SWAMPED

in papers

slightly overwhelmed... ok, completely overwhelmed

until i went and volunteered at the women's shelter

almost didn't go- worried about time

went anyways and so glad i did

wow...my worries are small

life is good

service will do that to you...

every time!

grateful my husband loves and respects me

realized that i can conquer school

and anything for that matter

got to go... lots to do

still wondering if there's enough time

wish me luck

on the road

i love this one:



something about the blurry lights, i guess. am i the only one?


then suddenly we were in a blizzard:



it seriously felt like star wars with all the snow coming at us. i felt
like i was flying through space... it was giving me a headache. luckily,
jeremy was a calm driver through the snow. i was stressing!


my wonderful compression socks:

my mom made me promise to wear them and to stop every hour
or so to stretch my legs and run around the car three times.
done and done. gotta do my part to prevent those pesky blood clots.
(picture from stop numero two right before my laps)

now we are chilling with my family. family is life. word.

p.s. this was my 400th post! crazy!!

happy birthday mom!

YAY!

you are the big 5-0! and you look AMAZING!

here are 50 fun memories i have of you and our family:

1. backpacking through europe- just you and me
   
2. demolition derbies as summer entertainment
3. when you threw the phone at that airline employee- they almost called security
4. using the emergency pull cord as a clothes line in rome
   
5. when you let me cut my hair so short i looked like a boy (what was i thinking?)
   
6. going to shiver's for ice cream cones after swimming lessons
7. buying black boots for the whole neighborhood for our spy club
8. not letting me get a bikini when i was young and reckless
9. teaching me how to knit and crochet
10. coming to rescue me when i was sick in vienna
11. getting up with me super early in paris to be 1st in line for the bell tower tour
12. riding bikes all over sun valley, idaho
13. camping at colter bay with the whole slc neighborhood
14. buying me a new racket after i made the tennis team in high school
    
15. signing me, sam, and rye up for golf lessons in the summer
16. cross-country skiing together in park city
    
17. eating sandwiches in sausalito, california
18. getting that crazy limo ride in san francisco instead of waiting for the trolley
19. signing us kiddies up for tae kwon do and taking us to tournaments all over
    
20. sending me out to the street to get a "map" in downtown las vegas
21. driving to walmarts all over to buy all of the cocomotion machines
22. teaching me how to drive a clutch - that was a hard day
23. planting flowers in our garden in slc
24. when i thought i was dying when i got diagnosed with pneumonia in the 6th grade
    
25. going to the dodger game and eating dodger dogs and cotton candy
26. making tons and tons of rice bags for all of my friends when i was 11
27. knocking out a wall in my bedroom when dad was out of town- he was sure surprised
    
28. going to movies and having you fill our little paper cups with candy
29. planning 2-day beach trips and leaving at 6 in the morning
    
30. going to craft day together- you chat, while i make the stuff you signed up for
31. preparing the house for 25+ guests for multiple holidays
32. golfing in park city with sam and rye and we took turns riding in the cart with you
33. holding my hand when i had to get my head stitched back up
34. building tall towers with those old waffle blocks with us kiddos
35. going to hogle zoo and riding that old train summer after summer
36. buzz baseball games every summer when we were little
37. rootbeer floats every sunday night out on the lawn
38. when sam dropped the gallon of milk and it exploded on the floor
39. having FHE and you asking dad if the lesson was over yet
    
40. taking that train ride to the grand canyon and letting us drink coca-cola the whole way
    
41. making a cookie sheet of nachos for an after school snack
42. when you ran over that cat one night- you know the one
43. playing skip-bo like our lives depended on it in park city
44. letting me cut riley's hair when i had no idea what i was doing
45. visiting all of the counties in utah in 1996 for the centennial year
46. washing dishes in those tubs whenever we go camping
47. not being too mad when i broke the side view mirror backing out of the garage
48. going to the temple with sammy (with riley wandering around temple square in his questionable t-shirt)
    
49. riding bikes through the gardens at the palace of versailles
50. taking me out of school to watch the slc olympic torch go through town

i love you mom and i love all the fun things we have done together. i am so excited for more memories to come. have a fabulous birthday!

workout plan

ok... so i made a goal in january to workout, remember?

and i have worked out about a max of six times since. this is not good. swim suit season is around the corner. ahhhhhhh! we need a serious intervention here!

so i am going public with my workout plan and then i will have to commit to it, maybe i will even find people that want to workout with me... you in?

here is where i am:

• 122 lbs (weighed in the morning- because it's a little less)
• 28 inch waist (last time i checked)
  

here are my lofty goals:

• workout 4 or 5 times a week (30 day shred, running at least two miles, or some sport)
• get down to 115 lbs
• 25-26 inch waist

here is the plan to get there:

• print out monthly calendars
  
• write down when i workout (so i SEE my accomplishments and where I can improve)
  
• keep track of my weight and measurements on my calendar
  

now let's get going!

shoe addict

while we are on the topic of purchasing shoes to help others...

i have been wanting some TOMS for a lllllloooooonnnnnngggggg time now. maybe this year will be the year. when you buy a pair of TOMS, they give a pair to a kiddo in need. i just can't decide which color i would get.

till we meet again, grandpa

my grandpa gary unexpectedly passed away yesterday.
i am so grateful for my knowledge of eternal families and i look forward to when i will see him again. i love and miss you grandpa!

love at first sight

i just stumbled upon this:


the most perfect sandal.

i love the green! you can lace and tie the strap lots of different ways to create new looks. additional straps are only $9, so you really can have ALL of the colors. the proceeds go to helping women in uganda further their education. check out their website here and send me a pair while you are at it. i might have to gear up a little bit to buy sandals for $40.

camoflaged

saw this in my bio class.



animals are amazing.

it's never too late

the other night, around 9:30 we decided to make cookies.

it was a really good decision.

{i love my orange kitchenaid}

freshly baked cookies as a late night snack is totally underrated.

we made my favorite: oatmeal toffee cookies. the perfect cookies for my chocolate-fast-until-easter because the recipe doesn't call for chocolate chips (even though i usually add them anyway).

here is the recipe:

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

1 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup chocolate chips (optional, but tasty)

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together margarine and sugars;
add eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Mix and
then add oatmeal, coconut, toffee bits, and chocolate chips.
Shape into balls. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

make them... you will love them.
(especially the cookie dough)

my predictions

i filled out my brackets for the men's and the women's tournaments last night.
i believe in equality.

i might win a bunt cake from my sociology of sport professor, a prize from my mom, and bragging rights from j's family if my predictions are right. they are different for each pool... i can never remember what i put, but the winners are the same... i think. i'm guessing kansas for the men's and uconn for the women's. hopefully i will win something.

who's winning according to your bracket?

p.s. mom- our brackets are on the way.

our green

happy st. patrick's day!

hope you remembered to wear green.

we did.

so random

today, i totally signed up for a class on
how to make moccasins.

haven't you always dreamed of making moccasins? no?! me neither. but i stumbled upon this
blog and thought why the heck not?!

there isn't even a fee for the class, you only have to pay for the leather materials you use ($25-40) and you can buy them there. good thing because i have no idea what i would need. so yeah, as of friday afternoon i will be an excellent moccasin maker.

i am so excited. oh what's that... you want to make some, too??

come with me!! more info here! it will be FUN!

and don't worry, i asked if it was ok that i was a beginner (as in: never have made anything with leather...EVER. i'm a novice, sub-novice) and they said yes that was totally fine!

springing forward with a scowl

what is with the time change? does anybody like this spring forward thing? (notice that i had no complaints when i got an extra hour of sleep in november)

well, i decided some research was in order...

it was benjamin franklin's idea to start daylight savings time -dst (as you may have learned from the movie national treasure). in an essay he wrote in 1784, he suggested that changing the clocks in the spring could help save on candles. it didn't catch on so quickly. the states would try dst out for a couple of years and then stop and then try it again and then stop. it was very inconsistent and confusing. in 1966 the united states officially observed daylight savings time with the uniform time act, but individual states do not have to comply. arizona and hawaii do not, and indiana was literally a mess until 2006. even the counties in indiana were on different times. some followed daylight savings and others didn't, until a statewide law was passed in 2006 implementing it.

did you know....

• europe has completely different days when the time changes. they are usually a week or two different than our time changes in the states.
• only 70 countries observe dst and most of the u.s. territories don't.
• some amish communities in canada and the u.s. don't oberve it, but some do.
• during the 50's and 60's, before the uniform time act, each town/city/county could start and end dst when they wanted. one year, 23 different pairs of dst start and end dates were used in only iowa. on one ohio to west virginia bus route, passengers had to change their watches seven times in 35 miles.
• the navajo nation in arizona does practice dst. but the hopi reservation, which is entirely surrounded by the navajo nation, doesn’t observe dst. so there is a donut-shaped area in arizona that does observe dst, but the “hole” in the center does not.
• in a study done in the 70's it was found that dst lessened electricity usage by only 1% and more recent studies show that the savings is offset by air conditioners running in warmer areas.

this is seriously all so confusing. i say we vote to abolish this chaos!

got my info here and here

some days,

i think school just might kill me. but alas... i will most likely survive.

i think that this has been one of my hardest and most stressful semesters EVER, fitting i suppose since it is my last (of my undergrad). i have so many papers to write... ugh! a couple that have to be in the ten page range and then some smaller papers in the three to five page range, too. i hope i can get them all done. i would much rather have tests than papers.

while we are on the subject of papers... i need your help! i am combining my sports paper and my deviance paper into one paper (with the permission of both professors of course), so that i have two big papers instead of three. i have to write a proposal about what research project i would do if i got a big grant, but multiple research questions are swimming (or maybe drowning) in my head.

do you have any ideas??

what would your dream research project be concerning deviance and sports?

i asked jeremy and he said that he would never have a dream research project.
so helpful sweetheart.

my last day

today was my last day taking coumadin.

yes, sir!

i have been taking anti-coagulants everyday since october 1st, 2008. i am so happy to be done with the pills, the blood tests, the ultrasounds, and the doctors visits (which cost us over $30 a month). it will be nice to be more "normal." i can eat whatever i want (like i am going to incorporate green veggies into my diet... we all know that won't happen!), i can take medicine when i get sick, and i don't have to worry about bleeding to death if i cut myself.

but frankly i have mixed emotions about it. weird, i know.

first of all, i am a little nervous. i just hope there aren't any complications and that i don't get another blood clot. that would be inconvenient. second, this whole blood clot adventure has really become part of me and i am sad to leave it behind. it's feels like i am abandoning a part of me, the part of me that is also connected to romania, which makes my heart hurt a little. it's hard to explain, but it really does make me sad. my blood clot has shaped me as a person and i feel like now i will be pretending that it never happened. this must sound psychotic... maybe i should start a support group for blood clot survivors (haha).

anyways, even though i'm not sure if i want to cry or run around screaming with delight... i think a celebration is in order none the less. maybe i will buy that colorful swim suit, go out to dinner, have a party with a pinata!, or buy a new spring outfit. maybe all four?!? hmmm... this will be fun.

i think i will wait until the weekend to have a more legit celebration.

who wants to join me?

you gotta nickel?!

not anymore!

last night jeremy and i searched through our change jar to

find all our nickels and then we headed to nickel city.

after shooting some hoops (and bad guys) and winning 323 tickets (i hit two jackpots!) we

cashed it in for some prizes. i picked out the pink rabbit's foot and jeremy got the "tricky

triangle"game. sadly, they were out of fake tattoos.

funny quote of the night: while jeremy was playing the basketball game, a little girl watching

said to me "he should be in the NBA." haha. yeah, he's almost that good. well, we took

advantage of the hand sanitizer at the exit before we left and then headed home with our loot.

it was a fun night.

the cute boy

enjoyed his birthday!

[and i make killer lopsided cakes]

today is...

National Grammar Day!

but more importantly it is... JEREMY's BIRTHDAY!

he is now the big 24!
whoa! how can i be married to a 24 year old. weird!

yay! he is just so cute! look at him!



[the first picture taken of us back in dec. 2007 after two months of dating]
he is 21 in the picture (i'm 19), but he is just as cute, if not cuter, at 24.

here are 24 reasons why i love him

1. he makes me laugh... all the time
2. he loves late night ice cream runs as much as i do
3. he lets me eat nachos for dinner, sometimes
4. he thinks i'm funny
5. he wears the cute jeans i pick out for him
6. he doesn't mind when i put my pj's on at 4:00
7. he is super patient with our primary kids
8. he thinks my forehead is attractive
9. he doesn't mind when i take my camera everywhere
10. he gets more ice water for me if i am busy doing homework
11. he helps me relax when i get uptight about dumb things
12. he is the kindest person you will ever meet
13. he dances with me at parties even when he doesn't want to
14. he always helps me make dinner
15. he is supportive of my many craft projects
16. he gets along with my brothers
17. he showers first while i sleep a little longer
18. he always prays for sammy in florida
19. he never yells at me
20. he lets me tickle him even though i hate being tickled
21. he tries new restaurants with me
22. he lets me wear my crazy tights, even though he doesn't like them
23. he peels the potatoes when we mash them for dinner
24. he tells me he loves me everyday... lots of times, too
    

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEREMY!

i love you tons- lotsa tons!

one of our favorites

are you in need of an easy dinner idea?

i have one right here for you.

i don't have a name for it because we just made it up, but they are
basically chicken burritos. we have these all of the time... seriously, almost once a week.

we throw a can of chicken (found at sam's club) in a pan, a can of beans
(black or sometimes pinto- mainly whatever we have), some salsa, and some corn if
we feel like it. tonight we didn't feel like it. you can even toss in leftover rice.

then here is the delicious trick:

we sprinkle, ok... maybe we smother, the chicken mixture with taco seasoning and seasoned salt. you NEED to have these on hand (also found at sam's club in the big size). they give everything that extra flavor. we sometimes just put some chicken breasts in a pan with these two seasonings and we end up with delicious chicken.

we are huge fans.

oh and we can't forget uncooked tortillas. jeremy always gets these guys going while i work on the chicken mixture. i sometimes try to sneak in some salsa verde, but he doesn't like things that spicy. anyways... uncooked tortillas have become a staple in our fridge.

and there you have it: a way easy dinner.

what do you need again? oh that's right... like two cans and some salsa.

oh and don't forget the shredded cheese. enjoy!

bus stops

i haven't ridden a bus for quite a while, but whenever i do, i get into quite the predicament while i am waiting at the bus stop.

if you know me, you know i like to be efficient. especially while driving or walking places. i am always taking short cuts and WAY over-thinking the different routes i could take. it drives jeremy crazy. he wishes i would just relax- we are not in a race for crying out loud, we are just walking to class. but i like to get where i am going... efficiently.

so back to the bus stops...

i don't really like to stand and wait there for a bus to come (maybe if i had a lawn chair i would be more content). i feel like i should be walking... somewhere and not just standing there. but if i'm going to walk, which way should i walk? in the direction of where i want to go or in the direction of where the bus is coming from? i either have to wait longer for the bus, but get to ride it for less time, or i get on the bus more quickly, but ride it longer and pass all the blocks i just walked.

oh, what to do??! good thing i don't take the bus anywhere.

do you think about these things? i told jeremy about this... he thought it was strange.

oh well!