Feeling blah

Let's see, what's new with me??
I'm still unemployed but I am freelancing for Fox 13 during the holiday's.
So, that means back to the life of sleeping in the day and working at night... in other words NEVER SEEING daylight and only sleeping w/ my hubby on the weekend. But hey at least I have that for a few more weeks and it is fun hanging out with the "Good Day Utah" gang. I must admit that I missed them, catch the crew 5 - 9 am... and hey you may get a glimpse of me in the background.

Full time employment is still always on my mind (making it hard to get into the Christmas spirit) ... job hunting is the worst (especially around the holiday's) ... I have now reached the one month mark of being unemployed.

On the hunt

I'm on the hunt for a new job. Unfortunately, I was laid off from my job on Friday the 13th (I know NOT too lucky) b/c of some changes in the office. It came as a total shock to me b/c I really enjoyed that job. So, while unemployment rates are on the rise i'm trying to stay positive that I will find something soon.

And since tomorrow is Thanksgiving I wanted to at least make a list of some things I am grateful for (you know to stay positive)... that Abe and I are healthy, we have two families to spend Thanksgiving day with, a temple session on Friday, Abe's new job, the BYU v. Utah football game on Saturday, and that we're now going to be going to our new ward.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! ... now let's just hope that the pies and Lion House rolls i'm making for turkey day will turn out.

Rescheduled

Since these two decided that they are not coming to Salt Lake tonight and are now planning on coming in February...Abe, my sister and I are going to see this!! In just 1/2 hour New Moon will come to life ... can't wait!!

a welcome surprise to the day

Yesterday when I got to work and opened up my laptop a white piece of paper fell to the ground... I thought to myself... hmmm what is this? To my surprise my wonderful husband had written me a love note and hid it in my laptop for me to find in the morning. I love notes from Abe!! What a great way to start off the day. What was in that note?? Just stuff, for me and him to know. Thanks for the note sweets! You're the best! And since I know that he merely blog stocks "our" blog and doesn't contribute, I know that he will see this post and hopefully see how much I appreciate those lovey notes and continue to leave white 8 1/2 X 11 sheets of paper hidden somewhere for me to find.

It came & went & left some candy behind

Well Halloween season is officially over. I cleaned up the last of the cob webs last night... I guess that means I have to start dusting again :) But while Halloween was upon us Abe and I dressed up and had a good time! Because Abe says he doesn't like dressing up it was my task of finding him a costume. Since I couldn't find a knight costume Abe went as a three musketeer and I went as a Renaissance Woman. We celebrated the goolish holiday by... eating yummy homemade treats, having friends over, going to Abe's Aunts house... Going to my niece Nicole's friend birthday party dressed in our costume (okay so Abe missed out on that party... I know who wouldn't want to go hang out w/ 10 four year old little girls!??!)

And then we were planning on going all dressed up to our ward's trunk or treat but missed out on that fun b/c of a last minute invite to the 2009 Governors Gala... which I must say was fabulous!
And on Sunday we officially celebrated my niece Nicole's birthday. Here she is opening the globe that Abe and I gave her. She loved it... what a smarty pants she is!! She's only four and already asks where places are in the world. I just love that girl to pieces!

Winter is upon us

These flowers I planted are dying right now... and these tulips I planted a few weeks ago won't bloom for another six months!
As I was driving away from the house yesterday to go to work IN THE SNOW I realized that the few flowers I planted at our new place are officially on their last leg. So, I guess that means welcome Winter but you're not exactly wanted!

Reality Check

Today at work I got an email from my co-worker titled "Reality Check on Debt." Inside that email was a picture of this little girl. That's right it's a reality check. The U.S. owes $1.42 trillion (this according to an AP story from three days ago). That is more than the total national debt for the first 200 years of the Republic, more than the entire economy of India, almost as much as Canada's, and more than $4,700 for every man, woman and child in the United States. That ladies and gentleman is how much money the U.S. needs to pay back! Lovely huh ... while we a regular citizen are expected to NOT go into debt (and if we do there are severe consequences), the Federal Government can spend spend spend as long as they have a freaking printing press! Well one thing I do know, there's no way that this little girls generation will be able to pay all those trillions back... so I guess on to the next generation, maybe.

Why is it??

Why is it that just looking at this picture I get the chills?? Hello, I know that this is just a picture... but for some reason my body thinks that it is right in front of me and that I am going to either touch it with my fingers or put it to my mouth to feel the utter coldness that it contains.


I know random post ... but I guess it just amazes me what the brain can sense real or not!

He said i couldn't blog about this ...

Let me first start off by saying that after Abe told me this story I was laughing SO hard I said, "I HAVE TO BLOG ABOUT THIS." He said, "no no no!" But after Abe told our friends Matt and Faroe about what happened, Faroe agreed with me ... it must be blogged. And here is how the story goes or at least what Abe told me ....

So a few weeks ago, it was a Sunday mid September, and Abe had just gotten home from work (yes, he works Sunday's and we HATE IT! but we keep saying it's better for him to have a job then no job.) And he came across a cardboard box in the middle of our driveway which probably got blown over from the townhouses that are under construction right next to us. He took the box and walked it over to the big dumpster by the town homes and then decided that he wanted to go look inside them and see how the construction was going. Well, he says that when he was walking the box to the garbage he saw a cop truck parked on the street but didn't think much about it. So as he was giving himself a tour of a town house he heard a loud authoritative voice tell him to, "PUT YOUR HANDS UP" as Abe was putting his hands up he said a k-9 dog then came charging at him straight for his man part hitting him pretty hard... but lucky for Abe the dog missed his area (thank goodness we can still have children) and the dog had a muzzle on. As Abe was telling me this part of the story I was laughing so hard because not very many people have ever been told to "PUT YOUR HANDS UP" by cop and Abe is one of those curious people and I was thinking oh look how your curiosity got you in to trouble. So long story short, the cop didn't arrest him or cite him for trespassing. And as for the reason why the cop was even in the area? He said that he was checking things out at the town houses because he had gotten a report of kids vandalizing them. The cop also told Abe that he was lucky the dog had a muzzle on because they are trained to attack... well Abe and I are thinking, hello why are you sending a k-9 into a house when you don't even know who is really in it and why are you sending a k-9 in for a situation that involves children. Owe goodness Sandy Police ... if that dog hadn't had a muzzle on and HAD attacked Abe you would be paying us lots of money in damages!! So that's the story, I can't tell it as well as Abe does so next time you see him just ask him to put his hands up and to tell you the story about the attack of the k-9.

They may be fuzzy but i still wanted one more box

Peach season is in my opinion the best time of the year when it comes to produce! They are my favorite fruit and I just love them oh so much and so does Abe. Well, last night I got good news from my Mom, she told me that the O'henry peaches from the orchard in Orem were ready and she was bringing a box to my house. Let's just say we had been waiting for weeks to hear the peaches are ready. The softball sized peaches are amazing cut up with milk and sugar. All that I could wish for... a second box. But because of a harsh Summer our orchard farming peach grower could only sell Abe and me ONE box.

Look at the size of those peaches... it's like they have their own weather system

Abe enjoying his first peach from the box with some milk and sugar ... next up Peach Crisp!!

The Best Day Ever

The title of this blog is what Abe said to me Saturday night. So, lets reflect now on how we spent last Saturday. It started with me making a home-made breakfast for us... the menu: eggs Benedict. They were good if I do say so myself, we loved eating them on our cruise and I wanted to make them at home. Now all we need is a real egg poacher, which is on my list of kitchen supplies I NEED... that's right not a want a NEED! Next up on the best day ever, boating at East Canyon with the Johnson fam and Father Johnson's clients family. His client had two little boys who loved tubing... it was fun watching them as we told them that they were going as fast as the boat would go. On the way up to the lake it was fun to see the leaves changing colors. I am in love with Fall. Even though I am sad to see Summer end :( After boating Abe, his dad and I went to the University of Utah football game against Louisville. I just love seeing the Utes play well and WIN ... even though it is unfortunate that that game caused three of our key players to fall victim to injuries that could keep them from playing in the rest of the season. No good at all! The evening ended with a food stop to Hires Big H and as we were leaving the restaurant that's when Abe told me I think this has to be the best day ever!

It's ALL Talk

Yes, I am one of those people that despite being totally annoyed with what is said on Sunday morning political talk shows I can't help but watch. I can't help it. The left make me want to pull my hair out! But I still watch Face the Nation, Chris Matthews and This week with George Stephanopouloson on Sunday mornings. Yeah, for 1:00 pm church. Well, this last Sunday Pres. Obama made his rounds on those Sunday morning talks shows where he urged Americans to get on his Obamacare ban wagon ... it was as if he was shouting out to viewers ... "ALL ABOARD... Free health care for all!" But I ain't taking his bait... especially when the Prez tells ABC's George Stephanopoulos "it's a lie" in response to George's question about health care reform causing taxes to go up for the middle class. Ya freaking right, taxes will for sure go up and even for the middle class if Obamacare is passed. Hello!! in 1967, Medicare cost the federal government $3 billion; in 1977, $19 billion; in 1987, $75 billion; in 1997, $190 billion; in 2007, $375 billion... so, who really paid for it?? yep, taxpayers. When Medicare was originally passed it was predicted to cost in the millions... look how quickly it jumped to billions. Obamacare is expected to cost a trillion something and that's not with every American on the plan. So, we could expect zillions -- again if it's passed.
So, here is an excerpt from my favorite part of the Obama media round interviews this last Sunday. It appears that yet again George Stephanopoulos is the only reporter to attempt to ask the President some hard hitting questions... http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/09/president-obama-did-not-know-a.htmlIf you didn't read it here's how it played out ... George asks Obama about the affairs with ACORN this past week and about them losing federal dollars, the president's responds, "George..This is not the biggest issue facing the country, it's not something I'm paying a lot of attention too." Oh, okay Mr. President so you don't care or are even aware of how our Federal dollars are being spent and you want us to trust you with our health care and the dollars that would go towards paying for it. Now remember, this is the same President who totally knew what was going on with the MTV music awards last week when Kanye West jumped up on stage and interrupted Taylor Swift in the middle of her accepting a music video award saying that she shouldn't have gotten the award and that Beyonce should have ... Well, when the President was asked about this recent event he called Kanye a jackass (off the record that is). So, Obama if you knew about Kanye I'm sure you know exactly what the latest is with your buddies over at ACORN.

When are you too old to???

The other day while shopping in Macey's (the clothing store not the grocery store) I had a thought. See I was shopping in the Juniors department when they were having one of their amazing sale's and it dawned on me, when are you too old to be shopping in the Juniors department?? I mean I am a Mrs. now but I am so not ready to go to that department yet. I don't think I have to go there right now because I still get mistaken for a Young Woman when going to stake activities and such and I have to say "no i'm their leader." But still when does the transition happen? Is it in your thirties? I asked Abe what he thought and he said, "When the clothes don't fit you anymore." But seriously, sometimes I see older women in the Juniors department and they just look out of place. Or maybe they look out of place because of the clothes they are holding ... it's like they're trying to relive their youth miniskirts and all!

An Anniversary, a Hurricane & a Cruise

First off I have to say Happy Anniversary to my husband. Yes, we had our first wedding anniversary over two weeks ago but I wanted to publicly (via Blog) tell my boy how much I love him before anymore time goes by. He is the best husband and my bestest friend! He loves me for who I am and I think that our love for one another will just keep getting stronger! It's just like the Ben Fold's song goes "I am the Luckiest." So, here's to one year my sweets and many more too come! Yes, I had to include pics from our wedding!
And how did we celebrate our blessed anniversary?? Abe and I kind of last minute decided to go on a cruise for our first wedding anniversary. 12 days before to be precise. We loved Mexico for our honeymoon and thought a trip back to Mexico to celebrate our one year would be great. So, we booked a cruise with Carnival, got a flight to Long Beach and set sail August 30 (our anniversary day). We were so excited about the trip because yes we love Mexico and it was my first time cruising. But sadly there was some disappointment that came with our trip... It all started when we went to go check in with Carnival to get our room key. They told us that the itinerary for our cruise had changed and that instead of going to Puerto Vallarta, Mazalant and Cabo San Lucas.... we would be going to Catalina (which yes is still in the U.S.), Ensanada (which I like to call Ensacrapanada), and Cabo San Lucas. The change of plans occured because of Hurricane Jimena which upgraded to a category 3 hurricane that Sunday. I was so bummed about the change... I almost started crying right there! I seriously never wanted to say that I had been to Ensanada... it's like 40 miles from the border and I have been to border towns before and all I have to say is that is crap Mexico! So long story short... Abe and I still went on the cruise, made the best of what was put in front of us and will never cruise Carnival again.... especially because we found out that Royal Caribbean (who we were originally going to cruise with but didn't because we wanted to see what Carnival's new ship was all about went to all the ports they were supposed to and just went around the hurricane b/c their captain wasn't some lame butt like Carnival's) So enough about that!! Abe and I still had a good trip despite the misfortune, I mean come on it was still our wedding anniversary! But since this was Abe's third time going to Catalina and Ensanada I wanted him to have the best time he possibly could have.

Abe and the airplane we took to Long Beach, CA... can I just say how happy I was that we didn't drive. 13 hours in a car just didn't sound like a good way to start off a cruise!
Waiting for the city bus to get us to the Cruise ship.
On top of the ship while at port in Catalina Island
Abe got a little too close to the fish in Catalina and one bit him... ouch! I guess that is what happens when you take fishy food into the ocean.
Lover's Cove where we snorkeled
Riding the tandem bike around Catalina... seriously so much fun. Poor Abe had to do the work for the both of us at times... there are some big hills around that city.
Horseback riding on the beach at Ensanada... okay, so we did for sure find the BEST thing you could do in Ensanada

Abe playing in the waves in Ensanada

Fancy night with lobster tails... let's just say I was REALLY looking forward to this night! I love lobster oh so much! and dessert... mmmm.... cream brulee!!!

Fancy dinner night
Me dancing with our waiter from Indonesia ... Wary was the BEST waiter!!

The fun towel creatures we found on our bed after returning from dinner

On top of the ship
Abe loved that slide so much... he even entered in a contest to see who could go down it the fastest... he took second! Not too bad at all.Me in our cabin just about to go to dinner
Finally making it to Cabo San Lucas... because lucky for us hurricane Jimena didn't hit that part of the Baja!
In Cabo at Land's End on our way out to go snorkeling... one interesting note about that snorkel trip... we got stung by jellyfish... that's right, from now on i'll be checking ocean water a little more carefully from now on!

I love Cabo... I could spend a whole week there for sure! If we had had more time we totally would have gone deep sea fishing, I have always wanted to do that.
Us with the fun couple from CA that we sat with for dinner
Us on our last night with our great waiters!
And our desserts the last night too!! I do have to say one of the BEST things about the cruise is the food... it's amazing!
Abe aboard Queen Mary... before going to the airport (to go home) we toured this historic cruise ship which is now a hotel. It is one amazing ship. I don't know how the U.S. scored this amazing wonder but so glad we did, if you are ever in Long Beach it's totally worth your time to tour Queen Mary.
Aboard Queen Mary with the cruise ship behind us