Holla! Girls Night

Finally! A night out with just the girls. Always seems overdue, but so worth the effort. And not to mention, highly highly recommended if that's your thing. And it is definitely my thing. Spending the night in the woods with best friends does something for the soul. But I can only vouch for my friends. Your friends are most likely not as cool.

See...I told you. My friends are really really cool. And hot.

First up: dinner at The Foundry Grill

Oh boy. This after only 2 drinks. I just can't hold my Diet Pepsi like I used to.

Perhaps my favorite picture of the night. Shiloh got lots of lovin' being the only baby.

There was plenty of crazy going around. Which I love.

Some serious R & R going down here. Do not mess. It's a serious skill.

Two can play at this game!

Things were going great until we tried to light a fire. Our resident non-girl scout was struggling to say the least, but I'm not going to name names here. There was a lot of matches involved.

WHAT?!?!? A boy? Where? Oh. There. Right, you weren't supposed to see that. His face has been blurred to protect his identity. A certain someone who may or may not be married to me didn't stay long, nor did he want to stay at all. But it's a good thing he showed up when he did to rescue our little fire from our non-girl scout. But I'm not going to name names here.

It's 3:30 am. Are you tired? Me? No, not at all. Why? Are you? No, I'm not tired either. I was just asking. I could go all night, really. Yeah, me too. But if you're tired-which you're not-we could go to bed. Well, only if you're tired. I'll go if you go, unless you're not tired. Well, I'm totally not tired, (yawn) but I'll go to bed, just because you are.

Bags under the eyes and a monster headache just in time for Sunday church? Check. And double check. Thanks girls for a fun night! Lots of love to all of you...

Mystery Pics Revealed

Picked up my mystery film today. A big THANK YOU to the very nice scruffy facial hair guy at Silver Pelican who was able to save a total of 4 pictures from this camera even though I could tell he was not really happy about it, and couldn't understand why I wanted pointless snapshots from old ruined film. Even though the film was obviously well past its prime, I'm thrilled to see these few lost Kodak moments. I was almost spot on with the date, although I think these pictures were taken in late 2003 or early 2004, just after we were married. Newlyweds! We look so blissfully happy, you know, in a finally we're gettin' some kind of way. Totally kidding.

We are famous for these in-the-car self portraits. It's tradition.

This one makes me misty. Seems like yesterday.

I just love him when he gets all crazy up in here.

Prolly the best picture of me to date.

The rest of the pics looked like this one...so I'll spare you.

The Mysterious Disposable Camera

Friends of the program, meet my mysterious disposable camera. Remember these?? This camera has recently resurfaced around my house. I'm not sure where it came from, but all of a sudden it's here. Again. I don't remember when I bought it, but if we were playing for money right now, I'd bet that it was circa 2003. I could be wrong though, it could be older. I think this is the camera that lived for a short time in B-rad's glove box, post mission, pre-engagement. I think this is the camera that was left neglected for months on top of the fridge in our first apartment. I think this was the camera that was shoved into an old grocery bag along with old remote controls, batteries, cd jewel cases, and an extension cord. I think this is the camera that has disappeared each move only to magically reappear totally out of thin air. But then again, I'm not really sure about any of it. I've finally decided to show this camera some love and have the film developed. The suspense is killing me already. I have absolutely no idea what pictures are on this camera. We soon shall see.

Or maybe it's so old that the film is overexposed and ruined. Thus, no pictures at all.

But if there is...I'll post them manana!

Rubenesque

It's spring! There, I said it. And I don't care if it snows again, I'm officially declaring spring at this very moment. In fact, it's raining right now and that's a tell-tale sign. So mark your calendars if you haven't already. As I've been digging around in my closet every morning this week I realized that apparently I was cruising around half naked last summer because CLEARLY I HAVE NO CLOTHES. And when I see cute new styles of cute spring clothes in the shops I feel too much like a Rubens to try anything on. What is a Rubens you ask? (Already regretting asking, huh?). You're Wednesday morning art history 101 starts right here, right now. Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was a prolific 17th century Flemish artist. He is FOR SHIZ considered a Master and is probably most famous for his exuberant Baroque style history paintings, like this one on permanent collection at the Louvre in Paris. I've seen it, stood before it, and trust me on this, it is A-mazing. However, one of Rubens signature painting styles was depicting very sensual, voluptuous-and by today's standards fat-women, such as "Venus at the Mirror" c. 1615 (below).It was an inside joke among female peers (a.k.a. other art history nerdophiles) that when feeling especially "plump" we were like a Rubens. This is why I went to college people, so I could blow your minds and educate you with my intellectual smarts. Spring clothing shopping might just be my demise.

Happy Earth Day

It's a gorgeous morning along the Wasatch Front, a perfect reminder of Earth Day. Already this year I've made a few simple green-ish changes such as reusable grocery bags, light bulbs, washing in cold water, etc. I even graduated from a reusable plastic water bottle to this aluminum Sigg bottle, available locally at REI. Today I'm committing to a few more. And thanks to Wire and Twine's 50 Ways to Help the Planet, it's pretty darn easy to pick a few. If you're flat out stumped thinking of ways you can make a difference in your own home, be sure to review their list to get some simple ideas.

I'll be working on #35-cutting down on junk mail (because really, do I need a monthly C&B catalog even though I check and double check everything online anyway?), and #3-don't rinse dishes before using the dishwasher. That last one will go into effect only once I have a new dishwasher (sheesh!). I am completely guilty of scrubbing down each dish and utensil before loading because somewhere in my consciousness I believe this added step will make my dishes that much cleaner, but really it's all in my head folks. Just like the mysterious elves who move my makeup all over the house so I can't find it. And to take one for the team I'll faithfully continue with #17 because that one is...well, a no-friggin'-brainer people. It's a real tough one, but I'm willing to sacrifice for the sake of this beautiful Earth. Yes, I'm that committed to saving the planet. Me and Al Gore. You're totally welcome.

Oh...and while you're over at Wire and Twine, have a look at this darling "play station" shirt for kids. I think I'm in love...

Boom-de-ada, Boom-de-ada

This "I love the world" video clip for Discovery makes me wanna break into song.

I'm now ready to Boom-de-ada my way into Mondee morning.

We be runnin'

We've had a busy but fantastic weekend. Saturday morning started early (we're talking 5:30 am) for the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I know, I know, most of you are thinking pshaaw she so did not run the half marathon. And, you're right I sure as heck didn't. So give yourselves 5 gold stars for being psychic. About 4 weeks before the race I realized that it would literally be suicide not to downgrade to the 5K. So I did. And it was a good move too because I finished the 5K and didn't die as a result, which was precisely what I was going for. Mission accomplished. Brad however did run the half marathon. And I officially hate him for it. I can explain. About 2 weeks ago he went out for a run one evening and put in roughly 6 miles. That was the extent of his training. Then on race day he busted out 13.1 like the new Ricky Bobby of running coming in well under 2 hours. Ever since, I've been giving him the silent treatment as my way of protesting against the awful injustice of the whole situation. I don't think he's noticed yet. Probably because he's still suffering from some sort of runner's high, which by the way is a total myth. It's right up there with Nessie and UFO's as far as I'm concerned.

I finished before them (I'm just as surprised as you are!) and watched them run down the finishing stretch. Russell was soooo fast that we apparently didn't even see him fly by.

The 4 Half-Marathoners: BD, Whit, Russ & Mich. I'm so proud of them!Me and my girl. Yeah, we're goofy like that.
It was my fil's birthday on Saturday too! We ran in honor of his birthday. Not really, but I thought I'd throw that in there just for kicks. Lee is so supportive of everything his kids do, he's just the best. Dan the Man even made an appearance sporting his 10 am shadow. He's my favorite. Ever. Ever. I wanted to give a big shout out of GOOD LUCK to my sis Marci and her hubby Rich who are running the Boston tomorrow. Suckers.

Another one bites the dust

Little bil Rusty received his mission call for our Church yesterday. Drum roll please...

And you know what? He guessed Australia before he opened his call! He may be soft spoken, but big things are always happening in that sharp spiritual mind of his. Just by being around Russell, you get the sense that he knows things.
Gosh. I love this kid. I've known him since he was 8 or 9 years old. He was painfully shy and just the cutest little Lego-loving punk you'd ever seen. When I'd come over to BD's house I'd always make an effort to say hello to Russell just to see his adorable reaction. Sorry Russ, I couldn't resist! If he would come into the room I would wink at his mom and say something like, "Hi Russ, I love your hair cut, it's soooo cute." He would blush the brightest shade of scarlet red and stare directly at his feet, squirming. His mom would wink back playing along, "Russ can you say Hi to Brad's cute friend?" No. He most certainly couldn't. And would turn around and politely dart out of the room as fast as he entered it. Then his mom and I would chuckle and comment about how he's so stinkin' cute.Fast forward 10 years. Russ is still a little shy, but just as adorable. He's smart, confident, sincere and steadfast with everything he does. The picture above is of him and his twin sis (she's the one totally freaking out in the video, although we all kind of were). They may be opposites in many ways, but don't let them fool ya...they are thick as thieves these two. Saying that we're proud of him doesn't even begin to cover it all. We love him so very much.
Russell reports to the Provo, UT MTC on August 6, 2008 to serve in the Australia, Adelaide mission. We're elated!

I think my sponge has cooties

How am I ever going to follow a 30+ comment post? The pressure is almost too much and I've started developing a rash. So, I'm going to set the bar real low and work my way up from here. Let's get started...I'm a REAL big fan of all the Apartment Therapy blogs, especially The Kitchen. When they posted about sanitizing kitchen sponges in the microwave today I perked right up. Come to find out this revolutionary microwave method is not so revolutionary anymore and I'm probably the last female on the planet to know about it. How did this happen? I read Real Simple almost religiously, I should know this stuff. Nasty Sponge Syndrome (or NSS for those in the know) is a problem that has plagued my kitchen recently. Typically, I run my sponges through the dishwasher every few days and this seemed to work fine. But then, the most horrible thing happened a few weeks ago. My dishwasher quit, not even having the decency to give me 2 weeks notice. I would have been less distraught with even a 2 minute notice, but no. And now that I've realized that you just can't trust 30 year old dishwashers, I'm wondering if it was ever really enough to kill every living thing that could potentially be multiplying and replenishing its disgusting self on my sponges. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for breeding, just not in my kitchen. I've tried the bleach method, but found that I'm just too stinkin' lazy for the constant upkeep. I'm hopeful this microwave method will keep my temporary dishwasher working diligently until we find the perfect replacement.

Just Saying Hi

I wouldn't disagree with anyone who says that blog-stalking can be a little creepy. I mean, consider all the people's blogs that you have seen who you DON'T EVEN KNOW. Ever seen someone in public and think do I know that person or have I just seen their blog before? It can be awkward. Going private is totally justified as well. We live in a crazy hugged-up world and as a result we tend to be overly paranoid. No doubt, it could be argued that when it comes to parenting, there's no such thing as overly paranoid. I'm amazed at how many people I've been able to connect and re-connect with via blogging.
Including but not limited to:

• a long lost friend from my college days as a Coug who I thought I would never find again unless we ran into each other at Target.
• cousins who live in other states (or cities) who have super cute kids and super cute lives.
• oldie but goodie friends from Jr. High who take me back those good times as an awkward teen.
• friends from High School who I have lost contact with, but am genuinely happy to know about the good things in their lives.
• parents of friends, siblings friends, friends of friends.
• I could go on and on here, but I won't.

So where am I going with this anyway? Oh right. I just wanted to say hi to any blurkers out there that might stumble across this blog accidentally, or not. I'm also committing myself to be a courteous blurker. If I find myself clicking over to your blog on a semi-regular basis you can guarantee that I'll leave a comment. If for no other reason than to just say hi, I'm here and looking at your blog and p.s. I'm not a total creep or pedophile but just another blogger out here in the blogosphere who loves to look at pictures and find unexpected bits of inspiration from others. I'll be doing myself a favor (guilt-free stalking at last!), and other bloggers a favor because we all live for comments, right? Comments are the warm and fuzzy validation of our blogging efforts.

Happy commenting.

-love blurker

Stormy Weather

To be completely honest, I didn't care much for March 2008. In fact, if March 2008 was standing in my living room right now I'd probably poke it's eyes out and not feel the least bit of remorse. Unless of course blood were to get on my white carpet. April 1st couldn't have come any sooner. I was anxious to box up March 2008 and slap a big red sticker on the side that reads "Contents Under Pressure-Do Not Mess." Seems there is never any shortage of drama threatening my glass half full approach to life, but March seemed to carry an abundance of punch in stomach, repeat as necessary type days that I would soon like to forget. Looking forward to a slight rise in temperature, a bit more sunshine and hopefully a better month overall. Don't worry. I've already apologized to April upfront, as I do realize I've just placed an enormous amount of pressure on a month who's infamous for rain. But fortunately for both myself and April, I enjoy the rain...immensely. Should work out to be a win-win either way. Thus, I'm learning that life is all about weathering the storm from one to the next. And I don't care what the song says, there's nothing worse than getting caught in the rain.

Now for some catching up...

We spent Easter at my moms and had a delicious dinner, scavenger hunt, and even some egg races. Always wonderful to be with family and eat good food.

Gabbie gets a push from Uncle Brad

You wouldn't know they were racing with eggs from this picture, but look at my nephew running with one hand on his shorts. Teenage boys love this look, even when it causes them to loose at egg racing. It's kind of cute.