The Wonder that is Black Friday

So I had NO idea how fun/exciting/amazing Black Friday is. Seriously. You get insane deals, you wake up early so you really aren't ruining anyone else's plans, and almost EVERYTHING you need will be on sale somewhere. People were actually really nice. The old lady at the Best Buy even told me how cute she thought my bead watch was and acted like it was no big deal to be working that morning. The lines are a little crazy and the stores always lie about when they are opening. The Target ad said 5. 5 am people! I did see a little tidbit about giving out bags to the first 100 people there at 4am (like a fool I thought we might possibly get one!!).
So we get in at 5 and I can't find the TV or the Xbox I was supposed to be buying. I was staring to think what a rip off this all was, until I found a bigger TV! I was on cloud nine even as I tried to carry a 50+ lb television with my bare hands across a bridge to the car (we eventually grabbed a cart)! Kim was a total star! Not only did she help me shuffle the TV through the 52 minute line, she was stoked to keep shopping!!! At one point I even took her car to unload so we could continue the madness at the Mall.

I think more than anything, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that there is NO annoying Xmas background music playing. It was so NICE to just sit in line, talk with people around you, and enjoy the "queue". Plus it is one of those days you can completely brace yourself for the crowds. You already know there is not going to be anyone who will help you. You already know you are going to have to circle the store 4 times to find a DVD or that special something. And you can usually bet that someone will eye the items in your cart and just maybe reach in. Plus it is early enough in the year you don't have any family telling you what they want; they just get whatever you buy that is on sale!

Maybe it was just because we were in a "smaller" area. Maybe it is because that "smaller" area has 2 Walmarts to distract the "hard-core" shoppers, but I had such a WONDERFUL Black Friday. I'm actually a little rue-full to shop on other days, the crowds are just annoying. :|

Gingerbread Contest

Please see the following Gingerbread Houses and leave a message with your votes. The creators of such magnanimous houses will remain anonymous until all the votes have been tallied (or until Jan 6). I will tell you that one of the houses has retractable awnings and is 100% biodegradable, but don't let that sway your vote!

Thanks

House 1:




House 2:



And House 3:



The whole Line-UP:


Note: all participants were give the same amount of supplies and had the same time limit (as long as you wanted!). No animals or people were severely hurt during the production of these miniature homes.

My Imperfectly Perfect Timed Vacation.

So I needed a break. If you can't tell by the fact that my blog currently focuses on a couch, my life is getting boring/work focused (cuz I refuse to blog about work... much). The swine flu has been running rampant in SF and I ended up being the grunt worker to stayed to help with what few vaccines we received at the clinic. Well by Wednesday (like two weeks ago) I realized I was going to be pretty darn close to 40 hours by like... Thurs afternoon. So Sean and I decided to pick up and head south.

Can I tell you how stressful it was to leave? And yet how perfectly timed it was for my stress level? I ended up skipping out on like 3 church events, the telephone system at work crashed while we were in the parking lot of Zions, and Sean wouldn't stop asking, " You're really going to answer your phone right now?". But it was wonderful!!! The gospel kept going, the people at work weren't even slightly miffed when I got back, and Sean and I had some really good together time. We did two awesome hikes:

First Angel's Landing. I really fun 4 mile round trip hike. You go up 22 switchbacks called Walter's Wiggles, and that isn't the hard part. I wish I had taken some better pictures, but you hold on to a chain and hike another .5 miles going up a very dangerous ridge. It is very cool but a little nerve wracking, not one you take the kids on.

Next day we went for Observation point. This is a pretty cool but not well known 8 mile round trip hike that takes you up to the rim of the canyon, and you look down on everything, and I mean everything. You get up past all the red rock into what I call the white layer and basically feel like you are on top of the earth when you are done. I'm not sure I would do it again, it was a little long for us at 3.5 hours (they estimated it would take 5 !!!). But it is fun to go through slot canyons and see some really sheer cliff face up close. Anyways, here are some pics. Angel's landing.






The Rim


Pointing out Angel's Landing from the Rim


Slot Canyon and Walter's Wiggles.

I Tried!

Ok, so I really tried to get pictures of the couch. And then I realized, RC Willey has pictures all over the web. So here is a link to our couch. Keep in mind that although it looks regular, it is 10.5 FT long! I realized just a couple of days ago we could have gotten a similar looking one for 100 cheaper which would take up less space, but oh well. Anyways we love the couch and will be keeping it when we move. If we move to Japan we will store it in SF, or we will have whoever is living in Gma's house take care of it (which makes me nervous). But I am really hoping to move soon. I know I haven't been here a terribly long time, but working full time is alot, and SF isn't exactly the most happining place. Sean has promised me that we will move next Fall no matter what, if all else fails and we don't get admitted to anything, we will pick a med school and try to get residency in that state! Really, I love a lot of things here, but can't wait to get out of this transitory state.

Which brings me to.. I think we really are going to try to move to Japan! We are looking at applications for teaching for a year and lets just say that I am super nervous, but willing to do whatever. I'm not sure it is any less of a transitory type job, but at least it is change, it is progression. We want to work in a city called Sendai because that is where Sean's family is (and lets face it, we feel good about not paying rent if possible). I think that I would be an awesome teacher in general, but am not sure how the Japanese people will take to some of my more outrageous teaching styles. My biggest concern is church. They don't have English speaking wards in this city (I mean they only have like 4 branches for over 1 mil people). Anybody got ideas of what possible calling I could have? I mean really. I wish for my own sake I knew how to play the piano, it is the only none speaking calling I can think of. Maybe the chorister... ???

Pathetic Blogger

My blogging is really quite pathetic... but I still find great joy in posting, so here goes:

Firstly, more family members have been coming by and seeing the couch. Sean's oldest uncle saw it today (although he has been in the house a couple times this visit). He looked, took a couple steps back, looked again, and simply said "Wow." He only touched it with a couple fingers then said that it looks comfy. Maybe it is just me, but he had that look in face like "Why do you people need a couch?" when he asked who the couch belonged to. I promise I will post a picture of our massive microfiber covered couch, but I have to wait until I have some spare time during the sunlight hours.

Secondly, We may have killed the TV! So this beast weighs probably close to 100 lbs, and we were trying to put it on a desk that is against a wall. Well... Ok it was my fault, but while we were moving it I kind of dropped it faster than Sean did. Exciting results: Sean got a blood blister for the first time in his life... he wasn't sure what was wrong with him (hahahahahehehe). Once I reassured him that I got my first when I was like 4 from my older brothers shoving me in small pinchy places, and that he would live, we got around to testing the TV. I SWEAR it worked fine when we turned it on. REALLY. But now we sort have have "dilemmas" when turning it on. Sometimes we just have to keep powering on and off with the remote like 3 times, and then other days I spend literally half my lunch break trying to power up "What Not to Wear." Sean put it quite well when he said today that the TV was just having a bad day; hence, I blog.

Moral of the story: don't move huge things that aren't yours. Even if it was going to break anyways, you will feel like you did it. It may not even be your fault, and no one may know about it (hopefully) for another couple of months... but you will still feel like it is your fault.

Oh and I guess the other moral is blog when you can't do anything else. You may feel surprisingly productive for updating others about your days/flaws!

Memories...

You ever get that little nostalgic feeling where you miss your roommates? Don't get me wrong, love my current roommate, but every now and then I think... what happened to those people in my life who would just pick up and run to Vegas, Mexico, or even one long trip through Yellowstone? Where are the girls who let you order whatever you want at 5 Buck because they were going to order their own pizza? I miss rides up the canyon to see the leaves. Talking late at night (and yes about other things than boys). And having a crew of at least 15 to play soccer on any given summer night.



Kay... well maybe you don't, but obviously I do.

Updates

1. We bought a couch.

This caused somewhat of an uproar. Sean's Aunt (who is easily into her 50's) walked in with a shocked face and said "Wow. The layout of that room hasn't been changed since I was in High School." So like 30 years easily of the same outlay! Grandpa Ludlow didn't really care because it was easier to get his wheelchair in the room (and I'm not sure he fully comprehended what was going on).And Grandma just keep asking, "What do you need a couch for?". It is 10.5 ft long, which is why we bought it, cancelled, and then bought it again. The only way it fits in our(grandma's) large 17X16 playroom is to change the layout, and it acutally is really pretty.

2. Pictures of Redfish














3. Pictures of the BYU Game

good thing

wow... good thing I picked a fall color scheme for my blog because apparently I have become the worst person in the world at updating.

I FINALLY WENT TO A BYU GAME!!!

Sadly Sean and I rarely make it to the games, as we are too cheap to get season tickets, and too lazy to think ahead to buy tickets to the good games. Thankfully a super sweet neighbor/wardy had 4 tickets to the BYU v. CSU game that they couldn't use. Without even asking Sean I told her, "Yes! We want them all." Almost immediately I went to get them from her (extremely adorable by the way) house, and Sean started sending out texts to see if anyone would like to come with us. We have this little dilemma of not really making friends. So it actually was quite a stretch for us to fill the seats (seeing as both male brothers of ours already had tickets), but Ryan, Becky, and baby Davin came with us and we had a great time watching BYU slaughter. It was awesome to physically be at the game, in the mood, and watch some of the really cool turnovers. It was also kind of refreshing to be around others who could commiserate at the ever present Max Hall PIC. (Sadly, there is always at least one a game.) I miss the cougs, and I miss being a coug. I always had friends who said they wanted to stay in high school forever, and I really didn't understand... but sometimes I think I would like to stay in college/go back forever. But going to the game was AWESOME.

Thanks again for the tickets Rebecca!!!!

I didn't blog in june!

oh my gosh! I didn't blog in June. I actually feel a little guilty for this. I mean, what is the point of having a blog if you don't even update it every month!? Alright... so here's my lame excuse:

I legitimately have a job! And I am actually kind of useful in my job. It is kind of weird having a real position that requires responsibility. I mean as a TA I was basically in charge of the kids' grades, but if I screwed up, graded too hard or too soft... it wasn't like the professor really knew or came after me. He wanted the average to be in a certain place and I ensured it got there. Now if the grass dies, the phone stops working, or the maintenance guy disappears, it is kind of my fault. I really like it, but I was walking home for lunch today (trying to get my 6,000 steps for the day) and I was thinking, "Wow, responsibility feels weird." I mean I always tell people in interviews and stuff that I am a good leader, and that I handle responsibility well, but usually you don't actually have to worry about it much when I only answer the telephone. I really enjoy that I have opportunities to take charge and learn some skills.
But it sure is busy!

Other than that in June I... well I think I went home teaching (I hope I did). I went to Idaho to run 2 extremely fabulous races! First I went home to run the 19th annual Bone N'Back (I will have to put some pics up later). The race is a forty mile relay from Idaho Falls to a little city called Bone. There are 8 legs so each person runs 5 miles. I got the stretch that goes almost completely downhill and ran it (astoundingly) in 39:40!!! Then the next weekend (technically July) I went to run the Fourth of July Firecracker 5K. My family really entered this one! We had a 6 man family, and sadly my 55 year old father beat me... again; which, by the way, was my only goal this year. He is a beast and I really love racing with him. I will not be posting my time for that race until I actually can beat my father, so you can just keep guessing at my speed.

I have now run about 5 races this summer. I think it was a smart choice to kind of spread my fun and money over the whole summer rather than blow it all on one triathlon. I still really want to do one, but have to make sure I will feel good while doing it/ get in better shape before I try. We haven't gone hiking at all becuase it is so ridiculously hot here in Utah. Not that I see the sun much because I work indoors, but the heat and crazy rainstorms have seriously hindered my weekend plans. Sean says we can start camping more in the following months... we will see.

Well I will hopefully get some pictures up, and of course blog about my fabulous vacation to Redfish (!!!), later.

ARCHES!

For the first time in my life, I went camping ALONE with a boy!

OK, it was just my husband. We went down to Arches National Park and discovered we really like hiking together. Enough that I may even try to weasel one in at Redfish (sorry guys)!

The landscape was fabulous and it was surprisingly easy to hike most of the trails in our quick 2 day adventure. I HIGHLY recommend it, even if you aren't big hikers.

We did run into trouble trying to find a campspot, and this time it was Sean who was about to turn the car around and head back home. I got a book from the Rangers and after tonz of calls we found... well I want to say it was an open spot at a campground. In reality it was a field with no water access and one port-a-potty. But we made a little fire and had a great time! I may not have been clean, but I was still smiling!

I'm With Stupid --->

I have a weird collection of T-Shirts. And I hate to loose them. But I have to admit that having a friend's mom who owned a graphics shop really didn't help my wardrobe. And to be honest some of these are outright embarrassing to wear in public.


Hence, when I know one of my Favoritos has to go, I find alternative uses for them. No, I'm not a crappy quilter, a roommate pointed out that old shirts make great cleaning rags.

And in order to replace the old, I'm trying to collect running shirts. Some are really ugly but I no longer will enter a race unless I can guarantee I get a shirt!!! Wish me luck!

A Good Mothers Day Morning

Well since people actually read this blog I figured I had better put something at least a little uplifting.
This morning I got to talk to Elder Jake Waddoups (the infamous studmuffin)! He is such a cool little goof it kills me. We tried really hard to get most of the family on the cell phones (my new cool phone from work actually has pretty amazing speakers!). I'm not sure Sammer could hear much, but it was really fun to feel like the family was all together. It makes me anxious for Redfish!!! The weirdest part of this morning, as I woke up (on time) I went to push myself out of bed, and a BEE stung me! Right in the middle of my finger! I thought I was just having some sort of funny morning pain in my finger, and then I looked down, and in the semi-darkness I saw this little thing moving around. It took me a surprisingly long time to figure out I actually had been stung, and then I realized there isn't really any rememdy for bee sting, you just hope the sucker dies for what he did to you. (evil laugh) Oh and he did die. (evil laugh)

I finally uploaded pictures off my camera, and realized we have done some stuff in the last couple months. We went shooting with Dr. Ludlow. He had been doing combat shooting with the Guard (recently retired) and was trying to teach me how. I'm not a very good quick shot so I mostly missed the target, but when I took my time I did alright. Sean is also not that great when handling my camera, he doesn't understand that digital zoom sucks, and so you have to get close, so sorry if they are crappy pictures.


We also had some what of a failed attempt at a vacation. Well it wasn't very relaxing for me anyways. We decided to go down to St. George (warm, sunny, and lots of stuff to do) for a weekend. I got off work and we made plans. Turns out I ended up packing alone for like 2 hours Friday morning. I waited another hour before I finally shooved Sean in the car, who slept the whole way there anyways. We drove straight to Zion National Park to go hiking. Would have been awesome but it was late in the day to start a real hike, and Sean was still a little wiped out. I really was trying to be a good sport, but I don't like having to be in charge of every decision and then still not get to enjoy what I choose to do. We went on a cool little hike called Hidden Canyon (See pics). We decide we will go on a bigger hike tomorrow and go back to St. George. The next morning I waited 3-4 hours just for Sean to wake up! Yes, I tried to get him up. No, I didn't try very hard. By then I knew we would be too late to do the hike I wanted, and there wasn't much else for us to do. Needless to say I kind of lost it and started packing us back up again. By about 2 in the afternoon we were back on the road again, and had a nice night back in Spanish Fork. All I can say is... I tried, and we had fun while it lasted.

Blogging Duldrums..

guys... I have been sad. My life has been sad. And this blog is looking particularly sad. The only problem is that there is exactly nothing to write about. We take almost no vacations. We only rarely go out to dinner, and it is weird to photo just going out. We are kind of lame and don't plan cool outings (although I am really mad about missing the Krishna Festival of Colors AGAIN). And we have a relatively slow social life. So here is my blog about nothing....


... no really....



NOTHING.

Birthdays and Working

Whew... working takes time! Not a real problem for me, but it is weird all the sudden not really having time for birthdays. Sean and I are both in March, and since we live in Spanish Fork I also learned that Sean's Mom, Uncle, and Dad (technically in April) are all very close. So instead of just having a nice dinner together, we found ourselves at Grandma's, at Mutual, at soccor, at in-law's and about twelve other places other than spending our birthdays together. We love love love Tucanos and usually try to do a birthday lunch there sometime inbetween our days, but this time we had to wait forever. We ended up rushing through before we went on a mini-vacation to Idaho this last Friday. I was feeling a little sneaky taking off an extra hour off work just to go and eat (I made it up earlier that morning but still), and it was SO worth it! It was kind of weird for me to notice the small changes. Like they don't bring you the fried bananas anymore, you pick them up at the buffet. And they have a really interesting/weird/kinda gross suishi that is new. I don't suggest it, but I'm biased towards the authentic Japanese (or Californian) sushi. But the meat and the potatoes are EXCELLENT. I am falling deeply for the garlic beef and the top sirlion. Oh and join the birthday club!!! The free meal makes it super-cheap if you go for lunch (in which you only miss out on 4 meats).
Oh and this weekend we returned the truck; kind of a funny story, but probably not for public eyes. Anyways today on my walk home from work, I was trying to debate whether to hit the gym while Sean is gone examining his knowledge, or if I should go grocery shopping. I turn the last little corner and realized... neither. I am pretty much stuck at home until Sean comes back with our little car! I feel exactly like I did in high school when Jake first got his drivers liscence and would take the Jeep without asking... a little underpriveldedged. I don't think we need two cars, but for some reason the men in my life have never really thought I deserved PRIORITY when it came to vehicle usage. Why him playing soccor takes priority over me going to the gym is still a stumper! I mean, think about it. Or don't, either way I think I will probably loose. Sad but true.

how do they do it?

Kudos to moms/married poeple who cook, workout, and basically are just amazing. I don't know how it is done. Since I have started working full time, I also have been trying to go the gym frequently (training and it makes Sean and I both happy). So when this factors into the day I figure: 1 h wake-up and get ready+ 9 hour work day +2 hours gym and clean up + 8 hours sleep (yes, I am a sleep nazi that gets a full 8 or more hours) that leaves a mere 4 hours in the day for anything else. Granted, a meal I make usually only takes 30 minutes or so, but still it is hard. Sean has been a star and has been cooking basically all week. I'm not complaining because I love being busy and keeping up-pace with things, and Sean is an excellent cook, but I do feel lazy about not cooking. I guess in time I will just have to figure it out, but in the mean time: SERIOUS KUDOs to those who already have! any suggestions?

Life...

So surprisingly not a lot exciting has been going one. I mean we have a good time. I am beginning to really understand the TGIF philosophy of life. Sean is studying for and taking exams etc. I am SERIOUSLY slacking on the cooking scale... but... well i guess this is sort of exiciting... dah dun du dun---

 I'm going to run a triathlon! I have not exactly signed up yet, but I have been training pretty hard at the gym and am just trying to work in a convenient way to get to a pool to practice swimming.  Luckily I think I'm an okay swimmer as is... but I guess we will see. The race is in Salem (little town south of Spanish Fork... yes there is stuff south of Spanish Fork!!) You swim 800 meters, bike 12 miles, and then run a 5k (3.1 miles).  It is just a "sprint" tri, but still I think it will be a beast! Anyone want to do it with me??? I mean think about it, it could be fun. 

oh dear...

I have a NEW job. I know.. this is ridiculous. But after I started working with Career Step (slightly frustrating/boring) I was offered a sweet position to work at the Spanish Fork Clinic. The pay is 30% better, the job is more challenging/I will learn new tasks, and I will no longer need a car to get to work. So... yes this is wild. Yes, I still feel bad about only working for a week. Yes, for some reason I had a really hard time trying to decide. I mean this should have been a really simple, go for the best job type deal... but I'm hoping that I made the right decision in the end. The people at Career Step have been stupendous about it. I was feeling really guilty until the asst. manager said, "It is only a week. And we had 150 other applicants so I'm sure we'll be able to fill the position quickly." (by the way: that is so SICK. 150 people for receptionist!) I just keep hoping that I'm not ruining someone else's prayers or deep hope and desire to get this job at the clinic.

Oh and I'm not a complete looser (to post on Valentines) I am just sick with worrying and with eating what I believe was a bad burger.

EEK EEEK EEK!

I finally got a job!!! Hallelujah! This morning I got a call bright and early from the HR rep at Career Step (an online school that gives technical training to those wishing to do medical transcriptions or medical coding and billing!) The job is full time, has decent pay, and decent benefits. I actually started this morning because they were doing an orientation class, so at 9:30 am this morning I started MY new job. I think mostly I will be just answering phones and putting away files. But hey... it's a job. A job with VACATION TIME (which is something I have never had). I don't feel quite so bad about my 1.3 months spent out of work and I feel really good about this job. The mission statement includes Christ (for his qualities) in the wording for goodness sake. I guess one of the benefits is also that I will be able to take the courses for free! Which means after this job if I want to stay home and decipher doctors dictations (with little babies running around of course) or some other projects they are considering breaking out into (not sure I can post exactly what due to the confidentiality agreement I signed today.. but they are interesting options). Anyways I am super thankful to be able to work.
Side Story: Today at the gym BYUTV (another channel always on) was telling a story of a man in India with no legs who was benefiting from micro-loans... 1. This was just weird to think about as I sit there on 1 of 20 treadmills that cost more than this man makes in a year and 2. Again, do I think often enough about how lucky, nay blessed, I am... even to just have legs.

Anyways... Figured I'd better post: I GOT A JOB! I AM NOT A HOPELESS LOSER! I AM CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIETY slightly! I HAVE SOME INCOME! And I WILL BE ABLE TO GO SHOPPING AGAIN!

Cooking!!!

Okay so I totally am not a great chef. But this website has some of the coolest recipes, kids ideas, and just yummy ways to cook with regular stuff like cans of diced tomato. (which by the way I just realized I found by following the link off Em's website... sorry Em!) She also does a great job of showing photos of every step. And we're not talking crummy smudged photos either, she really knows what she is doing. Anyways.. I am bored and Sean refuses to go to the movies with me, so this is why I am looking at fabulous foods that I may (but probably won't) one day cook. Okay maybe I will make the eggplant pasta, but who doesn't love to experiment with a new vegetable?!?

Best Music Video

Okay so since there are only a limited few appointments to fill my day, I have been spending quite a bit of time at the gym. To keep us work-out maniacs going they have music videos going 24/7. Most are alright... hoochies displaying what they got and thugs displaying their hoochy girlfriends... but I was watching this one and totally thought it was rad. Like really something worth watching as entertainment rather than an "artistically"-correct-weird-music-video-that-symbolizes-the-artist type deal. Mostly I just think it is kind of cool to see two little white kids break dancing in a night club.

Job update: more interviews, still no call backs.

The Job Hunt

29 (scratch that 43!!) resume's sent out... that doesn't even include all the online jobs I have been applying for... and still no job. Really I think I am getting near some world record. Or if not a world record, at least a record for being the most bored while not having a job. I can't believe I was such a numb-skull to turn down the job I was offered during finals week!!! Granted it only paid 8.00 and hour (+ commission if people pay $3,000 to get out of debt), but holy cow... how do people have hobbies with no money?? You can't really sew with no fabric, reading isn't exactly helping the size of my booty, cooking is only productive if your items come out edible, and shopping is definitely out of the question. Supposedly 3 Utah cities are in the top 25 cities in the US with highest percentages of hiring... too bad they are not in my commuting range! I'm really lucky that we, as a family, have been just fine without a job. But I'm not sure if I can continue to function like this!!! :)

WARNING

.. when making Rice Krispie Treats... they really mean it when they say use FRESH marshmallows!!! Because there are only 3 ingredients, it matters drastically the shape your ingredients are in. I tried to picture the glob of nasty that Sean and I created (I even made Sean do the cooking part and it was still totally goofed up!), but photo-ing food is actually really hard to do... specially if it is in the garbage can! So... BEWARNED

Bored

So you know how people sit and dream of the days when they will have little to nothing to do, and just lounge around the house all day? IT IS SO OVERRATED! I am going on a full week without a job since the new year and I'm getting quite antsy. Today I cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed, and slept in till almost 12 because I am just beginning to dread the day. Sean has relatively little school work for this first week so we play cards a lot. I'm sitting here wondering why I'm not more happy to just be. I always read about the girls who just keep themselves busy cleaning the house and doing little things... But you can only clean 4 rooms so many times in a week! I'm baffled, but I have started to get some call backs, so maybe I'll have a job soon (and I know Kim... I just should just have a baby, those keep you busy right? :) :) ). Oh and according to the New York Times, unemployment is at a 16 year high... what a great time to be taking a year off school before Sean goes to Medical School :(.