little red and peter pan.

here's those "major changes"...

2010-03-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

A little more like major pain, but alas...

After much hemming and hawing, I have finally come to the conclusion that my life needed a change, and to do so included a change of blog-scenery. Basically, "little red" was getting old, and it's time to move on to bigger and better things.

So for all further time and eternity (or until the next time I change my mind, hehe), we will be located at

frecklesandrouge.blogspot.com

I know, the name sounds totally random, but there is a good explanation for it (sort of) and that is on the new blog.

Make sure to change your links if you have us on a blog roll, or in your Reader. Thanks mucho!

major changes.

2010-03-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Just letting you know that a major change is soon to come to this blog. I'll let you know about it as soon as I can!

I can't wait to share it with you! kara.

Husbands Say the Darnest Things

2010-03-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

(I'm totally ignoring the fact that I haven't written in weeks, and bring you instead a snippet of humor from the Land of Husbands. Enjoy.)

We were laying in bed when I reached over and tickled Hubs.

He started yelling "Help! Assault and battery with a deadly weapon!!!"

I stopped and looked him in the face, and sputtered through my giggles, "What??"

"A deadly weapon! You know, feminine wiles!"

Blank stare from the wife half of the bed.

"Feminine wiles: the ability to suck the life from a man through torture and inhumane means!"

Because as a wife, yeah, I'm THAT awesome.

2010-02-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

My husband has a problem.

He likes to lose things.

Important things.

Not things like the newspaper, or last month's gas bill.

VERY important things.

Like wedding rings.

Like HIS wedding ring.

Multiple times.

And guess who's always the one who finds it?

Yes. His TOTALLY awesome wife.

So when hubby told me that he lost his ring AGAIN two months ago, my shock was fairly uneventful.

Meh.

And when he also asked for a new wedding ring for Valentine's Day, I went searching through the nearest K-Mart for the best ring that $15 could buy.

Even then, I had a hard time spending that much cash on something I knew would be lost next week. So I didn't buy it.

And when the lovely wife was doing laundry last week, guess what fell out of the dryer?

The infamous ring. That just won't stay lost.

So when Valentine's Day came around, guess what I decided to give hubs for his totally awesome gift?

Oh yes.

I re-gifted to my own hubby.

Best Valentine's Day EVER.

Yeah. January is boring.

2010-01-18T09:19:00.000-08:00

So I thought that since the holidays are over, I should probably get around to updating you on our "normal lives" and what we're up to. And since I'm all about lists, that's how you're gonna get it.

1. Thomas graduated last month from massage therapy school so we're trying to find him a job...so if any of you know of anywhere that is hiring massage therapists, let us know...

2. I started school again last week. Last semester, wahOO! Now I'm down to 15 weeks left! Yay! In a way, it kind of feels like being pregnant because I'm counting it by the weeks. And no, I'm not pregnant yet either. But it sure seems like everybody else is these days...but that's another post for another day.

3. I've spent this whole holiday weekend just catching up on projects around our house like putting up plastic on our windows, and installing Windows on my Mac, and ordering a part for my busted washing machine, and making a Facebook group for my graduation/commissioning, and creating a family budget that works, and cleaning out our back room so Thomas can give massages, and...and...and...

So really, that's about it. I will spend every day at school and Thomas is out scouting for jobs. Exciting right? Hopefully after graduation (15 weeks!), we'll have more exciting things going on, like traveling across the country! Yay!

Update #4

2010-01-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

Whew! We're near the end of these updates!

christmas!

Okay, so we're not your typical family, if you haven't guessed that yet. Most of our Christmas traditions (with my parents, anyway) are pretty much exactly opposite from your standard Christmas. For example, on Christmas Eve, we don't cook dinner. We order in dinner. The reason for this is back in the day, when I was in the first grade, we bought a house over the Christmas holidays, in order to get out of our travel trailer that we were living in (geez, does it seem like I live in trailers a lot??). The previous owner of the house said that they would be out of the house on Christmas Eve, and when we went to move in on Christmas Eve, they were still there. I guess they needed a few more hours. Well, not having anywhere else to go, we went to the local McDonald's to get dinner. When we got back, the owners were gone and we got to move in. My parents piled all the presents in a corner of the empty living room, and we had Christmas. Every year since then, we always go out to eat (or order in) on Christmas Eve. For awhile, it was McDonald's. Then we did Wendy's. Now we're on our like 4th or 5th year eating Papa Murphy's on Christmas Eve. Yummy.

The second strange tradition we have that is different than most is that we open all of our presents on Christmas Eve, and we each get one from Santa to open on Christmas Day overnight, plus our stockings. The third difference is that we eat our big Christmas dinner with the ham and the potatoes and the works, on Christmas Day. Pretty sweet right? I think it's because we wanted to stretch the Christmas fun over two days, but that's just me. :)

These mixed up traditions actually work out pretty well when you combine that with Thomas' family, who does Christmas the traditional way, meaning that we get the best of both worlds, on both days! His family does the big dinner on Christmas Eve, and opens presents on Christmas Day, and my family is opposite! I really like it that way. But you know, we are a little weird.

We like it that way.

(L-R: Kara, Kerstin, Devin. The three siblings. We've got three more siblings but they weren't there. I'm the baby, if you can't tell by the way I'm being treated...)

A little pre-event fun with my niece, Austyn, in a giant stocking. She's very photogenic and the closest niece/nephew around, so she's going to be in a lot of these pictures.

We can't help it, I'm sorry.

Four full grown adults shoved on one little couch. There was much love going around.

(L-R: Kara, Thomas, Kerstin, and Tommy (Kerstin's bf))

Thomas gave up on the couch and went to sit on the floor. He also got some much needed clothes! Thanks mom!

Grandpa and Austyn sorting out everybody's presents. She took to opening her presents in the other room because it took too long to carry them over to where we were all sitting. Lacking the spirit of the season? Perhaps. Highly efficient four year old? Definitely.

This little princess is spoiled beyond belief. By the time we were all done opening presents, she still had half of hers to go. These two dresses were her favorite.

I may look strange in this picture, but I actually was pretty excited about this present. My dad picked out a ring that says "Love Life" on the outside, and then "Be Brave" on the inside. Me and my dad are really close so it meant a lot to me that he chose that out for me. It definitely sounds like something he would say. :)

As you can probably see, my brother, Devin, isn't in any of these pictures. That's because he didn't show up on Christmas Eve. But he did come on Christmas Day for the big dinner. Here he is with his girlfriend Sabrina, and her three kids, opening their presents.

Recently, Austyn has fallen in love with a TV channel called Sprout that I have never heard of before. Anyway, during the commercials between shows, they teach sign language. So here is Austyn teaching Great Grandma Sandy the signs for "create" and "garden".

She told us to take a picture of her "crazy face."

I wanted to show off one of my new Christmas presents -- new glasses! Yes, I bought them for myself, but they were desperately needed. I was still wearing my glasses from high school, which meant that the prescription was WAY out of date. I got this pair, and a second pair for under 70 bucks, including frames and lenses. Sweet! I bought them online from a place called EyeBuyDirect.com for super cheap. And I love them!

Well, that's all folks! Merry Christmas from the Clark/Jarvis/Snell/Petersen family!

(Yeah, we're a little bit of a mixed family...but we like it that way.)

Update #3

2010-01-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

Now we're getting into the fun stuff!

december 18:

I spent the week between the end of finals, and December 18 on campus, doing work. I think I forgot to mention that in November, I ran and interviewed for the cadet wing commander position with my detachment at ROTC, and I was selected for the position. It's a really awesome opportunity to stretch my leadership skills and refine some others that could use some help. So I basically spent a week (while Thomas was still at his mom's) at the Det, working on all this stuff that has to be ready for spring semester. It definitely kept me busy!

At the end of the week though, it was all about the hubs. He graduated from massage therapy school! We went to Temple Square before the graduation and his awesome sister Cindy snapped a few photos of us and him.

That is totally my scarf...he stole it.

And here's my cornball trying to be dramatic.

He was really done taking pictures by this point. :)

Sorry, it's super blurry, but it's the only one where I don't look like I'm on drugs. Camera flashes make my eyes droop really bad so I look like I'm tripping on something.

Now on to the fun part of the evening! We went up to the U, and Thomas finally graduated! Yay! Here's some pics.

About to be called...

Walking across the stage...

Receiving his diploma...

Really excited to be done!!

I was going to post the video of him walking across the stage, but then I realized that they announce his full name and I'm not a huge fan of letting the whole world know my husband's first, middle and last name. Oh well. Suffice to say that it was AWESOME and I am SO proud of him! :) If anybody needs the skills of a licensed massage therapist, give us a call or email!

Update #2

2010-01-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

Continuing on in my tale of blogging procrastination...

december 11:

Sometimes, when your life is so crazy, you forget how absolutely fantastic it is to hang out with a girlfriend for awhile. Don't get me wrong, husbands are great, but with girlfriends, you don't have explain anything, and even a trip to the grocery store can be just as good as going out. When finals were over (and Thomas was still gone at his mom's), it was a huge relief to hang out with my friend Nicole and this beautiful princess:

She was born in November, and yes, she came out with that much hair. Isn't she gorgeous! I don't have any pictures of me and Nicole, but let it be said that she is amazing, and beautiful, and home-makey, and the kind of wife and mom I want to be. She's awesome.

Also on my little girls night out with Nicole, we hit the local Michael's to check out some stuff, and I came home with this little beauty.

Laugh if you want, but let me explain. Every year since we've been married, we always buy a Christmas village building that represents our year that year. The first one we bought was a coffee house because we spent entirely too much money on Starbucks caramel frappacinos that year. :) Yum. The second year was a train station, symbolizing that we were halfway there (1.5 years down, 1.5 years to go until we graduate and get out of here). This year, I bought this little tent building, symbolizing our time in the trailer and how thankful we were that it would soon be over and we could live in a normal apartment or house. I really love it, and I'm happy that we're making our own traditions so early. At this point, it looks like we'll have a pretty good collection of Christmas traditions before we even start having kids! Woohoo!

december 12:

In addition to hanging out with Nicole, we also had planned this really awesome Luau program for our residents. However, if I ever need to learn from past experiences, it's this: don't expect many people to show up to a program when you get the worst snow storm yet!

Our spread. We did pulled pork and beef, plus all kinds of fruits and yummy drinks, plus we had Hawaiian music playing and everything. We had a few residents show up, but this is what stopped most of them.

I thought this was bad, but even looking out my window today, it just got worse over time!

Update #1

2010-01-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

As I sit here on the couch, rendered utterly useless by sickness and medication, I figured now would be as good as time as any to update the world on what we've been up to since the end of October. I know. Feel free to patronize, but we've been busy! So here's the first post in a series of updating posts, beginning in November!

november 21:

We had the Military Ball for both Air Force ROTC (me) and the Army ROTC. It was a fun night of dancing and dressing up and fun for all. I swear, I'm not as pasty as this picture makes me look.

Although hubby ended up getting injured (he hurt his knee dancing...haha...old fogey), we had a great time. See?

We went out to dinner with a few friends beforehand to Olive Garden, and then went to the dance. It still seems weird to me that college has dances, but oh well, it was fun!

thanksgiving:

Last year, we weren't able to come down for Thanksgiving because we were working, so this year we made a point of it. I didn't get any pictures from the hub's side of the family but here's a few from my side. My dad -- being the silly man that he is -- bought these two gingerbread houses with the intention of having a gingerbread house making contest.

Making gingerbread houses is VERY serious business.

And the finished products:

Can you tell the little kids got ahold of them towards the end? Good times were had by all. Again, no picture of this, but at Thanksgiving dinner, my grandmother (who's husband recently passed away and she moved into a house near my parents to be closer to us) made a very heart-felt speech about how grateful she was to have all of her family close to her. It was really nice.

december 6:

This one has been going on for awhile now, but I just had to show you a picture of it. Most of you know that we live in a trailer court, which has been a ton of fun. However, there are always jokes going around about how "ghetto" or "white trash" we are. Here is an example of that:

Yes. That is my washing machine. Completely jimmy-rigged to stay in the "on" position. On any given day, this variation may change, but it's basically the same. Right now, the paperclip/tape contraption is hot glued in place until I feel well enough to go to a parts store. The joys of being a poor college student.

It was also around this time that we started getting some really bad storms coming through our town, and so the route that hubby would take to get to school every day became very dangerous (imagine: high elevation canyon, dimly lit, icy, snowy, and wrecks galore...ugly). So he went down to live with his mom for the remaining 2-3 weeks until he graduated. Meanwhile, I was still stuck in town, without a car, during dead week/finals week. It was an emotional time, we'll just put it like that. I know lots of women go longer without their husbands than I did, but all the same, any extended time apart is hard. I am truly impressed with those women that go months and months without their spouses. That's incredible. Anyway, moving on.

december 10:

Every semester in ROTC, the older cadets are assigned to be mentors to the younger cadets, and this semester, I was assigned two fantastic girls that are about to enter their Field Training Preparation semester (boot camp prep), for the second time. For circumstances out of their control, they were both supposed to go to camp last summer, but couldn't. So they have to do it AGAIN. So being the totally awesome mentor that I am, I made them these for next semester, to help remind them of their goals and the reasons they are doing this:

It was a fun little side project for me, and I hope they enjoyed it as well.

the rest of the days up to finals:

As you can probably see, I skipped a TON of days in the update above. Those days were spent primarily in the computer lab working on projects. Typically, I was gone 6:30 AM to at least 10 PM, Monday through Sunday. There were even a few days where I stayed on campus until 2 AM. It was a rough period and you can probably now see why I didn't do much blogging during that time. I really felt like I was just jumping from one task to the next, with never a moment to rest. A ten minute break to eat a snack was usually as much as I got. In any case, it's over now, and I passed all my classes pretty darn well: all A's and B's. So I guess that was worth it! :)

adventures in babysitting...wait, scratch that...

2009-11-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, let me be honest. I am not a very adventurous person. I'm not a huge "spur-of-the-moment" kind of person, and I absolutely hate most things outdoors (i.e., "outdoor adventure"). I'm pretty much a city kind of gal.

Now, let me also say that this past weekend (over Halloween) was one of the most adventurous adventures I've had in quite a while, not to mention it was in the state of the least amount of bathrooms I have ever seen in my whole life: Wyoming.

Onward to: Adventures in Wyoming.

(Sorry one more sidenote before I start my tale of adventure: this post is probably going to be very very long, so I'm adding as many pictures as possible so I don't bore you to tears!)

It begins with three people: Rob, Jen, and myself. Rob is a cadet with Arnold Air Society, Jen is part of the civilian portion of our joint organization (the Silver Wings side) and I am also a cadet. We're all from the same school, and we were going to a conference for our two organizations in Laramie, Wyoming, called ARCON (Area-Region Conclave). The two organizations together are a service and professional development group that is loosely based around AFROTC.

Now, my entire job for this year is to act as the host of ARCON. I am supposed to greet everyone, thank them for coming, make sure everything doesn't explode -- you get the idea. And I currently live about 7 hours away from Laramie. So off on an adventure we went!

We left on Friday morning around 9:00 AM. We figured that we'd make it there around 3:00 or 4:00, and still be there on time for when everyone starting showing up around 5:00. Well, the Adventure Gods had other plans for us.

We drove for about 4 hours, until we reached a little town in the middle of nowhere called Rock Springs, Wyoming. Now, I am from a hicktown myself where the rodeo is the most important event of the year, but Rock Springs one-upped me about a million times over. I wish I had taken pictures of all the strange things and people I saw in this quaint little town, but alas, I was not thinking we would be there very long. Oh, how I was wrong.

Now, apparently, Wyoming likes to close down their highways for random reasons, even when the sun is shining and there's not a cloud in the sky. This time, apparently the winds were like 40 mph and blowing snow across the highway making blizzard-like conditions. Psshh. Get real. Oh well, we were not allowed to pass.

It was about 1:00 by this point, and there was a severe weather warning for high winds until 6:00 that night, so we decided to wait it out and see if they'd open the roads back up again around 6:00. So the adventure in Rock Springs began!

Since we had several hours to kill, we found the local Walmart (Omigosh! Yeah! They had a Walmart!) Well, Rob had forgot to bring a part of his costume for the masquerade ball at ARCON, so we went and bought a shirt! Oh and new earbuds.

After we got done in Walmart (yeah, about an hour later-ish), we decided that we would try and find a movie theater and kill a couple hours that way. I pulled out my handy dandy iPhone and off we went. Unfortunately, this is what Rock Springs calls a movie theater:

And they were closed. Bah. So that idea was out the window. Then we decided that we could just go get a Redbox movie and watch it on one of our laptops. SO...we went back to Walmart to look for a Redbox! Yay! After renting, "The Soloist", we went to watch our movie. Yes, we sat in the Walmart parking lot for two hours and watched a movie. See, here's the proof!

Random insert here: during our many drives around Rock Springs, we passed this little fantastic place. Do you think this describes me?? :)

"Hot Bodies Tanning & Spa"

Okay, so after the "movie", we were hungry, so off we went to find food! We found an Applebee's, and Rob had never eaten there so that was a new adventure for him. Woohoo! No pictures though, unfortunately. Alright so now we're around 6:00 and I checked my iPhone, and the weather alert had lifted, so we went to go see if the highway was open! After a quick stop at the gas station, we were on the highway! Unfortunately, (geez, there's a lot of "unfortunately's" in this story...) the road was still closed and when we asked the patrol officer if we could go any further just so we were closer to Laramie (keep in mind that we're still at least 3 hours out), he said we could make it to a town called Rawlins, but it's not as big as Rock Springs so there probably wouldn't be anywhere to stay.

Okay. So, what do we do? At this point, I am frantically calling my cohorts at University of Wyoming in Laramie, telling them I'm not going to make it and what they need to do and what presentations they'll need to do in my place, and what to tell who, etc., while Rob and Jen try to find us a hotel with free internet access. They found us a "La Quinta" (btw, funniest name I've ever heard), and we got in and settled down after a bit of drama that I won't talk about here.

Sorry, no pictures of the funny people in the La Quinta -- it was mostly truck drivers and other travelers that got stuck, but some people just have funny things about them. So we sleep, and wake up the next morning, and we're back on the road by 8:00. The road had opened up on Saturday morning up to Rawlins, but we were thinking that by the time we got there (about an hour and a half away), the second part of the road to Laramie would open and we'd be good to go. Here's a few pics of the us riding into the sunrise towards Rawlins.

Toodooloo Rock Springs! Hope I never see you again!

So we get to Rawlins. Road is still closed. Bummer. We found out about this little highway that goes behind the mountain that was causing all the snow-blizzard-wind problems, and thought if we could get to it, we'd only gain about another 45 minutes. When Rob went to go ask the patrol officer guarding the highway entrance about said little highway, he LAUGHED at us. Seriously, it's no wonder nobody likes the cops in Wyoming! Great customer service, buddy! Jerk.

Now we're stuck at a Flying J in the middle of nowhere with fifty million other truckers and travelers, all waiting to see if the road will open. Well, we hear that they are rerouting everyone through Casper, which is up and around, and back through Cheyenne to Laramie. About a four hour drive. Well we don't know when they'll open up the road to Laramie, so we take our chance and off to Casper we go!

It's like 10:30 by now, and we don't have anymore time to waste, so we get on this dinky state highway, and start on our way up to Casper. Sidenote: about 2 hours into this drive, we find out the road from Rawlins to Laramie opened. Oh well, we were already on our way so we just kept driving!

We took a pit stop in Casper, and here's some pictures to prove it!

Super blurry, sorry! We were going through a traffic light. :(

Stopping for lunch at Subway and Rob stretching out his legs.

Alright, so we were on our way back southward to Laramie now. Long story short, it was a boring drive, but faster than the dinky highway because we were on a freeway now. Woohoo! PS. Wyoming is the windiest state I've ever been to! See, look:

Rob fighting the wind at yet another dinky gas station. Oh and where am I, you ask? Sitting in the car making the men do all the work. :)

Alright, more longest-story-ever made longer, we finally make it to Laramie around 3:00 -- note that this is 24 hours later than we had originally anticipated arriving. Also, remember how I told you that my only job all year long is to act as the host to this conference? Well, I was the VERY LAST PERSON to arrive at the hotel. Yeah, I'm just going to call it super fashionably late. :(

By now, we had missed all the business meetings and presentations, and all that was left was the final banquet. SO...I had three hours to prepare the banquet, get into uniform, prepare the reception room, and mentally prepare myself to greet a 3 star general, our guest speaker. Needless to say, I was sweating a LOT.

Luckily, when Major Gen Burg arrives, he is super nice and is really excited to be there (even though we offered to him that he didn't need to come because of the bad weather). Here's a picture of me with the General, as well as the others that helped plan the conference.

L to R: Amber Bartelt (SW Region Pres), Me, Maj Gen Burg, C/Kelsey Smith (ARCON Commander), and C/Shon Reckard (Area Commander)

I also got a picture with Brig Gen Dick Bundy (Ret) who is a our Executive Director for our two organizations. He's pretty darn awesome.

So the banquet happens, and it runs pretty smoothly, all things considered. There were lots of mistakes that happened that I probably could have fixed had I been there the whole time but we had to prioritize and work with what we had. After the banquet, we sent Gen Burg off, and then we all changed into our costumes for the masquerade ball. Apparently, I forgot to tell the representatives from the two national staffs about bringing costumes, so this is what they came up with.

Yes, those are sheets off of their hotel room beds. Way to think on your feet, guys.

And this is what I came up with for my costume:

Pretty cool if I do say so myself. I love being super villain-esses.

So that was it. We left the next morning around 9:00 to head home, making a grand total of 15 or so hours in Laramie. We didn't run into any trouble coming home (thank goodness!) other than a little car sickness on my part right towards the end.

Whew. WAY too much adventure for me. I think I'm done for awhile!

So how was your weekend? ;)

2009-10-26T19:14:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the lamest post ever, while I wait at the salon to get my hair cut at 8:30 at night.

Um. So I'm getting my hair trimmed for this weekend. For the most stressful thing in my life at the moment: ARCON.

It's a conference that I've been planning since June for a service organization I'm involved with and it should be pretty cool, I'm just super stressed out.

So yeah. It's my turn for the cut. I'll let you know how this weekend goes.

a small realization.

2009-10-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

So life has been a bit crazy lately, as you know. I've felt like I'm being pulled in a million directions and it has caused me to have a hard time focusing on any one thing at a time. Then I did something yesterday that really seemed help.

I did the dishes.

On a weekday. Not a weekend when the pile is a million miles high.

For some reason, it seems like doing something as simple as doing the dishes helped bring my brain back into one place. So guess what I'm going to go do tonight?

Throw that sponge in the sink and pop out some dishes.

Thank goodness for some good, old-fashioned, calm down time, even if it does involve getting a little dirty and wet first.

My brain will thank me for it later. :)

BLOGGERS ON THE RUN is BACK!

2009-10-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, first off, I know it's been awhile but I wanted to start off by saying CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR BLOGGERS ON THE RUN FINISHERS!

LISA: 5K, Germantown, MD (36:19)
JENNIE: 5K, Pleasant Grove, UT (36:22)
NICOLE: 13.1 mi race, New PR!

These ladies have done awesome! Second, I just wanted to give you the update on my running-ness. We had a mock fitness test for the Air Force at the beginning of the semester, and I was running a 1.5 mi in 16:04. Which is pretty darn slow.

As of a week ago, when we took our real fitness test, I was running the 1.5 mi in 14:04!! Two minutes off in a month! That's HUGE for me!

Okay, so now that I'm past my excitement, let's talk about my 5K goal. I had planned to run one this weekend, but then the Campus Rec people figured out that it was Fall Break (a school holiday) and that nobody would be around (except me, *cough* *cough*), so they moved it to next week. In any case, I'm not sure that I'll be able to do it since I've pretty much stopped running since my fitness test (bad, Kara).

I need your help though. Does anybody know of a 5K race sometime after this weekend and before November 21 (when the next race that I know of is)?? I would really prefer to run before it get freeze-your-hind-tushy-off cold. Any ideas??

SOOO!! I will be officially running a 5K absolutely no later than November 21 for the campus rec Turkey Trot 5K. If anybody wants to join me, they can... :) Let me know.

Hi. My name is Kara and it's been over a month since my last blog post.

2009-10-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

But, but, but...I have a good excuse!

First, I was going to write a post way back when and although I can't remember now what the heck I was going to write about, I remember seeing my dashboard and seeing that the post was going to be my 100th post, but I was going to write about something where I was complaining about something stupid that happened and then I didn't want to write about something stupid for my 100th post, and then life got crazy with midterms and projects and crappy school related things, and then I didn't do it.

For over a month.

Whew. Glad I got that out of the way. Now since THIS is my 100th post, I get to beg your forgiveness for my awful, awful bad behavior as a blogger. *slaps wrist*

Please, my dear bloggity internetz friends (stole that phrase from Loralee...hehe), please forgive me for my absence and my poor skills at keeping up this blog during this hectic senior year of college. In an effort to steal back your love for my little blog, I will tell you about all the wonderful and not-so-wonderful things that have happened over the past month that have stolen my attention away from my favorite place: sitting on my duff in front of my computer writing in a little text box for all the world to see -- if they care that much to read it (Whoa, I'm blabbering. Geez, can you tell it's been awhile and I feel like I have a MILLION things to tell you??!?!?)

THE BAD THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH:
1. Midterms. Ew. That word grosses me out. In engineering, we basically have tests every 3 weeks or so, so I guess you can't call them midterms but that's what I like to call the timeframe where I lose my mind and go crazy for awhile. Dear hubby calls me "crazy lady" during this time. So: midterms.
2. Projects. Also occurring at the same time as said midterms. Double ew.
3. Staying in the computer lab until after 10 PM every night, including weekends, to study for said midterms or work on said projects. Triple ew.
4. Not seeing my husband for basically a week at a time because of 1, 2, and 3. We are turning into a "weekend-only" kind of family.
5. I've been planning a conference for the end of October which takes up a trillion hours of my time (but I love it all the same...), and this is where I learned that college kids cannot follow directions, how ever college educated they claim to be.

THE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH:
1. Getting within the average on said midterms. Average is better than below average, right??
2. Finishing all projects thus far, and not having to slack off on any homework or studying or anything to get everything done. I guess that would be why I'm staying in the computer lab all day, every day, plus weekends.
3. Realizing that I am graduating in 7 months and moving to California. (OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
4. Stalking everyone else's blogs because it makes me feel more connected to the internet world, even though I'm not contributing. Yes, I know what's happening in YOUR lives, but you have NO IDEA what's happening in MINE! Bwahahaha!
5. My best friend had her BABY!!! I would reiterate the OMIGOSH-es from above, but I might kill you with happiness. Let it be known that Chalese Abigail is one of the CUTEST babies I have ever seen. There, I said it. And it's true. Well, until I have my own kids. So there. *raspberry*

Okay, so that pretty much wraps it up. Okay, not really but my fingers hurt a little bit -- apparently my fingers are out of shape. Time to get busy and work those fingers as much as I'm working the rest of my dang body. Yay! I'm back!

(On a side note: it's strange that when you're not blogging for awhile, you always think about the things you want to write about but never get to sitting down at the computer to do it. What the heck did I do to get these thoughts out of my head BEFORE I started blogging???!!)

OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH-OMIGOSH!!!!!! (Sorry, still thinking about California....)

[ bloggers on the run...deux ]

2009-09-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to remind you all to sign up for my "Bloggers on the Run" challenge! Run or walk a 5K (or any distance) before December 1st! That's it! Just comment me to let me know so I can plug you in as a participant on my sidebar, and let me know when you finish so I can put you as a finished racer! Do it for your health!

Go, run/walk, go!

[ bloggers on the run! ]

2009-09-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm going to get a little philosophical on you all for a quick sec.

When you come toward the end of a very big stage in your life (in my case, graduating from college next spring), you start to realize all the things you've never done the whole time you were there. Here's a couple of mine:

1) Give blood. I know. Lame right? I've always been afraid of passing out or throwing up or whatever. However, during the first week of school, my friends and husband convinced me to go and give blood for the annual Blood Battle between my school and one a little further south with a better football team (shh. don't tell anybody I said that). But I did it! And I didn't have to throw up or pass out or anything! However, I am a bit of a sympathy puker and the kid across from me was pretty close so luckily I got out of there pretty quick before he filled his little red hazard bag. Whew.

2) Become a true aggie. If you don't go to my school, you probably don't know what this is, but once a month on a full moon, you go and stand on this big A podium on campus and kiss someone who is already a true aggie. But if you're like me, and neither me or my husband are true aggies, you can only do it twice a year: once on homecoming night and once in the spring. So this one is coming up in a few weekends if anyone wants to come with us to become true aggies!

3) Run a 5k. Okay. This one is probably the most important goal I have. Some of you might know that I really struggle with my running -- I mean, REALLY struggle. Like, I am the last one to finish every time we run for AFROTC. I would really like to be a better runner, but I lack the motivation because my head just tells me "Oh, you'll just be the last one anyway. Don't try to get any better." And let me be the first to tell you, that is STUPID. I really hate the things my head tells me sometimes.

So, I have decided to co-sponsor (along with Connie from "The Young and the Relentless") an awesome chance to prove ourselves (and self-motivation, for that matter), and we would like you all to join us! Connie and I both have the goal that we want to walk or run a 5k by December 1st, and we're calling it "Bloggers on the Run!"

All you have to do to participate is pick a 5k (or any length) in your area and dedicate yourself to doing it! We've made a cute little button so you can show off your walking/running pride, too! Once you finish your race, we want to hear about it! Go ahead and comment me in any of my blog posts when you finish it (be sure to tell me the name of the race, and what city you ran it in!) and I'll post it in my sidebar! We're hoping to get lots of people to participate, so tell your friends!

Oh, if you do more than one race, be sure to let me know too! You get double the sidebar postage!

If you want to participate, just grab the button off my side bar, and comment me to let me know so I can add you to the sidebar! I'll put your name up as a participant in "Bloggers on the Run!"

Happy walking/running!

[ and the verdict is...]

2009-09-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

If you've been stuck under a rock, you won't know that something very important happened today.

But it's okay, I'll tell you.

We received some very important new concerning our future...

Meaning, we have received word on where we'll be living for the next 2 or 3 years...

any guesses yet??

...

Rockets, firepower, and no more snow!

I love California already!

2009-09-02T09:33:00.001-07:00

The Wisdom of a College Student.
By Little Red.

I have realized over the past few days something very significant.

You have to endure several really crappy days in order to appreciate one really good day.

Past few days? Crappy.

Tomorrow? Excellent.

And why you ask, will I have a very excellent day tomorrow?

Because I am getting my base assignment to tomorrow and my fate will be decided. (eek!)

I am totally stoked.

More to come on this later...probably tomorrow. Yay!

[ my bad. ]

2009-09-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

I swear I'm not dead. And don't worry, I'll tell you all about the goings on in the Fairy Tale house this weekend. It's been quite an adventurous few weeks, let me tell you...

[ that's how crafty I am. ]

2009-08-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

There is one way that I always know that it is summertime.

Everybody is getting married.

And in my ultra-craftiness *snigger* I have become oh-so-talented *snigger snigger* at making wonderful little trinkets of love from our hearts to their.

i.e. I am poor and cheap and making little paper cards makes me happy. So there. *raspberry*

These are from my Black and White Collection. (Did I really just say they were from a collection?? How lame am I??)

To the Broadheads.

To the Dennis'.

To the Jacks.

To the Clouds.

To the Nevilles.

See my messy table in the back of each of those pictures? The magic cleaning fairy never showed up.

Totally not my fault.

Enjoy your wedding bliss everyone!

Or your bliss in general.

Or you know, whatev.

[ I'm just that awesome of a wife. ]

2009-08-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

I'm just throwing this out there.

It's been a crazy few weeks.

So much in fact that this post is from a very long time ago.

August 4th.

The glorious day of T's and mine's "day of bliss" two years ago.

Okay, let's get real. It was our anniversary. And we are poor college students, so vaca's are out of the question.

So what did I do? I did the thing that awesome wives do and made a big deal out of it, and only spend $7. Best anniversary ever.

It started off with him coming home to this. (Which was all out of my Christmas wrappings box.)

But being the awesome wife that I am, I didn't let him have it...yet. First, there was romancing to be done in the form of dinner. Thus...

Oh my heck! He's eating a salad!

Mmmm...BBQ Chicken Pizza from the best pizza place in town. Yum. When we got home, he got to open his present. And what was my glorious $7 spent on?? You got it.

Second anniversary is cotton...get it?? Haha. And if you have a husband/brother/father/son, you know they go through underwear as fast as they eat their meals (at least all the boys I know do!). Fast. So he was in need.

And guess what I got?

A really good massage. I love being married to a massage therapist. Best. marriage. ever.

That's all I'm saying.

[ it's not everyday you talk to the president ]

2009-08-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hey, one of my friends had face to face conversation with the Senior Advisor to the President, talking about health reform and she wrote an amazing post about it. And her blog got linked to the White House website! WhiteHouse.gov! Seriously, go check it out.

[ because I need my internetz peeps to make decisions for me ]

2009-08-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

So...

LONG?

or SHORT?

My hair is at the point right now where I either need to cut it to make regs for my uniform, or grow it out and put it in a bun again. I really need your peeps' opinions! So let me know!

[ dear magic cleaning fairy... ]

2009-08-17T16:26:00.001-07:00

I have a very important task for you.

If you could take care of this:

And this:

Oh, and this:

And these, too:

And could have all of that done by 7:00 tonight? Awesome.

Love,

[ oh well. ]

2009-08-04T12:49:00.001-07:00

So apparently my stomping on T's bachelorhood wasn't as traumatic as I had anticipated.

He brought me four more DVD's this morning that didn't have cases.

Go figure.

[ a tutorial: how to destory bachelorhood...one project at a time ]

2009-08-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

After 6 years together and 2 of that being marriage as of this coming Tuesday (yay!), it has occurred to me that there are still distinct remnants of bachelorhood in our house. They are really bad things but they aren't my type of "home-y-ness."

This is one of them.

And today, I decided to do something about it while the hubs was at school (bwahaha).
It began like this:

The infamous CD case of DVD's to which the cases no longer exist. And I quote, "Kara, I'm not going to need the cases ever again so I'm just gonna toss them." This was probably around year two of our experiences together (i.e., during high school, right before college). Over the years, we have whittled away at this cased collection from a full CD book to about 15 DVD's. However, these were all movies that both of us refused to part with and love and therefore, they needed a new home.

Enter the crazy-and-attempting-to-be-crafty-wife.

I look online and found this website, which allowed me to search for the DVD cases of all of our beloved movies. And find them, I did. Then I used a computron (hubs' words, not mine) to print said covers until they looked about like this. Note that mine are all black and white because that was all I had access to, but color would be awesome too.

PS. This is one of my favorite movies, EVA! Watch it if you haven't before, you should. It's amazing.

Now, if you're not as computer illiterate as me, you might have picked up on this one faster. Being more brilliant than me, you would make sure that your pictures are the right size when you print them. I wasn't as fast on the uptake for this one, so mine are too small.

Here's what you would do if you don't know how to change image sizes: (I used Microsoft Publisher) measure a real DVD cover before you print and change your image size to be the right size (like 10.75" x 9.25", something like that) through the format settings. If you can't get the right size on the computer, then do what I did. After printing the covers too small, I found out that my image was 10/16" shorter than the DVD cover I measured, so I split that in half and marked that width on each side -- so the cover will be as centered as possible. I did a similar thing for the other direction dimension, and then made my cuts.

After my needless fixes, it looked like this.

Okay, covers are done. Next part is WAY easy. I went to my best friend, Wal-Mart, and alas, I was betrayed. If you want the slim cases, then they definitely have them: cheap and in bulk. But if you're like me and want all your cases to match the rest of your DVD's, they don't have them. Luckily my new best friend, Staples, did have them. And on sale! Double score!

Insert the covers into the cases. Now if you're like me, you are a super perfectionist, so I had to make sure all my lines matched up. When you get the cover in, wiggle it around until the lines on the image match up with the lines on the DVD, like so.

See how nice it is to have the edge line up? Mmm. Love it.

Insert your favorite DVD and voila!

Instant happiness.

One day, the bachelorhood will disappear from our house, but all in due time.

One project at a time.

[ not that most people care but... ]

2009-08-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have had started a tiny/addictive/time-consuming obsession this summer.

It is called Twitter.

And as of last night, I have decided to put myself through a rehabilitation program from Twitter.

I am quitting. *sad tear rolls down my face*

I realized that my tweeting has impacted my blogging because most days, it's just so much easier to just tweet something I'm thinking about and be done. But then my blog suffers because I don't get to elaborate on these random thoughts that come into my head and nobody ever hears about it.

Also, I only have like three real life friends that actual use Twitter, so that's no fun either when I'm just following people that I've never met.

So that's it. Not that most of you cared, but I thought I would say something. Mostly just for me.

(Geez, I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to actually affirm my quit-age out loud! Am I really that lame?!)

[ whew. busy busy busy. ]

2009-07-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This post is going to be very long. Just like the rest of my posts. Oh well. So I guess that's not much of a warning.

Before I get to our awesome trip, I have a few quick pictures to show from during this week. There is going to be an overall theme to this week's pictures: it was Thomas's birthday this week. And because his birthday is on the 22nd, it always get overshadowed by the HUGE Utah holiday that occurs on the 24th, and the fact that two of his cousins' birthday are on the 24th so he pretty much gets forgotten for his birthday. But because I'm an amazing wife, I LOVE making a big deal out of his birthday (even though he hates it). Anything I can do to embarass him for his birthday, I'm in. Anyway, to the pictures.

We went and finally saw Harry Potter on a double date with some of our friends, and it was AWESOME! I loved it, and that's saying a lot because I hate the others. Anyway, this is us waiting for the movie to start.

It's really blurry, sorry. I had to take the picture with my phone. And after the movie, we tried out a new restaurant in town, Beehive Grill, and the food was pretty much...well...blah. But our friend Earl ordered the Super Spicy Chicken Wings, and he pretty much cried because of it. See the tears??

So I guess that the only good thing to order there. Just beware.

On Thomas's actual birthday, he was in class all day, so we went out to dinner and got some dessert afterwards. I told him that we could go anywhere he wanted, and he went and chose Costa Vida. Silly boys. Could have chosen anywhere, and he chose Costa. Geez. Anyway, here is us eating.

Yes, that is the "Kara, please don't take my picture but since you're going to anyway, I'm giving you this face." During the day when he was in class, I made him a birthday cake. Let me start off by reiterating the fact that I am not the chef in our family. I know I've said this millions of times, but it's totally real. Let's just give the photographic evidence of my uber cake making skills.

I know. It stinks. Just don't say it to my face. I might cry.

(And seriously, it didn't even taste that good. I really do stink at cooking!)

Like I said earlier, we went on a trip this weekend. This summer has been one of frequent trips to home home. And in that same style, we went home for the biggest Utah holiday. Not not Christmas.

PIONEER DAY! And I love it! It's my favorite holiday! Unfortunately, this is probably our last one for awhile because we'll be out in the Air Force somewhere next summer, so I took a ton of pictures. Which explains the lengthy-ness of this post. So let's get started!

When we got home, Thomas's mom wanted to celebrate his birthday too (he...he...he...crazy birthday wife wins again!) and he chose PF Changs. Love. love. LOVE. PF Changs.

(On a side note: I'm thinking about cutting my hair shorter, any thoughts?)

While we were there, we saw the servers at PF Changs singing Happy Birthday to another table, and I turned to Thomas and said "Ooh! We could do that for you!!!" All I got back was a very angry glare. They ended up bring this to him instead. No singing. Sad day for crazy birthday wife.

Okay, we're getting toward the end! Woohoo! On Friday morning, we had the famous Fiesta Days Grande Parade, and although I would love to include ALL 179 pictures I took, here's two of them. I plan on making an "Ode to Spanish Fork" post that will include more of these, so here's your preview.

The American Legion led the parade off with the flag. It was really cool. I love seeing veterans with all my heart. Veterans on horses? Even better.

Ultimate Hicktown USA. Yes, they had an entire John Deere tractor section of the parade. It was pretty much awesome.

The last event in this very very busy weekend was one that my dear hubby was dreading -- his five year class reunion. It was a very...odd...experience because everyone was "reliving their most awkward moments in their development." (As hubby puts it). Overall, he made it and we survived.

We are...SF! We are...SF! Go DONS!

Very funny story though about the reunion: since I am a year younger than hubs, I went to school with all the people at the reunion and am friends with most of them. And even though it was Thomas's class reunion, most of them recognized me before Thomas and were like "Where's Thomas??" when he was standing right behind me. It was awesome. And they all told Thomas "Geez, dude, all your hair went from your head to your face." Lol. Best comment ever. Good thing he accepts the fact that he is 23 and balding. I love my hubby!

The question is, where were all you guys that I KNOW you graduated with Thomas that didn't show up?!

[ why do we do this to ourselves?? ]

2009-07-20T10:17:00.001-07:00

You know that feeling when there is something in your house that is absolutely disgusting, but you can't bring yourself to get down and pull on those super attractive yellow gloves and get a little dirty? Maybe it's a toilet. Maybe it's that obnoxious corner in the bathroom behind the garbage can. Maybe it's that shelf with your wedding photo that you haven't dusted since you've been married. (PS. Our second anniversary is in two weeks! Woot! Go us! We haven't killed each other yet!)

For me, it's my kitchen floor. And the problem wasn't that it was dirty. At least not that we noticed. In fact, because we've been walking on it all day, every day, you just don't think about it. You think, "Hmm...That's my floor." And then I would mop it and some of the dirt would come up and I'd think, "Hmm...That's much better."

Then I had a revelation. Well, kind of. I've been eyeing a new mop at my favorite Wally store, but can't seem to bring myself to pay that sort of price for it. So I had a thought about another one of my favorite cleaning supplies: Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers.

Let's just put my love for magic erasers this way: if I hadn't married PP, I would have married Mr. Clean. I love him THAT much.

So my revelation was this: What if I tried my cleaning equivalent of nectar of the Gods on my floor? Hmm....

Since it's a little hard to explain what happened, I'll just show you some pictures of the results. But note that I'm only showing these to you to to find out if anyone else has this problem in their house. Or maybe I'm just a bad housekeeper.

This next one is pretty gross. You can see my little test spot in front of the stove. Then I started the real work.

Then I got pretty bored halfway through, and ended up sending this picture to PP. Ha!

Okay, so I know that was kind of gross, but am I really the only one with a situation like this?? Tell me about it.

[ a series of unfortunate events ]

2009-07-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

You know how they say that bad things always happen in threes?

Well, I've come to the conclusion that bad things tend to happen in fours, or fives, or sixes. Maybe even sevens. On a really, really bad week.

This week has been one of those really, really bad weeks.

I'm going to try and tone this down to make it as undramatic as possible because heaven knows that I am a well-known drama queen. So here's my attempt at "dulling it down."

First, there was the PMS. I knew this was coming since I'm on BC, but it doesn't make the actual effects any better. Plus, I'm one of those people that PMS for the ENTIRE week. Poor Peter. :(

Then, we found out that a family friend had passed away over the weekend due to complications at the hospital for a sickness. It was a very sombre day.

Next came the worst of it -- one of the things that make being a grown up just plain suck: car trouble.

I knew that we were going to have to replace our windshield before I re-registered my car this month, so we've been saving up for the cost. We broke it two years ago and so we knew it was coming. After a half an hour on the phone trying to make the appointment, and then the next morning they came to do it. Woohoo! No more windshield that looks like it's about to be rip apart any second!

That same afternoon, I figured I'd hit to birds with one stone and go get my safety and emissions done for registration. No problem, right? Not in my little world. I showed up, and after having been promised a 10 minute appointment, I waited over an hour. Halfway through my appointment, the technician said "Ma'am, could you come with me please?" Oh crap. Turns out he decided to fail me unless I rotated the tires. Something about tread or something. Okay, no big deal. Just rotate the tires.

So after that busy busy morning, it was time to go get Peter from school and drive the 2 and 1/2 hour drive back to our house (We had been staying at the in-laws for the past week). Drive back was dandy, except that I got a bit sunburned, but I'm used to that, being a redhead. No big deal.

Next morning, Peter gets up to go to school, and I do the awesome wife thing and sleep in. I woke up when he left and realized he didn't kiss me good-bye. Huh. Sucky husband. So since I was already awake, I started messing around on Mac Jr. and about a half an hour later, I get a call. From Peter.

"Um. Honey. The tire blew out on the freeway, in the 75 mph zone." (Note: really loud noise in the background so he had to repeat himself like 3 times)

"WHAT?! Are you okay?? Is the car okay??"

"Yeah. I'm going to call your dad to see if there's anything I can do besides just change over to the spare."

"Oh. Okay...Bye." Click. At this point, I'm freaking out a little because that's what I do in these types of situations. Then I get a call from my dad saying he's fine and a cop pulled up to help him change the tire. Then about 4 more rounds of phone tag happened, and Peter was finally back on his way to school. He made plans to go fix the tire during lunch.

Okay. Phew. Catastrophe avoided.

Lunch rolls around and I get another call from Peter that says that there are NO, I repeat, NO tire places in the area and he has to get back to school so he won't be late.

Okay. Breathe. It will be okay. Then 5:30 rolls around when school gets out, and I get a call from Peter saying that everybody in the larger immediate area closes at 6:00.

"What?!" I say, with exasperated sigh. This is going to kill me. Then I start frantically trying to find a tire place for him to stop at on his way home from school (mind you: he is an hour and a half away, having already driven on the spare for an hour on his way TO school). Again, everywhere closes at 6:00. Are you kidding me, people??

So now Peter is driving back to our house, on a spare that isn't supposed to be driven for more then 40 miles, and I am praying that he makes it home okay.

Finally, he pulls in a half an hour later than normal, perfectly okay.

Whew. Breath of fresh air.

Then I get off work a bit later, and I'm grumpy beyond belief, and hungry (not a good combination for a PMS-y redhead) and I decide that I want Taco Bell. Like, REALLY want Taco Bell. So we get all of our crap together and walk out the door, and then we see it.

The spare tire. Glaring at me in all it's miniature wonder. Daring me to drive the car again.

But I don't, and I get even grumpier due to lack of food. Finally, I resolve to eating rice and soy sauce and just go to bed. End of a very bad day.

New day! Woohoo! I wake up this morning in a good mood. Well, BETTER mood. It's going to be a good day -- we're going to get the tire fixed, we're going to be able to shopping (yay!) and our car troubles will be behind us.

So we get up. We eat. And Peter sets off to the almighty kingdom of Wal-Mart to find us this much required tire. We're looking for a used tire, looking for 60 bucks worth. Just enough to get us through until we can buy four new tires.

Me, being the frugal one that I am, I look up on WalMart.com for anything that will give me an idea of what price I'm REALLY looking at, and I find the holy grail! A clearance list of tires! And on that list, I see that we could get all four new tires for $140. Bargain baby!

But is luck on my side? I think not. Turns out they were all out of my brand new tires. Crap. So Peter asks them what it will cost to get just one tire? And the verdict is? $100 freaking dollars! For one tire!

At this point I am freaking out and just at my wits' end. I was NOT anticipating spending this much money at all the same time -- between the windshield and the registration crap and the new tire.

So what do I do? I break down in Niagara Falls tears. Because that's what drama queens on PMS do, right? Yup. I thought so.

And that has been my series of unfortunate events, all occuring within the past three days. One day, I'll learn how to just roll with it, but for now, this just all stinks.

Yeah. Windshields and registration and tires and PMS. You all stink major beans.

[ let's play a game. it's called "catch-up". ]

2009-07-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, I know! I've been going through a bit of writer's block when it comes to blogging lately, and so it's been kind of hard coming up with things to write about. Plus, reading just seems much more enjoyable! (I've been working on getting through the 6th Harry Potter book -- again -- before I see the movie next Saturday!)

Okay, so here's where we play a super fast game of "catch-up on the Jarvises". I'm sure it goes back further than this but we'll start at the 4th of July. We got stuck working over the weekend of the 4th, so we weren't able to go home, but we lucked out and our best friends up at school were there too! So we went and found some seats out in the middle of our housing area and watched the fancy fireworks. Let's not mention that they had issues even getting started. Something about the music and fireworks weren't in sync or something ridiculous like that.

I didn't get any pics of us or our friends because well, it was dark. And they hate having their picture taken so you get pictures of the fireworks to satisfy you.

In an effort to be patriotic for the holiday, we grilled pork (I know, we forgot about the hamburgers and hot dogs!) and then made these cute little red white and blue strawberry shortcakes. I was so proud of myself!

Next up in our little game of catch-up is the results of one of my goals this summer. If you know me, you know that I am notorious for setting up goals and aspirations for myself, and since I haven't been working this summer, and I have plenty of goals. Maybe one day I'll actually write about them all, but for now, I'll just tell you about the one. My goal is to learn how to cook. Okay, I know. It sounds really dumb, but I've been married for almost 2 years now, and I'm still not very skilled in the culinary arts. That would be Peter's job.

However, the other day, we were going to make dinner for our friends and make chicken kabobs, but those plans fell through. So the next day, I decided that I should try and make them for just us two and by the time I had them all kabob-ed and ready to go, I realized that I have no idea to start up the grill. That is always PP's job, and he's wasn't home yet from school. So what did I do? I showed my awesome culinary skills by sticking the kabobs in the oven!

I know. I copped out. Oh well, they turned out awesome anyway!

Basically, I made them, and then basted them in teriyaki sauce. Next time, I think I'll just chunk up the veggies and chicken, throw them on the pan and cover in teriyaki or sweet n' sour. Either way, I think they turned out great.

After the holiday weekend, we were invited down to my MIL's house to house-sit for her and feed the dogs for a week. So that's where we've been since this last Tuesday. While we were here, I've gotten to spend some much needed niece-time with my sister's daughter. The relationship between my sister and Little Princess's dad is complicated, so it's a big deal when I get to see her. So since I'm the awesome aunt that loves to spoil her nieces and nephews, we took her to the dinosaur museum! She had a great time!

This is her picking flowers at the hospital when we made a quick stop off to see PP's uncle who was there. Don't tell the hospital that she stole their flowers...she really loved it though! This picture also shows how freaking big she's gotten! She's so tall now!

Something you'll notice in all these pictures is that she is a total ham (like her auntie!). This was in the very first room, and she told me "Kawa, take a pit-ure." Because the dinosaur museum is set up on several levels and they are connected by ramps, she loved running up and down the ramps. I can't even tell you how many times we had to yell "Too far!" at her.

There was this little dinosaur sitting on the ground and she told us that she wanted to sit on it, but she was scared. She kept say "Moooom, you gotta hep me!" We took lots of pictures on this dino, but this was my favorite: it was her "grrr" face. Her actual "grrr" sound effect was way cute though!

When we got down to the last part of the museum, which was aquatic dinosaurs, she immediately got down on the ground and said "Kawa, I'm a fisth!" Immediately after I took this picture, my sister was like "Ew, get off the ground." But I didn't care, I'm the awesome auntie!

I think this is my favorite picture of the entire day. She was fascinated with this shark, and if you notice behind her, the sign says "Please Do Not Climb on Exhibit". And what did our adorable little 3 year old do? Oh yes. She climbed. On the exhibit. I love her!

Lastly, I have a cute little 8 second video for you of her growling back at the T-Rex. This is the kinds of things she did the entire time. Cracks me up everytime.

So I'm hoping that I won't be such a slacker in the future, but really, we don't have any exciting things happening in our lives. PP goes to school and I sit at home most days working on random projects. If anything exciting happens, I'll be sure to let you know!

[ my run-in with a celebrity ]

2009-06-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I had the awesome chance to have a breakfast with a totally hilarious friend of mine from last summer, Loralee, and while we were there, we ran into a celebrity.

Butterbean!

(aka, Aaron)

Also known as Loralee's adorable new baby.

Only like six weeks old!

Even when he's grumpy he's adorable!

PS. Go check out Loralee if you haven't already. She is quite awesome, if I do say so myself.
PPS. And if you Twitter, yes, Butterbean has his own Twitter account and it is babylooneytunes. He is super hilarious to follow too! Just imagine, a day in the life of a baby. Very funny stuff.
PPPS. Have a great day!

[ a bit o' toilet humor. ]

2009-06-28T11:11:00.001-07:00

Okay imagine this:

P and I are at the mall. I'm waiting for him to do his thing in Game Stop (translation: he trades in some of his old games and finds something new to buy...which ends up taking at least an hour. He's a worse shopper than I am, and that's saying something...).

I'm sitting on the little chairs that they put out in the middle of the mall for -- typically -- husbands to sit on while their beloveds spend all of their hard-earned moola.

In my case, it was me on the bench and him in the store. Anyway. Moving on.

I'm messing around with my new iPhone (Mac's new little brother), and realize, "Gee, I need to pee."

So I stroll into Game Stop to tell P that I'm running to the restroom and I receive a grunt that somewhat resembles a "Yes, dear," and I take my cute little tooshy to the restroom.

Alright, I'm going to skip the next part because I'm going on the assumption that all my readers are potty trained and know what happens in a bathroom stall.

So as I am preparing to depart my stall, I complete the final step of using the restroom. Toilet paper. Now, doing it the way I was taught, I perform a little lean-to-the-side motion to complete the task.

Apparently, the Toilet Gods do not appreciate my leaning motion and see it as severe disrespect. Lucky for me, I was in one of those new-fangled, technologically-advanced stalls with the automatic sensor for the flushing mechanism.

What I learned today is that the leaning motion is not conducive to the new-fangled, technologically-advanced toilet with the automatic sensor for the flushing mechanism, and the Toilet Gods decided to impart their wisdom upon me by setting the sensor off mid-business.

Not fun, people. NOT fun at all. I'm not one of those people that can't handle using a public restroom (in fact, I'll use one if they got it...but I don't pee in the woods. No chance.). I don't mind a little dirt. I've been to freaking boot camp, people. Dirt doesn't bother me.

However, having a standard, run-o'-the-mill toilet act like a French bidet does bother me.

Kind of gross. Okay, a lot gross.

Yeah, I really just hate it when automatic toilets go off before I intend them to. Maybe I should take it up with the Toilet Gods.

Have you ever had a toilet "flush back" at you? Nasty stuff right there.

[ my bucket list...kind of. ]

2009-06-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning my office the other weekend, and I found a whole box of homework and essays and papers from high school. In this cluttered mess, there was a list that I think I wrote in my junior year for an English class. There are 121 items on my list, so I'll only give the highlights.

2. Look for the Lochness Monster and take a picture. (Um...was this during my "travel" period?)
4. Give blood. (Still working on that one. I pretty much faint every time I try to walk in to the place)
11. Learn to speak Russian. (I must have seen a movie with a hot guy who speaks Russian)
12. Not worry about money. (Fat chance while we still have student loans)
18. Know I'm okay. (Huh. Enlightened moment?)
22. Prove myself and others that I'm a worthy person. (Still working on that one too.)
28. Ride a camel. (What?!)
34. Go to a Broadway show. (Check!)
36. Dress like the ladies in the 20's. (Check!)
43. Have a fireplace in my future house with a really thick, soft rug in front of it. (Where was my mind?? Or too many romance movies...)
48. Have someone leave roses lying around for me. (Check! *cough* PP *cough*)
49. Be a mentor. (Check!)
56. Go to Spain/Paris. (Second honeymoon anyone?)
64. Live in a cottage in Ireland for a month in the summer.
70. Fly first class. (I don't know. Is this one worth it?)
72. Sing in front of at least 500 people. (Check! Let's not mention that I forgot the words to the National Anthem in the process, but it's all about growth and experience right???)
75. Fall in love. (Check!)
82. Perform an anonymous favor.
85. Be able to say in everything, whether success or failure, "I tried." (I've had to do this a couple times already. It's called boot camp.)
91. March in a protest rally. (Rebel days, anyone?)
94. Earn a million dollars a year. (Girl, are you serious??)
101. Get a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. (AHH! Only one more year and I'm done!!!!)
102. Marry a man who loves me. (Check!)
107. Kiss in the rain. (Check!)
116. Be a soccer mom. (This one is still true. Shh. Don't tell.)
120. Burn the microcosm. (Check! Mushy english class thing. Love you Ms. J!)

Most of the ones I skipped were visiting places, so I figured you'd get bored reading about Australia and France and England and Ireland and Spain. But after looking over these, it makes you realize how much you change even after a few year. I mean, I wrote this list before P and I met, so the vision I had for my life was much more aimed at leading a life by myself. Who needs men anyway?? Pssshhh.

get real people.

2009-06-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

As most of you may know, when I am otherwise unoccupied with obligations, requirements and other mindless tasks (i.e., no school, no work, no husband, no cleaning, etc. etc. etc.), I love watching TV.

I know, I wrote about this like 2 posts ago, but I have to say this now. And I also want to add the disclaimer that I don't normally delve into political type arenas because it's just not my thing, but I wanted to say something about the recent "scandal."

Moving forward.

I like to peruse all channels, including TNT, HGTV, AMC, FOX, and Style.

Lately, however, I have lost my heart to TLC.

Its numerous reality TV shows have sunken my life to new depths I never thought I could experience, and yet, it has happened.

Between Say Yes to the Dress, A Baby Story and What Not to Wear, my life is consumed by this all powerful television station. It is on while I work, play, craft, clean, cook. Everything.

But there has been one show lately that has caught my attention that I had never watched before this last month (I'm sure you know where I'm going with this), and it has been entertaining to watch say the least.

Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Do I love watching adorable little children in their antics to perform acts that will cause their parents' hair to fall out? Yes.

Do I love watching playful gestures between parents, which might -- in some deep, dark part of space -- be construed as love? Yes.

Do I love watching parents who love their kids with every blood cell in their body? Yes.

Do I love watching parents bicker with each other and degrade each other and just be downright rude to each other?

Not so much.

And unfortunately, it was only as of late that the show started to take a turn (albeit very dramatized for television, I know) for the worse. I loved it before that! And as we all know, with their grand announcement on Monday, I was waiting in anticipation for what the world of reality/child star/parental guidance TV world would hold for me.

And I was failed by my beloved television.

Jon and Kate (minus 8) would be getting a divorce.

You suck, TV. You do.

Honestly, here's the straightforward truth of what I think about this whole thing (not that you care much, but if you make it to the end of this post, there might be cake).

Do they bicker? Yes. Does Jon not stand up for himself? Yes. Is Kate very demanding? Yes. Does their life suck, according to the way it appears on TV? Yes. Does that matter in the slightest???? NO.

Heavens-to-Betsie, people. You have children. Which means you are stuck together for all freaking time and eternity until you figure this one out. When they went to make their "announcement," my honest pink fluffy heart thought that they were announcing that this would be their last season and that they were going to take time to work on their marriage.

Again, I say, I was failed.

My mother-in-law told me when we got married (at 20 years old, mind you -- young and still "wild"), that if we were to go through with this, there wasn't any turning back. You're committed. I don't think that people will stay stagnant with the way they love each other from the moment they marry because people change, but you have to be willing to change along the way. I honestly believe that without the cameras and glam and lights, they would have been able to make it work (possibly with counseling and such, but who cares? If it works, it works.).

They've got their kids to think about and that's the part that concerns me the most. It was cute to have them on TV when they were little and didn't know about the world of media and what it can do to a child, but not any more. They know now. And that scares me.

Whew. Well I'm going to get off my soapbox and stop blabbering about people that I'll never meet and are probably completely different in real life. This whole thing might have just been made up to play off the emotions of little stay-at-home wives like me.

Maybe I should stop watching TV too, while I'm at it.

Nah. Won't happen.

(Yay! You made it to the end! And sorry, no cake. But I can make dang good brownies, if you want to venture to the frozen north to get them!)

*And as if this post wasn't long enough, I want to put out one more disclaimer: I am not trying to bag on families that have children where the marriage didn't work out. If you figured out a way to make it work for you, I'm very happy for you. I am just expressing my opinions as interpreted from the mind of a naive 22 year old. My opinions might change in the future, but for now, this is it.*

[ ew. gross. ]

2009-06-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we went down to our parents' house and I stayed there while PP went to school. When we got back, I found this in our laundry baskets.

(Don't mind the nasty dirt and stuff -- it's obviously been a while since I've done laundry...)

I can handle most bugs, but bees: no. freaking. way. I don't do bees. A very bad experience as a child.

The weird thing was is that it was already dead when I got home. I sat there staring at it for like 10 minutes deciding whether or not to try and poke it. I am that much of a wuss. I wonder if it gave up on trying to get out of my house (especially since there's no windows in my laundry room...) and died. Sucks for the bee.

I'm sorry if I grossed you out, but seriously, this grossed ME out.

Have a great day!

[ you know you watch too much What Not to Wear when... ]

2009-06-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

To use a very common Utah term, OH. MY. HECK.

Seriously, people. I have been stuck in my house SO much that I leave the TV on most of the day while I get random work done, and most of the time, it is on What Not to Wear on TLC. Either that, or Clean House on Style.

And it is destroying my life.

Okay, not really. In truth, I absolutely LOVE Stacy and Clinton.

But I went shopping for clothes the other day, and I found myself pointing at clothes and telling my friend: "I can't wear that. Stacy says it won't flatter my butt..." amongst plenty of other comments to myself.

But overall, here's the top 10 things I've learned from my beloved Stacy and Clinton:

1. Jean Choice: Only wear skinny jeans if you have a small frame and are very curve-less. *This one does not apply to me. Sad day.*

2. Waistlines: Always look for dresses and tops that have a cinching action around the waistline (i.e., belt, ribbon, tie, etc.). This will accentuate the best part of women -- their waists! *I struggle with this one because I have an excessively large bust and so I feel self-conscious about it.*

3. Fit: Find clothes that fit the largest part of your body, then tailor the clothes to fit the rest of it. *Again, I have issues with this because of my "blessings," and my lack of funds to tailor. But I would totally do this if I had the money to!*

4. Eyeshadow: Apply white/vanilla/silver shadow (depending on your skin tone) right underneath your eyebrows to make your eyes pop. *I started doing this and I LOVE it!*

5. Cheeks: You can also use that same shade from #4 along your cheekbone above your blush to add a highlight. *Also started doing this one, and LOVE it too!*

6. Pants: Pants need to fit the largest part of your hip and then create a straight line down from their for wide leg jeans. As they put it, "wide leg jeans will NEVER go out of style." *Haven't tried this one yet. I'm still stuck in flare jeans.*

7. Usability: Buy your clothes in separates so you get more usability out of your clothes. This applies to suits and tops and jeans and everything. *I just think this is brilliant, not that I've done it yet.*

8. Color: Use "pops" of color in everything. Typically, they suggest that you combine neutrals with these little pops of color to get the most use out of your clothes. *I love color but I struggle I lot because of my redhead skin tone. What I've learned is brown is good, yellow is bad, and silver is not suggested. That's about all I know about my color.*

9. Knee Length Skirts: I have never seen them put any woman in a skirt that is any lower than the knee, which totally makes sense because it will elongate the leg since you can actually see it. *This one bums me out because I love my floor length, fitted, khaki skirt. :( *

10. Shoes: When given the option, always choose a pointy toe shoe. They, again, elongate the leg and make you look "long and lean." *I also have a complex about being taller than PP since we're the same height, so I don't typically buy heels, but I do love them. Sad.*

Overall, I LOVE What Not to Wear and it drives PP nuts.

But who cares? He's not home most of the time anyway. *blows raspberry*

*All copyrights belong to TLC and the Style Network.*

[ a bit of very pleasant news ]

2009-06-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer* - I have tried and tried and tried to get the formatting to work correctly on this post but for some reason it hates me. Sorry it's all bunched together at the end.

Before I get on to the very pleasant news, I totally want to make an excuse as to why I haven't posted in awhile:

When Peter began school about 3 weeks ago (which is an hour and a half away), he took our dear son, Mac, with him to keep him company. However, Mac is my heart and soul when it comes to blogging, and picture holding, and picture editing, etc. etc. and we all know how BORING posts are without pictures. Thus, because Mac and Peter have been away, I have not posted. But don't worry your pretty little heads about it, I've got PLENTY of ideas for posts, and Peter comes home tomorrow. Prepare for the overload.

Moving on.

The very pleasant news.

It has been very crummy weather lately. Rain. Hail. Sleet. Microbust. You get the idea. And with the crummy weather, comes a very crummy Red. I must have that condition where you get emotionally impacted by the weather. This is what I woke up to today:

I know. It looks kind of pretty. But those mountains are supposed to be about three times bigger than that sliver you see along the bottom.

And these were the mountains right above my house, before you go into the canyon. Again, pretty, but SUCKY at the same time. This was also one of the few times it wasn't pouring down rain -- it was more of a drizzle at this point.

Anyway, with Peter being gone and the weather being bad and me being completely unmotivated to do most things, I've been pretty bummed lately.

So on a random whim -- and when I say "random", I truly mean it...I haven't done this since Peter left -- I pulled on our Wii Fit board and game, and decided to see how much I weighed. I've been having issues with my weight lately (it was a tid bit higher than normal), so I decided to check it out.

And I lost 7 pounds since Peter has been gone!

Holy. crap. What happened?? Actually, don't answer that. I already know the answer. It's called I've been basically single again!!! The biggest factor is that I don't eat huge meals anymore because he's not around to eat us out of house and home. I haven't grocery shopped in over two weeks and have been totally fine. It's weird!

Anyway, that's about to all end here pretty quick. Peter found somebody locally here that is also in his class, and she commutes everyday down to the school, and so he wants to carpool with her instead of living with his brother. And actually, it will end up being cheaper for us because what she is asking for in gas money is less than what we pay now for his bus pass. Sweet deal!

And I get my hubby every night!

That's a pretty great feeling. Go hubby -- way to be social and find carpools!

Except that now I'm probably going to gain the weight back. Bummer.

Once upon a time, a little girl named Red had allergies....

2009-05-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

And these allergies were of the worst kind.

Bringing sneezes, and sniffles, and runny noses, and sore throats, and headaches, and everything in between.

Red had a hard time sleeping and eating and exercising...all the things a good little girl should be doing.

Red fought the allergies with Tylenol, and Singulair, and Therflu, but none of these modern weapons even had an impact on the allergies.

They just kept coming and coming.

And it doesn't help that Red's best friend Peter just left for seven months, with the occasional visit. Now she had to fight the battle alone. Oh no!

Red will keep fighting these monstrous mucus fiends until the very end, leaving only one victor standing.

The End.

(This is my little way of apologizing for being a bit out of it these past few weeks, between the allergies and visiting family and such. Just remember, I'm still around -- even if that is curled up in a tiny ball watching the entire series of Bones and So You Think You Can Dance. Love!)

And he's off!

2009-05-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Remember how I told you a few weeks ago about hubby going back to school?

Well, that day is today.

And it's a little bittersweet for me. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm going to enjoy being able to keep the house clean for once and get to watch the TV when I want to. :)

But I'm really going to miss him. The stupid thing is, he's going to be back in four days to stay for the weekend. And he'll do that every week!

So why am I so SAD?!

Maybe this will help us prep for when I deploy later. We'll see.

On a lighter note, I FINALLY have a meeting with a professor tomorrow that will hopefully end with me getting a job. That would be mucho mucho nice right now. It would help distract me from PP being gone.

I even miss his stinky socks. How pathetic is that.

This must be what going crazy feels like.

2009-05-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

School has been out for two weeks now, and after being abruptly made aware during Finals week that I wouldn't have a job this summer, I have been on the hunt during these two weeks as well. However, in the down time while I wait for someone to call, I have a very hard time going from 14 hour days to having absolutely nothing to do at all. For these reasons, I have taken PP on a wild and crazy adventure called household renovation and organization. Here's just a few thing that's I have done. :)

This first project was the gift I made for my mom and my mother-in-law for Mother's Day right after Finals. I was at my parents' house for about four days without PP and I was needing things to do to occupy my brain! I made identical pin cushions that I found on Make It and Love It. I used foam and cotton balls to stuff it with and I think that if I ever did it again, I would probably use batting instead. Pins have a little bit of issue with cotton balls for some reason.

After I finished their pin cushions, I wanted to make them cards but had left all of my card-making supplies at home. So I made a quick run to the store, bought some premade blank cards, ribbon and bows, and voila! A cute, "handmade" card.

After I got home, I realized that my house was an absolute mess (I guess that's what happens when you leave your husband home to be a bachelor for a few days). Here's a few of my cleaning projects. First was the laundry: you couldn't see the floor and the laundry was all stacked up against the washer and dryer. It was atrocious.

Next came the dishes, which I didn't get a picture of because they aren't completely done yet and I am still a bit ashamed of them. Maybe once PP goes back to school starting next week, I could start keeping the house clean on my own. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.

After the cleaning, I decided that I hated the set-up of our kitchen mucho mucho. We have this weird triangle shaped kitchen that has a lot of cupboard space, but it's not very organized. And if you know me at all, I am excessively organized. We went to the heaven of all home organization stores IKEA (!!!) to find these awesome shelves for a blank wall in our kitchen, and I.LOVE.THEM. See, look. They are AMAZING!

I also just want to note that the bottom three buckets are all recycling bins. See how awesome we are?? Trying to save the world, one pop can at a time. After we had these great shelves, we were THEN at Smith's and PP said, "Why don't we buy some herbs (that I probably won't use...whoops)? That would be GREAT!" "Okay, sweetheart! That would be great!"

See how cute they are! I love them with pink and fluffy hearts. :)

Okay, THEN one night, after I took a shower and was putting on some PJ's, I noticed that I have a lot of "excess" things in my closet. So I decided to get rid of a bunch of stuff, and this is what I came up with. Luckily, we also have a yard sale coming up that we'll be able to get a little bit of money. Woohoo!

Then also in this same closet, I decided that I have too many shoes, so I stacked them up like this with an old bookshelf I had:

THEN I realized that PP and I don't have a way to organize our underwear and socks and other such garments. So guess what I did? Oh yes, I bought MORE organizational stuff. And look! They are even colored coded! Pink and blue. I'm so clever. ;)

Alright, these other ones were more recently than the rest of this. I went running a few days ago and afterwards, I had to put something away in the shed outside. Two hours later, I had the whole thing organized and pulled apart getting things ready for that same upcoming yard sale.

All the things on the floor except for the bike are all things I am parting with in the yard sale. Thank goodness and good riddance! Unfortunately, it's a lot of stuff that we got for our wedding that we've never used. Sorry if your gift is in the box! hehe.

Okay, the last project that we finished two days ago is totally PP's idea. And I think he had an awesome idea! We had this really hideous flower bed in our yard when we moved in, and last fall, I raked out all the nasty gray bark that the previous owners had left. After that, we couldn't decide what to do with it. Finally, this spring, we were at Lowe's and said, "What the heck. Let's just do SOMETHING with it." And this is what we came up with:

The tulips are dying slightly because they are transplants. They were hiding behind the tree, and we made an attempt at salvaging them. We'll see if they survive! In the front of the bed, we planted grass. I hope it works! *fingers crossed*

This is the only room that's left: the office. It's basically been the dumping zone for all the junk we don't know what to do with. So I guess that's next week's project!

Anyway, so this must be what it feels like when you give an engineering student who normally spents 14 hours in a computer lab ALL THE TIME THEY WANT. And honestly, I'm kind of going crazy now. Anybody need their house organized?

resistance is futile.

2009-05-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

I can't help it.

I am the child of two, all-natural hippies -- love, sex, peace, and change.

I am also the child of a Navy man, so moving and changing is in my blood.

And no I'm not going to make some social commentary on the new presidential agenda and his change. I like him. And he's my new boss. So deal.

And as you probably have all noticed, I have some issues, and most of them revolve around the set up of this blog. I am never satisfied.

Until now. Sort of.

I have come to the conclusion that I am never satisfied with being satisfied with my blog template. And for this reason, I got very frustrated last night and started fiddling around with my coding, and voila, created my own.

And you know, I kind of like creating blogs, as I've got probably five of my own. And I like making templates for each and every one of them.

And am considering making templates for others to post on here for others.

For FREE.

Because Red is nice like that.

And because I need new templates seeing as I just get bored way too easily with my own.

So there you go, I've got a new template and new hobby.

Go change!

*NOTE: I have to also say that all the credit for me "figuring it out" about these blogging templates goes to the wonderful ladies over at The Cutest Blog on the Block. They totally saved my hiney and their tutorials taught me a TON. Check them out if you want to learn too!

Beauty Tips from Mom

2009-05-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Since I'm not a mom yet, and everyone who is in my same position has been posting about how great their moms are, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon.

And I thought I would take it one step further and tell you WHY she is so absolutely awesome!

When I was thinking about what my mom has taught me in my oh-so-long 22 years of life, one thing kept popping into my head: beauty. This woman has taught me SO many beauty tips, it's kind of excessive, but I thought I would take this opportunity to pass on a few tips from my mom.

For starters and to give you a little background, my mom is a very simple person. She grew up in an age of "natural beauty" (ie, she was a hippie in the 70's). Free love, no bras, and all natural everything.

For these reasons, her approach to beauty is very simple, very practical, and very natural.

Here are a few of her beauty tips, all involving the wonderful world of makeup:

(1) Always apply your foundation and other makeup around sensitive areas of your face (under your eyes, on your eyelids) with your ring finger. It is a very weak digit and therefore won't pull this sensitive skin as badly as another finger or a sponge.

(2) As you get older and start developing "vein-lines" on your eyelids, make sure that you put foundation on your eyelids to cover it up. This will not only help keep your eye makeup intact and prevent smudging, but will make you look younger!

(3) With fair skin such as my mother's and mine, you tend to get a gray tinge under your eyes just from the way your skin is colored, and if you put a lighter colored foundation than you normally use below your eyes, it helps eliminate that "grayness", covers the bags, and give you an upbeat look!

(4) For those of us that are oh-so-blessed with very fair skin, which results in eyebrows that go from our natural color on the inside of the brow and transitioning to blonde about halfway through the brow, we need to draw our eyebrows on with a pencil. Personally, I use the same brown eyeliner that I use for my eye makeup as for my eyebrows and it works for me. But that isn't the beauty tip. The tip is this: when you finish off a bottle of mascara, keep the brush, wash it off, and use it as the brush that you smooth out your eyebrow makeup with. This is what mine looks like. I usually buy the cheaper mascara so it's nothing fancy.

You can buy fancy eyebrow brushes at the store, but this tip seems to work just great and I've been doing it for years. However, be careful to switch it out as often as you change your mascara because excess brow pencil will build up on the bristles and start to smear your brows after a long time. You should be okay though if you change it out every three months or whenever you change out to a new mascara bottle. Or wash it off again. Either will work.

(5) Don't wash your hair everyday, if you can avoid it. If you have oily hair, it's a bit harder to do this one, but I've been blessed that my hair doesn't normally get greasy until the end of the second day or so. It helps your hair SO much by avoiding breakage and dryness. This tip is also a little bit harder to do when you have short hair like mine and you get what my husband likes to call "crazy hair" in the morning because of it, that only a re-style will fix.

(6) And here is a last little tip from me that I've picked up along the way. I am not a huge fan of curling my hair under into a cute little bob like some women do. Instead, I like it stick straight and sort of "funky spunky" on the ends, as I like to call it. To do this, rub a little bit of bar soap and water in your hands and smooth it into the ends of your hair, being careful to avoid the roots. If you hit the roots, it might make your hair greasy faster. Also, if your hair is naturally oily and you tend to be oily by the end of one day, you should try it out on a day that you don't have anywhere to go to see what happens. Or be prepared with a pony tail holder for the evening. Also, you could try getting a bar soap that doesn't have as many moisturizers in it (avoid Olay, Dove, etc. basically the more expensive ones). This is a trick I've learned to help save some money on hair product and it's already in my house!

So these are the things my mom has taught me. Hope you liked them, and have a great Mother's Day!

Pick me, pick me! jumps up and down out of her chair

2009-05-06T11:36:00.001-07:00

I have a question:

I've never had this problem on my home computer but when I logged on to my blog at my parents' house, my template was all skewampous. The template isn't matching up with itself.

Do you guys have that problem too?

This is what the weirded out version looks like:

See how the edges don't match up? The purple date boxes are supposed to be right up against the white post boxes. Is this what my blog looks like on your screen? Either way, comment me and let me know. It might be time for yet ANOTHER template change if this one isn't even working right to begin with.

Bummer.

A snippet from home of the parentals.

2009-05-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

Alright yall. I'm not dead. Nor have I given up on my favorite pasttime: the blogosphere!

I have been at my parents house for the past 3 or 4 days, and although I have had a computer, I have taken a ton of pics that I don't want to upload until I get home to my computer.

So you'll just have to wait!

And I know you are oh-so-excited for it. Talk to you super soon!

Of Finals and Flu.

2009-04-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

A poem.

Okay, not really because I stink at writing poetry.

But here's what happened:

We had dinner with some friends on Sunday night -- double decker tacos. Homemade. Mmmm.

I woke up Monday morning. Just peachy.

Drank my normal Slimfast breakfast...started feeling queezy. Had a muffin and banana from a Finals Breakfast buffet at the engineering building.

Started feeling more queezy.

My Heat & Mass transfer final was at 11:30-1:20, and throughout the entire thing, I could hardly think clearly because of how nasty I felt. Promptly after leaving the final, I called Peter to come take me home, where I commenced "flu-like" behaviors.

Many, many, bathroom visits people. Gross. I couldn't really move or drink or eat anything. In fact, in twenty four hours, I ate one cracker.

It was at this point that I emailed my teacher of my final on Tuesday, and asked if there was any possible way that he could believe that I was not just a lame student trying to get out of his final and if he could please have mercy on my poor, pitiful, puking soul?? (See, I just used alliteration...maybe I should have been an English major...bah)

The stars were in my favor! He said that if I came nowhere near him to possibly infect him with my swine flu (okay, wait, how did he jump from just your normal, everyday flu to sickness contracted from a pig...I have no idea, but yes, he did it), he would give me 2 days to complete the exam instead of the three hour period everyone else had.

Praise the lord and raise those hands to the heavens! Being sick has actually benefited me in a blessing kind of way!

So here I am, it's Wednesday night, I have felt fine for two days, and I still haven't finished that take home exam...that would be due tomorrow by 5:00. I'm an awesome student.

PS. And besides everyone asking me if I have the swine flu, why is it that their second reaction is "Are you pregnant???!!" Really? Can't I just be your normal variety of sick without having some sort of pig virus or growing a second person?

Let it go. "It's just a shoe."

:)

PPS. That last part was for those of you that have seen one of my favorite musicals EVER which I'm going to see again on Sunday! More of that to come later...

The Fairy Tale Love Letter!

2009-04-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I realized that my blog roll is way, entirely, RIDICULOUSLY too long, so I'm going to take a suggestion from a friend, and just turn it into something more fun!

Welcome to the Fairy Tale LOVE LETTER!

This is where I will post my blog roll, and if I'm missing you and you want to get in on the Love Letter action, comment me and I'll put you on!

They are in more or less alphabetical order. :)

Aaron @ ACE
Amanda @ A.R.A.
Amanda @ The Bjarnsons
Angie @ My So-Called Chaos
Annie @ is this thing on...
Calli @ Always An Adventure
Chelsea @ Skyler & Chelsea
Chelsea @ S'Moore Adventures
Christine @ The Skousens
Connie @ Fat Mommy to Hot Mommy
Connie @ The Young and Relentless
Creers @ The Claw Clan
Erin @ DEHH
Erin @ The Davis Boys
Haley @ Le Cutlers
Jane Anne @ Becoming Jane Anne
Jenn @ Bruceyland
Jess @ Indiana Jess
Jessie & Sean @ "Be the change..."
Kim @ KJW Pix
Ky @ The Warrens
Leah @ We Are the Albrights
Libby @ Keeping up with the Joneses
Loralee @ Loralee's Looney Tunes
Margaret @ Grandma Margaret's
Marni @ Jerni
Meghan @ Musings and Must Knows
Melanie @ The Abshire Fam
Melissa @ Mel & Jer
Michelle @ Family Heiner
Michelle @ The Way Things Roll
Michelle & Bob @ Chesnuts Roasting
Mindi @ The Holmgrens
Nicole @ Fast & Furious Life
Nikol @ The Larsen Family
Polly @ Polly & Ty
Rob & Lil @ The Severinsen Family
Sam @ Bull in the Hall
Sara & Dan @ The Sheets
Shannon @ The Tolmans
Shaun @ Shaun "Hammer Hands" Barrowes
Tracy @ The Cook Family

today, instead of studying, I think I'll....

2009-04-26T07:49:00.001-07:00

watch the entire series of Gilmore Girls...

or Charmed...

or whatever...

Just because I don't want to study for Heat & Mass Transfer, and Instrumentation, and Machine Design.

Blech.

I just thought this was cool.

2009-04-22T11:02:00.001-07:00

And I am sitting in one of my classes, bored out of my mind.

So I was checking out my stat counter, and I found this picture:

This picture shows where everyone is coming from to hit my site. Cool huh?

And Michelle, when I saw Thailand on there, I thought "What the...? Who do I know in THAILAND???" And then I remembered. :)

Happy spring everyone!

What else is left?

2009-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

unfortunately, a lot.

one final on Thursday.

one eight hour exam on Saturday that I have to pass to graduate on the Fundamentals of Engineering -- also note: I haven't really studied for it yet. *gulp*

two finals on Monday.

one final on Wednesday.

then I'm free!

(...wish me luck...)

Thinking is the worst possible thing I could be doing right now.

2009-04-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

And yet it's the only thing I've been doing lately.

I've been thinking a lot about privacy of this blog. As most of you can tell, I've been using the pseudonym of "Little Red" for a long time, and I still love it. I think that it helps me maintain a little bit of privacy in this wide world of blogging.

Then I got to thinking some more. Why doesn't T have a pseudonym for my little blogging world? So I asked him what he wanted to be:

"Honey, what name do you want to have on my blog?"

"Um. 'Husband'?"

*glare from wife.*

"Well, maybe Wolverine?"

"Sweetie, it has to be a fairy tale name!"

"Okay. The Abominable Snow Man?"

"What?? Where did that come from??"

"I'm a big, fluffy guy."

*Wife rolls eyes* "What about Jack Frost?"

"Are you saying I am cold and heartless???"

"No. I just like the name."

"No, babe. Not Jack."

"Okay...."

And so the conversation went for quite awhile. In the end, I think we came to a good compromise: Peter Pan. We picked that because Peter is a kid that never wants to grow up and that fits my husband to a T (no pun intended, hehe).

So together, we are Little Red and Peter Pan. Two kids who got married and forgot to grow up.

Sounds pretty good to me!

And the winner is...!!

2009-04-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not as cool as other bloggers and give away awesome prizes. No, I'm not even close to being that cool.

However, I will warn you that this is totally a bragging post, and you can continue reading if you feel so inclined.

Now, with all disclaimers aside, I just have to say...

I'M AWESOME!

No, really.

Just kidding.

But seriously.

Here's the rundown:

So this last weekend I went to a national leadership conference for a service organization I am involved with (Arnold Air Society). We do totally awesome projects and this year's project was all about raising cancer awareness and fundraising for cancer families, etc. Basically anything to do with cancer. It is probably one of the best organizations I have ever been involved with and because I love it so much, I pretty much bust my butt to make things happen for it. I have been assigned to being a Public Affairs officer for the past year, and it has been hard, demanding, emotional but totally worth it.

With that said, apparently I did a good enough job (hehe) to win two national awards for being the PA out of all the 135 universities that are involved in Arnold Air. Here's the first:

"National Outstanding PA of the Year"

Here's the second:

"General John D. Ryan Outstanding Public Affairs Award recognizes the outstanding

PA program in the country."

Okay, so that was the big thing that happened last weekend in Phoenix. In addition to my awards, my entire squadron ended up coming by with 12 awards overall. It was awesome!

When we got back from Phoenix, we started prepping for Parade, which is an AF awards ceremony that happened yesterday. Basically, we stand at attention for an hour while they call out awards, at which point you can run up to the front to get it.

Luckily, they called my name three times.

All three of the awards I received add bling to my uniform -- woot! Here's a picture of two of them:

The award on the left is the Reserve Officer Association Award which "recognizes an outstanding sophomore, junior, and senior cadet. These individuals earned this award as a result of their demonstrated leadership skills and positive professional attitudes."

The award on the right is the Daughters of the American Revolution award which "recognizes an outstanding senior cadet who is actively engaged in the ROTC program, possesses individual characteristics contributing to leadership and has demonstrated a high level of academic excellence and military skills."

The last award is the AFROTC Commendation Award which "is given to no more than 10% of the cadet corps for both singular and sustained acts of leadership excellence."

Sorry, no picture with this one. It doesn't have a medal with it, but it is a ribbon that I could put on my uniform. Yay for bling!

They all kind of sound the same but that's okay. I like them all anyway.

Alrighty. So that's that then.

And the last and most awesome thing that happened this week is I found out is....

Nope, not pregnant.

Nope, didn't win a million dollars.

Nope, I'm not going to the moon.

EVEN BETTER!!

Okay, maybe not, but I think it's pretty cool.

I officially have a job when I graduate...and I already know what it is!!

In May 2010, I will be the Air Force's newest Developmental Mechanical Engineer! (Or a 62EXH, for you Air Force savvy folks!)

Isn't that great?!

Okay, so it's been a pretty good week, and I'll stop bragging now. ;)

Have a great day! And pray for no more snow!!!!

Oh, yeah baby.

2009-04-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to procrastinate my 40 page paper just a tidbit longer, I wandered around the world wide web and found this:

WEATHER FOR PHOENIX, AZ:

And that makes it all worthwhile. Oh. Yeah.

2 days and counting...

Not dead. Well, I could be soon.

2009-04-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating. Here's a list of all the reasons I've been missing from my favorite pastime:

Wrote a 26 page report due Friday. Yes, I am a week early. That's just how I roll.

Created a newsletter that is compiled of articles from 11 different universities in five different states.

Made a newsletter for my little neighborhood, soon to be distributed.

Spent over 15 hours in the engineering computer lab composing said projects.

Prepping for a conference next weekend in PHOENIX (out of the freak snow storm region and into the warmth...YES!), where I will miss 5 days, including 3 days of school. Suck.

Bought a swimsuit for said conference. Can you tell I'm excited for some warm weather??

Successfully got through midterms, without any major bad grades. I'm very happy to be average. Just pass me and I'll be happy.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Said conference. In the warmth. Mmmm.....I will update soon about what an AWESOME time I had in the hot weather when I get back. I know, you're jealous.

Need to still write a 40 page project report for my Design class, where we have spent all semester designing a bicycle shock. Am I interested in building bicycle shocks? Not so much. I like satellites. Not bicycle shocks. But I get to write 40 pages about it. Whoopee.

Need to study for an 8 hour engineering exam that I HAVE TO PASS to graduate next spring. Oh, and did I mention that it is given the Saturday before finals week? And I have two finals on Monday? Yeah, that's going to fun.

Hey, good news though! In a few weeks, I will find out what job the AF has officially decided to shove me into. It's a bit complicated with what I asked them for but I'll tell you about that when I find out.

And the most exciting news! I'm going to Wicked in less than a MONTH!!

THAT is worth getting excited over!

If I'm a bit MIA over the next month, these are the reasons why.

Please don't forget about me although I'm going to a be a bit of a slacker for awhile.

Wish me luck!

The Long Awaited "Good News"!

2009-03-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so first thing: I'm not pregnant. I know there are so many people that are wishing pregnancy on us, but you will all have to hold your dang horses.

After three years of a wavering love/hate relationship with the academic arena, we have finally made a grand family decision.

Hubby is making a life change.

He quit school a year ago due to a wavering towards the hate side of the relationship with academic arena.

And we have finally found a way to rectify his hate relationship with the academic arena.

HUBBY IS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!

Hubby has decided that he would like to go back to school, and the best part yet:

He's going to be a masseuse!!

Do you even REALIZE how much I am going to benefit from this??? Oh yeah, baby. I get to be the official practice dummy.

And. I. am. excited.

The only downfall: the school isn't where we live so unfortunately, he's going to be living away from our home about half the week, until December. Bummer.

Maybe that means I'll be able to keep the house clean for once since we've been together. We'll see! ;)

So that's it!

2009-03-29T19:58:00.001-07:00

This is the new me! I'm liking it much better.

What do you think?

Okay, two things tonight.

2009-03-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have had two things on my mind lately that I've been wanting to blog about, so you get to suffer through it. bwa haha.

ONE: Do you ever get the feeling that you are just so in love with your blogger template that you could just sit and stare at it all day and blow it sweet kisses???

Well. I don't.

In fact. I'm more along the lines of "want-to-throw-my-blogger-template-through-a-window-because-I'm-too-busy-to-find-another-one-that-will-even-partially-satisfy-my-futile-need-for-perfectionism."

I'm working on changing it. Again. For like the 80th time this year. Sorry.

TWO: I have some very happy news that I want to tell you all about but it's going to have to wait until another day very very soon. Right now, I should be studying for an exam on Friday but hubby's about to leave to go watch a movie with his friend and I feel the need for smoochies. ;)

(And no, Erin. I'm not pregnant. hehe. That will be a post for another day far, FAR in the future. Like say, 2012.)

So you know that old saying "Baby needs a new pair of shoes?"

2009-03-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well, the saying around our house right now is "Hubby needs a new pair of underwear."

Seriously.

Picture this: I'm minding my own business, folding laundry in our bedroom while T is watching something probably horribly violent in the living room with one of his friends in an attempt to gain back some of their testosterone after said friend's wife and I dragged all four of us to a completely awful chick flick, of which I will leave unnamed. Ugh. It was bad.

Where was I? Oh yes. Folding laundry.

Okay, so here I am folding laundry when I come across something strange: it looks like a string of overstretched elastic attached to something that might have been Tarzan's first feeble attempt at a loin cloth before Jane brought him out of the jungle and civilized him.

It was only then that I realized that this primal g-string slightly resembled a pair of boxers that T must have worn in a bygone age.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

Why is it that men will just grab "whatever" from the closet no matter what it is or the manner of repair it is in?

I don't get it.

We must have this conversation all the time that he needs to tell me when his clothes become tatters pieces of days past.

Just tell me you need new freakin' clothes!

But he just says: "Well, I just doesn't think about it."

Yup. Got that, hun.

Oh, so you noticed that huh?

2009-03-09T17:17:00.001-07:00

Hello, everyone.

My name is Red, and I'm a bloggaholic.

It has been 15 days since my last post.

Hi, Red.

Seriously though. Four midterms later, I have officially made it through to Spring Break, which is where I am sitting happily on my rump on my wonderful couch, watching my fantastic husband play odd video game demos on his new PS3.

(Yes, we also added a new member to our family this past 15 days too)

I hope you all don't hate me for my extended leave of absence, but I do have some pretty awesome posts in the works. For now, I'm about to go indulge in the wonderfulness of freezer ice cream because it's Spring Break.

And I can.

Okay, I SWEAR this is the last time I talk about this.

2009-02-23T19:29:00.001-08:00

At least for the next week or so...

Well, I did it! Chopped it all off!

Here's the before:

And the after:

There you go! Now I'll shut my yap about hair for awhile.

WAY too much fun.

2009-02-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

So a friend of mine did this on her blog, and I was a curious little child, so I had to try it too. You stick in your website and it pulls all of the words you use and illustrates them according to how often they are used.

So I get the feeling that I am obsessed with love, cake, and hair cuts. Yup, sounds about right! ;)

Check out Wordle to make your own!

I (May) Have Come to a Decision

2009-02-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

*dun* *dun* *dun*

After much googling and senseless wasting of time on the internet trying to avoid my homework, I think I may have found a hairstyle to try out.

For those of you that may not know, this is Sgt Jill Stevens, Miss Utah 2007. If you get a chance, you should google her and read her story. She is a combat medic for the Utah National Guard, and was crowned Miss Utah in 2007. When she went to Miss America, she was "America's Choice" meaning that out of the 52 contestants, she was the one America picked to continue in the top 15. Pretty sweet!

Eventually she was eliminated, but her story goes to show that you aren't just one thing in life -- she was a soldier and a beauty queen. I guess you can have the best of both worlds.

Anyway, I love the way her hairstyle is long looking, but still short enough to wear in uniform (which she is required to do anyway!). I think this is the direction to try!

What do you think?

I have a predicament.

2009-02-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

WARNING: I am about to give you "the talk." Well, maybe "a talk."

There comes a time in every woman's life (in my case, it's about three times a year) where she's tells her husband/boyfriend/best friend/significant other that "I need a change."

Well, folks, the time has come for this little redhead to "get a change," and this change is coming in the form of a haircut. A drastic haircut, hopefully.

Let me give you a little bit of background information:

I am a redhead (duh). And because of this, I am very attached to my hair. Growing up, I would always have women coming up to me telling me "Oh, her hair is so gorgeous!!" and "I wish I had hair like hers!" and "She's adorable!"

This attitude has created quite a complex for I have been led to believe that to have beautiful hair, you had to have it. And LOTS of it. And so I did.

And for most of my life, it's been long. Really long.

Okay, ignore my face here people. I'm just trying to make a point.

And it hasn't always been long. There were a few times where I cut it short, trying to see what I would look like.

And I know what you're thinking. Red, that's really not that short! It's like collar bone length! Yes, people. I know. I used to cut it that "short" because once a week (and in a year from now it will be every day), I have to do this:

And pull the whole dang thing back. Now while I know I look positively hot and like I could totally kick your trash with my little electric pick, the bun really seems to take away from the femininity of it all. Let's face it, I kind of hate looking like a man.

So here's the predicament wrapped up in one sentence: I want to cut my hair short enough to wear it in uniform (ie above the collar) but long enough to still look cute when I style it.

Here's about what I look like right now, except it's probably two inches below my collar bone now.

This one is too short for me:

The next two are more in the genre I'm looking for:

The more formal version.

The more day to day version.

I want my hair to still look and feel long-ish, so keep the cut up the back to a minimum, but also have it be a bit shaggy and piecy. Maybe I'm just over my head at the moment.

Oh, and I really love the bangs on the second one.

The worst part is that I'm a wuss!! I'm afraid to cut my hair into a real short 'do! I've always cut it "short" (ie, my version of short), and then tell myself that I look stupid with "short" hair.

Well, what if I cut it into an actual short cut? What if?? WHAT IF??

Maybe it's just hair. Maybe we grow it just to cut it. Maybe it's time.

Any suggestions???? I'm dying here trying to figure out what to do with my freakin' hair!

PS. Oh, and I don't want to dye my hair, so if you suggest that, it's like that I'm going to be stubborn and ignore it. I really am fond of the color.

PPS. HELP!

Valentine's Shenanigans!

2009-02-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

The past two days have been an absolute blur, but because I'm a nerd, I took a TON of pictures (it started driving T nuts after awhile...haha). And you all get to share in the love with us!

So starting on Saturday morning, T woke up to these cute little things posted all around our house:

I have an absolute love for post-it notes, and I got these ones from one of my good friends for my wedding. I don't know if you can read them but they all basically start with "I love you because..." Also, I was driving T nuts by telling him "Nope, you haven't found them all." And so he would go desperately searching around our tiny mobile home trying to find them all. It was pretty funny. Eventually he did find them all!

I don't know if you can see it but in the second picture above, the lower row in the middle, it says "I love you because you love pizza almost as much as I do." Well, we LOVE Papa Murphy's pizza, and when we saw this as an ad in their window, we had to get it!

Oh yes, heart shaped pizza. LOVE IT!

T gave me my gift around lunchtime, and he bought me "Ever After" and some sweethearts candy. I have always loved "Ever After" and in high school, I used to watch it probably 3 times a week. When we got married, it got left at my parents house and I haven't seen it since. So he did the awesomely husband thing and got it for me. When I told him "Well, now you know you have to watch it with me," he said, "Yeah, right." (He ended up watching it with me on Sunday though. haha)

Later that night, we had an activity that we have been planning for our job. Basically, we threw a Valentine's dinner for all of our neighbors, and these were the tables we decorated.

It was a crazy event. We started at 4:30 and we didn't get out of there until 8:45. Needless to say, T was little a sad that I was tired by the time it was over, being Valentine's Day and all. (Regardless, I found the energy later...hehe.)

After the dinner, I decided that it was time to give T his present. I had been holding it off from him all day and it was driving him crazy. I had it wrapped and left it on our kitchen table and he had to stare at it all day. It.was.fantastic.

This is going to be a little bit hard to explain, but this is what I did for him. A little background though: the only wedding pictures we've got hung in our house are my bridals and it drives him nuts that he's not in any of them. Well, I got one printed and framed it, and I also framed our marriage license. I stacked them in the wrapping so the picture was on top of the license, and this little note was the first thing he saw when we opened it up:

This was going along with my "I love you because..." notes. Then he lifted up the picture and this note was on top of the license.

This is what it looked like all together.

So that was Saturday. Whoo! One day down. Now on to Sunday:

T was really excited about this part. For any of you that know our family pretty well, T is the chef in our family. In fact, his favorite part of cooking is baking, and he bought these cute little heart shaped cake pans. He decided that he wanted us to make cakes for each other for Valentine's Day and since we didn't have time on Saturday, we were going to do it on Sunday.

Before we got started, we cleaned up the pan and it had this label that had super sticky goo holding it on, and so being the totally awesome wife that I am, I stuck to his back. I made him into CUPID! Isn't he cute with his little heart wings!

(PS. He glared at me after I took this picture)

After all was said and done, and about 4 hours of baking cakes, we had two, double-layered, heart-shaped cakes. This is the cake I made for T. It was a devil's food cake with fudge icing, and then the Triforce (from the Zelda games) in the corner in frosting. T was pretty excited about that one! ;)

And this was the cake he made for me. He swirled pink, red, and white cake batter together, then put red raspberry jam in between the layers, covered it in strawberry frosting and put real strawberries on top. Yeah, his cake beat the crap out of mine, but maybe that's why he's the chef!

Needless to say, we're going to need a lot of working out after this weekend is over with all the junk we ate. haha.

I hope you all had a great V-Day! We sure did!

Random Thought Tuesday!!!

2009-02-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

I have to write weekly logs for my job and the last question always is: "Random Thought for the Week." Being as I very often have random thoughts, I decided that I would make it a blog post and I would like you to join in on the fun!

So here's my random thought:

"Flowers are nice, but they don't last very long. They still are a very nice gesture anyway."

What's your random thought of the week?

The Angry Chick Music Playlist

2009-02-04T19:33:00.001-08:00

...it's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

T always laughs at me because I get in these moods where all I want to do is turn my iPod onto angry chick music.

To be honest, listening to these hot chicks tell the world how they really feel is almost like me being able to share my feeble emotions vicariously through them. I wish I had half the courage these girls have to tell off the world when it's treating them in a slightly unhappy way...

My favorite thing to do lately is to plug into my iPod during my long walks across campus to work, and play some of these songs. The best part is when I put on my sunglasses and I feel completely awesome.

Granted, all the people around me are probably thinking, "Why the *goodness* is she walking down the freakin' sidewalk looking like she owns the place but still looks totally awesome while doing it and still manages to get a little exercise while walking in step with the beat of the totally awesome angry chick song and how does she get her hair to flow in the frigid northern wind like that and WHY IS SHE SO AWESOME???"

Okay, so they probably don't say that, but a girl can wish.

Here is just a few samples from the Angry Chick Music Playlist.

"So What" - P!nk
"Not Ready to Make Nice" - Dixie Chicks
"Barracuda" - Heart
"Before He Cheats" - Carrie Underwood
"Heartbreaker" - Pat Benatar
"Love is a Battlefield" - Pat Benatar (because she's so awesome, she gets TWO)
"What's Love Got to Do With It" - Tina Turner
"Almost Lover" - A Fine Frenzy

What's your favorite angry chick song?

Quirk That

2009-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here's my list of Red's Featherbrained Soliloquy of Quirks That Makes Her Utterly Unique, Just Like Everybody Else.

*T thinks I'm OCD. I think I'm partially OCD. Everything in my house has a very specific place and if it's not there, I can't function properly until it's back. However, it's not completely debilitating. On this same point, I can't do homework at home when the house is dirty because I'll want to clean it. I just stay on campus until that is done, and then I go home.

*I take very hot, long showers. I will stay in the shower until all the hot water runs out. I think I am just naturally cold and so the hot showers feel nice. I also do my best thinking in the shower. Some people say they think best on the toilet, but for me, it's the shower.

*I love to sing at the top of my lungs when nobody is home. We don't have any direct neighbors so that's okay. And I like singing in front of mirrors. I also sing really loud in the car. My dad once caught me singing in front of the TV one time back in high school, and I yelled at him to stop laughing at me. I was basically really embarrassed.

*I am a list master. And by "master" I mean that I keep lists for everything and anything. I even have a program downloaded on my Mac for keep a To-Do List on my desktop. This also means that I have an overly abused love for Post-It notes and pads. We've got three on the fridge, one in my backpack, one on the inside of my bathroom vanity for making lists while I get ready, two in the kitchen drawer, and numerous pads in the office. I don't know why I have so many, but I have a sick attraction for them. And I just keep buying them.

*Sometimes I wonder if I even belong to my family. Don't get me wrong, because I love my family. It's just that in comparison to my siblings, we are just completely different. Different, that's all.

*I'm not even sure that I'm in love with engineering anymore but I'm stuck with it because that's what the military is having me do. I could see myself going back for a second or third degree in something else just because it interests me. Apparently I enjoy long, painful torture as well.

*I am afraid of failure. "Yeah," you say, "Everyone doesn't want to fail." But everytime I make a mistake, it's an emotional breakdown. And I can't recover by myself.

*On that same note, I can cry on cue. And I've used it to my advantage quite a bit. And I'm not sure I'm ashamed of that.

*I am in love with love. When I was in Thoroughly Modern Millie last summer, I would stand off stage during each love scene or song and watch the actors perform. For like 20 shows straight. I love watching old love movies over and over again, too. Maybe I just love the idealized version that the arts make us believe about love. I know that real life isn't like that, but I love doing it anyway. I guess that makes me an idealized romantic.

*I am overly empathetic to people. Whenever something happens to someone, I can feel their pain in my heart. And it has happened more than once that certain people take advantage of my sympathies and push me around for it. I am gullible, a pushover, and I hate that people can guilt trip me into doing whatever they want. And it happens way to often. Usually what ends up happening is that I have to break off that relationship, even though it is incredibly painful for me. I know that these people are emotionally abusing me, but I don't want to lose them either.

*I am immensely afraid of death. I have never had a close friend or family member die while I could comprehend it, and that probably contributes to the issue. Whenever T brings up the possibly of one of us dying, I have to shut off the conversation because I can't stand to think about it anymore. I hate the thought of one of my parents dying because I'm afraid of what I'll do without them. The thought of death bothers me so much that sometimes, I'll wake up in the middle of the night and have to reach over to T and put my hand on his back to see if he's still breathing. The weird thing is, I have less fear about the possibility of dying when it comes to me being deployed to the Middle East in the next 10 years or so.

So there's just the beginning of Little Red's mind.

Just promise me that you'll come back occasionally.

How to Cut Off a Chicken's Head - A Metaphoric Post

2009-01-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Dude. I SWEAR I'm not a slacker. I do love blogging. But these past two weeks have been ridiculous!!

For anyone that has ever been to college, you'll understand when I say that the first two weeks are rough. Not because they are hard or challenging by any means, but it's just new teachers, new syllabi, new schedule.

I have been running around like a chicken with it's everything cut off for these two weeks. Here's an example:

I get up around 5:30. To the gym by 6:00. Home and shower by 7:00. To the bus and to class by 9:30. Work. Class. Study. Class. Study. Class. Work. Work. Meeting. Meeting. Dinner for ten minutes around 7:00. Back to campus to studyby 7:10. Home by 10. To bed by 10:30.

And that's how my days have gone. Hopefully you can see why blogging hasn't been #1 on my list for the last little bit.

On that same token, I would just like to mention that my husband has been an absolute angel throughout this whole adjustment process. He has taken cuts on his work schedule to stay at home to clean the house and make sure that I am eating good, healthy, home-cooked meals, instead of Carl's Jr. or Papa Murphy's every night like last semester.

So there's the update. Once I get a bit more settled and my brain can start wandering again, maybe I'll come up with a novel and utterly clever post with which to tease your brains with.

Until then, I think we're having One Pan Pot Roast with Parmasan Fries tonight. Yummy.

I. am. VICTORIOUS.

2009-01-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

I have mounted the gleaming white steed and rode toward the shining castle gates to save the beautiful princess.

When I hit the gates, I battled many many demons, monsters and fiends. It was treacherous, but I pushed through their defenses.

Only then did I discover the dreadful crimson dragon who was keeping my beautiful princess imprisoned.

Whilst he sprayed his fire and smoke in my eyes and flung boulders at my steed, I remained steady.

At the perfect moment when the world was still and right, I thrust my bejeweled sword into the heart of the beast and he fell before me, dead and reeking.

I rode my loyal steed up the shining marble staircase into a sunset of orange and red, and into the chamber of the imprisoned princess.

I killed the monster. Slayed the dragon. Saved the princess.

....

In other words, I cleaned the bathroom sink.

(Everybody's got to have a New Year's Resolution right?)

This is the song that never ends...

2008-12-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas.

And when I say I love Christmas, I mean I love it with all the pink fluffy hearts I can muster (thanks Loralee for the emotional reference...) in this little frame of mine.

In addition to general Christmas cheer, I love Christmas music. I know T hates me for it, but if I could, I would play Christmas music from Halloween until Christmas. And yes, I love the same old classic songs over and over and over again.

However, I'm having. a. problem.

Today is December 28. Exactly three days after Christmas.

Well, let me back up more. It is VERY common for me to wake up in the morning with a random song stuck in my head. And yes, you'll probably tell me "Well, you must have heard it yesterday" or "It's your favorite song." But it's not like that at all. It could be something completely random like Beyonce or James Taylor or Carrie Underwood or Linkin Park.

It. really. doesn't. matter.

And most days, it's okay. It's kind of like a fly that wakes you up by buzzing around your head and then goes away when it gets bored with that. It goes away pretty fast.

And during Christmas, my little "gift" is awesome. I practically have the radio in my head ALL DAY LONG! It's absolutely amazing! I don't even have to bother T with turning on the radio because it's already in my head!

Now, back to the .problem.

Today is December 28. Exactly three days after Christmas.

And I am still waking up with Christmas songs stuck in my head. Seriously, brain, you've got to stop it. It is time to move on. Grow up. Get moving. Transition to a new holiday.

No more roasting chesnuts and white Christmases and blue Christmases and two front teeth.

Bring back Beyonce.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T22:21:00.001-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

I am very happy to announce that we all successfully made it through another holiday season without biting, kicking, scratching, annoying, pestering, dying or crying (wait, I take that one back) one another!

Yay!

Aren't we great?!

I just want to pass on a Ho, Ho, Ho, and Merry Christmas to all of my wonderful friends and family that have dealt with the biting, kicking, scratching, annoying, pestering, and crying through out the past year. I'm sorry that I've done my fair share of all of the above.

Now, let's go make some resolutions that we never plan on keeping!

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 2, 3, & 4)

2008-12-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Alright. I admit it. I'm a slacker. MAJOR slacker.

Okay, not really.

But I haven't updated in awhile because of the upcoming holidays and trying to make Christmas presents and wrap presents and be sneaky about presents and hide Christmas presents from friends' spouses and...well, you get the idea.

So here's my next three Twelve Days of Christmas Past posts. They are all going to be about things I've discovered this year that have made my life easier and better.

Day Four:

First off, I work in an office where I sort mail for the people that live here. Doing this has a few perks: if magazines come in for residents that don't live here and forgot to change their address, we would normally just toss them. Fortunately for me, there are good magazines that come in sometimes, like this one:

Seriously, if you've got a second, go check out their website. It's almost better than getting the magazine because it's everything they've got: tips on organizing, finding time for things and just making your life simpler in general. It's worth a couple of seconds.

Day Three:

There are two really great things in life that I love: instant messaging and and my Mac. Luckily, in my case, they made a free program for Macs that combines all of my messengers that I use (MSN Messenger, gmail, Facebook, my school's chat service) plus tons and tons of others like Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, etc. It is called Adium and it has become the new addiction in my life. One more cool thing is that you can download all types of user created sound packages for when friends log in or out, or message you, and tons of other sounds. Mine is currently set to Mario sounds. It's sweet. Plus their logo is super cute.

Day Two:

The last thing on my "simplify your life" list is something that I have a hard time with: finishing projects. I know, we've all been in that boat: we start something really great and then it sits there for 6 months waiting for something to be done with it. Well, in my case, my project has been sitting there for two and a half years (if anyone is counting, that is how old Little Princess is). The thing is, I promised my sister that I would make Little Princess a scrapbook with all the pictures that my mom and dad take and it was going to be awesome and amazing and totally cool. Well, two and a half years later, it has yet to be finished. Then I discovered Smilebox. It is a program that allows you to create scrapbook pages from premade layouts, and all you do is plug in your pictures. Let me tell you, this program has been a godsend. As of a few days ago, I have completed the first year scrapbook for Little Princess, and now I'm just waiting to print. Amazing huh? This program is perfect for those of us without the time to really dedicate to a great scrapbook but still provides quality results.

Alright so there's my plugs for the day! How about you do something make your life simpler?

Love, peace, and chicken grease.

For the Fourth, Third, and Second Day of Christmas Past, I made my life simpler this year!

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 5)

2008-12-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

We're getting close now people!! Only five days left!!

Okay, so maybe I'm just on a trip fever at the moment because I KNOW the last post was about a trip, and this one is going to be too! I just love traveling!

I'm involved with a service organization called Arnold Air Society. It's for ROTC cadets and once a year, we get to all get together for one big massive conference/party/good time. This year it was held in Chicago, and I'd never been there, so I went.

Now, for most Arnies, it's kind of like a getaway-and-drink-and-have-a-REALLY-good-time kind of weekend, but since I don't drink, it's more of a getaway-and-watch-everyone-else-get-drunk-but-make-sure-I-have-my-camera kind of weekend. I actually end up doing some sightseeing and eat great food, like this:

Apparently this place has the world's best stuffed pizza. And I am a pizza connoisseur, so I tried it. And here it is:

Yes, that would be about two inches of straight cheese and yumminess. I dare say they have the best pizza. And that's my good friend Colby holding it up so I can take a picture. Good job, Colby.

Also, while walking around, we found a Saks Fifth Avenue. The very first one I've ever seen!! Now, I'm high class. I rock. (And yet I still live in a mobile home...not sure how that logic works out)

While all of this was well and good, the highlight of the trip was actually when we took off and ditched a few meetings to go do this:

And. it. was. amazing. This is how excited I was:

I don't know why I always pull that face but I do. And I'm going to see it again in May!!! WoOoOoO!!! (That's how I make that face on the internet :) )

For the Fifth Day of Christmas Past, I went to Chi-town!

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 7 & 6)

2008-12-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not have noticed, I did not do Day 7 yesterday...that's because you get double the fun today!!

I actually decided to do both Day 7 and Day 6 together because the two of them combined are amazing amounts of fun. It was such an awesome event that it constitutes two days worth of holiday goodness!

So here we go!!

This summer I got to, well, basically go to Space Camp with the ROTC. We spent three weeks in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the Air Force Academy doing space-y things. Here's just some of the totally awesome things we did.

First off, this is me in my super-duper deluxe Academy Room. For anyone that has ever wondered what it's like at the Academy, this is it. Pretty much nothing there. Yeah. Go figure my roommate, and great friend Jaki, caught me on my cell phone. She would.

We also went bowling I don't know how many times at the Academy's bowling lanes. (There's not a WHOLE lot for "normal people" to do on their campus...) Each time was an adventure, let's just put it that way. I didn't realize the Academy cadets could throw down so much alcohol....(don't worry, they were of age). ROTC cadets weren't allowed to drink because of our regulations with the program, but it was HILARIOUS watching everyone else get drunk. Good times.

Oh, that's Teef (well, Sajjad Abdullateef, but who wants to say that?? just kidding!) on my left. He's one of those people that you can't believe you've gone your whole life without being their friend. I really hope we run into each other again some day!

The Academy is famous for their Cadets Chapel and we spent some time there too. Here's a few pics, sorry they are sideways.

Another cool thing we got to do was go to the Academy's observatory. Yes, they have their own observatory. This is a picture of the telescope we got to look through.

To see this:

And this:

Yeah, that's Saturn. Sweet huh?? Anyway, we also spent some time in Denver getting tours from Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace, but while we were there we got to go to a Science Museum.

Okay, I'm a geek. I study mechanical engineering. I play video games. And I like science museums. Here's one of the pics from the space section of the museum.

So I did something for the absolutely first time in my whole life during this trip. I. built. a. rocket. Yes, it was from a kit, before you ask, but I did it. And I'm dang proud of that. And it didn't explode during launch like some of my previous attempts have. That was good news!

Now, I will digress for a moment to show you a few of the way funnier things that ROTC cadets got themselves into to entertain themselves during the long days of sitting at the Air Force Academy. Like...shoving Jaki into big laundry dryers, and...

Killing Luke by not getting done with our laundry fast enough, which drove him to insanity (i.e., sunbathing) and....

Being the only like 5 girls on the whole trip, we just had to take a moment to reflect on our femininity, which drove us to paint our toenails, and....

Even Josh got in on the action for a minute.

Okay, back to the "real stuff."

While we were there, we also got to do some sightseeing in beautiful Colorado (mind you, it was May at the time, so it was warm too!). I didn't go with the group when they went to Pike's Peak since I was sick that day, but I did go to Royal Gorge. That place is incredible!!

We got to learn how to drive these awesome fifteen passengers vans (and yes, I curb checked many a time in the Wal-Mart parking lot) and so we drove them everywhere. Anyway, on the way to Royal Gorge we saw this sign:

Go figure, huh? Nope, I'm just going to leave my gigantic fifteen passenger butt right in the road when I wreck it. Yup.

And this is me on the Royal Gorge bridge.

It was really windy, so I think that's what I was doing. Flying or something. Don't ask.

So that was my trip to Colorado in a very, very tiny nutshell. I have millions of other pictures and could go on and on for a week about it. I had an absolute blast and have made some pretty amazing friends! I can't wait to bump into them again on Active Duty!

For the Seventh & Sixth Day of Christmas Past, I became a space cadet!

Pillow Talk.

2008-12-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

A funny conversation we had on the way home from Chili's tonight. Oh, and the Twelve Days post is coming, but this is too funny to wait.

T: "So do you ever imagine me as someone else while we're making love?"

Me: *raises eyebrows and glares*

T: "Well?"

Me: "Fine. You're Antonio Banderas." *rolls eyes*

T: "Oh man! Then that means Antonio Banderas is doing Antonio Banderas!!"

And no, my husband is not gay.

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 8)

2008-12-16T20:51:00.001-08:00

I would like to introduce you all to a new character to our fun little fairy tale, and her name is Little Princess. Say hello.

Little Princess is my sister's daughter, thus entitling me to be the most awesome-est coolest aunt ever possible! Let me tell you why I call her Little Princess because it's just that funny.

Her mom -- my sister -- and who I'm going to affectionately call Goldilocks because that was the color of her hair before she starting dying it dark (he...he...he...), is a tom boy. And by tom boy, I mean that while she was pregnant with Little Princess, she insisted to us (the wonderful gift-giving women folk of this fairy tale clan) that she would never have her baby girl dress in pink, frilly, lacey, or anything that had "princess" written on it.

Okay. FINE. No pink. No princess. That was the rule.

So we bought purple, and we bought bright green and yellow. Every color of the rainbow EXCEPT pink. Zilcho on the pink. Okay, except for an occasional "Well, I HAD to buy it because that's the only color they had!!" Go figure they only make pink things for girls...what a profound idea.

Next thing we knew, baby was born, and no pink was worn or touched or held. Nada.

Then she started talking. And then came daycare.

Somewhere in the midst of Goldilocks going to work and leaving the baby at daycare, Little Princess discovered the Wonderful World of Disney. And what does Disney advocate?

Oh, you got it. Princesses. In every shape, size, color and variety you can possibly wrap your pretty little Tinkerbell head around. Just imagine the possibilities.

And what does my wonderful niece do now that she is two and a half, and has an excessively two and a half year old attitude?

She refuses to wear anything except pink and princess. Absolutely. Refuses.

And I think it's fantastic.

So since this post is all about the good things that happened this year, here it is: I am very happy that my sister had a daughter that drives her crazy with her pinkness and princess-ness because it's almost like it's paying her back for all the crap she put me through as the baby of the family.

Payback's a stinker #1.

Sincerely, #2.

For the Eighth Day of Christmas Past, I love the fact that I have an awesome niece that drives my sister crazy by being two!!

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 9)

2008-12-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

Today's Twelve Days of Christmas Past post actually just happened today.

As T and I were hanging out tonight, I had a suddenly craving for something sweet, delicious, caramel and completely wonderful.

This is what popped into my head.

Grande Caramel Frappuccino. I will not settle for less. I will never order differently.

There is one way to my heart, and that is through a Starbucks drive-thru window at 10 at night.

I am SO in love.

For the Ninth Day of Christmas Past, my heart belongs to Starbucks.

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 10)

2008-12-14T17:27:00.000-08:00

And for the next installment in the "Twelve Days of Christmas Past!"

Only in the last few months, we have made some really great friends, Nicole and Earl. It's almost like the four of us are all soulmates. It's sick really.

Basically, we hang out a couple times a week and they are absolutely fantastic. T and Earl are constantly telling jokes, and keep me and Nicole cracking up. I just wanted to tell them that we really appreciate their friendship. Love you guys!

Think about your good friends this holiday season, and give them a call. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!

For the tenth day of Christmas, we have made awesome friends this year!

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 11)

2008-12-13T18:02:00.000-08:00

Hello again! Sorry this post is so late today! It's been a pretty crazy day, as I will explain later.

However, first off....we have...

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS PAST!!

One of my (probably) lesser known factoids is that I am a drama geek. Besides having done theater all through high school, (another lesser LESSER known factoid: that is how T and I met...funny story for another day) and all that, I am a theater lover. Whenever a show comes to town, I'm one of the first to get tickets. I love it!

Anyway, this summer I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a local theater in a production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, in which I played Dorothy.

And no, that's not my real hair although sometimes I wish that nasty mess was in fact, mine. This is me with my sister-in-law and her baby girl.

During the show, I met some absolutely fantastic people, like: LORALEE! (whom we still share an occasion Sunday morning breakfast gossip-fest)

As well as Haley, Michelle, TJ & Fam, and many many others, all of whom I love millions and tons!

So, there you have it!

For the Eleventh Day of Christmas Past, I got to do theater again!

Now, for more nine o'clock news...

A couple of super fun things happened in the past 24 hours that I want to fill you in on. First off, since finals are over (and I passed 3 of 4 classes thus far! woo!! waiting on the last one...), I suddenly feel very homemaker-ish. All I want to do is organize and clean and do more organizing and more cleaning. So last night I made cookies!! Okay, so they weren't very good. Must I mention AGAIN that I'm not a very good cook??? Well, I'm not.

But I. made. cookies. And I consider that quite an accomplishment.

And to add to the awesomeness of my homemaker skills, I made two cards last night, one for a friend that graduated with her master's degree and is therefore leaving our little podunk town for another podunk town, and the second for another friend that is having a baby. (PS, I caught this friend OUTSIDE today in the snow trying to shovel her walkway to induce labor! Go figure huh??)

Let's see if you can guess which one is the baby card and which one is the graduate card...bwa ha ha....

Okay so that was last night. Moving on to this morning.

So I wake up bright and early this morning, feeling really motivated and ready to get things done (remember I'm still on this post-finals adrenaline rush). And I wake up to this:

If you can't tell, it says that it snowed 6 INCHES overnight! (And apparently from what I hear from a friend, that was only since 4 in the morning). Note that this is our first real storm this winter. Oh well, we'll have a white Christmas! (You can also see my car tires in the background for some more perspective!)

Alright, so it snowed. But I was motivated and I persevered. I was on a mission this morning.

Haircut or bust. My post-finals adrenaline rush had pushed me to the edge. I was ready for a dramatic change.

So I spent about an hour shoveling out our car, and then went sliding through the snow to the local Great Clips, pictures in hand of what I wanted. I was ready.

Here is what I looked like before I left the house.

Boring, I. know. It was killing me but school was coming first. It was pretty much some small bangs, one straight cut across the bottom. (I had a really bad short cut in January and I was trying to let it grow out, but now, it was TIME.)

An hour later (and after some bickering between my stylist and the manager of the place, which ended up costing about $20 more than expected....grrr....), I looked like this.

Okay, so not AS dramatic as I thought. T likes it long so we kept it that way. She basically added more bangs for more DRAMA, and cut layers all the way around to take some of the bulk off the bottom. Here's another shot, so you can see the curls.

Did you know that you can make those curls with a flat iron??? I. HAD. NO. IDEA! And I thought my and my flat iron were best friends....apparently not.

So there you go, my new dramatic change in celebration of this semester being over. What do you think?

Twelve Days of Christmas Past! (Day 12)

2008-12-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

Welcome all to the first installment in my series of the "Twelve Days of Christmas Past!" It is here that I will recall twelve great and wonderful thing that happened this year!

Let's begin by traveling back to before the chaos that was fall semester and even before the heat of summer to MAY!!

Aprils showers bring May flowers, and they also bring MACs!!!

We had a new addition to our family this year and his name is Mac. And he is my best friend. I don't know what I would do without Mac because (after T, of course) he is the joy and light in my life, and my constant companion on those late nights in the library.

SO....

For the Twelfth Day of Christmas Past, we got a Mac!

drumroll please! bbbrrrrrrr

2008-12-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is my last final!!! Praise the Lord, and lift your hands to Heaven!!

(Can you tell I'm just a wee bit excited??? In fact, in 25 hours from this moment, I will be completely free...I'm feeling slightly liberated...now, moving on...)

Also happening tomorrow is something completely awesome! And it's all two for the price of one, baby!

Okay, so I've posted in the past about how awful this semester has been and blah...blah...blah and Red's unhappy... *cry* ... *pity party* ... *blah* ...

Officially, as of tomorrow, I'm moving on with my life. I'm sick of being pissed off and unhappy and so I've decided to start my New Year's Resolution a few weeks early and here it is:

I am going to be more positive in the next year. I am going to make an effort to make those around me happier. I am going to take the time to thank those around me for their good attitudes, and surround myself with positive people.

And to start my resolution off, I'm going to combine with the awesomeness of the Christmas holidays with my resolution!! For the twelve days of Christmas, I am going to post 12 GOOD things that have happened this year.

Bad attitude is out. Sunshine Red is back.

Look for my first "Twelve Days of Christmas Past" post tomorrow!

I must have pregnant brain.

2008-12-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

Or something very nearly close to it.

I swear this week has been a rollercoaster-nightmare-wreck of a week. I think I covered all the cliches in which you can describe a week. Yup, got 'em all.

I don't have long to write (because I must. get. back. to. studying. but. it's. so. hard. must . . . motivate. . .brain . . . ) but I just have to tell you about the silly / stupid / anal / what-was-she-thinking things I've done this week (note that it's only Tuesday and there is still 3 more days to finish up this week from ... bad places.)

Situation 1:

Little Red Riding Hood showed up to her first final, bright and early Monday morning, pumped and ready to crunch numbers. Two. hours. early.

Situation 2:

Little Red Riding Hood burst out in tears for no apparent reason on Tuesday morning because HER HAIR WASN'T WORKING. Yes, hair can be the cause for utter emotional breakdown. Also, the fact that her dear friend T wasn't going to be able to take her to school, and instead Red would have to ride the bus, just seemed to add to the agony. Yes, agony. And lots and lots of emotional tears.

Situation 3:

Little Red Riding Hood showed up to work 30 minutes late, although she has been going to work at the same time EVERY.DAY for the past 4 months.

So there you have it. Three awesome events that have led me to believe that my hormones are completely whacked.

And no, I'm not pregnant.

Okay, so I lied.

2008-12-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

I told you that I would be posting anything for about two weeks, but in my studying procrastination, I found something really great.

For those of you that know me well, you know that music is a HUGE influence in my life, and I'm happy to say that music is still having an impact on the world! Yay! Anyway, I found this video on YouTube, and after some research, I found out that its from an upcoming documentary called "Playing For Change". It's supposed to be released in Spring 2009.

Check this out. It's absolutely beautiful and moving.

Gimme Some Action

2008-12-01T06:40:00.000-08:00

And by that, I mean "missing in action."

Just FYI, this week is "dead week," meaning it's the week before Finals. And of course, next week IS Finals, so what I'm getting at is don't expect to hear much from me until the pain is over.

Love you! .red.

The "I FINALLY (Maybe) Figured It Out" Post

2008-11-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

*EDIT - To my more conservative readers, sorry about the small tidbits of swearing. I'm usually not a swearer but I feel very passionate about what is below. I just kind of let the emotion flow. Anyway, read with caution if you feel so inclined.

The holidays are officially upon us. And in despite of all the holiday cheer and happiness, I just have to say that the past four months have been absolute hell. Between school, work, ROTC and back again, I feel like I have been trampled, kicked, and thrown out the tail end of a semi's exhaust pipe.

I don't say this to try to gain pity. I am the kind of person that believes that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and by that logic, I will probably be Miss "I-Control-the-ENTIRE-Freakin'-Galaxy" by the time this semester is over.

I say this because this past weekend got me thinking. I won't bore you with the entire story, but it basically began with me having a nervous breakdown about heaven's knows what for the umptillionth time this semester in the drive thru of a burger joint, and ended with T and I making "marital intimacy" jokes at our kitchen table as we ate fries from said burger joint.

T always has a way to bring me up from very deep depths of self-pity and self-doubt. It usually involves him telling me that there is no reason for me to be crying and to stop being stupid. If it were anyone else, I would probably slap them and tell them to stop being so freakin' insensitive. But with him, it's somehow different. He knows me deeper than anyone else, and so his bluntness is overshadowed by his concern. He is so darn perfect for me!

Anyway. Moving on. Enough of my love life.

Really what this post is about is neither my love life (sorry, I know you were all waiting for Twilight the Sequel...*blech* -- gag me) or my sucky academics which have plagued me for the past four months and subsequently caused me to be a sucky blogger. Rather, it is about the sudden realization I had today: that I have not been myself.

I was once called "Sunshine" from a great teacher I once had, who said that I was always the sunshine to come into a room and the one that made everyone happier. But I have definitely not felt that way recently. Life has been very cloudy lately and the rays have been limited.

The realization I had was that I need to stop being so damn pessimistic! I am the optimist here! So let's get back down to business.

Again, in despite of it being the holidays and everyone saying things that they are grateful for, I've decided that I need to talk about what I am grateful for and the positive things in my life because I feel like I need to let in some of those good "rays." You can read ahead or not -- just be forewarned that it might still be a bit pessimistic. I'm working on it.

(1) I am grateful for a husband that is passionate about everything he does. I think that having your heart buried deep into something is far more rewarding than doing something because everyone else expects it.

(2) I am grateful for stores that start with W and end with T that are open 24/7, which subsequently allows me to go buy Reese's ice cream at all hours of the night when I'm craving it. Being pregnant is going to be terribly hard on T if it's this bad already.

(3) I am also grateful to said store that allows me to buy a Christmas tree for a reasonable price so that I can feel like my house is a home, even though I know that this wonderful mobile home is just temporary.

(4) I am grateful for nieces and nephews that know my name and run to hug me even though we only see them about once every two months. Their births have made me feel more connected to my family after I basically ran away follwoing my senior year of high school. Those kids have taught me to come back to the people who will never leave me because we are connected by blood (and sometimes just marriage).

(5) I am grateful for friends that cry profusely when I come to see them in a show, even though we only see each other a few times a year. These friends are the ones that remind why I have friends at all: because they will always be thinking about me and will stick with me, despite my nasty habit of falling into darker days.

(6) I am grateful for attempted and failed homemade dinners. You might be thinking, "Oh, well, she's going to say that it shows her that she's only human." No. Oh no. If you know me at all, you know that I am good at cooking three things: macaroni and cheese from a box, grilled cheese, and Hamburger helper. I am NOT the chef in our family -- T is. Instead, I am grateful for these failed dinners because it shows me that even those that succeed at things as well as he does, sometimes have to fail to get it right the second time. Plus, I'm a little bitter than I can't cook so it makes me feel better when we're eating Carl's Jr. instead of our attempted dinner. Bwa ha ha.

(7) Lastly, I am grateful for the men in my life that continuely tell me that I'm stupid (T and Dad) when I'm trying pointlessly to be perfect, to be too nice, and to get too much done at one time. Someone's got to knock some sense into this drama queen and they've gladly taken that responsibility.

So that's the end. Congrats! You made it! Sorry you had to read through all the senselessness and drama. If you have any thoughts about what I've said, maybe some darker times in your life and what motivated you to get back to the positive side, scribble me.

love, red.

So Arrest Me.

2008-11-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have officially broken all laws of my culture.

T and I bought a Christmas tree, and by all that is good and holy, yes: we. put. it. up.

ALREADY.

I love Christmas. Deal with it.

Thanksgiving will come and go, but my Christmas is just around the corner!

A Poem.

2008-11-12T18:16:00.000-08:00

As of midnight tonight, I will be single for about a month.

As of midnight tonight, he will be absorbed by the world of Northrend.

As of midnight tonight, I might actually get something accomplished this month.

As of midnight tonight, I could also lose a couple of pounds.

As of midnight tonight, I will lose my husband.

Tonight, T is going to pick up the next expansion in the World of Warcraft series, Wrath of the Lich King. He and a couple of buddies are going to wait in line for it to be released at midnight.

Some wives think video games are the worst possible thing for their marriage, and that might be true. For me, I figure that I will at least always know where he is at night.

I love my husband, the geekiest geek, and the man of my video game dreams.

I Never Thought I'd Be Compared to Marilyn...

2008-11-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

* Be direct and clear
* Listen to me carefully
* Don't judge me for my anxiety
* Work things through with me
* Reassure me that everything is OK between us
* Laugh and make jokes with me
* Gently push me toward new experiences
* Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

* being committed and faithful to family and friends
* being responsible and hardworking
* being compassionate toward others
* having intellect and wit
* being a nonconformist (the only one that sounds a bit off...yeah, I conform)
* confronting danger bravely
* being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

* the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
* procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
* fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
* exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
* wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
* being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

* are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
* are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
* form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
* look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
* are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

* are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
* are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
* worry more than most that their children will get hurt
* sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Marriage Lesson #67

2008-11-02T16:16:00.001-08:00

Never tell your wife that she snores, even if she does.

It will never turn out good for you.

Your wife is perfectly perfect, the sleeping beauty of the planet and there is no possible way that she could do something as absolutely hideous as making atrocious noises while sleeping.

No. Possible. Way.

So don't say anything. Lesson learned.

(PS, if you can't tell, T learned this lesson the hard way last night.)

They really DO love me!

2008-11-01T10:50:00.001-07:00

Praise the heavenly gods, people. Love and adore them.

After 5 hours of fighting with a struggling ArtTix server, which eventually shut down for 15 minutes due to traffic overload, I finally gave up and pawned the task of getting Wicked tickets off to T. I was so ticked off at it, and I couldn't do it anymore.

Two spammed phone calls later, T had us 5 tickets for Wicked.

Two. Freaking. Phone. Calls.

I waited 5 HOURS! And he got through after two phone calls????!!

I hate my husband's good luck.

And yet, love it at the same time.

Either way, I'm going to WICKED!!!

Going Green...maybe.

2008-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I survived mid-terms, people. SIX of them. Count them. Average scores for the most part, one of them was pretty bad. But we're are moving on to bigger and better plans....like...

WICKED!!!

Okay, so last April, I went to Chicago to a convention, and while we were there, a few of us snuck away and saw Wicked. Absolutely. Freaking. The. Most. Amazing. Thing. I've. EVER. Seen.

And no kidding. Seriously.

Anyway, so since T didn't go with me on my escapade to Chicago, he was pretty bummed that he didn't get to go see Wicked with me. So, low and behold, a few weeks ago, I get an email saying that Wicked is coming to town, and I have the possibility of buying tickets early before they go on sale to the public. SWEET, right??? Well, we'll get to the sweet part.

Just to make sure that we weren't the only ones participating in the world's 8th wonder, we invited our family. And we became a party of seven. SEVEN. And I'm the lucky one that gets to buy all of the tickets.

So today was the day. I could buy my tickets today. Yay! Whoop! And I prepared for it.

I was supposed to be in class from 8:30 to 12:30 today, so I took my laptop to class so I could buy the tickets while I was in class. Fantastic! I'm such a smart cookie!

Okay, maybe not that smart. Apparently I'm not the only one in the world that loves Wicked. Apparently that are thousands of others that love Wicked as much as I do. And that is quite unfortunate for someone like me who has a slow wireless connection on-campus, which SUCKS.

So here I am -- it's 11:41, one hour and 41 minutes AFTER the site opened, I skipped out on Fluids, I'm sitting in a real computer lab with a real internet connection, and STILL waiting for tickets to load so I can buy them.

Still. Waiting.

Please just let them have a few tickets left. :(

tick....tick....tick....

2008-10-22T16:11:00.001-07:00

5 tests down...one to go. bring it on.

C's Get Degrees!!

2008-10-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

I found out my score on one of the three tests I took last week, and the class average on the test was 51.

Yes, in engineering it is quite common for scores to be in the mid-range or less. In fact, I've heard from several of my professors that they actually AIM for 50% on tests. Which makes me ask, WHY in the world would anyone not want their students to succeed?? That's the feeling I get from it all anyway. And I had another teacher say that your score doesn't really matter, all that matters is where you fall in the "curve".

Oh that blasted curve. In all of its horrible glory. And yet, it is my savior. Being average has saved my life. As one of my teachers puts it, I and my classmates, "strive on the incompetence of others." Well, go team go as far as I'm concerned.

And I totally got a 55 on the test! How's that for incompetence, Mr. Professor Man?!?!

(Okay, lets not mention the fact that that means I only got half the questions right. Alright, moving on....)

The Ode to Engineering

2008-10-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

Drowning. Drowning.
This is the life.
Solids. Dynamics. Thermo. Fluids.
Two tests this week.
Two tests next week.
Possible real post after that.
Drowning. Drowning. Drowning.

HOW TO: Get your butt in gear

2008-10-04T13:16:00.001-07:00

As I sit here in the school's library, surrounding by my four humongous textbooks, numerous notebooks, my ever-cherished calculator, highlighter and pencil, and oh, of course, how could I forget? My lunch bag that never has anything healthy in it except maybe a granola bar.

Oh yes, as I sit here surrounded by my scattered schoolwork belongings, I think about how much I want to procrastinate my Thermodynamics homework and write a post that has been a long time coming.

Oh, and I do this while eating T's strawberry fig newtons that he doesn't know I stole from him -- but I digress.

I'm not one to make excuses but there comes a time where you must look behind you to move ahead. And that has been what I have forced myself to do.

At the end of August, school started, and with it came amounts of stress that basically I didn't know what to do with. I had spent my summer lounging on the couch with T, completely obliviously that I was about to begin the notably hardest semester in the engineering program.

And so it began. And it came hard and rough. I made it through the first few weeks, not really picking up on the material completely but enough to make it through the various quizzes and homeworks that are due. Great. Peachy. Give me the gold star.

Then the tests came around week 3 or 4. Oh. My. Heavenly. Lord. What did I get myself into?? I honestly thought, even after this being my fourth year of engineering, why am I here? Why in heavens name would I put this much stress and panic and anger towards myself -- WILLINGLY? I walked out of three different tests thinking "I have no idea what I just did." No answers on some questions. Knowing how to do these problems completely drifted from my mind at the pivotal moment.

The worst of it came when I got the results back on one of the tests, and I got a 36. I felt numb. Stupid. How could I do that? Why didn't I know it? I must be the dumbest person in the class. Am I stupid? Why am I here? And much crying and screaming and lastly, depression ensued. I've never felt depressed before, but now I think I have an inkling as to what it feels like. When it finally came to the climax of emtional depression, this was the picture: T and I sitting on the couch at 11:30 at night (note: my bedtime is 9:30 so I was already very happy) and we got to talking about what was going on with my academics and my utter failing-ness, and what we were going to do about it. It kind of went like this:

R: "I am a failure. I can't take tests. I can't do homework. I'm a terrible RA. I can't even run." (note: I'm near the failure line for my physical fitness test for ROTC, but that's another story)

T: "Well, what's the difference? When were you doing these things well?"

R: "(hesitantly so as to not hurt T's feelings) Before we got married."

T: "Okay. So what were you doing differently before we got married?"

R: "I was staying at the library until 8:00 because I didn't have anyone to come home to."

T: "Well, then that's the issue."

R: "....what's the issue?"

T: "I want you to pretend you're not married. Stay at the library until later at night. Don't come home until your homework is done, and I'll make sure that I'm taking care of the house so you won't get stressed out about it when you come home."

R: " (sob, sob, sob) But I don't want to! I want to see you!"

T: "Red, stop it. You are our livelihood. If you don't get good grades, you don't graduate, which means you don't commission, and we lose our future. We will deal with our marriage later. We did it before and we can do it again."

And after more sobbing and crying and choking, that was the plan. Final. No back-up plan. One direction. (Did I mention that T is an INCREDIBLE talker? In fact, I broke up with him four times in high school, and yet we still got married...how that's for smooth and direct? Or maybe I'm just gullible and impressionable. I'm not sure...)

And so the plan began. Last Sunday, I got a locker at the library, and started leaving my books at school. No more homework at home. Don't come home until 7:00 at night. Pack lunches to start eating healthier and not have hunger tempt me to come home. Pretend I'm not married.

Oh goodness. Pretend I'm not married. That has been the most difficult one. My heart hurts every day because I know that T and I could be spending precious moments together, and yet, I'm stuck in a library. Immovable. Stagnant. Stuck.

And I feel absolutely amazing.

I'm not stressing about homework anymore. It's all done already. I'm not scrambling to throw together the homework problems that are due the two minutes before class starts. More importantly, I feel like I'm actually understanding the material better because I'm sitting in a quiet room without T or the house or the laundry or the neighbors to distract me. T was right: this IS my job right now, and if I don't do it right, we lose everything.

There's only one thing I'm still having a tough time with: when I get home, I still feel like I should be doing something. Go. Go. Go. That has been my life for the past four years, and now I'm forcefully giving myself free time after the work is done. And I feel guilty about it. If you have any ideas on how to get over that, let me know.

So that's been the past few weeks. In the future, if I go long breaks without posting, it's probably because my poor brain is about to explode with all the studying I'm doing. Which, actually, is how the next few weeks are going to be: I have three huge tests right in a row. Suck. I'll try to post short things, but give me a bit. I'm still trying to figure this new plan out.

And I'm about out of strawberry fig newtons too. Bummer. But I've got to finish my homework before I go home. That's the rule.

sorry guys

2008-09-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

i SWEAR i'm still alive. this last week was completely awful. i have a post in mind to show you all everything...just be patient with me as i try not to die under engineering homework. red.

Remember.

2008-09-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not a woman of too many words about days like today, but I would like to send a warm thank you to all those who serve and continue to serve our great nation. Thank you for your dedication, thank you to your families that support you, and most especially, thank you for your service.

This video I made is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the line of duty. We will never forget you.

a quickie

2008-09-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to tell you all that I'm not dead...yet. This week has just been a little hectic, but I got a TON done today, so I feel like I'm moving forward. More on the craziness soon. Later.

I HATE STUPID PEOPLE - An End to the Ridiculous-ness

2008-09-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the final frontier.

And the last post regarding stupid people. An update on people making a change. And heavens, does the world need a change (but we're not going to go there).

Everyone remember about Janie and Rachel? Good. Then let's move on.

As soon as T mentioned to Rachel that her behavior towards Janie was discriminatory and a down-right shame, she really seemed like she didn't want to change. Okay, fine. We can't fix everything. (Plus she doesn't work there anymore -- she quit when school started.)

HOWEVER.

Apparently after the work party where all the employees as well as T's boss were calling Janie foul names, the Boss's wife was not a happy woman. Not even in the least bit. Let's just say that much "discussion" ensued about her husband's behavior. Apparently being deprived of marital relations has caused the Boss to make a change.

Anyway, so the Boss had an employee meeting in which something like the following was mentioned, "Well, we've been doing really well as a team lately, but there is still work to be done."

My thoughts: "What does that MEAN???"

Well, apparently it means that he has decided (whether through personal choice or by fear of lack of intimate relations with his wife, we may never know) that the workplace is making a change. The employees that work with Janie the most no longer treat her with disrespect, including the Boss.

All in all, the puzzle is now falling into place, in the right way this time. Whether through T starting a dialogue or just by sheer luck, the world has changed for the better today.

what's in a house?

2008-09-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

Or a home? Or an apartment? Or a white trash trailer??

I was reading a post by a friend of mine who was detailing all the many places she's lived since she's been married, and I thought, "Heck, that might be kind of fun."

Let me explain.

I am a Navy brat, which means my childhood consisted of moving every 2 years or less, and you get to enjoy the full detailed list.

1. Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Hot. Very very hot. I was pretty much naked for the first 2 years of my life. Oh, and we lived in a mobile home (you'll start to notice the trend with trailers here in a second).

2 & 3. Moved to Treasure Island, California. Yes, it does exist, or at least it used to. It used to be a Navy base in the San Francisco Bay. Now I think it's just low income housing. Went through kindergarten and about 1 months of first grade. We lived in two different houses here.

4. Moved to Provo, Utah where we lived in a travel trailer for about 3 months. It was the COLDEST time of my life. We lived right by Utah Lake and so the cold would whip off the lake and hit our trailer directly. Freezing. Butt. Cold.

5. Moved to Spanish Fork, Utah where we FINALLY moved into a house. This was where I started my 3rd first grade teacher, and we lived here for about 4 years. This was actually where I made most of my childhood friends that I still hang out with. (Little known fact: T used to hang out with the kids in this same neighborhood but that was LONG before we knew each other. Who knew?)

6. Dad got transferred again after the 4th grade. We said goodbye to all our friends and moved to my Grandma's house in Vancouver, Washington for a bit. Then school was about to start so we had to move again.

7. Then we moved to my cousin's house in Brush Prairie, Washington. I started the 5th grade there, and the only thing I really remember about it is that I didn't like the way the school felt. I was very shy and very modest, and this school was too "big" for me. Dad had to report soon after we started school so we moved again.

8. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho was our next destination, and I was there for the rest of 5th grade. We lived in one of those stupid split level houses that is impossible to move furniture around in, but this was the first house that I had my own room in (up until now, I had to share with my oldest sister).

9. Dad retired after the 5th grade, and we were trying to decide where to move next or to stick around. Unfortunately (and some of you may know this already), northern Idaho is EXCESSIVELY expensive to live in, and we just couldn't afford it. (Another little known fact: we used to watch the cats of some friends that lived right next door to Pierce Brosnon's summer home...and no, I never saw James Bond).

10. We talked a lot about where to move next, and we just couldn't decide. So guess what we did? Dad and Mom bought ANOTHER trailer and we set off into the world to figure out where to live next (have I ever mentioned that my parents are hippies??). We started off by moving to my Grandma's house in Lages Junction, Nevada. We lived there for a few weeks, before deciding that we wanted to move back to the Spanish Fork, Utah area so we could be with our friends again.

11. We couldn't find a house in Spanish Fork to live in, so we ended up living in a trailer park for a little over a year (again....what is this?? #4??) I started the 6th grade back in Spanish Fork, and none of the friends that I had had from 1st to 4th grade wanted to be friends with me anymore...I'm still not really sure why. Anyway, made new friends and moved on.

12. Around November of my 7th grade year we moved into a rental house in Spanish Fork that was owned by the people that own the trailer park we were living in. We lived here until I graduated high school.

13. For my first year of college, I lived in an apartment with 4 other girls -- not my favorite time on the planet. One of the girls was ridiculously onery all the time and she made weird tuna fish/mozarella cheese sandwiches. I still can't stand the smell of tuna.

14. My second year in college was spent in the same apartments, except this year, crazy tuna fish lady was gone and I was the oldest one in the apartment. Well, I guess you can't have everything though -- I had a really loud opera singer (sorry, Loralee!) who drove me nuts. She'd sing at EVERY hour of the day and drove me up the wall. Luckily I had my own room and by the time Christmas rolled around, I was engaged to T and we were ready to get out of these stupid apartments (T didn't have much luck with his roommates either).

15. The first house T and I lived in was, oh yes, yet again a mobile home/trailer. It wasn't actually that bad except for the 70's wallpaper and wood paneling. Oh well, you take what you can get.

16. We moved last March into ANOTHER trailer in the neighborhood. This one is actually TONS better than the first -- much bigger and less 70's wallpaper. Plus all the wood paneling is painted over with white, so it's not so apparent that I live in a flammable matchbox.

So 16? I know I've missed a few here and there but they were probably a bit insignificant (a couple of weeks we lived somewhere on our "hippie trips"). Anyone have more than that? Let me know.