Christmas is Coming!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged! Such a slacker.

Christmas is right around the corner, and I'm totally ready for it! I spent the weekend finishing up Dave's Christmas shopping (as in: buying stuff for Dave to give to people. I finished my shopping for him and everyone else a long time ago). I also did quite a bit of shopping for my boss. His wife was RUN OVER by a car after the BYU/UofU football game. She broke both of her legs, and is in a wheelchair for another 3 weeks (it's been 3 weeks since the accident). So they needed some help. I had a bLaSt spending someone else's money!!

Dave and I will be heading to Washington for Christmas. We'll be spending it with his family. His sister and her family moved there last month. We're not excited for the 13 hr drive, but we are excited to spend time with everyone there!

I had 2 crowns done at the dentist last week. It's been almost a week, and I still can't eat! If I try, then I wake up in the night with my teeth and jaw throbbing. So I've quit trying. I'm having strictly protein shakes and pudding. I can't take it anymore...! Hopefully this won't last too much longer. I get the permanent crowns on the 29th. I hope that doesn't start the pain all over again! And I can't believe how much I'm paying for this pain!! After insurance, it'll be almost a THOUSAND DOLLARS for the 2 crowns. Gag.

Dave is selling his Audi for a BMW X5-- supposedly today! Merry Christmas to him! I'll post pics when all is said and done.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Let's all try to remember what Christmas is all about-- and enjoy the feeling of giving as much as receiving. xoxo

What to Post About? Car Accident.

I'm sick of my Halloween post. Such a downer. I just want to forget about it. Not that a car accident is any less of a bummer...

On Saturday, Dave's company had a formal awards banquet. I was so excited! I NEVER got asked to a single dance in high school, so I was really looking forward to getting prettied up. I got my hair done at the beauty college in Provo. BAD IDEA. The bad lady from Goonies did my hair. okay, it wasn;t her, but she sure looked like her... plus 200 lbs. This chick weighed at least 300+ pounds and had purple hair. I should have run.

Next I went to Nordstrom and had my make up done at the Chanel counter (**highlight of the day!). The cute make up lady asked me what dance i was getting ready for. Bless her heart! that made my day.

I left Nordstrom and headed to my parent's house to change and then to meet Dave at the banquet. Traffic was horrendous. Stop and go. Bumper to bumper. An SUV in front of me stopped suddenly. I had to slam on my breaks, but was able to stop in time. Just then I hear screeching of breaks, and look in the rear view mirror just in time to see a little old civic crash into me. And that pushed me into the car in front of me.

Long story short, it was the fault of the guy behind me, he's been great to deal with, his insurance is paying for everything, I'm very sore but starting to feel better, I go to the chiropractor and a massage therapist every-other-day, aaand my car will be good as new tomorrow. Yay! I am not loving the bright blue Chevy Aveo rental.

So, I'm okay. The banquet was fun-- even though I threw up right before and I was shaky all evening. Tuesday was the most painful post-accident day, but it's been uphill from there.

Halloween Bummer

Like I mentioned in my last post, I just switched offices for my job. Same company, different location.

Well, today was our Halloween party and it sucked. I don't know anyone, no one knows me, and everyone looked at me like I was nuts for dressing up! Only like 5 people dressed up.

I thought my costume was fun and creative: I wore pajamas, slippers, had my hair done (Thanks Isabel!) in a cute up-do and a tiara, and wore a fuzzy sleep mask (on my forehead). I was "Sleeping Beauty." I thought it was cute but I guess not.

At LANDesk, the company I worked for a few years ago, Halloween was awesome! Everyone dressed up and had a good time. They had everyone bring in their kids for trick or treating and a costume contest.

So, today I feel like an idiot because no one clapped for me in the costume contest.

Work Things

So, I still really like my job. It's been awesome so far. Today they are rolling out some changes, one of which involves me:

There are two buildings of Call Assistant employees. The buildings are about a mile apart, and we will all be moving to a bigger space in March. In the meantime, I have been moved to the other building. This isn't necessarily a bad thing-- or a good thing really. It's just a thing. I still support Nathan (by original boss), but now I help his boss (Mike) and everyone else that works for Mike (Ashley and Sapi- who are in building 2). So that adds 3 more people to the list of people I support.

Not only that, but my desk is the front desk of the 2nd building. I thought my front desk days were over!! Sigh...

Things I've learned about the new building:

• It's cleaner
• It's quieter
• It's colder
• It's closer to my apt (by about 12 seconds :))
• It's next door to Little Ceasars (this will be the death of me... or at least the death of my waist line...)
• It's lonelier

And so it is. I will make the most of building 2, and hopefully I'll make some friends soon. Then maybe it won't be so lonely.

Funny story: As I was setting up my desk, some guy, about 22 yrs old, walks up and asks who I am. I explained I'm Nathan's assistant, but there were people at this building that needed an admin too. He sits down next to my desk with his lunch and says, "Well this is where I always eat my lunch, so I guess I'll be bugging you a lot." It's quite obvious that he's hitting on me. Then, even after I explained my job, he said, "So you're the receptionist?" "No, I am an admin. I just happen to sit by the front door. I'm too old to be a receptionist." He laughed and asked how old I was. "27." "Oh, you are too old." Then he picked up his lunch and went to the break room. Awesome. Crisis averted!

On a better note, these are the shoes I'm wearing today:

"Carrie" by Guess

xoxo

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!

If you know me AT ALL,

you know I looooove shoes.

Especially heels.

But I pretty much love them all.

My cute friend Heidi has an awesome new blog

documenting her shoes!

I would absolutely recommended checking it out.

I love to see her shoe of the day!

She has like TWICE as many pairs of shoes as I do!!

So it's going to be quite a while

before she gets each one posted.

Her project has inspired me,

and I think I'm going to do the same thing.

I'll be documenting my shoe collection on FB

(as soon as we move into our apt

and I get to pull my babies out of storage!!).

Heidi, "The Shoeologist," is having a contest,

so be sure to check out her blog

for a chance to win some fabulous Nine West heels!

The Shoeologist

Happy drooling!!

xoxo

Logan-ites

It's true. I'm officially a Logan-ite (or Providence-ite to be specific). Dave is still in St. Louis, but he'll be back soon.

So here's the story:

I started applying for jobs, knowing it takes awhile to actually find a job and get hired. To my surprise, the day after emailing in my resume to a company in Logan, they called me for an interview. Since I was in St. Louis, we decided to do a webcam interview via Skype. The interview went really well, and they said they'd let me know on the following Monday or Tuesday. Well Monday comes and goes, Tuesday comes and goes, and no word from them. By Wednesday morning I'm sure I didn't get the job. I was sad about it all day, but came to terms with the fact that it just wasn't the right thing.

Wednesday night, just after midnight, I got an email saying they'd be sending me an official offer letter on Friday, but wanted to let me know I got the job. YAY!!!

So I had to come back from St. Louis sooner than we'd planned to start my new job. I flew home (with Maeby) and now poor Dave will have to drive back all alone (well, he'll have Boozer).

I found us a great apt in Providence and we're excited to get settled.

I have to give a shout-out to Amie and Sean Liston for letting me park my homeless butt at their place until Dave gets here and moves our furniture into our apt. I'm having so much fun staying there! I missed having friends. Their daughter Macy is such a doll and Maeby loves their little schnauzer Mercedes.

So, for now, life is good. Other than missing Dave (and Boozer) like crazy, things are just about perfect (knock on wood...). I'm loving my job. My boss, Nathan, is awesome. I asked him how I should keep track of my time (I'm a salaried employee for the first time) and he said, "Uh, in your heart...?" Sounds good to me!

My last job was a very hostile environment. I spent all day, everyday just waiting to get fired. This place is great. I just hope they're as happy with me as I am with them :)

Oh, P.S. The company is called Call Assistant. It's a call center (for a bunch of different companies including HSBC, Wells Fargo/Wachovia, APX, Pinnacle...), but I'm an Administrative Assistant. Back to a life of dress pants with heels and long sleeved T shirts :)

A Fun Few Weeks

I haven't posted in a long time, so it's time to play catch up!

The trip to Nauvoo with my family was awesome. We met up with Daniel and had a great time...mostly. We stayed in a tent and it RAINED. A LOT. We pretty much got flooded out and had to head to a hotel. My mom, Emily, my dad, and I went to the temple to do baptisms and the next day Daniel and I did an endowment session. Then we all did baptisms with the youth that Daniel was traveling with. It was so fun to be in a session with Daniel, and also awesome to have him baptize me.

The next week, Dave and I went back to Nauvoo. I had so much fun there with my family, I wanted to take Dave. The pageant there was especially awesome. Oh, and the Fudge Factory :)

Yesterday I got back from 5 glorious days in Utah. It was action packed!! My whole fam came to pick me up at the airport, including my niece and nephews. It was sooo good to see them all!

I got in on Thurday morning, helped my mom clean for most of the afternoon, got my hair did (Thank you Tara!! You're the BEST!), then just hung out with the fam. Friday I had lunch with a friend, stopped by LANDesk to say hi to a bunch of former co-workers, then went to the airport to pick up our new foreign exchange student Sofi. She's awesome!! She's 15 and from Germany. She'll be staying with my parents until the end of the school year.

Saturday we partied for Mckay and Carter's birthdays and Sunday was Daniel's farewell. He did such a great job. The rest hymn just before he spoke was "Families Can Be Together Forever." That sweet kid just bawled his eyes out up there on the stand. Which made me sob too.

After Sacrament meeting, we rushed home to find dozens of Daniel's friends already there. We put out the stuff for pulled pork sandwiches-- enough to feed an army (or so we thought)-- and it was GONE in 15 minutes. Thank goodness we had the chocolate fountain too! And I spent the next 4 hours frying up "Spudnuts," the famous Bangerter family's homemade donuts. It was a great day.

At midnight we went for a late night Beto's run. We ate at a park and told "scary stories," such as: "Once a time, boy named Aaron, in a car seat, smelled some matches, the end" (told by Gina's nephew). It was hilarious. Sofi must think we're nuts. Aaaand we are.

Monday I had lunch with another friend, got my nails done (I missed Justin so much!!), took Sofi to get a cell phone, and then home for dinner and Daniel's setting apart. Before the ordination, we all went around and told stories about sweet Daniel. We all cried and cried (mostly the girls).

Tuesday morning we met up at IHOP at 7 am for our traditional pre-MTC breakfast, then headed to the airport. Saying good bye was rough, of course. In fact, I'm not going to say anything else about it because it's too hard to talk about. Just love him.

Then, one of the highlights of my trip, my mom and I spent a couple of hours at The Gateway mall. She bought me a gorgeous shirt from J. Crew. Everything there was incredible. We both had dreams of spending thousands in that store! We stopped at Cafe Rio, and then back to St. Louis with me.

It was a great, fun filled trip. I love my family and Utah. Sorry there are no pics, but I left my camera in Utah :( I'll get some posted when I can!

Something to Live For...

Dave's been working out of town a lot. The past two weeks, he was only here 2 days besides Sundays. It's been really hard to keep from going insane. But I finally have something to look forward to!! My family is coming to visit!

Daniel is on a senior trip to all the church history sites across the country. This weekend, he'll be in Nauvoo, so my family is going to meet him there. And meet me there! It's only 3 hours from St. Louis.

So my fam will leave Thursday night, and drive straight until Friday night. I'll meet them there. We'll hang out in Nauvoo and see Daniel on Saturday, go to Carthage jail on Sunday, then head back to St. Louis. Pedis for the girls, a baseball game, etc. It's gonna be great! Multiple days of being with people! Yay!

I love Nauvoo and my family. I can hardly wait!

Woe Is Me!

Last year, when Dave and I were living in Baltimore, my dad had business in DC. My mom went out with him and I stayed with them. We spent 3 days there and had a BLAAAST! While my dad and Dave worked their little tails off, my mom and I played our little tails off!! We explored Alexandria, we devoured the Smithsonian (referring to all of the museums, but we also devoured the incredible flat bread pizza with goat cheese at the cafeteria in the National Gallery of Art!), we had pedicures and Bruegger's Bagels, and shopped like crazy.

Well, my parents are back in DC again, and alas, I am not. I am crushed to be missing out. And obviously my mom's not having hardly any fun without me ;). I tried to explain to Dave what it is I'm missing out on. I said, "Imagine you got to go on an amazing hunting trip last year. There were lots of big coyotes and you killed lots of them and there were rabbits all over that you could shoot, or even just kick if you wanted to. And elk and mountain lions and bears and buffalo! And free 4 wheelers! And this year you didn't get to go. And everyone else went and told you it was amazing." He was like, "Wow. That would be pretty sucky." He mostly just laughed at me :).

And so DC, just know I miss you. And mom, I miss you lots and lots. And pedicures, I miss you very much as well.

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waist!

Yes, I know it's "waste," not "waist."
It was intentional.
That's one darling little flaw
about my husband that I love so much.
I giggle every time I get a text from him
saying something like
"It was such a waist."
He always mixes up the spelling.

On a similar note, while reading today,
I learned I was saying incorrectly
two different idiomatic expressions
(common phrases that aren't necessarily
to be taken literally):
"TOE the line,"
(apparently a very commonly misspelled phrase)
and "One FELL swoop."
For whatever reason, I thought they were
"TOW the line"
(having something to do with towing, as in pulling??),
and "One FOWL swoop"
(referring to something of a bird-like nature?
I don't know...).
In case you care
( I know I'm the only one that does...),
"Toe the line"
is referring to putting your toes on the line
before a race, and
"one fell swoop"
is referring to chopping down
(or "felling") trees.

I'm grateful that I have such a love of reading
because I know these are not the first two phrases
I was mistaken about.
I was something like 16 or so when I found out that
"making ends MEET"
wasn't "making ends MEAT,"
having something to do with food--
like feeding your family.

There are so many sayings that we use
on a regular basis
that can easily be misused
since most of the time we don't know
exactly where the reference came from.
My dad told me not too long ago
where the expression
"the whole nine yards"
came from.
Apparently a machine gun bullet belt
is nine yards long,
so saying to fire "the whole nine yards"
meant all of it.

I'm such a "word nerd"
that I'm probably the only person
interested in the least by this stuff.
But I love the English language.
I love to read it and study it
and continue to learn about it.
After all,
a mind is a terrible thing to waist!! ;)

**xoxo Love you babe**

American Idol?

I'm so conflicted. All season I've been a fan of Lee. I was always voting for him. He's darling and talented. I've downloaded from itunes all of his performances and I very much wanted him to win. I was stoked last night!

Then, I read that he was kicked out of high school (supposedly for fighting, but lots of guys fight in high school and don't get kicked out...)and sent to an alternative school, but he still didn't graduate!

Not much of an Idol. Not a role model. He's 24. He's had plenty of time to get around to a high school diploma. Just seems sad...

A Day in the Life...

...of a Summer Sales Wife! Okay, to be honest, I'm probably the laziest ever. So not all wives have lives like me. I'm pretty sure I need a little one to keep me busy :)

First of all, I need to mention how grateful I am to have a break from work every summer-- a chance to relax and read and relax and tan... I complain about being bored, but I know I'm spoiled.

So, my more productive days go something like this:

Wake up,
make a breakfast smoothie for Dave and me,
shoo Dave out the door to his meeting,
get my Jillian on
(Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD),
go tanning,
shower and get ready for the day,
grocery shop,
watch some tv,
maybe do some laundry and tidy up the apartment,
make dinner,
welcome Dave home from a long day,
eat and clean up dinner,
watch some tv with my love,
get ready and go to bed.

That's it.

My lazier days go something like this:

sleep late,
watch tv,
I may or may not shower...
watch tv
have some cereal or something
watch tv
make an easy dinner,
welcome Dave home,
eat dinner but only semi clean up,
tv with Dave,
bed.

The lazier days suck. I get depressed and feel worthless for being such a blob.
I like to be busy. So I guess it's up to me to make the most of my time off!

I don't know if I'll make it back to Utah before August for Daniel's mission farewell, but I'd sure love to (after the snow melts).

St. Louis

We made it to St. Louis without
having our car broken into!
So the trip this summer was a major improvement
to the trip last summer!

We were only able to bring with us what
we could fit in the Camry--
with the dogs in the back seat.
So basically just the trunk.
So we mostly only brought clothes.
We had to buy dishes, sheets, towels,
blender, and on and on!!!
It cost a fortune, and it made me sick
to spend so much on stuff we
already have in storage,
but it cost less than renting a U-Haul
(which we couldn't have pulled anyway...). Oi.

So far, so good!
Dave is doing very well, and having fun.
The weather is perfect (for now...)
so he's taking advantage of it.
And I'm loving having some time off from work!

I miss my family a lot,
I think especially since my grandpa's funeral
was only a couple of days before we left.
Also because my little bro leaves on his mission
at the end of the summer.
I won't see him again except
for when I go home to see him leave!
And he and I are "Jazz Buddies."
We love the Jazz and used to watch
a bunch of games together.
We've been having Pizza Playoff Parties
for the past 6 years at least.
He's my buddy and I love him.

Good luck Danny and go Jazz!

(But in all reality I only see the Jazz winning one game in this series against the Lakers. Boo).

Mission Call

My baby brother just received his mission call!

How is that even possible?!
I still think of him as a 4 year old.
When I left for my mission
he was a cute little boy,
but when came home,
he had become a man.
Now he'll serve the Lord for 2 years in
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Then he'll really be a man.

Love you Danny!

Last Week of Work

You'd think that since I only have

4 and a half days of work left,
and then I'm done for the summer,
this week would be a breeze.
But it's not!
I can't handle it!
Not for one more minute!
Get me out of here!!

This tantrum will not end until Friday at 5pm.

Easter Weekend

We had such a great weekend!

We went to the first session of Conference
on Saturday morning
(bright and early!)
and sat right by where the general authorities
come out of the tunnel.
Dave had never sat in the "good seats" before,
so he was thrilled (not that I wasn't...).

President Monson came out right before
the first session started.
He stopped and pointed to a 16 or 17 yr old
a couple of rows in front of us
and said, "Are you going to go on a mission?"
The kid nodded, and President Monson said,
"Okay, good." With that, and a big smile,
he proceeded to his seat.
How sweet!

My aunt (Julie B. Beck) spoke in that session,
and gave an incredible talk
(she always does-- they all do).
I'm so blessed to have such an awesome family!

She's so awesome :)

The session was amazing.
I love watching Conference at home in my jammies,
but it's a very different experience being there.

((Now I'll skip over the part where I very literally had an
anxiety attack when we were trying to leave
because the traffic (mostly pedestrian traffic) was so bad.
I almost jumped out of my skin!))

When we got home and changed,
we saw the Easter Bunny had come! WooHoo!
Treats for the afternoon session of Conference!

I'm looking forward to the
Conference edition of the Ensign.
I love reading over the talks and
being uplifted all over again.
Our goal this year is to read the talks together
(Dave and me of course).

I'm so grateful to have a knowledge and appreciation
for the real meaning of Easter.
How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ
and His sacrifice so that we may all return
to live with our Father in Heaven again.
What a miracle it was that Christ has
"broken the bands of death.*"
He rose from the tomb that we all might rise again.

"God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.**"

*Book of Mormon,
Mosiah 16:7

**The Living Christ,
The Testimony of the Apostles,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

I Hate April Fools' Day

(That's how my calendar says it's punctuated...)



I should have taken a sick day. I hate people messing with me. And I work with some really annoying pranksters. Is it too late to go home? I guess I should just buckle up! Boo.

Divide Me

Last night, I woke up at 4 am or so,
feeling very unsettled, but not sure why.
Dave tried to help me calm down and feel better,
but I just felt like something was wrong.
I was anxious and nervous.
So Dave pulled out his phone and played some soft,
happy feeling songs.
The last song he played is one of my favorite
Kalai songs called "Divide Me."
It's a song about his wedding day:

"I've waited my whole life to feel this way...

I can't believe I'm here with you,

Living this fantasy romance..."

I was able to relax
and think about our wedding day
and how much fun it was.
I couldn't have asked for a better wedding day or
a better husband.
I drifted off to sleep thinking of
my dress,
my flowers,
my cake,
my family,
and especially my sweet husband
on the best day of our lives.

I'm grateful for a husband who is willing
to wake up in the night with me
when I'm acting like a six year old.
I'm grateful for a husband to thinks I'm pretty
when I look homeless and
who "writes songs" for me, daily
("You are my love and I love you.
Let's eat some dinner..." That's a pretty accurate example).
I'm grateful for a husband who isn't shy about
telling me he loves me
("Hey babe, just love you. That's all. Bye.")
I'm grateful for a husband who works
hard to support us.
Basically, I'm grateful I married the best guy ever
and my best friend.

Dumbest Sicknesses Ever

Tired. Nauseous. Dizzy.

But today I feel better than yesterday, so that's something to be grateful for.

What is causing my ailments? The dumbest things!

I'm tired because a new prescription I started taking causes insomnia. So for the last 2 weeks, I've been sleeping like 4 hours a night. Sometimes less. As soon as I start to drift off, I get what feels like a jolt of caffeine and I'm WIDE awake. Needless to say, those pills(which cost 5o dollars!!!)are in the trash. Sigh...

And I'm nauseous and dizzy because my new contact prescription is making me sick.
I get motion sickness VERY easily (like turning my head too quickly,or looking back and forth to check traffic more than a couple of times). So since my vision is different than I'm used to, it's making me sick. Yep, I'm taking Dramamine to keep from retching at work(I threw up at work twice yesterday).

Let me just say that throwing up at work is not cool, but it still beat throwing up in the ghetto in Rochester. Never get your face that close to a toilet in the ghetto.
***shudder***

I Have Nothing To Say...

...but I was sick of my St. Patrick's Day post. That was sooo last week!

I hate that the Heath Care Bill passed. Let's see what happens from here. Maybe I shouldn't bring children into this world. If they ever find our long lost Constitution, maybe I'll consider it.

Also, I love English Muffins especially with Wegman's Triple Fruits jam. Delish.

Here's hoping for a happy Monday!

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!

I have fond memories of milk dyed green
on the morning of St. Patrick's Day growing up.
I could never bring myself to drink it
(or the pink milk on Valentine's Day,
or the blue milk on Easter...),
but it was fun-- along with
green eggs and ham or green pancakes, etc.
My mom's the best. Today's green:

I stapled a green post it note,
that said "green,"
written in green marker
to a guy at work that wasn't wearing green.
I'm on patrol, so party poopers beware!

Shoes of the Day

Purrrrr.
Need I say more?
Been waiting not-so-patiently
to break out these puppies.

*Geneviv by Jessica Simpson
**I really want these in "Karat Metallic" too. They're hot

I Give Up, House Hold Chores

After an 8+ hour work day, I don't feel like doing house work. I feel like sitting on the couch and watching as the apartment cleans itself (too much Harry Potter on the brain). So, I am petitioning the chores to take a little initiative:


Dear laundry,
I truly don't mind sorting, washing, and drying you. I don't. I like it actually. But folding and putting away? I hate that. Please just crawl from the chair you're piled on (continually), and put yourselves where you belong. Thank you.

Dear fridge,
I know there is nothing in you that has gone bad, and yet you never smell very nice. And you don't like the baking soda I put in there to curb the problem? How else can I make you less gross?

Dear bathroom,
I know I regularly manipulate my hair from within your walls, and the powder from my makeup often clouds your airspace. I also know there are a million other things that contribute to your messiness, but please stop being instantly messy. It feels like the second I've cleaned you, you're dirty again (that goes for you too, toilet!). Help me out. I'm dying here!

Dear groceries,
Oh wait-- I don't have any. Please arrive of your own accord.

Dear dinner,
Make yourself.

SAN FRANCISCO!!

So, I have permission from my sister Ashley
to blog about San Francisco. Yay!

(she's tougher than me...I cried last year when I couldn't go)

First of all, the reason for this (yearly) trip:
My dad goes to a conference in San Fran,
and we mooch off his hotel room!

So, our trip went something like this...
Sunday: we flew into Oakland.



I was across the aisle, and the plane was cold.

First stop was Denny's
We were famished!
Then we hung around Alameda (my mom is from there)
until my dad's plane landed at 4
(he had to participate in a ward conference
so he had to leave later than we did).

I had taken Dramamine and was exhausted all day,
so I slept in the car.
My mom and Em made
"daisy chains"
for our hair at the park.

Hippie style


After we picked up my dad,
we had dinner at what used to be my parents
Favorite restaurant, Spenger's
("It's just not the same anymore...").
Crab, crab, crab! Yum!
Then we crossed the bridge to San Fran,
checked into our hotel,
and hit the hay.



Very cool room. Thanks Dad!

Monday: we went to Pier 39 for
Nutella and strawberry crepes,
perused the shops, went to Alcatraz,

Mom on the ferry to Alcatraz

Graffiti from the Indian occupation


Typical cell. No decorations of any kind allowed


Solitary

Pock marks from grenades used to stop an escape attempt

The first light house on the west coast

had lunch at Red's Java House
(my dad's favorite place for burgers-
on sour dough. YUM!) ,
more walking and perusing,
then dinner at Boudin- the sour dough bread co,
followed by ice cream sundaes
at Ghirardelli Square!


We asked if they sell their amazing chocolate syrup,
but they said,
"No, but it's just Ghirardelli milk chocolate
with a little milk and sugar."
No wonder it's so good!!

Tuesday: it started out really rainy so we jumped on a cable car
and headed for Union Square-- Shopping!!

On the cable car, looking like drowned rats

We first had breakfast at our favorite bakery,
Posh Bagel
(strawberry cream cheese croissant and Naked juice).
We stopped by China Town,


Then some of my favorite stores:
Kenneth Cole
Coach
Kate Spade
Tiffany & Co.

(and lots of other places where I couldn't afford a key chain!)

We also went to
H&M
Forever 21
and
Old Navy,
where we actually did buy some stuff.
Mostly lots of fun jewelery.
Emily and my mom both have a great eye!

We had Del Taco for lunch,
took the cable car back to the hotel to drop off our loot.
By then it had transformed to a beautiful day, so
we walked the
treacherous 4 STEEP blocks
to Lombard Street.

Lombard Street


Coit Towers and the Bay Bridge from Lombard


Then we went back to our hotel room for a picnic consisting of
sour dough bread, amazing olive oil and vinegar, and
Goat's milk gouda- the best cheese I've ever had.


My dad was in meetings until late,
but we met him for dinner at The Franciscan,
a famous restaurant on the pier.
More crab! This time I had crab Fettuccine Alfredo.
Soooo good!

Wednesday: we had breakfast at the crepe place again,
headed up to Coit Tower to see the beautiful view,

Coit Tower




Alcatraz from Coit Tower

stopped by the Blake House in Kensington
(it's the home of the UC President.
My grandparents used to live there on the property
to look after things when the president wasn't there--
which was most of the time).
We had a family reunion there,
visited over the 4th of July and saw fire works
all over lots of cities from the balcony,
and filmed our own version of Peter Pan.
The Blake House was my childhood Neverland.

The Blake House





On our way to the airport we stopped at
Fenton's for ice cream



Classic Sundae


Bubble Gum Ice Cream


"The Jersey"


My ice cream! "Black and Tan"


and then headed back to dreary Utah.

(Please remind me why I live in Utah...)

It was a great trip. And now I'm missing "my city by the bay..."
Next year's trip can't come soon enough!

San Francisco

I'm not going to blog about going to San Francisco,
out of respect for my favorite older sister Ashley
who wasn't able to come this year.
I posted some pics on Facebook,
but if you want to know more about it,
you'll have to email me.

Love you Ashley McAshley Space Cadet. Missed you!

A Late Night With My Four Favorite Kiddos

My sister Ashley and her husband McKay had to take
a quick day trip to Vegas for a job interview.

I was lucky enough to stay with the kids from the time I got off work until about 1 am.
The afternoon/evening went something like this:

Carter's swimming lessons
Pizza for dinner
(They wanted spaghetti instead, but I'm not a fan.
Silly kids)
Baths and chores and reading
A movie (Hook!!)
Bed time

Now to elaborate a little bit:
The two younger kids fell asleep early on and I moved them to their beds
(Carter is three and Sammy is one)
We came to the part in Hook where Peter is remembering being a baby.
He remembers his carriage rolling away
and falling out of it in the rain. Then Tink saves him.
It always ripped my heart out when I was little to see that
baby crying and being rained on.
Right at this part, I hear a substantial sniff.
I look over at Gabriel (6) to see big crocodile tears rolling down his cheeks.
He's such a sweet heart. When he saw me look at him,
he wiped his tears and said, "It's just a really sad part."
I agreed. Such a precious little boy.

After the movie Gabe and Madelyn went to bed,
but not before
a drink of milk, a hug and kiss,
and a good old fashion tucking-in.

I settled on the couch, planning on sleeping until 1
when the parentals returned.
Nope.
10pm Boozer (my dog) throws up. I clean it up.
Back to sleep-- not so soundly
11:45pm Sammy cries. I rock him near his crib,
but he knows what I'm trying to do and isn't having it.
I went back to my couch bed and laid him on my chest.
He conks out.
12:15am I wake up and realize I should put Sammy in his bed
(but was sure loving holding him)
12:30am On the phone with Dave, and I see a small shadow standing over me.
Carter.
"Amy, I need my backpack in bed with me."
(Carter has a very special backpack.
It contains priceless items like a plastic dagger,
marbles(his most favorite thing),
books, etc. The zipper on his backpack broke,
so he did the obvious thing:
put that backpack inside of another backpack of course!)
I take the drowsy little one and his backpack to bed.
Carter's asleep before his head hits the pillow.
1:00 am Ashley and McKay return
1:45am home sweet home
2:15 am sleep sweet sleep

Am I tired today? That's a big, fat yes.
Would I do it over and over and over again?
That's a bigger, fatter yes.


Sammy (Spam, as I call him)


Gabe, Carter, Vovo, Sammy, and Madelyn


Softhearted Gabriel


Carter (aka Tank) and Mads


Carter, Aunt Emily, Gabe, and Mads

**Love these kids so freakin much!**

Patriotic and Proud

I'm loving the Olympics!!
However, I haven't been glued to the TV 24/7 like so many people are these days.
Conveniently, I have an iphone app that has the
schedules, the medal count, the video highlights, etc.
(yes, there's an app for that)
So I've seen the good stuff! And by good stuff I mean:

Lindsey Vonn wins gold with a serious shin injury

The wrecks of Lindsey's competitors

Shaun White wins gold

Check it out!

I'm proud to be an American, and proud of all this country stands for and works for.
Let's hope it doesn't change so much that we can't recognize it any more as a
"nation under God . . . with liberty and justice for all.*"




I love this country and its noble history.
I love visiting Washington, D.C. and seeing all the work
that has gone in to building this country for centuries.
With all of the current political crises and
constant debate,it is so nice to take a step back
and see us as a TEAM-- all with the same goal.

USA! USA! USA!


*The English major in me insists I footnote my reference.
It's from the Pledge of Allegiance. I know you know that already