The Whettens

Autumn update

2011-10-15T18:18:00.001-06:00

Cameron has gone fishing, I am recovering from a week of being really sick, and a lot has happened over the past several months, so I decided to do a quick update. So, here's what's been going on with us:

- The thing that has impacted my life the most lately, is that on September 14, I lost my sweet Grandma Hiatt. It has been such a difficult thing to deal with. I think about her every day, and there are times when I forget that she is gone. I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with her during the last year of her life. Being unemployed was truly a blessing sometimes. I would drive her to appointments with her doctors, and during the last few months of her life when she couldn't be left alone, I got to spend many precious days with her. She forgot a lot of things, and it was hard to watch her fade away, but the gift of that time spent with her is something I will always cherish. Grams kept her keen wit and fun sense of humor until the very end. In the few days before she passed away, our family came together to care for her and for each other, and that is another thing I will cherish forever. I will probably post more about the entire experience sometime, when it makes more sense in my head, but I am so grateful to have had such an amazing woman in my life. I have so many wonderful memories of her, and I learned so much from her.

- Cameron did some freelance work for one of the guys on his team at Westech. He designed some silicone watches for a clothing company. He really enjoyed the process, and the opportunity to learn more about product design outside of waste water treatment. He is such a talented man in so many aspects. I loved when he would run his preliminary designs past me and ask for my input. His watches are sold here if you're interested :)

- I turned 32 - Ahem, I mean, 29 - on October 1. It was a fabulous birthday! Jorjette was able to fly in from NYC for the weekend, and we went to Wendover to see Dwight Yoakam! We had such a blast...feather boas and birthday tiaras, getting our boogie on with Dwight, and just being our amazing and fabulous selves. Cam was a trooper and a total sweetie to give me up for the weekend. I love it when my Big City Sister comes to town, and he knows how special she is to me, so he is very understanding and accommodating when she comes.

- Cameron and I were able to go to New Mexico in July for the Whetten reunion. I went with Max and Sharon last year, but Cam hadn't been able to go for 3 years. We had a great time. Cam was excited to see his cousins, some of them he hadn't seen for several years. We always enjoy our time with the Whettens. They are such a great family, and a lot of fun! We had lots of games and activities, beautiful weather, amazing food, and great campfire music. We are already excited for next year!

- We decided this year that the first weekend of August is designated for the Kelley Family Camp-out. This year we went to Great Basin National Park. We hiked to Stella Lake, toured Lehman Cave, and had a wonderful time. My dad was so excited to tour the cave with all of his grandkids. I think he would love to still be a ranger out there doing daily cave tours, if he could. He is always very courteous of the tour guides, and usually hangs in the back of the group so he can tell us things that the guide might have missed. We look forward to our adventure next year, wherever we decide to go.

So, there you have our quick update - which turned out to be kind of long!

Who knew outhouses could be so exciting?

2011-04-28T11:28:00.007-06:00

(This is really an exciting thing, even if it sounds a little weird.)

Cameron has a good friend named Andrew, who is attending grad school in Norway. Andrew has become very involved in humanitarian work, specifically water and sanitation, and he came up with an idea for an outhouse design that is very sanitary and uses existing materials to build. It's an awesome idea, and would be ideal in a place like Haiti, where there are lots of people who need a place to...well...go.

But awesome ideas need $$ to get off the ground. Andrew applied for a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to get this project going. He hired Cameron to draw some plans for the proposal.

It was announced today that Andrew was awarded the grant! And Cameron's drawings are used on the website!

This is a project that is definitely going to make a difference in the world. Cameron is honored and excited to be involved.

So, check out the website and take a look at the drawings, and read the blurb about the project.

Prayers please :)

2011-03-07T13:06:00.004-07:00

I know that most of the people who read this blog don't know
my mother-in-law, Sharon.For those of you who don't know her, you should
know that Sharon is amazing!

She means the world to us, and we were devastated to learn last month that
she had been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
She is scheduled for 4 rounds of chemo. Round 2 is on Friday.

Sharon is content to be behind the scenes.She doesn't like to be the topic of conversation or the subject of worry. So, of course, she is fighting this battle very quietly. Any time any of us ask her what she needs, her reply is always, "I don't think I need anything. I'll be ok."

One thing that is always welcome, however, is a prayer on her behalf. I believe in the power of prayer and positive thought for healing and comfort. So, if you get a chance this week, please say a prayer or send a positive thought for my sweet mother-in-law.

Sharon has an amazing spirit and a lot of faith.
She has a lot of strength and a strong will.
We are optimistic that this battle will end in a victory for Sharon.
Your prayers will help!

We love you Sharon!

I just have to say...

2011-01-28T19:09:00.002-07:00

...as I'm sitting here watching my sweetie cook dinner (ahem, t-bone steaks with a some kind of pan sauce involving garlic, onions, mushrooms, and bacon. HELLO!), and thinking back on the lovely hour or so I spent eating sushi and visiting with friends today, I just had this realization that, you know, I am a very lucky lady.

(And very good at writing very long sentences.)

:)

Looking forward

2011-01-05T18:16:00.004-07:00

It's that time of year again. Time for the dreaded resolutions.
You know...those things I never keep?
So this year I am going about this a little differently.

I talked to my Grandma one night last week and she was telling me about Grandpa's sister, Renee, and how Grandma remembers that every day Renee made a list of things she wanted to accomplish. They could be big or small things. Then you cross them off throughout the day. No matter how trivial your task list might be, you get the satisfaction of crossing off each item.
Grandma decided that she is going to start making her list every morning when she first wakes up. When all of her "chores" done for the day, then she can read a book, or watch a movie, or do whatever she wants for the rest of the day. I decided I really liked this idea, so I told Grandma that we would start this New Year's Resolution goal together.

So, my New Year's Resolution is this: every morning I will make a list of at least 5 things that need to be done that day. Then, when my chores are done, I can do whatever else strikes my fancy.

I am really hopeful that this will help make all of the big things that I need to get done seem more manageable, since I can break them down into smaller tasks on paper and tackle them on a smaller scale.

Part 2 of my New Year's Resolution comes from my pal Jaala. She chooses one word that will be her resolution for the year. It is a word that encompasses everything she wants to accomplish for the year. So I'm going to this, too.

My word for the year is: Today

I am the queen of putting things off until tomorrow. Doesn't matter what it is. I'll fold that laundry tomorrow. I'll do the dishes tomorrow. I'll scrub the shower tomorrow. I'll work on my scrapbooks tomorrow. Etc, etc, ad nauseum. Well, no more!
We're 5 days in, and I've completed 3 lists and only put a few things off until tomorrow.
It can only get better, right?

Happy New Year!

I keep this moment by and by...

2010-12-09T10:24:00.002-07:00

I love Christmas. It's such a joyful time.
It makes me happy to see people trying to spread love and joy.
I love being with my family and friends.
I love thinking about the first Christmas.
I love the music.

This is kind of a melancholy thing to write about, but I am so overwhelmed by this one song, that I have to share it.

Wintersong, by Sarah McLachlin has such a profound effect on me.
I can still remember the first time I heard it, a year after my Grandpa Hiatt died.
I was listening to Sarah's new Christmas cd while I was putting up the Christmas tree.
The song started and I got chills, and as I listened I sat there
on the living room floor and sobbed.

The melody is beautiful. The message is sad, but so beautiful.
I couldn't help but think of my Grandpa.

I envisioned Grandma and Grandpa together in their younger days, and all of the Christmases they shared together.
I thought of my sweet Grandma and
how much she missed my Grandpa - how much we ALL miss him.
The further it went into the song, the harder I cried, and then...
...I couldn't help but smile.
As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like the spirit of my Grandpa touched me that day.
It was a moment I cherish.

It was so hard to lose Grandpa so close to Christmas. It still makes me sad, and I miss him so much...

...but I think in many ways it was a gift.
When Christmas comes we all miss him.
But we are reminded of how much he loved us, and how lucky we are to have each other.

I love my family. I love Christmas.
I love this song:

Dust Bunnies and Poker Faces

2010-09-21T16:54:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone.

I suck at blogging.

But I'm still here!

Since the end of summer with everyone going back to school, I am bored out of my mind. I'm home all day most days. Boooooring.

I've finally gotten around to making sense of my house. That was supposed to be my first order of business once I quit working. Ha ha.

I listen to daytime t.v. and music while I sort, toss, and rearrange everything. And let me tell you what, my house was home to waaaaayyy too much dust.

I don't really miss working, but I really, really, REALLY miss people. I'm starting to think of Lady Gaga and Ellen Degeneres as close, personal friends of mine since I hear them every day.

I promise, I'm not crazy. :)

But seriously, I never thought I would ever, EVER listen to, let alone like, Lady Gaga.
She's fun to clean house to.

Anyway, a summer recap with pictures coming up soon.
Also, some new projects I'm working on.

Time? What time?

2010-07-27T13:29:00.002-06:00

So...a lot of things have changed in our lives lately.

Well, really just one major thing: I'm not working anymore.

It was just time. I had been at Nu Skin for 10 years and I always regretted not finishing my bachelor's degree. So it felt like the time was right to leave my job and go back to school.
Of course, I left myself what I thought was plenty of time to get things done at home.

I have so many things that have been pushed to the back burner. Every room of my house needs to be seriously cleaned, sorted through, and have things thrown out or donated.

And it is completely overwhelming.

Since my last day of work on July 9, I have been to New Mexico, had the flu, helped my Mama sort through things in my aunt's classroom, run errands, etc...

...but nothing has been done in my house.

Sigh.

I started sorting through the mountains of mail that have been piling up for the last few months. So I guess that's a start.

And I'm caught up on laundry, so I guess that's something.

I've added tons of music to my iPod. See? I have priorities. ;)

So, I guess what I mean to say is, I thought I would have so much time to get everything done, and more time to blog, scrapbook, send letters and cards, finally finish a quilt, yadda yadda yadda...

So far, nope.

And time is running out.

And August promises to be much busier than July.

Dang.

But, I still have to say...I LOVE being a housewife! I really am getting small things done around here, just not to the scale I had hoped. So there really is progress. My visions of grand accomplishment have not been met yet, but it will come.

Now, if we can just get that budget figured out and actually stick to it...

If I May...

2010-06-09T15:55:00.004-06:00

Once a month’s not bad, right?

Since it’s June, I guess I better catch up on May.

Not much happened in May. It was nice to visit with our Mamas and families on Mother’s Day. I have the cutest Mama and the cutest Mama-in-law EVER! I love them both so much. They are both so supportive of Cam and me.

I celebrated my 10^th anniversary at work. It was a weird day. I never thought I would work at Nu Skin as long as I have. But it’s a great place to work, with great people to work with. I’ve had some fun times and made some good friends.

Probably the most exciting thing to happen in May was the day Jake came home from Afghanistan. He had been in San Diego at Camp Pendleton for a week or so, and he rolled into Camp Williams on the 29^th. It was very exciting. I had to work the day that Russ came home, so this was my first experience with the military homecoming. The whole place was buzzing with excitement, and everyone’s emotions were running high. It was fun to see all of the Marine’s families hanging out and visiting with each other.

Once we saw the buses coming down the lane toward the crowd, it got real hectic real quick! Everyone rushed the buses, and we could see a Marine on the first bus forcing the door open to get off. Everyone was hugging, crying, laughing…it’s just an awesome experience to see the Marines reunite with their families. A few of them even met their children for the first time! Imagine being a world away when your first child is born. I can't even imagine.

I’m thankful for Jake and I’m glad he’s safe at home again. A few things went wrong, and not everyone was as lucky as we are to have their Marine home safe and unharmed. That is a truly humbling thought, and to say that I am grateful and relieved is really an understatement.

And...that’s our May in a nutshell.

Catching up

2010-04-28T11:48:00.006-06:00

So...it's been so long since I've written anything, I don't really know what to say.
We're kinda boring, Cameron and I.
We do fun stuff sometimes, but mostly it's just work and all
of the boring daily activities that everyone else is doing.
So, nothing to write home about.

Here are a few things though:

We finally saw Muse and Silversun Pickups!
It was like Christmas.
We were both so excited, it was ridiculous. I still get giddy thinking about it.

We hiked up Little Wildhorse Canyon with my Ma and Pa.
It was beautiful spring day with blue sky and fluffy clouds.
(the first time I typed that it said blue clouds and fluffy sky.
I get a little mixed up sometimes.)
I have hiked in some beautiful desert canyons in my life, but
nothing quite as narrow as this one!

I think everyone needs to see How To Train Your Dragon.
It was such a cute, fun film.
I liked it even better than Avatar - the 3D was amazing!
My stomach did little floopty-loos (that's what Cam calls it)
when Hiccup rode his dragon for the first time.
That is some pretty good 3D, I would say.

I found a new book series that I absolutely LOVE and I would recommend
to EVERYONE!
The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
is a lot of fun.
If you like Harry Potter, Eragon, Percy Jackson,
and books like that, you will like it.
Even if you don't like those other books, you might like it.

So...pictures of our adventures soon.
:)

Women's Conference 2010

2010-03-10T12:30:00.005-07:00

"Women's Conference" this year was a blast -- as usual!

Can't wait until next year.

I don't think we look anything alike.

The sisters:

Come Next Monday...

2010-02-26T11:44:00.004-07:00

So there's this old (ha!) country song from 1990 that I've always really liked.

Come Next Monday
K.T. Oslin

Come next Monday
I'm goin' to bed early
I won't talk dirty for a week or two
Goin' on a diet
Just like sugar, honey
Come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you

X-rays show some
Excess baggage
Too much work for a little heart to do
Self-denial
Is never easy baggage
But come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you

Ain't gonna call you
After a day or two
Ain't gonna miss you honey
An even if i do

I'll never tell you
You'll never ever know
How hard it is
To let you go

Come next Monday
I hope I'm a little bit stronger
Some of the Mondays that I've been through
Temptation Tuesday
Might be sorry
But come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you

Come next Monday
I'm goin' to bed early
I wont talk dirty for a week or maybe two
I'm goin' on a diet
Just like sugar, honey
Come next Monday
I'm gonna give up on you

This song was running through my head this morning.
While I was singing it to myself I had a revelation,
and while it should be painfully obvious,
it just dawned on me why I like this song so much:
It's about me!
Hello!
My name is Marie and I am a chronic procrastinator.
I need to go to bed earlier.
I should really quit cussing.
I really need to eat better and exercise more.
Among (many) other things.
And I am soooo good at putting it off until another day.
*sigh*
So I guess what I'm saying is,
it's time to start.

Now, and not Monday...

Fabulous February

2010-02-23T15:04:00.004-07:00

Since the month is quickly drawing to an end
I decided that I had better squeeze in a February post.
So far this month has brought us

fake, early spring
a visit from my NewYorker BFF
contacts for Cam
glasses for me
the return of LOST...
and many more lovely, if everyday things.

Oh, and...

Yes! I am going! June 3rd! Woohoo!!

January's always bitter...

2010-02-03T14:26:00.007-07:00

Oh, boy.
January has come and gone.
Can you believe it’s February already?
I can’t. Where does all this time go as it flies on by?
Is it just because I’m getting older that it seems like time has sped up?
Anyway.

Totally excited for this (First episode was amazing. I'm still a bit lost, of course. But it's Lost, so...yeah.):

Totally digging this guy:

Totally excited to see these guys...

...who are on tour with these guys...

...and will be making a stop in SLC on April 5th.I seriously can't wait. I look at my tickets, which are magneted to the fridge, at least once a day and get all giddy.

So...what's up with you?

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-30T16:28:00.004-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a very happy New Year!

Our Christmas was lovely. Santa was very generous, and we got to spend lots of time with family. We started our day with a yummy brunch with the Whettens...

..then had a nice visit with the clan at Grandma Hiatt's house. We ended our evening at Grandma Kelley's for dinner. Our awesome nephew, Nathan, provided the post dinner show. He noticed that he could see his reflection in the t.v. so he started dancing. He's got some moves!

I am looking forward to the new year. Maybe I'll be a better blogger in 2010!

Love to all!

And now for December...

2009-12-02T14:47:00.002-07:00

Wow. November came and went too fast. I love November. I love the cooking, eating, and visiting that Thanksgiving brings. I never really did one of those posts where I list all of the things I am thankful for. I want to do that. I'll keep it simple, no elaboration. Here's the first 20 things that pop into my head when I think of what I am thankful for:

Cameron
My Mama and Daddy
Cam's Mama and Daddy
Joey
Family
Friends
Mountains
Health
Love
Home
Cam's job
My job
Kindness
Laughter
Music
Forgiveness
Hope
Freedom
Knowledge
Angels

Since it's November...

2009-11-16T16:23:00.005-07:00

...I decided I should focus on some things that I'm thankful for. And since in November we also celebrate Veteran's Day, to start off, I want to tell you about two guys who I adore, and who you should know about because they take care of you.

This is my brother-in-law, Jake.

He's Cam's youngest brother. He is a U.S. Marine. He lives somewhere in Afghanistan. He is putting his life on the line for YOU and ME right now, and I am thankful for him.

This is my brother-in-law, Russ.

He's just younger than Cam. He is also a U.S. Marine. You can't see his face, because he is hiding from all of the wind, sand, and sun in Iraq. Thankfully, he returned home from Iraq last year none the worse for wear. I am thankful to Russ for the sacrifices he made to serve our country. Who knows when he'll have to serve again. It could be tomorrow; it could be next year; it could be five years from now.

As of the end of October, the number of troops serving in Iraq was 124,000, and the number of troops serving in Afghanistan totaled 65,000. That is 189,000 sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, and friends all serving our country in wars a half a world away. It doesn't matter what you think/believe politically, the wars they are fighting are real. It's not just what we see on the news. There are things that they face that we can't begin to fathom. It takes someone cut from a special mold to volunteer for the military.

The troops deserve our respect.

And if you have an extra prayer laying around, maybe you could say one for Jake.

Hi there!

2009-08-27T19:24:00.002-06:00

Nothing like 2 months between posts. I guess no one really reads this anyway, so it shouldn't really matter.

But just in case someone does read this...HELLO! Long time no see! :)

Summer's just about over. I can't believe it. We've done some stuff, but nothing too exciting. And the places we did go to, I either forgot my camera or the memory card. So not many pictures. No bueno.

So...we're still here, still kickin'. No worries.

Something good...

2009-06-04T16:35:00.003-06:00

I wasn't able to watch the much-hyped speech that President Obama gave in Cairo this morning. There has been so much talk about it over the past few days, a lot of positive and negative back and forth, and quite frankly, I was bored with it before it even happened. But, since he is our president, and because of where he was speaking and what he was addressing, I decided to read the full transcript of his speech earlier this afternoon.

The end of his speech truly touched me. I am a realistic person, and I realize that a lot of what he said is wishful thinking that will never come to fruition, becuase let's face it, there are too many people who really don't want peace, understanding, or to find common ground. There are people who are so filled with hate and misunderstanding that all they can do is hate and judge because they don't understand. And I'm not just talking about people in the Muslim countries...

Anyway, here's the last few paragraphs of his speech. What do you think?

"...we have a responsibility to join together to behalf of the world that we seek, a world where extremists no longer threaten our people and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes, a world where governments serve their citizens and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek.But we can only achieve it together. I know there are many, Muslim and non-Muslim, who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort, that we are fated to disagree and civilizations are doomed to clash.

Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith in every country. You more than anyone have the ability to reimagine the world, the remake this world.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

This truth transcends nations and peoples, a belief that isn't new, that isn't black or white or brown, that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people. And it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Quran tells us, 'Mankind, we have created you male and a female. And we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.'

The Talmud tells us, 'The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.'

The Holy Bible tells us, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.'

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth."

Goodies

2009-05-28T15:19:00.004-06:00

Here are some youtubes that I love to watch.

I've talked about this one on my Facebook page a lot. Love it. So much. Watch it!

This may very well be the cutest, funniest kid I have ever seen:

And quite possibly my favorite:

Oh my HECK!

2009-05-22T11:23:00.007-06:00

Can it be? Can it really be? Can it really be that I am finally updating my poor, neglected blog?

Here's a little update on the past few months:

Went to Mesquite. Had a blast! Love these ladies:

Hiked here:

Took mom and Sharon to see:

Welcomed a new, beautiful, perfect little niece:

That's about it.

I almost forgot!

2009-02-25T14:49:00.002-07:00

Brianne took some fun pictures of Cam and me a few Sundays ago. We braved the cold and the mud in Payson park. Brianne is so talented. Being only 4'2" tall, she has such a unique perspective of the world. It really translated into her photos. And, really, she just has a really good eye for photography. She's gonna go far! Here are my faves:

Guilty of Neglect

2009-02-25T14:36:00.002-07:00

Poor, poor neglected blog. I will try to do better. I've just been busy, and not in the mood to blog. But I will try to do better. In the meantime, I saw this on Sheri's blog and thought it was fun. You all know I love to read, so I thought I should see how many of these great books I have actually read:

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up? Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (x )
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (x)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (x)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (x)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (x )
6 The Bible - (Not the whole thing)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte ( )
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (x)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ()
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (x )
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott ( x)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy ()
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (x)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (x)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier ( )
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (x)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( )
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (x)
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ()
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ()
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (x )
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald ( x)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens (x )
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ( )
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (x )
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ( )
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ( )
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (x)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (x )
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (x )
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (x )
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (x )
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (x)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (x )
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (x )
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (x)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - (x )
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres (x)
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (x)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (x)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ( x)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (x)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (x)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving (x)
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ( )
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (x )
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ()
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ()
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (x)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan (x)
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel ( )
52 Dune - Frank Herbert ()
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ( )
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (x )
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ( )
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ( )
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (x )
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ( )
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime-Mark Haddon ()
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (x)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (x)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ( )
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ()
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (x )
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas ( x)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (x )
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ()
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (x )
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ( )
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (x)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (x )
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (x)
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (x )
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ( )
75 Ulysses - James Joyce ( )
76 The Inferno - Dante ()
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ( )
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( )
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (x)
80 Possession - AS Byatt ( )
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (x)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ()
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (x )
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ()
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert ( )
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ( )
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (x)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (x )
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (x)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ( )
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad ()
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery ( x)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ( )
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams ()
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ()
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute ( )
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (x )
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (x)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (x)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (x )

Wow! 59 down, only 41 to go!

Goal Update

2009-01-16T13:49:00.002-07:00

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! I really do appreciate it. I just thought that I would pass a long a few very helpful things that I have discovered as I've been trying to reign in spending and save a little more every month.

For help with grocery shopping costs, sistersavings.net is a very cool site. It takes all of the local grocery ads in Utah and Arizona, and it puts all of the special deals into either an Excel spreadsheet or a pdf. I love the spreadsheet, because I can look at what's on sale, and delete things at a certain store I'm not going to buy, and then add my own shopping list, print it out, and take it with me. As I've been trying to plan a menu, sometimes I even choose things to prepare based on what's on sale. It's also nice to stock up on food storage type items that are so cheap. A little a time is how we're supposed to do it, right?

Another site I love is pinchingyourpennies.com. You sign up for a free weekly email newsletter, and you get tips on all sorts of specials. You get grocery store specials, but also other random things. For instance, today I got a code for an extra 50% off clearance items at oldnavy.com. If you like to shop online occasionally, like I do, it's nice to see special little deals all in one place. If you need a code to get the deal, they usually have it there.

Also, I have to plug Dave Ramsey one more time. If nothing else, the budget planning software on the Total Money Makeover website is incredibly helpful and easy to use. It's making it very easy for me to plan and track our monthly spending.

Anyway, little things like these are very helpful to me, so I hope they can be helpful to some of you as well!

Resolu-SHUN!

2009-01-05T21:02:00.002-07:00

So yeah, not a big fan of the New Year's Resolution. Why? Because it never sticks. I do really, really well for a week, and then it's off the wagon and back down bad habit road. So I'm taking a new approach. I'm trying a little something I learned in my class, and I'm going to form some new habits.

So, this year I'm setting some betterment goals to help me learn some positive new habits. These are things that need to be done, and things that I need to work on this year and every year. And I'm getting Cam in on this, too.

So, for the new year, and for the long haul, beginning in 2009, I will:

Get in shape! We have been able to figure out some out of whack things in my body that have been making my life miserable, and we've come up with a solution that is FINALLY helping me to lose some of this nasty, stupid, mean, stubborn weight. Now the trick is actually getting in shape. Cam and I both really enjoy getting out into the wild and hiking about. The goal here is to be able to be my hiker chick self without getting too winded and side-achy. That is no fun, and me no likey.

Simplify! We have too much crap sitting around our house that we don't use, or don't use often enough to justify keeping. So, off to D.I. it goes. Or, if you know anyone who wants an old (but still decent, though no matter how much we clean it, still smells slightly like dog) vaccuum with hose and hardwood floor cleaning attachment, let me know.

Cook! We both like to cook. However, we hate our kitchen. Whoever designed it totally sucks. We have ZERO counter space, which is really discouraging when you want to prepare a meal. So we're going to move some things around, see if we can't figure out some system that will give us some more space to cook. It's just too easy to eat out a lot, where it's just the two of us. But the benefits of cooking far out-weigh the convenience of spending our hard earned cash in a restaurant. More cooking=healthier meals and lower food costs, and that will help with:

Follow a Budget! We have stupid debt and we don't save money very well at all. To help remedy this, I have enrolled us in Zions Bank's free 3 month trial of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover program. I have made a budget. We are going to stick with it. And we are going to pay down our debts and save for a rainy day! Hooray!

There you have it. Should be easy, right? We shall see. Here's to starting 2009 off right! Wish me luck!

Gone Country

2008-12-31T17:53:00.001-07:00

I've been feeling a little bit country the past little while. I have compiled a nice little collection of some favorites. Enjoy what's on my playlist until I can do a real post. : )

YeeeeeHAW!!

And...Happy New Year!!

Happy Anniversary to US!

2008-12-18T15:39:00.003-07:00

I can’t believe it has been four years since our sunny, though still cold, winter wedding. It was a gorgeous day…absolutely perfect! We’ve done a lot, seen a lot, experienced a lot since then. I can’t believe how time flies! Please, allow me to gush…

Every day I am thankful for Cameron. He is truly my knight in shining armor. And I found him when I wasn’t looking! How lucky is that? He’s been a true friend to me. He loves me for who I am, and he hasn’t tried to change me. Sometimes I wonder how such a sweet, caring, wonderful and intelligent person chose average old me to spend forever with. He doesn’t even get mad when I go shopping. I truly do feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Cam and I love so many of the same things. I think we’re pretty lucky that way. We like the same kinds of movies (Twilight excluded, of course), a lot of the same kinds of music, we love to fish, camp, hike, go for drives, and just hang out. We share a pretty dorky sense of humor. I guess I’m just glad that he gets me.

One of the things that I am most grateful for is that he loves my family. He fits so well with my family. He and my dad like to go hiking and fishing together. My mom thinks he is pretty great, too. She says without a doubt he is her favorite son-in-law. (For those who don’t know, I am my parents’ only daughter…so they only have one son-in-law…haha!) My brothers all really like Cam, too. They always find stuff to talk about, and even hang out occasionally. And don’t get me started with the nieces and nephews. I’m pretty sure I was the favorite until Unka Cam came along…now I’m chopped liver. If I ever dare show up to a family event without him, the first thing to escape their angelic little mouths is, “Aunt Weez, where’s Unka Cam?” Or, “Awwwww…but I wanted to play with Unka Cam!” Sheesh, kids…I know he’s great, but what am I? Oh, yeah…chopped liver. : ) But seriously, I understand. Because there is no one I would rather play with, either. I am glad that Cam understands how important my family is to me. I think I would probably shrivel up and die if I didn’t get my at least once monthly game of cards with Gramma Hiatt. And I like to hang out with my Mama. So the fact that he loves my family, and likes to hang out with them…huge bonus!

Luckily for me, Cam came from a great family, too. Trust me, there is definitely no in-law anxiety going on in our marriage. I don’t know a lot of people who can say the same thing. We love to go on little adventure trips with Max and Sharon. We have so much fun when we do stuff like this! We just pile all of our stuff into the truck, and hit the road. We camp or stay in motels, and we just have fun exploring. The Whettens also love to play cards. So we have fun game nights. We laugh, we play, we carry on, we go home happy.

So, basically, I guess what I’m saying is, I love Cam! I love him ‘more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.’ I look forward to the two of us being wrinkly old porch sitters. Cam can strum on his guitar, and I will rock in my chair while I crochet blankets, or knit some mittens. Doesn’t that sound fabulous? I think so!

I'm still here!!

2008-12-17T11:56:00.002-07:00

See, I'm not dead! I updated the layout of my blog! And one day soon, I am going to do a real post! It's just a matter of finding time...but it's coming. Don't give up on me!

Thankful

2008-11-14T16:44:00.002-07:00

This week has been downright crappy. I won't go in to too much detail, but just know that I have been miserable. So, in order to remedy the foul mood that has accompanied my bad week, I am blogging about a few of the many things that I am thankful for. Here goes:

1. Cam - I don't know what I would do without Cam. I don't know what I did for 24 out of my 29 years without Cam. He is my best friend. He cooks. He's plays music, and very well, I might add. He's very smart. He has a retarded sense of humor that matches mine perfectly. He has such a calming presence when I get all worked up and psychotic. He is one of the kindest people I know. And he loves me, even though he has to put up with a lot from me. I am so lucky.

2. Family/Friends - I am blessed with a big, fun extended family. I love the family that I grew up with, and I was lucky enough to marry into a wonderful family who I love, very much. And I'm lucky because so many of my family are my friends. And those who are my friends, I consider family. See how lucky I am? I'm lucky because I have 3 "best friends." How many people can say that? So, Mama, Cam, and Joey, thanks for being my BFFs! I have friends from work, friends from school (many who I have "rediscovered" in the past few months via the internet. Ain't technology great?), random friends I've met along the way...and I love you all! For my friends who have been especially fabulous this past week, and you know who you are...I love ya!

3. My Job - Some days it's hard to get up and come to work. Some days I get bored. Some days I'm so busy I want to rip my hair out of my head. Some days people are mean (I'm sure they don't try to be...). But this week I've been thankful for my awesome team. They have been very kind to me, and they are a fun group to work with and get to know. I have one teammate who is like sunshine. If I am ever feeling frustrated or ornery, all I have to do is step into her office for 5 minutes and I feel happy. I'm lucky to have such an awesome and understanding boss. I have a cube-mate who is so cool. She makes work fun. I also love my lunch crew. It's such a welcome break during the day. We have great conversations and laugh with each other. And I have to say, that I'm thankful for paid sick days.

4. Seasons - I love living in Utah. I love that we get all four seasons. Sometimes they may not last very long, but I love them all the same. I love the beauty and variety that each season brings. Yes, I even love the snow! Bring it on! After all, if the snow gets too hard to handle, we just take a 4 hour drive in a southerly direction, and it's practically summer!

5. Books - I love books. I love to read. I love escaping the real world from time to time, getting lost in a good book. I would hate to live in a world with no books.

See? Life's not so bad.

I'm Wicked...

2008-11-06T10:15:00.003-07:00

So I've been wanting to get tickets to see NKOTB. Like, bad. I'm a little ridiculous.

But last Friday, I realized that Broadway trumps teeny bopper boy-band crushes, so...sorry boys! I'm going to WICKED!!! Tickets came in the mail yesterday. SO EXCITED!

2008-11-05T20:54:00.004-07:00

So...it's really no secret that I love my Utah Jazz. It's also no secret that I work for the company that sponsors the Jazz Dancers. It might be a secret that as an employee of said company I occasionally get some sweet deals on Jazz tickets. I got tickets to the season opener on October 28th. I was very excited. Cameron, Patrick, Stacy, Jill, and I were all excited to go...but we had one extra ticket. Stacy and I decided that we would invite Brianne to go with us. According to Brianne, it was her "life's dream" to see a Jazz game in person. So, we got permission for her to stay out late on a school night, and off we went to see our Jazz.

Brianne and me

Cam n' Pat

Sass and Jill

It was seriously one of the funnest nights I can remember! We all enjoyed ourselves, but Brianne was hilarious! She had so much fun! After the Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets, we lagged behind the crowds to take some pictures at the ESA. We decided to go down and watch the KJazz Post Game Show being filmed. While we were standing there, Thurl Bailey's security guard came overf and asked us if we wanted to meet Thurl. Of course, we were like, "YES!!!" So after a few minutes he waved us over. I walked over with Brianne and it was so sweet how the bodyguard was sooo sweet to Brianne. He was chatting with her about basketball, and I think he was surprised to learn that Brianne is 15. He actually asked her if all of the noises and lights and people scared her. She was like, "Dude, I've been around basketball my whole life." Anyway...after another few minutes, Thurl waved us over, and he was so cute how he bent down to talk to Brianne. I was snapping pictures, totally star struck! He posed for some pictures with Brianne, and then we handed the camera to the security guard and us girls posed for one. Again, I'm totally star struck! And he was soooo incredibly nice! He really is a good guy, and so soft spoken for such a big guy.

Big T and Little B

After meeting Big T, we decided to take Brianne to the side of the ESA to wait where the players exit in their sweet rides. It was so hilarious to watch Brianne, Stacy, and Jill completely freak out and lose all control when Kyle Korver drove out. He got swarmed, of course, so he didn't really stop, but you would have thought he proposed marriage to all three of them! It was so funny! The last two players to leave were Ronnie Brewer and CJ Miles. Brianne of course shmoozed with security, and they, of course, fell in love with her, so when Ronnie and CJ came out, they all but shoved everyone out of the way so Brianne could get right up next to their cars. They were so cute with her! They were like hanging out of their cars to see her. Ronnie was with his mom and dad, and they were making cute comments to Brianne, too. We got them to sign our tickets, and they used Jill's pen, so she wouldn't let any of us even touch the pen all of the way home.

Ronnie saying, "What's up," to Brianne

CJ (cut off...oops!) and Brianne

So we had a blast! It was a completely different experience for me from any other Jazz game I've been to, and it was mostly thanks to Brianne! You gotta love it, baby!

Where am I?

2008-10-27T22:50:00.003-06:00

Wow, I am a pathetic blog poster. I can't seem to keep up. I could never keep a journal, either. This is not going to be an exciting post, and a little personal. But the only peeps who actually read this are people who I don't mind knowing what's up in this messed up brain of mine...

Life is nuts! I work all day, then go to school 2 nights a week. Lately I get home and I have zero motivation to do anything. Not cook, not clean, not homework, not exercise...not even read! Nothing! It's taking it's toll, for sure. But I'm not too worried about my mental state just yet. I'm convinced my body is just taking time to adjust to the changing season. I tend to get in a funk during this time of year, even though autumn is one of my favorite times of the year! It makes no sense!

I have had a lot on my mind lately. I've been thinking a lot about school. I am enjoying my classes, but I keep thinking that I'm not headed in the right direction. I miss psychology. So I think next semester I will take a psych class to see if I really miss it as much as I think I do, or if I'm just overwhelmed with new stuff so I want to go back to what is familiar. But I keep having thoughts like, "Maybe I should do this? Or that instead?" And I start second guessing every scholarly decision I've ever made. Not cool.

I've been thinking about my job. I like my job. I like the company I work for. I like my boss, my coworkers, and the enviroment I work in. I just keep feeling like I need change. Unfortunately, there are so many things to consider when thinking about changing jobs, especially when I carry our health insurance, and we get have discounted auto insurance, yadda yadda...

I've also been thinking a lot about babies. I get scared sometimes when I think about not having babies. I had a conversation at lunch a few weeks ago with a friend who is having similar fertility issues. She said something like, in the long run, we really are young, so there's no need to panic yet. However, she worries that she and her husband are becoming so used to their childless lifestyle, and she feels selfish sometimes, like maybe a baby would throw a wrench in the way they live their life, so what if they become so selfish they decide they don't even want to have a baby. That got me thinking...could I ever get this way? I mean, I've thought of all of the options available to Cam and me if I'm not ever able to get pregnant. But what if after all of these years we're too selfish to even consider any of these options? I'm not saying that I would, but it was definitely something to think about. And the thought of not wanting a baby scares me, maybe even more than the thought of not being able to have babies.

It's past my bedtime, so I will end this post of messed up brain-ness. And hopefully soon I will post some pictures of our most recent happy adventures!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-07T16:13:00.005-06:00

Cam and I got to spend the weekend at the Hiatt Hotel. I love that Grandma loves us enough to let us stay at her house. We always have fun!

Sadly, I missed my 10 year High School Reunion that was on Friday night. I was a little bit sad, but it's not the end of the world. Besides, maybe there will be a 15 year reunion that I can attend...

Saturday Cam went on a hike with my dad. Dad was feeling really good, so he decided he had better take adavantage of his healthy streak before he gets sick. I'm so glad that Cam likes my dad enough to go on fishing and hiking adventures with him. My two favorite guys getting along... a girl's dream come true!

Sunday night we had an impromptu chicken taco party at Gramma's house. Disclaimer: For those who are sad they weren't invited, I promise, it was a totally spur of the moment decision, and I was my idea. I bear all responsibility.

Mama and Aunt Chris frying up some grub

Stacy loves to breathe down Mama's neck...and I think Aunt Chris is having some holiday confusion...

I love my Mama!!!

Monday turned out to be quite...soggy. Everyone who walked up the street to the parade ended up running back to Grandma's sopping wet. I can't believe how hard it rained. At least it was cool...but poor Grandma was stressed about having everyone in the house. We always eat in the back yard on Labor Day. Not this year! Thankfully, it cleared up and the sun came out in the afternoon so the kids could run around outside.

Ryan, post parade. Poor kid had to stand there soaking wet and shivering while Aunt Weez took pictures.

Poor Mimi wants to play outside!

Rain much?

I heart Cam

Hangin' Tough

2008-09-03T10:57:00.005-06:00

I suck at blogging. I can't keep up. I need to blog about camping, hiking, starting school, and soggy labor day, but for now, this will have to do:

I heard about this on the radio yesterday and almost peed my pants!

They will be in SLC on November 15!! I hope all of my girlfriends are as excited as me, and that they all want to go!! EEK! I am 8 years old again!!

And...again!

2008-08-22T19:03:00.002-06:00

It's a good thing I don't have much to say lately, because I keep getting tagged. I don't necessarily do everything I'm tagged for. But this one really is kinda fun. Especially since I think that everything in life should have a soundtrack. And I make soundtracks for me all of the time. I should keep better track of them to track their evolution from here on out.

Anyway, here's how this one works:

1. Put Your iTunes/music player/cd player/radio on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT!!! After you've answered all of the questions, tag three other people to do the tag themselves!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Naveed, Our Lady Peace
What??

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Wash Away (Some desert night), Acroma
If my personality has washed away, does that mean I have no personality? Sad!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Everything, Lifehouse
Ha! I'm easy to please, what can I say?

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Apocolypse Please, Muse
I know I've been feeling crappy lately, but still...

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
All These Things That I've Done, The Killers
I think that says it all!

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Canto Alla Vita, Josh Groban
I had to look up the translation. "I sing to life." I like this. If you know me well, you know that this totally works

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Wanted Dead or Alive, Bon Jovi
Well...at least I'm wanted...??

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
When the Water Falls, Collective Soul
I love this song:"Now she's questioning her mother/She's questioning her father/She's looking for the answers/To the problem that confronts her."
Nice.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT FREQUENTLY?
Voice Inside My Head, Dixie Chicks
Yes, but which one?

WHAT IS 2+2?
Zero, Smashing Pumpkins
Wow.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Precious, Depeche Mode
Yes! She is!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Supermassive Black Hole, Muse
Yeah, no.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Boondocks, Little Big Town
Haha!! "I have no shame/ I'm proud of where I came from/ I was born and raised in the boondocks." Hahaha!

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Transatlanticism, Death Cab For Cutie
Hmmm...

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Canned Heat, Jamiroquai
Yes!

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Broken, Seether with Amy Lee
Oh, no! I hope they really don't think that!

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Costume for a Gutter Ball, Finger Eleven
Um, nooo...that is depressing and a little creepy...

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Learn to Fly, Foo Fighters
Haha! If I earn my wings, I'd better learn to fly!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Me and My Gang, Rascall Flats
There you have it!

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Where Are You Going, Dave Matthews Band
Thing is, I wish I knew, too!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
You Know I'm No Good, Amy Winehouse
I knew you all were trouble. I knew you were all no good!
(NOT!!)

And now I tag Stacy, Jaala, Christa, and YOU!!

Peace.

Tagged Again...Crazy Eights

2008-08-18T13:21:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the tag, Jaala. Ok, here we go....

8 things I'm passionate about:

1. Cameron

2. My marriage

3. My family...immediate and extended

4. Nature (except for spiders and mosquitos. Does passionate hatred count?)

5. Books. Fiction, non-fiction, textbook, cookbook, how-to...doesn't matter. Books are so valuable. They always have been to me. I like to have a lot of them at my disposal at all times. I read a lot.

6. Naps. A simple nap can cure the worst days, moods, headaches...

7. Traveling, even though I haven't done much, and I mostly travel close to home. That will (hopefully) change someday. I am the kind of person who needs to get out and explore.

8. I had something here, but it was kinda preachy and soap-boxish and I decided that I'm not brave enough to post it yet. So I'll leave it like this for now...

8 books I have read recently (and you should read them, too!):

1. City of Ember (repeat)

2. Breaking Dawn

3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (in progress)

4. Freakanomics (in progress)

5. The Host

6. To Kill a Mockingbird(repeat)

7. Persuasion

8. Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse (Many repeats, and I count them as one becuase I read them fast and one after the other)

8 things I often say:

1. "I love you."

2. "Whatever."

3. "Sweet." (spoken with a Cartman accent)

4. "Kick ass!" (also spoken with a Cartman accent. I am so juvenile and not very ladylike sometimes)

5. "Hi, this is Marie." (on the phone at work)

6. "Use your freaking blinker, loser!" (or something to that effect)

7. "Gah!"

8. "Huh?"

8 things that annoy me:

1. Bad drivers

2. Parents who insist on hauling their babies and young children to movies that are not meant for kids (The Dark Knight, Wanted...are you kidding me?), thus subjecting the rest of the theater to restless, noisy, screaming, whiney kids for the duration of the movie. Two words, people: 1.Baby 2. sitter.

3. Political commentators. I don't care if you call yourself Conservative, Liberal, or neither. You are all biased hypocrits who just like to hear the sound of your own voices as you argue your ridiculous and baseless points which are almost always lies, fabrications, or out of context. Your opinion does not equal fact and you aren't always right. Shut up.

4. Fuel prices.

5. When our air conditioner pulls the neighbor's stinky second hand cigarette smoke into our house.

6. News anchor people who try too hard at playful banter. Stick to the news. If I want comedy I have a channel for that.

7. Nose whistles. If you have a nose whistle, get a tissue and remove the booger! Gah!

8. Middle-of-the-day lawn waterers. Especially here in our lovely desert.

8 things I look forward to each day:

1. Seeing Cam

2. The hilarious conversations that Cam and I have. I love that we make each other laugh every day.

3. Looking at the mountains

4. Flowers

5. Sunshine

6. Listening to Radio From Hell. It's silly, I know, but I really do look forward to listening as I get ready for work.

7. Eating lunch with the ladies. We laugh, we vent, we listen, we eat good food (usually)...thanks ladies!

8. Snuggling into my bed at the end of the day.

8 things I look for in a friend:

1. Honesty

2. Good sense of humor

3. Friendly (makes sense, doesn't it?)

4. Tolerant of my occasional (almost always) politcally incorrect-ness

5. Live in exciting places...like New York City and England...so I can come and visit and stay for free. (Haha...this is a joke. Except that I really do love that I have friends who live in these places...so I guess it's not a joke. Crap. Am I a bad person??)

6. Doesn't mind burps and farts (not that I do that. I'm too dainty)

7. Similar interests. I like to discuss books, movies, music, stuff like that.

8. A good listener. You've got to be able to handle my occasional ventings and frustrations, as well as my long stories.

8 things I want to do before I die:

1. Have babies

2. Finish a quilt

3. Own a home

4. Go skydiving

5. Write a book

6. Write a song

7. Climb a mountain

8. Travel

8 things I have learned this past year:

1. It's ok to go back to school, even if you feel like an old lady on a campus full of teeny-boppers.

2. Make every moment count, and not take so many things for granted.

3. My opinion is just as valid as everyone else's and I shouldn't be afraid to share it, even when my opinion is not popular.

4. It's ok to go into a store and not spend money.

5. Having a good attitude makes life a lot easier.

6. Paying off debt makes life and relationships so much easier

7. Everyone has moments when they feel like a freaking idiot, so it's not so bad when I have these moments.

8. Life is pretty crappy sometimes, but it's ok!

8 people I tag:

1. Christa

2. Becky

3. Kami

4. Alison

5. Hilary

6. Jodi

7. Stacy

8. anyone who happens upon this and wants to play along.

I just have to say...

2008-07-23T16:16:00.003-06:00

...that I love my Grandma. She is the cutest, tiniest, funniest, sweetheartiest, hoot of a Luva.

Happiness is spending Sunday afternoons with her, Cam, and Stacy, making haystacks, muddy buddies, and playing cards.

I'd do it every day if I could.

Change of address

2008-06-27T14:46:00.003-06:00

It's funny how the smallest, most unimportant thing can totally make my day.

Since last August, when I started my new Admin job, I have hated my desk. My workspace was cramped, and I was located next to VP who I don't work with, and who had a lot of visitors. Needless to say, I had absolutely no privacy, and I got tired of having no choice but to listen to people's conversations while they waited to go into the VP's office for a meeting, or for a post-meeting chat on their way out of his office. They would lean on my cubicle wall, which would make my desk shake. If I wasn't at my desk, they would steal my pens and post-it pads. The most annoying thing was that people assumed I was his assistant because my little cube was right next to his office. So I constantly had to deal with people being annoyed with me because they couldn't understand why no, I don't know his schedule, I can't make you an appointment with him, I don't know what time his conference call is, I don't know which meeting he is in, and I don't know what time he's coming to work today, if at all.

I was very happy when I learned about a week ago that this VP had hired an assistant, and that he wanted her to sit where I was sitting for obvious reasons. Let's just say that I was more than a little happy to oblige.

This morning I moved .

And it has totally made my day.

Happy Birthday

2008-06-19T13:20:00.006-06:00

Dad mentioned a while back that he'd like some new pictures of all of his grandkids together. And he's not a fan of posed studio portraits. So I had the privilege of photographing my darling neices and nephews a few nights ago at the park. It was quite impossible, as you can probably imagine, to get 6 kids to all look at me at the same time and smile...after a while I gave up and tried to capture their personalities, and get some shots of them at play. We had fun. At least I did.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

This one worked...sorta...at least they're all facing in the same direction!

Sweet Pea, Mimi, Mini Me, TayRay, Squirt, Nater Tot

Mimi, Sweet Pea, and Mini Me(yup, she takes after her Aunt Weez!)

My Sweet Pea

Mini Me and Squirt

I am original...

2008-06-11T14:36:00.003-06:00

For lack of inspiration, I am stealing this from Jodi.
Here's some stuff for me for now.

Emotion: Anxious

Book(s): "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," Jonathan Safran Foer; "The Lord of the Rings," J. R. R. Tolkein; "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee.

Album(s): I can't stop listening to "Absolution" Muse, "Black Holes and Revelations"Muse, and "Party Doll and Other Favorites" Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Songs: "Super Massive Black Hole" Muse, "Time is Running Out" Muse, "I am a Town" Mary Chapin Carpenter, "Phantom Limb" The Shins, "Satellite" Collective Soul, "Mercy" Duffy.

Fear: losing my dad, going back to school (it's weird, but yes, I am afraid)

Frustration: work, bills, debt, cars, job security.

Happy: Cam, friends, family, watermelon (which I am eating right now)

Wish: affordable gasoline, excess of time and energy with which to exercise my life away

Resolution: eat better, exercise more. This seems to come up a lot.

Phases: Weinhard's root beer, documentaries

Food: watermelon, asparagus, kettle corn, zoom, Osaka for lunch at least once a week...

Desire: hubby graduating, finishing my degree, full time housewife...then having babies.

Bad Habits: procrastination, staying up too late, purPOSEly emPHASizing the wrong syllABles in words...it's funny. And I don't give a hoot about what you think.

Websites: blogs, cnn.com, msn.com,

Drink: bottled root beer ( of the Henry Weinhard variety, preferably)

Changes: going back to school

TV Show: LOST, The Office, NBA

Obsessed much?

2008-05-13T15:19:00.005-06:00

Last Tuesday they released a teaser trailer for Twilight. I have lost count of the number of times I've watched it. I can't get enough of the stupid trailer...how am I supposed to last until freaking DECEMBER?!?

So...yeah.

P.S. Countdown to Breaking Dawn: 80 days 8 hours 33 minutes 22 seconds

You're entering the vicinity of an area adjacent to a location...

2008-04-29T22:20:00.005-06:00

We spent last Thursday thru Sunday in Capitol Reef National Park. It's sad that no one seems to know where it is...but it's kind of a good thing. I'm glad it's such a well kept secret. It's beautiful and hardly anyone goes there. It's every bit as spectacular as Zion National Park, without the crowds.

Some highlights:

Fruita orchards in bloom

More orchard blooms

Cathedral Valley

Grand Wash narrows

I heart my in-laws!

Cam and me in Fruita

All of us at Glass Mountain, Cathedral Valley

Confessions of a binger...

2008-04-01T15:05:00.012-06:00

I have been in a Jane Austen mood as of late. I have been reading and viewing several Jane Austen titles. First and foremost, of course, would be Pride and Prejudice.

I have read the novel twice in the past month. I have watched the Kiera Knightly version of the film a least 3 times in the past month. I have watched the BBC/A&E version with Colin Firth twice. I have purchased the soundtrack to the KK version and listen to it almost daily. I have purchased the sheet music and have started learning to play (it's hard!!).

Sunday nights on KUED, they are showing The Complete Jane Austen. That means that on Sunday night at 8:00, if I'm not out visiting family, I am parked on the couch, in my jammies and slippers, snuggled into my down blanket, with a box of tissues and a few pieces of chocolate, watching Masterpiece Theater.

I am currently reading Persuasion.

This is my first Austen binge, and I like it.

The most similar binge experience to the Austen binge would be the Anne of Green Gables binge. It has been years since this binge, however. I read all of the books, watch all of the movies, rinse, repeat...

Before the Austen was a Stephenie Meyer binge. I read all three of her novels in 2 days. I didn't sleep. I just read. And then I read them again. And again. I have pre-ordered her 4th vampire novel, and her first non-vampire novel, and marked the dates of release on every calendar I get my hands on. And I am somewhat nervously awaiting the release of the Twilight film.

I've had a few nerd binges where I've watched all of the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, and Return of the King multiple times, and then devoured the special bonus features. I read the book at least once a year. It's fun for a nerd like me to find all of the many places where Peter Jackson took artistic license and moved dialogue/poetry/songs/experiences around to make for better film flow.

I anticipate a Christopher Paolini binge this summer, with the eagerly awaited release of Brisingr. The Eragon movie sucked, though, so this binge will be literary only.

So, I guess I'm wondering, does anybody else do this?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

2008-03-26T14:16:00.007-06:00

I can't seem to get into the proper blogging mood. So I will post a video here until the mood strikes. (sorry, Jods. I know you have already seen it. But watch it again. It's cute! Haha! A nerd kid!) This is a video of what, one day, our daughter will be like. Only (hopefully) red headed.

Eenie, meenie, miney, MO!

2008-03-13T14:10:00.004-06:00

I have been tagged by Jodi. Now I guess I have to play. I have been tagged twice so there are two little things I have to do. First, I will do the 6 relatively unknown facts/habits about me. Then I will do the 5 things thingy...here goes:

The rules are as follows:1. The player lists 6 relatively unknown facts/habits about themselves.2. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, and then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for the rules.

1. More people know me by my nickname(s) than my given names. Most popular and widely know is Weezie/Weezer/Weez/Weezie Bug/Weezie Bob. My nieces and nephews, at least on the Kelley side, all call me Aunt Weez. And I love it. Growing up my mother rarely called me by my given name, unless I was in trouble, in which case it was usually my full given name: "Marie Elizabeth Kelley, get in this house right now!" In a lot of cases she referred to me by my middle name: "Elizabeth, telephone!" And for normal, day to day stuff, it was Orphan Annie, Annie Oakley, Sis, Sissy, Sisty Ugler (referring to the play "Rinder Cella and her Sisty Uglers"), or the more common Weezie/Weez/Weezie Bug. Grandpa and Grandma Hiatt called me Suzie. Grandpa Kelley called me Sugar. George Anderson calls me Rio. The Rohbocks call me Forrest (as in Gump). It's a wonder I don't have multiple personality disorder...or do I?

2. I have a serious aversion to spiders. I don't know if it's necessarily arachnophobia, but even typing that word made me throw up in my mouth a little. If there is a spider in a room I will not go in it. If there is a spider by a door, I will find another door or not go in at all. If there is a spider in the shower, I will not use it. If by some horrible chance I touch a spider by accident, I flail about and get a little sick. I have had some very nasty spider experiences. Once while cleaning out my closet I found a nest of eight legged demons. I won't go into the details of what happened upon this discovery, but it was not pretty. I'm fairly sure mom thought I was having a seizure. Let's just say it took several weeks before I would sleep in my room again.

3. I have lived in the shadows of the everlasting hills, in view of "The Greatest Snow on Earth" for pretty much my entire life and I have never been skiing or snowboarding. Pathetic? A little. However, I am quite clumsy and accident prone. I'm sure that giving in would result in near death.

4. In second grade I played a piano solo in the school talent show. "Whoopee," you say. But what if I told you that I had never had a lesson and my family didn't even own a piano? Impressed now? You should be! I played it through perfectly in front of the entire school. I still remember that the song was "Swans on the Lake" and I could probably play it for you right now.

5. I have an uncanny ability to memorize pretty much every movie or song I see or hear. The first one I memorized was Disney's Sleeping Beauty. My brothers hated me for a long time. Next was Annie. My brothers hated me more. Then it was Janeen Brady's "Standin' Tall" book and tape series. I would put the tapes in and say every single word to the stories and the songs. I would even do voices. My favorites to quote would be Better off Dead, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Forrest Gump, Star Wars movies, Dumb and Dumber...wow, this list could get long. My husband and family keep telling me that I should be a contestant on one of those fill in the blanks singing shows on TV. I would probably be pretty good at it, except for I get stage fright. Yikes.

6. The first and only time I have ever been drunk was when I was about 2 years old. I downed a half a bottle of orange Triaminic. I developed quite a taste for my libation of choice and Mom couldn't keep me away from it. I actually climbed up the cupboards so that I could reach it. I'm sure Mom was scared for my safety, but was also quite entertained by my drunken antics. I'm glad I got that out of my system early on in life.

Now for the 5's:

5 years ago I was... skinny(er than I am now), working at Nu Skin, making plans to go back to school, planning visits Joey in NYC, and only 23 years old...

5 months ago I was...Turning 28, working at Nu Skin, introducing Jodi to the pure joy that is Newsies, planning my Halloween costume, getting excited for the holidays..

5 things that worry me...$$$, my lack of pregnancy(still!!), the economy, my dad's disease getting worse, Cam's brother, Russ, being in Iraq...

5 bad habits...procrastination, eating sweets, watching TV, staying up too late, buying things I don't really need...

5 of my favorite places I've lived...well, I've only lived in 4 places: South Gate, CA, Payson, UT, Santaquin, UT, and Orem, UT..but my very favorite is old Santaquin. It was a great place to grow up.

5 things in my virtual shopping bag...this, this, this, this, and this.

5 of my favorite things to blog about...Cam, nieces and nephews, our adventures, friends, the fact that I'm a dork...

5 people I tag...I don't think I have 5 people to tag...but Christa, give it a shot!! And anyone else who feels the need. It's kinda fun.

Pie, Pie, me oh my!

2008-02-26T16:31:00.014-07:00

Here I am, finally blogging the Kanab adventure weekend.

Cam and I drove to Kanab to meet Max and Sharon (my delightful and fun in-laws) after work on Friday, the 15th of Feb. I hate the drive to Kanab after dark...mainly because it's such a pretty drive, at least for the last hour or two. I hate to miss it.

Saturday was our shooting/shopping day. Max has been working on building his very own gun. It's a big gun. It's shiny and black, a semi-automatic something-or-other...and Saturday would bring the inaugural shot. I was originally not excited to go to the range to shoot the gun. Guns have always made me quite nervous ( I know, how can I be my father's child and not like shooting guns?? It's amazing!) and I was kind of scared to be there for the first shot. I mean, he built it himself. It's never been shot before. What if it blows up? I tried to convince everyone else to leave me to shopping in the metropolis that is downtown Kanab. You shoot guns, I'll spend money. It's always worked for me. Anyway, they convinced me that I had to be there to witness the first shot. I have to say, it was pretty cool. After about 15 minutes of trying to convince me that I should shoot the gun, I finally said, "Ok. Fine." And now...

Yes, it's true, I was born to shoot. I had a little bit too much fun blowing up soda cans. I am good. I am my father's daughter after all. (disclaimer: this was not my first gun shooting experience. I did kill a few prairie dogs at the ranch in New Mexico. I couldn't help it. They made me...and it was a really whimpy rifle. Not like Max's shiny, pretty, semi-automatic baby.)

After the giddy shooting Sharon and I left the boys to watch basketball at the hotel and we checked out some shops in Kanab. I found a darling little antique shop, next to a fabulous designer yarn shop.

Saturday night brought steak and a yeehaw good ole time in Fredonia, AZ. Them country folk sure does know how to cook a mean fillet mignon.

Sunday we checked out Coral Pink Sand Dunes. I have never been there, and I'm glad we chose winter. We had a lovely safari over and around the dunes. Snow mixed with pink sand and blue sky sure makes for a pretty picture (even though you can't see any snow or blue sky in this photo of my darling in-laws).

After our desert adventure we had a nice winter picnic. Top Ramen for all! Cam had fun. You can see in his eyes how much he loves picnics (I slay me).

After the desert safari we took some random and mud puddle filled dirt road through a gorgeous canyon and ended up in Colorado City. Having never driven through town we decided to take a driving tour. Colorado City and Hilldale were like ghost towns on this gorgeous, sunny Sunday afternoon. It was kinda creepy. I wonder if it's that way all the time? Anyway, as we were driving out of down to hit the highway, we saw two girls on a four wheeler. That made me feel better.

We looped back to Kanab through Zion National Park, which is pretty cool in the winter, especially that day. The red cliffs, the blue sky, and the snow made everything so much more beautiful. I love it.

At Mt. Caramel junction, we were delighted to eat at the Thunderbird Restaurant, Home of the Ho-Made Pies. Ho-made. Not Home-made. Ho-Made. Apparently they are quite proud of their hos, and the pies they make. As they should be. The hot apple pie with buttered rum sauce was a little slice o' heaven. So good, in fact, that on our way home on Monday, we stopped in for another slice of the Ho-Made delight.

I got to choose our route home on Monday, so, of couse, I chose Highway 12. It is my favorite highway. EVER. I don't know many people who have a favorite highway. But I have mine. And it should be your favorite, too. It's beautiful. On highway 12 we saw a bald eagle, about a million elk, about two million deer, a bunch of wild turkeys, and...a camel. I kid you not. Some dude in Torrey has a camel, and they were out for a walk on Monday afternoon. I am sad that I coudn't take a picture. We were going too fast and there was really no place to turn around.

We stopped and took a pleasant sand and snow filled hike along the Escalante River to break up the drive. It was very nice. So pretty. And pleasantly warm.

Or chilly, as it was while we were in the shade with the snow.

When we hit Bicknell, we had to stop at the Sunglow Cafe because we heard they have good pies. I heard about it from Kerry and Bill, so I knew it must be true. We had a nice little dinner and shared a pie sampler featuring Pinto Bean Pie(oh...my...WORD! SO GOOD! I swear, it tastes like pecan pie.), Sweet Pickle Pie (oh man, YUMMY!) , Buttermilk Pie (mmm mmmm!!), and Oatmeal Pie (tastes like oatmeal cookie dough. Delish!). I don't know how I have managed to miss that place on all of my many ventures to that neck of the woods. I will not be so foolish as to miss it again.

Anyway, that's what we did, what we saw, and what we ate.

Weekend update

2008-02-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's been a while. I was thinking that I would use the excuse that it's because we're boring, but then I started thinking about my week, and it was definitely not boring. It was quite busy.

Monday-Cam and I got to go to our first Jazz game of the season. (Last season we got to see 5. I used to work with the PR lady who would give out unused tickets to the company's 15th row seats. Since starting my new job I don't work with her anymore. Dang.) Anyway, the Jazz played New Orleans and kicked @ss...it was a lot of fun. I love the energy at the ESA. I also love that I have turned my darling husband into a sports fan during our wonderful 3 year marriage.

Wednesday- While watching the Jazz defeat the Nuggest in a nail-biter, Cam nearly jumped off of the couch when Williams made his 3 point bucket in the final moments of the game. I love it...it makes me happy when my quiet, calm husband goes beserk while watching a basketball game on t.v.

Friday-Riverdance. Yes, Riverdance. I have made fun of this phenomenon for as long as I can remember. Who ever heard of a bunch of pansies trying their darndest to keep their upper bodies from moving at all while their feet go bananas? We went on a double date with my in-laws and Buffy (her date was inconveniently a world away. So it was a double date plus one). I have to admit...Riverdance is one of the coolest things I have seen or heard. There was a live band and they were amazing.

Saturday-Janica and David's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. The reception was madness. Mama, Aunt Chris, Stacy and I were assigned to the kitchen. Kitchen duty for 7 freaking hours! Trying to keep kids out of a punch fountain is a joke. Keeping eclair cake out of the carpet when said kids are hauling it all around the reception hall, equally not amusing. Let's not forget to mention the ants that took quite a liking to the wedding cake. At least I had good company and lots of DDP. Much love to Jani and Dave. Best of luck to you!

Next week: Going to Kanab. Hooray for long weekends.

I think I'll watch Pride and Prejudice

2008-01-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sad today. I'm hormonal. I hate it. I read a news article online and got all sniffly. Just now I read a friend's blog and felt like crying a little when I saw a photo of a quilt his little sister gave him for his birthday.

It touched me, I think, because I know what it takes to piece together a quilt. It's hard, at least for me. It takes so much time and patience...I've started several. Never finished a single one.

And that makes me sad. I start things and don't ever finish.

I think today qualifies as one of those "bad" days. I woke up late, I got to work way later than I wanted to, managed to get marinara sauce on my shirt, I'm tired, I'm bored, I'm hormonal..(Damn you, hormones!)

I feel a little better now.

The girl on the other side of the cubicle wall just said, "Oh, my stars!" and that pretty much made my day. Thank you, Christine.

On dreams

2008-01-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

I've always been a dreamer. I've always had very vivid dreams. And I've pretty much always been able to remember the dreams that I've had. Sometimes I think I should have started writing them all down years ago so that I could put them in a book or something. For now I'll just recount some dreams I've had lately.

Last night...I went with some random acquaintances to someone's house for a visit. There was a sign on the front door that said, "Please remove your shoes." In my dream I panicked a bit...I was so afraid that my feet were going to stink BAD since I had had my shoes on all day. I was standing on the porch wondering how I was going to get around taking off my shoes when I looked down and noticed the foot washing stream.

Coming out of the wall in the entry way of the house was this pretty little waterfall cascading down a cobblestone fountain. It ran into a shallow basin on the floor. You sat down on a little bench to remove your shoes and socks, then you took a step down into the basin, stood for a minute, and then stepped back up onto a plush towel on a vented tile floor, where warm air came up to dry your feet. After your feet were dry, you stepped into some ridiculously fluffy slippers. The water drained out of the basin and was refilled after each person stepped in, for sanitation purposes, I'm sure.

In my dream I was relieved and rather delighted. My feet were clean! They didn't stink anymore! I didn't have to worry about it!

I don't remember much else about this crazy dream. When I woke up this morning I thought to myself, "Hey, that's not a bad little invention I just dreamed about." Not very practical, but definitely cool.

Two nights ago...I was with a friend from work, Jaala, and we were out running some errands in her ghetto 70's car that was pieced together with parts from a million different cars. The trick to this car was you had to push it down a hill to get it started. It sucked trying to find a hill to park on every time we went somewhere so that we could get the car started again when we were done.

After finishing one errand we went out to the car and started to push it down the hill. One strange thing was that Jaala didn't sit in the car while she waited for it to start. She ran along side it, then would jump in after it started. So we're pushing the car down the hill and it won't start. So we keep pushing, the car goes faster and faster, and it gets away from us. Lucky for us because about the time we fell behind the car, it rolled out into an intersection and got hit by a delivery truck. We just stood there with our mouths open thinking, "I can't believe that just happened!"

And then I woke up.

The end.

On the weekend

2008-01-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

So...I didn't do a dang thing all weekend. Well, unless you call countless hours of t.v. watching, PS2 playing, movie watching not doing a dang thing. Can I tell you how good it felt? It felt good.

I was in my jammies until 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, since we had to babysit R-dog and Nater-Monkey on Saturday night. ( I just made those names up. I like them. That's what I'm going to use for Ryan and Nathan from now on. Yay!) So we stopped at Winger's in Lehi for a quick dinner and headed to the Mount of Eagles to play with the boys. What a hoot. R-dog was so excited to see Uncle Cam that he was talking so fast we couldn't understand a word he said. And Nater-Monkey, although not quite as excited, was pretty darn stoked to see his Aunt Weez. He gave me a tour of the house, walking around pointing and making his various monkey noises which roughly translate to, "Hey, Aunt Weez, check it out! It's a computer! And hey, look over here! Books!! Ooh! Ooh! Look at my new Thomas train! Socks!! Binkie!!" You get the idea. I love those boys. I wish we saw them more...

On Sunday we missed two baby blessings (oops :/) because we both slept in until about 10:00. Cam never does that. He must need it. I was in my jammies ALL DAY on Sunday. We had hot cereal for lunch (Zoom, anyone?) and microwave popcorn for dinner. Not healthy, I know. I should be ashamed since my goal for 2008 is getting in shape.

Speaking of, I lost 4 pounds in the last week. It's probably a fluke. Just water weight or something. But I'm still very excited. I'm eating more fiber so I don't snack so much. My digestive tract is shocked. Fiber in the new year. Yeah, intestines, get used to it.

I'm very excited to hopefully get my new (used) elliptical on Saturday if the weather cooperates. The past two weekends haven't cooperated at all, and you can't haul a peice of indoor excercise machinery in the back of a truck in a blizzard. Well, you could, but I'm not gonna. I am excited to start moving on my new machine. I love ellipticals. Cardio while watching t.v. in the comfort of home where no one can see me sweat and pant because I am ridiculously out of shape and pathetic. AND, no shinsplints and sore knees from the impact. Whoever invented the elliptical machine is a genius, and probably deserves my friendship.

Joey had to go home yesterday...sniff...I miss that girl! She is my sparkly princess cupcake and I love her!

And did I mention she can husk corn?

On Bubbles and Nerd Birthdays

2008-01-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

So...Saturday night was spent blowing bubbles at the Andersons' house. That's right, folks. Adult people were blowing bubbles. I can't tell you how much fun it was! If more people would spend time together blowing bubbles, what a wonderful world this would be! We could have chosen to watch tv, or go bowling, or downed shots of tequila, but NO! We chose to blow bubbles, and as a result, we are all better friends. Because let's face it, you have to be good friends to sit together in a room and blow bubbles for an hour.
The other activity of choice? As Joey so eloquently put it, parlor games. We weren't really in the parlor. We sat at the kitchen table and played the timeless game of racing and treachery: Aggravation. We can't go to the Andersons' without playing it. It's quality time spent rolling dice, moving marbles, pouting, shouting, stabbing backs and pissing each other off in general. It is the best game in the world.
January 1st was Cam's birthday. We went out to lunch, did some shopping, saw I Am Legend (pretty good flick), went to dinner, then went home and watched a nerd movie. I won't mention the movie because I don't want to admit to anyone that I watched it, but it involved the Borg, warp speed, earth and that guy from Reading Rainbow. Crap. Now you know. Anyway, Happy Birthday to Cam, the love of my life!!

On Holiday

2007-12-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

I wondered when I started this thing if I would keep up with it. Now I know that the answer is a definite no. I try.
I am the only person working on the 2nd floor today. I've checked. Just me and the crickets and all of the interviews I should be transcribing.
Christmas was merry and festive. Cam and I spent the afternoon of Christmas Eve with Gramma Hiatt, and the early evening with Joey and her family eating creme brulee and chatting about stuff. I wore a $3000 fur vest for kicks. It was the ugliest thing I have ever seen. But now I can say that I've worn a $3000 fur vest. After the evening with the Andersons, we went to Tom and Kathy's for the annual Kelley family Christmas Eve thingy. Then we had a sleep over at Mom and Dad K's house. That was fun. Opened gifts, ate breakfast and ran back home to Orem to Mom and Dad W's house because Jakey called from Argentina. It's always good to talk to Jakey. What a kid. A while later Russ called from Iraq. Cam talked to him for a bit. He was preparing to roll out on a mission. What a way to spend Christmas...although, I guess it wasn't Christmas anymore in Iraq. Had fun playing with Kaylie and Brandon, eating ribs and sweet potatoes, and then playing cards like usual.
And now I shall return to work.

On Coasting

2007-10-09T10:05:00.000-06:00

It's been a while...I'm not very good at this, really.

A lot has happened since July. I have a new job. I'm the Administrative Assistant to the Distributor Success Process (DSP) Team. It was slow getting started, but it's busied up...I should actually be transcribing interviews instead of blogging, but whatever.

In August Cam and I went with Max and Sharon, Grandma and Grandpa Davis, and Ted, Debora, Calen and Jeffrey to Oregon. We stayed in Astoria and explored the coast and...
I AM IN LOVE! It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Green beyond description. Clean air. Rivers and Ocean. Mist and rain and sunshine. We had so much fun that one day I want to live there. I'll be a real Goonie!

Joey came to visit in August. We ate creme brulee and drove to Heber and took pictures of sunburned rednecks hiking by waterfalls. I'll post pics of that later.

Ross came to visit last week. It was fun to see him. Can't wait to make it to England one day. Cam's got a year left of school, so hopefully soon after. We've got so many places to go. NYC, England, Ireland, Canada...(squawk)

Russ is in Iraq, which is weird. I hate to think about him being there even though he is a tough, brave Marine. I pay closer attention to the news nowadays. He'll be all right.

Cam, Pat and I are going to see Collective Soul tonight at the Great Saltaire. Good music, should be fun.

On Fire

2007-07-05T10:19:00.001-06:00

"The world is on fire, it's more than I can handle." So says Sarah McLachlan, and I agree. My lungs can't handle it at least. I can't breathe! I wish people would quit being stupid and starting wildfires and burning Utah to the ground. Then I would stop coughing, the sky would be blue, and I would stop bitching about fires.
It's so eerily quiet here in the land of OAS, with people being out on vacation after the holiday. I need to go outside and run around the building or something...but wait, I can't breathe. And it's a million degrees, so I would get sweaty. So we can't do that. I'll just sit here in my cube and drowse and type.
Saw Transformers and License to Wed. Loved the robots. Hated the other.
I dreamed there was a moose in my bedroom. Also that Robin Williams was trying to be my priest. I don't know which was creepier. Probably the big, hairy comedian.

On breathing

2007-06-29T14:02:00.000-06:00

So...I haven't blogged for a year. How sad. I never could keep a journal, and apparently I can't keep a blog.
Dad's 60! We're just glad he made it through the first part of this year. He's been in ICU twice with this crazy mystery lung illness. We finally have a diagnosis: Saccular Bronchiectasis. Basically, that means that he has an irreversible lung disease similar to cystic fibrosis with a touch of emphysema. He'll probably not die prematurely, but he'll be on medications to control phlegm and fluid build up, and wheezing. It's interesting, because Dad's brother, Tim, died at age 16 from Cystic fibrosis. So he's carrying some mutated form of the gene.
Kami brought Abbey and Megan to see my at work today. That was a fun little treat.
Cam and I are going to move furniture and clean up the patio tomorrow. Then I think we'll go and try to find a place in the mountains where there is room to fish.
Yeah.