Wow thanks for your comments. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been dreaming about having a less-stressful type job... moving piles of dirt around actually kind of sounds really great! Ha ha. But if anything, it helps to know I'm not alone, more not-alone than I would've thought, actually.
So here's what happened - I called the IRS, actually got someone nice, and she removed one of the situations, gave me reason to sigh with relief over another situation, and there's a third situation that we won't know about until after they process the 4th quarter. But even if it doesn't work out as I hope, it won't be as big of a deal as what I thought it could've been.
So now that that's over with, and my 4th quarter processing is done (at least the stuff that's due at the end of Jan.) I have such a weight off. But I have to say, knowing that this little experience is a possible foreshadowing of a tax accounting career has thrown some serious doubt on my career choice. Call me a wimp if you want! I have dealt with the IRS a lot in the last couple of years, but this one was more of a wake-up call and is not something I want forever.
As done as I'm feeling with it all right now, I'm so lost as to what else to do. Geoff suggested a few things but nothing is really sticking right now. I'd rather do something that can build on the accounting degree so that it doesn't go to waste, and there are numerous things out there, I'm sure. I just don't know.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Dohhhhhh
I miss Geoff's family today. I wish we were back there hanging out. I can't believe it's been five years before last weekend! If another five years goes by, Nicholas will be a teenager when we see them again. Diapers to 8 yrs old to a teenager, that's way too much time. I hope everyone can get together again sometime not too far away.
This morning I was met with a surprise at work that nearly had me in tears... okay maybe it did have me in tears. Ah. Some days, like today, I wonder what the heck am I doing in accounting, I'm not cut out for it. I hate living with the knowledge that something awful is always going to pop up that I didn't - couldn't have - known about, and then feel like I should've known about it. I really, really hate that. I'm such a stickler about details - paranoid, even - and sometimes it still isn't enough. I do not want to have that kind of stress for the rest of my life. Though there are parts about it that I do enjoy, thinking about it, what else would I even do? If I wanted to change careers or do something else, I don't know anything else; I've always done accounting or --type stuff. I've pigeon-holed myself enough that anything else I try to start will be started from square one. I don't even know what my interests are outside of accounting, at least with regard to career-related skills. (Blogging and weekend naps are not going to earn a paycheck). Sigh.
Geoff has class tonight so I'm going to try and clean up for next couple of hours. Even though I really don't feel like doing anything.
St. George would be nice. Nice to read a book by the pool or sit in the hot tub or lazily go shopping or drive through the canyon. Geoff and I are both getting the Vegas bug again too. Maybe sometime in the next few weeks. Maybe for Valentine's day?
This morning I was met with a surprise at work that nearly had me in tears... okay maybe it did have me in tears. Ah. Some days, like today, I wonder what the heck am I doing in accounting, I'm not cut out for it. I hate living with the knowledge that something awful is always going to pop up that I didn't - couldn't have - known about, and then feel like I should've known about it. I really, really hate that. I'm such a stickler about details - paranoid, even - and sometimes it still isn't enough. I do not want to have that kind of stress for the rest of my life. Though there are parts about it that I do enjoy, thinking about it, what else would I even do? If I wanted to change careers or do something else, I don't know anything else; I've always done accounting or --type stuff. I've pigeon-holed myself enough that anything else I try to start will be started from square one. I don't even know what my interests are outside of accounting, at least with regard to career-related skills. (Blogging and weekend naps are not going to earn a paycheck). Sigh.
Geoff has class tonight so I'm going to try and clean up for next couple of hours. Even though I really don't feel like doing anything.
St. George would be nice. Nice to read a book by the pool or sit in the hot tub or lazily go shopping or drive through the canyon. Geoff and I are both getting the Vegas bug again too. Maybe sometime in the next few weeks. Maybe for Valentine's day?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Are we there yet, are we there yet
TIRED! And craving chocolate. I could not do this if I were still in school - was it like this last January? I don't really remember much beyond the fog of a small mental breakdown ha ha, I don't think it was though. The new system threw us off-kilter somewhat. Only two more days and all should be done. Geoff is wiped out too. This weekend is going to be a stay at home, sleep, and read weekend. Yayyyyyyy I can't wait.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Cuz I'm saved by the bell
My mom worked at the Sundance Film Festival last weekend, and she and my aunt are working it again this weekend - they're like ushers or something. Anyway, mom saw Mario Lopez last weekend. She was working at the door of a celeb-only restaurant, making sure only the people who were supposed to get in did (sounds like a bouncer to me - go mom!), and in walked Mr. Gorgeous himself, with his girlfriend or wife or whoever, and he flashed a gorgous smile at my mom and looked up at the restaurant and said, "Oh, wow!" And that was it. Ha ha. She's supposed to work at a premier attended by Ryan Renolds this weekend, and probably his wifey, Scarlett Johansen.
I worked until 8 tonight. That's a long day for mwah. Only a few more days to go - I'm thinking everything will pull through. A lot of loose ends came together today, which was good and lightens my burden quite a bit. I'll have lots of overtime on this coming paycheck and the one after that - even with my day off.
I worked until 8 tonight. That's a long day for mwah. Only a few more days to go - I'm thinking everything will pull through. A lot of loose ends came together today, which was good and lightens my burden quite a bit. I'll have lots of overtime on this coming paycheck and the one after that - even with my day off.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Because when I was five I dreamed that my head got chopped off and I thought it was the coolest thing ever, okay!?
Geoff's mom found a box with a bunch of Geoff's stuff in it from years ago, including this hilarious cute little book he made in the first grade. I'm going to indulge and include the whole thing, because it's all so cute and innocent, and then suddenly there's page 12. I can't stop laughing.
Ha ha!! Well I guess it does coincide with his love for gory movies. He wondered aloud why he wasn't psychologically evaluated. Later in the car, we were play-fighting and he was pretending to punch me and I said, "Why do you pretend to hurt me all the time?" And he said in mock defense, "because when I was five I had a dream that my head got chopped off and I thought it was the coolest thing ever, okay!?" Also, he still loves spicy food, onions, funny textures, and Larry. (Oops, not Larry!) I love this man.
Ha ha!! Well I guess it does coincide with his love for gory movies. He wondered aloud why he wasn't psychologically evaluated. Later in the car, we were play-fighting and he was pretending to punch me and I said, "Why do you pretend to hurt me all the time?" And he said in mock defense, "because when I was five I had a dream that my head got chopped off and I thought it was the coolest thing ever, okay!?" Also, he still loves spicy food, onions, funny textures, and Larry. (Oops, not Larry!) I love this man.
The Michael Jackson dance
Think I figured it out. The video quality is just horrible, but maybe that's good cuz then you can't see his face. I guess the family will enjoy it.
There and back again (A hobbit's tale by bilbo bagins)
Ok not a hobbit's tale, My tale. It just popped into my head. Anyway, while waiting at a red light today, I inched up closer to the beater in front of me to read the homemade bumper sticker in the window. It said, "Sorry for driving too close to your front bumper." I got a good laugh out of that.
The trip went well. I thoroughly enjoyed being in everyone's company.
Thursday night, Geoff left class a couple hours early and we hit the road by 8:00. We were in Boise by 1:30 a.m. and stopped at a hotel for a couple hours of sleep. We were up and away again by 7:30 the next morning, and in Pendleton, OR before noon the next day. We were too early to check in to our hotel, so we drove a little further to Stanfield and visited Grandma Lemmon. She is just the sweetest lady. She was a lot more talkative than the last time I'd seen her, too. She was making a lot of jokes and having a nice time. It was really so great to see her.
Then we had nowhere to go for awhile, so we pulled into a gas station parking lot in Umatilla and put our pillows over our faces and fell asleep for an hour. I'm sure we looked so trashy but we were so wiped out. Upon waking, we went to Geoff's mom's house and visited for awhile. We met Geoff's soon-to-be sister-in-law, Heather, who is our age. She was super super nice. Even Denise's fiance was way more talkative than the first time I'd met him (I think he was post-surgery at that time and a little loopy on painkillers way back then.) There were a bunch more people there too that we've never met - some of his family and friends, who were all so nice. We felt right at home even though we hardly knew anybody.
We left and met Geoff's dad at a restaurant, ordered dessert and exchanged Christmas gifts and chatted for a good three hours almost. It was such a nice talk, and I really can't say how great it was to see him and just talk for forever. He had a recent injury on the job, but he seemed like he's doing very well too, which was good for Geoff and me. I love Geoff's family so much. They are such great people.
After that, we went back to Geoff's mom's for dinner and spent some time talking to the ten-year old girl that was there (the daughter of some of the people.) She was so dang funny. She kept eating all of these raw peppers, and she just kept eating and eating them until her mom made her stop, then she ate ice-cream and tons and tons of carrots and cucumber. She asked us each what our favorite bug is and told us about her friend, who has this friend, who has this friend, who swallowed a lightening bug once and it crawled back out his throat. (So she said). And she only had one of her ears pierced because the other one healed and she just never got around to taking the other earring out. Then she gave everyone a hug goodbye. She was so funny. Anyway, we were back at our hotel in Pendleton and asleep by 10 p.m.
Got up way early the next morning and back to Geoff's mom's for breakfast, then we went to the church to set up chairs and tables for the ceremony. They had four cakes - three from Costco and one that her friend had made her. A lot of people showed up - they have a huge family. The ceremony itself was only about 2 minutes long, then the realization of now Geoff has step-family. Crazy! Anyway, we saw a lot of people there too that we haven't seen in forever! Not since our wedding!
Chris, Angela and Nicholas came just in time for the ceremony - they'd driven straight from the coast. (Chris is Geoff's brother, Nicholas is their kid; he's eight). Geoff and Nicholas and I played basketball after the chairs were cleaned up. The five of us met Geoff's dad for dinner about an hour later at a nice restaurant, and talked about Chris's funny Ambien stories and how Geoff got knocked out by a small kid when they were younger and earned him the nickname "the one-punch kid." Ha ha! We laughed a lot. After dinner, Chris and Angela left to party with some friends and we babysat Nicholas for the rest of the night. We took him bowling and played two games. He showed us his Michael Jackson dance at the bowling alley. He's so funny; he acts like he's shy but he has absolutely no problem showing off. He let me make a video of his dance: (Will try to post on the next post, if I can get it to work).
Geoff and I cancelled our second night in Pendleton and got a hotel room where Chris and Angela were staying so we could be closer to Umatilla. Angela pulled some strings and got us a great deal on a nice room! So after the bowling alley, we went back to our hotel room and I laid down on the bed while Geoff and Nicholas put his telescope together. They took it out to the back of the hotel where it was dark and looked at the moon. I came out to see, it was pretty cool. Geoff asked Nicholas what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said either a fire fighter or a garbage man. (ha!) When asked why a fire fighter, he said because you get to help people, and when asked why a garbage man, he said because of the money. (Ha ha! Like we're talking to a little grown up. He was so funny).
I fell asleep on the bed again while they came back and took the telescope apart again and put it away. I could hear them watching bully beatdown (an incredibly cheesy show on the "man channel") as I fell asleep. I was told later that I talked in my sleep, telling Geoff it was okay if he ordered room service because I was hungry - Nicholas got a kick out of that. We all kind of dozed off until C & A picked him up at 3 a.m. and then we went back to sleep for a couple more hours.
Sunday morning, we had breakfast with the new Mr. & Mrs. Brown, Chris and Angela, and Don's sister and brother in-law. We fueled up and were on our way again by 9 a.m. PST (10 a.m. our time). That is a long-a$$ drive! We agreed if we ever move any further south, we will be flying up there intead of driving. Poor Geoff drove most of the way because I kept getting tired, but we made it home by 8 p.m., which is pretty good time. We listened to NPR writing shorts for the Utah portion of the drivel; it was interesting. And the roads were kind, the whole way. We hit a minor snowstorm in Idaho, but it didn't stick to the roads.
So even though we are still trying to catch up on sleep, we did have a great time spending time with family. I really, really enjoyed it so much.
The trip went well. I thoroughly enjoyed being in everyone's company.
Thursday night, Geoff left class a couple hours early and we hit the road by 8:00. We were in Boise by 1:30 a.m. and stopped at a hotel for a couple hours of sleep. We were up and away again by 7:30 the next morning, and in Pendleton, OR before noon the next day. We were too early to check in to our hotel, so we drove a little further to Stanfield and visited Grandma Lemmon. She is just the sweetest lady. She was a lot more talkative than the last time I'd seen her, too. She was making a lot of jokes and having a nice time. It was really so great to see her.
Then we had nowhere to go for awhile, so we pulled into a gas station parking lot in Umatilla and put our pillows over our faces and fell asleep for an hour. I'm sure we looked so trashy but we were so wiped out. Upon waking, we went to Geoff's mom's house and visited for awhile. We met Geoff's soon-to-be sister-in-law, Heather, who is our age. She was super super nice. Even Denise's fiance was way more talkative than the first time I'd met him (I think he was post-surgery at that time and a little loopy on painkillers way back then.) There were a bunch more people there too that we've never met - some of his family and friends, who were all so nice. We felt right at home even though we hardly knew anybody.
We left and met Geoff's dad at a restaurant, ordered dessert and exchanged Christmas gifts and chatted for a good three hours almost. It was such a nice talk, and I really can't say how great it was to see him and just talk for forever. He had a recent injury on the job, but he seemed like he's doing very well too, which was good for Geoff and me. I love Geoff's family so much. They are such great people.
After that, we went back to Geoff's mom's for dinner and spent some time talking to the ten-year old girl that was there (the daughter of some of the people.) She was so dang funny. She kept eating all of these raw peppers, and she just kept eating and eating them until her mom made her stop, then she ate ice-cream and tons and tons of carrots and cucumber. She asked us each what our favorite bug is and told us about her friend, who has this friend, who has this friend, who swallowed a lightening bug once and it crawled back out his throat. (So she said). And she only had one of her ears pierced because the other one healed and she just never got around to taking the other earring out. Then she gave everyone a hug goodbye. She was so funny. Anyway, we were back at our hotel in Pendleton and asleep by 10 p.m.
Got up way early the next morning and back to Geoff's mom's for breakfast, then we went to the church to set up chairs and tables for the ceremony. They had four cakes - three from Costco and one that her friend had made her. A lot of people showed up - they have a huge family. The ceremony itself was only about 2 minutes long, then the realization of now Geoff has step-family. Crazy! Anyway, we saw a lot of people there too that we haven't seen in forever! Not since our wedding!
Chris, Angela and Nicholas came just in time for the ceremony - they'd driven straight from the coast. (Chris is Geoff's brother, Nicholas is their kid; he's eight). Geoff and Nicholas and I played basketball after the chairs were cleaned up. The five of us met Geoff's dad for dinner about an hour later at a nice restaurant, and talked about Chris's funny Ambien stories and how Geoff got knocked out by a small kid when they were younger and earned him the nickname "the one-punch kid." Ha ha! We laughed a lot. After dinner, Chris and Angela left to party with some friends and we babysat Nicholas for the rest of the night. We took him bowling and played two games. He showed us his Michael Jackson dance at the bowling alley. He's so funny; he acts like he's shy but he has absolutely no problem showing off. He let me make a video of his dance: (Will try to post on the next post, if I can get it to work).
Geoff and I cancelled our second night in Pendleton and got a hotel room where Chris and Angela were staying so we could be closer to Umatilla. Angela pulled some strings and got us a great deal on a nice room! So after the bowling alley, we went back to our hotel room and I laid down on the bed while Geoff and Nicholas put his telescope together. They took it out to the back of the hotel where it was dark and looked at the moon. I came out to see, it was pretty cool. Geoff asked Nicholas what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said either a fire fighter or a garbage man. (ha!) When asked why a fire fighter, he said because you get to help people, and when asked why a garbage man, he said because of the money. (Ha ha! Like we're talking to a little grown up. He was so funny).
I fell asleep on the bed again while they came back and took the telescope apart again and put it away. I could hear them watching bully beatdown (an incredibly cheesy show on the "man channel") as I fell asleep. I was told later that I talked in my sleep, telling Geoff it was okay if he ordered room service because I was hungry - Nicholas got a kick out of that. We all kind of dozed off until C & A picked him up at 3 a.m. and then we went back to sleep for a couple more hours.
Sunday morning, we had breakfast with the new Mr. & Mrs. Brown, Chris and Angela, and Don's sister and brother in-law. We fueled up and were on our way again by 9 a.m. PST (10 a.m. our time). That is a long-a$$ drive! We agreed if we ever move any further south, we will be flying up there intead of driving. Poor Geoff drove most of the way because I kept getting tired, but we made it home by 8 p.m., which is pretty good time. We listened to NPR writing shorts for the Utah portion of the drivel; it was interesting. And the roads were kind, the whole way. We hit a minor snowstorm in Idaho, but it didn't stick to the roads.
So even though we are still trying to catch up on sleep, we did have a great time spending time with family. I really, really enjoyed it so much.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
BYE!!!
Working late, coming home, packing the bags, making a road-trip cd, checking the tire pressure, cleaning out the car, filling 'er up, and OFF WE GO!!! (with maybe one itty bitty stop for caffeine)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I guess it's an early anniversary post
The last week has been a little crazy with work and stuff, but I feel good! Tonight, I feel like posting some thoughts I've been having about the past year, where Geoff and I are concerned. I don't know why Year Five was the year, but I think we've faced some challenges head on this year, that were probably a long time coming. I think I finally understand what people mean when they say marriage isn't easy. But I am so grateful that through the challenges we've been able to grow together instead of growing apart. This point on feels like a new stage to me, where it's all on the table, no pretending (for either of us), and I am so excited to continue spending my life with this true gem of a man.
I can't not make a love-list now. Here's a love list for my sweetheart: in no order of importance
I love:
I can't not make a love-list now. Here's a love list for my sweetheart: in no order of importance
I love:
- That he still holds the door open for me
- Singing "duets" together and trying to get the harmonies right, (most of the time we fail miserably but we do it with style)
- That he always willingly says yes when I ask him to rub my back
- The cuteness of his starstruck-ness
- How goofy he will act just to get a laugh out of me
- That he is constantly making me laugh
- That he loves being a teacher and does a good job
- How good he is with kids (will make a wonderful father one day)
- That we can be spontaneous together
- That he shows love and patience even when I'm being difficult and immature
- Cuddling with him
- He still texts to say I Miss You
- When he cleans the kitchen, which is most of the time
- His love for reading, anything and everything, all the time
- His passion for helping other people
- Him for being there for me when I'm having a breakdown or just need someone to be with
- For always thinking of nice things to do for me
He's just such a good man. That's obviously not all encompassing, but just a few things I thought about. I think these words say it beautifully:
All that I'm after is a life full of laughter
As long as I'm laughing with you
All that still matters is love ever after
After the life we've been through
'Cause I know there's no life after you
Daughtry
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Fun weekend
So, Friday night, our neighbors had invited us over to play games and make smoothies. We stayed for a few hours until it was time to put the baby to bed - and he is a cute baby. But we really enjoyed it; it was great of them to have us over.
Saturday, I got up early and went to work for a little while. I've been kind of worried about making deadlines, because there's more to do this month than just the regular quarterlies (year-end), and I've been delayed a few days because our software liason (who works her butt off for us and we love her) was still working on reconciliations and W2's and I couldn't proceed until she was done, and I'll be missing a day of work next week to go to Oregon. So, I've only got two weeks left to do most of what normally takes me about three weeks. They are very careful about letting people in the building outside of normal business hours (for company and employee security), but they gave me a key and showed me how to work the alarms, which I was very grateful for. In just four hours, I was able to do about two days worth of taxes. It's amazing how much you can get done when there are no interruptions or other, routine things to do during the day! So that takes some pressure off. If I can get through the unemployment by Thursday I'll be sittin' pretty. So I'm sure I'll be working late a lot next week, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and I really do love my job.
After I got home and showered, we went to the BYU/Colorado game. Geoff had found tickets for $1 online! They each had a $2 "printing fee", but 6 bucks for a basketball game is still a smokin' deal. BYU killed them, as what happens at every single sporting event we've ever gone to. Basketball, soccer, baseball, and football, it never fails. We think we're good luck or something. ;) We left with 9 minutes left in the game, because BYU was 20 points ahead and we wanted to beat traffic. We turned on the radio to hear the final score, and it was BYU 91, Colorado 43. That means BYU scored another 30 points in the last 9 minutes of the game! Crazy!
We came home and made dinner, then I got really grumpy, started crying, and laid down on the bed and fell asleep for a couple hours. (such a dope.) Geoff laid down with me though, he was a sweetheart. We got up and watched another couple hours of Man vs Wild and went to bed.
Today, I look forward to relaxing, making dinner, and straightening house. It is sooooooo nice that I don't have to worry about homework. This day is mine all mine.
Saturday, I got up early and went to work for a little while. I've been kind of worried about making deadlines, because there's more to do this month than just the regular quarterlies (year-end), and I've been delayed a few days because our software liason (who works her butt off for us and we love her) was still working on reconciliations and W2's and I couldn't proceed until she was done, and I'll be missing a day of work next week to go to Oregon. So, I've only got two weeks left to do most of what normally takes me about three weeks. They are very careful about letting people in the building outside of normal business hours (for company and employee security), but they gave me a key and showed me how to work the alarms, which I was very grateful for. In just four hours, I was able to do about two days worth of taxes. It's amazing how much you can get done when there are no interruptions or other, routine things to do during the day! So that takes some pressure off. If I can get through the unemployment by Thursday I'll be sittin' pretty. So I'm sure I'll be working late a lot next week, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and I really do love my job.
After I got home and showered, we went to the BYU/Colorado game. Geoff had found tickets for $1 online! They each had a $2 "printing fee", but 6 bucks for a basketball game is still a smokin' deal. BYU killed them, as what happens at every single sporting event we've ever gone to. Basketball, soccer, baseball, and football, it never fails. We think we're good luck or something. ;) We left with 9 minutes left in the game, because BYU was 20 points ahead and we wanted to beat traffic. We turned on the radio to hear the final score, and it was BYU 91, Colorado 43. That means BYU scored another 30 points in the last 9 minutes of the game! Crazy!
We came home and made dinner, then I got really grumpy, started crying, and laid down on the bed and fell asleep for a couple hours. (such a dope.) Geoff laid down with me though, he was a sweetheart. We got up and watched another couple hours of Man vs Wild and went to bed.
Today, I look forward to relaxing, making dinner, and straightening house. It is sooooooo nice that I don't have to worry about homework. This day is mine all mine.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Foods for the week
A friend posted this on their facebook status today: "If you limit your actions in life to things that noboby can possible find fault with, you will not do much." ~ Lewis Carroll I give it a *like* :)
So, a few new food items for the healthy-eating campaign:
So, a few new food items for the healthy-eating campaign:
Baby Spinach
This idea is from Angie - buy a big bag (or box if you're the Costco type), and keep it fresh by separating into smaller snack-sized bags. Fast and convenient! I've been eating it raw and plain so far, and it's really not bad. I got a ten-oz bag for $1.88 at Walmart, and it's surprisingly filling.
My only beef with the spinach is that it makes my mouth, tongue and throat itch, just like raw carrots, bananas, canteloupe, and walnuts do, and a few other raw vegetables. I did a little researching, and it seems most people who have the same reaction, do with the same kinds of foods. I found it might be a slight latex allergy. So, this might be a dumb idea, but I'm wondering if the more I eat it, the more my body will accept and quit fighting it, sort of like it did with Wally. (Not that I ate Wally, I just stopped having allergic reactions to him.) Or if the more I eat it, the worse it will become. Just don't know but I hope it's not the latter, because I can't just not eat vegetables. They're the staple of a healthy diet, right? Especially raw ones.
-Just googling again - was brought back to a couple years ago when there was that e-coli outbreak from contaminated spinach; seems like a repeating pattern. Spinach is okay to eat, right?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The lovely car that it is
Yesterday, someone driving into our parking lot at work gave my car an "owie," as my friend called it. The poor guy that did it was really worried about it. It was so awesome of him to be so honest and let me know about it, even though I really wouldn't have noticed if no one had told me. He just took a little paint off the rear bumper is all, and I can't really be mad about that when half the paint on my car is gone anyway. Mine is the second junkiest car in that parking lot! I should thank LW for taking the #1 spot - I could swear I've seen duct-tape holding that thing together before, ha ha. Though in his opinion, there's one other car in the running for second junkiest. Love it. It has been a great car though. When I bought it seven years ago, I wanted just a few important things: A CD player, working heat and A/C, good brakes, and the ability to run continuously. It still has all of those things, and has never needed major repairs, just some normal maintenance. I probably shouldn't jinx it right before our 1300-mile trip though huh!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Triplets!!!
Funny I should mention my friend Ashlee in my post earlier today, because right around quitting time I get this text from her: "Not one! not two! but three babies! I'm having triplets!! ha ha"
Yeah..... I pretty much freaked out. I mean, probably not as much as her, but still. I had to check that she was serious. Geoff got similar texts from Jared. He said they're shocked, and Ashlee is "scared to death." I would be too, but excited!! I can't believe that they did it without any fertility treatments (not that it's any of my business, I'm just amazed!) Wow! I am totally floored just thinking about it. Way to go you guys! Congratulations!! I am really ecstatic for them. I just wish we were closer to them so I could help her out with stuff!!
Yeah..... I pretty much freaked out. I mean, probably not as much as her, but still. I had to check that she was serious. Geoff got similar texts from Jared. He said they're shocked, and Ashlee is "scared to death." I would be too, but excited!! I can't believe that they did it without any fertility treatments (not that it's any of my business, I'm just amazed!) Wow! I am totally floored just thinking about it. Way to go you guys! Congratulations!! I am really ecstatic for them. I just wish we were closer to them so I could help her out with stuff!!
Sociology
Geoff beat me home today. He was reading one of his sociology textbooks when I walked in. I took a look at the book. "Social Problems." On the cover of the book, a kid with a gun in his had, looking like he's going to shoot himself. On the back of the book, pictures of someone shooting up, of a guy in handcuffs, of a depressed alcoholic, and of a rotton fish in the dirt. I'm not making light of social problems, but I do think the choice of book cover is hilarious.
It's a Glee, In 'N Out kind of weekend
It was kind of a lazy, but very enjoyable, weekend. We ran a few errands Saturday morning and went to church, but mostly we just hung out at home, napped, and watched the first season of Glee on DVD. It was pretty funny, a LOT of singing and dancing. Whoever writes the show must be a huge Beyonce fan because it seems like there was a Beyonce/Destiny's Child song in almost every episode. (I just had to re-type that word three times cuz I kept saying "episdoe.") Anyway, it was fun.
I haven't written that we finally got to go to In-N-Out Burger, last weekend. But they just opened one in American Fork, and we just happened to be driving by at 10:35 a.m., just five minutes after opening time. There were only a few cars there, so we seized the opportunity. We haven't been to the one by our house yet because there's still a two-hour wait at the drive-thru (even worse inside) and it's been two months! They have to have traffic directors guide cars through the parking lot. Ashlee was right, people in Provo are crazy. Anyway, the American Fork people were really cute. There were like five of them crowded at the registers waiting to help us, and they were just grinning away. Geoff said he felt like a celebrity. (Maybe they were laughing at us? I don't know). But it was fun.
Geoff's mom is getting married in a couple of weeks. We made reservations. I am excited to go on a road trip with the hunky man-stud hubby of mine, and excited to see all of Geoff's family - at least his immediate family. I think it's been about two years since we last went up together and even longer since we've seen his bro and sis. in law.
I haven't written that we finally got to go to In-N-Out Burger, last weekend. But they just opened one in American Fork, and we just happened to be driving by at 10:35 a.m., just five minutes after opening time. There were only a few cars there, so we seized the opportunity. We haven't been to the one by our house yet because there's still a two-hour wait at the drive-thru (even worse inside) and it's been two months! They have to have traffic directors guide cars through the parking lot. Ashlee was right, people in Provo are crazy. Anyway, the American Fork people were really cute. There were like five of them crowded at the registers waiting to help us, and they were just grinning away. Geoff said he felt like a celebrity. (Maybe they were laughing at us? I don't know). But it was fun.
Geoff's mom is getting married in a couple of weeks. We made reservations. I am excited to go on a road trip with the hunky man-stud hubby of mine, and excited to see all of Geoff's family - at least his immediate family. I think it's been about two years since we last went up together and even longer since we've seen his bro and sis. in law.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Who says I can't post about dumb stuff if I want
A few days ago, Geoff DVR'd a Man vs. Wild marathon, so we've got like ten episodes in the queue. (Is that how you spell queue? I'm not in the mood to look it up). I get the biggest kick out of Bear Grylls! Last night we laid in bed watching it and laughing our heads off. I think it came out once that he cheated on a mission and spent the night in a hotel or something, but it just makes the show that much more hilarious. You can tell that a lot of the stuff he does is for show, such as taking the hard way up a ravine in stead of the obviously easier way within feet of where he is, or burying his head in anthill dirt - with gusto - to keep the mosquitos off. It's the gusto, I think that's what's so funny. And anytime he has to eat stuff that normal people wouldn't even have nightmares about, he does it (with gusto) all while talking about how truly disgusting it is, how it's the worst thing he's ever eaten.
My favorite was when he came across a zebra carcass in the African wilderness, and he knew it was fresh because there were no maggots yet. So he gets out his knife, cuts a piece of skin back, and goes at the carcass with his face -his teeth - seemingly having forgotten about the knife in his hand.
Well, we ended up watching one that looked so scary. He was in the wilderness swamps of the deep south, with at least three feet of dark, murky water in all directions. He was afraid of alligators. And did you know they have real ROUS's out there? Well, in two days' time, he bit the head off a live snake and ate the body raw, caught a 20-lb catfish with his fist, tackled a six-foot alligator with his bear hands and killed it with a knife, carried the alligator body over his shoulder until he could find some dry ground to make camp, cut the alligator skin into strips so he could use it to tie sticks together to make an elevated bed for himself to spend the night on, and ate the alligator meat. That's not even everything, there was so much more. My thought was that he didn't have to create dangerous situations for himself out there; that looked truly terrifying.
My conclusion: for show or not, I would rather be lost in the wilderness with him than without him. Though I will never eat a live snake.
I am so excited to spend a relaxing weekend with my hubby!
My favorite was when he came across a zebra carcass in the African wilderness, and he knew it was fresh because there were no maggots yet. So he gets out his knife, cuts a piece of skin back, and goes at the carcass with his face -his teeth - seemingly having forgotten about the knife in his hand.
Well, we ended up watching one that looked so scary. He was in the wilderness swamps of the deep south, with at least three feet of dark, murky water in all directions. He was afraid of alligators. And did you know they have real ROUS's out there? Well, in two days' time, he bit the head off a live snake and ate the body raw, caught a 20-lb catfish with his fist, tackled a six-foot alligator with his bear hands and killed it with a knife, carried the alligator body over his shoulder until he could find some dry ground to make camp, cut the alligator skin into strips so he could use it to tie sticks together to make an elevated bed for himself to spend the night on, and ate the alligator meat. That's not even everything, there was so much more. My thought was that he didn't have to create dangerous situations for himself out there; that looked truly terrifying.
My conclusion: for show or not, I would rather be lost in the wilderness with him than without him. Though I will never eat a live snake.
I am so excited to spend a relaxing weekend with my hubby!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
STUFFS!
Since the beginning of this week, Geoff keeps coming home from work and wanting to go to bed at 7:00 every night. I wonder if it's just weeks and months of not sleeping well are finally catching up to him and he's just exhausted. Also probable, is that he started his new job on Monday and that can be very exhausting as well. But he is happy to be working again. I don't think I mentioned this yet, but he decided he wants to do social work. So his job is with a mostly government-funded non-profit up in Salt Lake. His degree did help him get the job, even though he isn't doing accounting. Anyway, now he wants to get a masters in social work, so he's also going to be taking evening classes this semester, starting today, to fulfill prerequisite requirements. He's going to be one tired man! He'll have the same schedule I've been having for the past couple of years, and now I'm going to be home in the evenings! Being home makes me happy.
For me, I've tentatively decided to go for a grad program that starts a little bit later than the ones I've been looking at. I have an internal struggle between wanting to move on, RIGHT NOW, and realizing that a break can be a good thing, too, and is probably needed. It's a big struggle. But, for right now I'm heeding Geoff's urging to just take a break for a little longer. I just don't want for us to get so comfortable in our routine that we start thinking grad school isn't important and we're fine with where we are and lose sight of our goals. I hope that doesn't happen, I don't think it will. Geoff says it won't. I won't let it.
Anyway, since I'm not breaking my head over GMAT studying at this time, and since Geoff will be gone evenings anyway, I'm finally, ultimately, turning my attention to diet and exercise. I haven't been at all perfect so far; I ate pizza and tacos - though I still lost a pound (must've been pretty bad before if I can eat pizza and tacos and still lose a pound). But here are a few things that I love that I think might become staples for the next long time:
For me, I've tentatively decided to go for a grad program that starts a little bit later than the ones I've been looking at. I have an internal struggle between wanting to move on, RIGHT NOW, and realizing that a break can be a good thing, too, and is probably needed. It's a big struggle. But, for right now I'm heeding Geoff's urging to just take a break for a little longer. I just don't want for us to get so comfortable in our routine that we start thinking grad school isn't important and we're fine with where we are and lose sight of our goals. I hope that doesn't happen, I don't think it will. Geoff says it won't. I won't let it.
Anyway, since I'm not breaking my head over GMAT studying at this time, and since Geoff will be gone evenings anyway, I'm finally, ultimately, turning my attention to diet and exercise. I haven't been at all perfect so far; I ate pizza and tacos - though I still lost a pound (must've been pretty bad before if I can eat pizza and tacos and still lose a pound). But here are a few things that I love that I think might become staples for the next long time:
Dannon Light & Fit Smoothie-Carb and Sugar control
This is so good! Except you have to buy the Carb and Sugar control type, or else you'll just be drinking sugar. And it only comes in one flavor - strawberry banana - but is great for on-the-go breakfast or mid-day snack to curb hunger.
This is so good! Except you have to buy the Carb and Sugar control type, or else you'll just be drinking sugar. And it only comes in one flavor - strawberry banana - but is great for on-the-go breakfast or mid-day snack to curb hunger.Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon
This has some sodium, but is low in calories, low in fat, and high protein, and tasty. And filling. You can eat it right out of the package. I just recommend disposing of the package somewhere other than the garbage can under your desk, unless you want to smell fish for the rest of the day. But it's GOOD, I promise.
And then we're working on the veggies. We'll probably always be working on the veggies. But they are good too.
Monday, January 4, 2010
State licensing
Just perusing through the AICPA website, and followed a series of links to this article: Think twice about that out-of-state client! That's a bummer. I mean I sort of knew that you have to meet requirements in each state that you practice in, but I never really thought of the implications. Not only is it restrictive of the clients you could have, but it restricts your own mobility altogether - it means no applying for out-of-state jobs without months of advance planning and exam-taking and fee-paying. I'll need to get serious about where we're settling down once I'm done with grad school, because wherever I get work experience and take the exam is where we'll be staying!
I thought I heard a rumor once, that we'll be switching to International Accounting Standards within the decade. It was the last I heard of it, so maybe it's nothing more than just that - a rumor. I wonder how and if that would affect state licensing.
I thought I heard a rumor once, that we'll be switching to International Accounting Standards within the decade. It was the last I heard of it, so maybe it's nothing more than just that - a rumor. I wonder how and if that would affect state licensing.
Happy
I'm sitting here in the pink snuggie that Geoff got me for Christmas - I love this snuggie so much. Wished I could take it to church.
We've had some hectic year-end days at work already, but for me this is where the chaos begins! I do love my job.
Feeling pretty good about life tonight.
We've had some hectic year-end days at work already, but for me this is where the chaos begins! I do love my job.
Feeling pretty good about life tonight.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Car woes
We witnessed another wreck today. I barely saw it as it was happening, but Geoff noticed it before it happened. We approached a yellow light turning red, and slowed to a stop, but a young girl in the car next to us didn't even slow down - she ran right through the light, and crashed - loud and hard - right into the passenger side of a car coming the opposite direction and turning left. The guy who got hit did a complete 360 and went back over the median and hit some more cars that were waiting to turn left, and the girl that was next to us flipped around too and pulled to the opposite corner of the intersection - rather close to us, but we were untouched. Her front end was completely smashed and all this liquid started flowing out. The poor girl was in shock, all white and scared. Nobody got hurt though. Lots of people called 911 including Geoff, and we pulled over and waited, wondering if we should give a statement. We stood there for awhile and the cops and ambulences came and we kept waiting and eventually decided that there were enough other witnesses still there and we left. (I hope that's not illegal!) Anyway, we were super careful driving around after that, having been reminded of how easy it is to wreck.
The other car woe of the day. A couple of days ago Geoff took his car in for new tires, and found out that his alignment was way out of wack and that was why his tires wore down so quickly, so he had that fixed too. I started wondering if my alignment was out also, because the car does shake when going freeway speeds. So I took my car to Les Schwab for a free tire-rotation (a perk for buying your tires there) and asked them to check the alignment too, and fix it if it needed to be fixed. They called an hour later and said I needed new wheel bearings, and they needed to replace the wheel bearings before they could fix the alignment. This of course, would take the bill from $86 to $475. I know absolutely nothing about this sort of thing, other than you can't trust car repair places, so I said no, and forget the alignment too, we'd be by to pick the car up in a minute.
I called my super-awesome little brother who is studying to be a diesel mechanic and has been working on cars for years, and asked him if they tried to swindle us. Absolutely yes, was his answer. Wheel bearings and alignment have nothing to do with each other, and if the wheel bearings are feeling wobbly, they just need to be re-packed and tightened. It's still a foreign language to me, but he said he could repack the wheel bearings if they are indeed loose. He recommended an honest guy he knows who could check the alignment for me.
Super-awesome little brother: 2
Les Schwab criminals: 0
(The two is from when he cleaned my brakes a couple months ago and let me know they are in good shape.) Actually, let's give him all the points he wants because he is super-awesome, after all.
The other car woe of the day. A couple of days ago Geoff took his car in for new tires, and found out that his alignment was way out of wack and that was why his tires wore down so quickly, so he had that fixed too. I started wondering if my alignment was out also, because the car does shake when going freeway speeds. So I took my car to Les Schwab for a free tire-rotation (a perk for buying your tires there) and asked them to check the alignment too, and fix it if it needed to be fixed. They called an hour later and said I needed new wheel bearings, and they needed to replace the wheel bearings before they could fix the alignment. This of course, would take the bill from $86 to $475. I know absolutely nothing about this sort of thing, other than you can't trust car repair places, so I said no, and forget the alignment too, we'd be by to pick the car up in a minute.
I called my super-awesome little brother who is studying to be a diesel mechanic and has been working on cars for years, and asked him if they tried to swindle us. Absolutely yes, was his answer. Wheel bearings and alignment have nothing to do with each other, and if the wheel bearings are feeling wobbly, they just need to be re-packed and tightened. It's still a foreign language to me, but he said he could repack the wheel bearings if they are indeed loose. He recommended an honest guy he knows who could check the alignment for me.
Super-awesome little brother: 2
Les Schwab criminals: 0
(The two is from when he cleaned my brakes a couple months ago and let me know they are in good shape.) Actually, let's give him all the points he wants because he is super-awesome, after all.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Bring on 2010
Ringing in the New Year, we are. We paused the recording of Wild Hogs just long enough to watch the ball drop - in bed, in our pajamas - and went back to our movie. We didn't even open our bottle of Martinelli's, but our 5th anniversary is coming up so we figure we'll use it then. We went to see Sherlock Holmes this morning, it was good.
It's been one crazy-a** year, and it flew by faster than I ever remember! Here's to 2010!
It's been one crazy-a** year, and it flew by faster than I ever remember! Here's to 2010!
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