I've Been Tagged!!!

I Have Been Chosen...YAY!

The RULES

1. Link the person who tagged you (The Conger's)
2. Post these rules.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.

Here are my unspectacular quirks.

1. I have random moments where I just start dancing... no real reason... I just do it.

2. I really love to cook... hate the clean up but none the less I really love to cook!

3. I was born and raised an only child... and at the ripe age of 21 I became one of 6... my dad remarried this amazing woman and I love all of my step siblings so much that I don't mind calling them... well siblings. lol.

4. I'm a total neat freak... not too extreme but I have issues with dust, clutter, dirty floors and bathrooms... oh and dirty counter tops.

5. I used to own chickens and geese... when I was little I would let the chickens in our house and chase them around to catch them... because they couldn't get away from me... it was easier for me to play with them.... once again raised an only child!!!

6. I tell my mom things just to freak her out and get a reaction. It has taken her a few years but I think she is finally catching on... now I need to change my plan of attack lol. I once told her that when I got married I wasn't going to use birth control and was going to leave the number of kids I was going to have up to the Lord and would just keep having them until he said stop... (which is true to an extent but she was envisioning 15 kids and for a woman who only had one for a reason that is a lot!) she was pretty close to having a heart attack... very amusing. The best part about it was I called my dad up after wards and told him what I had done and we just laughed about it... she is so gullible sometimes and I love her!

The lucky people are:

Kori
Kelsey
Amanda
Nicole
Janessa
Brigitte

***Sigh***

Today was an good day... I got to sleep in but it rained all day today and the gloomy weather made me sooo beyond tired. It is interesting how the weather affects you so much.

Work was good... got a $20 tip in our tip jar... pretty awesome and it was the end of my shift so ... I walked away with $5 after we split it all.

As for those of you how do not know and are wondering where I am working at... I am working at this little cafe called The Fortunate Cup in Saratoga ... 120 West Ave to be precis.

I would normally have looked else where for employment, coffee shops just are not my scene, but felt like it wouldnt be a bad idea to apply and as luck would have it (no real luck here just some heavenly guidance) I dont work weekends. This means I get to keep the Sabbath day holy and still get a 40 hour paycheck.

The shop is really cute and I have access to a fully loaded gym just for working there.

Our food and hot cocoa is great too... we have gelato, which is awesome, and it is made locally by a cute little italian guy.

So if you are in need of a mean hot cocoa stop by and say hi I am sure I will be working... you might be lucky and get a discount from me!!!

As for the rest of my day ... it hasnt ended yet.... I am staying up tonight so I can spend time with my hubby. He is on swings this week and our scheduals done really mesh when he is on anything but days.

Well that is all I have ... like I said good but not super eventful.

D

New York Drivers...

Let me tell you what...

New York drivers are TERRIBLE!!! I was on my way to work this morning and was cut off 4 or 5 times, it was too early for me to start basic mathematical skills at that point so the actual number is kind of up in the air.

I was cut off one time by an old lady who decided it would be a good idea to bolt in front of me going 20 miles slower than I was...

Its like if you give these people a car they are invincible... lets see Granny bolt in front of me with out her car... would she still have just jumped out in front of me ... probably not so why do it with a car?! I just don't understand these New Yorkers they have NO COMMON SENSE! Arg.

Another person who cut me off bolted out in front of traffic, again lets see you be so bold without your invincible vehicle, and a line of 5 of us (that had accumulated because we were already going under the speed limit at that point) had to slow down because this guy apparently could wait the whole 10 seconds to wait for us to pass. Oh and yes ... he had to go 15 under the speed limit which was 10 slower than what we were doing.

A friend of mine figured out why the drivers out here are so bad... because they are old! No offense to the elderly crowd... but when you start loosing your eye sight and depth perception that SHOULD be a good indication of "You are not capable of driving anymore!!!".

There is a larger percentage of elderly and disable individuals in this small town minded section of the world... thus the bad drivers. Maybe I will get used to it... hopefully.

As you can tell bad drivers are a HUGE pet peeve of mine... what are yours?! How do you cope with them?!

D

My Payment For a Job Well Done...

This last weekend Ryan took it upon himself to spoil me without saying a thing. It started with him insisting I get a pedicure... which I thought was kind of silly but since he kept mentioning it I figured it would be a good idea to go with it just in case he had something up his sleeve... glad I went with the promptings.

We both got pedicures, although Ryan really just went for the foot massage that they give you. I picked a cute dark pink for the tips while Ryan picked ... none existent... I think the girls there would have probably given him a hard time if he had even gotten clear. People are so strange.

Anyhow...

After getting our calves massaged and feet rubbed we headed to the mall to go window shopping... I bought a few things that I will leave unmentioned... and we had a good time just hanging out. We laughed and talked it was great. Our stomachs were beginning to talk to us at this point telling us to feed them so ...

We went out to dinner at this place. Their deep dish pizza is to DIE for!!! Oh my gosh... unbelievable. I know it isn't anywhere fancy but hey... I am not a fancy kind of girl... besides I picked the place lol.

After dinner and dessert we headed to Wal Mart to buy a few DVDs to watch that night and we headed home.

I got another back massage during the movie and we just enjoyed each others company.

Monday Ry still had work off so we took the missionaries out to the driving range and hit a few balls... what a great way to top off an awesome weekend.

I know I am not the most well rounded person or even the most adventurous maybe I am easily amused and find too much joy in such small and simple things but I consider myself blessed and lucky.

I guess my weekend would have just been the norm for someone else but for me it was perfect.

Caution Work Is Still In Progress!!!

Here are a few pictures of the house so far. We still need to to a few touch ups and then get the moldings up and then... we tackle the floors. Tell me what you guys think!!!


Guest Bedroom

Before:


After:




Living Room

Before:



After:





I worked really hard to get it all done before our friends came to visit I didn't get 100% done but pretty darn close. All that is left now is prime and paint the trims then put up the moldings and chair rail. Once that is all done I will finish up the floors and we will be done with that side of things.

We are planning on buying all new furniture here soon so that overly manly couch you see, by the way it vibrates and has a flip down tray that has cup holders... Ryan got it before he met me, is going down stairs in the soon to be family room/media room.

I will probably be working on touching up the paint and what not this weekend... sooner the better!

Tell me what you think... do you like the colors and chair rail or were you totally infatuated with that pepto pink that I got rid of?!

D

It's Been Awhile...

Sorry I haven't blogged lately... I have been very VERY busy. Here is what I have been up to!

• Finished painting(for now anyhow) the foyer, hallway, guest bedroom and living room.
  
• Had company stay with us for a week... showed them around and helped them find a place to live when they move up here at the end of October.
  
• Cleaned up the house, just in time for our company to stay at our place.
• Threw my first ward activity, which was a huge success despite the bumps in the road.
• Started working at my new job... finally!
• Still being a good house wife by cleaning the house, cooking meals and all those other things that go with being married.

Well now that I am back from being MIA I am sure you will hear from me a little more often... I will go into better detail of all the events later but for now... SMALLVILLE is on!!!!

9/11

This morning when I woke up I didn't feel any pain or sorrow... I just went about my day as I did the day before and the day before that. My heart wasn't beating fast and my eyes weren't swollen with pain... I didn't choke back tears or sulk in disbelief.

When I woke up this morning... I didn't even know what today was. I had forgotten all about 9/11... something I never thought in my lifetime I could ever do.

When I finally remembered what today was I stopped and thought about those that lost everything and those that gave everything that day and since that day.

There was a parade in my tiny town here in New York. We are still a three hour drive from ground zero but the pain is still felt here.

Seven years ago I cried with America as she lost some of the bravest she had. I watched the towers fall to the ground and my whole perspective of life changed. What was left of my young eyes where pushed into adulthood and I saw a grusome reality that although we, as a country, are powerful we also have are weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

I starred at the TV all day as I watched the events unfold...

People leaping from the buildings out of desperation to save them selves
Survivors running in the streets from falling debris
Business men in ash covered suits with breathing masks
Crushed vehicles in the once usable street
and
People caring for those that they didnt know

I know where I was when the world stopped turning... I was here mourning with our country.

I know where I am now... seven years later. I am supporting my country. I will never forget September 11th,2001. I am American.

We are ALL American... United We Stand.One Nation. Under God.Indivisable. With Liberty & justice for ALL.

God Bless America... the land that I live!

It has been a year so far...

Ryan has been home from Deployment for a year now and having him home has been a blast. Here is a list a photos of what we have done this past year together.


Ryan's homecoming



Finally taking announcement pictures... for our temple sealing...


Visited with family



Tortured our feisty little cat Ferrari... She loves it I swear!


Fed Ryan to the wolves... lol..


Enjoyed the Puget Sound


Dressed up for Halloween


Went on house hunting leave... oh and bought a house...



Saw a Mariners Game... WOOHOO!


Traveled across the country and back again...


(Shooting in St. George... well technically AZ. We had some really bad bruises that you cant really see in the picture. )

(Little girl carrying a big stick)

Visited church history sites


(This is us at Nauvoo... Can you find us?!)


Were sealed in the San Diego Temple 4/12/2008



Visited friends & family in Salt Lake


Gone NUTS on road trips... CRAZY!!!



Settled into our new home


(And started renovation on the whole house...still in progress)

Enjoyed some of the more touristy things Saratoga has to offer


(All of the fun horses that decorate Saratoga for racing season)

Visited Boston a few times...



This brings us to pretty much to the present...

I have made some awesome memories with my wonderful husband and although we have been married for just shy of 2 years 7 and a half months of that was spent apart... so we made up for lost time and lived it up... what a wonderful way to reunite.

What a crazy year it has been!

I Have Such Good Friends...

My good friend Christina made this cute scrap snag for me...



The leaves here are starting to change ...

Small stops of fire red and yellow are starting to make their way into the lush green surroundings... I will post some pictures here in the next couple of days so you can all enjoy the changing of the seasons too.

As for me today... I've got myself a lot of work to get done.

AHHH!!!

I must have been more tired then I thought I was... I didnt wake up until 11.

Here is today's agenda...

• Go back to the store and buy ooober cool surprise that I will reveal later.
• Finish filling in holes in bed rooms
• Take off more layers of history... I mean paint...
• Hand sand... I would use our belt sander but it just seems to do a better job by hand
• Prime the walls & paint

Well I am outta here... Wish me luck!

D

Work Work Work...

Enduring To The End... Still...

Blah! I feel like these projects are never going to be done!!! Although there is light at the end of the tunnel it is still a daunting task. I know that everything will look wonderful when we are done... it is just so draining.

Here is some of my progress for the day...

Spackled holes and imperfections in the walls.



Stripped paint off of trim and hand sanded



Took down ugly flower border!!!



I did however end the day in a high note. Ryan and I, along with our good friend Amanda, went to a Labor Day party held by a couple in our ward. I really enjoyed carrying on conversation with the other ladies in the ward. They are so sweet and it is always fun when I get to socialize.

After the party we came back to the house and kicked off the Gossip Girl season with our own little party.

Like I said we ended in a high note... hours of labor and productivity capped off with socializing, friends, good food and quality time with my friend Amanda and our favorite show... could life be any better?! I didnt think so. lol.

As for me right now... Ryan is on mids so he is off at work saving the universe while I get ready for bed and try to get a good nights rest...



Tomorrow I will be busy busy busy. I need to finish sanding the trim, fill in a few more holes and prime these wretched walls. I will have some pictures once the paint is on the walls I will post some pictures... I also have an awesome surprise for you guys!! YAY!!!

By the way... did I mention we bought these?! Finally we dont have to beg the neighbors to use theirs or use our tub... Woolite became a good friend of mine.



Dont be scared of the creepy basement...that too is planning on getting face lift... well I guess in this case it is getting a face since all it is right now is cinder block walls, exposed pipes and concrete floors.