bluestripe55

First Haircut

2011-08-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Jonathan's first official haircut took place about a month ago. I just haven't posted the pictures. We went to the salon that CW and i normally go to. I asked how much a haircut was for kids and she told me $15. I thought that was a little bit on the expensive side but they all know Jonathan and they were excited to do it.

Jonathan discovered his one true love - squirt bottles. He didn't care what they were doing to his hair as long as he could have the squirt bottle. We all ended up a little damp. When we got up to pay, they said $25. I thought What?! I am not the type of person to make a scene so i paid and thought that i wouldn't have them cut Jonathan's hair again. Now he needs a haircut and i am in a quandary. CW likes his long hair and i have to admit i like his hair on the longer side. So where do i get it cut?

Unstuck

2011-08-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile but anyway here is Jonathan talking to dad on the phone today. He was playing with the phone earlier so i called him and he got a kick out of it so i had CW call and he really liked that.

Jonathan's vocabulary is pretty limited much to CW's chagrin. I ask him how to say certain works and he uses his sign language but today we were at the grocery store and i got him a cheese stick and while eating it he dropped it and i was only half paying attention but he says "Mom. Cheese." I was quite shocked and of course he wouldn't repeat it again when i asked him to.

Last thing for right now. CW and i went to Utah for a short trip. CW was recruiting for work at the UofU Law School and at the Y. So we decided it would be fun for Jonathan and i to go up with him. Because Jonathan can climb out of anything we laid him down with us in bed until he fell asleep and then put him in the crib. Something was kind of stinky so CW asked me if it was me and i said no and then he asked Jonathan if he was poopy and Jonathan said "No" in this funny voice. It was so funny. CW and i laughed and laughed because Jonathan hasn't really said no and it wasn't expected!

Yesterday

2011-04-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

Jonathan has hit the terrible twos! He likes to push his limits. Everyday he goes into time out for hitting me, picking tomatos (luckily he knows to pick the red ones), getting into the entry way dresser and opening the garage door, and playing on the organ. Everyday. On top of that he is still teething and is cranky and whiny.

It is funny that one minute of cuteness wipes away hours of crankiness and you forget that you were pulling your hair out of your head!

Jonathan falling asleep while picking up CW from work.

A New Garden Box

2011-04-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

We decided to build another garden box. It is about half the size of our other box and all we need is dirt and we are ready to go! I am love looking at seed websites and trying to figure out what we are going to plant. We are waiting for what we have growing in our other box to produce and then we will start planting in there. We still have strawberries, lettuce, brussel sprouts, carrots, celery, and radishes.
Isn't Jonathan helpful? This boy has no fear.

The Magical Fruit

2011-03-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what 28 pounds of green beans looks like after it has been cut, canned, or pickled?

On Saturdays when we don't have things going on (which is close to never) i get fruit and veg from a co-op called Bountiful Baskets. They often have offerings of large quantities of certain in season items and i sometimes get the canning bug and buy them. This time it was 28 pounds of beans. It took me a couple of days and i thought my had was going to fall off from cutting but i did it. I processed all of the beans. We now have enough beans to last us a good long time. Plus, i have discovered that i LOVE pickled green beans often referred to as Dilly Beans. Yum!

Rain storms and rainbows

2011-03-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago there was a really terrific rain storm. We watched the rain fall and we were surprised to see such a great rainbow. We ventured out onto the golf course to take pictures and enjoy the green. It seems the world is such a pretty green after it rains.
The first thing Jonathan did was run to splash in the puddles. He is such a little boy!
We ran from puddle to puddle. He fell down and got muddy but that didn't stop him.

Here he landed head first it to a not so muddy spot thank goodness.

I just can't get enough of this cute boy!

The Garden Update

2011-03-11T10:00:00.001-08:00

I will get to the garden but a post wouldn't be complete without Jonathan. He is trouble for sure! There isn't anything that he can't find a way to get into.

On to the garden. These pictures are a little old but our garden is still growing. I heard something about a good gardener keeps trying and a better gardener keeps trying and also keeps notes. (or something like that) Originally we were going in as partners of sorts with friends from our ward but life happens and since it is in our backyard, it mostly became more my project. This is not any sort of complaint by any means. Their excitement and man-power helped get the project of the garden going. It has been a great experience. I am ready for another garden box. I have learned more of what not to do but here is a list of things from our garden:
Lots of lettuce for salads
Spinach- which wasn't too nice for salads but it cooked up nicely for a spinach, potato casserole
Broccoli that was a little past its prime, i didn't know that it had small yellow flowers - still good freshly steamed,
Purple Broccoli -good because i figured out when to pick it
Cauliflower-good steamed in milk and butter (a friend said this is how her mom cooked it and they loved it. It really just tasted steamed but good)
Carrots - they are very small but good
Strawberries - only a couple have grown but they are alright. I have to fight the birds for them
Tomatoes - I envisioned gobs of tomatoes sitting on the counter and canning them, freezing them, cooking with them but i guess since we only have 3 plants that is not going to happen. I have had a couple and they are pretty good.

Having a garden makes me miss my Grandma. She always had a huge amazing garden. Summers as i remember consisted of getting up at strange hours for irrigating, canning vast quantities of this, that, and everything, and eating great meals in the evening from what we picked that day. I remember doing these things but i never really paid attention to the details. Now when i look at my broccoli and wonder when it is ready to pick (i waited too long) i wish that i had my Grandma's vast knowledge and experience to rely on. I guess as it is with a lot of things, you don't really appreciate them until they are gone.

Behold- the garden.

He used to be afraid

2011-03-07T16:37:00.001-08:00

He hated the vacuum but not anymore. When it is out he wants to vacuum and he knows the difference when it is on and when it is off.

Horse Show

2011-02-23T13:30:00.001-08:00

We have had some fun adventures with Becca lately. Luckily she brings her camera along and then emails me the pictures.

Monday we went to the Horse Show. I figured that along with dogs, Jonathan would love horses. Turns out that is not the case.

You may think this is a smile but this is more of a get me away from this thing!

Jonathan is shaking his head NO! and below he is trying to kick at the horse.
It turns out the stars of the show were the tractor (not pictured), the golf cart, and Becca. I forgot the stroller so we had to carry him around. Jonathan did not want me to hold him at all. It was all Becca all afternoon.

Jonathan and Jasper

2011-02-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

I was going to put this on order but i can hear that Jonathan is up from his nap. Jonathan loves dogs and it is a good thing that both our neighbors have them.

By the way, sorry for such a long break. Posting is something that if you don't do regularly then you sort of get out of the habit. I will be back soon.

Thoughts

2010-10-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

I have two long posts percolating in my brain. They are all about Jonathan of course. We celebrated his 1st birthday yesterday but today is his actual birthday. I will write about that later. I can't believe a year has gone by already. Life is so different then what i thought it would be staying home with him. It definitely is not as easy as i thought it would be, and the difficulties are not what i thought they would be. Sounds kind of confusing but i don't even want to try to articulate my thoughts here. Hanging out with Jonathan has been great. Looking back, Jonathan has gone from a little baby to a walking little kid. He no longer sleeps through the night and in fact is now waking up twice. I guess next is waking up every three hours. CW goes out of town next week for a few days and so Jonathan and i will have a couple of intensive nights of sleep correction. At least that is what i am calling it.

Saturdays are generally good days around here. We are off peak for our electricity so we can turn the AC down to 76. I can get so much more done around the house when it is cooler. General Conference was good today and i am looking forward to tomorrow's meetings. I have to say that i am happy we don't have to go to church tomorrow also. Usually Sundays are pretty long and stressful. It will be nice to relax! Stay posted for more of Jonathan.

The Saga of the Garden

2010-09-30T22:51:00.001-07:00

As i mentioned before, my friend Alyssa and i decided to grow a garden. We were going to share costs and work 50/50 but since she lives in an apartment, our garden will be at our house. I was really excited as this has been a goal of mine for ages. This is my M.O. - get interested in something , read a lot about it and then dream about it, maybe get around to doing it. A garden was sort of that way for me. I am glad that Alyssa brings some practical experience to this adventure. This picture is from a few months ago. The point of posting it is sort of a before picture.
Early Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago the Frost's came over to help cut down the tree and clear a spot for our garden. Dale and Alyssa have a baby a month or two younger then Jonathan named Maddie. She is cute. Anyway so while the husbands were out working hard and sweating a lot, Alyssa and i were inside playing with kids. I kind of felt bad that us girls decide to grow a garden and our husbands get to do all the hard work. This picture is of the tree almost gone. They found 4 golf balls embedded throughout the base of the tree. No wonder it was dying.

Husbands working hard - no tree.
So the boys built the box. I got information on where to go buy dirt and made arrangements to go out and pick it up. It is a place that is by the dump and well, it generally didn't smell very nice. Sometimes as much as it is a pain to bring Jonathan around, not that it is Jonathan that is the pain, it is getting a car seat in and out of the car and carrying it around that around that is the pain. Anyway, usually when people see that i have a baby they are very nice and helpful. This was the case with the man that worked at the dump. He was strange and i probably wouldn't want to meet him in a dark ally but he was very nice. He was joking that Jonathan had more teeth then he did and he called the stray dog that lived there his wife. Weird but nice and helpful. So we loaded the dirt, then we got back to the house and unloaded the dirt and we planted. This is the picture of the garden planted. It doesn't look like much but i hope to take pictures weekly!
Of course i missed the funniest picture of the kids. They both were standing at the garden box and looked up at me. They both had rings of dirt around their mouths. Oops guess weren't paying enough attention to them.

OK gotta go. We are celebrating Jonathan's 1st birthday tomorrow and i have loads to do. I still have another post that i want to do of all the things Jonathan is doing these day. It will have to wait.

Getting down with Jonathan

2010-09-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some clips with Jonathan dancing. He is pretty darn cute. Sometimes if i am dancing then he likes to come up to me and dance with me.

Ellie Belly the Newest Edition

2010-09-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

Her name is really Ellie May but i call her Ellie Belly. She is my new niece, daughter of Ryan and Kimberly. I am really sad that they don't live in Arizona anymore. I miss them. Luckily they were staying with my parents for the summer so when i went up for Mel's wedding i had the added joy of getting attend Ellie's baby blessing.
There is something wonderful about holding such a small human being. She is about 6 pounds at the time of this picture. I can't believe how great Ryan was with her. I have never really seen such a father take to his little girl. Ryan continually impresses me in so many ways.
I held Ellie and i felt a little spot in my heart that melted into longing for another little baby, but as soon Ryan and Kimberly talked about how little she slept at night and that longing fled. No thank you!

Mel's Wedding

2010-09-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

My Sister Mel has been dating Clayton for a few months and he is in the Idaho National Guard and his Unit has been called to Iraq. They were in an unfortunate time crunch in progressing their relationship. Basically, without getting into too much unnecessary detail, she recently got divorced and was still sealed to her ex-husband. They (the Bishop and Stake President) expedited the sealing cancellation as much as that can happen as most of it is out of their control. We have all been playing the waiting game to see if the cancellation would come so they could get married in the temple before Clayton left. So Wednesday evening i get a call from Mel saying that they might get married civilly if the cancellation didn't come by, i don't know, Friday or Saturday. She said she would let me know. Well i didn't hear back Wednesday so Thursday i tracked Mel down and she said that they were probably going to get married Saturday. I purchased an airline ticket to leave the next day. So with not much notice and to every one's surprise, (Ryan didn't know until 2 hours before the event was to occur) they got married. It was a happy occasion and I like Clayton. He will be good for Mel and her children but it was a bittersweet occasion because i couldn't help wishing that we had more notice because CW could have come with me. To both CW's and my regret, a 2 day notice is not very convenient for CW's busy work schedule and cost prohibitive to fly 2 people at such last notice. Oh well what's done is done.
I was the unofficial photographer so the pictures didn't turn out so well. But Clayton looks sharp in his military duds and Mel is cute too.

Mom and Dad worked hard to make this weekend a success!

The happy couple.

Cute Elise.

Nate and Michelle

The happy family.

And would a blog posting by me be complete without a shot of Jonathan?

Growing like a weed

2010-09-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here are Jonathan's 10 month and 11 month pictures. I could kick myself for not getting a better 10 month picture and this is all i have.

I was trying to get him to pay attention to me so i started making loud noises and he started copying my loud noises hence the funny face. I have this long list of things i want to do to my house and while i love my house i sometimes can't look past all i want to change. Looking at this picture from this angle, i really like the way my house looks. The wall looks greener then it is and you can't see the red kitchen.

Dancing Machine

2010-08-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

Coming in at 17lbs. 4oz. we have our little dancing baby. Here he is in Boise with his BFF Ryan performing a little clogging.

We had our Doctor's appointment today and Jonathan got his stamp of approval on his weight gain! hooray!

All in a days work

2010-08-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Lately i have been thinking a lot about how my life is different then what it used to be. I think it started when C.W. and i were talking about the difference between Chicago and Phoenix. I won't get into it here but needless to say it got me thinking about my life. People ask me if i like being a stay at home mom and while i love it, it is not as easy as it may seem. I know that we go through different phases in our life and right now my responsibilities revolve around my child, my husband and my calling. I think my task is made easier by getting to hang around this cute guy all day.
Here is Jonathan in action.

I thought that in my attempts at baby-proofing, i shoved the books in the second shelf so tightly that i could barely get them out let alone Jonathan. I was in the kitchen wondering what he was up to when i spied him making a big mess. He leaves a trail of spillage and disaster in his trails and putting anything away just invites him to revisit previous messes.
Playing with Jonathan leaves dad worn out. He napped for about an hour right there on Jonathan's floor.
More playing with dad.

Swimming and Trek

2010-08-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

Our Stake had the Youth Trek a couple of weeks ago and C.W. put in a lot of hard work planning it. It sounded like everyone involved had a good experience. Lots of rain and lots of mud! I hope that in the future C.W. and i can be Mas and Pas. Of course C.W. didn't have any pictures of himself. So here are a couple of pictures from his camera.

Ma Finn and Pa Finn are from our ward and i am sure they were great. They both are fun people.

Today was Jonathan's last swim "lesson". Maybe swim class would be a better name. Here are the skills we worked on:
blowing bubbles - which he never did
floating on his back - which he was not a big fan of
kicking - he did get the hang of this when the teacher would hold a rubber ducky to follow
climbing out of the pool - which he also became good at either to grab the rubber ducky or because i think he just got cold and wanted out

Usually at the end of the lesson we would dunk him just so he would get used to the water a little more. So when we took the picture he was really ready to get out.

I think we will wait a little longer to put him back in any swim lessons but i am glad that he had this experience with the water. It was fun!

Summertime

2010-08-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry i haven't posted in awhile. I will only say that the heat is sapping my will to live. Actually to be fair it is not just the heat, it is certain issues with my church calling and certain aspects of a particular person's decisions that have me wishing i was on some tropical island off the coast of Australia (because it is winter there) lazing in isolated shack hanging out with Jonathan and C.W. Alas it is not to be, so i give you cute pictures of Jonathan.

He hasn't figured out spatial relationships with his body and tries to crawl through the tiniest of spaces and cries when he can't get through. A total fake cry.

He dances to music and it is the cutest thing. Every time we pull out the camera he stops and poses so we haven't captured it yet. Even when i picked him up from Child Watch at the YMCA i noticed that he was in the corner with the attendant dancing to the music from the stereo.

He knows that he is not allowed to do certain things as well. I moved a book out of his way and a few minutes later i noticed him looking at me from the other side of the coffee table by the book and when i looked at him he smiled a big grin grabbed the book. Little Stinker! Jonathan keeps me on my toes. I love him and his antics. Sometimes i can't believe the great blessing of him in my life. Even now that he decided that he can't sleep through the night anymore.

Attack!

2010-07-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

I have no picture to go with this post because it would not be cute! So along with all of the wonderful pleasures of Phoenix in the summer is huge massive cockroaches running around my house. After talking to a few people, it is apparently a normal thing. Even the terminex guy said if you get a lot of cockroaches then you would get scorpions. He said it isn't really something to worry about and it is not a sign of uncleanliness. HA! OK, this next part may seem unrelated but stay with me. In April, we had a BBQ with some of CW's running friends at our house. CW was out grilling and someone said something funny and i guess i got a piece of food stuck in my throat. I ran in the back room to try to gag it up but it was stuck tight. So I came back out and practically threw Jonathan at someone and although i don't remember it, i guess i did the international choking sign. Luckily, one of the gals is a nurse and recognized that i was choking and proceeded to do the Heimlich Manuover on me. she is shorter then me so she was not having much luck. Her husband came over and he is much larger then she is and so with much gusto he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. Nothing flew out of my mouth but it was dislodged enough so i could breathe. I was a little sore but thought that that was normal. Anyways, it was painful and it kept being painful until one morning it was so painful i called the doctor. Turns out i broke a rib. The doctor looked at me and said you shouldn't pick up your kid and i can't give you pain medication because you are breastfeeding and stay away from the gym and don't do any sit-ups. So it sucked to be me for awhile. I thought that it was healed but today as i was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch and folding clothes i look down and there was a monstrous cockroach right next to me. I screamed at the top of my lungs and grabbed Jonathan. I put him in his high chair and spent the next 20 minutes killing the insect and then cleaning up the mess. Jonathan and i had to leave the house for a while too just to get out. I noticed that my rib was killing me. I thought maybe i re injured it when i screamed about the cockroach. Hopefully it will feel better soon.

New Title

2010-07-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

I can't ever think of catchy post titles. Anyway this is sort of a week in review or pictures of our latest adventures. I got a close-up of Jonathan's teeth. I think it is pretty darn exciting. Whew look at that hair hanging out of his mouth. Sadly, it is probably mine. Well here is our cute boy decked out for swim class. It is not really swim lessons but we don't have a pool so we are taking advantage of our YMCA membership. He loves the water and wasn't sure at first but after a couple of seconds he was really enjoying himself. We worked on kicking, blowing bubbles and floating on his back. There was only one other mom and baby in the class so hopefully more people sign up.
I can't believe my baby is 9 months old. We went to his 9 month well check up and he got weighed. He was only 16 lbs. So from his last appointment he is only a half a pound heavier. He has lost a little weight since coming back to Arizona because he weighed at least 16 lbs 6 oz while at the doctor's office in Boise. So the doctor's orders are to fatten him up and now i feel like i am constantly shoveling food in his mouth. I did wonder because he still is wearing 3-6 month clothes. My visiting teacher said she noticed right away that he looked skinnier. What kind of mom am i that i didn't even notice? We head back to the doctor in 6 weeks and if things don't improve then we worry.

Coming home from Boise i had all of these project i wanted to work on. After being separated from my house for a couple of weeks i really felt inspired. Below are colors (from left to right) I want to paint my kitchen, master bathroom or bathroom with the shower and Jonathan's dresser. I keep mentioning to people that i want to paint my kitchen which is a very bluish red right now. Everybody likes the red and CW says why do we have to paint it, everyone likes the red. I like it alright but for years i have been waiting for my own house to do as i please and i have always wanted to paint! Being in the design industry for awhile i feel like i see trends at their beginning and then when it hits main stream i am kind of over it. I feel like that with red and beige - kind of over it. Plus I am liking the mushroomy green/ greys right now. For the bathroom i decided to go one shade lighter then what i have in the picture. The bathroom has a white bead board wainscoting that covers half of the wall so it won't seem so overwhelmingly dark. For the last project i have bought the paint and the dresser is sanded i just have a couple of prep things left and then i can paint. The problem is slowly my energy and motivation have evaporated in the heat. I had all of these plans but somehow i just can't get the energy to do anything. ugh!
Last thing in this ever lengthening post is a sad mishap for Jonathan. He was in his kiddy pool and he was trying to stand up. Poor kid feel over and hit his lip and scratched his face on the brick patio. He was sad so we went to Sonic because they have good ice and fed him ice! Poor kid.
I will try to post more often. This is a marathon post!

Find the missing Golf Ball!

2010-07-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

Can you find the golf ball in this picture?

Hint: Look in the tree!

We live on a golf course and periodically we get golf balls hit into our backyard. I have to say this morning i was looking at the tree thinking it needed a little pruning when i noticed the ball. I don't know what is more likely, CW or the kids that mow our lawn put it there or that someone actually hit the ball and it landed there.

Longest Post Ever!

2010-07-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

We finally arrived back to Phoenix yesterday after an eventful summer break! Here are some pictures to memorialize the occasion. It seems like it took a bajillion pictures but as i am going through them, i found that i didn't take enough.

Jonathan's first tooth made an appearance. Before we left we had sleepless nights and grumpiness and i was getting a little anxoius about my child's tooth situation. Finally, it broke through his gums. I tried to get a picture but every time i opened his mouth he would stick out his tounge. Oh well. It is there and it looks like the second tooth will also be making an appearance soon.

I took Jonathan out on the lawn. He didn't know what to think at first. It was really funny but after hanging out in the backyard he finally got the hang of crawling on his hands and knees and he seems to prefer that now to his belly. I am happy because his clothes seem to stay cleaner.

I took this picture because i thought it was funny that as soon as my brother Ryan turned on the Xbox, all the boys in the house magically appeared and became transfixed by the race car game on the screen. I know i am fighting a loosing battle but i don't my kids to be video game junkies.

Here are Elise and Owen.

Mom, Mel, Kimberly, Jonathan and i went to lunch at Tammy's Tea House. Mel just got her hair chopped off.
Ryan and Kimberly have been staying at my parents house for the summer before Ryan's job starts in Denver in September. I think Jonathan is at an age where he is aware of who he knows and who he doesn't know. It took a few days for Jonathan to go to my mom and dad. But since Ryan and Kim were at our house a lot when they lived in Phoenix, Jonathan knew them well. Jonathan and Ryan became BFFs. Ryan loved tossing Jonathan around and Jonathan loved being tossed around. Here Ryan is dragging Jonathan around by his feet. When Ryan did this outside in the grass, Jonathan would stick his hand out and drag it. Every time Jonathan saw Ryan, he wanted to be held by him even to the point of lunging out of my arms for him.

It definitely was a time for BBQs. In one week we had 4 BBQs including 2 ward BBQs and a pack meeting BBQ. I kind of felt like a wedding crasher but who is going to question who and why at a church function? The last one we had was on Sunday with the whole family. The missionaries were over and the food was great. It seems that i am forever calling and hearing them all over at my parents and i was happy to finally be there with them.

On Sunday, halfway through my stay, Jonathan seemed really mellow. I thought it was because he didn't sleep very well the night before. My dad picked him up and told me that he thought that he had a fever. I felt bad because i could tell that he was warm but it didn't occur to me that he had a fever. I was in a little bit of a panic. After the third day of a low grade fever, i took him to Urgent Care where he was diagnosed with Bronchial Pneumonia. He had to get a chest X Ray and the contraption that he had to get into broke my heart. He was stuffed into an acrylic tube with his arms up and there was a little cutout for his face. My heart broke as he looked at me and cried seeming to say why are you doing this to me. The Doctor prescribed Amoxicilian and we were on our way. Two days later, Jonathan broke out in hives and we went back to the Urgent Care and found that he has an allergy to Penicillin! I don't know if you can really see the hives from this picture. Poor kid.

Finally at the end of my visit home, we went to Utah for a Hoover Family reunion. I have to say that i was dreading it. I hadn't seem some of the cousins in awhile and i didn't really remember them with fondness. The other thing was that we were camping for 3 nights without any showers. I have found that in my adulthood, i am not a big fan of camping. Let alone camping without showers.

The plan was to meet C.W. in Utah for the family reunion and then fly back with him to Phoenix. After 2 and half weeks away from Jonathan, C.W. was afraid that Jonathan wouldn't recognize him. There were maybe 2 seconds in the airport where Jonathan seemed a little shy but then Jonathan couldn't stop smiling and looking at C.W. He was very happy to see his dad.

Part of the Reunion included a talent show. This is the legacy of my Grandma Hoover. We can't have a family get together without music. Ten years ago, after i got off of my mission, Ryan and i did a musical number where he played the trumpet (he actually played the trumpet at one point) and i played the trombone ( i had never picked up a trombone). Even though it was awful, it was a big success and the family has talked about it since. So Ryan and i decided try it again. Most of the family at the reunion hadn't seen the previous performance so they were expecting something real. My thoughts are it is better to do something and know that you are completely awful then really try to do something and have it turn out awful. Again we were a success.

I wish i took more pictures of Hobble Creek (pronounced crick, we were in Utah) Canyon. It was beautiful. Here was a barn a little past our campground. It would have been perfect if there had been showers. It got cold as soon as the sun set, it rained Sunday and it was freezing in the mornings. I relished every minute knowing that i had to go back to the hot weather.

And finally, for those of you who have endured this long, we ended the reunion with a family history lesson and visits to family graves. I was happy to visit my Grandma's grave. When she passed away, i was in Boston with C.W. and there was no way that i could get to the funeral. So i hadn't ever seen her grave.

Finally, we were tired and stinky and ready to go home and take showers. We had a good flight and we got home with no troubles. Jonathan was really happy to be home. He had a big smile as he went from table to chair to his box of toys and crawling to his favorite places. I guess that i didn't think a baby could be that aware of his surroundings but watching Jonathan smile and be happy i know that he knows he is home.

Sleepy

2010-06-21T06:19:00.001-07:00

Of course i forgot to take pictures on Father's Day. It was really nice to celebrate Father's day with my dad and family. Of course the food was delicious. At one point everyone was here and i loved it.

I did get my camera and took a couple of sleeping children. Here is Jonathan and Elise.

The last week before i left for Idaho, Jonathan started teething. For about three nights in a row Jonathan could not sleep. He would fall asleep for a little while and then he would wake up crying. I finally brought him into bed with us so we could try to get some sleep. Poor kid, he would fall asleep sitting up leaning against me and then would i lay him down he would cry. Anyway, he now has a tooth. It just just breaking the surface of his gums but he is a much happier child.

Jonathan also has been working up to waving and finally yesterday he completed the action. He waved to Grandpa! I will try to get a clip of it.

Vacation

2010-06-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

I went home to visit my family and left poor C.W. in Phoenix. I can't get enough of how wonderful it is here. I think the hottest day since i have been here is 86 degrees. In the evening we sit outside on the porch and enjoy the weather. At night i open the window and feel a little chilly so i snuggle a little deeper under my covers. Plants are bursting with blooms and the trees and grass are dripping with green. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers and they are everywhere.

Granted it has been an atypical spring/summer here but i am not complaining. This is what summer is all about. The sad thing is my husband is not here to share it with me and to see my husband again i have to go back to phoenix which is probably at least 30 degrees hotter.

It has taken a couple of days for Jonathan to get familiar with Grandma and Grandpa but here is a familiar face. Ryan and Kimberly are staying here for the summer.

We went to Blue Cow for frozen yogurt for Mel's birthday.

Finally, here are a couple of cute ones of Jonathan in my Mom's new sink. She is still working on the tile backsplash. She is doing the work herself. Way to go Mom! As soon as she figures this out and tiles the laundry room floor, she is coming down to help me with my tile backsplash!

This Blog thing

2010-06-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

I am still figuring out how to blog. I tried to follow the blogs of people that follow mine and i only ended up following my own blog. Oops. And then i realized that in one of my posts the whole thing is like a hyperlink only i have no clue how to actually link anything in my posts. I think i just did it again. Oh well i guess i need to fiddle around and learn a little bit more about this blogging thing.

I don't have any pictures of Jonathan to post. Last night he was a bear and i didn't get much sleep. Today he was looking in our TV stand glass and realized that he could see my reflection. It was funny to watch him see me and then turn around and look at me. He did this a couple of times and then started to smile and laugh when he figured it out. Then later he did the same thing in the glass of the oven.

I don't just take millions of pictures of Jonathan. I do have a bunch of pictures of the humming bird family that is living outside of our kitchen window. This is the second humming bird that has made its nest in that area and earlier in the spring there was a dove that had her nest there also. So I have become sort of a birdwatcher. If you are interested you may have to click on the pictures to see them up close. I had to enlarge them with the computer so the quality of the pictures are somewhat blurry.

Here is the back of the bird. She is facing away from us. As i watched the bird and her interactions with her babies i realized that she can see me and so this is her protecting her babies.

This is more of a side shot.
Here is the mama and the head of one of the babies. I can only image how small it is.
Another shot of baby and mom.
Here is the hummingbird leaving the nest.
Finally the next two are just of the babies heads sticking out of the nest.

The adventure continues!

2010-06-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

So this was Jonathan yesterday when i walked into his room after his nap. I don't know if he even slept. That is why i think he greeted with me with that grin.
Then to my great surprise i put him down today and after a while i was in the living room and i heard this noise i couldn't name. So i walked in and found him standing with bits of map in his hands. For the west wall in his bedroom i started putting maps on the wall sort of like wallpaper. I didn't account for a little boy standing and ripping the paper down. So now i taped all of the maps down so little fingers can't rip the edges. Somehow i don't think this is a permanent solution. You can see the ripped map in the background. Poor Chicago.

This afternoon he started pulling himself up on the couch. I am almost afraid of what tomorrow will bring.

Photo Shoot

2010-06-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here is Jonathan's 8 month shot. I had to do something to get him to focus his attention off of the 8 mo. paper so i used the phone.
This is Jonathan after i took the phone away so i gave it back to him and just took the picture with the phone. We are all happy.
When C.W. bought me the camera he kept asking if i really would use it. We now have over 1,000 pictures (mostly of Jonathan). Now he keeps telling me i need to delete some pictures!

Update: I could hear Jonathan in his crib playing after his nap and when i went into his room, i was shocked to find him sitting up. Then later in the afternoon, i looked over to the kitchen chairs where he was playing to find him sitting up again. So i guess the milestone here is sitting on his own from a crawling/laying down position. It is harder to entertain him with a few toys now when he can go almost everywhere in the house.

Smiles and Tears!

2010-06-01T20:42:00.001-07:00

I don't have a picture for this post but tomorrow Jonathan will be 8 months old and so i will take his picture and maybe post it then. But i just wanted to say quickly that i had a nice holiday weekend. My brother Ryan and his wife Kim have lived here in Arizona for little less then a year while he completed a Master's degree in Accounting. He just finished up and they are heading on to the next phase of life and out of here. I am envious as the thermometer hits triple digits. Anyway, i have LOVED having them here. They were great dinner guests, guitar hero band mates, reliable babysitters, friends to hang out with while CW was gone for the weekend, Kim makes killer desserts and i will miss those. It is nice having someone close by that you can call for just about anything and they won't say no because you are family. It has been nice getting to become friends with Kim also. She is perfect for Ryan. I am really sad that they are moving before their little one arrives. Sigh. But it was nice that since they were moving my parents and brother Nate came down to help with the pack-up and drive. It was really nice to see them. I can't wait to visit them for an undisclosed amount of time on an undisclosed date. (i am learning the fine art of hmm... distrust (?) skepticism (?) whatever from my husband) It is also fun for me to see Jonathan get to know my parents, his grandparents! OK stay tuned for Jonathan's 8 month picture coming soon.

Big Sigh!

2010-05-26T21:06:00.001-07:00

I am happy that it is the end of the day. In fact, i can't believe that it is only 9:00.
I must say that being a stay at home mom is a lot harder then i thought it would be. It was the same with pregnancy. I wonder how it was that i had no idea how hard pregnancy really is. How tired you get, how sick you feel all the time, throwing up long past the first trimester, peeing while throwing up because, i don't know, you are so big that you have lost certain muscle strength or your child is screwing up your insides(??) and i had no idea about heartburn and waking in the middle of the night (every night) choking on stomach acids that were coming back up my throat! Sorry if that is too much information. I now have sympathy for all pregnant women. Yikes and to think my husband is bugging me about child number two!

So it was with stay at home moms. There was a new mom that i went to church with and i often wondered what she did all day. First i thought that i would get bored being at home. Then I thought that life would be so nice. I could get so much done, take up a few hobbies, sew, etc. This is also not the case. Today was one of the worst days. I think how nice life was with my 9-5 job. Even with all the stress i could come home and relax and not worry. I am not saying that i would change anything at all! My mom says being a stay at home mom is the hardest job you'll ever love. I mean i am complaining and i only have one! Anyway, i think he is teething and it was Cranky McCrankster had come to stay and my sweet Jonathan had gone on vacation. He would whine if i put him down, whine while i held him. There were full on tears at different times. Naps were a nightmare. I was at wits end. Then CW comes home and gives me a break for a little while and they go outside. After awhile i stick my head out to see what was going on and this is what i see.

It is funny how seeing him laugh and smile seems to take away all of the frustration and tiredness away. And to top it all off he went to bed like a dream! I love this kid.

Our Week

2010-05-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

I need to update the look of this blog but i am not going to get to it today. It is another post - that's right, two in a row. Jonathan is getting more and more mobile. I was holding Jonathan and my friend Kristy asked what was wrong with the bottom of his feet.

I realized that he was getting blisters or just rubbing the skin off of his toes while scooting around the house. It doesn't seem to bother him!

Sometimes his curiosity gets him into places where he can't seem to figure out how to get out of.

Here he is high centered on the chair stretchers. He couldn't go anywhere despite kicking and swinging his arms. I got a laugh out of this one.

He can pull himself up on this toy but since it is wood on a wood floor it doesn't stay put. So he will start to pull himself up and then it slips so he again is stuck and he cries in a panic. I have to hang around to make sure he can get up to play. He loves this toy.

And lastly, this is what i see when i go to get him up from his naps. He is so cute but i think i will need to take the bumpers down soon.
No wait, this is the last picture. I put him in this outfit and i realized he is not my baby anymore. He is a little boy now! He is so cute. Soon he will learn that i can't resist his smile and use it to his advantage.

Last Weekend

2010-05-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

I think it is hard to think of creative titles to posts. Oh well. Last weekend CW hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim with his buddies. He took a bunch of pictures but i will only post a few.

I am thinking that this is in the morning on the south rim. This is my handsome and rugged husband.

The bottom.

On the way back up.

At the top of the north rim.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

(the picture of our house happened to be bunched in with the pictures of the Grand Canyon so i included it)

I was invited to participate in a handmade luncheon. It was great! Nine women got together and made 8 items (9 if you wanted one yourself) and we had a potluck lunch and we gave out what we made. So what i am inarticulately saying is we each came away with 8 different things that people made. It felt like a birthday or some sort of shower but everyone got something. The items ranged from jam and granola to aprons to jewelry to stamped stationary. We are meeting back up at the end of September to do it again and i am already trying to figure out what i'll make. So of course the only pictures i got were of the kids that were at the event. Three of the babies, including Jonathan were born a week apart and it was fun to see how different they all were and to see them interact together. There was a lot of binkie stealing and gem spreading!

How cute are they?! I feel like this needs to end differently but i am not sure what else to say. So here it is... The End

Too Big!

2010-05-13T11:46:00.001-07:00

I usually put Jonathan in this little chair while i shower and he is usually content. Today, while showering in heard some thunks and so i peek out of the shower to find him like this. I guess he wants to sit up on his own now. Gotta go now because i hear him playing with paper and am not sure where it is coming from!

The Dustmop

2010-05-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

I let Jonathan loose in his room to play while i was out and about putting the laundry away. I heard him start to whine a little and i went back in his room to see what was up and i couldn't find him. I was looking everywhere and then out popped his little head from behind the rocking chair. The picture isn't very good because i realized that i was focusing on the washcloth and not Jonathan's head.

After i picked him up i noticed that he was missing his shorts. I guess he lost them while crawling around.

And here is a picture of the dust he collected on himself while exploring areas i don't clean very often.

Johann-athan

2010-05-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post his 7 mo. picture.

I can't believe that he is 7 months already, yet it seems as though he has been around for a lot longer then that. It is not quite what they say when they say "I can't remember what life was like without him" as i have pleasant memories of full nights of sleep, sleeping in, coming home from my job and having the evening to do whatever i want but how can you resist a face like this!

I guess with added mobility i need to be a little more vigilant. Since yesterday he has found the magazines on the bottom shelf of the coffee table, books on the book shelf, daddy's dirty shoes and this leaky pen.

Behind!

2010-05-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am a little behind on postings of Jonathan. He has been kind of mobile but more like rolling over to where he wants to go not really crawling. That is until yesterday when I noticed him propelling himself with his toes.

Also here are a few pictures from the last month. I call them "adventures in eating"

Apples, Plums, and Bananas

Peas

This is a vitamin D supplement that i sometimes can't resist giving to him because of the faces he makes!

He likes it.

2010-04-04T11:32:00.001-07:00

Here is Jonathan eating some delicious rice cereal.

Guess who is 6 months old!

2010-04-03T08:23:00.001-07:00

This is how he woke up after getting home from his Dr.'s appt. Poor kid, shots are no fun! We are going to feed him later today. If i can figure it out, i will post the video.

Arizona`

2010-04-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that moving and living in Arizona has not been the easiest thing for me and i told myself that i would limit my complaining about it on this blog. At least i can say that i don't cry anymore when C.W. and i talk about where are kids are going to high school. I think that i have a tentative promise that when C.W. retires, we can move. Stay with me.

It seems that outside of church, most people i know are transplants to Arizona. I can only think of a couple of people that are born and raised here. When i first moved here i was commiserating with this girl about living here. Her advice was to find three things you like and focus on those. I only remember hers as you can swim at midnight and it is nice and the smell of the orange trees when they bloom. Here were my original three:
C.W. was here.
The smell of the orange blossoms.
There are a lot of birds here.
They have evolved throughout the years (yes all 3.5 of them). Here are the different versions of them:
C.W. has a good job.
I work at a showroom that has really great fabric.
I like my job working with Interior Designers.
I see a lot of high end cars i.e. Bentleys, Lotuses/ Loti (?), (I do admit that this one is stupid and it only lasted a few weeks)
And this is the current three:
C.W. has some really great co-workers.
Birds.
The smell of the orange blossoms.
I think that March is the one month that i like, wait, no i don't mind living in Arizona. For those of you not here, there is no describing the smell of the orange tree. The air is heavy with the smell, like it drips off the trees.
We have a house and we have a variety of winged visitors. We even have a hummingbird nest that i can see from the kitchen window. Now this post is long enough. I try to keep'em short with a lot of pictures!

Crank Monster

2010-03-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Of course Jonathan is changing everyday. Two days ago he started making a noise that i sort of thought sounded like an elephant. Cute. Today i have heard that noise almost non-stop and it just sounds like whining to me. Drawing on my vast knowledge (aka the internet), I think Jonathan is teething. At least i hope that is the case. I am wondering if this noise represents his discomfort? I don't know. He is no longer sleeping as well. He is a drool factory. He now is unsettled if he doesn't have his binkie.

On a different note, Jonathan sat on his own today. He has been sitting up but i usually anchor his legs so he doesn't tip over. Not today though! He did it all by himself.

Disclaimer #2

2010-03-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

Warning:
There may be extreme bragging and an excessive amount of pictures featuring Jonathan. I can't help myself. It is bound to happen because it is my blog and my son! With that here a a couple of pictures catching you up on his short life.

Getting Started...Again

2009-09-21T18:31:00.001-07:00

When i started this blog originally, it was because i was pregnant and thought that i would have something interesting to talk about. So here i am finally pregnant. Actually, i am hopefully on the cusp of giving birth and i haven't really chronicled anything about my pregnancy. Though i have discovered most aspects of pregnancy aren't pretty. I feel like any gross thing that a body can produce is amplified and intensified by pregnancy. Just ask my husband.

So here are some pictures taken by CW's talented co-worker of me pregnant. It was a few weeks ago when i didn't seem as large and swollen as i am now.

canning frenzy

2008-11-08T08:56:00.001-08:00

Here is the long and short of my canning history - I can remember being in the kitchen helping both my mother and grandmother bottle fruits, juices and jams.

Last year i bought a box of peaches that were divine. I quickly tried to round up canning equipment to bottle up this goodness but this consisted of asking around to family and co-workers with no luck. So I ended up cutting up the fruit and freezing it. Unfortuneatly the fruit browned a bit and got freezer burn and wasn't very good.

Fast forward to this year. In the middle of september i went to Idaho for much needed mom and sister time. My sister had visited some farms/orchards with some people in the ward and when i got there she was in the middle of canning peaches and pears. It was fun to help out as an adult and i realized that it is not that hard.

I may have mentioned that i joined a food co-op and my first week they had an "offering" of boxes of pears. I decided to take the plunge head first into canning and i bought a box. After i bought the box, i looked around to grocery stores and such buy the equipment. I didn't find what i was looking for so i go to my trusty source - amazon.com. I order the equipment on line. Meanwhile my pears are really getting ripe. So i turn to the internet for solutions. I read that you can bottle fruit without the big pot and rack, without the special tongs that fit around the tops of bottles but it is not so easy. I ended up using my (small) stock pot and putting down 2 washcloths inside the bottom to use as my rack. It was a hot sticky mess but i managed to make spiced pear jam, bottle a few pints of pears, blackberry jam, raspberry jam and wait you say, what happened to the canner that was supposed to be coming in the mail - i didn't do all of this in 1 day. After a week after it was supposed to arrive, i called the company and it turns out they didn't have any stock. So it wasn't until after i called and said something that they refunded our money. I ordered another canner through another vendor and i am happy to say that it arrived. Meanwhile the co-op had another offering of Honey Crisp apples. Those are my favorite apples and are pretty expensive at the store so i bought a box. So with my box of apples and my canner, i made lots of applesauce. yumm!

lagging behind

2008-11-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

I just told my good friend Jessamy that i have a blog and so i figured that i should maybe update it a little.

To be honest, i haven't posted in awhile because the post that i have been mentally writing has been about how much i dislike the state i reside in. (i could even use the H-word) It has been a painful fall. (if you can call it that) Usually, starting with my birthday i am in a state of bliss. I love the changing of the seasons that starts in September and goes through December. I won't elaborate because it depresses me. But here are a few facts. I like cold weather. I love the color black - especially clothing. I love sweaters, I love wool and tweedy type fabrics. I love scarves. I like layering clothing (going back to i love sweaters) I love lots of blankets on my bed. What is Halloween trick or treating in 90+ degrees? CW went water skiing with his friends on Saturday November 1st. But i would say that finally with in the last week it has cooled down. This past week i have noticed that when i leave the gym at 6:00 in the morning it is actually cooler outside then it is inside. (not to give you the false impression that i actually go to the gym on a regular basis or that i am in any type of shape whatsoever except out of shape) I really have to end this now as i am going to get hostile and/or start crying. The next time i have something to say, it will be positive. i promise.

first friday

2008-10-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

Things have been slowing down lately at work and they had to lay off a girl. It was a sad thing. Now our office is down to 4. They also went down to a 4 day work week. We are closed on fridays. It is a good and bad thing. It is always bad when you make less money. I was freaking out. I actually got a job as a seasonal worker at anthropologie. Not that i would actually earn any extra money that way- in fact i would probably loose more money then i make. Plus they started me off at a lower wage then i wanted and wanted me to work a couple of full sundays, 8-5 for training. No thanks. Things aren't that bad. So today is my first friday off. I finally got around to doing that thing that i talked about. I roasted cantolope seeds. I read that the taste is "huskier" then pumpkin seeds. Well i roasted them and think they are about the same as pumpkin seeds only more husk and less seed.

following up

2008-10-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

(Michelle this one is for you) I went to walgreens with my list and coupons and bought 2 Bertoilli dinner things and 1 thing of Breyers ice cream to get $5 in register rewards. The deal is when you buy $15 of a few things then you get a coupon thing for $5 dollars to spend the next time you go to walgreens. So here i was, after work and i went through the register and nothing printed up. So i asked the cashier what happens when it doesn't print up and she called the manager. She called the manager over the loud speaker and i at this point was ready to tell them to forget about it. I turned as the manager walked over to see my worst nightmare come true. There were 12 people in line behind me. I counted. The manager did a return and gave me $5.42 cents cash so i walked out spending $13 something for a bunch of stuff. I can't tell you exactly what but 20 minutes later, after i got over my embarassment, i was happy with my deal.

Next up is what am i doing with all of my produce from my bountiful baskets order. Well yesterday i made pomagranate vinegrette. I didn't have cheesecloth to strain the seeds of the fruit out of the vinegrette so i went to my vast ( i am not being sarcastic) fabric collection and found a loose weave piece of linen and strained it through that. It worked pretty well. It was good but it tastes really similar to the salad dressing that you can buy in the store with the picture of the strawberry on it.I don't know if it was worth the effort. Tonight i made banana bread. It was really good. I tweaked the recipe a little bit and used half whole wheat flour. I used brown sugar and left out 1/4 cup. With all the bananas i didn't use any oil. I did use some butter but not that much. It was pretty tasty. I have a bunch of cherry tomatoes that we will never eat so i found a recipe online to dry them in the oven with garlic and olive oil. You can store them for longer and toss them into salads or add them to pasta. I cut up all of the tomatoes and then realized that i didn't have any garlic. I will get some tomorrow. I will let you know how that turns out. It looks like Meat[loaf] is back on the menu boys! (i saw lord of the rings way to many times) I am going to make meatloaf tomorrow. We have red potatos and green beans that we need to use up and CW likes meatloaf. No wonder why i can't loose any weight. Finally the other thing that i am going to try is a surprise. It will be interesting to say the least. I will let you know how it is and what it is tomorrow. ciao folks!

Humble pie

2008-10-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the mish-mash post of the day.
*Restaurant review*
Humble-pie is a great place to eat but not so great on the pocket-book. It is right around the corner from my office and the $11 price tag on one of the best caprese salads for lunch doesn't cut it. So if the boss pays (good thing it is their favorite place as well)i won't say no. But this is no way to start a review. One of CW's co-workers brother in law owns the joint not that you care or does it matter. It is located in a strip mall but a pretty up-scale one at that. I regularly see Bentleys and the like parked here. It happens to be in the same strip mall that the starbucks i regularly frequent is located - for da boss. Anyway so it is a one room place with a few chairs on the patio. I would say that the decor is nothing special. It is nice but not fantastic. They have pizzas which are good - hence "humble pie" but are specialty pizzas. If i order pizza, i usually get the margarhita. Their steak salad is good but the dressing- a mustard, caper vinegrette is almost to die for. The fries have too much cheese garlic parsley stuff which is good because i don't need to eat fries. But i have to say the best of 'em all is the Caprese. Before i worked at my current job, i had the salad once or twice but a co-worker of mine loves it and so i think the whole office now eats it a lot more. So instead of your typical tomato and mozzarella slices with balsamic vinegar and oil, it comes with roasted small tomatoes on the vine with a glob of their own buratta cheese. Drizzled on top is olive oil and almost a balsamic vinegar syrup or reduction sauce with pesto on the side. yumm! so if your boss is paying- i suggest going. It is well worth it.

2008-10-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

I realize that i am sort of hit and miss with this blog thing. I always thought that my life wasn't interesting enough to blog about and i would start when i had a kid or two to talk about. So in anticipation of that I started. Well since that sort of got derailed (see dust and clean) I guess it is purely just me and my life. I don't want to seem cavilier about anything but you just gotta move on.

So on to what i am doing. Last week CW and i had a conversation that put the fear of "ecomomic disaster, market failure, and job loss" in me. I work in a "luxury" industry and it could dry up with the market. So i decided that i needed to be a more effective and efficient consumer. Now what does that really mean? A few things. I will start with the coupon thing. I got a sunday newspaper with coupons and adds and went to work. There are 20 billion blogs on how to save money and get things for free. There is quite a contingency of women in my ward that are way into this. I kind of scoffed at this because i don't think there were being 100% smart about it. That is neither her nor there and i don't want to offend anybody. Talking to my sister in law, Michelle, she kind of changed my mind about it. It is all about moderation. Sure there are lots of stuff that you can get for free but i decided if i wouldn't buy it normally then i won't get it for free. I feel that there is enough waste in the world already why get it just because it is free. (i have come along way, baby to get to that mental point) Also, i think you need to be careful because this might not be the most healthful way to eat.

This leads me to my next thing. There is a co-op here called bountiful baskets. It is a non-profit group that buys straight from distrubters and local farms for fresh produce veggies and fruit. $15 bucks every 2 weeks for a laundry basket of goods. You don't know what you'll get but i was impressed with the selection. I split it with a friend because i didn't think CW and i could consume it all ourselves. They also have other offerings. Crazy me, i bought a box of pears. I can't remember exactly how much but a lot. I did it with the idea that i would can it. So i know, canning Amy? I will let you know how it turns out.

There is more but this is entirely too long already and i need to get dinner going.

ugh!

2008-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

So AZ's temperatures are no longer in the triple digits. Horray!

Book Club

2008-10-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

So i started a book club. I have wanted to join one for awhile now but couldn't find one. I looked on craiglist, at bookstores, the public library, and on Google but didn't find anything that suited me. Here is a little background before i explain further. My apartment is pretty empty of stuff. I can't decide what i like. What colors, modern, more antique type furniture. The problem is i like everything. So as a consequence, nothing has been done. I did buy red nesting end tables but then i have a purple velvet arm chair that is pretty modern. They really clash but it is what it is. i was kind of embarrassed to have people over so i invited only a few people over that i felt comfortable seeing my apartment in such a state but then told them to invite anybody they felt would want to be in a book club. My scope of friends in AZ is fairly limited. Anyway, a girl forwarded it to like 20 people from church and i was kind of freaking out. I wasn't sure how many people would show up and what they would think of my lackluster apartment blah blah blah. Needless to say, pretty much the people i personally invited showed up and it was good. There was a little political talking considering i choose the debate night to meet. I know there were conflicting political feelings so i tried to reign in the most vocal (to little avail) but in the end we planned out what we were going to do. I invite all of you to attend on the first thursday of the month at my apartment. Since most of you don't live in the state i am giving you plenty of notice to make arrangements to get here ;-)

How long is too long?

2008-09-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

My hair is longer then it ever has been in my life. Like past my bra strap. It has happened because i either don't have the time or the money to get it done. Also i guess that i don't actually have anyone to do it. I have had the worst luck here in AZ with hair stylists. The first salon that i went to every time i called to make an appointment the person that did it before was gone. So after 4 or 5 different times and people i decided that something must be wrong with the salon. I have tried different people with varying success. Truthfully i haven't liked any of them. Now i am sick of my hair. It always goes back in a pony tail and my previous highlights are now midway to my ears, a little grey showing - all in all not very nice. But i have mentioned to a few people that i want to chop it (with this length - chopping means a little past my shoulders) and people are adamant about me not cutting my hair. Yesterday i was inline at Starbucks (i am sometimes the gofer at work)and this women walked by and her hair was long - past her butt long. It didn't look that great. So i ask you - How long is too long?

Dust and Clean

2008-09-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a few days since i posted anything. It has been kind of crazy emotionally. Last Wednesday i had a doctors appointment - I thought that i was pregnant. CW and i were pretty excited and nervous. I had been feeling not so well the past few weeks and all of the typical signs (not that i know from experiance) were there. We got to the part where they do the ultrasound and looking at the screen, there was the jellybean shaped black spot but there was nothing inside. I was a little confused and anxious and the nurse called in someone else to look and they explained that it was a miscarrage. When the egg seperated, half of it created the embroyonic sac and the half that was supposed to form the baby never formed. It was a disapointment to be sure. It was weird because i had these feelings for something that never really existed. I hear that it is common and nothing to worry about, it is not indicative of my abilities or inabilities to become pregnant (again?) or carry a child. Weird. So they scheduled a D&C (Dust and Clean as CW's co-worker calls it) for last friday. Well there was this crazy storm that hit thursday night. So crazy that it knocked the power out at the Surgicenter and surrounding neighborhood. They have generators but because it was not a life and death thing they postponed it. So now it is rescheduled for tomorrow. Friday was perfect- i had a long weekend to recover and relax but such is life. They have to put me under and this is the first time i have had any surgical procedure done. I am a bit nervous. So with that note, it hasn't been the best birthday ever but thanks for all the love and support!

Best day of the year

2008-08-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Still figuring out the picture thing works. I think that it is crooked. This is a picture from the best day of the summer maybe even the year. CW and i were in Chicago for his brother Bob's graduation. It was nice weekend but the culmination was Saturday evening we walked down to Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium park where the Grant park symphony was playing Mozart's Requiem. We sat on the grass, rested our feet and enjoyed the sunset and beautiful music. We just had a great meal, we walked around one of my favorite places in the whole world (chicago), the weather was ideal - Life doesn't get much better then that.

My Husband

2008-08-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

The other day i went to get the mail and found that we had a package. I get the box and notice that it is from Amazon. CW ordered a few books and even on for me which will probably be the next book i read -World without End by Ken Follett. I read the first book by him which is the Pillars of the Earth. Anyway, the package and his habit of collecting (and reading) books made me think of the first time i met him. I met him on a saturday morning. Our mutual friend Johnny was having a BBQ at his apt. that evening and so he picked me up and then i dropped him off at work so i use his car to run a few errands. One of those errands was to buy pop and drop it off at his apartment. There sleeping on the floor was CW. Johnny and CW hung out the night before and i guess that it was too late to go home. So i inadvertantly woke up CW and we chatted (the lightbulb went on). He asked me if i could give him a ride home, he was cute so i said yes. As i was dropping him off, he asked if i wanted to come up and i accepted under the guise of "checking my email". When i walked into his apartment he had a couple of tall bookshelves full of books and piles of other books all over. I have to say this was one of the things that impressed me most about him (to that point) and solidified my crush. I still love that he loves books and he continues to impress me with what he reads and wants to read!
(on that day i also discovered that he liked Christopher O'Rielly and that impressed me beyond belief and i became a Red Sox fan, they were in the playoffs and i watched for the first time in my life a complete baseball game by myself just to have something to talk about)

Another Week in Review

2008-08-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well here i am again. I have a lot to post. Since i haven't been feeling very well in the evenings i have read a lot lately. I finished The Shipping News. I really liked the book. I like books that slant your life a little bit. I mean that certain books make you think about things a little differently even if just for a little while. This book was very well written and at times it was not very pleasant. I mean that this is not a feel good and be happy book but it was still good. The characters are not elegant or even very pretty but they get along and in the end are happy and have accomplished something in their life. I am not at all doing justice to this book but it is good. Another random consequence of reading a book set in Newfoundland (that is where this book is set) is a good portion of the book talks about fish and seafood. I kept having inordinately insane cravings for clam chowder, lobster, fish and chips, and the list goes on. To bad i live in a landlocked desert and am limited to what seafood i can eat fresh or not.

With that i will talk about my restaurant review. Los Compadres is a mexican food joint just down the road. It is fast, quick and pretty good. I got a #6. My usual - a taco, tostada, and a buritto with green chilies. I have been having a problem lately of nothing being appetizing to me. I get hungry but most food repulses me. So i ended up only eating the tostada. The rest will probably be lunch today. It is your usual american-mexican type food and i like it. CW, on the other hand had problems. It didn't sit well with him and he was up all night with heartburn and visits to the bathroom. I don't think we will go there again for that reason.

Dog Farts Fell Family of Four

2008-08-21T15:06:00.001-07:00

Actually i am just figuring out how to add pictures to my blog. So let me introduce Winston. He is my co-worker Erin's Dog. He comes to work everyday with Erin. Everybody here has a dog except me and as i am learning there are traits that are particular to different dogs and bulldogs happen to have many in common with crotchety old men. Winston sleeps a good portion of the day and snores like crazy. I am sometimes amazed at how loud he is. Next is he is very stubborn. He doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. You often have to persuade him with a dog treat. And lastly, this dog is a lot better now but this dog has some toxic gas. He can clear out our small office very quickly. Don't get me wrong, i have come to love Winston very much. I mentioned that i am the only one that doesn't have a dog here and despite that I am one on the ones that Winston likes to hangout with. I don't know why. He just sleeps under my desk snoring and farting away.

Fresh & Easy saved my life

2008-08-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

A new store in the neighborhood just opened up. Fresh & Easy. I love the place. The produce is, well, fresh and well priced with a good selection. There are a lot of premade meals which has saved me from my husband’s hungry tummy. Or pre-prepared and all you do its cook it up. It is a small store that you can cruise through in a matter of minutes. They keep the costs down by having few employees and all checkout lanes are the self serve type, and finally because they are part of the Tesco family. Tesco may not be a familiar name to most but it is a British shop (originally, now global) that has buying capabilities to rival Wal-Mart. In fact they are Wal-Mart’s biggest competition internationally. It’s kind of funny actually. While on my mission in Hungary, most of the grocery stores were small type stores and even then, we didn’t use them that often. It was off to the bakery (pekseg) to get bread or the stand on the corner for our fruits and vegetables. But two of my areas, Szeged and Pecs, they opened a Tesco while I served there. It was all people could talk about for months. The excitement was palpable. We missionaries were pretty excited. They had an amerikai food aisle with such luxuries as corn flakes and peanut butter. I also had a companion that liked their Fank (a doughnut type thing with jam in the middle) and we went often for that. So for the second time in my life Tesco has changed my shopping habits - once going from small to large and now from large to small.

PS I heard that Wal-Mart is now looking at opening up smaller shops!
PPS I don't shop at Wal-Mart, the nearest one, i've heard from a reliable source, has vermin of the 3 letter word variety that are only cute in animated movies.

Week in review

2008-08-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well this is more of a general week in review as I often don’t have the energy in the evenings to do anything except lay on the couch and watch Olympics. I don’t know what I will do without them.

Okay here are a few things that I will try to write about in my blog:
Reviews of books I read
Definitions of words I come across
Review of dining places
Etc.

So we will start with the book I just finished - Mr. Norrel & Jonathon Strange by Susana Clark. I enjoyed this book. It was pretty long and I kind of had a more grand idea of how it should have ended but it was not enough to make me dislike the book. I know that is vague but I don’t want to spoil anything in my “review”. I liked how thorough she is in her explanations of characters, spells and myths. It is obvious that she completely thought these out to add depth to the story.

My next book is The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. Often I don’t read with the dictionary near but this book is different and leads me to the word of the Day… EXCORIATION
ex·co·ri·ate /ɪkˈskɔr iˌeɪt, -ˈskoʊr-/ Pronunciation Key -[ik-skawr-ee-eyt, -skohr-] –verb (used with object), -at·ed, -at·ing.
1. to denounce or berate severely; flay verbally: He was excoriated for his mistakes.
2. to strip off or remove the skin from: Her palms were excoriated by the hard labor of shoveling.

Food Establishment reviews: I haven’t really gone out anywhere special in the last week.
So for consistency’s sake, yesterday I went to Subway for lunch. I got a oven roasted chicken breast 6” on wheat. I asked for a little lite mayo. I don’t know if he wasn’t quite paying attention but he loaded it on - like gobs and gobs . So when I actually tried to remove some of it back at the office, I couldn’t really scrape it off without taking half of the lettuce as well. Needless to say, my sandwich was pretty good with all of that slathered mayo much to my surprise!

So this is long enough and I will try to figure out how to add pictures soon.

one more thing

2008-08-13T18:19:00.001-07:00

I think the next post will have something to say about not judging me by inability to spell or use grammar correctly. Yikes!

Cutting costs

2008-08-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

This seems to be a theme in my life right now. Okay, before i start i will state another disclaimer. That is as i try to figure out what to post i am having a hard time differentiating a journal and blog. I know that someday i will actually tell someone that i have a blog and thus all my posts will be subject to thoughts and responses from everyone. My journal, well i wouldn't share that to anyone and so i can pretty much create this stream of consciousness that only i and maybe my sister can appreciate. As if this just doesn't prove my point.

Back to cutting costs - I am trying to live more fully within a budget. I am also supposed to be thinking of the total amount of money that i would need to support myself, a child and a husband (husband- mostly just food costs) on a monthly basis. It is a difficult thing for me. I feel like i am pretty frugal and live pretty cheaply but at the end of the month - no money. I am working on it.

I work at an Interior Design Firm. Our business is high end residential design. Cutting costs seems to be a theme there also. Our client the S_ family is building a second house in the area, not a cabin, they already have one in Jackson Hole that would put any cabin i know off to shame. This is more of a ranch house with a barn for their horses, lots of room to entertain and although i don't understand this - lots of desert landscape - i am not a fan. The builder gave them the estimated costs (without the Architect's and Designer's fees) the estimated total was 6 million dollars. They responded that they only wanted to spend about 3 million. We are scrambling to cut costs with out ruining the desired effect of the house. (how about not spending 90 thousand on your pool)

Client number 2 the D_ family. This house is going to be amazing. I am excited to see it finished. This is going to be a french farmhouse including actual reclaimed elements from original buildings in France. Anyways the D_'s are were not sparing any expense until their costs exceeded 6 million as well. They only budgeted 5 million. So they are going "cheap" on a few things.
man life is hard.

DISCLAIMER

2008-08-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have been reluctant to start a blog because i have high expectations for myself but am unable to actually create what i think i should be able to. It is the same with scrapbooking. I feel like i should be able to make these fabulous things but then when it comes down to it - i am crap. To quote The Most Interesting Man in the World "Find out what it is in life that you don't do well and then don't do that thing." So despite that sage wisdom... here i go.