totally unrelated: I'm in lecture right now and the professor is talking about the crazy things that happen to some people on Ambien, and I just can't help but think about the time my brother was waiting for his Ambien to kick in and then woke up with a half-eaten Triscuit in his mouth. That always makes me smile.

Back to the post...school is hard, and it's only getting harder. That's all.

Ho, Ho, Ho???

2010-09-11T11:08:00.005-06:00

My cousin posted this photo on Facebook a few months ago, and I just had to snag it. My two older sisters and our cousins went to see Santa...um, wait, is that Santa? Really? Cuz that's sure not a twinkle in his eye! Doesn't he look like he's about to do something diabolical? Freaky!!

Lactose Intolerance? Not At Our House!

2010-09-04T10:54:00.004-06:00

I went to the store the other night to pick up a few items, and this is everything I came home with. I guess we do just fine with dairy around here!

Back to Life...

2010-08-31T14:14:00.015-06:00

Does this here blog still work? I guess so!

I never thought I'd say it, but I'm so happy to be back in school. I had a VERY packed summer, and none of it included a family (ie-Evan, me, and Mesa) vacation. NOT ONE! And no, I don't consider Asthma Camp or Girls' Camp a vacation. What a tragedy! (I think it's a true tragedy because my "downfall" was due to my own actions, right? I mean, I'm the one that chose to work full time while doing summer school, and then added on a second job halfway through the summer.)

This semester is going to be a good one. Last semester we had 4 main "hell weeks". All of our professors had planned their tests for the first week of each month, which basically means we SERIOUSLY crammed the week before. Talk about stress! Hence, one of the reasons leading up to my first school breakdown. But this semester will be so much better because our tests are all spread out. So while it seems crazy to say that I'm glad we have a test almost every single week, I AM! It is so much more manageable when it comes at you a little at time.

Here's a little memory from many years ago. My family goes on a camping trip every spring, and one year it happened to fall over my sister's birthday. We planned a surprise party for her, complete with cupcakes and presents. The plan was for me to take her on the four-wheeler over to the bathroom and stall long enough for them to get everything set up. So, off we went. In order to fully appreciate the story, I have to get a little personal, sorry. Both of us (read: my sister) thought this would just be a quick trip there and back so we didn't take any wet-wipes with us. This was before the days of hand sanitizer, and we used wet-wipes to wash our hands. Little did she know I would be hanging out in the outhouse to kill time...dedication, right? Well, when I came out she refused to let me drive the four-wheeler back because she said I had "poo poo hands", since I didn't have a wet-wipe. Don't ask me why we thought it was gross to not wash our hands immediately after #2, but after #1 it was ok to wait 'til we got back to camp to wash. There's no reasoning. And I don't even think that was the common practice. Anyway, I wasn't allowed to touch anything, and FOR THE RECORD, I didn't even pee...I was merely stalling! Needless to say, she was very surprised when we got back to camp! I almost stalled too long because the candles on the cupcakes were half-way melted.

So, here's me with my "poo poo hands", which has become a favorite saying around here. (It may bring back an entirely different, recent memory for my brothers...that's all I'm sayin'.)
And here's my sister in a lovely dress, complete with a necklace, that we picked out of a bargain bin at a Flying J on the way down. (Wow, that's a lot of prepositional phrases!) It looked smashing over her rain gear, don't you think?
The gentleman in the bottom corner is a long-time family friend. Family, click on the photo so you can get a good look at his face. Can't you just hear him laughing that classic laugh of his?

Asthma Camp Rocks!!!

2010-07-17T10:40:00.035-06:00

I volunteered as a counselor at Camp Wyatt this week which is a camp for kids with asthma. I'd like to let you all think I'm just that nice of a person, but the truth is I did it because we get credit for a class up at school. It was held at Camp Wapiti in Tooele. I was so close to home! Here are all the PharmD students that went:

My co-counselor Melissa and me:

It was so fun, but I must say that I do not have the energy of a 13 year old girl anymore! These were our girls....

They were the best-I love these girls! The camp was Harry Potter themed, and our house name that we chose was The Magical Unicorns of Doom, which was shortened to MUDs throughout the week. Here's just a few of the things we did.

Rock Climbing:

This kid Isaac was amazing! He climbed the wall a million times and then decided to try it using only his arms.

Tasting Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans:

Attending Care of Magical Creatures (This is a program called Reptile Rescue and yes, Evan knows the man who runs it!):

Visiting the Owlery (Dissecting Owl Pellets):

Defense Against the Dark Arts (making marshmallow shooters and having a war):This is what our shoes looked like afterwards. It felt like walking on clouds!

Canoeing on Black Lake (Stansbury Lake):

Chores-looking oh so glamorous:

Flying Class (Rocket Launching):

Winning the coveted Silver Dustpan Award for cleanest cabin:

Camping out on the Quidditch Field:

Making Snitch Holders (Egg-drop competition):

Playing Quidditch:

Dancing like crazy at the stomp:This is Cholo and the ladies. He was such an awesome kid:

And pranking the boys’ cabins! I don’t have any pictures, but we pulled some awesome pranks, and got pranked pretty good ourselves.

I don't know if I'm crazy or just a glutton for punishment, but I want to go again next year!

This summer is going to be good!

2010-05-18T10:06:00.022-06:00

With all the stresses of school, I have severely neglected this here blog. I've been told it only gets worse. However, until then, I'm going to have the best summer! I'm working full time, (Weird that I'm looking forward to that, huh? I'm tired of being broke!) I plan on hitting the pool a lot with my sisters and their kids, and since I'm eating candy this year I get to enjoy cotton candy on the 4th of July! :)

For a great kickoff to my summer, I found quite a treasure at my parents' house last weekend. It's a picture collage that used to hang in my room. It's essentially all my favorite memories from high school to about a year after my mission. Oh boy, are there ever some gems in there. They're too good to wait til next Monday to do an official "Memory Monday" post. They're just too good. I will space them out, however, because otherwise this post would go on forever.

Here's one of my favorites:Oh, Darwin Avenue. You know, I'm not a big fan of surprises. But Darwin Avenue...oh-ho-ho Darwin Avenue...what a pleasant surprise that turned out to be! I always think that in order to be guaranteed the most absolute best time of my life doing anything I must plan every little detail of it. My apartment on Darwin Avenue could not have proven me more wrong. It didn't turn out ANYTHING like I had anticipated, and I loved every minute of it.

When I was looking for a new apartment for my second year at Utah State, (I'd say my sophomore year, but let's face it. I didn't exactly follow the standard 4 year plan with college) the place I wanted to live still had tenants in it. No one was home at the time I went to view it, so I just had a peek in the windows. It had a nice big living room and a fire place, and from what I could see through the bedroom window, it looked really spacious for 2 people to share. My room-roommate and I were friends from high school, but we didn't know the other two girls who would be living there also. I told my friend Katie that we should hurry up and snatch it without really seeing the inside because it was pretty cheap for being right next to campus. So, imagine our surprise when we arrived the weekend before school started and found out that we had signed up to live with 2 other girls in a one bedroom/one bathroom apartment. That's right, there were two sets of BUNK BEDS in that room whose window I peeked through. I saw two cute little beds, it just never occurred to me that I should look UP to see if there were more beds on top of those cute little beds. Now, had I known this before-hand there is NO WAY I would have signed that lease. FOUR GIRLS? ONE ROOM? ONE BATHROOM????? And if that had happened, I would have missed out on one of the funnest years of my life. I have an entire journal full of the things we did, but since I said this post wouldn't be long, I will get on with it. Why are we in the tub together? Well, I believe we were coming home from a movie and we were in a giant 12-passenger van (which is random and irrelevant). I don't even remember whose van it was. Anyway, it was spring and in Logan that means one thing...rain. It had been pouring all night, and for some reason we decided to stop at the Chevron on Main and 4th North and splash in the GIGANTIC puddles in the gutters. When we got home, we were all cold and since our complex didn't have a hot tub we made one of our own. I had just ordered two lovely swimsuits from J.Crew, my red one and the yellow one that Katie is wearing. It fit her better than it did me, so I gave it to her. My swimsuit's color was named "Poppy". Leslie (in the pink) bought a matching green one named "Stem" but I think she returned it. Basically, when you spend all year in the kind of close quarters we had, sharing a tub just isn't that out of place.

Now as for this picture...you'll only get this picture if you've seen this movie:

Just to highlight a few more memories from that year:

Weird Dan (that we met while picking up firewood at Anderson Lumber)
Katie making papyrus on our porch for a school project
Sleeping outside only to have the sprinklers turn on that night
Getting pet frogs for my birthday
Mark falling in love with our great friend and neighbor, Hailey
Hailey climbing through her window anytime she got locked out
Mark entertaining us with his guitar
Tara falling in love with Greg
Tom McKnight, the meteorologist, making biscuits for the ward talent show
Our "laser" show (flashlights) for the ward talent show
Watching (at home!) a special copy of Titanic when it had just barely been released in theaters
Silent Scott...oh my gosh, he is going to get his own post soon. I can't pass that up.
Leslie doing a workout video with hand weights and me trying to follow along with soup cans...and they were too heavy for me
Getting hooked on Days of Our Lives for a month, all thanks to a ridiculous character named Susan Banks
Playing pranks on J. L. Roring and his roommates and accidentally breaking their window
Relief Society slumber party at our bishop's giant lodge
Lagoon rides on the bunk bed

LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!

25%!!!!!!

2010-05-08T13:41:00.001-06:00

I am one-fourth of the way done with pharmacy school!!! Yay, yay, yay!!!!

Time sure flies...

2010-04-24T14:19:00.005-06:00

Has it really been six years already?

Happy Anniversary Evan! I love you!

There's hope after all!

2010-04-03T11:45:00.002-06:00

Three years ago we made a seriously impulsive purchase and entered into the world of dog owners. We were sooooo not prepared for what would follow. Escapes, mischief, terrorizing the neighborhood, destruction of shoes, cell phones, delivery packages, flowerbeds, windshield wipers, furniture...the list goes on! (And it hasn't just been our possessions, either. Sorry neighbors!) I've been waiting patiently for the day everyone assured me would come...that she would calm down. I was told she'd calm down after getting spayed...that didn't happen. I've been told she'd calm down by the time she was one...that didn't happen. I've been told she'd calm down when she was eighteen months old...that didn't happen. I've been told she'd calm down if she had a playmate...that didn't happen. I was really beginning to lose my patience!

But this last week we saw a glimmer of hope! We went camping with my family in Southern Utah and brought Mesa along. We had forgotten her tie-out and we were concerned with keeping her under control, but it turns out our worries were not necessary. She was so well-behaved! She's such a curious dog, and we were worried that if we let her wander she'd wander right over to someone's camp and get into their gear, or worse-terrorize the little kids running around, but she didn't. She preferred wandering out in the fields, chasing ground squirrels and other critters, and the rest of the time she spent following Evan around. If he went into a camper, she'd plop herself down at the door and wait for him. If he went for a walk, she was right on his heels. If he was eating, she was sitting right at his feet. If I hadn't been there to witness it myself, I would never have believed it.

So this morning, I thought I'd try an experiment...walking her off the leash. Most of the Tooele canyon roads are closed for the winter, which provided me with a perfect traffic-free area away from neighborhoods to let her loose. I drove up til we reached the gates and let her run around. She ran all over those hills, sniffed out and followed deer tracks, splashed through a small stream of runoff water, and each time I whistled or called to her, she came running back to me. WHAT?? Is this really my dog? I sure hope this isn't a phase! I'm definitely going to take her back there. It must be a popular spot for dog owners, because on our way home I passed a few others walking with their dogs.

P.S. The trip up there served its purpose-she has been so worn out that she's slept most of the morning!

A Few Firsts II

2010-03-20T09:24:00.014-06:00

First up-my first school-related meltdown:
This week has been....blah. I've spent every single day since last Thursday studying for a pathophysiology test we had this Thursday. I stayed late last Friday, I got a coworker to cover my shift so I could go to school and study on Saturday, I studied on Sunday, I studied all day Monday, all day Tuesday (although a lot of time was dedicated to a Med Chem test we had on Wednesday), all day Wednesday, and even studied all Thursday morning since the test was in the afternoon. I memorized notes, I made study guides, I reviewed study guides from my classmates, and I studied previous exams for example questions. I felt 100% prepared for this test. I walked in there so confident-I knew that I could handle anything the professors tried to throw at us...I just had no idea they'd throw out a test more evil than the devil himself. My professor always has an answer key there that we can check once we turn in our test. I can never leave without comparing my test with the answer key because I want to know my score immediately, but I wish I hadn't looked. Without actually divulging how poorly I did, let's just say that I walked out of that test completely deflated, stomped on, depreciated, flattened, punctured, devalued, kicked in the teeth, shot down, drained of all intelligence, shattered, weakened...and that only describes about 30% of what I felt. I should have just not studied at all-I couldn't have done much worse. I barely made it to my car before I lost it. I haven't cried that hard at school since I was in 1st grade and I thought my older sister, who was in 5th grade, was going to forget to pick me up, leaving me to find my own way home. (I used to cry every day when it came time to go home, no matter how much she assured me each morning that she would NEVER forget to pick me up.) It's not the lowest score I've ever gotten, but it sure as heck is the absolute worst I've ever done when I put in that much time preparing for it.

Second-I went to a movie yesterday all by myself and I loved it! It may not seem like such a big deal to go to a movie alone, but I felt so independent. And, maybe I just needed to feel like I could accomplish something after Thursday's beating. I had a few hours to kill in Salt Lake between commitments, and I decided to go see a movie. Evan and I have been waiting for everything to come out on DVD for so long that I'd forgotten how much I LOVE to watch movies in the theater. Maybe I should work as a ticket taker at the theater just so I can see more movies on the big screen... Anyway, we don't have TV and I haven't been to a movie for so long (already said that) that I had no idea what was playing. I walked up to the theater, saw a poster for a romantic looking film with "Edward", and saw that it was starting in 5 minutes. Perfect! I knew Evan wouldn't care if I saw a lovey-dovey film without him, so I bought a ticket for "Remember Me". I even treated myself to a kid's popcorn and kid's drink. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the movie. I knew absolutely nothing about the film, and I believe that's the only way you should see it. DON'T GO LOOKING UP THE PLOT ANYWHERE! Truthfully, it hasn't gotten great reviews. In fact, it's gotten terrible reviews. But I don't care what the critics have had to say. I wasn't feeling very critical over the acting, cinematography, yada, yada, yada. Maybe it's because I was still in a somber mood from the day before, but I loved it. It was a slower paced movie, and it's a drama not a romantic comedy. I'm not, however, going to say that you have to rush out and see it right now, or that you'll love it as much as me. I don't want to be responsible for you wasting a few hard-earned dollars if you end up agreeing with the critics. (By the way, it does have two little risque scenes and it says the F-word twice. I thought they couldn't say that twice in a PG-13, but obviously they can now. So, since you can't look anything up about the movie so that you don't spoil it, that's your breakdown of why it's rated what it is.)

Happy Birthday to Me!!

2010-03-14T16:24:00.013-06:00

What does every almost-thirty-year-old animal lover want for their birthday?... penguins or course!!!!.... and what-do-you-know, I got 'em!!! Our new penguin exhibit opens to the public on March 26!

After a lot of waiting, and even more planning and building, our gentoo penguins flew in from Galveston this week. No not quite like this video, but on a large metal bird instead :) Our CEO Brent Anderson and I were able to go down and tour Moody Gardens Aquarium back in October while preparing for our penguin exhibit. The staff there were more than accommodating, and answered every random question I could think up in the two days we spent there. With a plethora of info and a few suggestions about our soon-to-be exhibit, the TLPA staff got to work.

To give you an idea of what we needed to keep these cold-loving birds happy, the entire exhibit area, including off exhibit holding areas and filtration, is held at 40-45 degrees, and is essentially a very large walk-in refrigerator. Pretty much everything for the exhibit was done in-house, only electrical and HVAC were done by other companies. Since these birds live in very clean air in the wild on islands off the southern coast of South America, the air needs to be filtered to 1 micron and all areas are positive pressure to keep all fungal spores out (just think of being blasted with freezing, smelly air when you open the exhibit door.....let's just say I'm glad we hired an aviculturist to take care of these cute stinky birds).

Below are some pictures and explanations of the exhibit as we were building it, as well as a short clip of them arriving and exploring their new home.

With these penguins being our CEOs pet project (he's been planning this for years), we got pretty much everything we asked for from the husbandry side of things. The tank is a 24 foot half-round custom fiberglass pool with a 5' x 16' viewing window. Water is pulled from skimmer boxes as well as a bottom drain and a dedicated vacuum line used to clean the exhibit bottom. The plumbing was mostly done by myself and a few of the husbandry staff. Penguins don't really care about water quality the way fish do, but they sure eat a lot (these 11 penguins will eat substantially more than the rest of our entire collection!!), which means they sure can cloud up the water quickly if if is not heavily filtered. Here are shots of the four large sand filters, the 2 two-horsepower pumps, and the back of the tank. You can see that we cut the concrete to plumb all feed and waste lines in and out of the exhibit area. (Yes, they trust me with a jackhammer amazingly enough). These areas were filled when we did the main pour for the exhibit.

We planned a reclamation system to re-filter the exhibit water after we backwash the main exhibit filters and re-use it as needed. I'm glad we are trying to conserve as much as we can, I am even using the effluent from our Reverse Osmosis filter to mix the penguins salt water with. Most of the water we use in our exhibits goes through these units which pull out almost all of the dissolved minerals in the water we get from the city. It used to be drained to waste as it is not suitable for fish use, but since we use straight food grade NaCl instead of a marine salt mix for these birdies, it is perfect for penguins keeping the pH up over 8.2 in newly mixed water, yay!

The interior of the exhibit is a main concrete pour for the flat land area and supporting columns, and cement covered styrofoam for all of the rockwork. The fake rocks took forever to build, as this concrete needed to be put on by hand in three or four layers. The portions under the water are mainly molded sheets of ABS plastic seamed together with epoxy and plastic zip-ties with concrete around all areas that needed extra support.

This is right before the main pour. The big hole in the back wall is for the HVAC
Here's a shot after the main pour and with much of the rock finished. This was right after the first fill of the tank and filtration. You can see some of the rock before and after being coated and painted.

Once the system was well rinsed, and flushed completely, we filled her up with salt water and prepared as best we could to have 11 curious birds running around trying to destroy things. Here is the tank ready for their arrival! (the front of the exhibit is still yet to be completed, it will be an antarctic research station facade).

The birds came in this past Thursday, and Maggie, one of the penguin keepers from Moody Gardens even flew up with them and spent a few days with our staff making sure we were ready, and that the penguins settled in well. Our Vet also made a trip out to see the arrival and do a quick health check before we put them in.

Their first glimpse of their new home!

Once all were placed in the exhibit, it took a few minutes for them to get in the water, but once they did, they only came out long enough to shake off and jump back in. I can't believe how active and animated they are!

Here is a short video our PR dept. made up right after their arrival. I have a feeling our parking lot is going to be very full for a few months :)

Thanks for reading!!

-Evan

Being the baby (almost)

2010-03-08T08:40:00.001-07:00

I am number nine of ten children, which means I had a very different experience growing up than my older siblings. I'm sure I was more spoiled and evaded more punishment than the older children. Not always, but a lot..except this one time. My parents said they were going to take everyone out for doughnuts for Family Home Evening, but we wouldn't get one if we didn't finish our chores that day. I had to be no more than six or seven, so I can't imagine my chores being that difficult. But like most kids, I felt like I was being picked on and given the hardest tasks...things like helping my mom make her bed every morning, and collecting the trash once a week from all the bedrooms. Real tough, I know. Treats were VERY rare in our house growing up. (Which is why I think most of us Montgomery kids have such an insatiable sweet tooth now, but that's another story.) On this particular day I refused to do my chores. Mostly because I thought there was no way that my parents would stick to their guns and keep me from enjoying a delicious doughnut, especially since the opportunity to eat them came around once in a blue moon. I saw no reason to do my chores; I was sure I'd reap the reward along with everyone else.

Well, when evening came we all piled into the big blue van and headed to the Winchell's at Five Points (which is now a Pizza Hut Take Out). I eagerly raced into the store and admired the doughnuts through the display cases, wondering how I could possibly choose only one. My parents skipped over me as they took orders so I spoke up, only to learn they hadn't forgotten their promise. They refused as I protested and whined, holding true to their word. I would not get a doughnut.

The funniest part to me (now, not then of course) is that I remember my parents had even gotten a dozen doughnuts to go and when we got home I pulled out the plastic wrap and thought I could save one for myself to eat the next day. I thought, "Surely the punishment is only for today. It will end at the stroke of midnight and I'll be able to enjoy a doughnut tomorrow, but if I don't save it now it will be gone in the morning." And...I was quickly shut down. What??? The injustice! That's child abuse! How could they be so cruel?

I'd like to say I've learned my lesson, that I've gotten a little wiser as I've grown, but from time to time I still think I deserve a reward without any action or effort on my part. Does anyone else feel that way? Or is it just me, the spoiled "almost baby" of the family?

What a difference a year makes...

2010-03-01T21:59:00.005-07:00

Two years ago at this time I was wallowing in self-pity because I had not been accepted to pharmacy school. Last year at this time I was anxiously awaiting word as to whether or not I'd been accepted, and today I was on the other side of the table, literally! I was asked to help interview the incoming candidates for the Class of 2014, and it was quite an experience. Having been in their position only a year ago, I was amazed at how quickly this time has flown by. I am halfway through this semester, and once it's over I'll have completed my first year of pharmacy school!

The interview board was made up of an Admissions Committee member, a faculty member, and a student. We interviewed 5 candidates and I felt I could identify with all of them. One had returned to school after a long break, one has a connection with the town in which I live, one was applying for the second year in a row and was sooo nervous, but you could tell they'd really practiced and prepared for the interview, one was not very good at talking themselves up at all (I share this quality, but I've learned that in an interview of any kind you have to totally toot your own horn), and one tripped on the way in the room. Ok, no they didn't, but I sure did last year! Not only that, but I got choked up talking about my grandpa who was a pharmacist, so I was sure I'd made a real doosie of an impression. I mean, who wants a clumsy crier as a pharmacist? So, I kept thinking about myself, how I felt last year trying to present my best self to these people in 15 minutes, and how stressful it was. I'm sure it caused me to be a bit more generous with the scores I gave out today. They say the student interviewers are always the most kind in scoring, but I think it's because we're so close to the situation. Anyway, I wish the best of luck to the upcoming students. I can't wait to see which of my interviewees will be accepted!

Some people's children...

2010-02-08T11:26:00.005-07:00

This clip is fun to watch. I am constantly amazed at the talent and creativity people have, mostly because I have none myself.

P.S. Yes, I stumbled upon this clip while I should have been paying attention to lecture. I'm pretty easily distracted these days!

What a small world!

2010-02-08T11:18:00.002-07:00

Last week Evan and I went to a play at the Hale Centre Theatre with his family. We've received season tickets from his mom for a few years and have really enjoyed the shows. For some unexplainable reason, I often run into someone I know whenever we go, whether it be my friend's parents, a former young women's leader, or someone from our ward. As I was scanning the audience for familiar faces like I usually do, the row in front of us filled in with the cutest white-haired folks, one in particular who was about 5 foot nothing and weighed maybe 80 pounds. She had the BIGGEST smile on her face, and just looked so happy to be there. She was quite the Chatty Cathy, and made small talk with Evan and me during intermission. She mentioned she grew up in Ogden, in the famous Fourth Ward. I've heard all my life about the Fourth Ward as it's the ward my dad grew up in, so after the show I called my dad and asked if he knew her family. He didn't really know them but my grandma sure did, because she bought this lady's grandpa's house, so she and my dad grew up in the same house! Is that a small world or what?

P.S. Evan said I omitted the best part of the story: she didn't just say "Fourth Ward" but "Farth Waard" (same vowel sound on both, like Spanish Fark) and that as she said it her dentures slipped out of place, which she just nonchalantly slipped back in and continued talking to us. He's right, that really was the best part of the story.

Memory Monday continues...or will it?

2010-02-01T07:00:00.002-07:00

Do you want to hear something really sad? I know I'm getting old because I'm really losing my memory. I used to be able to recall everything with perfect clarity. Most of my siblings are older, so I was still young when they got married and moved out. I knew every sibling's birthday, every sibling's spouse's birthday and their children's birthdays, I knew their phone numbers by heart, and I could even remember their addresses. Now-a-days, in the age of cell phones and speed dial, I can barely remember my own phone number let alone anyone else's. I'm forgetting the little details of life, too. I used to be able to remember every detail of conversations I had with people, or of things that happened at school or with friends, etc, but now I can barely remember what happened yesterday. You all may think I'm exaggerating, but when someone was retelling a story and I had been at the original event, I used to wonder why they would mix up little details of that story. Why would they say that So-And-So said something, when it was Such-And-Such who said it? And why would they say we ran into them in the produce section of Smith's, when we were clearly in the dairy isle at Albertsons? But now I'm finding myself doing the same things. I can't remember exactly who said what, or how long ago, or where we were, or just exactly what was said...you get the picture. Is it just a sign that I'm getting older? Or am I letting my brain go to waste? The latter possibility worries me, clearly, because I should be using my brain now more than ever. And don't even get me started on the names and faces from high school I've forgotten. You'd think Facebook would've helped me in that situation, but you'd be wrong.

So, I'll still be writing memories, but I'm going to have to start looking back through my journals, which are full of a lot of things that won't really interest you, like who my friends and I used to like in high school. Oh yes, I was well trained in the art of stalking long before blog-stalking became popular. Ok, I shouldn't call it stalking, really, as that implies we followed boys for days figuring out their lives and analyzing every action. We weren't that crazy. It was more like admiring from afar. We never followed anyone, but we certainly did carry out a drive-by or two...and I'm going to stop now. That's enough sharing for today.

One year older and wiser, too....

2010-01-14T10:01:00.010-07:00

Yes, it's true. Today is my birthday, and I'm totally seeking out birthday wishes. I'm going to copy something I read on another blog a while back and send out a request. I am perhaps the most guilty person when it comes to reading my friends' blogs and never commenting, meaning some of them don't even know I'm following along. So today (or whenever you read this) I am going to ask each of you to leave me a comment and just say a small hello, so I know who is out there enjoying the greatness that is me. I will enable the feature that will allow people without a profile to comment, so be sure to include your name if you use the anonymous setting. I will, however, have to turn on that pesky "word verification" so that I hopefully prevent any spammer comments. I've had those before and they're just not the kind of energy I want to experience on my birthday, you know? And if any of you are surprised that I would be so bold as to solicit birthday salutations, don't be. I'm nearly the baby in my family which means I grew up getting a lot of extra attention. Plus, isn't that what a blog is-a place to showcase me, me, me? (Please don't think I'm always this self-centered. It only happens once a year.)

Anyway, back to regular business here at the B&PPH blog. I started back on my second of eight semesters this week. I really like all my professors so far. One in particular is hilarious, mostly because she isn't even trying to be. We'll see if I'm still singing her praises after our first test, but so far I've looked forward to each of her lectures. (Ashley, it's Dr. Lim-did you have/like her?) I had a wonderful Christmas break, but I'm glad to be back in school.

So, to try to make up for the many Memory Mondays I've missed, I'll just write down a few memories about my nieces and nephews that crossed my mind yesterday. Pretty much anytime I see one of those automated paper towel dispensers I think of my niece who used to say the paper came out "automagically" instead of automatically. My brother got a new car when this same niece was about 4, and it had radio controls on the steering wheel. Her carseat was right in the middle of the back seat so she could see the radio, but not really the steering wheel. So he used to tell her to say "Magic UP!" and the music would magically turn up, or "Magic DOWN!" and it would go back down. She really believed that the new car was magic, because she could clearly see that he was never touching the radio. I don't know how old she was when she finally caught on.

My nephews have provided us with some of the most classic memories that won't ever be forgotten. The first is this one, a letter to Santa that my sister found in her oldest son's backpack (I'm blotting out the names cuz frankly they're not my kids):

In case you can't read it, it says: "Dear Santa, I can explain for beating my brother. I just didn't want him to bother me. I had to teach him a lesson. Sincerely,_______." I think any letter to Santa that starts out "I can explain..." is sure to be a classic.

Don't worry, there's more where that came from. The younger brother was writing a letter to a cousin who's on a mission, and drew him this picture. The first drawing is of him and his brother fighting, the second shows his brother (who is older) crying with a black eye and an ice bag on his head, and then the last is of both of them in time-out.

The message on this one says, "Me and _______ fight a lot. I always win. Love, _______." You've got to love his confidence, don't you?

P.S. Don't forget to post a comment!

WOW!!!

2009-12-31T13:04:00.007-07:00

I did it. I really, really did it. It has been 365 days since I last ate candy, and tomorrow the first thing I treat myself to will be this:
It's the coconut member of the Ferrero Rocher trio, and in my opinion it is by far the best. I know everyone goes ga-ga over this traditional hazelnut version:
but to me, the coconut is where it's at.

My sister loved teasing me about my "letter of the law" adherence, and how I bypassed the spirit of the law. I didn't limit out all sweets, just candy specifically. So, I had no problems eating a chocolate chip cookie. But take the chip in that cookie, enlarge it, and wrap it in tinfoil so it looks like this: and suddenly it's off limits. Part of my point was that I hardly ever make cookies, cakes, etc. but I buy candy all the time, so this was a test to see how strong my willpower is. I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed with myself. I have another test in mind for 2010, but I'm not going to share what it is until I've given it a try, plus I'm not done working out all the specifics. Looking at it from the starting line (ie, tomorrow!) I personally think that it's harder than this year's goal has been. We'll see.

On to more interesting things...who's decided whether or not you're going to say "Twenty Ten" or "Two Thousand Ten"? I'm completely undecided. I have to make up my mind soon because as of tomorrow I'll be forced to say one or the other. These are the kinds of dilemmas plaguing my mind. Pretty rough life, huh?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

12.5%

2009-12-19T16:47:00.010-07:00

Why do I love that number so much? Because 12.5% is exactly 1/8, which is exactly how much pharmacy school I have completed!!! I cannot believe the first semester went by so quickly! I am amazed. It was harder than I thought, easier than I thought, funner than I thought, more boring than I thought, more time consuming than I thought, less demanding than I thought...it pretty much exceeded all my expectations. I LOVED IT! I have seen many haggard second and third-year students around campus this week, so it must only get worse, but doesn't that have a lot to do with your attitude? We'll see how that theory pans out in another year. :)

Here is what I did yesterday:

slept in
laid on the couch all morning
watched youtube clips of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives"
ate lunch
took a nap
woke up and watched more clips of the Triple D

Ok, I wasn't totally lazy. I did straighten up a little so that if anyone popped in they wouldn't see me lying around in squalor. But, I didn't shower, I didn't get dressed in real clothes, I didn't brush my hair until Evan called to say he was on his way home (I can't have him thinking I'm a total slob, can I?)... I didn't even get the mail because it was too much work to look decent enough to go outside. I loved my first day of Christmas break.

So what should I do with the rest of my time? Any suggestions?

P.S. For the Utah hot spots featured on DDD, check out these clips of Ruth's, Moochie's, Red Iguana, Burger Bar, Pat's BBQ, Blue Plate, and Lone Star. Collectively, this is about 45 minutes of TV, so enjoy them all when you have some spare time, which for pretty much everyone except me, won't be until after the New Year.

P.P.S. And just because I know you're all so interested, I've eaten at Red Iguana, Pat's, and Blue Plate. They're all fabulous. Although, I had to give Red Iguana several tries because I don't like mole, but it's one of Evan's favorites restaurants so I plowed through. I've found the Chile Colorado platter that I love, but I'm for sure trying those tacos that they talked about in the clip the next time we go. Maybe some of my time this break should be spent trying out the other restaurants. Anyone want to meet me for lunch?

I know, life really isn't that bad, but...

2009-11-12T19:08:00.009-07:00

Bear with me a moment, folks. I just have a few things I'd like to vent.

The other day I was riding on Trax, and the train was pretty empty-empty seats as far as the eye could see. Two men got on the train, carrying on a conversation. One sat in the seat in front of me, the other chose to sit in the seat behind me, and they continued their conversation. I'm not kidding. I sat in amazement as they chitchatted over my head. Really??

I was late for school the other day, so I chose to park in the visitor's parking terrace. The gate was open and it didn't spit out a ticket for me, so I thought "Yes! Free parking on Veteran's Day. Don't know why, but cool all the same..." Since I thought I was parking for free I didn't bother to move my car after class, and I stayed on campus ALL DAY to study. Come to find out, the gate was just broken that morning, and I had to pay the fee for the whole day.

I already mentioned this one on facebook, so forgive me for recycling material. :) Who sits down in a quiet study area and carries on a 30 minute phone call? I got some really great suggestions from some of you about how to handle it, like sitting right next to the lady and carrying on my own conversation, or, my favorite-spit wads. Spoken like a true mother of four boys. Thanks, Janelle!

When I started this post, I was going to complain about my professor springing a group project on us with 3 days notice, but it turns out that it took us 20 minutes to plan, and it means we have 2 days less of lecture on our test because each group will be presenting our projects. So, that turned out to be really great. I am glad we only have 2 chapters to study for Medicinal Chemistry, instead of 3. Oh, except he's going to ask some test questions from the presentations. Darn it.

I've got a couple of issues with the bathrooms at school. First, I don't know who the genius is who designed the building, but he switched the locations of the Men's and Women's rooms on every floor. On half the floors, the Men's is on the right, and on the others, it's on the left. Which just means that if you spend all your time on one floor and you're used to just walking in the door on the left, you can totally end up in the wrong place when you are on a different floor and you're not paying attention, which most students aren't. I swear the halls are filled with zombies sometimes. We're a very sleep-deprived bunch. Anyway, this almost happened to me, but luckily a girl stopped me just as my hand reached for the door to the Men's room. Then not even a minute later, a boy walked in to the Women's room. Just make every floor look the same! How hard is that?

Second, the stalls... On a given day, I have in my possession my overly-stuffed backpack, my lunch bag, my purse, and now my puffy coat. I'm too much of a germ-a-phobe to set everything down on the bathroom floor, so I bring it all in with me and hang it on the back of the door. However, the stalls are so shallow that I have to straddle the toilet so I can shut the door behind me, because my backpack is so huge, and of course, because the doors swing inward. I guess I could just back into the stall, but how ridiculous would that look? People would start making that beeping sound that trucks make (at the very least in their heads, if not actually out loud). So I ask, is it so hard to design bathroom stalls with doors that swing out? Perhaps someone can enlighten me as to why the doors swing in. I suppose in the event the lock wasn't working, it'd be a whole lot easier to hold it shut while you...um, you know. That's the only advantage I can see.

Well, that will have to do, for now. Thanks for listening! (Or reading, I guess.)

We're becoming victims...

2009-11-09T20:21:00.002-07:00

of our small town. Our favorite thing to do these days is eat out at Wingers (we love us some Original Amazing Sauce) and head over to Wal-Mart for some people watching. And trust me, there's some great people watching at our Wal-Mart. It's almost as good as these beauties.

...ok...we don't really head to Wal-Mart merely for the people watching. We usually have some kind of errand to run. But if we wanted to, we certainly could!

All this from a little fruit??

2009-10-26T14:34:00.004-06:00

I love a good, crisp apple, don't you? Ever since I discovered the sweet apples like Fuji, Gala, and Cameo I have completely ignored the simple Granny Smith...and today I was reminded why.

It seems as though each Halloween season the Granny Smiths go on some kind of super sale. And since we're extra poor college students right now, I thought I'd go for the apples that were 58 cents a pound instead of 97 cents a pound. I know, I'm thrifty. So today at lunch I pulled out the apple and took a bite. Hmmm, it's quite sour. I took another bite...even more sour. Well, it's not my favorite, but I paid for it. And I'm not about to go to the cafeteria and get an overpriced, overprocessed, over-fried meal when I've got a healthy apple in my hand. So I kept eating. I could have handled the sourness if not for one little problem...does your jaw ever clench when you eat something sour? Mine does, totally on its own accord. Each time I took a bite of the apple my jaw clenched , but I powered through. I wish I had just thrown the dang thing away after the first few bites because now I feel like I've been punched in the jaw!

I don't know what the moral of this story is other than now I know why people coat those Granny Smith apples in caramel. In fact, I even understand why caramel sometimes isn't enough, and people add a layer of chocolate and all sorts of toppings. From now on, that's the kind of green apple I'll be choosing.

Memory Update...

2009-10-22T13:43:00.003-06:00

After discovering that there were some who questioned the ability of my little five year old mind to recall something accurately, I called my parents to get some clarification. To set the record straight, the wind did rip the bricks off the side of our house, and we did have to sleep in the family room during a power outage...they happen to have been two separate events, but they BOTH happened! And as for the cooking, I never claimed that my mom used our wood burning stove to make a fancy dinner like Chicken Cordon Bleu, just that she made us a few meals. She said those meals consisted of things like hot cereal, soup, and hot chocolate. There now-that's all cleared up.

I know I've already posted about how much I love riding the bus to school, but I feel like saying it again. Only now I need to add on to that sentence. I love riding the bus to school, just not home from school. Well, I actually can't include my whole trip, just the part on Trax. My commute between Tooele and Salt Lake is on a big, fancy, cushy bus-and it's great every time. However, my morning and afternoon commutes on Trax differ like night and day. (Sometimes literally!) The mornings are all filled with professionals going to work at the hospitals and kids like me on their way to school. The afternoon commute is full of Salt Lake's finest, especially when we hit the free-fare zone. Granted, it's a treasure trove of people watching! I keep wondering how much I'll really love riding the bus in the wintertime. Which side will win? Not having to drive in the snow (YAY!)...or having to stand around waiting for the next train/bus in the snow?? (YUCK!) Nothing's perfect, right?

Are you prepared?

2009-10-19T19:05:00.009-06:00

Yesterday in Sunday School we talked about self reliance, and the teacher brought up that his wife has been begging him to redo their basement, including getting rid of the wood-burning stove. He is adamant that it remain, in case it's ever needed. As is often the case in Sunday School, my mind started wandering and I thought about all the times we lit the wood-burning stove in my parents' house. Of course, this was the 1980s. I think wood-burning stoves were more hip back then, and used for more than just emergencies. But then came the night of something something, 1983. Real specific on my dates, aren't I? Actually, judging from the dating on the picture it could have been in April cuz there's still remnants of snow in the front yard. Of course we could have had snow in May back then, you know, before all this global warming. But back to the story...I was only 5 at the time, so my memory isn't that clear, but I think there had been a storm going on for quite some time. I remember my whole family hanging out and sleeping in the family room for a few days. I think there had been major power outages and we only had the heat of the stove, and I definately remember my mom using it to cook all our meals. Then, during one of those nights, a terrible wind rose up and tore the bricks right off the side of the house.

The wall that lost the bricks was right next to the family room and it woke everyone up but me. I've always been a heavy sleeper. My dad said it sounded like a big vacuum sucking the bricks off the house. Was it the Big Bad Wolf? Maybe. Maybe it was.

Wasn't 1983 a terrible year? First came the winds, and later that spring came the floods! The very floods that caused a river to run down State Street and a dike, not just sandbags but a dike, to be built to contain the river running down 13th South. The very floods that caused a mud slide in Spanish Fork Canyon, creating a natural dam and flooding the entire town of Thistle. The very floods that caused large pumps to be placed in the Great Salt Lake, which remained in use until 1986. My best friend's back yard was terraced, and the bottom two terraces were totally filled! We tried to go swimming in her backyard (which would soon become the norm as they had a pool installed a few years later), but our parents absolutely forbade it.

So, for those of you who were in Utah in 1983, what do you remember about the floods?

Fun with coral, macro style!

2009-10-11T11:34:00.014-06:00

So, I have taken about a million pictures of animals and tanks at work, and occasionally I actually get a relatively good shot. Lately I have been getting better with working my mom's Nikon D50 in manual mode, and took these macro shots of some of the coral in my reef tank. Most of these colonies are under 12" in diameter, and the shots are only slightly cropped and not resized, so open the images up to full size to see them in even more detail.

Encrusting Gorgonian. This has long polyps that are very calming as they wave in the current. It does grow over almost any surface, including other coral!

Sarcophyton sp. - toadstool leather. This guy has very long polyp extensions. Can you see why these are in the octocoral group? (hint: count the oral arms on each polyp! Also look for the one pulling food into it's mouth.)

Tridacna crocea - one of the "giant" clams (although this one doesn't really get that large), and another Sarcophyton sp. These clams get most of their energy from the same source as the coral, from algae that live in their tissue. In fact, the beautiful colors of all coral come from this unique group of algae that has evolved with the coral for millions of years. The coral tissue itself is just a clear white color.

Sinularia sp. - Green finger coral. Another octocoral, this colony in the big reef has really grown a lot in the past 16 months.

Acanthastrea sp - pineapple coral. This is a "true" coral, in that it builds reef. The corals above are all soft coral, but reef building coral all have a stony skeleton they build out of calcium and carbonates they get from the surrounding water.
Turbinaria peltata - pagoda cup coral. Robin thinks this looks like what you get with the playdough barbershop.

Duncanopsammia axifugia - Duncan coral. These still relatively rare in collections, and are one of the best captive stony corals out there because of how hardy and beautiful they are. I love how large the polyps can get in moderate to low light.

Pocillopora sp. - cauliflower coral. This genus is almost all we saw coral-wise when we dove in Hawaii. Some of the colonies in the bay we snorkeled in were easily 10 ft in diameter!

That's all the macro-photography for now. I am really starting to enjoy aquarium photography, and I just was introduced to a fancy gadget by a fellow reefer that makes this hobby that much easier and enjoyable. It's a DIY gadget made out of a drain coupler and a magnifying glass of some sort. It allows you to take top-down shots with any camera. It magnifies the subject and has a very long focal length. None of these pictures were taken with this device, but I'm going to have to build one now.
Anywho, hope you like the close-ups and I hope you learned something!
-Evan

For all you teachers (and teacher supporters!)

2009-09-26T18:45:00.003-06:00

Growing up, since my mom was a teacher/principal, I was never allowed to misbehave in school. So when I heard this voicemail message, I had to laugh. I'm sure many teachers all over the world have felt this way! Enjoy it here!

Although I don't think this is real, it's still pretty funny.

Calling all Wicked fans...

2009-09-23T15:51:00.002-06:00

I've added a Wicked playlist to my blog! My regular playlist will still start automatically, so if you want to listen to Wicked you have to pause the regular player (the purple one) and push play on the green one. ENJOY!!!

Mission memory...

2009-09-21T12:13:00.005-06:00

Since I've started riding the bus to school, I have been thinking a lot about my mission because Curitiba has one of the most efficient public transit systems in the world. I had been in the country for one week, and my companion took me into the city center on P-day to show me a few of the sights. I found this picture online of the type of bus we were riding that day.

The bus pulls up to the tube, drops a "drawbridge", opens the doors, and everybody rushes in and out, and since the Brazilians are not a patient people it's usually all happening at once. (To get on the bus, you pay someone sitting just inside the tube and then wait in the tube for the bus to come.) We were on our way home, and despite the fact that my companion and I had worked our way right up next to the door so we would be the first ones off the bus at our stop, it didn't quite happen that way. When the doors opened, my companion pushed against the people trying to get in and exited the bus. Although I was practically holding on to her skirt, I was not as fortunate...the doors slammed shut right in my face. So there I am, my face and hands pressed up against the glass, watching my companion as the bus pulls away. I looked something like this...

...except this man doesn't have enough fear in his eyes. My companion panicked and started yelling instructions to me, as if I could hear anything over the roar of the bus pulling away. AAAAHHHH!!! So there I am, a fresh little greenie who can barely say "Hi" in portuguese, surrounded by Brazilians, on a bus headed to Who-knows-where. Luckily, there was a member on the bus whom I had not yet met, but who had seen the whole thing. She pushed her way up to me and stayed by my side, pointing to herself and saying "W;l;werlaksdfjereoraseroweirjsdfj;slwewrjdf...Mormon". At least I recognized something! We got off at the next stop and waited for my companion, who caught the next bus and met up with us there. All in all, I suppose it was a relatively harmless experience. Harmless??? But just imagine what could have happened to me! Anyway, because of that I'm extra careful, even now, to make sure I'm standing by the door for my stop well before I have to exit.

It's a little overdue...

2009-09-08T07:32:00.005-06:00

but better late than never, right? Here's yet another memory.

When I was growing up it was not uncommon for my dad to do something unusual just because it was convenient, like put root beer on his corn flakes cuz we were out of milk. (I'd apologize to my dad right now for writing something embarrassing about him, but he's never read this blog so it wouldn't matter.) So one night, when I was about 10, my dad picked me up from gymnastics and we made a stop at the grocery store to get some pet food. I suppose it's important here to note that we had a cat. So, we're on the pet food isle and he picks up a bag of dog food. I thought he was just grabbing the first bag he saw because it was convenient, so I started insisting that cats do not want to eat dog food, and why wouldn't he get the right bag?? He told me it's all the same, and that the cat would eat anything if it was hungry enough. I kept insisting all the way through the checkout and on the ride home and he kept downplaying the importance...yeah, you're all smarter than me as I'm sure you've picked up on the fact that waiting at home was a brand new puppy! It was a cute little german shepherd that we kept until it discovered every weak spot in our backyard fence. In fact, we had two dogs when I was little, both german shepherds, and both named Ranger. (I know there were more canine additions to the family, but I'm not counting ones that we had before I was born.)

Here's something awesome...I just wrote this while riding the bus to school! I LOVE THE BUS!!! It doesn't take that much longer than driving, I don't have to deal with traffic or finding a parking spot at the U, and I get so much studying done! (Except now, clearly. I passed on studying right now for blogging.) So, that all means I arrive at school relaxed and ready for the day! I love it. If I had the money I'd definitely hire someone to chauffeur me around.

And while we're talking about school, here's my favorite picture of Evan on one of his first days of school...

Our kids are going to be so awesome! Would you just look at those socks? Are they really socks or are they tights? Was he afraid of sunburning his legs? Or maybe he had bad circulation and those are compression hose? Hehe...I love this picture!

So, back to school...get it? Back to school? Anywho, I love it! I am only going to admit this here, protected by the privacy of the world wide web, that I have felt a teensy bit tender-hearted while sitting in class. I know this will change and I'll soon be crying from sheer misery, but I'm just so excited to be there and I still can't believe it sometimes. They really let me in? What were they thinking?? You'd think the fact that I've recently taken on very substantial loans to pay for said schooling would help me realize that I'm really in pharmacy school. Give it a few more weeks, right? Then I'll be feeling it.

As for my firsts, well, let's see...uh, I just saw my score from my first test...and I clearly need to end this post and get back to studying.

A Few Firsts

2009-08-24T17:34:00.006-06:00

So, I finally did it.....I started my first post to the BaPPH blog. Yippie-skippie!!

On to the second first of this momentous blog post. Here was Robin this morning, ready for anything the pharmaceutical world could throw at her (notice the thrown prescription bottle-dodging flip-flops).Looking good Dr. Jamison! Melanie, you're welcome.

I had the wonderful opportunity to drive her to school and drop her off for her first day of class. I loved it, as well as The Pie pizza we ate for lunch. I will let Robin share her experience about the rest of this HUGE first (the school, not the pizza), as well as her first cutting-edge technological gadgetry purchase. (that's a thing, right?)

-Evan

Could there be a more beautiful bride?

2009-08-21T01:52:00.003-06:00

Nope, absolutely not. Congrats to Mark and Michelle!

More to come...

What are the chances?

2009-08-17T15:03:00.005-06:00

Here's a memory for you. When I was growing up our next door neighbor was learning how to play the drums. He was VERY dedicated to his practicing. We could hear him from inside our house with all doors and windows closed, even down in the basement. He practiced non-stop. He practiced everyday, all day. Why am I remembering this? Because we have a new neighbor across the cul-de-sac that has been banging on his drums since he moved in a few weeks ago...nonstop, everyday, all day.

Update: It has stopped!! I don't know for how long, but I'm going to enjoy the silence!

Memory Monday...Meet My Mom

2009-08-10T22:25:00.005-06:00

What an alliteration!

I just spent the afternoon making plum leather and plum jam, which reminded me of all the times I helped my mom when she was canning. Even with as much as I helped her every year, I took it for granted that we always had an entire storage room of delicious foods. Jams, jellies, cherries, peaches, pears, applesauce, grape juice, apricots, green beans, tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes...and more tomatoes! Being a school teacher gave my mom the luxury of having the summers off, but that hardly meant that summers were a vacation. She spent all summer long tending to her garden and then picking and preserving what came out of it, plus much, much more. (Totally random side note, I also took for granted that we lived just minutes away from the best fruit stands in Utah. I thought every county in Utah had an entire highway lined with amazing produce!) So today, as Evan and I pitted and mashed plums together, I kept thinking of how all those years helping my mom had prepared me for a day just like today.

By the way, it's too soon to tell if those skills really sunk in. I'm feeling pretty good so far about the fruit leather-it should be dry in the morning. And the jam...well, the jam isn't looking so hot. I may have to try again in the morning.

Oh, Bear Lake

2009-08-05T12:39:00.007-06:00

I really took it for granted that my family often vacationed at one of the most beautiful places on earth when I was growing up. It's been years since I've been that far north, and since Evan and I wanted to see if Mesa could behave herself camping, we set out. Luckily it corresponded with one of my dad's concerts in Logan. I love his concerts.

We drove up not knowing where we were going to camp and had to stop at a few campsites before settling at Red Banks in Logan Canyon. It wasn't that far off the road, but it didn't matter because our campsite was set right next to the Logan River so all we heard was rushing water. It was gorgeous! We drove up to Bear Lake and played in the water for a while. Mesa thought she could attack the waves as they broke, chomping at the white tips. It was funny to watch her.

We also took a day and drove up to Minnetonka Cave in Idaho. I went once for Girl's Camp. Here's the proof:

Now fast-forward 15 years and you have Evan and Mesa in the same spot:

Evan's favorite memory of the weekend was the view in his mirror...the whole trip...
My favorite memory was just being with Evan for 2 days straight, no distractions.

Why dads are the best...

2009-07-28T09:12:00.003-06:00

Remember that one time I was 16 and I got a flat tire in Roy and my dad came all the way out from North Ogden to change it for me? Oh wait, I wasn't 16. I was 31, and it only happened yesterday. That's why dads are the best!

Photoshop Fun

2009-07-22T08:54:00.006-06:00

This is the original shot:

This is how tan we felt (maybe we were, and maybe the flash washed us out):

This is what we'd look like if we lived on Miami Beach:

The Girl Party

2009-07-20T19:14:00.002-06:00

When I was 21, my sister Jennie and I picked up our nieces and drove out to our sister Melanie's house for a "No parents allowed" girl party. The night was filled with movies, treats, makeovers (I think the girls got a better makeover than us) and of course, riding down the stairs in your sleeping bag over and over. We kept saying we'd make it an annual thing, but that ended up being the only "No parents allowed" girl party that we ever had. To this day we still talk about how much fun it was, and how CRAZY our littlest niece was the whole night!

Memory Monday Continues...

2009-07-13T00:28:00.003-06:00

When I was really little-probably about 4 or 5, we had an older couple that lived next door, Mr. and Mrs. Bird. I used to pick up their paper (from their front porch) and "deliver" it to them. They always gave me 2 Starbursts as payment, and I remember loving it if I got a red and a pink one, and hating it if I got an orange or yellow one. I also remember being mad when my mom finally told me I was too old to bother them for candy!

As promised...

2009-07-02T15:37:00.024-06:00

I've decided to start up "Memory Mondays". This does not guarantee I will post every Monday, but it's a start. I'm not sure what memories I will conjure up in the process and I'm not promising that they'll be entertaining to anyone but me. So, since our trip to Hawaii is now nothing more than a memory (and a FABULOUS one, at that!) I'll start off there. P.S.-This post will be extremely long because this is the only account I'm making of our trip, and I want to remember everything I can. Also, it says Thursday at the top cuz I started this post last week, and it's technically being posted on a Tuesday.

Day 1:

We flew out of Utah at 7:00am and arrived in Kauai at 2:00pm. The plane ride was not fun, unlike the last time I went to Hawaii and flew first class (I worked for Delta). That job really ruined regular air travel for me. Our friends Frank and Nettie arrived before we did, so they greeted us at the baggage claim with leis made from the pua kenikeni flower-so fragrant!! How awesome are they? We picked up our rental van and went to our hotel, The Lawai Beach Resort, which was located halfway between Poipu Beach and Spouting Horn. It was amazing! We had a 2 bed/2 bath unit with a huge living room and kitchen and an ocean view. We were pretty drained from traveling so we went to eat at a local place called Keoki's Paradise, went grocery shopping at Costco to stock up for the week, and then crashed.

The pool

Our view

Day 2:
We spent the entire day at the beach. Evan loves to play in the ocean, and I love to lay on the beach. On our way home we stopped at a small outdoor market for some Shave Ice (a Hawaii MUST!!) and ended up getting some body art. Nettie and I got glittered flowers on our ankles, and Evan got a henna turtle on his leg. We went home and got ready, went out to dinner and went to bed early after a long day in the sun.

Day 3:
This was our all-day-in-the-car day. First we drove to Kapa'a and listened to a timeshare presentation so that we could get discounts on our activities for the rest of the week. We loved our saleswoman. She was so low pressure. If we had the money, I'd go back and buy a timeshare from her just because she didn't try to force us into anything. Then we drove from sight to sight, getting out to see the views from various lookout points. Some of our stops included...

Wailua River

'Opaeka'a Falls

Wailua Falls

Kukuiolono Golf Course (we stopped here for a geocache for Frank)

and Waimea Canyon

Day 4:
We slept in and hung out all morning, watching movies and talking. Then in the afternoon Evan and I went scuba diving with Seasport Divers. We went on two dives and saw tons of green sea turtles and two white-tip reef sharks, along with A LOT of amazingly colored fish. That evening we all went to dinner at The Beach Hous e. We planned to have one upscale, nice dinner since we were there celebrating our anniversary, and we definitely got what we wanted. The restaurant is located just across the street from our hotel, and sits out on the water. They have these huge sliding glass doors facing the ocean that open up all the way, so you can listen to the waves crash on the rocks and watch the sun set as you eat. The food was so good that Evan didn't even bat an eye at the bill-that's never happened in the history of our marriage. Even days later, he kept saying how delicious our dinner was. We walked back to the hotel and sat on a rock wall by the beach, listening to the ocean and watching the moonlight dance over the waves.

Day 5:
We spent the morning by the pool and then went up north and rode a ferry to a place called the Fern Grotto. It is a shallow cave, with ferns growing upside down from the ceiling. It was beautiful. That night we went to a luau. Loved it!!

Day 6:
We went to a cattle ranch up in Princeville where they have zip line tours. It was a blast! We went on 9 zip lines of different heights and lengths, and then hiked into this private waterfall pool where we swam and ate lunch. It was so fun! There was a family from Layton in our group-what a small world, huh? After the zip lining we followed the main highway all the way up the island, stopping at Hanalei Bay for a moment and then continued on until the road dead ended into Ke'e Beach, where we watched the sun set. It was amazing. The Napali Coastline starts at Ke'e Beach, so we got some pretty pictures of that.

Day 7:
We spent another morning by the pool and then did some snorkeling across from the hotel. I didn't last very long (I always seem to suck seawater down my snorkel, ie-torture!) but Evan was in absolute heaven. The cove near our hotel was one of the best snorkeling beaches on the south shore. I could not believe how MANY fish there were in that little space. After that we went to Kipu Falls. It's really popular with the locals but not well advertised, so it wasn't overcrowded with tourists. It's a waterfall pool with a HUGE rope swing tied to a gigantic tree. Evan and Frank jumped from the rope a few times, but neither of us girls did. I stood there holding the rope forever but then chickened out. I'm too cautious in my old age. We finished off the day at Spouting Horn.

Day 8:
Nettie awoke early in the morning with terrible stomach pains, so Frank took her into the ER. They didn't determine the cause, but at least it wasn't appendicitis. So, they came back and we all packed up and checked out. Our flights didn't leave until late at night, so we had all day to do our souvenir shopping. We found a set of mixing bowls that were carved out of mango wood, in which the seller engraved "Evan and Robin, Five Years" on the bottoms. I was so excited to have something to always remember our aniversary. The couple who sold them to us was from Thailand, and they gave us a discount because Evan spoke so much Thai with them.The only problem is we bought them at a breezy outdoor market, and I didn't notice until we got them home to our house that they stink!!! I still haven't decided if the wood is just smoked, or if it's the stain they used, but it reeks. I haven't even used them because I can't stand the smell. I even think my plastic bowls that are next to them in the cupboard are starting to smell.

We dropped off Frank and Nettie at the airport, but we had a later flight so we enjoyed some good Thai food (that couple had put us in the Thai spirit) and then turned in the van. We had only rented an economy car but there weren't any when we checked in so Hertz upgraded us to a minivan. We all laughed at first at the idea of the four of us in a van, but it was so nice to have all that room!! There's no way we would have been able to make it that last day with all our bags and souvenirs in a small car.

What a trip!!! It was by far the best vacation Evan and I have taken. I think everyone needs to visit Hawaii at least once in their lifetime. If you haven't gone yet, GO!

For all you Trekkies...

2009-06-29T22:22:00.003-06:00

This makes me laugh...

So we finally saw Star Trek tonight, and LOVED IT!!! I saw the above clip a few months ago, and I can't help but laugh every time I watch it. Enjoy!

What to do...

2009-05-28T16:27:00.002-06:00

At the beginning of the year I decided to see how long I could go without eating candy. I'm not strong enough, mind you, to cut out all refined sugars so I've still had my fair share of cake, ice cream, cookies, brownies, popsicles (LOTS of popsicles this week), etc. I know, sounds pointless, right? Why even bother if I can still eat all those other treats? Because I don't buy those other treats like I used to buy candy-candy at my desk, candy in my backpack, candy in my car, candy in the pantry, candy in the freezer (mmmm...frozen Junior Mints)...you get the idea. I used to have some sort of candy AT LEAST once a day. I am a candy addict. I'm not kidding when I say that I dreamt every night for the first four weeks that I had eaten candy. It's true.

Well, for whatever reason, this week has been a toughie for me. I haven't even set a timeline, like, "I cannot eat candy for a whole year!" so I don't know what the big deal would be if I did give in and eat some candy, other than I just want to see how long I can last. I lack total self-discipline, and have a completely addictive personality, so I want to see if my will-power is strong enough. But as I'm writing this, I remember why I cut out candy. I used to have these huge sugar highs followed by even huger crashes. (I can't believe spell-check thinks huger is a word!) I also used to get pretty bad sugar headaches. Yeah, yeah, that's why I did this! For my health!

See, the whole reason I started this post is because my coworker is munching on a bag of Red Vines, and I've been DYING to eat one-that's especially big if you know how much I don't like Red Vines...I'm a Twizzler girl. However, just in the short time it took to write this post, I've remembered why I'm choosing to abstain from candy. Wow, that's pretty cool, wouldn't you say? I don't even want a Red Vine anymore! I'll be totally fine just having a popsicle when I get home from work. ;)

Just a preview...

2009-05-17T09:05:00.004-06:00

When I get a little more time, I'll write all about our trip to Hawaii. For now, it'll have to do to say that we had an absolute blast. Here's just one of a thousand great shots we took...

This is a breath-taking sunset we watched on Ke'e Beach, at the north end of the Na Pali Coast. Gorgeous!!

My two favorite songs...

2009-05-05T21:10:00.004-06:00

You know how usually when a song gets played over and over on the radio, you get really tired of it, really quickly? That just hasn't happened for me with "Love Story" by Taylor Swift and "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. And they get played ALL THE TIME. In fact, I love them more and more every time they play. To make things even better (for me, at least), I can now hear them both in one song! Jon Schmidt has done this arrangement, and I love it! He's such a talented artist. I'll leave this for you to enjoy while Evan and I jet off to Hawaii. Don't worry, it's gonna suck cuz it's supposed to rain the whole time. (Like that matters-it's HAWAII!!! I was just trying not to make you jealous.) :)

Why I love April...

2009-04-29T23:52:00.024-06:00

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD!!! I guess that's what you get when you post once a month. How do you guys out there do those cool collages with a ton of pictures smashed into one frame? I could have done that here several times. I made them small, thinking it would speed along the uploading process but it didn't. So when you get to the flower pics, click on them to see them in their full glory! Anyway, onto the post...April is one of my favorite months, and this year has been no different. Just to name a few reasons:

#1-Our anniversary!!!! This year was a big one for us...FIVE YEARS! It really seems like just yesterday that we were married in the Bountiful Temple. In the last five years I have fallen in love with Evan over and over again. As different as we are, we really are a perfect match. To celebrate our five years together, we are going to Hawaii next week. WOOHOO!!

#2-New colts-nothing says spring like baby animals on the farm. My dad raises horses, and he has two new colts so far, with another one on the way. I don't know if the palomino (the blonde one) has a name, but the bay (the brown one) is named Blizzard because he came in one heck of a spring snowstorm. I love their gangly legs! It truly is a miracle that they are walking on those things within hours of birth.

#3-My sister's birthday! (By the way, I could write this about almost any month of the year-big family, you know.) This year we celebrated by going to lunch at Zinn Bistro in Salt Lake City. It's gotten mixed reviews, mostly from people mad about being turned away if they have kids with them (NO KIDS ALLOWED!), or that the restaurant doesn't have a liquor license. I've been there twice, and I've got to say, from someone without kids, I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a dining experience that is just that, and experience! There are plenty of places you can go where the kids are climbing all over the tables. This isn't one of them, and it's fantastic. The food is beyond-description-delicious. They give you a small cup of mulled cider to sip while you peruse the menu, then they bring out an incredibly huge basket full of homemade sweetbreads and spreads. The menu changes weekly, based on what's in season, and when they bring your ticket at the end of the meal they don't give you a cheap mint, they give you a bite-sized cupcake, or homemade Oreo-style cookie, or whatever other delectable treat they've made that day. Ladies, please gather your daughters, moms, sisters, and friends, and go at once! Just so you're aware, it's only open Tues-Sat from 11:30-2:00 for lunch and dinner Fri-Sat (hours??) but if the tables fill up immediately they turn people away in order to preserve the quiet ambiance of the dining room-there's no crowd laughing and talking while they wait for a table. It makes it that much more enjoyable!

#4-Motocross-My brothers are huge fans of the sport, so when the tour came to Salt Lake, we couldn't miss it! The guy on the yellow bike is Chad Reed, last year's champ, and the guy on the blue bike is James "Bubba" Stewart, who won the race. He's currently in the lead to take the whole championship, but it will all come down to the final race in Vegas this weekend. It was a pretty cold night, but still plenty of fun. We were on the front row-way to go Scotty!

This can't be right...
There we go...

#5-TULIPS!! Every year we go to Thanksgiving Point Gardens for the Tulip Festival. It gets more beautiful each year.
We kept seeing this old man everywhere, so I'm adding this just for Evan.
We attempted a few self portraits...
Then gave the camera to a woman who offered to take the pictures for us. This is in the Secret Garden. I WILL have one of these someday, by the way. I'm going to universe it.

#6-WICKED!!! I'm not technically going in April (I'm going this Saturday, May 2nd) but I got invited in April so I'm counting it! My co-worker's wife is going with all their daughters, and they ended up with an extra ticket so she offered it to me instead of her husband. Funny, huh? She's the greatest. They already saw it in California, and she feels it would be wasted on him cuz he thought it was just ok. Just ok??? Is he crazy? It's incredible! Anyway, she wanted it to go to someone who would fully appreciate it. THAT'S ME!!! I've been listening to the soundtrack all week, and I keep getting the chills and tears come to my eyes. If you think I'm exaggerating you can ask Evan. He'll confirm it. I can't wait!!!

Poor, innocent newscaster...

2009-04-15T17:31:00.004-06:00

This completely sums up how comfortable Evan is around reptiles, and how I behave (like the newscaster, as if I had to explain)...THANK YOU Katie, for sending it to me! I laughed so hard!!!!

Be prepared, Michelle, this may happen to you someday!

Doughnuts, anyone?

2009-04-04T09:29:00.008-06:00

My friend Nettie owns a gourmet doughnut shop in Draper called Beyond Glaze, and the shop was just awarded Best Doughnut by City Weekly! Way to go Nettie!!! She makes fresh, glazed doughnuts every day, then adds her own special touch. Here's a list of dougnut flavors you can choose from:

· Strawberry Bliss
· Key Lime Crumble
· Chocolate Ganache
· Nutmeg Dash
· Raspberry Mango
· Peanut Butter Swirl
· Caramel Apple
· White Chocolate Peppermint
· Cookies & Cream
· Pumpkin Chocolate Chip
· German Chocolate
· Peach Cobbler
· Cherry Chocolate
· Blueberry Bliss

· Chocolate Coconut

She also has an assortment of scones and other delicious treats, so if you haven't been there yet, GO NOW!!!! You can find her store at 177 W. 12300 S., which is just west of I-15 on 123rd South. You won't regret it!

I AM A UTE!!!!!

2009-03-14T09:57:00.005-06:00

It's happened!! After years of homework, stressing, preparing, and test taking, I've finally made it! I just got accepted to the University of Utah's pharmacy program this week!!! I am so excited! Maybe I should use more exclamation points so you get the idea of just how excited I am!!!!!!!! I start in the fall, and it's a 4 year program! You can bet I'll be calling you, Ashley, to get all the advice you have for me! I can't wait!!!!!!

Evan is famous again!!

2009-03-05T21:53:00.002-07:00

The Aquarium was featured on the KSL morning show, Studio 5, and Evan was the official spokesperson. Check him out here!

Evan is famous!

2009-02-24T20:57:00.002-07:00

Well, not really famous, but he was on the news! Click here to see his interviews. You have to find the "Big Budah" tab, then scroll over a few pages until you reach "Budah @ Living Planet Aquarium". I think if you select the first one they will all play one right after the other.

I won't spoil the end of the interview, in case you haven't seen it yet, but I will tell you that I was totally shocked and sickened. You'll all agree, I'm sure.

For those of you in Utah, go check out the new addition to The Living Planet Aquarium! The new exhibit, called Journey to South America, opens February 28. You will love it!

Interesting interview...

2009-02-07T22:06:00.004-07:00

I thought this was a very fair report.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6616644

I am grateful for men who are willing to lead God's church in the face of diversity.

So long, Charlie!

2009-01-23T20:21:00.002-07:00

Although we hated to do it, we put Charlie up for sale last week. We quickly found out that our first dog doesn't get along with other dogs very well. They played really well together until Evan or I came into view, and then Mesa would go all-out-crazy trying to prove she's top dog. Charlie (the heeler) was the best little dog! He was active, friendly, eager to please, learned commands very quickly, housebroken, crate-trained, LOVED to have his belly scratched, was great with the neighborhood kids, and was becoming a very good frisbee dog. We absolutely loved him, but it just wasn't a good fit with Mesa. So why get rid of the good one? Well, we've had Mesa for 2 years, we really do love her, and we thought she was finally outgrowing her puppy phase and becoming good herself. She did a pretty good job fooling us. She was so calm in the evenings when we came home because she had been wrestling with Charlie all day long, but now she's back to many of her old habits because she's alone and bored while we're gone all day. Anyway....Charlie went to a farm in Liberty where he'll have horses to chase and 4 young girls to spoil him. I know it's a better fit for him, but we miss him all the same.

Are you a reader or a writer?

2009-01-13T12:49:00.003-07:00

I'm definitely a reader. Evan has accused me of living vicariously through the Internet. He said I'd rather read about what everyone else is doing than write about my own life. I can't help it! You all are able to describe your lives so much better than I can, so of course I prefer to read your blogs rather than post on mine! I suppose I can make some kind of futile attempt to commit to blogging at least once a week, but I'm honest enough with myself to know that I won't keep it up. Especially since The Bachelor is in full swing!!!!

The countdown is on!!!!

2009-01-01T13:56:00.002-07:00

Evan will be so embarrassed, but I don't care. I'm not ashamed to admit that this is some of the best entertainment on TV! Anyone with me?

What am I good at?

2008-12-10T16:24:00.001-07:00

Procrastination. I have a final tomorrow, and I've managed to read and re-read every blog I've ever come across. Have I studied? Some, but not near enough.

What's in a name?

2008-11-29T08:40:00.002-07:00

Ranger's name has been changed to Charlie. We think it suits him better than Ranger. Plus, every time we say his name, we can't help but say it like this...

Danger, Will Robinson...

2008-11-25T10:09:00.015-07:00

No, I'm not talking about this...

or this...

I'm talking about this!!!!

The danger lies in walking into an animal shelter and thinking you can come out empty-handed. I'm not even an animal lover! We got a cat four months ago named Itty Bitty. She hated our dog Mesa (our only dog at the time). Since we had her for four months and our dog for two years, we decided the cat would have to go back. So we took her in to the shelter, and just had a look around to see if there was another cat we wanted to try out. We looked at a few, and then walked into the dog room. Evan has wanted a playmate for Mesa for a long, long time and said that when we found the right dog, we'd get it. I have never wanted another dog because Mesa has a very thick coat which helps her stay outside on cold days while we're gone, but that also means she is a TERRIBLE shedder. Any playmate would have to have a thick coat as well since they'd be outside in the cold all winter long, which means TWO TERRIBLE SHEDDERS. Evan took one look at little Ranger and said he was calling out to him (ironic, since he wasn't even barking). He said Ranger was just the right size and temperament for Mesa.

Evan and I are the worst impulse buyers!!!! Here's what we didn't consider before bringing Ranger home.

1. Ranger needs to be fixed: $75

2. Ranger needs a rabies shot: $13

3. Ranger needs his own dog house in the kennel: $50

4. Ranger needs a crate for when we take them places: $70

5. Ranger needs an electric collar for the electric fence: $150!!!! (It's still cheaper than building a fence, I guess)

6. Ranger needs to eat (including bones and treats): $30/month

7. Ranger needs to be licensed every year (required by Tooele County): $???

8. Ranger needs to be current on all shots: $???

9. Ranger needs to howl...ok, he doesn't need to howl. But he does. All night long. I guess you have to trade something for being a non-barker.

10. Ranger needs to mark everything. He's a boy dog. Why did we get a boy dog?

But all these pale in comparison when we consider this last one...

11. Ranger needs to be loved.

That settles it...he's a sweet little dog, and I guess that means he's staying! So, meet Ranger. He's a 3 & 1/2 year old red heeler that is great with kids. Does anyone know anything about heelers? We sure don't.

By the way, in case you're counting, we still have this one, too.

2008-11-13T13:32:00.013-07:00

I got this from my friend Meemer. I like it because it lists the random things I've never done as well as the things I have done.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (school band, 7th grade, oboe. yeah, i was that awesome.)
4. Visited Hawaii (next May I can bold this one twice!)

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain (in America and Brazil!)

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables (Evan, don't laugh. Next year will be better.)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language (ok, so I had a lot of help)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (had is the key word. I think I was 10.)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful in action (I was even born in Yellowstone County. Ironic isn't it?)

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check (whoopsie)

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (Twice. It never loses its magnificence.)

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (I tried, it was closed. True story.)

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Been on TV (just the news)

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee
100. Conquered a fear (remember what lives in my basement???)

My list is not as complete as I would like it to be. I need to get out more. How 'bout you?

If you need a good laugh...

2008-10-16T20:52:00.004-06:00

Check out this post. I just about passed out from laughing at this one over and over (cuz I wasn't breathing in, just laughing out). Incase you haven't yet discovered this website, read it knowing that this girl isn't for real, or as she would say, for realsies. It's just all for fun...and it's hilarious!

Happy Housing!

2008-10-07T22:59:00.004-06:00

I just realized that three years ago today we closed on our house! If only the owners had known the kinds of creatures that would be living in the basement, they probably wouldn't have sold to us. We love it here in Tooele, and we love our friends and neighbors! What a great three years it has been!

I knew it! Danged self-esteem...

2008-10-02T19:50:00.004-06:00

So, my self-esteem really is based on others. I love it when other people like me! I didn't realize that I had turned on the moderate comments option, and I have been checking my own posts to see if anyone had read my thoughts, and I've been a little disheartened that no one seemed to be checking me out. Nerdy, huh? Then, I log in to my blog account and find that I have 6 comments waiting to be approved before they could be posted to my blog! I am so popliar! (That's for you, Kate.) Thanks guys! Now that I know how great it is, I will start commenting on your posts. Sorry I was just a lurker for so long.

Ten things I'm looking forward to in October

2008-09-30T09:49:00.008-06:00

1. Montgomery Girls Night Out while all the husbands are at Priesthood Session: good food+good company+good stories+good laughs=great times

2. General Conference: for all the obvious reasons, but also because I don't have to worry if all my teachers will be in primary this Sunday!

3. Park City with the Jamison Clan: What a perfect time to go-I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the mountains in the fall!!

4. Answering the final question on the PCAT: I don't think this one needs any further explanation.

5. Pre-Halloween festivities with the Colemans: Thank goodness for Halloween and New Year's Eve, or we probably wouldn't see them at all. Note to self: call the Colemans more often.

6. Apple Cider and Glazed Donuts: Why is this an October staple?

7. The Primary Sacrament Program: Our kids have been working so hard! As scattered as it seems at every practice, it is ALWAYS perfect come Sunday morning.

8. Into the Woods: I'm sure no performance of the tree will ever hold a candle to mine, but I'll go in with an open mind.

9. Completing my Visiting Teaching: I had to write that so I'd be motivated to go. I feel guilty for not doing it at all in September, or July, or June, or May...well, you get the idea.

10. All things autumn: Fall is my favorite time of the year, followed closely by spring, when my tulips are creeping up from the ground. I love crisp mornings, I love warm sunny days, I love cool evenings, I love that our faves are starting back up on TV, I love making hearty meals like soup and chili, I love having a nightcap of hot chocolate with Evan, I love the holidays getting closer, I love almost every aspect of fall-why must Daylight Savings end? At least that has been pushed back to November.

P.S. I can't believe I almost forgot Halloween! Who doesn't love a good dress-up day?

What's up with our blog name?

2008-09-14T18:04:00.007-06:00

For those of you that don't know our story, please allow me to tell it to you. Evan has been an avid bowler since he was in high school, and is quite good. I, on the other hand, am terrible, terrible, terrible. We went bowling on our first date and he got nine strikes in a row and I got eight gutterballs in a row. Something about me must have been impressive, though, because he asked me out again, and again, and again. Bowling was a great activity for us. We went with his friends, with my friends, with my nieces and nephews, or just by ourselves. (I've never improved, by the way.) So, it was quite fitting that on one of these such evenings as we were bowling, the words, "Robin, will you marry me?" flashed across our scoreboard. I am not one to draw attention to myself, so I'll admit that my first thought was to look down the whole alley to see if those words were flashing on every screen. Luckily, Evan knows me quite well, and he had the manager program it on just our screen. Our happy moment was shared with a father and son who were at the lane next to us, but I was ok with just that much attention.

Now, many of you may think that you don't know what a pink puff heart is, but I'm guessing you do. It's this:

Look familiar? It's a chocolate-covered-strawberry-flavored-marshmallow-cream heart. See now why I like to call them pink puff hearts? It's just easier. Russell Stover makes a variety of marshmallow products for every holiday, but I only like the strawberry-flavored, which means I only treat myself at Valentine's Day. For whatever reason, the Valentine's Day season that we were engaged I couldn't find a pink puff heart anywhere. I checked Albertson's, I checked Macey's, I checked Smith's, I checked Wal-Mart...there were NONE to be found! So Evan ordered a case of 36 direct from russellstover.com and being the darling that he is, he attached a note to each one with a different reason why he loved me, and "heart attacked" my car on Valentine's Day morning.

So to sum things up, any time bowling comes up in conversation I will always think of dating and becoming engaged to Evan, and every year when Valentine's Day rolls around, I will always think of being "heart attacked". It's a sure-fire recipe for love.

"Willkommen, bienvenue, and welcome"

2008-09-13T21:15:00.005-06:00

$1500 to the first person to guess where the title of this post came from. Yes, Katie? "The Office Casino Night" you say? You are correct! By the way, you know I meant 1500 doll-hairs, right? Don't worry, I'm good for it.

So, we've done it. We have officially entered into the world of blogging. I've been a blog reading fanatic for so long now, like 2 whole months. It's kind of been a weird experience. I am now caught up on all my friends' lives and I haven't really talked to most of them in years. It feels a little voyeurish. So, to even the scales, I'm now "opening my windows" for all y'all (that's for you, Michelle) to take a peek at my life.

I hope you enjoy the next few months as we personalize our site, making it our own. We chose the first boring layout we came across. For those of you that know Evan, you know that nothing in his life is ever boring, or ever mainstream (which equates to boring for him). That's just one of the many reasons I love him.