Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Graduation
Congratulations Erik!! Way to go!!
Class of 2009!
Isn't he cute!
Isn't he cute!
I was able to go to Erik's commencement this afternoon, then joined the family for dinner afterward (even though I shoulda been studying... my little brother only graduates from high school once though!)This week has officially kicked my butt. I am tired.
Geoff's mom is here for a couple of days. We're ganging up with my mom tomorrow and heading south to blow off some steam! It will be fun!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Thinking...
I am formulating this wonderful little plan in my mind of flying to Portland ME, (with a layover in NY), then driving down the east coast, stopping in DC to visit my friend, then perhaps NC to meet somebody (a friend of my dad's maybe), then going through TN and arriving in New Orleans, then coming through TX to Southern Utah and home. Think it can be done in ten days? Gotta bounce it off my common sense (aka husband) and see how that sounds. I am giddy with excitement.
Update: Okay, I've learned that just the drive from New Orleans to Utah would take a good three days, so I might fly from there to Utah, or I'll drive from there to Dallas or something, then fly home to cut a few days of mindless driving off. I don't know, am I crazy? Is it a dumb-sounding thing to do? I've never been further east than Nebraska, and I just really want to see a lot of places.
Update: Okay, I've learned that just the drive from New Orleans to Utah would take a good three days, so I might fly from there to Utah, or I'll drive from there to Dallas or something, then fly home to cut a few days of mindless driving off. I don't know, am I crazy? Is it a dumb-sounding thing to do? I've never been further east than Nebraska, and I just really want to see a lot of places.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
It wasn't me
Psh, I did not trip while descending the stairwell at school. Nope. I did not fall out of my high-heeled shoes and scrape my shin like a little kid. Neither did I die of embarrassment when someone helped me up and tried to say she does that all the time too... nope. Wasn't me.
Where to go?
Well it is lunchtime. I've stocked up on Lean Cuisines so I can spend this week's lunch breaks at work doing homework... and here I am using the time to blog... Well just this post and then the rest of the time will be spent on homework. I got most of this week's homework done yesterday, but I still need to practice what is called "the footrace" for the capstone lab. The way it works is the class is split into teams of four, and we are supposed to run a simulation business. We make weekly decisions about R&D, Marketing, Finance, etc. Of course it's far from the running a real business, so Geoff and I prefer to call it a competetive video game. Just play the dumb game well and pass the class. Anyway, we are required to run individual businesses in addition to our team business, and I have not done much with it yet.
Underworld 3 (Rise of the Lycans) was actually pretty good.
I've also been reading this book called Codependent No More. It sparked my interest last summer in Jackson Hole which is where I bought it, but I never read it. I've always thought of codependents as the women who tolerate abuse from their husbands and refuse to leave because they "love him." The idea is fascinating to me because it's so sad and so easily remedied - or so we think. But anyway, like I said, I never picked up the book until someone made reference to it a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to find the definition of codependency is actually much broader. The auther says that codependency is often created when one person's crazy behavior (usually from an addiction) causes another person to feel they have to walk on eggshells to try and control the first person's crazy behavior. The common example she uses is living with an alcoholic, but it can also be taught through familial, societal, and religious culture. Doing something you really don't want to do when someone else could easily do it is one small thing that codependents do, because they are taught that they should be good and gracious and selfless, and that saying "no" would be selfish. The two conflicting feelings or thoughts within them teaches them that their feelings can't be trusted. Another thing is that they feel they need to prove themselves to other people as being up to par. Anyway, there's a lot more, and it probably sounds like psycho-babble because I can't effectively sum up the entire book in one paragraph. You'd have to read it to get the entire context. But it's so interesting to me.
I have found that while I don't have a huge problem, I sometimes mildly exhibit some of the behaviors outlined in the book. My problem is that I am often so afraid of causing upset in anyone else that I modify my behavior, and when I do upset someone else or they get frustrated with me, it is the end of the world, and then I tend to get mad at them or at myself. I still haven't finished the book, but the points I took away were that you have to stop trying to control someone else'e behavior and feelings by what you say and do. Be courteous and responsible and respectful, but for heaven sakes, let people be who they are. Let them be responsible for their own feelings.
If I could start school over, I'd be a psych major. I love this stuff. Just... not enough to, you know.. start over.
Geoff's first day at work was today. He sent me a text that said "Well, I survived the morning," which I assume means it went well. :) I hope it was a good experience! He hates being the new guy, but aside from that, I hope it was good.
We purposely held off on making any reservations for our trip in August because we weren't sure what Geoff's job situation would be at that time. Well, now we know, and he doesn't quite feel comfortable asking for a whole week off. I don't blame him cuz I've been there before, so now I'll just plan a trip for myself! Or, maybe I'll try to find someone to go with me. I don't mind going alone though. I don't know if I want to do San Diego just because it would be more fun to have someone to visit the parks with, and I'm a little wary of going to a spanish-speaking country without a spanish speaker, but maybe a fun road trip to somewhere else in the U.S. Ten days is enough time to go somewhere fun! I guess I could always cancel my time off or shorten it, but I don't really want to do that. We'll see. If anyone has good vacation ideas let me know!! :)
Underworld 3 (Rise of the Lycans) was actually pretty good.
I've also been reading this book called Codependent No More. It sparked my interest last summer in Jackson Hole which is where I bought it, but I never read it. I've always thought of codependents as the women who tolerate abuse from their husbands and refuse to leave because they "love him." The idea is fascinating to me because it's so sad and so easily remedied - or so we think. But anyway, like I said, I never picked up the book until someone made reference to it a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to find the definition of codependency is actually much broader. The auther says that codependency is often created when one person's crazy behavior (usually from an addiction) causes another person to feel they have to walk on eggshells to try and control the first person's crazy behavior. The common example she uses is living with an alcoholic, but it can also be taught through familial, societal, and religious culture. Doing something you really don't want to do when someone else could easily do it is one small thing that codependents do, because they are taught that they should be good and gracious and selfless, and that saying "no" would be selfish. The two conflicting feelings or thoughts within them teaches them that their feelings can't be trusted. Another thing is that they feel they need to prove themselves to other people as being up to par. Anyway, there's a lot more, and it probably sounds like psycho-babble because I can't effectively sum up the entire book in one paragraph. You'd have to read it to get the entire context. But it's so interesting to me.
I have found that while I don't have a huge problem, I sometimes mildly exhibit some of the behaviors outlined in the book. My problem is that I am often so afraid of causing upset in anyone else that I modify my behavior, and when I do upset someone else or they get frustrated with me, it is the end of the world, and then I tend to get mad at them or at myself. I still haven't finished the book, but the points I took away were that you have to stop trying to control someone else'e behavior and feelings by what you say and do. Be courteous and responsible and respectful, but for heaven sakes, let people be who they are. Let them be responsible for their own feelings.
If I could start school over, I'd be a psych major. I love this stuff. Just... not enough to, you know.. start over.
Geoff's first day at work was today. He sent me a text that said "Well, I survived the morning," which I assume means it went well. :) I hope it was a good experience! He hates being the new guy, but aside from that, I hope it was good.
We purposely held off on making any reservations for our trip in August because we weren't sure what Geoff's job situation would be at that time. Well, now we know, and he doesn't quite feel comfortable asking for a whole week off. I don't blame him cuz I've been there before, so now I'll just plan a trip for myself! Or, maybe I'll try to find someone to go with me. I don't mind going alone though. I don't know if I want to do San Diego just because it would be more fun to have someone to visit the parks with, and I'm a little wary of going to a spanish-speaking country without a spanish speaker, but maybe a fun road trip to somewhere else in the U.S. Ten days is enough time to go somewhere fun! I guess I could always cancel my time off or shorten it, but I don't really want to do that. We'll see. If anyone has good vacation ideas let me know!! :)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Can't you hear my eyeballs farting?
Random quote of the day by Rory Jones. He was placing the palms of his hands over his eyes and creating suction... yeah. Dinner with Rory and Bridgett was fun. We played Apples to Apples and then sat around playing the guitar. Well, Geoff and Rory did. They were just making stuff up on the spot and they sounded really good, it was fun. I took some cell phone videos, but when I emailed em to myself and saved them, the sound didn't work. If anyone knows how to fix that problem, please let me know cuz I'd love to post them! :) Thanks!
The bike ride was so awesome! It wasn't hard at all and it was really relaxing and enjoyable. The weather was 74 and overcast - perfect! We passed through parts of Provo that I didn't know existed, and the canyon was beautiful of course. I'd love to do it more often!
We are trying to get through the whole Underworld series. I loved loved loved the first Underworld movie. I loved that it wasn't too gory and there wasn't a bunch of nudity and crap. The action and suspense were great, and the plot was complicated enough to be interesting. They did a really good job portraying the culture through costume and scenery - like the coven mansion, I loved the way they made everything look... exactly as you would picture a house full of vampires.
This second one, they tried to make it "better" by sexing it up and intensifying the gore and gruesomeness, and the monsters all looked like rabid zombies. Didn't like it much at all. There was no decent plot or dialogue, no believable evidence of relationships, and the backdrop was all just blue and gray and otherwise boring. Trying to decide if watching the third one is even worth a try.
Anyway, it has been an awesome day! I hope everyone else had a good day as well!
The bike ride was so awesome! It wasn't hard at all and it was really relaxing and enjoyable. The weather was 74 and overcast - perfect! We passed through parts of Provo that I didn't know existed, and the canyon was beautiful of course. I'd love to do it more often!
We are trying to get through the whole Underworld series. I loved loved loved the first Underworld movie. I loved that it wasn't too gory and there wasn't a bunch of nudity and crap. The action and suspense were great, and the plot was complicated enough to be interesting. They did a really good job portraying the culture through costume and scenery - like the coven mansion, I loved the way they made everything look... exactly as you would picture a house full of vampires.
This second one, they tried to make it "better" by sexing it up and intensifying the gore and gruesomeness, and the monsters all looked like rabid zombies. Didn't like it much at all. There was no decent plot or dialogue, no believable evidence of relationships, and the backdrop was all just blue and gray and otherwise boring. Trying to decide if watching the third one is even worth a try.
Anyway, it has been an awesome day! I hope everyone else had a good day as well!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Slow day
So yeah, it was SO SLOW at work today! Almost all of the managers were gone, and only about half of the employees even showed up, and by the end of the day there were probably what, fifteen of us left? he he. They've taken away some of my non-tax-related tasks and given them out to others so I can focus on tax and be trained on this other stuff, only, I haven't been trained on the other stuff yet. So all of those time-filler-stuffs I usually worked on during slow times are no longer mine.
Geoff came up and took me to lunch today. We talked about how when we were first married, he worked at Barnes and Noble and translated some web pages for a few extra bucks, and had no school behind him. I worked at Hollywood Video and the Sonic corporate office making 9 bucks an hour and barely had any school done myself. We've come such a long way in four years. I guess Geoff has actually been thinking about getting an MPA for a couple of months now. Maybe public administration is something he'd like to do. It's pretty exciting to be looking up and outward!
A little later tonight we're going to dinner at my cousin's. He just got married about a year ago - maybe two - and he's only a year younger than me, I don't know why we haven't hung out sooner.
Tomorrow morning I've got a group meeting at 9 a.m. then a test to take at the testing center, then we are going to ride bikes down provo canyon all the way out to the lake! Mom and Dad are letting us borrow their truck and bikes. (Thank you!) Hopefully the weather cooperates. It will be fun! It's about 17 miles one-way I think, but I imagine much of it will be downhill. Which is better for out-of-shape me. I'm excited!
Geoff came up and took me to lunch today. We talked about how when we were first married, he worked at Barnes and Noble and translated some web pages for a few extra bucks, and had no school behind him. I worked at Hollywood Video and the Sonic corporate office making 9 bucks an hour and barely had any school done myself. We've come such a long way in four years. I guess Geoff has actually been thinking about getting an MPA for a couple of months now. Maybe public administration is something he'd like to do. It's pretty exciting to be looking up and outward!
A little later tonight we're going to dinner at my cousin's. He just got married about a year ago - maybe two - and he's only a year younger than me, I don't know why we haven't hung out sooner.
Tomorrow morning I've got a group meeting at 9 a.m. then a test to take at the testing center, then we are going to ride bikes down provo canyon all the way out to the lake! Mom and Dad are letting us borrow their truck and bikes. (Thank you!) Hopefully the weather cooperates. It will be fun! It's about 17 miles one-way I think, but I imagine much of it will be downhill. Which is better for out-of-shape me. I'm excited!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Thoughts about school
Author's note: I just re-read this post and it's so negative! I guess this is just how I typically feel about the whole thing at the end of a long day. Take it as it is or leave it I guess! :P
My capstone professor is a squat little man who wears a Gucci belt and refers to us as "young Jedi," and "young Obiwan." He gets hung up over the difference between a 'strategy' and a 'tactic,' and is prone to treat you like one of life's great failures for forgetting to grab a calculator as you ran out the door at 7:30 that morning. He compares the capstone classes to standing in front of a gushing fire hydrant and trying to just take a sip, which feels about right.
Thankfully, the involvement in capstone is offset by Operations Management, which is taught by an Ecuadorian professor who looks like a deer in headlights most of the time. Pretty much all we do for 2.5 hours twice a week is watch movies and (barely) discuss their relevance to the current chapter. Yesterday we watched clips about Indian children marrying in their preteen years, the creation of the Disney Parks in different parts of the world, and about 30 minutes worth of Hotel Rwanda. I saw Hotel Rwanda when it was new, and though it had an important message, was not a movie I ever wanted to watch again. The common ground between the three movies? Cultural differences. Also, one thing this professor has done with us is put us in groups of six and given us a project that would require all six of us to take time off work at the same time in order to complete it. It's not going to happen. So, we're going to do what people do when placed under unrealistic expectations: find "creative ways" to get it done. It's unfortunate really - the whole class feels like a complete waste of time and money - but you do what you have to to pass. Except take time off work. I'm very stubborn about that. To me, work absolutely comes first; I will not give up something good for something stupid. And that's that.
Unlike, say, my IT professor from last semester, it is sad to say that I sometimes doubt the ability of some professors to do in the 'real world' what they teach in the classroom. But maybe that is why some of them teach. I've had some really great professors too though! Not to knock them all...
Also, what else is kind of lame is that UVU doesn't even have a capstone for accounting majors, so they stick us in the business management capstone until they get one for accounting.
I've been thinking more about graduate school - I really don't know if I'd want to do an MBA. The business classes are all super boring to me. And as for the MACC, it looks like there are a lot of tax classes, which is almost more boring. If I know myself well enough, I know that graduate school is something I'm going to have to really want really badly to be able to get through it. So I'm walking that fence right now. I am definately taking some time off in between. And when it does come time for that, I'll be taking the prerequisites at that school, wherever it is. Two of the prereq's that are required for the MACC or the MBA with Accounting emphasis are not offered by UVU at night, so it would probably be my only option anyway. If UVU ever offers Auditing at night, I might go back and take it, but other than that I am more than happy to kiss that school goodbye. Anyway, this will hopefully be the last time I talk about graduate school until I've decided what to do.
My capstone professor is a squat little man who wears a Gucci belt and refers to us as "young Jedi," and "young Obiwan." He gets hung up over the difference between a 'strategy' and a 'tactic,' and is prone to treat you like one of life's great failures for forgetting to grab a calculator as you ran out the door at 7:30 that morning. He compares the capstone classes to standing in front of a gushing fire hydrant and trying to just take a sip, which feels about right.
Thankfully, the involvement in capstone is offset by Operations Management, which is taught by an Ecuadorian professor who looks like a deer in headlights most of the time. Pretty much all we do for 2.5 hours twice a week is watch movies and (barely) discuss their relevance to the current chapter. Yesterday we watched clips about Indian children marrying in their preteen years, the creation of the Disney Parks in different parts of the world, and about 30 minutes worth of Hotel Rwanda. I saw Hotel Rwanda when it was new, and though it had an important message, was not a movie I ever wanted to watch again. The common ground between the three movies? Cultural differences. Also, one thing this professor has done with us is put us in groups of six and given us a project that would require all six of us to take time off work at the same time in order to complete it. It's not going to happen. So, we're going to do what people do when placed under unrealistic expectations: find "creative ways" to get it done. It's unfortunate really - the whole class feels like a complete waste of time and money - but you do what you have to to pass. Except take time off work. I'm very stubborn about that. To me, work absolutely comes first; I will not give up something good for something stupid. And that's that.
Unlike, say, my IT professor from last semester, it is sad to say that I sometimes doubt the ability of some professors to do in the 'real world' what they teach in the classroom. But maybe that is why some of them teach. I've had some really great professors too though! Not to knock them all...
Also, what else is kind of lame is that UVU doesn't even have a capstone for accounting majors, so they stick us in the business management capstone until they get one for accounting.
I've been thinking more about graduate school - I really don't know if I'd want to do an MBA. The business classes are all super boring to me. And as for the MACC, it looks like there are a lot of tax classes, which is almost more boring. If I know myself well enough, I know that graduate school is something I'm going to have to really want really badly to be able to get through it. So I'm walking that fence right now. I am definately taking some time off in between. And when it does come time for that, I'll be taking the prerequisites at that school, wherever it is. Two of the prereq's that are required for the MACC or the MBA with Accounting emphasis are not offered by UVU at night, so it would probably be my only option anyway. If UVU ever offers Auditing at night, I might go back and take it, but other than that I am more than happy to kiss that school goodbye. Anyway, this will hopefully be the last time I talk about graduate school until I've decided what to do.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Hip hooray
Yay! Geoff got the internship! They want him for the summer and the fall, but UVU wouldn't allow him to do a fall internship since he'll be graduated. But luckily they liked him so much they said they'll just hire him on in the fall - as an intern - and then see what happens. We are so happy. It doesn't pay much but we're just happy it pays at all. And this will be so great for getting some experience; a really great place to start. It's with a well-known non-profit company, and Geoff will be working on audit and accounting during the summer, then he'll start doing stuff along the lines of PR and giving presentations to potential investors and stuff. He's actually more excited about the PR aspect of it than the accounting aspect of it. I am glad that there's at least a part of it that he looks forward to.
They were exceptionally impressed with his resume and cover-letter. And apparently they have a lot in common too (both from the northwest and moved to Utah on a whim with no job or place to live, for starters), so it seems that he will be with some fairly like-minded people. I am so proud of him for working so hard and not giving up when it was hard! He has come so far and done so much in just the last three years. That's my man. :)
I am super tired now and looking forward to bed.
They were exceptionally impressed with his resume and cover-letter. And apparently they have a lot in common too (both from the northwest and moved to Utah on a whim with no job or place to live, for starters), so it seems that he will be with some fairly like-minded people. I am so proud of him for working so hard and not giving up when it was hard! He has come so far and done so much in just the last three years. That's my man. :)
I am super tired now and looking forward to bed.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday lunch break
What a crazy week!! I probably needed a week like that to kick me in the butt. No more lazy weekends!! I've been getting home from school at 10:30 and only then can I start on the homework - I have not been to bed before midnight once this week (and that's late for a regular nine-o-clocker). Tomorrow I am digging in hard - hopefully getting some stuff done on Saturday will even out the rest of the week a little bit.
In the meantime - I've missed blogging so so much! It's a weird craving like I used to crave playing the piano - a stress reliever I guess. Speaking of - I think this weird new schedule is increasing the wanderlust in my bored little heart. The other day at work someone sent around an email ad for a beautiful Jayco Designer 5th wheel - HUGE, it even has a washer and dryer! It is selling for about 20,000. And I got thinking, how fun would it be to vacation with that thing. But then, how would we pay the bills if we were gone all the time? Get rid of the bills! Sell the condo and the cars! We could buy the 5th Wheel now, put the condo up for sale and hopefully sell it by December, and when we're done with school we could take a sabbatical and tour the country! So yeah... I'm psycho, and it's not likely, and Geoff would never go for it, but it's not impossible either... or you know, maybe it's just time for a vacation...
Check out this nifty little heart-shaped cloud:
In the meantime - I've missed blogging so so much! It's a weird craving like I used to crave playing the piano - a stress reliever I guess. Speaking of - I think this weird new schedule is increasing the wanderlust in my bored little heart. The other day at work someone sent around an email ad for a beautiful Jayco Designer 5th wheel - HUGE, it even has a washer and dryer! It is selling for about 20,000. And I got thinking, how fun would it be to vacation with that thing. But then, how would we pay the bills if we were gone all the time? Get rid of the bills! Sell the condo and the cars! We could buy the 5th Wheel now, put the condo up for sale and hopefully sell it by December, and when we're done with school we could take a sabbatical and tour the country! So yeah... I'm psycho, and it's not likely, and Geoff would never go for it, but it's not impossible either... or you know, maybe it's just time for a vacation...
Check out this nifty little heart-shaped cloud:
Well today is Geoff's birthday. The big 2-7! Last night I ended up getting home 1.5 hours before him, which I was happy about because I could make him a birthday cake. This morning before I left for work I put confetti in his car and left a card. And tonight we're taking a break from life and celebrating by going out to dinner. Happy Birthday sweetheart!
Oh and he also had a really promising job interview this morning - an internship, actually. REALLY promising. Let's cross our fingers that everything works out and UVU doesn't screw it up somehow.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Here's my laugh of the day...
WARNING! expletives ahead...
In my job, I deal with tax authorities a lot. It's a positive or a negative experience depending on who you speak with, but today it was all I could do not to burst out laughing on the phone. At least this person doesn't hold back eh?
Part of a three-way phone call with two people at the state tax commission:
K: Why won't it let me print? Don't you just press Control-P?
Nice elderly woman: Oh I don't know, these things
K: C'mon stupid stupid stupid thing. Dumb crappy, poopy thing
Nice elderly woman: We're in the middle...
K: Shit
Nice elderly woman: of implementing a new tax, so our system's
K: All messed up. Maybe I can get a copy of this here.... shit piece of crap. Dammit.
Me: Don't you just want to smash your computer sometimes?
Both of them: YES!
K: Well hell, I'll just add you to my happy little list of things to do on Monday and get back to you.
Me: That would be fine, thank you so much.
In my job, I deal with tax authorities a lot. It's a positive or a negative experience depending on who you speak with, but today it was all I could do not to burst out laughing on the phone. At least this person doesn't hold back eh?
Part of a three-way phone call with two people at the state tax commission:
K: Why won't it let me print? Don't you just press Control-P?
Nice elderly woman: Oh I don't know, these things
K: C'mon stupid stupid stupid thing. Dumb crappy, poopy thing
Nice elderly woman: We're in the middle...
K: Shit
Nice elderly woman: of implementing a new tax, so our system's
K: All messed up. Maybe I can get a copy of this here.... shit piece of crap. Dammit.
Me: Don't you just want to smash your computer sometimes?
Both of them: YES!
K: Well hell, I'll just add you to my happy little list of things to do on Monday and get back to you.
Me: That would be fine, thank you so much.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Es vampiro bueno, no?
We watched A Walk to Remember. The whole time I kept thinking what a better Edward Shane West would've made. Such a better Edward. Geoff said maybe he could do the spanish version of Twilight, and his name would be Eduardo. For some reason the idea seemed pretty hilarious. Goodnight.
Taco weekend
This weekend has been fun (and it's not over yet!). We had a "Taco Friday" (as named by Geoff) and made tacos at home and invited Kayt and Brian over. It was so much fun to hang out with them, we really enjoy their company. I'm such a wimp too, I fell asleep so early! I can't seem to stay up late anymore, I'm such a boring grown-up. haha
Saturday, we went to my parents' to wait for Alison's phone call. My mom was so excited when the phone rang: "It's her! It's her!" picks up phone "Hola? Como es hermano honez?" he he. She had written down a spanish greeting on a slip of sticky paper and was trying her best to pronounce the words right. It was good to talk to Al for a few minutes; she sounded happy and was excited to tell me about these two people she is teaching right now - I won't write about it because it's all here. She spoke to each of us for a few minutes then mom got the remainder of the hour. We stayed for a few minutes and then went to visit grandma and Donald for a few minutes.
I love my grandma so much! She is such a sweetheart, and it's sad I just don't see her as much as I would like. She was excited to show us her new computer and that she has learned to use the internet and has been reading our blogs. She had a surgery a few weeks ago too that apparently she didn't tell anyone about. :( She didn't want anyone to fuss over her. Well I guess she has Donald to take care of her, which I am glad about.
Geoff called his friend Marshall to ask about their Wii, to see how much it cost and if they thought it was worth it to buy one. Marshall invited us over to try it out, so we drove up to Murray to hang out for a few minutes. The last time we saw Marshall and Lanette was over two years ago. Since then, they've had a baby and have got another one on the way; it is crazy! We didn't get to meet Abigail though because she was asleep, but it was pretty good to talk to them for a couple of hours. Of course we were starving by the time we left so we came home and made tacos again.
Anyway, today we're staying for church just a short time and then heading back to Grandma's for dinner, and the whole extended family will be there.
Saturday, we went to my parents' to wait for Alison's phone call. My mom was so excited when the phone rang: "It's her! It's her!" picks up phone "Hola? Como es hermano honez?" he he. She had written down a spanish greeting on a slip of sticky paper and was trying her best to pronounce the words right. It was good to talk to Al for a few minutes; she sounded happy and was excited to tell me about these two people she is teaching right now - I won't write about it because it's all here. She spoke to each of us for a few minutes then mom got the remainder of the hour. We stayed for a few minutes and then went to visit grandma and Donald for a few minutes.
I love my grandma so much! She is such a sweetheart, and it's sad I just don't see her as much as I would like. She was excited to show us her new computer and that she has learned to use the internet and has been reading our blogs. She had a surgery a few weeks ago too that apparently she didn't tell anyone about. :( She didn't want anyone to fuss over her. Well I guess she has Donald to take care of her, which I am glad about.
Geoff called his friend Marshall to ask about their Wii, to see how much it cost and if they thought it was worth it to buy one. Marshall invited us over to try it out, so we drove up to Murray to hang out for a few minutes. The last time we saw Marshall and Lanette was over two years ago. Since then, they've had a baby and have got another one on the way; it is crazy! We didn't get to meet Abigail though because she was asleep, but it was pretty good to talk to them for a couple of hours. Of course we were starving by the time we left so we came home and made tacos again.
Anyway, today we're staying for church just a short time and then heading back to Grandma's for dinner, and the whole extended family will be there.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
three months of summer
For a long time, Mom and Dad have been planning on a trip to Mexico this Sunday for a week, but plans were canceled due to some random virus outbreak or something. Luckily, they were able to reschedule to.... drum roll.... Hawaii! (Which, frankly, I'd rather go to anyway. Not that I'm the one going...) Anyway, since they'll be gone on Mother's Day, Alison will be giving us her phone call on Saturday! At 1:30! It will be fun.
Spring has sprung, the grass has risen, three months of... school, and... we're back in.... school... wait a minute. :P (dork) Let this be the last year of spending gorgeous summer evenings inside a classroom, eh? This time I've got classes from Mon-Thurs evenings, all starting at 5:30, and the ending times are 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, and 8:00, respectively. Because of the way some things worked out, I'll have the whole month of August off school! Wahoo!
This Lily Allen song is stuck in my brain (The Fear). It's not really a nice song by the words, but I still love it.
Spring has sprung, the grass has risen, three months of... school, and... we're back in.... school... wait a minute. :P (dork) Let this be the last year of spending gorgeous summer evenings inside a classroom, eh? This time I've got classes from Mon-Thurs evenings, all starting at 5:30, and the ending times are 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, and 8:00, respectively. Because of the way some things worked out, I'll have the whole month of August off school! Wahoo!
This Lily Allen song is stuck in my brain (The Fear). It's not really a nice song by the words, but I still love it.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Slap one on
Not too long ago, Geoff and I were talking about fads that were around when we were kids - Pogs and Magic cards and stuff. Slap bracelets were one, and I told Geoff I remembered wanting a slap bracelet so bad in about the 4th grade, and never had one. A couple of days later Geoff secretly went and ordered some slap bracelets for me on Amazon! He was so excited to give them to me. He's so cute. I've been playing with them for the last couple of days. Wally is really intrigued by them, let me tell you.
And I know how much everyone loves to see pictures of other people's cats, so here you are: Our silly kitty.
And I know how much everyone loves to see pictures of other people's cats, so here you are: Our silly kitty.
(Hiding under the flap of my bookbag.)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Here we go again
Another weird dream - I was filling out a tax form for the state of Washington and couldn't decided if I needed to report gross wages minus the workers comp credit, or just report the net wages. I don't even do workers comp. Bleh.
Tonight I've got a bunch of pre-class homework to do for the capstone... I think the goal for this semester is to avoid a repeat of January. It's doable. Just have to get started.
Tonight I've got a bunch of pre-class homework to do for the capstone... I think the goal for this semester is to avoid a repeat of January. It's doable. Just have to get started.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
...and it needs to stop NOW
Geoff loves talk radio. One of the shows he listens to is the Nightside Project. One night they asked people to call in with complaints about things that bugged them, so Geoff called in and was actually put through. When asked what his rant was, he said he was sick and tired of people leaving their shopping carts all over the parking lots - that he thinks it's disrespectful and rude and that it needs to stop NOW. And that was it, just a few seconds. This was about a month ago.
Earlier today in church, a guy came up to Geoff who's never spoken to him before, and asked if he was on the nightside project a couple weeks ago, and did he talk about shopping carts?
Geoff was pretty excited that someone recognized him. I think it's funny that the guy remembered to bring it up after a month... Geoff must have a distinct voice. He actually auditioned to be a DJ on a radio station at home in the northwest - I'm not sure what station it was - but he made it to the third call-back before taking another job. I think he'd be a great narrator or a voice-actor or something.
Earlier today in church, a guy came up to Geoff who's never spoken to him before, and asked if he was on the nightside project a couple weeks ago, and did he talk about shopping carts?
Geoff was pretty excited that someone recognized him. I think it's funny that the guy remembered to bring it up after a month... Geoff must have a distinct voice. He actually auditioned to be a DJ on a radio station at home in the northwest - I'm not sure what station it was - but he made it to the third call-back before taking another job. I think he'd be a great narrator or a voice-actor or something.
M
My little sister got elected to student council for her senior high school year! Yay, I'm so excited for her! That will be a fun experience.
We don't know if the New York trip is going to work out. I guess the lady had told us that the whole month of October was open, then when we asked for the specific days, she said those two days were taken but any other time would work. The two specific days are my fall break days for school, and days which I have already had time-off work approved. Aunt Nan has been planning the whole trip around my schedule. I feel kind of bad that she's gone to all this work just for me. I told her to go ahead and plan when would be the best for them, and I'll see if I can adjust some things and go with them when they decide. She's such a sweetheart for even inviting us in the first place. I'm so thankful that she thought to include us. :)
We don't know if the New York trip is going to work out. I guess the lady had told us that the whole month of October was open, then when we asked for the specific days, she said those two days were taken but any other time would work. The two specific days are my fall break days for school, and days which I have already had time-off work approved. Aunt Nan has been planning the whole trip around my schedule. I feel kind of bad that she's gone to all this work just for me. I told her to go ahead and plan when would be the best for them, and I'll see if I can adjust some things and go with them when they decide. She's such a sweetheart for even inviting us in the first place. I'm so thankful that she thought to include us. :)
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Play-by-play of a day without strings
Today we slept in a little, got up and showered, put on some clean clothes, etc. There was a pet adoption expo in Salt Lake that we went to. I wanted to take all the poor kitties and doggies home with me. Some of the cats were sooo cute. We might've considered getting Wally a companion, except that his last owners told us he was scared of their other cats - and their bunnies - and I don't think either of us wanted to have to increase the frequency of litter-box cleaning, so we didn't. I think we've been spontaneous enough with pets in the past that we know better now. But they were sooo cute.
Then I wanted to go to the mall, but Geoff thinks the malls we always go to are boring, so we went to the Gateway instead. I like the Gateway, I've just never been there in good weather. It's a neat, outdoor mall, and the drizzle had pretty much ruined my hair and makeup by the time we were done. But we got what we were looking for and left.
We stopped at a street vendor and got tacos on our way back to the car. It was the first time I've eaten food from a corner street vendor; it was fun. And tasty.
We got on the freeway and noticed we were approaching the I-80 exit, and decided last minute to go to Wendover and play a little. On the way out there, I tried to drink grape juice while Geoff was driving and ended up spilling it all over my white shirt, so we stopped at a gas station and I bought a 5-dollar Alvin and the Chipmunks t-shirt, which ended up being just a little too small, so I just wore my jacket over it.
I was feeling pretty trashy by this time with the crappy-looking makeup, hair, and ill-fitting clothes, ha ha. When we got to Wendover we went to Smith's and bought a new shirt for me - one that fit - and some hair accessories to pull my awful hair up, and Geoff got chapstick. We decided to drive around and see what the town actually looked like in the daylight. Our conclusion: Wendover is a craphole. Who would ever want to live there, is the question of the day. The scenery is gorgeous, actually, but there is really nothing in the town itself except the casinos, a couple small grocery stores, a few restaurants, a strip-club, and adult-novelty and video shops. Where does everyone work? We guessed that the casinos are the main source of support for many of the residents. We did stop to watch a baseball game for a few minutes which was kind of fun. Geoff guessed it was little-league or something.
Anyway, then we headed to the Casinos. We played a few slot-machines... I played an electronic poker game for about an hour - lost one whole dollar - and we went to a few different casinos and lost a little money before deciding to come home. It was such a long drive home. It had sounded like a fun little place to go hang out for a few hours, but I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon... at least I won't. Once every great now and then is enough for me! I did enjoy spending the day with Geoff though. The funnest part was that we haven't had to worry about getting homework done before Monday!
Then I wanted to go to the mall, but Geoff thinks the malls we always go to are boring, so we went to the Gateway instead. I like the Gateway, I've just never been there in good weather. It's a neat, outdoor mall, and the drizzle had pretty much ruined my hair and makeup by the time we were done. But we got what we were looking for and left.
We stopped at a street vendor and got tacos on our way back to the car. It was the first time I've eaten food from a corner street vendor; it was fun. And tasty.
We got on the freeway and noticed we were approaching the I-80 exit, and decided last minute to go to Wendover and play a little. On the way out there, I tried to drink grape juice while Geoff was driving and ended up spilling it all over my white shirt, so we stopped at a gas station and I bought a 5-dollar Alvin and the Chipmunks t-shirt, which ended up being just a little too small, so I just wore my jacket over it.
I was feeling pretty trashy by this time with the crappy-looking makeup, hair, and ill-fitting clothes, ha ha. When we got to Wendover we went to Smith's and bought a new shirt for me - one that fit - and some hair accessories to pull my awful hair up, and Geoff got chapstick. We decided to drive around and see what the town actually looked like in the daylight. Our conclusion: Wendover is a craphole. Who would ever want to live there, is the question of the day. The scenery is gorgeous, actually, but there is really nothing in the town itself except the casinos, a couple small grocery stores, a few restaurants, a strip-club, and adult-novelty and video shops. Where does everyone work? We guessed that the casinos are the main source of support for many of the residents. We did stop to watch a baseball game for a few minutes which was kind of fun. Geoff guessed it was little-league or something.
Anyway, then we headed to the Casinos. We played a few slot-machines... I played an electronic poker game for about an hour - lost one whole dollar - and we went to a few different casinos and lost a little money before deciding to come home. It was such a long drive home. It had sounded like a fun little place to go hang out for a few hours, but I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon... at least I won't. Once every great now and then is enough for me! I did enjoy spending the day with Geoff though. The funnest part was that we haven't had to worry about getting homework done before Monday!
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