Sunday, October 31, 2010

Pug party!

Today we took Gwennie for a walk and decided to stop by her friend Krug's house.  They brought him out to play, and before too long another girl who had seen us brought her pug, Max, over.  It was a pug party!  If I'd had the camera I would've gotten a picture.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Night night in the kennel

That's what we say to Gwennie when it's bedtime.  She always runs right to her kennel, it's so cute.

It's 11:00 p.m. Friday night.  Geoff went to the gym.  Nothing sounds better right now than to listen to my new CD and take a hot shower (followed by application of my new special geek lotion) and then snuggle down in bed!

Happy Retirement!

Yay!  The big day has come for Geoff's dad.  He is officially retired as of today!  He has purchased a nice 5th Wheel and a truck to pull it, and will be moving out to the coast in three weeks or so, to enjoy the climate and be with his grandson.  He's excited, and I'm so happy for him.  Go Mike!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

"There I fixed it"

Window won't stay up?  Apply spatula.

Walgreens parking lot

Kecharitomene

So I went to the dermatologist today.  I have exzema, triggered by the season change, possibly aggravated by hot showers.  Who doesn't love hot showers though?  Anyway, I got a prescription lotion to use and it should clear up in a day or two.  I think it's weird that I had such a huge sudden flare-up after 26 years of nothing.  But, I'm glad it's only sensitive skin and nothing worse.  I tried to self-diagnose a few days ago by googling pictures of rashes and trying to find a similar one.  Have you ever tried to google-image rashes? IT'S GROSS.  Don't do it.

Loving this album right now:
I heard the song Kecharitomene ("Ketchum" to my english-speaking mind) on Pandora and loved it, so I bought the whole album.  It's the only song like it, but the rest are still beautiful. 

I'm going to go spend the rest of my spare minutes for the day finishing book 3!  Love you Jamie and Claire.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Glen Strathconon, Scotland


a day

The alarm clock of death goes off in the morning.  It nearly kills me, and I suppress the urge to kill it while I make my way to the bathroom and fumble around with my makeup and toothbrush and such.

Make it to work.  Try very very hard to focus.  Sometimes it works; other times, like today, it doesn't.  Thoughts of sleep and blankets crowd all others from my mind. 

Only a few more big hurdles to cross before I am done with quarterlies - must have them done by Friday.  Need to focus on them or I'll make mistakes. 

If I can just get through today, I'll go home and snuggle in blankets.  And snooze.  In my comfy bed.




Tuesday, October 26, 2010

New makeup

While in Oregon, I was turned on to a new mascara:

Maybelline Falsies
I've been using Maybelline Full n Soft for years because it was the best I could find and worked pretty well.  But I actually do like this a lot better.  It doesn't give a thick lash effect, but it does lengthen and darken, which makes your lashes - well, mine anyway - stand out much more.  And they stay that way all day; no need to re-apply later.  Some of the reviews I've read said you have to take your time with this one or it'll clump, but I don't think I've had that problem.  I guess I always take my time with mascara anyway.  Been poked in the eye with the mascara wand too many times.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Bleh schoolio

I have an exam that opened on Saturday and will be available to take until Wednesday.

What does the test cover?

Uh... chaptersss 8? through 12?  And I guess whatevers in them.

Got LOTS of studying to do.  Dang me.  I just want to read what happens to Jamie and Claire.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Yep, pictures of the dog

Here we are, wrapped in sweats and blankets, determined not to turn on the heater for the first time this winter.

Yesterday, I went to the mall with Alison.  She's going to New York next weekend with her BF for a concert and wanted to pick up a few more things before she left. 

We mostly sat around for the rest of the day.  We each made trips to the grocery store.  I'm about 3/4 of the way through the third Outlander book (in only a few days!  That's a lot of reading for a 1,000 page book).  I'd picked up Gwennie from day care that morning, and she was completely pooped for the whole day!  For a dog who's supposed to sleep 18 hours a day, she must've had a lot catching up to do.  She barely moved from the couch except to crawl in our laps if we happened to sit down.


She somehow found this cozy little hole in the blanket and sat herself down in it.  Silly girl.


I slept right through church today; it is a LAZY day.  This rash hasn't gotten any better.

The day care place took this adorable picture of her.  I think she makes the cutest little shape when she's sitting!  That's her tired face.  She's trying to keep her eyes open.

Oh and to answer Jared's question about the schools, so far it is University of Washington, UNLV, Boston University, and the recently added Columbia University.  The fourth because their internship/residency (I know there's a word for it; I just can't remember it) is two years instead of one, which would be really good.  I'd be totally happy going any of those places.

Oregon

Oregon was great.  We got there Wednesday afternoon.  We stayed with Geoff's mom, along with Chris & Angela, and Nicholas.  They fed us amazingly!  Which, of course, we don't expect, but they did anyway.  I love that there is such a homey feel at Denise's house.  Her husband is a big time hunter and apparently has a whole gun cabinet (under lock and key) and showed us a bunch of his guns on the first night.  Geoff was fascinated.  Most of them were handguns, but he brought out one rifle:
That thing was heavy.  I thought they were sorta neat too, provided they weren't loaded.  Being around loaded guns makes me very nervous.  But anyway.

On Thursday, we slept until about 8:00, ate breakfast, and went to Walmart.  Came back to the house and took a nap.  Then we went to Grandma Lemmon's house.  Everyone was there going through the stuff in the house.  Cleaning it out, keeping mementos that they wanted, etc.  She had been in that house for almost 40 years, and apparently bottled everything, then kept it all for decades, with the insistence that you can eat anything if you just boil it for 20 minutes first.  Denise gave me a couple of pictures that had been on the walls, one of our family, and a matted photograph that she'd taken and won a prize for - it was very pretty.

Later on, Chris and Angela arrived.  Hanging out with them was fun.  I'm not sure if I'll ever see Angela again, which is very sad because I feel like I've just started getting to know her.  But anyway.  Geoff, Chris, and I went to see a movie that night.  We asked Denise if she'd teach us how to make her famous lemon pie.  There's a secret to the lemon pie.  All of her family has tried, and failed, to duplicate Denise's pie.  But, she willingly shared the secret with me! and Geoff of course.  I felt so special.  I have sworn never to divulge the secret.  We made the pie again last night and it turned out good!

Friday was the funeral.  Everyone there wore pink shirts, ties, and/or pink ribbon pins.  Nicholas thought his outfit made him look like the mafia: (father and son)


It was such a beautiful service, with beautiful musical numbers and talks.  I didn't take the camera with me to the funeral, but the flower display was gorgeous too.  We went to the cemetary for the final remarks.  Then we went back to the church for a lovely dinner provided by the relief society. 

There was a guy at the service named Mike McGinty, who was in one of Grandma Lemmon's kids' ward in Idaho.  Joe (the kid) suggested that Mike McGinty contact his mother, who has geneology records going back to the year 3 in some lines.  It turns out, that he is a cousin of Grandma Lemmon, and never knew anything about his family until he got to know Grandma Lemmon.  She gave him a charge to continue following the family lines, and boy was he enthusiastic.  Very, very excited, and very grateful to have met the family.  I thought it took a lot of courage for him to come to the funeral where no one knew him, but he was a nice fellow.  It's pretty amazing, I think.  That such a random connection would be made, but an important one at that.  And he was clearly bitten by the geneology bug.

Well, after we had eaten, we said our goodbyes, picked up our stuff at the house, and headed back home again.  I slept most of the way home, and we got home around 3:30 a.m. and went straight to bed.  I noticed sometime on the drive home that I had a rash on my upper shoulders.  By the next morning it had spread all up my neck and face.  I don't know what it is!  The only thing new that I ate was Elk steak.  Maybe it was the laundry detergent used on the sheets or something, I don't know?  Gross though.  But I am glad that I could count on Geoff to drive most of the way.  When it's that late, I don't necessarily trust myself all that much, even if I don't feel tired.  He's a sweetie.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Goodbye for now

Well, just getting everything ready to go for the morning.  I stayed pretty late at work the last two days to stay caught up for when I get back.  The house is pretty clean from last weekend still (a miracle) and doing a little last minute laundry.  We made reservations to board Gwennie at her favorite day care.  I think she'll have fun but I know I'll MISS her like crazy!  I had the hardest time EVAR getting rid of my Collective Soul tickets.  First I tried to sell them and nobody bit, so then I tried to give them away and nobody wanted to drive out to Wendover for them.  That, or they didn't know who they were.  EVERYONE knows Collective Soul; most just don't realize it, that's how it works.  Finally someone said "that guy loves them" so I checked and sure enough.  He pretty much freaked out about it; it made his day.  See, Collective Soul fans are out there!!  Even if someone tries to tick me off by talking about how much they suck to my face.  Doesn't change my love of the band, just perhaps my opinion of that person.  So there.

Well, I obviously wish we were going to Oregon under happier circumstances, but I AM excited to see the family again.  I think there will be lots of tears, but most of them will be happy tears, in celebration of love and an amazing life and woman.

Monday, October 18, 2010

A strong, loving, beautiful woman: rest in peace Grandma Lemmon

Geoff's dear sweet grandma passed away late last night.  We got the call around two a.m.  We've already made arrangements to attend the funeral in Oregon.  She was such a sweetheart to everyone who knew her, and welcomed me into the family with open arms - even calling to sing happy birthday to me!  She will be missed by so many.  These are some of the touching comments that the family has posted on facebook this morning, with love and remembrance:

Today we lost a Beautiful woman, she was a true inspiration to everyone fighting cancer.. Gramma Lemmon... we will all miss you very much... We Love You.. and give Grandpa Lemmon a big hug from us all....


I am saddened by the loss of my wonderful Grandmother today but also happy that she is no longer in pain and is reunited with Grandpa. I am so happy for the time I have had to spend with her and to learn from her. She was such and inspiration to me and to those who knew her.


My Grandma lost her fight with breast cancer this morning.She was a strong women who beat the odds! I will miss you singing Happy Birthday to me Grandma. You will be missed!! love you!!


Lost his grandma this morning. She was an inspiration to anyone fighting a deadly disease. She fought the hardest I've seen anyone fight. RIP Gramma Lemmon.



My grandma passed away this morning after a painful battle with breast cancer. She was such a strong loving beautiful woman. It's fitting that she died this month since it's breast cancer awareness month. I just wish she hadn't had to suffer. I am once again reminded of the story of the dragonfly. I love and miss you grandma. See ya on the other side of the water.



Dear grandma, I love you so much! I am going to miss you more than anything, but I know that through the plan of salvation, I'll see you soon! And now you're with grandpa. You're amazing and I love you! ♥ ♥ ♥

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Mr. Jennings is smart

Today in chronological order:

Church
Dinner/Lunch
Nap
VT
Krug the pug came over to play with Gwennie
Special on hot air balloons in Albuquerque
Pie
Can You Beat Ken game (the answer is no)
Trivial Pursuit Genius Edition (bahaha we gave up after not long - do they make a Trivial Pursuit for the regular schmoe version?  We need that one.)
Sister Wives/Undercover Boss

I have purposely not done any homework this weekend (not that that's hard).  Now it's back to the grindstone tomorrow!

Geoff has told me his three top school choices - the ones he'll work extra hard on his applications for.  I would LOVE to live at any of those places.  I actually feel really good about the choice to just work for now and at least the first year of Geoff's school.  I look forward to it.

This weather is perfect!  The feel, temp, and smell.  It reminds me of visiting my grandma & grandpa in St. George in the winter.  I wish it could always be exactly like this.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A tale of woe: the pie eludes me

Earlier in the week, my mom emailed me a recipe for fresh peach pie.  It looked really good; Geoff and I decided to try it out this weekend.  The rest follows:

I go to Walmart to pick up the stuff in the recipe.  I get everything except the peaches.  I go to the produce section.  There are no peaches.

I go to the checkout and wait in line... and wait... and wait.  The cashier has a problem and is waiting to be noticed by the problem-solver, who is not coming.  I check my phone; it's been twelve minutes.  I move to a different line.  I notice that this line takes just as long as the last line.  Twenty two minutes later, I'm in my car.

I figure if any grocery store will have fresh peaches, it's gotta be the Sunflower Market, so I drive up there.  There are no peaches. 

Starting to worry about not refrigerating the milk and cream that sits in my car, I head up to Center Street to try Ridley's.  There are no peaches.

There are three more grocery stores I could try, but are any of them carrying peaches anymore?  I decide to forget about them and drive all the way up to 1600 north to try the farmer's market.  Luck!  They have a box of peaches left.  I pick out ten and make my way home.  Glad because the cream in my car is no longer cold.  Excited that now we can make pie together!

---- Later in the day ----

Geoff begins to peel the peaches and notices they are not ripe.  This does not make sense to me, but sure enough, they are crunchy as apples.

Not willing to chase around town again, I make phone calls to two more grocery stores to see if they have peaches.  Only Target has a few old ones.  We decide to make a different kind of pie.  Geoff wants lemon pie, I want key lime pie.

We go back to Walmart to get the ingredients for lemon and key lime pie.  We go to check out and wait in line... and wait... and wait.  Cashier has a problem and is waiting to be noticed by the problem-solver.  This time we stay in line. 

Eventually, Cashier starts ringing our stuff up, and his computer freezes.  He waits to be noticed.  Problem-solver comes and says there is nothing he can do, we must move to register 26 on the other side of the store.  Problem-solver says he will come open a till for Cashier in a second.

Fighting the temptation to run away with the food, we gather our stuff and walk to the other end of the store.  We wait for Problem-solver to come open a till.  About 8 minutes later, Cashier decides he was forgotten about and calls someone else.  Finally our stuff is rung up and we have paid.  We head home.

We begin to make our respective pies.  I am done making my pie, when I notice we have twice as much filling as we should, and realize I used twice as much heavy whipping cream as I should have.  Now my pie is both ultra-fatty and diluted in taste.  I feel like an idiot.

Not wanting to waste all that leftover pie filling, I decide to try the nearby gas station for graham crackers to eat with it.  They are $3 for a teeny tiny box.  I leave the gas station empty handed, and carefully avoiding Walmart, begin the drive to Target for graham crackers.

Halfway there, I change my mind and turn around.  I come home.  It's 9:00.  I spent all day chasing around trying to make pie, so dammit, I'm going to eat pie.

I can barely finish one piece.  Geoff says he doesn't like key lime pie.  I am an idiot.

Do I try again tomorrow?  Sure, if I can work up the nerve.

The end.

Hair and obedience training

Here they are: 
 

It's entirely possible that it looks better now than it did a week ago, now that I've started learning how to style it.  I'm kind of enjoying it though.  Long hair is beautiful and I would've totally kept it long if I could only pull it off.  My hair is much more manageable when it's short.

Anyway, and one of Gwennie, who forced her way onto my lap while I was taking these pictures.  She's so cute.


We took her to obedience training last night.  It's basically the same class we did already, only now it's with only small breeds.  And it's free for six months, so why not.  It's good socialization for her and fun to watch her play with the other dogs.  In the last class, there was a HUGE dog - I'm not sure what breed, but I would not be surprised if it was a Great Dane.  His name was Clark, and I think he was well over 100 pounds and not even full grown.  He and Gwennie were pretty good friends.  He was a very gentle player, but she still had to be careful to dodge his joyful happy paws - which were as big as her head - so playing was a teeny bit awkward.

In this class, she scared all the other dogs at first with her intensity, but after awhile a fluffy pomeranian named TogaPea warmed up to her and they played and played, and the pom never even got tired like most other dogs who play with Gwennie do.

Geoff's at CASA training again today (5 hours today!) and I'm off to get some new bathroom rugs.  They're way old now and Gwennie chewed a hole in one, so.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Signs that people think your new haircut sucks

  • When they ask if you got a haircut and you say yes, the responses are:  "Right on"  or  "I'm glad you like it."
  • The normally complimenty people know you got a haircut and just don't say anything about it, probably to avoid the uncomfortable situation described above.
  • They see you coming and then try to shield their eyes, while running away and screaming
Okay, that last one didn't happen.

I think it's fine, I'm just still learning how to style it.  It's probably the shortest it's ever been, maybe too short for other people?  I still think it's pretty cute though.

By the way, I picked cleaning last night.  I did a ton, and when Geoff got home he did a ton too.  So our home is all nice and ready for us to enjoy it this weekend.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Got all night

Geoff is at CASA training tonight and I'm home because there's no class tonight.  All day I've been wanting to get cracking on some cleaning, and looked forward to it!  Although right at this moment I'm so tempted to just spend the night hanging out on the couch.  A clean house would be nice.  So would early bed.  Hmmmm it's a conundrum.  Either way, it feels soooo nice to be able to just come home after work.

Gwennie is in my lap.  I finally consented after she begged and begged to be held.  She's a most needy little dog.  I think it's a common pug trait?  They loooooove their people.  She's so precious so it's okay.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Chile miners

I've basically been glued to the news coverage of the Chile miner rescue operation since they brought the first man up last night.  I am so completely amazed that they were all rescued.  Just think of all the things that had to happen just right for this to be able to happen; it is a miracle.  I'm so happy for all the reunited families; I couldn't imagine going through such an ordeal - from either end - what amazing people - the miners, the engineers, the rescuers, the families.  I'm so humbled and grateful tonight for what I have right now - to be in my comfy home drinking hot chocolate in my pj's and cuddling with my husband and puppy.  I'm just so happy that everyone has gotten out alive and seemingly well.

A blurry shit-smear of rainbow sherbet ice cream

So, in light of my recent commitment to post more pictures on this blog, I give you:

7 things you really don't need to take a photo of

Link posted by a friend on facebook; I thought it was funny.  I am guilty of at least 3!  Ha ha.

Oh by the way, you are my oily pig-flesh soulmate.  tee hee hee

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Dark Provo

Geoff will be home late tonight, because it's his first day of training with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate).  He'll be working with them for about a year or so I imagine, but they have lots of training before you can start.  He's excited to do it.  I think something like that sounds rather intimidating, and I'm proud of him for doing it.

I got home around 8:00 tonight myself cuz I was at the other job in Provo.  Driving through Provo at night always makes me nostalgic of our courtship - because we met in June, but the courtship was from around August through March, and it was almost always dark outside when we were together.  I would get off work in Payson, come home to brush my teeth and whatnot, then head over to Geoff's.  Good memories of hanging out in the loft at Rich's apartment, or the kitchen when we sometimes made dinner.  I sorta miss Geoff's roomies too they were good people.  But yeah August - March seems like such a SHORT courtship when I think about it now!  I almost feel like who in their right mind would meet and get married in less than a year.  We didn't know each other at all.  In fact, I don't think we've really truly gotten to know each other until this past year.  But I would do it all again.  I love being married.  Sometimes I think about what's to come, even in the next couple of years, and my process-oriented mind worries about the minute details (for example, the challenges of finding a place to live while keeping Gwennie, etc. stupid stuff like that) but I know whatever happens will work out.  And I AM very excited.  Geoff is as excited as I am to experience a new place - hopefully with history and culture and neat places to visit nearby.  He is actually applying for a local university in addition to the others though, just because he already started and figures he should finish.  Wouldn't that be funny if he got accepted there and we decided to stay?  ha ha.  Funny.

Anyway, only one day of school this week and it's over!  Woo!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Veg-e-tables.

We made today a vegetable day and made spaghetti squash, broccoli, corn on the cob, and cucumbers for lunch/dinner.  Ha ha.  Of course I followed that with the season's first cup of hot chocolate  and there might've been cookies and suckers and whatnot too.  I'm so bad about sugar!  I just crave it, all the time.  If I wanted to get in shape and lose a few pounds, the first thing I should do is cut out the sugar, but it's so hard!

Anyway, with today's and yesterday's naps, this weekend has flown.  I love naps.  I love Geoff.  I love Gwennie.  I love weekends.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Friday, October 8, 2010

La De Da

Yesterday, Geoff had sort a crazy/crappy day.  Mine was pretty weird as well, so I skipped class (bad me) and we went out for ice cream for dinner.  We went to the mall briefly, then came home and watched a Dracula movie.  We're thinking about going to a Dracula play at the U in the next couple of weeks, so we wanted to see the movie version first. 

Tonight we're planning on the Nightmare on 13th with some friends... a little nervous cuz it's our "first date" ha ha, should be fun though.  I always look forward to going out, but I always look just as forward to coming home and relaxing afterwards... sort of a homebody I guess.  But it will be fun.

Gwennie was being super wound up and aggressive last night, so she's at day care today, to play and get some energy out.  And that's pretty much all that's going on this week.  Pretty much.  Next week might bring some new possibilities but I won't say too much about that yet.

This is the best!
It's just like a delicious moutful of the best key lime pie!  Yummmm!!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I'm Wistful

So I wrote a huge post and then deleted it.  On purpose.  I've got nothing interesting to write about, yet I feel compelled to write, like I have since I was about 13.  I was actually googling pictures of utah county rainy weather, and somehow came across this blog, which just happened to be about - of all things - Scotland.  I read these two posts:

A Post for Isabelle

and

A Highland Adventure

Which has only reaffirmed my intense desire to go be there for a long period of time (preferrably to live there if ever given the chance.)  Just breathtaking.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Weekend adventure

Well, I guess Friday wasn't exactly peaceful or productive. 

But, Saturday was the best day with my hubby, ever.  First we watched the first session of General Conference.  Then we headed up to Sundance again to enjoy the last warm weekend of the year.  It was uncharacteristically warm. 

We rode the tram up to the peak of one of the mountains.  Yes even my hubby - usually not fond of heights - went.  Actually, he suggested it!  I loved it.


Then we hiked around to Stewart Falls, which revealed some beautiful scenery.
The only sad thing about this hike was that the best view came from the return to Sundance.  It was probably the most stunning and striking Utah scenery I have ever seen, ever.  You would've needed a panoramic camera to capture the full majestic beauty that surrounded you.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of that.  I don't know why.  Next summer I definitely should though.  There's two ways to get to Stewart Falls, the Sundance way (which we did) or Aspen Grove.  I think you can probably only see that view from the Sundance way, since the other trail looked like it veered off a whole different direction.

On the way home we stopped at Harmon's and got stuff to make pie with.  I like Harmon's.  We got home and showered because we got sooo dirty on the hike, then Alison came over.  She stayed while we made the pies.  We've never made pie before!  Well, I made a crummy easy 'ol banana cream pie with instant pudding, but Geoff made a couple of pumpkin pies, they turned out really good!  The three of us watched a movie. Then we watched the second session of conference (we had DVR'd it in case we didn't make it back in time which was good because we didn't.  Also, Alison had to work until 3:30 so that's why she was watching it with us).  We went back to the store at 11 pm to get stuff for dinner for today and that's when Al went home.  Best day ever!  I so very much enjoyed hanging out with Geoff, doing fun things and watching conference.  And I love it when Alison comes to hang out too. :)  It was one of the things I missed when she was gone.

Today we've been a little bit more lazy.  Did a little laundry, watched conference, and made cookies and delivered them to some of the neighbors.  We learned that our above-tenant will be leaving before the end of the month.  I wonder who will be there next.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Yay Happy Friday again.

I think that tonight will be spent with Geoff working on school apps, and me reading a textbook and working on laundry.  Sounds both peaceful and productive; I'm actually looking forward to it??  :)  This weekend will be great.