Spelling Bee

This morning we went to a fund-raiser spelling bee for Geoff's work, hosted by Project Read. When I was a kid, I was in a few spelling bees, so I thought I was a good speller. I was wrong. The words they had were so hard! I'd never even heard about 90% of the words they used. But it was all in good fun. They had five rounds, and Geoff was in round 4 with his coworkers.

Then we came home to watch the BYU game - well actually I fell asleep and took a nap - but BYU won. Then we took cookies and a baby gift to Kayt and Brian, but they weren't home. :( I really wanted to see Addi, but I'll see her eventually. Now we're just hanging out watching the tube.

What I meant to do today was finish the housecleaning, laundry, and do homework, and none of those things got done, ha ha. Well, there's tomorrow. I so love spending weekends with my hubby. I love just relaxing together.

Need caffeine

Oh today was so looooooong. There just wasn't much to do today, and the hours just draaaagged. Geoff helped break it up though by taking me to lunch. :) Tonight we cleaned house again then watched Confessions of a Shopaholic. Two hours of our lives we will never get back. But Geoff stuck it out even though he clearly wasn't interested, what a sweetie he is. I think I owe him a zombie movie or something.

Woke up around four in the morning last night, and laid awake for about two hours. The last time I remembered seeing the clock it was 5:57, then I fell asleep, then the alarm went off promptly at 6:03. Maybe another reason why the day dragged. I'm going to try to make it to midnight tonight without passing out.

After work we did watch a program on 9-11. I get really emotional every time I see one of those programs or think about that horrible event. It makes me so grateful for my family and to be here with my sweet husband.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

When we were first married, Geoff had this job. It was a pretty good job, but google shut them down which took away about 90% of their business, which caused a massive downsize, wherein Geoff was laid off. The good thing about it was that they were given about six weeks notice and a decent severage. Geoff had a new job lined up before his old one even ended.

Geoff had a coworker, however, who decided to take it easy and claim unemployment. Unemployment is a great program, but this person decided to take advantage of it by skirting by on minimum requirements and purposely staying unemployed. This went on for months until someone turned him in. I share this story as a lead-in for a discussion that I had with my friend on the way home from California. I hope I can put it into words well and that it makes sense and isn't just a buch of jumble.

Now, I believe strongly in the idea of striving for self-suffiency. Geoff and I were pretty lucky with him having a good-paying job in the first couple years of our marriage; it got us off to a great start. We've been very extremely blessed, but we've also worked hard for what we have. We seriously pinched and saved for a long time to be able to put a decent down-payment on our condo. (I will give this credit to Geoff - he was the tough saver, gosh-love-him. I probably would've spent more of it.) We could've taken out a much bigger loan than we did, but we were set on staying within our means. (And it turned out to be a good thing too when he lost that job and I eventually became the one with the full-time job). We've done what we can to get out of debt, such as paying off the cars - and we plan to drive them until they're dead - and avoiding credit card problems. We've sacrificed a lot of time and energy in getting through school, because we know, or at least hope, that it will better enable to us to support ourselves and have the quality of life we want.

Does that mean we don't take advantage of available resources? Heck no. We've used employer tuition-reimbursement, taken out student loans as we needed them, and applied for tribal grants. So although I think self-sufficiency is a goal that everyone who can do, should do, I also think that anyone who truly needs help, be it unemployment, medicaid, food stamps, disability, anything, should definitely be able to recieve it. That's why those things are there, so that people don't have to go without. I certainly hope that when we need help, help will be there. I know that not all people come from the same walk of life, and circumstances vary, and there is a real need for help for many.

Sadly, I think there will always be people who take advantage of government programs - like Geoff's old coworker - but does that mean we shouldn't provide them? Absolutely not. I think so-called "socialist" programs do have their place, and in some situations, there is a need for them. In the case of the health-care reform, it could be a very good thing, it's just necessary that a change as big as that be done right. It needs to be argued over and molded and remolded after taking into consideration all points of view. It's not something that should be done quickly or hastily.

About socialism. People often use socialism and communism in the same sentence, but are they really the same thing? Is it possible to have a capitalistic society with socialist ideals? A capitalist society that still provides for the poor? Because I believe very strongly that capitalism is the best vehicle for growth. My friend cited China, saying that if it's the next world power, then communism can't be bad. I think China's rising power relates to the fact that they've been slowly integrating capitalism into their society. Communism in it's purest intention should be a utopia right? Everyone is equal, no one goes without. But there are several reason why communism fails. (If you want you can google it, I won't go into it here.) Capitalism - competition and the opportunity for gain - are the driving forces behind economic growth, and it serves as a check-and-balance to itself. Laws and regulations imposed by the government are still absolutely necessary, but they should not intend to dictate or control the direction of business.

I've been thinking this over with a real-life situation, and have some questions. Take the mortgage-lenders. There probably should've been a line drawn in the mortgage lending standards - such as don't lend to people who can't repay their loan. But some wanted the poor to be able to afford housing, resulting in the large number of sub-prime mortgages, which as we know, contributed to the meltdown. Now the large companies (even including some that are seperate from the mortgage lenders) are controlled by the government. We are weighing capitalism with socialist ideals, where is the balance? Should we have let our mistake of not regulating the industry correct itself by failing, instead of bailing it out? (Probably not because it would've had huge consequences, and therein lies a conundrum.)

Anyway, all in all, I believe that self-sufficiency, independence, and the prospect of a free market, or the opportunity and the ability to be a self-made man (in my opinion, this is what "the pursuit of happiness" means) were a part of what drove America to be what it is. America was founded on those principles, among others. And those principles were set in place with the idea that we could be free, have the opportunity to prosper, and that our people would not want. I think we do have a responsibility to see to it that our citizens are not for want.

What does that make me. Republican or Democrat? A little of both?

Anyway. Politics and ideals. I'm not an expert in this stuff, which is why I never put it out there, and I may come under fire, but I welcome comments. My conversation with my friend was an eye-opener for me and helped me realize some of my own beliefs, so I'd be happy to read others' comments too.

more schooliosis

We did a presentation in my fraud class tonight. It went very well, and it's over, whew. That makes one down, two to go.

I talked with our CPA today about school. He agreed that University of Phoenix is expensive and that I should just do an MBA with accounting emphasis at the Utah State program they have here. It's held at UVU every Friday night and Saturday morning. That was the initial route I had wanted to follow, but it has those dang prerequisites that I can't take at UVU. Also, UVU is starting their own MBA program next fall which is offered every Friday night and Saturday morning. I don't know why they did that; maybe they're trying to push Utah State out of the way and take the students that had planned on doing that. Anyway. It's just the dang prerequisites.

Loving the online idea

Good news! Well, two things I guess. One, we got a new camera. One with a memory card, and that plugs straight into the computer where you can either import or copy and paste. Geoff said he could use it for work tomorrow, but I'm excited just to have it. Expect to see lots more pictures!

Two, I talked with a guy at University of Phoenix, and am pretty excited about the program. He was soooo nice and helpful. Some of the things I found out that will be helpful in the decision making are:

1) The don't have a MAcc, they have an MSA. I'll need to research what the difference is, if it matters, and how much.

2) Because I'm already an accounting major, there are no prerequisites for the program. MAJOR PLUS. But, if I want to take some of the classes I couldn't take at UVU, they are available. Another MAJOR PLUS. What I'd probably do is just read some books that have to do with the classes I don't have so that I'm not totally in the dark when starting up again. I've no problem with doing that.

3) Taking the GMAT is not required. Another major plus. He said this is partly because they are an online program and there isn't as much of a need to limit enrollment.

4) Being employed is actually a requirement. Ha ha, imagine. A requirement and not just an impediment to being a stinking "student first." I love it.

5) The classes are run one at a time, allowing six weeks for each course. Another plus. I love the seven-week summer sessions at UVU because of their shortness. And taking one Univ. of Phoenix class at a time for six weeks can't be any worse than taking three UVU classes at a time for seven weeks. Sounds do-able to me.

6) You are not required to be online at any specific times. There are deadlines for the course, but you do not have to have an "online presence" at any specific time. I love the prospect of flexibility.

Sounds pretty good so far. Here's the kicker though, the one that made me catch my breath -

7) There are twelve classes, and each class costs a whopping $2,070. That includes books, but is still about three times as expensive as UVU here. They do offer financial aid of up to about $20,000 per year. I won't say how much I make, but $20,000 would definately take enough chunk out that we'd need to have financial aid. Don't know if I relish the thought of having that much more in student loans to pay back, but it is an option.

So, now I have to really think about if it's what I want to do. I was told to wait until the bachelor's was official before applying, so I've got some time. I also spoke with someone else at - I think Stetson University - who said that there are prerequisistes for their school and they aren't offered by their school. I'd have to take them through the AICPA or Elearners website before enrolling. And they do have the GMAT requirement. So those are some differences. I need to find out how much some of the other schools cost. There are still a few things to look into, but the ball is rolling.

The movies

Sometimes I just feel like, I'm weird. And I know it. And that's that.

We saw All About Steve this last weekend and it was pretty funny. Although I should say I hope I've never stalked anyone, I found I was identifying with the character a little bit. I'm a little bit misfitted sometimes. But, the message of the movie concerning misfits was great. And I heart Sandra Bullock. Even more than Bradley Cooper, although we both agreed he's a good-lookin' fella.

We also watched Surf's Up again, the surfing penuins movie. It's pretty funny, even for adults. I recommend it if you want some good clean entertainment. (Voices of Shia Lebouf, The Dude, John Heder, Zooey Deschanel, and Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies movie.)

We also watched Burn After Reading finally, which was okay. The thing that made it enjoyable at all were the performances by Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, and John Malkovich. We're so used to seeing Brad Pitt in the Benjamin Button/Meet Joe Black/Interview with a Vampire roles, and this role was the total opposite of those (meaning animated, he played an airhead, really) and he was so funny.

Still want to see Julie and Julia.

But who ever said flooding the kitchen was a bad thing?

Today = work then school then group meeting then home. I came inside and it smelled strongly of cooking onions (yumm). Geoff is making a crock-pot quiche for breakfast tomorrow. He's such a cutie. My cutie.

Now = homework!!!!!!!!!

This reminds me of the time we had been back from our honeymoon maybe two days. We were renting a basement apartment that shared a vent system with the people upstairs. I was making lunch to take to Geoff at work - macaroni and cheese - and he had asked me to cook up some onions and put the onions in the mac & cheese. Somewhere in translation, "onions" became "peppers," and the only peppers we had were a jar of jalapenos. Never having fried jalapenos before, I didn't know they would cause such an odiferous, eye-watering, heave-inducing smell. I had to open the door (there were no windows) to air the apartment out, and when I walked up the outside stairs to the driveway, I noticed the upstairs people had their front door open too, as well as all the windows. OOPS. I think the goddess of domesticity forgot to kiss my forehead. Well, Geoff probably should've known what was coming from that time I put the wrong kind of dishwashing liquid in the dishwasher in my provo apartment and flooded the kitchen with suds. (Geoff was the one who came to help clean up - we only knew each other about a week at that time. Why oh why did he continue dating me?) I guess I could take comfort in the fact that at least I've never burned a hole in our clothes with the iron. I guess it does help that I don't actually iron our clothes.

And that Geoff knows how to cook for himself. Poor guy. Someday, I will be the cook.

Okay, now really. Homework.

Hey Mostly-Probably! I flood my kitchens, you set yours on fire. I bet if we were roommates we would balance each other out pretty well. Hehe

Baby names

So the topic of baby names has been something that Geoff and I have always talked about - even when we only first met. (Funny story - I'll share in a minute). Anyways, we were talking about it today again and I think we finally found a girl name we like! Camille. It never struck me as especially special before, but the more I think about it the more I LOVE it. And our first boy will be named Malcom, so Alison can rest easy we will not steal her Marty name. Probably. We do like Marty. Anyway, she'll probably have kids first. Heck, she'll probably say she was already planning on using Malcom. But Al, Erik, and Danielle, if any of you take our names just know we're still naming our kids that.

I can't remember if I've blogged about this before and I don't want to search through the entire past two years of entries, so if you've read it before you can skip. (Yes, you have my permission) :P

We were at a midnight dinner-date at the Denny's near my apartment; we'd known each other about two weeks. We were talking about our future kids - not OUR kids, just our kids. (you get it). Geoff was saying how he thought it would be fun to play sports with them, and said something along the lines of, "but when it comes to girls, I'm clueless about helping them." And without missing a beat, without even thinking, I said, "Oh I'll be there for 'em." And only a moment later realized the implications of my words and gave a low, "Oh." and looked down at my plate, soooo embarrassed. Geoff just laughed. I guess we must've known right from the start. Did I mention that the waitress approached and asked if we were married? (no) Cousins or something? (no) "Oh, well you just like you go together." ha ha.

This morning we went to the mall. Geoff got some levi's at Macey's and I spent my Maurices gift card on two cute cardigans and a white winter coat (so cute), and some earrings. We came home and relaxed for a few hours then attacked the beastly housecleaning monster while watching the football game. BYU just won against Oklahoma, which is what we call an "upset." Like I said BYU blows dirt but I do enjoy football season. And I started putting up fall decorations!

Toxins, my favorite

So today I am feeling great except for some dizziness; I keep stumbling around. I asked Ang it if was because of the toxins released during the massage and she said to just keep drinking water... and eat some cookies. (She brought homemade ones). "Put those toxins right back in your body," she said, to which I replied, "Mmmmmmmmm toxins," and stumbled out the door. I mean, I will eat any toxins that Ang brings to work, she could seriously open her own store and be very successful.

Geoff and I are meeting for lunch at Apple Spice, so I can show him how delicious the chicken salad sandwich on 13-grain bread is. Mmmmmmmmmm!!

We're the safety kids, the safety kids

Ken came over tonight after I got home from class and did another massage. (Geoff was there, but he didn't want one). I asked him just do my back and neck, and focus on the part where the neck muscle meets the skull, cuz that's where I have so much pain. He did something called sacrocranial and structural. He pushed sooooo hard and it was amazing. He is the first massage therapist that actually listened to what I wanted then did it. I was actually instantly sick to my stomach the second I stood up when it was over, (google said it's because the release of toxins and to drink lots of water), but it's passed now and my neck feels great. No head-turning pain, at all. If anyone wants Ken's number, let me know.

We just watched a thing about that guy that kidnapped an eleven-year old girl and kept her in his backyard for 18 years, brainwashing and raping and fathering her two children. This whole thing makes me seriously ill, what evil must be in a man's heart. That poor poor girl, I just feel so bad for her and her kids, there aren't words. (I could go on, but I'm sure we all know and feel the same). The end of the show emphasized teaching your children that they should feel that if anything were ever to happen to them, that they should feel they can tell you anything, and to teach them how to scare away menacing strangers by yelling. This reminded me of something I had as a child, called the "Safety Kids," it was a book and a tape that told the story, and had songs. I remembered -

Sometimes you just gotta yell and scream

Sometimes it's the only thing to do

Noisy as a fire truck

You just gotta open up

And get the crowd's attention turned to you

Haven't thought about that in years, but screaming to get attention was as common knowledge to me as stop drop and roll. Thankfully I never had reason to do it, but it's a good thing for a kid to know. I hope I can find the Safety Kids when I have kids of my own.

We're all gonna die soon anyway

Well, according to some stuff my dad read, the world is going to end in late 2012. I am not happy about this. We are working our butts off so we can one day make a comfortable living, at least. I'll be so pissed if we slaved away over school and wasted precious time sitting in a classroom, and then the world ends before we can see the real fruits of our labors. You know, we could be spending time together, going to baseball games, hanging out, being relaxed, enjoying life. Maybe How to Profit From the Coming Rapture really does contain all I need to know. Maybe I should quit school and just study that. Anyway, that's all about that.

I'm so very tired and still need to go back to work and finish the day, then to class. I'll have to make a stop at the gas station for some caffeine.

There's lots I really want to write about some stuff. But it will take awhile and now is not the time. Maybe this weekend. Bye.

I know I just poo-poo'd it

My professor used that phrase today, and I can't think of blog titles, ever, so that's the title.

I talked with my professor, whom I consider a fair and rational person, about my frustrations with class availability for night students at UVU. He said it's usually a no-win situation. He said out of the three insitutions he's been involved in, UVU is the most accomodating for night students. BYU has a take-it-or-leave-it policy where you must adhere to their strictly daytime schedule or find another major. BYU blows dirt. I will never go there.

At any rate, it did help me have some more - GASP dare I say it - appreciation for UVU. At least I'm getting a degree, even though I will not be able to get into the accounting grad programs with it alone. A guy that's been in a few of my classes had his sights on a MACC but he was going to work early in the morning, then to class, then back to work, then to class, then back to work, then back to class again all in one day. He did it for one day and realized it was not going to work, so he dropped the class he needed and is taking this evening one with me. He said he's just going to do a regular MBA. I still think that is sad.

I think I'm just going to do University of Phoenix or something else that offers a purely online program. Hopefully I can find one. Another plus is that I can start that on my own schedule, without worrying about where we're going to end up living with Geoff's work/school and whatever happens. Even if we have kids, I can still do an online program without as much difficulty as having to syncopate schedules with Geoff so that one of us is always home.

Anyway, I must talk more about birthday stuff because my friends at work are so awesome! Ang baked me two pies- berry and chocolate cream. I LOVE PIE. And Ang has this talent where nothing she ever bakes goes wrong. It's all amazing. And she and Anna gave me a $30 gift certificate to Olive Garden. And my work gave me a gift certificate to the movies. They are so wonderful! I am so lucky! And had such a great birthday!! And Geoff's dad called to wish me happy birthday and chat as well. He is such a nice person. He has such a great family. (they are my great family too!)

Chipped my tooth trying to take a staple out. Yes I bit the staple, yes I'm just that S-M-R-T. Hello Dentist. My teeth will be gone by the time I'm 30. Well I really wanted to go spend my Maurices gift certificate today but I still have much homework so I better do that before it gets too late.

The rest of the night

We went to mom & dad's tonight. Mom made two cakes - Honeymoon Ecstasy (otherwise known as better-than-sex-cake), and a Pineapple Cream cake which was heavenly. Erik, my goofy little brother, decorated the Pineapple cake, below:

He kills me. My favorite is the tree-toting car:
And he gave me a pink sparkly belt, as a joke, and a miley cyrus t-shirt, which seems to be becoming a tradition. Last year he gave me a miley cyrus t-shirt too, ha ha. He's so funny. Mom and Dad and Danielle gave me a gift certificate to my favorite clothing store, Maurices, (they spent wayyyyyyy too much money!) and Grandma gave me a card with $20 in it. Also, on the way home I got a phone call from Grandma Lemmon (Geoff's sweet grandma) wishing me happy birthday, and Denise and Don sang happy birthday on voicemail, and the rest of Geoff's family - his dad is on the coast visiting Geoff's brother and family - wished me happy birthday as well. They are so sweet!! I'm such a blessed and very spoiled girl!!

Geoff goofing around after we got home. I love his face in this one. He's so dang cute.

Oh yeah, and my little sister is going to three different Homecoming dances this year, three different boys and three different high schools. She got a pink sparkly dress and some matching pink tennis shoes to go with. She's so funny!

A quarter-century old

In the spring, I wrote a recommendation letter for a friend who was in the adoption process. Last night, I got a picture text, their little girl!! I am so ecstatic for them! No one deserves it more than they do and they are going to make the most awesome parents in the entire world, no doubt about it. I hear it was quite the ordeal though, as they drove to Arizona for the birth and then the birth mother changed her mind. So they turned around, devastated of course, and were halfway home when they got a phone call from the birth mother saying she had made a mistake and changed her mind again. So, I believe it's official! They should be home sometime this week.

In the four months since I was released from my calling, all three of the girls I worked with in the primary have a new addition to the family. Crazy!

Geoff has been so good to me this weekend. It's my birthday today, and we are going to mom & dad's in a few minutes. Yesterday, Geoff and I went to the temple in the morning, which I really enjoyed to be honest. It has been quite a long time since we've been together, and I know I'm to blame. But it was really nice, and then we came home and took a nap. Then he made me dinner of barbeque pork, potatos and corn on the cob (very delicious) and surprised me with my new favorite for dessert - pecan pie! We watched some movies and he gave me a shoulder rub. What a sweet hubby is he!

Also my grandma called and left a voicemail singing happy birthday (she's so cute), and Denise sent me a birthday card with $60, and one person in church even remembered from forever ago and wished me happy birthday. How sweet!

Somethin' happnin' 'round here. What it is ain't exactly clear

It's a cold. Bleh. But I don't think I should ask for more time off after just getting back from a huge long vacation. I'm armed with hand sanitizer though. Hopefully that helps.

Last night, after class, my professor said he wanted to pick my brain about a facebook comment I'd made about how no one in their right mind would ever go to graduate school at UVU. (They are in the process of implementing some graduate programs and are trying to get people excited about it). Of course I could on and on and on about it, but I just told him I've had so many frustrations with trying to get a degree doing night school only (and some of the prerequisites for grad school aren't even offered at night, period.) He joked it off as wanting gossip about some of the other professors, but I think he felt kind of bad. Then I felt really bad because he is one of the good professors at the school of business and I really like him. Geoff said later, "Well, everyone's entitled to their own opinion."

Thinking about it some more, the facts that they offer night classes at all and that I am getting a degree says that they do want to facilitate night students, but I think maybe I am just not of their target demographic, shown by lack of resources at appropriate times (classes, testing, library, lab times). They want students who can go mostly during the day, and mostly in the fall and spring, and not during the summer. I don't think getting a jump on a working career is highly valued at UVU, or they would facilitate that better. There are other institutions that cater more to day-time full-time workers, like the University of Phoenix, and probably others.

Anyway, tomorrow is a mile-marker in my employment here: my 3-year Anniversary! It is also our annual company/client golf tournament. About half of the employees here go to set up, and sit at each of the holes to greet the clients as they go by and offer refreshments. We were assigned this year, and I'm at a hole with one of the salesmen. I hope it isn't awkward, still, of all the salesmen (who are all very nice) he is the one I'd most prefer to be paired with.

And Sunday is my birthday, the fourth birthday I've had while being here. August is great.

Bird's the word

Hanging out on the computers at school. Class isn't until 7:00, but I came early to buy the rest of my books (they totalled about $500 bucks this time), and to take a quiz for my internet class, except the link to take it isn't working. :( I should read the first chapter. I'm afraid I will fall asleep if I try. I can't tell if I have a cold or if it's the result of too much nasal spray combined with being super tired. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. THE MYSTERY.

I can't even think of anything to write about. Just going with the flow tonight I spose.

I love stink bugs

Work was awesome. Went ten hours straight, no breaks. (Well, unless you count our human performance meeting, in which I just sat there). Then I came home to Geoff, ate dinner, and conked out on the couch for about three hours. Maybe coming down with a cold or something. Anyway, this weekend, the plans are to apply for graduation! This Fraud examination class has required us to buy three books: one on fraud, one on writing, and one on presenting. Don't ask me. I guess we'll happily turn this fraud class into an english class as long as I'm on track to graduate in December.

You know, driving home today I was thinking about how I should count school as a major blessing, yet I just complain a lot. I'd say it's analogous to wandering around in the wilderness and starving, and coming across a big old stink bug (food). You should be grateful you have food, but all you can do is complain about how nasty it tastes. It reminds me of Bear Gryllis from Man vs Wild (although I heard he's a big faker, sleeping in hotels and whatnot. I still think he's hilarious without trying though). Anyway, that's how it is. It's a necessary evil that I am grateful for, even more so when I'm done.

Goodnight.

Back to school, back to school... (and work)

Today we went on a date to SLC, Geoff wanted to see the new library at temple square, so we did that, then we went to the Gateway. It was overcast this time but did not rain! Then we stopped and got lunch on the way home. It was nice.

Well, the amazing week of vacation is over. I did my homework. It's time to go to bed. Tomorrow will be crazy I'm sure, just answering emails will probably take all day, but! Worth it! Back to the grindstone.

Zermatt stay

Zermatt was awesome. More than anything I just enjoyed being with my hubby. They are a four-diamond place, decorated like a fancy dutch-european hotel. They even had a goat pasture.

Anyway, the concierge asked our names as we walked in the door and remembered them our entire stay. We saw him maybe three times. They offered to drive us to Park City for dinner (we just didn't want to go to Park City.)

When we were out looking at the goats, housekeeping had come in our room and turned down the bed, set out bathrobes for us, filled our ice-bucket, and turned the radio on for us.

As for amenities, it was the first time I've been to a place where you must sign in when going to the pool and are made to shower immediately before entering. The pool and wellness center showers all have shampoo and soap. The wellness center bathroom had two saunas, and was complete with everything you'd need including a blow-dryer. The wellness center was a mini-gym, and had some things even a gym doesn't have.

We never ate at the restaurants. For dinner, we drove into Heber and ate at this place called Tommy's Texas Barbeque. We loved it! There was a guy playing guitar and singing old country songs into a microphone, and all of the patrons, including us, went through the dining room to eat on the patio outside. It's placed in the middle of an old-west setting, a historical part of town, and all the surrounding buildings had white christmas lights. With the music and the lighting and the sun going down, and the yummy food, it was absolutely perfect summer-night ambiance. We will go up there again just to eat at Tommy's.

That night after the swimming, dinner, goats, general checking the place out, and grocery store, we went back and showered, used the bathrobes and drank sparkling juice from the little goblets in our room. Geoff laughed at how cheesy we were being, but I enjoyed it so much. I loved everything, just hanging out with him and being in that awesome place.

Then after we went to bed I got really sick. I think it was from something I ate at Tucahno's earlier that day. I laid on the floor of the bathroom (sometimes the cold hard tile helps me feel better) until finally I was able to come to bed. Then I woke up every hour/two hours to use more nasal spray. We'd left ours home and bought some cheap stuff at a convenience store that didn't work very well. So I didn't sleep very well, but it had nothing to do with the hotel. The place was soooo nice. We loved it!

I've been napping all day today after we got home. My parents are in Denver. They went out to see the Young Dubliners or something like that (an irish rock band) and to go to a Rockies Game. She asked if we were coming out to join them. We probably could since we both have Monday off, but we are ready to just stay home and relax. Geoff was so impressed that Zermatt was only about 20 miles away from our house. It was nice that we didn't have to drive very far. He's out shopping right now - for some food storage stuff and lemon-bar makin's for tonight. I know I sound really decadent and lazy. I'm just enjoying this amazing time off and being with Geoff. Everything starts again next Wednesday.

"There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy!"

It's good to be home. I actually really missed being with Geoff. I love his humor. We went to dinner at Bajio's and then headed to Borders and hung out while traffic died down. I bought a clearance book about 50 Philosophies to be familiar with. I probably won't be able to read it until after this coming semester, but I still want to. I said something about Occam's Razor, and Geoff started calling it "Achmed's Razor," ha ha. Anyway, we came home and got out the air-mattress and watched LOTR. He's now asleep, but I didn't wake up until noon today, so here I am. (Still catching up from yesterday, I think.) It was a lazy day but I did get the house all tidied up. Geoff had done a pretty good job of keeping it clean while I was gone. The laundry was almost all the way done. I can't remember the last time it was all the way done. It was really nice.

Anyway, I got an email from one of my professors for the fall, letting me know which books to buy and that there's an exam on the first day of class. I've been purposefully not thinking about school, so it was a little bit of a bummer. Oh well. Just this one last hurdle and I'm home free! For the time being, anyway.

Geoff got work off tomorrow and Monday. For Christmas last year my work gave us a night's stay at Zermatt resort in Midway, so I booked it for this weekend. I love getting away and relaxing on weekends with my sweetie.

I was curious and looked up some Yo Gabba Gabba videos. The "Party in my Tummy" and "Don't Bite Your Friends" videos were hilarious. "Listening and dancing to music is awesome!"