Matt & Betsy

most random post ever.

2011-12-09T16:16:00.004-07:00

this post is going to be full of really important and good information. there will be no theme and it will probably be the most exciting thing you've ever read. you are definitely going to want to pay attention.

not.

so here we go...let's just get the inevitable out of the way:

20 weeks

here i am at 20 weeks. i actually thought i was 19 weeks but when we went to the dr for our 20 week appointment they changed my due date. i'm now due april 18th. if you need help remembering that day just think of a day that is extremely far away and you'll probably be close.

we also found out the gender of this little human growing inside me...we are VERY excited about it! no seriously, i almost cried. it's a girl! everyone told us it was a boy...even strangers. which i think is particularly odd considering i would NEVER walk up to a woman and tell her she looked like she was pregnant...with a boy. creepiest thing ever. i then proceeded to tell her i wasn't pregnant. it was nice.

i am quite a bit larger now than i was in above photo and that was also confirmed when i stepped on the scale at my appointment. total weight gain so far: 20 pounds. to make me feel better about this, the ultrasound tech assured me that our little baby was growing well. our child is weighing in at a whopping 14 ounces. awesome. soooo what is the cause for the other 19 pounds 2 ounces i've gained? perhaps it has something to do with this:

apple pie

i've made apple pie a few times in the last couple of weeks. it's delicious. and it is especially tasty when paired with vanilla ice cream. for breakfast. for three days in a row. i'm a health nut...with all the fruit and dairy i consume for breakfast.

lastly, a few awkward things...and moments:

obama chia pet--i snapped this cutie picture off my tv...the commercial was THAT long

-being told you look like you're going to pop by the man making your sandwich at quiznos. he didn't speak much english.

-the two grown men chasing each other around target last night...with knee pads on.

-ugly cry face

i told you this was going to be a really special post....anything awkward happen to you lately?

xoxo

awkward? most definitely.

2011-11-14T19:34:00.005-07:00

i have been so craptacular at blogging lately. i keep telling myself i will get better and then i never do. but maybe, just maybe i will really get better this time....but probably not. because i'd rather sit on my couch and eat cheesecake and watch food network. there seems to be a theme lately at our house...food. which is really strange because i cooked dinner for the first time in weeks tonight. there is just a lot of thinking...and eating. which might be why i have gained 15 pounds.

and on that note....here are a few more awesome (aka awkward) things that have happened lately:

1. sitting on the toilet to urinate at work and realizing you didn't lock the door...and you work with all males.

2. when you can smell the cologne of the teenage boys in the car next to you with the windows up...seriously, is there even still oxygen in there?

3. giving urine samples at the doctor's office through that little pass-through door.

4. when the nurse on the other side has left her side of the pass-through door open and you make eye contact for a good 10 seconds....hey lady...here is a cup of my pee.

5. being so sore from playing volleyball you literally cannot walk...10 minutes into playing.

6. gaining 15 pounds in 17 weeks. holla.

7. listening to your ipod on shuffle and knowing all the words to Aaron Carter's, "That's How I Beat Shaq." why is that song still in existence?!

8. arriving at a restaurant before your date and having the hostess stumble over asking you if you're alone...or if you'd like a table for 1...or if you're dining solo. ummm no, but if i was you would NOT be helping the situation.

9. taking photos of yourself...see end of post.

10. when someone comes into your office and talks your ear off for 15 minutes...then ends the conversation by saying, "i slept a lot this last week...my body is changing. i'm going through menopause." ummm. ok.

and that's all. and to add to the awkwardness i'm going to include a photo of me. 15 pounds heavier than normal. and if that's not embarrassing, i don't know what is. anything awkward happen to you this week? or ummm month?

i couldn't smile and take the picture...i tried. and it was lopsided and cut off my head more than it did in this photo. i don't really want to kill someone..that's just how my face looks.

xoxo

awkward....times a thousand.

2011-10-21T15:03:00.003-06:00

because it's friday i thought i would squeeze two blog posts into one.. first, let's get the important post out of the way... i'm pretty sure it's no secret, but i am with child. (i've ALWAYS wanted to say that and be serious...because it's the weirdest way to say "i'm pregnant.")

we are SO excited! this little babe is due in April....and while that seems SO far away we know it will be here before we know it! i am just going to warn you...i am a complainer....sooooo April might not come as soon for you. sorry.

moving on....to something equally as important...awkward moments. now some of these have to do with the miniature semi-human looking organism that has taken up residence in my body and some have to do with just me and how awkward i am in normal life. oh and i've been told my numerous people that being pregnant magnifies and multiplies the number of awkward moments to ever happen to a person, and since i am about 9 times more prone to awkwardness than the average human i think we're in for a real enjoyable ride. here goesssssssss!

1. trying to explain to the flight attendant that the two older gentlemen you were flying with were your dad and uncle...not your significant others.

2. when the nurse at the doctor's office refers to your husband as "the father" because she doesn't think you're married.

3. throwing up in places other than the toilet...like mixing bowls....or target bags.

4. answering the door after devouring a whole bag of frozen blueberries...oh hi neighbor....yes i do know how to brush my teeth.

5. making small talk with someone because no one else in the group is responding to any of their statements...so you pretend to be interested.

6. when someone says, "if i didn't know you were pregnant i would just think you'd gotten fat." um thanks.

7. giada on the food network.

8. when the person sitting next to you on an airplane sees you have earplugs in, motions for you to take them out, then asks why you are wearing earplugs. it's so i don't have to talk to you, lady...

and there you have it! anything awkward happen to you lately??

xoxo

bye bye birdie.

2011-10-10T14:41:00.003-06:00

this is a really boring, pictureless post...but a real nice story nonetheless.

we have had some pretty chilly weather here the last few days...and by chilly i mean freezing. i'm pretty sure one day we had a high of 42 degrees. oh, with rain. my favorite combination...not. i would get home from work and want to put layer upon layer of clothing on and do nothing. so that's exactly what i did. it was awesome.

i then remembered that turning the furnace on would probably raise the temperature of my house enough to where i'd be comfortable. (i think i was in denial that i was turning the furnace on so early in October.)

i wandered over to my thermostat, slid the lever to heat and waited for the every familiar smell of burning that radiates when a furnace has been off all summer. i waited....and waited...and waited. all i heard was an annoying humming noise. oh and there was no warm air coming from our vents. at this point our house was a balmy 61 degrees.

i put two and two together and realized there must be a problem. i called our home warranty company and filed a claim. they said the soonest someone could be out there was the next day.

that night i did all i could to make our bedroom a little warmer. i ran a space heater, put towels at the door cracks, put 3 extra blankets on our bed, and changed our pillowcases to flannel. i also slept in slipper socks, sweat pants, a long sleeved shirt, and hooded sweatshirt. i completed the ensemble with a fleece blanket wrapped around my head to keep in some body heat. i looked awesome to say the least. unfortunately, our room was still a wee bit cold....57 degrees to be exact. neither matt nor i slept very well.

i waited anxiously for the repairman to come to our house and solve all of our problems. he showed up and i could have cried i was so happy (am i the biggest wimp you have ever met? the answer is yes...i hate being cold.) he starts poking around and informs us that there just happened to be a dead bird in our fan. i freaked.

how does a bird get into our furnace? good question. i think they just fly right in from outside...or something. i wasn't paying very good attention when he was explaining it. i was too caught up on the idea that we've had a dead bird in our furnace for who knows how long. apparently a lot of birds have this fate. sad. the repairman told us he isn't allowed to remove any fowl from our unit so he turned that over me me and matt. matt tried first and was able to get a portion of the birdie out. he then made me do all the rest...it was traumatizing. i'll spare you the details. the repairman cleaned up the area, put the parts back together and turned the machine on.

it was basically like a fairy tale...with us living happily ever after and all. our house has heat and yesterday i took the best 5 hour nap of my life. it was delightful...and warm....and i loved every minute of it.

xoxo

hawkward

2011-09-23T14:39:00.005-06:00

oh hiiiiiiiii. looking for something a little awkward? read on....

1. when you call someone for a person reference on an application and you have the wrong number. you assume you've typed the number in wrong so you dial it again and oddly enough the same person answers and tells you that you once again, have the wrong number.

2. putting a sour, cry baby gumball in your mouth at the post office. then proceeding to gleek on the person in front of you.

3. pocket dialing someone while you're in the car...and treating them to a special rendition of moves like jagger....all the while being completely tone deaf. pretty.

4. when your boss says, "wow, you are REALLY good at stalking people...how do you do that?"...well it takes a lot of practice...and time....and also not having a life.

5. the new facebook news feed...it's weird that we know what people are doing ALL the time.

6. checking under the bed each night before you go to sleep. just trying to be cautious matt...you'll thank me one day.

7. the show dance moms on lifetime.

8. watching the show dance moms.

9. admitting you watch the show dance moms.

10. talking in rhymes...all the time.

and there it is! every time i post i say that i'm going to do better posting, and then i never do. i'll work on that. anything awkward happen to you lately?

xoxo

thursday schmursday.

2011-09-01T15:35:00.004-06:00

i am so lame. i haven't update this blog in over a month and i really don't have a good excuse as to why. but, because i have taken a little hiatus i am refreshed and revived and will get back to a normal bloggity routine.

i figured i would get back into a routine by doing my awkward thursday post! you'd think i'd have lots of awkward moments stashed away because of the long break i took....and i do. i'm not going to tell them all right now in case i have a week where i don't leave my house or something...because there are only so many awkward things that can happen to you when you're alone. unless you're me, of course. sooooooooo, here we goooooooooooo!

1. seeing a giant of a man walking his chihuahua. and praising the dog in the highest pitched, girliest voice you've ever heard.

2. missing the light you were waiting for because you are staring at above man.

3. going to walmart and fitting in with your fellow shoppers. you know the ones.

4. going through the wendy's drive-thru 3 times in 1 week....each time ordering the same thing...and each time having the same cashier.

5. falling asleep at your desk at work and waking up to find a little, tiny, few drops of drool. i must have eaten something salty right before i fell asleep.

6. when you meet someone for the first time and they want to hug you when they meet you and when they leave. --you're my friends, cousin's roommate...we're not that close.

7. chewing your gum to the point it disintegrates. what do you do with it then?! swallow it? spit it out? try not to gag?

8. when your auto correct on your phone makes you sound like a moron. polonium & bettered.

9. when someone asks where you got your shirt so you tell them...they then tell you it's gross and weird to go to thrift stores. oh really, well you're lame...and i don't like you.

10. trying to make converstaion with someone that doesn't want to talk to you.

11. ignoring a call because you don't want to talk to someone and having them call from a different number 3 minutes later and you answer. i, uhhhh, had my phone on silent when you called the first time...?

well there you have it. anything awkward happen to you in the last week, orrr month??

xoxo

today is your birthday! happy day of birth!

2011-07-25T17:12:00.009-06:00

today is a very, very special day. it is my sister tracy's birthday! i wish so desperately that we could all be together today. it just doesn't feel like her birthday without swimming and ice cream cake.

tracy is one of my very best friends. i honestly don't know what i would do without her. growing up, she would always let me pal around with her...i'm not really sure why..(i was the most annoying kid on the planet) to baseball games, the fair, taco bell, the mall, basically anywhere she was going. never was i happier than when i was able to hangout with my cool older sister and her friends.

i always remember tracy getting ready for dances. she always looked perfect and i remember thinking i would be SO lucky if i could look half as decent she did. she is flawless (except for the nostril thing....see last photo :)) and has more fashion sense than anyone i know and she is the perfect person to go to for fashion/design questions. she is always more than willing to offer advice and she encourages me to do things i wouldn't normally do.

i remember the day tracy had dawson...her water broke at my volleyball game. of course it did, she rarely missed a sporting event of mine. she has always been extremely supportive and happy for me in everything i've done. i remember being so excited to go to the hospital and see my new nephew, but was shocked when i got there and saw my sister. she had stepped into a new role and it looked as if she had been doing it her whole life. dawson, harper, and beckham are the luckiest kids alive to have her as their mama. i can only hope that i've observed her enough to be as good of a mom as she is.

this turned into a real sappy post, but i couldn't let this day go by without wishing my best friend a happy happy birthday! so here's to the most beautiful, funny, crafty, creative, nurturing, thrifty, and fun lady i know. lovvvvvve you!

xoxo

awkward day.

2011-07-21T21:41:00.006-06:00

well, we are back from our fabulous (tropical...jk.) vacay to the oregon coast. there was lots of eating, sleeping, laughing, picture taking, and bonding. it was just the break i needed. unfortunately, i came down with a cold the last few days of the trip and i am still sick. we're going on day 8 of this illness and now matt has caught it. it's a real treat. fortunately, it's summertime...and warm outside so i don't feel like it's nearly as awful as getting a cold in the winter when it's frigid outside. anyway, here are some awkward things that have happened lately:

1. walking around the aquarium with that girl. you know, the girl that looks like this:

(ps....that really is my niece. harper. this was a common sight the whole vacation.)

2. when people wear backpacks that are WAY too small for their bodies. seriously, what can you even fit in there? a sock?

3. the man at baggage claim that props his leg up onto the carousel to stretch his hammies. then gets upset when the carousel starts moving. umm sir, i would like to get my bags and get outta here....do you really want to stick around?

4. losing your voice in the middle of summer.

5. when someone calls your office and thinks you are a boy because your voice is 5 octaves lower than it should be.

6. trying to fall asleep on an airplane and having your head bob to the side onto the person sitting next to you.

7. coming home from vacation with 1.5 extra suitcases. hey, we've got a house to fill now!

8. laughing at an inappropriate joke and then having to explain it to the stranger next to you.

there you have it. i feel like i always have really awkward experiences when i'm traveling. it's like it's prime time. between airports, airplanes, public transportation, etc. there are always some real gems mixed in there. anything awkward happen to you lately? ohhh and if you'd like to see a little recap of our vacation visit my sister's blog here. Plus, you should just read her blog anyways...because she's hilarious...and thrifty...and awesome. duh.

xoxo

awkward at the oregon coast.

2011-07-14T19:05:00.003-06:00

matt and i are currently out of town at the oregon coast with my family.....so this isn't my usual awkward post. here are a few (pretty) pictures from our vacation so far....

be back soon.

xoxo

awkward and a sneak peek!

2011-07-07T09:49:00.005-06:00

soo, i've failed again. i let two weeks go by without an awkward post. sorry. we've been So busy. we've been working our little fannies off at the house and are slowly making progress. i've included a few pictures at the bottom to document how slowly things are coming along...please excuse the craptacular photos. anywayyyyy, here are some of the awkward things that happened these past 2 weeks:

1. talking on the phone in ikea and yelling, "seriously, so STUPID!" right as the music turns off and it's dead silent. stares all around!

2. when someone's voice doesn't match their face...like the male cashier that was 6 ft tall and at least 200 pounds with the voice of a 7 year old girl.

3. watching "Unknown" with your father-in-law.

4. the shower scenes in "Unknown," being watched with your father-in-law.

5. when your father-in-law proceeds to ask you and your husband if you've tried that in your new shower yet. ummmm?

6. when the 16 year old cashier calls the man in front of you "bud." hey... "bud" if he's old enough to be your dad...do NOT call him bud. it makes you sound like a moron.

7. the number of " " i've used in this post.

8. ordering 6 large ice cream cones at maceys. again, stares all around!

9. asking a man in a motorized cart if he'd like help loading his groceries and him replying, "do i look like i need help?" umm actually, yes.

well that's all! here are a few pictures from the house, just like i promised :)

anything awkward happen to you these past couple of weeks?

xoxo

shmawkward

2011-06-24T15:28:00.002-06:00

helllllllllllo! i'm baaack. i have been missing for the past two weeks, but now i am back on track. you see, we got all moved into our new house but have yet to get the internet and cable set up. it might kill me. i am missing all my favorite shows and i haven't been on pinterest or blog stalked in what feels like a lifetime. anyywayyyyyy... here are some awkward things that happened over the past little while:

1. taking a nap in the conference at work and being awoken by a tenant in the building throwing open the door and flipping on the light.

2. when said tenant says, "ok this is awkward." awkward for who? i'm the one curled up in a ball, wearing a racing jersey that's 6 sizes too big to try and stay warm.

3. walking through walmart at 11 at night and being so tired that you actually buy a pillow.

4. when the cashier at target asks why you are buying certain things so you explain they are for bunco...she then wants to know in full detail what bunco is. so you tell her and she proceeds to tell you you shouldn't gamble. uhhhh ok. thanks.

5. throwing up in a trash can at work...twice.

6. trying to explain to your bosses why you just hurled in their trash can...twice. *

7. running into someone that looks so familar so you ask them 27 questions to try and figure out where you know them from. turns out you are just a creep and there is no connection between you.

8. walking into the kitchen at applebees thinking it is the bathroom. holla.

well that's all! it has been a crazy, fast, busy couple of weeks, but we are getting settled and making our house our own. anything awkward happen to you lately?

xoxo

*no, i am NOT pregnant. that was definitely not the cause of all the vomiting.

i know you from somewhere.....

2011-06-09T18:28:00.003-06:00

happy day after hump day everyone! this week was full of projects, kilz, carpet remnants, and awkward moments. here they are!

1. hopping out of the shower, drying off, and getting dressed. ohhh with the window blinds wide open. to my fellow cambrians...i'm real sorry about that.

2. looking up from your desk to see the man you kicked out of your new house standing in front of you to turn in an application to rent an apartment from your company. "i know you from somewhere...." "yeah, don't you remember? i just made you pack up all your belongings and find a new place of residence. duh."

3. the whole anthony weiner situation. but mostly just because of how accurately his crime correlates with his name.

4. meeting your new neighbors and having to TELL them you are moving into the house by them because you look so homeless they couldn't tell on their own.

5. how once you hit the 1.5 years of marriage mark people stop winking at you while asking "how married life is"...and instead start seriously questioning when you are going to have children. "sooo, no kids yet? what's the hold up?" umm i'm sorry jose, i'm not really sure why you care so much? now if you could get back to ripping out that carpet that would be awesome.

6. how bank teller's feel the need to talk while they complete your transaction. i'm actually good with the silence. thanks.

7. when matt tries to sing opera.

8. the girl at the post office that gets in a fight with her mom on the phone and is literally yelling into the phone while trying to mail a letter. multi-tasking is not your thing.

and that's it! anything awkward happen to you this week?

ohhh and here is a cutie picture from our most recent trip to boise. i love this little girl! ohh and jennifer tooooo!

xoxo

mouse in the house

2011-06-07T09:29:00.012-06:00

NO we do not have an infestation of rodents in our new house, but i really like titles that rhyme....and mouse obviously rhymes with house. duh.

a few people have asked to see a couple of pictures of the house, so here they are! this was right after the tenants moved out and before we started any work. since these pictures have been taken we've ripped out the carpet and pad, sent the cleaners through, and picked a few paint colors. yes, we are re-painting. the blues and lime green have GOT to go. be ready for picture overload....

we can't wait to get all moved in! oh and have visitors :)

xoxo

thursday is awkward

2011-06-02T21:40:00.003-06:00

hiiiiii! i have 6 minutes to get this post completed before it's officially friday on the east coast. and because i have so many (zero) loyal readers in the eastern time zone i should probably get going on it. i had EVERY intention of writing this post this morning at 8:30 when i woke up. i had my computer all set up on my lap and i was even logged into blogger. i then checked my phone and saw that i had a missed call and voicemail from our tenant. i'll be doing a post about that within the next couple of days, but that is why this post is almost late! ok, enough rambling...let's get down to business...

1. using a gas station bathroom that is so disgustingly dirty you have to keep your purse on your lap when you pee. i'm so talented.

2. 62% of the guys on the Bachelorette.

3. driving up to the window at mcdonalds to pick up your mcflurry and the cashier says, "your total is $26.75." you jokingly ask, "oh is this a gourmet mcflurry?" he doesn't find it amusing and does not laugh.

4. same cashier seems rather surprised that you did NOT order $26.75 worth of food...including a 20 piece chicken nugget combo. thanks.

5. leaving a minute long message in which you repeat your name 3 times and your phone number 4 times. and then having the person mention how thorough you are when they call

back. cool...not.

6. when someone asks your opinion so you tell them and then they get mad at what you say. so you try to recover and make them feel better and you end up stumbling over your words and not making any sense....they probably know you're lying at that point.

7. when you reach past someone in the grocery store to grab an item from the shelf and they turn around right as you make the final stretch and your faces are about | | <--that close to each other. hellllllllllo, tic tac?

8. when someone introduces themselves to you and you forget their name 10 seconds later so you try to get them to repeat it. "so, how exactly is your named spelled?"

well that's all. it was a fun week with a nice little trip to boise thrown in there. i have some

really cute pictures i need to post...but i am exhausted. anything awkward happen to you this week?!

i wanted to give a sneak peek as to what my next post will be dealing with...here it is!

do you see how empty these pictures are? by empty i mean void of the previous occupant's crap.

we're SO excited. more to come soooooon.

xoxo

awkward mawkward

2011-05-26T19:41:00.004-06:00

helllllllllo. this week was busy and fun. matt and i had a lot going on, but don't you worry...i had plenty of entertaining and uncomfortable moments. we are trying to get everything organized for the move (the tenants are supposed to be out in a week! cross your fingers they really leave..without taking a sledgehammer to the walls..), get ready to go out of town for Memorial Day, working, and tying up loose ends all over the place. it's been mildly stressful, but i know it won't be like this forever! we're just very excited to get settled into our new place! ps, for those of you wondering, our new house is in lehi....you'll all be invited to our house warming party. duh. ok, moving on....welcome to my life...again:

1. when someone says, "you know" all the time...and to be honest you don't have a clue as to what they're talking about.

2. having to urinate right after starting a 5K race... then running like a moron for the next 3.2 miles.

3. talking to someone that doesn't speak much english and repeating yourself at least 4 times and then not understanding a word they say back to you so you say "what?" another 4 times.

4. when someone returns a phone call 2 weeks after you leave them a message. "oh, uh, ummm well we made a decision on that file 2 weeks ago...so i don't need your help anymore...but thanks for being efficient." NOT.

5. the junk emails i get on a daily basis with titles such as: "REAL SEXY OLDER SINGLES" and "MANY SENIORS IN YOUR AREA ARE LOOKING FOR LOVE! LOOK HERE!" hmmm tempting..but no.

6. this picture i snapped today:

sweet blades.

7. when you quote a tv show but no one knows what you're talking about so you explain yourself. no one gets it still....so you say, "you know."

8. those commercials for online gaming that have 45 year old men as their spokesmen..."i couldn't game as much as i wanted because i couldn't afford it...now i can!" maybe you should get a real job. oh and move out of your mom's basement while you're at it.

there it is! anything awkward happen to you this week??

xoxo

plllllease forgive me..

2011-05-20T13:30:00.002-06:00

i had a very, very busy thursday. because of this i didn't do an awkward post. after receiving a text from my dear sister, jacker cracker, i decided it would be better to do the post late, than not at all. so here it is!

1. rummaging through a cart at the grocery store because you think it's clearanced, or go back items when someone says, "ummmm can i help you?" you then realize it actually is someone's cart.

2. sitting behind someone and seeing a long hair that is clearly not connected to their head on the back of their shirt. you pull on the hair to remove it and it actually IS connected to their head.

3. when you see something weird and you can't look away. then you're even weirder because you're staring.

4. when your face turns red because you're embarrassed...and then someone says, "wow you must really be embarrassed, your face is REALLY red." no duh.

5. when someone pronounces a word incorrectly and without thinking you correct them...in front of a large group of people. epitome, c'mon people.

6. walking up to someone and striking up a conversation with them...about 15 seconds later, after finally catching your breath, you realize they are giving you a really weird look and they suddenly don't look anything like the person you thought they were. so you scurry away, quickly.

7. knowing an awful lot about a person you just met...because you've stalked their blog for the past 3 months. "oh, how is little baby jack? still fighting that cold he had last week?" creep.

and there you have it. and i don't have any pictures...again. our condo is a disaster of boxes, tape, and packing paper....oh and our new house is a disaster as well...but that's because the tenants living there are gross....hopefully i will have pictures next week, but i'm not making any promises.

anything awkward happen to you this week?? please share! they always make me laugh :)

xoxo

awkward timeeee

2011-05-12T11:17:00.000-06:00

it's thursday. my favorite blog day of the week. [friday and saturday are my favorite real days of the week]. because it's thursday it's time to share the awkwardness of my week. herrrrrre we go go:

1. when you talk in your sleep and get woken up by your husband asking you what you're talking about....you then try to pretend you were awake the whole time and know EXACTLY what's going on.

2. the strange decor used in dentist and doctor's offices...is that tacky picture supposed to make me feel better about this procedure? it doesn't. it's just ugly.

3. when someone says, "oh you'll love this! it's totally you." they then show you and you don't love it at all...and you're mildly offended they think it's "you."

4. when you cry for every emotion....yessss, that's me. awesome.

5. when someone asks you a personal question and you answer and then they tell you everything wrong with what you're doing. uhhh ok? thanks.

6. going somewhere by yourself and being totally fine with it until every person you see asks why you are by yourself or who you came with....my husband works late okkkkkk?

7. when someone says, "i always get told i look like...so and so...." and without thinking you respond, "i don't see it....she is so beautiful!" and apparently i don't think you're pretty? that is so not what i meant.

and that's alllll. anything awkward happen to you this week??

xoxo

home sweet home.

2011-05-06T14:14:00.002-06:00

i didn't write an awkward post this week. i was a little busy. this is what we have been up to...

we've been doing a lot of signing...

and smiling! with keith.

oh and we wrote a large check...which might have put a dent in our wallet.

but we are now the proud owners of this...

yes i know this picture is from 2008, but it was the best i could do...
oh and yes i used a mustache sticker to cover the address...i'm doing my best to avoid creepers like myself.

we're SO excited!! it happened pretty fast, but we couldn't be happier with our choice. we have a few weeks to get everything packed up and moved and then this blog will probably become a shrine to our new pad. i cannot wait to get in there and paint and decorate! yesssssss.

anybody have any packing, moving, decluttering tips?

xoxo

ps...i'm sure we'll be having a housewarming party. you're all invited. and i'll be really offended if you don't come to it. especially you people that live far away [mom & dad, sisters, grandma & grandpa, cousins, aunts, etc.]

awkward to the max

2011-04-28T11:06:00.003-06:00

this has been a crazy week. we've been busy and i felt like i haven't seen matt in a few days. he's around here somewhere. i am hoping it will get better as the weather warms up, but then i remind myself that i am married to a man that is obsessed with golf and i will probably see less of him as it gets warmer. cool. anyway, let's cut to the chase....here is a recap of my week...

1. having your husband spank you while he's fast asleep...and then talking to you in gibberish...and then not remembering any of it the next morning.

2. when the walmart cashier says, "you look familiar...do you work here?" you then reply, "umm no...i would never work here." then you realize you just said that to someone that actually does work there. awesome.

3. hearing someone in your lobby chowing down on a bag of chips. they're chewing so loudly you get up from your desk and go shut the door...more like slam the door. 10 minutes later they walk into your office, ask you to throw away the bag, and then say they are there looking for you.

4. being asked for your number outside wells fargo by a teenage boy...you ignore it but he's waiting when you come out of the bank. he tells you he just wants to text you. uh no thanks.

5. playing basketball at the gym and your teammate walks to the sideline and blows a snot rocket out of his nose. you then proceed to never pass him the ball. he glares at you the whole game. hey, there's no i in team.

6. trying to talk to someone when your mouth is numb from the dentist. do you share your story about the work you had done? you don't want them to think you look like that all the time...

7. when the cashier makes comments about the items you're buying..."2 bags of hershey's cookies and cream drops, really?...healthy." remind me to never come through your line again..

there you have it! what a great week it was. anything awkward happen to you???

ps...is anyone else having problems with blogger not letting you upload pictures?? sorrrrrrrrrry, no pictures!

baskets and blogs

2011-04-26T11:07:00.003-06:00

i love Easter. it is such a beautiful time of year to reflect on the sacrifice made by our Savior, Jesus Christ and to focus on his resurrection. i am forever grateful for the Atonement and the peace it brings into my life.

matt and i had a nice, quiet Easter Sunday together complete with baskets and a family dinner at my aunt & uncle's house. it is always so fun to get together with family....especially for diiiiiiiiner! my dear, sweet mother sent the treats that are in my basket. she is the best. i filled matt's basket with some of his favorite treats as well...

this has been my basket since i was a really little girl. i love it & will keep it forever and ever. unless mom wants it back...which i hope she doesn't.

how cute is he? seriously.

me with my basket in my sunday best. don't mind my translucent skin. i know, it's disgusting.

it really was a fabulous day! i am really trying to pace myself with the consuming of my Easter goodies. i did really well until i unwrapped the box my mom sent me and i put everything in my basket. then i really started to fail and i lost all self control and i stuffed my face. cool. i am really good at portion control.

along with our Easter festivities i have found a new blog/website to stalk. i have always felt that blog stalking was one of my best attributes, but now i am sure of it. here is the site: cupcakesandcashmere.com. go look at it...then thank me. oh and if you were already aware that this website existed and you didn't inform me i would like you to re-evaluate our friendship. you clearly don't care about my needs at all. sooooo, go look at it for a bit...and by bit i mean for 3 hours straight..because i might have done that. twice, ok 3 times. sucked me right in. enjoy.

i hope you had a fabulous weekend full of treats, eggs, bunnies, ducks, chicks, baskets, and really good blogs.

xoxo

awkward & date night

2011-04-21T17:46:00.003-06:00

matt and i usually go out on a date at least twice a week. i know, i know, we're spoiled in that department! but everyone tells me it won't be like this forever, so we should take advantage...so we do. our dates aren't ever elaborate, but i love them and they're perfect for us.

on friday night we went here.....

and ate some of these...

more specifically, these....heavenly.

and we obviously didn't like them at all...

and lucky for us, we witnessed a first date...or at least we are assuming it was a first date... because it was that bad. soooo here we go...awkward tiiiiime!

1. first dates...or any date between two weird people.

2. when a guy on a first date talks the entire time and refers everything back to his mission...and then loudly announces that he's taking the girl home early [think 9:30 pm] so her roommates will like him...i don't know why he was so concerned about that...there will clearly not be a 2nd date.

3. falling asleep with socks on and finding them wedged between the mattress and footboard the next morning.

4. inviting someone to something...then uninviting them...then inviting them again.

5. driving up to the window at the bank and rolling down every window in the car before figuring out how to get your window down.

6. honking your horn so the couple in front of you will stop making out and notice that the light has turned green.

7. realizing said couple is also going to walmart. awesome.

8. calling someone for work and thinking their name is Andres so you call them that for the 2 minute phone call and then right as you say your goodbyes they say, "by the way, my name is Andrea." hey here's an idea...learn the difference between writing an S and an A.

and there you go. have you ever been to the chocolate?? what's your favorite thing there? and of course, anything awkward from your week??

xoxo

awkward....a day late. ooops!

2011-04-15T18:38:00.004-06:00

it's friday. not thursday. but i might have forgotten to write my awkward thursday post yesterday. ummm myyy bad. i know all my fans out there (mom, grandma & grandpa, sisters) are devastated by my lack of a post so herrrrrrrre it is!

1. the man at my class this morning that had his fly all the way down [i've done this one before..but it gets better] not only that, but his shirt was sticking all the way out.

2. getting in an elevator and seeing someone hustling to get in the elevator as well. you press a button thinking it's the button to keep the doors open, but nope it's the one to shut the doors.

3. having to sit across the room from said person and watch them glare at you for t.h.r.e.e hours. sorry sir...but really?

4. giving someone a hug and they don't let go....so you continue to hold them and pat their back.

5. being emailed a picture of a haircut and thinking it's a joke so you laugh and make a mildly mean remark and then being told the person sending the picture just got that haircut. how do you recover from that?? "you can totally pull it off...hair grows....?"

6. standing in a group of people and slowly people start leaving the circle to talk to other people...pretty soon you are all alone. and looking around. do you go join another circle?? or just wait for people to come to you? orrrrrr just stand there and look awkward? i did the latter.

7. side hugs.

8. calling the dryer repairman to fix the noise it was making and having him discover this deep in the depths of the machine:

i've been looking for that popsicle stick...for like 9 years.

well that's about all! sorry for the tardiness of this post....again, we have been very busy. i'll post more about that later!

anything awkward in your week??

a good feeling

2011-04-11T11:42:00.003-06:00

last night i could not sleep. i laid in bed for about an hour and a half before moving to the couch to watch some tv. unfortunately, the television options at 1 am are prettttttty lame. i had to choose between sesame street and an infomercial about weight loss pills. i picked sesame street. after about 12 seconds i was sick of elmo's voice so i turned on the computer to do some updating to this little blog. i decided to label my previous posts and see what i talked about the majority of time on here. i was NOT surprised by what i found...my most talked

about subject is my family. duh...i have the best family EVER.

every time i have exciting news to share or need someone to talk to i know there are plenty of people i can call. it makes me sad that we don't live closer. i miss them.

there wasn't a real point to this post except to make you all jealous of my fabulous family. no, but really you should be kinda jealous--they are thee best.

xoxo

ok, you're awkward.

2011-04-07T10:57:00.004-06:00

well it's thursday again...where does the time go?! no seriously, the days are just flying by. does anyone else feel like this?? as i look back on the awkward things that happened this past week i came to realize that sometimes people are awkward...all on their own. without doing a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. anyway....here we go!

1. your husband ditching you at a viewing where you literally know NO ONE except your in-laws and the man in the casket.

2. telling someone they have a piece of food on their face and they reply that it's actually a zit. my mistake. [this has happened on more than one occasion...what is my problem?]

3. someone asking you if you're sick. you say, "no" and they come back with, "oh well you don't look very good." hey thanks.

4. singing at the top of your lungs in your car and looking around and seeing the people in the car next to you staring at you....it should also be noted that the song being sung was "seize the day" from the newsies soundtrack.

5. seeing someone you think you know out in public so you chase after them only to find out that up close they look NOTHING like the person you thought...welp see ya later.

6. going to look at a house and thinking the owners/tenants are gone so you make a comment about the smell of dog in the home....then they come around the corner into the room you're in. "i love this paint color....what is it?

7. when someone is laughing SO hard while telling a joke and then they get to the punch line and it is NOT funny...at all. so you have to pretend to be amused. and you're really bad at fake laughing so it's obvious you don't think the joke is funny.

and there is my week in a nutshell :) anything awkward happen to you?

xoxo

ps....because i hate posts with no pictures here is a sassy little picture i found...personally, it's one of my favs.

awkward thursday

2011-03-31T10:15:00.002-06:00

i have been MIA lately...but i have a really good excuse! last week i went to portland to spend some quality time with my sister and her kiddos. you can read about our trip right HERE. her husband was out of town and it was the perfect opportunity to hop on a plane and see these cuties:

[please excuse this photo of me...i had literally JUST gotten out of the shower...hence the no makeup and rats nest hair]

have you seen cuter kids? didn't think so.

i really had a fabulous time. it passed all too quickly..duh. but, despite having such a great vacay, i still had a good share of awkward moments...especially because i took a break last week and didn't post about anything awkward from the week before! oh boy...here we go:

1. when grown people have pillow pets. and they take them out in public--like to the airport. it's fine if you're 5, not 25.

2. being called "honey," "sweetie," or "love" by a cashier...and they are clearly younger than you.

3. prying the doors open to home depot after they have closed and then encountering an associate who has NO idea how to tell you they are already closed...you're a grown man--you should not be stumbling over your words like that. ps..can you direct us to the shims?

4. sitting next to someone and they say something out loud so you say, "what?" they don't respond so you keep staring at them trying to get them to answer you. they look at you strangely and keep talking. it's then that you realize they are on the phone...with a bluetooth and are definitely NOT talking to you.

5. high pigtails on anyone over the age of 8.

6. standing in numerical order at the airport. they tell you to check the number of the people around you...no one does.

7. when there actually IS someone that checks the all the numbers of the people in line to make sure they get in their exact spot....we're all gonna make it to the same place...chill.

8. the people that work at fairs or carnivals. we lovingly call them carnies. is it a requirement to wear coveralls, have webbed fingers and toes, no teeth, and smell like cabbage to work at a place like that?

and there you have it. anything awkward happen to you this week? i seriously love reading all the awkward moments other people have....feeeeel free to leave them!

xoxo

awkward friday?

2011-03-18T10:45:00.006-06:00

it's friday. not thursday. but i have a really good reason as to why this awkward post is a day late. you see, a few weeks ago i received a text from my dear mother. she was telling me about an interesting, fun fact. because i now know this fact, i decided to postpone this post. want to know what her text said? "March 18th is National Awkward Moments Day." i about peed my pants. who knew they had a real day for that?!

welllll people, today is national awkward moments day....the most uncomfortable day of the year.[unless you are living my life...then just about every day is uncomfortable in some way].

so here it is. welcome to my life.

1. almost peeing your pants over a text message from your mom.

2. getting to work and realizing your silk blouse under your sweater has darts. because of this it looks like you're not wearing a bra....in antarctica.

3. going to the post office and having the man behind you in line standing so closely you can feel him breathing on your neck. this is also just gross.

4. stopping at a stop light and looking over to the car next to you only to find the guy smelling his arm pit. it's like a train wreck...you can't look away because you can't believe it is really happening.

5. the guy in the car next to you looking over and seeing you staring at him and his disgusting habits so he tries to make it look like he's doing something else..like scratching his ear on the opposite side of his head....or reaching for something. you can't fool me.

6. slipping on the plastic under your desk [you know, the one so your rolley chair can move?] and falling into the splits position..in front of your boss and a client. this was MUCH more uncomfortable for the client. i didn't really care.

7. the 50 year old lady sitting next to me using air quotes....a lot.

that's all. anything awkward happen to you this week??

and while i have no awwwwesome pictures to post, here is a little peek as to some people i will see next week. can't wait!

xoxo

did you know?

2011-03-15T14:43:00.004-06:00

that i can eat a whole mixed berry fruit & grain granola bar in 3 bites?
orrr
that i gave blood for the first time on saturday?
orrr
that i have a dimple on my cheek when i smile real big or squint?

yeah didn't think so... but most importantly did you know that i'm a Realtor?

again i doubt it. so i thought i would fill all of you in on a little secret and hopefully you will find this information useful.

I got my real estate license almost 4 years ago. Two weeks after high school graduation I attended real estate school and a few weeks after that I passed my licensing tests. I then began working for my dad, who is also a Realtor, until it was time for me to leave for college in utah.

When I moved to utah I didn't think I would continue doing real estate, but I really couldn't put it down! I came to realize that this was something I wanted to continue to do. I began working at Home Basics Real Estate in Orem and I continue to work there today and proudly hang my license there. It has been incredibly beneficial to me to be surrounded by such intelligent and helpful individuals. My broker and associate broker have played a large role in the type of agent I am today. I pride myself on professionalism, a sincere interest in my clients, and a desire to serve those in my community.

One of the ways I am trying to help those around me is by making certain things available to my clients. The Utah Valley Home and Garden Expo is right around the corner! This is a fabulous event that features over 200 exhibitors, free seminars, and prizes. You can learn more about this event HERE. It will be held at the UCCU Center at UVU in Orem. It is April 8-9 from 11 am-8 pm. Admission is $5, but if you contact me I can get you complimentary tickets. It is a fun event for the entire family or can be a really great date with your spouse. I have enjoyed attending for the past couple of years and I get very excited about going. The only thing that would make me more excited for the event is if I could share some tickets with YOU!

see how excited?!

Being a Realtor has many perks and one of them is being able to share such a fun event with my friends and neighbors! Don't hesitate to contact me about tickets!

xoxo

awk.ward.

2011-03-10T10:38:00.005-07:00

i fear that my life is slowly getting more and more boring. i basically do the same thing every. single. day. i blame it on the weather. i keep telling myself that when it warms up outside i will do something productive with my life. buuut that might be a lie...i really hope it's not, but it just might be. because i'm so boring, i don't have any new pictures. if you came here looking for some photos, just leave now. if you came here to hear about how awkward my life is then feel free to stay and cringe at my expense.

1. referring to someone as "sir." then they tell you they are actually female.

2. meeting with someone and their zipper is down...what to do?

3. when you see someone at the grocery story and they peer into your cart to see what you are buying...oh hey wanna come over and look through my dresser drawers too?

4. when someone calls you nancy AFTER you've been introduced .2 seconds before as betsy and continues to call you that through the meeting...despite being corrected.

5. the commercials about catheters that are always on TLC at night.

6. the website awkwardfamilyphotos.com...please go look at it.

7. when you can't remember someone's name so you respond with the every popular...."heyyy you...."

8. how i always see someone i'd rather not see at walmart...while buying tampons. definitely more uncomfortable for them...i don't really care.

9. the big, ratted, pouf bangs we all sported at one time in our lives.

10. seeing a grown woman with the same bangs this week...as in the year 2011.

what a nice week...anything awkward happen to you this week??

ps...this is what i am looking forward to. summer please hurry up!

xoxo

happy birthday to YOU!

2011-03-08T11:23:00.004-07:00

today is my sweet sister's birthday. jacque is turning the big 2-5! it's so weird not being with her on her birthday. we are 3 years apart so growing up we did almost everything together. there are so many things i love about her and so many memories from our childhood. we fought the most growing up, but i think it has made us closer. she is one of my very best, best friends. i hope she has the greatest birthday EVER. I LOVE YOU JACKER!!

-she is absolutely beautiful!-

-she has the most fun personality-

-we always have a good time together-

-she can quote every friends episode-

-she taught me to play the kazoo when i was really little-

-i was her shadow from the time i could walk...i wanted to do EVERYTHING she did-

-she is a wonderful mama-

-she is kind and caring-

there are so many more things i love about cracky.

she loves spaghetti-os and pop [note: i HATE spaghetti-os but i love that she loves them].

her texts ALWAYS make me smile.

she is very care-free and easy going.

she LOVES to sleep.

she is always willing to try new things.

she never complains.

we mowed lawns together.

she would ALWAYS play with me.

we played house almost every sunday growing up. [and i would have to "babysit" her dolls every single week while she slept...]

we used to rent mary-kate and ashley olsen movies and get 10 cent candy.

we would walk to chevron and get treats.

she has always been supportive of everything i've done.

she let me live with her and rob before matt and i got married.

she is a fabulous big sister.

happy birthday jac! i love you!

xoxo

awwwwwwkward.

2011-03-03T13:43:00.005-07:00

my week was fairly uneventful. a little of this...a little of that. despite this, i was still able to come up with a decent list of awkward things. how does that even happen? i have no idea.. anyway...here are my awkward moments for the week...

1. driving down a residential road to drop off rent and seeing a lady walking toward the street..she raises her hand so i slow down and start waving at her [like we're old friends...we're not] then noticing she is raising her hand to her mouth to yell at her neighbor across the street.

2. offering gum to someone after a meal. then they asking if they need it...i was actually offering it just to be nice. i'd rather not have you breathe into my nostrils.

3. when someone asks you when you're due..you then say oh i'm not pregnant. then they respond by saying oh i could have sworn you were. hey thanks lady, ever heard of keeping your mouth shut? obviously not. [ps...i'm really NOT pregnant]

4. when women refer to their husbands as "daddy." unless you are talking to your child. don't EVER call your husband daddy. it's weird.

5. the ages 12-15. braces, acne, glasses.

6. crying in public...especially when your crying face looks like mine. uncomfortable for everyone involved.

7. when you look up and see someone looking at you, so you look away. then look at them to see if they are still watching you and then they look up and make eye contact with you. it never ends. and it always goes back and forth. and back and forth. and back. and forth.

8. when there is a pause in conversation and someone chimes in "awwwwwwwkward." actually it wasn't awkward until you just said that. so thanks.

i think that's all. anything awkward in your world this week?

oh and because i want to share this experience with you...here are a few photos from a recent trip to target...

this is how the dressing room looked when i got in there..it was BY FAR the cleanest

i was pretty annoyed and concerned because it's apparent that people can't read.. but target is my favorite store, so i tried to look past it. it wasn't very difficult after i scored two new tops for $9. my faith in target was restored... oh and i have since been back to this target and the dressing room was much cleaner. i even had a spot to set my purse down. hooray! i love it there.

what is your favorite store? oh and WHY?!

xoxo

awkward turned embarrassing...

2011-02-24T11:24:00.002-07:00

i have noticed that there is a fine line between awkward and embarrassing...they just might be inter-changeable. the majority of things on my list today are both awkward and embarrassing. nice. here they arrrrrrre:

1.the lady at wally world buying the largest pack of toothpaste they sell. ps: she was toothless..oh and had a mullet.

2.going to the saver's president's day sale and seeing a 9 year old with a full face of makeup--she too was toothless but i think it was because she had lost her baby teeth...

3.every person i saw at saver's during their president's day sale and walmart the same day. quite the mix.

4.the girl asking for my ID at UPS yesterday because, "i didn't look like a betsy..." uh huh i stole the identity of an 80 year old woman and used her debit card to overnight a real estate contract..

5.when people don't pull the strings off the string cheese, but rather take ravenous bites.

6.not hearing the whistle in your basketball game so you keep playing while everyone else has stopped. [this didn't happen this week, but has happened on more than one occasion]

7.the show toddlers & tiaras.

8.the moms on toddlers & tiaras.

9.the girl i saw jogging with her chihuahua down center street yesterday wearing jeans, listening to her ipod, and carrying a small ziploc bag of little dog turds.

10.trying to take a picture of said girl and having her stop running and stare right at me, in my stopped car.

well that's all! i had a whole other story to post on here about a recent trip to target, but blogger won't let me upload any pictures. LAME. so here is a pictureless post. i hate those. oh well. sorrrrrry.

anything awkward happen to you this week?

xoxo

a very special day

2011-02-21T10:59:00.002-07:00

today is a very special day...it's my dad's birthday! i am so sad i can't be there to celebrate with him today. he is the best dad in the world. seriously. happy birthday to the man who:

-is extremely witty

-is the toughest person i know :)

-always got us flowers for our birthdays and valentines

-always had time to go to the church and play kickball or basketball

-would take me driving LONG before i was old enough [age 3]

-loves his grandkids to the moon and back

-taught me numerous life lessons

-never fails to tell me how proud of me he is

-can make me laugh at the drop of a hat

-loves my mom so so much

-is always willing to donate his time to anyone in need

-works so hard

-is the best dad ever

I LOVE YOU!

xoxo

awkward and annoying

2011-02-17T10:56:00.003-07:00

this week i had no shortage of awkward experiences and memories. while not every single one of this happened this week, they have ALL happened to me [hence the memories..duh]. nice. oh and feel free to fill me in on your awkward moments of the week...here we goooo. AWKWARD:

1.garters hanging from rearview mirrors [this also can be categorized under trashy]

2.noticing that the vacant condo across from yours has a light on and the door open...so you go to make sure everything is ok and you walk in on a couple laying on the floor together...umm hi..welcome to the neighborhood.

3.kids on leashes. [free the leash children!] oh what a sweet child...what breed is it? feral?

4.resting your eyes in class, having the feeling of falling, and next thing you know everyone is staring and laughing. not cool.

5.getting a bikini wax and seeing the lady that waxed you the next day at wally world. OMG...you look so familiar...how do i know you?? uhh do you really wanna know, lady?

6.when the buttons on your pants make a funny noise on your chair at work and people just assume it was the noise from a bodily function. and then you try to recreate the noise and you never can. ever. like even if your life depended on it. not gonna happen.

7.the way people act the day after valentine's day...soooo, how was your night? *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*. ok you're creepy and i'm not going to tell you anything.

well that's all. it was a strange week. in other news, i am kind of annoyed [and not because of the obvious creepy people i surround myself with] because i have been using a barstool as a side table. i feel like i am doing the chairs a serious disservice because of the "accent table" i am using. see what i mean? classy, right?

oh and they also are useful when we do our ironing...and by we i mean matt. i hate ironing.

now i am all about functionality and having more than one use for things, but this is a little ridiculous. i am thoroughly annoyed with the current status of my accent table. i feel like one of the following 3 would be much more appropriate.... [thank you crate&barrel and pottery barn]

unfortunately i can't justify spending a few hundred dollars on a side table. i'm really hoping i can find one on craigslist, ksl, or from savers...wish me luck!

xoxo

love love love

2011-02-16T11:37:00.002-07:00

our valentine's day was pretty low-key. matt had work until 7 and there was no way we were going to go out into the cold and fight the restaurant crowd. not worth it, so we planned on just staying home and eating a meal i made. i was just fine with that.

when i got home from work i had these beauties waiting for me. they smell like heaven. oh and there were balloons too! i love surprises.

i then got to spend the rest of the night with this handsome man.

we ate this meal of salad, salmon, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls [yes i loaded up on the sides and had to put my salmon on a different plate-don't judge me]

valentine's day is not complete without some tasty desserts! i stopped at a local bakery and picked up some red velvet cake, a chocolate-caramel cupcake, and a strawberry-vanilla cupcake. they were deelish. [we ended up being so full from dinner that we just couldn't possibly eat it all so we saved the chocolate cupcake and ate it for dessert yesterday. it was divine.]

it was the perfect day for us. i loved being able to relax and spend time with matt. love him.

xoxo

jenji larue

2011-02-15T11:11:00.004-07:00

as i write this i can smell the delicious scent coming off the beautiful flowers from matt for valentine's day. i have a cutesy post about valentine's day, but right now there is something much more important that needs to be addressed.

today is my oldest sister's birthday! jennifer has been a phenomenal sister and it makes my heart hurt not being with her today.

we are 8 years apart [she's an old woman. jk] but it never feels like that much. except when she talks about how we slept in the same room when my parent's brought me home from the hospital and how she would hold me at night. i cry thinking about it.

we've always had a special relationship and i can literally call her any time. there have been times i've been mad at her...like when she would make me cry every single summer by calling me octavia while night swimming in the pool. i think it would still freak me out.

she has always been my biggest fan and would attend every sporting event she could. she would even hold my ribbons for me after track meets and pose for pictures when i was too embarrassed. and don't even get me started on the basketball games..it's nice to have a relative there sticking up to the refs for you.

she never forgets a special occasion and she knows exactly how to make me feel like a bajillion bucks. i love her. i wish i could be there with her on her birrrrthday. here are a few pictures of my beautiful, young, older sister :) happy birthday jenji!

xoxo

alone & awkward

2011-02-12T21:53:00.005-07:00

some of you know that one of matt's favorite things to do is do the radio and tv broadcasts for the UVU men's basketball games. i love that he has some hobbies that are just his own and i have some as well. i think it keeps a healthy balance in our relationship. annnnnyway... i used to accompany matt to these games but i have found that i really don't like going for a number of reasons:

1. i have to sit all alone

2. i only know 3 of the players on the team now [so weird!]

3. i always end up seeing people i don't really care to see

4. my time could be better spent doing my nails or something

tonight matt had a game to announce so i spent my night alone. i got all sorts of things done! most importantly, i showered for the day around 8 pm. classy. i then did my nails. i then settled down and watched cupcake wars while eating some frozen yogurt. it was most definitely a very successful night.

while having time to myself to think tonight i thought about all the awkward things that happen every single day. i might have laughed out loud and cringed at the same time. i have decided to make an "awkward" post every week. i can't help it. awkward things happen too frequently not to! soooo here is my awkward post for this week:

1. recording your voicemail greetings...what do you say? "hey leave me a message and i'll call you back, maybe...but probably not..."

2.listening to your own voicemail greeting...who knew your voice sounded so weird...

3. exiting a one-person bathroom and having someone outside waiting

4. sending a text to the wrong person...no matter what it says, it's awkward

5. sleeping with earplugs because your husband breathes so loudly

6. raising your hand to make a comment and the speaker not noticing but everyone else noticing so you mumble something to yourself while lowering your hand

7. being talked to at the gym while lifting, with headphones on--i work out with headphones on for a reason. i don't want to talk to you.

8. and lastly, sitting at your desk while one of your co-workers makes fun of someone...in front of that someone without knowing it. and then having them realize it. nice.

well that's all folks. this week was pretttty boring, but we start off next week with Valentine's Day, so it's bound to be bomb.

oh and because i don't like posts without at least one picture...here are a few little gems i found from my and matt's dating days...these should probably have been on the awkward list...

xoxo

1 year older & wiser too

2011-02-08T11:22:00.003-07:00

yesterday was matt's birthday. my sweet husband turned 28 [yes, it's true. i like older men] . i don't what i would do without him in my life. i love him so so much.

[this is one of my favorite pictures of matt...ever.]

how cute is he?!

i'm so glad you were born babe!

xoxo

this one time..

2011-02-01T10:09:00.003-07:00

i threw away 16 cupcakes [am i insane?!]. they were gross. lemme tell you about them...

here they are. in a walmart bag. about to go in the trash.

i really, really love baking treats. and more importantly i love eating them. unless they are disgusting, in which case, i don't love eating them as much. anyway...i made some "cookies and cream dream" cupcakes on sunday hoping they would be delicious and i could take them to a family birthday dinner for matt. i also made a funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting [as back-up..oh and because that was what matt requested] so i made these cupcakes, made the frosting, ate one, and then threw them all away. sad.

here i am staring into the wally world bag full of the cupcakes i had just spent hours creating. no seriously, they took WAY longer than they should have..

yes i wear aprons...i don't want to get anything on my clothes...duh.

another sad part of this whole story is that i wasted a large number of oreos. bummmmer. i think that's about all. it made for a very disappointing few hours, but i felt lots better when we got to my aunt and uncle's and i stuffed my face with dinner. food always heals the heart--unless it's disgusting food...then it does more damage than good.

xoxo

my biggest project...so far.

2011-01-27T10:39:00.009-07:00

this is definitely the biggest project i have ever done. ok, so i haven't done many projects, but this was the most overwhelming and most time consuming. now that it is complete i am so happy with how it turned out. let me start from the beginning...

i had been complaining about my living room for weeks--i was SO over my red couch.. so while my sister tracy was in town we decided to go thrifting [it's one of our very favorite things to do]. we went to savers and totally scored...on many levels.

we were walking toward the furniture section and i saw two little gems i just HAD

to have. i think i even quickened my step to get to them before anyone else [because they were clearly a hot item..not.] i turned to tracy and told her we had to buy them. it was then that i looked at the price. they were a whopping $12.99 each. i about died.

i then texted my mom to see if she had any experience working with chairs and recovering them. [she can basically do anything...no seriously.] she responded that no she didn't know anything about it...my next text back to her said, "well i just bought them." that was the end of it and we decided to tackle this foreign project. the pictures really show the progress better than i can...so here they are!

the chair[s] i had to have. can't you see why?! ok they were disgusting.

oh and we were just so excited to rip this chair apart i forgot to take pictures of the chairs together..oooops.

i just loved the lines..

all the necessary tools

yes, this was one of our tools. faaaancy.

my mom is so talented. obviously. we had these frozen yogurt cones every day. deelish.

we had to take the nasty fabric off the chair staple by staple.

there was definitely not a shortage of staples in the chairs. that was the most difficult part of the whole project.

i stabbed myself multiple times while trying to remove the staples. not cool.

just a portion of the staples....there were easily over 1,000 in each chair.

this was after we had removed the fabric...next we had to take the structure of the chair apart..this also proved to be a difficult step.

it was a little tough getting the chair apart. it was a tight squeeze and apparently the chairs are really well made...who knew?

we were finally able to get the chair taken apart...doesn't really look like much, does it?

we then used the fabric we had painstakingly taken off the chair as a pattern and cut out the new fabric. we pulled, pushed, stapled, hammered, and cried [no seriously, i was on the verge of tears on more than one occasion] until they were done. we completed the striped one while my mom was there, but i was left to complete the other one on my own [yikes!] luckily, everything went smoothly and i am so happy with how they turned out! i couldn't have done it without my fabulous mama and her exceptional sewing abilities. here is the final project :)

i finally am starting to feel like my house is becoming my own [or our own :)] and i love it.

i am so happy these are finally done! [my hands are so beaten up!] and i found 22 cents shoved in the cushion, so i practically made money on the whole thing :]

xoxo

a mix between sticky shoe & smelly cat

2011-01-19T18:57:00.002-07:00

this post will be short & uhhhh not sweet at all. in reality it's pretty disgusting.

it's about as disgusting as the tv show i'm watching about a girl addicted to eating couch cushions...what the?? umm moving on..

my fabulous mama came to visit over the holiday weekend (holla) and we had a blast. we worked on a really, really good project (post coming sooooon), went shopping, relaxed, and ate out every meal...and that is where this nice story comes into play.

on saturday night we decided that cafe rio salads would make an excellent dinner [we didn't cook, remember?] so my mother and i headed to cafe rio to pick up our scrumptious meal.

everything went perfectly...little traffic, no line, i remembered to give them my punch card, you know the important things...as i was getting into my car i felt my foot slip a little bit underneath me. there wasn't any ice so i was verrrrry confused. i looked down and was horrified to see that i had stepped in vomit. yes you heard me, VOMIT. it was truly awful. and it was located very near my car...and it wasn't there when we got to the restaurant. i about died.

after deciding that throwing my boots away wasn't the best option [i really hate when my socks get wet and we had gotten a substantial amount of snow and rain lately] i calmly walked to the biggest patch of snow i could find and thoroughly "washed" the pukas off my boot. it was traumatizing. i then walked back to my car and began discussing the possible explanations for the giant puddle of hurl-nasty outside my door with my mom. we didn't really come up with anything good. mostly the usual: pregnant woman, bulimic teen, flu-stricken child, etc. but what it came down to was this...

i don't really care where it came from...all that matters is that it ended up on MY boot. and it was raunchy.

oh ps: when we got home and i told matt about this heinous incident he immediately said, "you washed it off though, right?" nope....i still have the vomit on my boot and i'm smearing it into our carpet as we speak. DUH. nice one, matt.

and because no post is complete without pictures, here are a few from my mama's visit!! love her and miss her already.

isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen. um yes.

my mom was convinced this hat was a purse...

not the same boots in above referenced story...

i loved having my mom here. i miss my family. i'd step in vomit any day if it meant i got to spend the day with them. xoxo

pointless & little niece betsy

2011-01-14T09:32:00.007-07:00

the title of this post is a little misleading....baby betsy is NOT pointless...i actually really love her [baby betsy is my sister jacque's daughter...this is NOT an announcement that a baby betsy is on the way]. the beginning of this post is very pointless and that is where the pointless part is, but after that this post is perfect. hope that makes sense. if you want to skip the boring text and go straight to the pictures, feeeeeeel free.

this morning i ate an apple fritter for breakfast. SICK. no seriously it was gross. i don't really know why i chose this particular donut, but i did. what i do know is that i ended up at macey's this morning in the bakery section because of matt. yes, i blame this all on him. he needed treats for his team at work and he forgot. bless his heart. awful [the fritter...not matt]. oh and to make this story really great i went to the store in sweats, a sweatshirt, and boots. and i had literally just rolled out of bed. i didn't even put my hair in a ponytail--classsssy lady! so the moral of this story: it's ok to go to the store looking homeless, but it is not ok to leave with an apple fritter. just take my word on this one.

next item of business: i walked out of my house yesterday, breathed in, expected to have my lungs burn, but NO NO! it was so warm outside! i happily walked to my car, turned it on, and checked the outside temperature. it was 32 degrees. toasty. i suppose in comparison to the 18 degree week we had been experiencing the week before, 32 degrees was heavenly. nice. not. by the way, i live in a frozen wasteland.

lastly, here are some pictures of little baby betsy! over Thanksgiving [that was seriously forever ago...] i took a couple pictures of my namesake. she is so beautiful. love her so so much. here is little betsy lee!

rob was also present during this, but for some reason i don't have any pictures of him with baby betsy....sorrrrrrry.

xoxo

goals.

2011-01-03T22:41:00.005-07:00

i have never really been much of a goal setter. i attempt to make goals and then usually forget about them or end up thinking that i have something much more important going on. NOT THIS YEAR. for 2011 i really tried to focus on things that i could actually accomplish. i don't feel the need to share all of these goals with the rest of the world via this blog, but there are 2 that i am really excited about. they most definitely involve one of my favorite things ever: food. i am hoping to cook more and try new recipes this year. so lame, right? well, my dear husband will attest that i don't always put his food needs first. our food needs differ greatly. you see i am happy with a salad for dinner. he, on the other hand, can down a salad in about 12 seconds and still be starving. [these goals really benefit him the most].

because i don't want my hubby to look deprived, i am planning on focusing a lot of my free time on recipes, cooking, grocery shopping, and trying new foods. who knows, i might even branch out and eat some tofu or something. now it would be extremely helpful if you would please give me some of your favorite recipes :) [you=those of you that actually read this post. yes. YOU].

i have soo many delicious recipes from my mama, but have you ever noticed that things NEVER taste as good when you make them as they do when your mom cooks them? yes. storyofmylife. in my opinion it is much easier to cook something having terribly low expectations of the end result. smart, right?

so feel free to leave your low-expectation meals for me to try...oh and don't tell me how wonderful they taste because if mine turns out disgusting i want to be able to think that maybe that is how it is supposed to taste. grrrrreat thanks.

now, because posts without pictures kinda suck [even though i tend to do them a lot] here are a few pictures from our trip to hawaii :) where good food was never out of the question :)

we had the best time. ever.

here's to 2011! & good food :)

xoxo

giant status.

2010-12-17T12:01:00.002-07:00

this post is going to be completely pointless and worthless, but i felt it needed to be addressed. you see i'm married to a rather tall individual. he is 6'4". i am not a giant but i do stand at a commanding 5'3". while packing for our little vacay i noticed something interesting... matt's clothes take up about 17 times more room than mine. we are sharing a suitcase and i really struggled getting all of our things to fit.

despite matt's giant status i was able to fit everything into one suitcase...[thanks for passing that on to me, mom]

even though it can be a large disadvantage, there are some upsides to having such a tall spouse:

1.i can wear ANY shoes i want

2.he will hopefully pass on those tall genes to our offspring [the boy offspring...i don't need humongous daughters]

3.he can reach the smoke detectors without standing on a chair

4.he can dunk a basketball

5.he can always jump and touch the things hanging in the UVU hallways

6.he can reach things on top shelves

7.he can see the top of the car to wash it

i'm sure there are more, but these are definitely the most important! thanks for being as tall as a tree matt!!

xoxo

end of this chapter...

2010-12-13T20:57:00.005-07:00

i couldn't help but use a really cheesy title to this post. i'm not really sure why...oh well. today i took my last final, in my last class, on my last day of school. my college [undergraduate] career is over. and i am so excited about it! i might eventually go back to school and further my education, but for the time being i am just going to enjoy my mornings and enjoy all the free time i suddenly have at my disposal.

unfortunately my body doesn't realize that i am a college graduate...i'm breaking out terribly and my face doesn't look a day over 13. it's real nice but i am really hoping that by the time i turn 22 i will have gotten through puberty.

i am so grateful to have a supportive husband and family that always encouraged me to finish school...it wasn't always something i wanted to do but i came to realize that i could do it...even if i didn't want to do it.

now i can focus on hawaii, projects around the house, working out, cooking, baking, and taking care of matthew [he needs all the help he can get :) ] can't wait :)

ps...sorry about the lack of pictures-->remember the acne face? yeah, not cute.

xoxo

11 days and counting...

2010-12-06T18:50:00.003-07:00

if you know me then you know how much i love countdowns. i have been counting down the days til i am done with school since march....(i have 1 more day of class & then 1 final!) and i love having something to look forward to each month. if i have something fun to look forward to then the time passes much faster. it can be anything...a date night, a girls night, a fun dinner with family, a vacation, a hard class at the gym, or just a day off to sleep in. it really helps get me through life, ha! ok maybe not, but it really does make things better!

despite my counting down i have completely lost track of time and it just hit me

that in 11 days i will be boarding a plane headed here:

waikiki beach

i can't wait! it will be the perfect graduation present and i am really looking forward to a nice, relaxing vacation with matt (and his parents & brother :)) you see, according to the schedule, we are supposed to be spending Christmas with his family...so that is what we are going to do--in hawaii. i really am excited to get out of the cold!

don't worry...i'll send out some postcards from the beach.

xoxo

a fun little project :)

2010-11-30T19:20:00.005-07:00

i love having projects to work on around the house. it really doesn't matter what the project is either. a couple months ago i saw an ad on craigslist for a 2-piece hutch. i took one look at the picture and just had to have it! i paid my $10 (yes...$10!), loaded it into the back of the lexus (that was a real treat), and headed home to get started on working on it. unfortunately it has taken me this long to get it complete (it was a little difficult finding time between working and school). it wasn't as easy as i thought it would be! i had to completely sand the whole thing, prime it, and then paint it (3 coats). i felt so accomplished to finish it! i still need to put some pulls on the cupboards (anthro here i come!) but other than that it is all done. here are a few pics to show the journey...haha that's so cheesy.

oh such a beaut!

let the sanding begin...unfortunately it felt like it would NEVER end...don't worry--it did.

slowly getting closer...

it's FINALLY done! yay!

i had a few things picked out to put on the hutch...these brass elephants definitely made the cut

they used to be matt's grandparent's...i love them

this typewriter is the perfect shade of blue for the hutch...it's thrifted from the will

well that's all! i know it isn't that exciting but i had so much fun doing it and am so happy to have it done...it looks great in our spare room.

xoxo

the only thing that can make this game better..

2010-11-13T09:48:00.002-07:00

the uvu mens basketball team played the maine black bears (every time i say that or hear it i want to call them the blackberries...) on friday night and of course matt did the tv and radio commentary for the game so i went to the game with his mom, marsha. we got there a little early so we went to say hi to matt. while down there i was told i should enter the pinnacle security drawing..the prize was a thousand dollars..i wasn't too excited about entering because i never win anything. reluctantly i entered the contest because we had some time to kill before the game (and the booth was on the way to the concession stand :))

as the game neared halftime (and we were losing) i turned to marsha and said, "the only thing that would make this game better is if i won a thousand dollars." about 10 minutes later my phone started vibrating and i looked at it and i got the best news! I HAD WON THE DRAWING! my face turned bright red and i started shaking. i went to the booth and they confirmed that i won!!

they then gave me a giant, worthless check.

i looked like the biggest doofus carrying that thing around for the rest of the game...but i will gladly look totally ridonkulus for a thousand dollars.

i will be taking this fun little treat to hawaii for Christmas :) here is a pic of my ginormo check...that can't even be cashed...

go to the uvu games! xoxo

a little breakfast treat

2010-10-25T20:45:00.005-06:00

a few weeks ago i got to go over to portland and spend some time with tracie, dyl & the babes. it was even more fun that jen, dd & baby kate came over for the weekend! i took over 740 pictures (744 to be exact) and since i can't post them all in one post i will be working on documenting this vacay in sections. this first post is all about harper. she is such a beautiful little girl!! i had lots of fun with her and we bonded over a little cooking session. dawson and beckham were in bed and tracie and dylan were at the school so we had some time to chat and play. we made a deelish bed and breakfast oatmeal bake together. harper was such a great helper!

love that girl. xoxo

she's FINALLY here!

2010-10-21T16:37:00.003-06:00

yes it's true...little baby skaggs is finally here! momma and babe are doing great. jacque has the highest pain tolerance out of anyone i know and so it's no surprise she did fabulously giving birth. i got to skype with her and rob last night as they waited in the hospital and it was so wonderful to see them and talk to them before they became parents! oh and i asked nurse sue (one of jac's nurses) if girls really came to the hospital in labor without even knowing they were pregnant (like the show...). she said YES. weirdos.

anyway, jacker cracker gave birth to a healthy little girl weighing in at 7 lbs 6 oz and measuring 20.5 inches. jac and rob said she has the longest fingers and toes ever! i cannot wait to see that little one. remember, i love babies. i don't have any pictures of her yet but when i get some they will be up here in no time!

jac and rob took a couple hours picking a name and when they finally chose one i might have shed a few tears. i'm such a baby, but i couldn't help it. their little girl's name is:

betsy lee skaggs

now do you see why i cried? i already feel a special bond with that little one. congrats jacque and rob! i can't wait to meet little betsy :) and squeeze her.

i'll keep you posted..

2010-10-20T16:46:00.002-06:00

i have wonderful news...

baby skaggs is en route.

i'll keep you posted.

so excited for jacque and rob i can hardly stand it!

you get what you pay for

2010-09-15T16:25:00.003-06:00

sadly, this happened today. my glasses were in my purse and i stepped on it. a terrible crunching noise was heard. at first i thought it was my bag of wheat thins and i FREAKED. i hate crushed crackers. i then looked in the bag and to my horror found this:
and you can't even see that one of the sides is completely gone. snapped right off. apparently i'm a whale. sooo now the hunt is on for some new sunglasses. these cost me a whole $0.25 at a thrift store (which is why i am so surprised they broke so easily). if you find any like them let me knowwwwwwwwww :]

xoxo

baby kate

2010-09-14T11:13:00.006-06:00

matt and i were able to go boise for labor day to see my family. it was such a nice break! plus, i haven't seen my family since our july trip to the coast so i was having withdrawals. we both took the tuesday after labor day off work so we could make the drive back to utah then and not have to leave monday. while there we ate, slept in, watched football (GO BSU!), golfed, and spent a lot of time with family. it was superb. it was so fun to see everyone and it was especially fun to see little kate! she is just perfect. i took a couple pictures of her just for fun one morning. she is so cute i can hardly stand it!

i love this picture.

love her. xoxo

i need a favor..

2010-08-27T16:44:00.005-06:00

yes...i need a favor. i need someone to loan me about $10,000 so i can go to anthropologie and buy some of my favorite things. oh, and by loan i mean give... now don't all jump at that offer! i figure $10,000 should be enough (for now at least). here are a few things that make my heart (& eyes!) happy.

...thank you anthropologie.com

baby doherty

2010-08-25T16:26:00.003-06:00

i love babies. soooo when my sisters jennifer and jacque announced that they were pregnant i was reeeeeeeeeeeal excited. jacque found out she was having a girl and jen opted out of the whole "finding out the sex of your unborn child thing." she's crazy, right? i would need to plan for things like that! no no..she's patient enough to wait and that is why she will be a fabulous momma. welllllllllll, yesterday around 5:50 pm i got a text from my other sister, tracie, (are you following all this?) saying that little baby doherty was on it's way! oh i was so thrilled! i couldn't even sleep last night. fortunately, jen is a great birther and after 8 minutes of active labor she had gave birth to a little baby GIRL! (ps...jen did this all naturally. another reason i admire her. she's a champ...i'm a serious wimp)

baby girl doherty is finally here! she was born at 11:42 pm on August 24, 2010. she weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long. she has a head full of dark hair and is a total chubbo :] mom said she has the cutest double chin ever. with two gorgeous people like jen and daniel as her parents how could she not be adorable? i am sooo excited to go home over Labor Day and squeeze her cheeks! and take her gifts of course...all her gifts up until this point have been gender neutral-lame.

i am soo happy for jen and daniel. and i am so excited for jacque and rob too! i can't wait for their little girl to be born. she will be such a cute little girl too!! ps...sorry there are no pictures...lamest post EVER. but i was just so excited i couldn't hold it in :]

cry baby.

2010-08-02T16:34:00.002-06:00

i have a tendency to cry. not constantly, but i can shed a few tears now and then. [ask my sisters...] anyway....i received this email from my dad today and i might have cried...staring at my computer...at my desk at work. i'm seriously the biggest baby EVER. who cries while reading an email? let alone an while at work! oh right..i do. well here is the email...i highly doubt ANY of you will cry [and by you i mean the 4 people that actually look at this blog], but i thought it should be shared. ps i didn't actually start to cry til i read #3...so in that case i'm not a total loser.

Five lessons about the way we treat people

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor Gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the Cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely, " said the professor.. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant.. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello.."I've never forgotten that lesson.. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A Special note was attached.

It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving pthers."Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient..

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins."I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away.

The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the Table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improveour condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away". Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

remember how we treat those around us....

oregon coast 2010

2010-07-27T19:49:00.019-06:00

there is one place i absolutely love...the oregon coast. it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. here..i'll show you...

what makes it even better are the people i get to spend my beach time with...i have the best family. i love everything about them. it makes me so sad that we don't all live closer to each other, so i really enjoy the time i get to spend with them at the coast.

my sister jennie and i ventured to oregon a few days after everyone else (we were working..of course). we met at the portland airport...hopped on the max to forest grove...and then drove tracie and dylan's car to the beach house. it was my first experience on the max, but jennie made sure to make me feel comfortable by making pretty faces at me:

after jennie and i got to the beach house around midnight we couldn't help but stay up and talk with the fam....i had missed them. oh wait i STILL miss them. anyway...we spent the next week enjoying the fabulous weather, eating, laughing, talking, shopping, taking pictures, going to the tide pools, and just spending time together. it was perfect. except we were missing some very important people (matthew, rob & daniel)..next year. well here are some pictures that tell the coast story much better than i can... :] ps..any time i get a camera in my hands i become like the paparazzi... the poor children are going to go blind...

i love this little man...beckham

grandma & b

easily the cutest kids on the planet...

dawson was so cute about all the treasures he found

jacque...fyi: she's like 6 months pregnant. and you can't even tell...what in the world...

jennie

oh right...she's pregnant too...due in like 5 weeks..but you wouldn't know unless you saw her stomach

best dad in the world...

dyl..looking like a true tourist with the camera AND the camcorder

harper LOVED the water...she would run, play (and fall) and get so wet and dirty and not even care..

she is the most beautiful little girl i have ever seen...duh

amazing mom...(ps...the weather turned to this in 30 seconds...taken the same day as the ones above :]...welcome to the coast!)

harper...the hoodlum. she was a little cold from falling on her face into the ocean..

grandma and grandpa always come and see us at the beach house. it's the highlight of my trip. tracie and grandpa are comparing ear sizes here... :]

i took a few maternity pictures of jac while we were there...i'm clearly not a pro, but it was so fun! and she looks so fabulous..can't wait to meet that little girl!

we love going to the tide pools at depoe bay...the walk to the water is a little rough though!

because of the intensity and steep incline of the hill we always ask the pregnant women to carry the children...safe.

love them. more than life.

i love her so so much.

& i love her tooooo!

oregon coast 2010

model material...obviously

tracie & dylan

sisters...take 1

take 2

and 3

it naturally filters the water...it wasn't even salty. i could definitely survive in the wilderness

harper playing in the "rain"

gorgeous...

you can't go to the coast and not get salt water taffy!

i drove back to boise with mom, dad, & harper...she was a doll..especially being in the car for 10 hours!

it's obvious how much i love this vacation...we have been going for as long as i can remember and i hope we can continue to go for a very long time. the memories made on this vacation are unforgettable and the time spent with my family is irreplaceable. love them. xoxo

little vacay!

2010-07-13T14:55:00.002-06:00

today i leave for one of my most favorite places in the whole wide world...the Oregon Coast! i love it. unfortunately matt has work and can't come along...again...for the second year. i hate not having him there with me but i am so excited to see my family and spend time with them! when i get back there will be many pictures! seeeeeeeee you later!

creepy.

2010-07-07T23:07:00.004-06:00

it's always entertaining to see the shows that are on TV in the wee hours of the morning. surprisingly, i didn't have to wait til 3 am to watch this educational program. PREGNANT AT 70. not even joking. yeah that 70 means 70 years old. probably the creepiest show i have ever watched but i just couldn't pull myself away! it was so weird. not only is this lady old enough to be my grandma, but she's totally blind. ummm interesting? yes. oh and another lady has her nose pierced....i cannot imagine my grandma with a nose ring. crazzzzy. to keep myself from hurling every 5 minutes i got a pop :] and took this picture. in my awwwwwesome ups shirt (thanks dyl) and that's all.

i've turned in my tiara...

2010-06-30T13:15:00.003-06:00

for a crown. yes it's true...i now have something bigger (not necessarily better). you see i went to the dentist today so he could give me my crown. and it sucked. i spent 2 1/2 hours in that chair, had to pay a lot of money, and now what am i left with? sore gums and a throbbing mouth. rad. not.

here's a nice little diagram of how a crown works...total grossout.

one hot mess...

2010-06-29T16:16:00.002-06:00

in each of my posts there is usually a certain amount of complaining. i would like to continue that trend with this one. you see it has gotten quite toasty here in utah since our last snowfall...remember that? that one time it snowed in MAY? yeah well i'm happy to report that has passed. unfortunately we now have the heat. don't get me wrong--i LOVE LOVE LOVE the summer, sun, heat, and warmth of the summer months. i just have a hard time loving it while driving in it.

oh just turn on the AC you say! well i would be all over that except rhonda (my car...she's a honda) struggles with the AC. in other words every time i turn it on it blows hot air...not even a hint of relief from the deathly heat can be found in that vehicle. i'm not really sure why we are having this problem...but i've been told i need to have the ac charged? um ok. anyway. to try and alleviate the pain i feel while driving, i usually roll down all the windows and focus on my breathing the whole way home.

this is usually effective except for in a few circumstances:

when talking on the phone to my mom..this requires me to roll up the windows
when i'm completely stopped in traffic and there is no air flow through the cabin
when i am having a REALLY good hair day and i don't want to ruin it (this rarely happens)

besides these select occasions i do pretty well in the car. i still get VERY hot and that's when the sweat happens. i hate sweating unless i'm exercising. unfortunately there isn't much to be done about it when i go from sitting in a 65 degree office to a 110 degree greenhouse..i mean car. sometimes i even get little sweat spots where my sunglasses rest on my nose. it makes me gag thinking about it.

in reality i'm not quite sure where this post was going. all i know is that my car is very warm...and it turns me into one hot mess by the time i get home...

sunday night giggles

2010-06-15T14:21:00.004-06:00

i'm taking an infancy and childhood development class this summer and besides the fact it's 2 1/2 hours long and at night, i really enjoy all the things i'm learning. sometimes it can be a tiny bit boring though, so to keep myself occupied i eat lemonheads, drink diet pepsi, secretly text under my desk (yeah it's basically like i'm back in high school), and skim the book ahead of my teacher. while reading last night in class i came across this statement:

"normally, neurological advances in the prefrontal cortex occur at about age 4 or 5, and children become less likely to throw a temper tantrum, provoke a physical attack, or burst into giggles during prayer."

after i read this i smiled...and then giggled...and then full on laughed. my teacher stopped class and asked me to explain what was so funny (again just like hs...what is going on here?). i told him it was nothing that i wanted to share with the class. he asked to please tell everyone what was so funny. i gave in. i read him the sentence and then shared my experience. now this isn't word for word but you get the idea....

i have 3 older sisters....the oldest, Jennie, is 8 years older than I, Tracie is 6 years older and Jacque is 3 years older. we get along really well with each other and whenever we are all together we laugh and laugh and laugh. unfortunately sometimes we laugh too much. when we were younger we would get "the sundy night giggles" as my dad so fondly called it. we would be so wild and giggly that my parents could hardly control us. there is something about a sunday night that makes the giggles come out. we were often told to go walk around the cul-de-sac to get rid of the giggles. this might sound harsh and somewhat dangerous to some of you, but don't fret, i was about 7 when this all started so that would make Jen 15. we were perfectly safe to be walking around the neighborhood in the middle of december at 10 o'clock at night. the sunday night giggles haunted us for about 11 years until i left for college...real mature, right?

the reason i bring this up is because that portion of my book says that at about age 4 or 5, children will become less likely to giggle during prayers. apparently none of our prefrontal cortexes had those neurological advances because we were 26, 24, 21, and 18 and still giggling through prayers. perhaps we should grow up a bit? probably not.

not my favorite tradition

2010-06-14T16:34:00.003-06:00

i love a good tradition. i think they are magnificent. there is 1 tradition i really don't understand though. i don't know why people save their wedding cake to eat on their 1 year anniversary. here are a few of my thoughts on this special tradition:

1. year old cake cannot taste good--i don't care if it was made by betty crocker herself

2. i don't even want to think about the freezer burn that would latch on to that thing

3. if the cake tastes so delicious why not eat it all right then?

4. you shouldn't judge someone that DOES eat the whole cake the day after they return from the honeymoon...there is a chance i did this.
5. if you want to have a cake to eat on your 1 year anniversary just get a new cake!

you see i wanted to have the "sentimental value" of eating cake on our anniversary. sooooo i contacted Jennifer (she made our deeeeelish wedding cake) and asked her to recreate the top tier of our cake. it was probably one of my most brilliant ideas. matt loved it (but he pretty much likes cake for any reason), and i didn't have to deal with nasty, frozen cake issue. it was fab and i even pulled out our feather cake topper :]

i decided since matt was so kind as to let me pick the flavor of our wedding cake (coconut almond) i would get a flavor he would like for this one. i got butter yellow with chocolate.

and he gobbled it right up!!

a year ago...

2010-06-13T09:06:00.009-06:00

i can't believe that a year ago today matt and i were married! this year has passed in the blink of an eye. i love him so so much and am more than excited to see what the future holds for us. he is the perfect man for me and my best friend. i am so lucky to have him. happy 1 year anniversary babe!

here are a few pictures from that special day :]

don't forget your snags

2010-06-08T16:59:00.000-06:00

some of you might already know this, but i have terrible teeth. you see they are straight (no braces) but they are very weak... one time i went to the dentist and had 9 cavities. yes...9. i was using perscription toothpaste that was supposed to help with that problem. uh yeah that worked well. apparently i have very weak enamel and my chompers struggle because of it. now don't judge me because of this. i always had my teeth cleaned regularly and if you know my father you know that his most favorite statement is, "don't forget your snags." ps--snags are teeth, so i always took care of my teeth. it just doesn't seem to really make a difference. sick nasty huh?

my teethers have improved slightly over the years, but not by much. i still get lots of cavities despite all my brushing, flossing, and overal proper dental hygiene. now you're probably wondering where i am going with all this...well i am going to the dentist tomorrow. i HATE the dentist. i'm not scared of the dentist..no no, no fear here, but i just really don't like him. it was a dislike that was instilled in me at a young age... because of this, i have grown increasingly fond of this clip. never seen the movie, but i feel this little clipperooski is appropriate. enjoy. i'll let you know how hell is tomorrow.

totally bugs..

2010-05-29T20:07:00.004-06:00

i decided to write a little post about things that are especially irritating to me. i'm sorry if any of these offend. i will not elaborate on them, but rather just state them. i'll try to keep the list short.

1. running out of q-tips.

2. forgetting to buy more q-tips when at the store

3. blog posts with no pictures...oh wait i do that...still bugs

4. pants that are too short

5. shirts that are too short

6. kobe bryant

7. the fringe on paper that has been torn out of a notebook

8. those leash things people attach to their kids

9. when people take their shoes and socks off in class

11. when i call customer service and i end up talking to someone in india

12. when people use their, there, and they're incorrectly

13. stubbing my toe

14. heelys or any type of sneaker with a wheel

15. when people don't put carts in the actual cart return area

16. the carts at ikea

17. backpacks with wheels

18. when i wait in line at cafe rio for 10 minutes and then the person in front of me doesn't know what they want to order

19. when people answer their phones in class

20. sleeping with socks on

21. being expected to know spanish in america

22. being told i look like a 13 year old boy on lost

23. being asked why i'm not in class at the high school

24. when i'm asked if i grew up on a farm and drove a tractor before i drove a car

25. and finally...when people take animals on airplanes

i know that list made me sound like a really annoyed person, but i'm not- promise :] oh and just so i'm not in violation of #3..

this is something that will never ever annoy me :] love this thing.

a fun little dress....

2010-05-28T15:24:00.004-06:00

i believe i've mentioned this before, but my mom is the greatest. she can basically do ANYTHING. so last time i was home we went to a little consignment shop called Again. it has some really great things and we were satisfied with our purchases (who wouldn't be satisfied with a nearly new ann taylor sweater for $3??). one of our purchases was a dress made out of a really fun print. unfortunately it wasn't our size (yes i wear the same size as my mother and all 3 of my sisters...and we share clothes..and it's glorious). my mother knew that she could do something to make this dress work. and did she ever. i received a fun little package the other day with this inside:

ok so i wasn't actually in the package, but the dress was...it's totally cute, huh? um yes. she added such fun little detail that i would have overlooked had i tried to do this on my own...like this little embellishment on the pocket--which of course is only pinned on so i can remove it for easy washing (another thing i definitely would have forgotten about...who washes their clothes nowadays anyway? grunge is in :) ):

she is wonder woman. love her to pieces. thanks for the dress mom..i love it!

a very miserable day.

2010-05-25T16:36:00.006-06:00

may 24, 2010 was a totally lame day. i had been sick all weekend and when i got out of bed yesterday i was hoping to feel better. i didn't. i then looked out the window and immediately felt 10000 times worse. this is what i saw:

i'm not even joking. snow? yes, my friends, SNOW. i was hating life. especially because this was what i saw when i looked out my window only 48 hours before:

is anyone else seeing the contrast here? um yes--i do. i decided to get ready for school despite feeling like i had just been hit by a train... i thought maybe some fresh [snowy] air will make me feel better. it didn't.

this is my "i live in a hell hole" face.

anyway...i left for SUMMER school and stomped through the SNOW to get to my car. i then proceeded to SCRAPE off my windows and blast HEAT the whole way to the school. oh and then it was as if no one in utah has ever witness SNOW at the end of MAY before...oh right because that is totally ridiculous. well the freeway was packed. i guess i didn't mind that part too much--i got to enjoy my bagel and schmear and i heard all the hot new gossip on the radio. i finally arrived at my destination and left the warmth of my vehicle to go into the air conditioned basement of my place of learning. yes...the AC was being used. ps i had to basically wade my way to the entrance because there were so many puddles. despite wearing winter boots my pants were soaked up to my mid calf and my socks got wet. i seriously hate wet socks. at this point i was at my lowest of lows. i was cold, wet, and sick. sounds like a nice, spring day, right? not so much. i complained to matthew over text for about an hour before he told me to just go home. i couldn't pass up that offer. with the flu and a sinus infection i wasn't feeling my best and the snow was the icing on the cake. i immediately put on sweats and fuzzy socks when i got home and stayed under a blanket the rest of the day. i am feeling slightly better today and when i looked out the window this morning it was sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. the high temperature was 70 degrees. i'm not even kidding. i'm even wearing sandals. i will never understand this state i live in...it's totally lame.

on a more positive note...i'm buying a power sander today. greatest day ever.

the end.

thanks a lot norm..

2010-05-19T21:32:00.003-06:00

so yesterday i got home from work around 5:45. i was famished. matthew wasn't hungry so i was just going to cook some rice and veggies and a tortilla. disgusting combo, right? well at this point i would have eaten anything. i was starving. anyway...i got out the skillet to start cooking my tortilla (ps: the l's in this word actually make the L sound...tortiLLa). i turn the stove on and carefully place my tortilla in the pan. oh by the way...i am obsessed with the uncooked tortillas. they are about a thousand times better than already cooked ones. TRY THEM. so i am in the process of precisely cooking my deeeeelish dinner when the doorbell rings. i go, look out the peephole, and see a precious old man. of course i just have to answer the door! so this old man, norm, proceeds to tell me that he is with the census bureau and he asked me if i would be willing to answer a few questions. i agreed. i answered all of his questions and about the time he is thanking me, matthew says, "bets, that thing is burning!" i look over at the stove and what do i see? a lot of smoke. it was totally rad. i hurried norm out the door and then went back to the kitchen. matthew had taken the pan off the stove and this was inside...

so i'm no martha stewart, but i can cook a dang tortilla...i blame this one on norm. lesson: don't ever get distracted by cute, little, census grandpas.

longest post everrrrrrrrr!

2010-05-17T14:36:00.006-06:00

this post is definitely going to be one of my longest. and with few pictures--lame. i will not be offended if you don't read it all--you don't even have to read any of it if you don't want to. first item of business: this beauty--

wonderful, right? yes i think so. you see i have been needing a new camera for a few months (i might have dropped ours in the snow...) so i did some research and decided that if i was going to buy a new camera i wanted to get one that i liked and that i would get a lot of good pictures out of...that is when my new bff Nikon D3000 came into the picture. so i saved my pennies and on saturday matthew took me to the camera store and i picked her up. it was glorious and i love her already! i had to charge the battery for a full 8 HOURS before i could start snapping away, but i patiently waited. and then the time came when i was allowed to assemble the camera and take pictures. i loved every minute of it and can't wait to capture all the fun memories matthew and i have together! it will be bomb.com and my posts will finally have real pictures again! (except this one... :) ) oh yes and matthew loves that i take millions of pictures of him already...

item of business #2: this past week i got to go home and spend a few days with 3 of my most favorite people: my mother, my father, and my oldest sister jennifer. it was delightful and gave me a nice little break from school (which will be item #3) and work. unfortunately, matthew had work and couldn't tag along. that part of it was totally lame. but other than that i had a wonderful time. i easily have the best family in the world. by far. hands down. no one even comes close. i won't go into detail because i don't want to make anyone feel badly about their inadequate families :] jk. but i could devote a whole post to each individual in my family. love their guts.

item of business #3: school. you see i finished spring semester the last week in april which was a real treat because 19 credits in one semester was not fun. it was so not fun that i decided to give myself a break and only take 18 credits in the summer. brilliant. the summer semester is split into two blocks..7.5 weeks a block. i am taking 12 credits this block and will take 6 in the second block. my weekly schedule consists of this: monday, wednesday & friday--

8:45 am-2:00 pm=classes

2:15 pm-5:45 pm=work

6:00 pm-8:30 pm=more class

i don't have class on tuesday or thursday so i use those days to study, do homework, sleep, and work on projects around the house...it's not my first choice of schedule, but i can do anything for 7.5 weeks, right? aaaaaaaaand i graduate in december! yay!

item of business #4: i mentioned in my last post that tracy and her kiddos came to visit and that i would be posting more about their time here with us...well i obviously haven't done that yet, so here are a few more pictures from their visit...one of these days i will post about JUST their trip here--we had SO much fun :]

beckham slobbered a lot...

there was a lot of fun with the iphone...

practicing putting with uncle matt

trying on uncle matt's shoes

eating hay? typical harper

tractor rides with uncle bob

oh and despite how it looks, tracy and i were actually present this whole time... we can't wait for their next visit!

well that is basically all that is going on at the moment. matthew is still LOVING his job and he also enjoys all his time to golf as well.... and next post will have more pictures! promise :]

little visitors...

2010-04-27T16:32:00.003-06:00

this post will be short. but more are to come! it will take me about 100 posts to talk about my last couple of days...i got to spend them with my sister and these precious kiddos...i couldn't help but snap a few (ok, like 450) pictures of them. they are so cute & i loved the time i got to spend with them.

dawson

harper

beckham

thrifting...greatest thing ever.

2010-04-19T16:25:00.008-06:00

in reference to my last post about needing a break, well i finally got a mini one..kinda. you see i woke up saturday morning soooo excited to go hangout and go thrifting with my friend Erika. Let me tell you a little about this lady--she is basically the queen of crafts and definitely one of the most creative people i know--i envy her and her super organized craft room...yes see for yourself right here..she is the bomb. you'll probably all end up really jealous and start blog stalking her. don't fret--we all do it...ANYWAY i woke up feeling terrible with a scratchy throat, stuffy nose, and a congested sinus. i did NOT want my fun-filled morning to be affected by this. oh did i mention Erika invited me over to a pre-shopping breakfast of cranberry scones and fresh-squeezed orange juice? oh well she did. and they were beyond heavenly. i tried to put my illness behind me and enjoy my morning of semi-relaxtion before my life was taken over by multiple regression, chi-squares, p-values, and correlation coefficients (yeah i don't really know what they mean either...). boy did i enjoy myself! we went to this little thrift store that is slightly scary and is owned by people with no teeth..we didn't let that stop us from totally scoring..we got lots of books--i believe around 20, a fun floral canister, and a set of enamel mixing bowls for $8.75! yes we are big spenders. awww just thinking about it makes me smile... thank you erika for taking me to Kat's...i'm sure we will have many wonderul times there in the future.

now for the next portion of this thrilling post...my ottoman. i have a condition. i'm not sure it's real, but if it is i have it. you see whenever i am stressed and sick i feel the need to paint, recover, or change a piece of furniture. i could be doing many other things like sleeping or homework, but no no this is much more fun and relaxing. so saturday afternoon rolls around and i should be doing stats homework but what do i do instead? i make a mess.

now i know this doens't look bad at all...i had just cleaned up actually.
oh and yes i was ironing on the floor...fire hazard? maybe..oh well...maybe this will be enough convincing for matt that instead of the spare room as an office we can use it as a craft room :]

ok so the project was an ottoman i found on craigslist. of course i didn't take any pictures of it till after i had taken off the legs and started ripping off the fabric, so here it is:

oh and yes that is matthew's new putter in the background..it's basically his new best friend..since the sun has finally decided to grace us with its presence i rarely see my husband...

these colors were a little dull and dark for me..and kinda boring. i knew exactly where i would be putting my new friend so i picked out the fabric accordingly. all she took was a little extra cushion, some new paint, new fabric and some staples..ok a lot of staples. at one point matthew asked if i had run out yet...anyway..here's the final product!

this picture makes it look like it's all lopsided...it's not...i promise.

matthew kinda hates her guts though...kinda. i don't really know why, but he does. oh well..he'll learn to love her :]

i need a break...

2010-04-14T16:41:00.005-06:00

oh yes this statement is more than true...but i don't want to delve into that at the moment--far too stressful. so instead i would like to wish my wonderful husband a happy 10 month + 1 day anniversary! yes i know our actual 10 month anniversary was yesterday, but yesterday was quite the day and i didn't have a ton of time. oh well--that is why i am taking care of this today! duh. unfortunately, our camera is still broken (it's starting to really bother me to be honest) so i have no new photos of us...tooooo bad... these will have to do for now :]

just married :]

newlyweds! @ the airport at 4:30 am...so excited!

please ignore the fact that i look like i'm 8 years old--i never got ready on our honeymoon..sexy, right? you bet. anyway..we loved relaxing in these hammocks!

we love our hot chocolate! & vanilla steamers!

matthew's birthday at Tucanos! Deeelish :]

matthew with his new job information! so exciting--he is absolutely loving it!

well that's all for now :] i can't even imagine my life without matthew. i love him so so much! 10 months + 1 day down...eternity to go :]

oh Fido...how i love you..

2010-03-16T16:40:00.001-06:00

this will most likely be the most boring post in the history of blogs, but i must share some exciting news! let me start at the beginning...a very good place to start, yes? oh ps: this is going to be basically a novel so be prepared... wellllll, matthew graduated in December 2008 with a degree in Business with an emphasis in Finance & Banking...(a little dull if you ask me :) ) he then began working as a financial advisor, where he got his Series 66 & Series 7 and Utah Life & Health Insurance licenses. i have no idea what these are but apparently they are important in the finance biz... he worked as an advisor for about 8 months before deciding he hated it more than anything else in the world. he was always in a bad mood and i told him i would rather have him be unemployed and happy than employed at this lame job and unhappy. Sooo, like a good husband he took my advice and quit. THANK GOODNESS! i finally had a happy husband again :)

well like a lot of people at the moment, matthew struggled finding new employment. he was then graciously offered a job to work for some friends at Best Western Inn. he took the job only because it would produce a paycheck, but he knew it wouldn't be something he would want to do for forever.

in November of 2009 he applied to a job at Fidelity Investments. we waited, and waited...and waited some more. nothin, nada, zilch. we heard nothing from them, so we scratched that idea and moved on. then in early February of this year matthew received a phone call from Fidelity saying they wanted to phone interview him! we were a little confused with how long it took them to get back to him, but we then found out that 653 people had applied for the job and they had 20 positions to fill. we felt lucky that he had even made it into the top 200 that were being interviewed on the phone. well he has his phone interview and everything went great. they scheduled a time for an in-person interview for the next week. by this point we were feeling pretty confident in his chances since they were narrowed down to 45 people! so matthew gets all ready for his interview in his suit (he looked just so cute!) and heads off for the FOUR & A HALF HOUR interview..yes 4 1/2 hours. awesome. he reports back to me when it's complete and said everything went sooo well and we would have an answer in 3-5 business days...at this point we were VERY hopeful.

wellllllll 5 business days pass, then 6, and then 7.. i was annoyed to say the least. FINALLY on the 7th day matthew's recruiter called. unfortunately she had bad news. she said that corporate was off in their calculations and they weren't allowed to hire anyone..kinda lame? uh yeah, tell me about it. they had wasted about 2 weeks of matthew's time and we were not happy about it. ok i was livid at the level of unprofessionalism (is that a word?) and lack of common courtesy..i mean if their numbers were off THAT much they should have known before wasting people's time. so with that we moved on yet again and matthew kept looking for other employment.

so yesterday i was at the mall doing an experiment for school [i always spend monday nights hobbling around the mall on crutches with a neck brace] and i get a text from matthew saying he had just gotten a phone call and i was supposed to guess who it was from. ummm the prophet? the president? his mom? i didn't know and i was not thrilled with the idea of guessing so he just told me. yes you guessed it--it was from them and by them i mean Fidelity. they left him a nice little message asking him to call them back. i was kinda hoping they were calling to apologize for being so lame. but no no. instead they were calling to offer him a job! i was upset there was no apology, but that unhappiness was soon overtaken by joy! YAY! i went from despising Fidelity (whom i now lovingly refer to as Fido--i don't feel that nicknames are really appropriate until a bond has been formed..) to loving them in about .2 seconds. so April 5 will my dear husband's first day on the job...i will spare you all the details as this post has gone on for WAY too long.

so that is the exciting news...probably not the most exciting for most of you, but we are thrilled :] he will finally be doing something related to his line of work and hopefully it will take him somewhere! oh Fido you really pulled through for us...

better late than never, right?

2010-03-03T15:50:00.002-07:00

i haven't blogged in SO long! we have had so much going on i don't know where to start! ps--there's a chance i might have dropped our camera in the snow when i was having a snow ball fight with tracie...so it might be broken..ok it's toast..soooo no pictures for a while..oh well. back to what we have been doing!! i am currently taking 19 credits and working at the real estate office during the week and at a clothing boutique on the weekends...matt is also working full-time and is trying hard to find a new job, one that would suit him better. so this is what's new with us :]

-On February 7th my dear Matthew turned 27! he's growing up so fast..

-We hosted a Super Bowl/Birthday Party for Matthew

-Matthew's wonderful parents & brother came to visit! they're absolutely fabulous!

-I hosted Bunco and had so much fun planning and baking delicious treats

-Mike n' Ike & Jilly Bean came for a visit! it was so much fun. i love my parents.

-I decided I'm SO ready to be done with school..

-I made homemade bread and homemade soup for the first time...

-I've made homemade bread every week since...and i eat a whole loaf by myself..it's awesome.

-I think more has been going on but I can't remember it all...

-Oh yes! I've been doing my fair share of blog stalking..but that's not really new...

Obviously we have been VERY VERY busy here :] and hopefully we will get that camera fixed...i'm dying without it :[