Weekend Update!

Have Patience to Perservere

2012-01-22T09:46:00.001-08:00

MpThese last few weeks have been particularly rough for me. My doctor said I could go into labor now and not have to worry about any complications with the babies. This was huge for me because I finally felt like, ok let's get this show in the road. Much to my own disappointment all of my contractions have slowed down if not stopped. I thought for sure that these babes would have made their debut by now especially with all the preterm labor and bed rest I have been having.

After much walking, squats, spicy food, etc. nothing is happening. The hardest part for me is knowing that it could happen any moment and not knowing when. If I knew a date then I could relax and just hang out until then... I have even tried pretending their was a date or using my actual due date as the date but it doesn't work.

To add insult to injury, i threw my neck out yesterday so now my pain totals are even higher. Today I decided to go to www.lds.org and watch some of the Mormon Messages. One stood out to me particularly called Continue in Patience, if you have a sec I highly recommend watching it. It's a very sweet message.

http://lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#continue-in-patience

"Gods promises are not always fulfilled as quickly or in the way we might hope. Patience means staying with something until the end, it means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings. "

I do not know why I have not had these babies yet, but I have faith that God is keeping them in for a reason and only he knows what's best. I have so much to be thankful for and need to keep an eternal perspective that this is His plan and that I can endure a little longer until he is ready to let them enter this world.

Baby Arrival Update

2012-01-12T18:25:00.001-08:00

We went to the doctor today to get an update on how the babies are doing and to see if I can get off bed rest. I am 36 weeks tomorrow and so happy that I have made it this far, especially with all the preterm labor I have been having.

The babies look good. Baby boy appears to have some fluid in his kidney but the doctor says that most of the time it goes away on its own after delivery. I guess the tube that goes from his kidney to his bladder is 2 centimeters when it should only be 8 millimeters, scary if you ask me. I guess it's not super bad because the doctor isn't rushing me into the OR for an emergency delivery.

We learned that our babies legs are measuring in the 98th percentile which is LONG! We also learned that our little man is weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs 14 ounces, 78th percentile and our little lady is a modest 6 lbs 6 ounces, 58th percentile. Gosh I hope they come sooner rather than later!! They are great size babies for twins but I'm afraid if they stay in much longer I am going to have two huge babies to deliver!

The doctor told us he is extremely happy that we made it this far and is ok with them delivering any day now... Woohoo!!! So I am off bed rest, even though I can barely do more than I did while on it. We'll have to see how it all goes... I'm not dilated at all and my cervix is still shut so this might be a while.. Bring on the lunges, spicy food, walking etc!

Cravings throughout my pregnancy

2012-01-08T10:03:00.001-08:00

It's funny because when I thought about getting pregnant I always wondered what kinds of weird cravings I would have. This post is really just for me to remember the little things that I craved so if it's boring I apologize.

In the very beginning I had no cravings what so ever. I felt great, no morning sickness no nothing. Brian even asked me one morning, aren't you supposed to be sick? That was short lived. We told our parents on Father's Day and I was 7 weeks along. My first major food aversion was pineapple and that started the same day. It seemed like as soon as we told eveyone I got sick. I had morning sickness for about 3 weeks straight. It was so bad that I had to cut back hours at work and could not think of anything to eat. The only thing I wanted was a baked potato and the only place to get one was Wendys. I went there so often that the lady that works the drive thru recognizes me now. In the morning at work I would force myself to eat a toasted english muffins with peanut butter and a glass of milk.

It's funny because at lunch time I would have to look at pictures of food to see what looked good and what didn't so I knew what would settle ok in my stomach... Well that was really tough because more often then naught nothing looked good. I remember one time the only thing that sounded good was a steak quesadilla from Taco Bell and the closest one to my work was 20 minutes away. I remember getting to the drive thru and being so hungry and cranky that I wanted to yell at the cars in front of me, "Can you PLEASE hurry up?!? I am going to die if I don't get this quesadilla in the next minute!!! Don't you know that I am pregnant here?!" For breakfast everyday after the first month or so all I wanted were english muffins and eggs, i could literally eat it for every meal. Saltines didn't work, ginger ale didn't work, all the usual remedies didn't work for my nausea

After I learned I was pregnant with twins I downloaded a book called What to expect with Twins, Triplets and Quads. In it the author talks about gaining weight and how crucial it is to gain it in the first and second trimester. They recommend eating hig fat meals, for example, for lunch you should eat a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake. Sounds awesome right?! Well it wasn't. I followed their recommended diet for one day which included a big breakfast, hearty "snack" (which includes a bowl of cereal or a large muffin with milk, those are meals for me normally), then that stellar lunch I described, another hearty "snack" and then a big dinner.... It was the first time out of maybe 3 times that I threw up. My body couldn't handle that kind of diet even for a day... So from then on I decided I would only eat what sounded good and when I was hungry.

I craved Del Combo Burritos from Del Taco, hamburgers, MEAT, enoug said. Then for a while all I wanted was pizza and pasta with tomato sauce. For about two weeks Oreos were a big deal, i could eat a whole sleeve in one sitting with milk however I limited myself to half a sleeve a day ha! Then it switched to cereal and milk, I was drinking whole milk like it was going out of style. I would go through two gallons a week!

For the first two trimesters I wasn't craving anything sweet, the sight of sugar just churned my stomach. Once the doctor handed me my glucose juice and told me to drink it at the next appointment all of the sudden my eyes were wide open and searching for sugar. I wanted milk shakes, cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, etc. So strange.

I do have healthy cravings like Cutie oranges, roasted tomatoes, strawberries, etc.

Now that I am 36 weeks my cravings change day to day, right now it's brownies, two days ago it was the pork barbicoa salad from cafe rio, before that it was crunchy tacos from del taco, then eggs, etc.

This has been quite the roller coaster and I am so excited for it to be over!!

A few maternity photos

2012-01-08T09:53:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I decided that if I wanted any maternity photos then I would have to do them quickly. So I finally did my hair and make up and Brian grabbed his camera and here are a few of our amateur photos... Don't mind the weird look on my face in some, I promise, I'm not mad at my belly. Ha!

My Tuesday hosptial visit

2012-01-05T13:33:00.001-08:00

On Monday night i was having painful cramps/contractions. I thought they would get better if i went to bed earlier but that was wishful thinking. On Tuesday I had my next doctors appointment so i wanted to try and hold off on calling the doctor. Tuesday morning I woke up still contracting so i called my doctors office to see if i could come in sooner and they rescheduled. I went in at 10:45 and had an ultrasound to check my cervix, 2.99 centimeters thick. Apparently my body is having an inner battle with itself. It doesn't want to grow anymore but it doesn't want to let the babies out. They also hooked me up to monitors and determined that it was enough to send me back to the hospital. I had another fetalfibernectin(sp?) test done which is supposed to help predict the odds of delivering in the next two weeks, however i was told that the accuracy of the test dwindles around 34 weeks and i was 34 weeks and 4 days.

At the hospital i was hooked up to another iv, joy, and was given another injection of terbutaline. This time i experienced my first unpleasant nurse and super uncomfortable bed. Luckily after about 3 hours i was moved into a huge beautiful suite that made up for it. I was so comfortable that i would have been ok if i had to stay there up until delivery.

My doctor sent in a high risk specialist to talk to me about all the preterm labor. Since i haven't had any complicatiins other than preterm labor she wasn't too concerned. She did say that it wouldn't surprise her if i came back one to two more times before delivery to stop preterm labor....yay...

I was at the hospital overnight and given a second dose of terbutaline. My contractions slowed way down and i was given the ok to go home on strict bedrest. The plan is to get me to the 13th at the earliest, 36 weeks and then i am "allowed" to go into labor so i won't be on strict bedrest after next Friday but should still take it easy and rest.

I must admit this is so much harder than i ever could have imagined, but i know it will be worth it.

I'm Scared

2011-12-26T10:22:00.001-08:00

Being in the hospital this past week has really forced me to acknowledge the fact that these babies have to come out and not by a wave of a magic wand. This is the part that i have been dreading the most. This entire pregnancy I tried not focusing on the delivery and just on the joy of having my babies in my arms and being a mom. Well now all I think about are these contractions and the big delivery. Honestly it's all very daunting to me. I haven't committed to a c-section or a vaginal delivery. I get mixed opinions on both and it's a lot to consider. With a cesarean I worry about the recovery, the pain of nursing two babies and an incision, not to mention a scar. With vaginally I worry about putting my babies in distress or going through all of the labor and then needing an emergency cesarean anyway. I also worry that if the babies are in position for me to deliver "naturally" and I choose cesarean then I will regret not trying. My doctor is great, he said that if the babies heart rates look good and the babies are in position then he has no problem trying vaginally. It's pretty much up to me, the babies and how everything looks when it's time. At this point I have decided to leave it up to the Lord because we all know I can't do anything about their positions. The babies are both head down and facing out toward my belly button but with all this preterm contraction business anything can happen.

Another main worry I have is the Epidural, with twins I have to deliver in an operating room and the epidural isn't optional, it's mandatory. Now don't get me wrong, I do want one, that isn't the issue... It's the pain of getting one. I have heard so many horror stories about the pain of the needle that it freaks me out. I have a very low tolerance for pain and I find myself stressing over the thought of a gigantic needle being inserted into my back... So much so that it keeps me up at night. Now I know there are lots of good stories of epidurals, I'm just worried. When I had the steroid shots in my bum it hurt sooooo bad! I feel like I can still feel where they stuck the needles on both sides.

When I was growing up I used to believe that by the time I had kids the epidural would be more of an oral pill... Wishful thinking I know. People have babies all the time, the high majority of the time everything comes out just fine... Still... I'm scared.

I'm home!!!

2011-12-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

After two and a half days in Labor and Delivery I am finally home!!! I've gotta say though after the second day I was actually enjoying my stay, it was great staying in bed, having visitors and not doing anything but relaxing.
My doctor came in this morning and heard that I was actually enjoying myself and asked me if I was sure I wanted to leave. If it weren't Christmas this weekend I probably would have just stayed a day or two more but they would have had to take out the IV, I can't stand that thing. When I am home I am restless thinking of all the things I could be doing or need to do etc. which is really hard when you are on strict bed rest.

The doctor put me on an oral drug called Indomethacin, it's an organ relaxer and is definitely making the contractions subside. Oh and did I mention I made a new friend?... Ambien. Can I just take a moment to thank the genius behind such a miracle drug?! Right before I was going to bed last night room next to me a lady had her baby and all I could hear were screams and shrills of excitement as well as a screaming baby, it was cute but just not as cute as if it were my own I guess. My saint of a nurse came in and offered me an Ambien and I eagerly jumped on the offer. I finally slept and felt well rested when Brian came to the hospital in the morning after his shift at work.

Now I am at home drugged up and chained to my couch. My cousin Abby was a total lifesaver today, she not only came over to visit but she picked up a bunch of stuff from Target for me and helped me wrap my Christmas gifts! A HUGE help, thanks Abby!

As of right now, I am on strict bed rest and can pretty much twiddle my thumbs for the next four days until my next doctors appointment on Tuesday, unless I have more contractions and have to return to the hospital. Right now the goal is to keep these babes in until I am at least 36 weeks which is 3 weeks away. If the babies came today they would have to spend 3 weeks in the NICU to learn how to regulate their temperature and to eat which isn't bad but still not fun. Every week I get closer to 36 means one less week in the NICU so fingers crossed!

Thank you everyone again for your thoughts and prayers for us and our little family. I am so lucky to have so many family and friends praying for us.

Another day in the L&D...

2011-12-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Last night my mom, sister and brother Josh brought me warm fresh baked Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies to the hospital. They were sooo good!! Tiersha and Josh came to visit me also and got to hang out for a while. It's so nice living so close to so many family members! Tiersha was so great, she offered to stay with me at the hospital overnight because Brian had to work and she knows what it's like being alone in the hospital. I think she might have caught a cold from my room because I keep it at arctic temperatures, so I've been told. She had 3 heating blankets covering her and I used just a sheet. It's amazing how warm you are when you are a human incubator.

Unfortunately the night didn't go so well. I had long contractions, 5-6 minutes long. They were also frequent and not subsiding. The nurse came in around 3 AM with the thing I was dreading most, an IV. I had been trying to consume as much water as possible to avoid this but no such luck. This time my nurse numbed the area before she stuck me with the needle, she had to do it twice because the first vein hid the second she numbed it and she couldn't find it when she poked around. This was not enough... at 3:30 she came back with another shot of Terbutaline. This is a little tiny needle with a huge bite! It is so painful! It also causes your heart rate to speed up and you to become anxious. The last two times I had to take this it wasn't as noticeable because I was watching TV and talking with people. This time it was night, the TV was off and I was the only one awake... it kind of made me freak out a little bit because I could feel my heart racing.

At about 7 AM the doctor came in to see me and check if I was dilating. I wasn't. Since I had such an eventful night of contractions he decided to keep me for one more night and re-evaluate in the morning. So here I am, still in the hospital. It actually hasn't been too bad though. They switched me to oral medication that's supposed to be an organ relaxer and make the contractions stop. So far it's working pretty well. I haven't had as many long or strong contractions so hopefully I will be released tomorrow. I got my second shot of the steroids in my rear and it hurt more than the first one! I have been told that I should only have oral medication from now on though so that is a relief.

Today I had two pleasant surprises. My Grandma Connie and Papa Neilson came to visit me and then one of my mom's best friends, Terri Hubbard and her daughters Melissa and Cheryl, came to visit and spent 3 hours chatting with me. It was so nice to have visitors! It definitely made the time fly by!

Not a completely bad day for me; I got to shower, which is interesting with an IV but SOO nice to get clean, have breakfast, lunch and dinner brought to me, visitors to keep me company and less contractions! The only thing that could make it better is if this IV was out. I kind of like not having to do much, it's hard getting up and taking care of myself at home.

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers, it looks like they're working because the contractions are slowing and I might get to go home! Thank you so much!

Another iv

2011-12-22T04:12:00.001-08:00

I am having a lot of contractions so they just put me on another iv. :o(

If this doesn't work I'll be getting another shot of terbutaline...

I'm back...

2011-12-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

Looks like these babes really want to make their debut early, either that or my body wants to kick them out early. I went to my follow up doctors appointment this morning and they put me on monitors, unfortunately my contractions were still coming at a rate they weren't happy with so they sent me to the hospital. I am on monitors and have to stay at least for 24 hours. They have given me the first of a set of two steroid shots (total OUCH, it's in the bum!) to help the babies lungs just in case they come super early. I also got another shot of Terbutaline to help ease my contractions.

The doctor wants to try and keep the babies in until at least 36 weeks, I am 32 weeks and 5 days so hopefully I can make it another 3 weeks. He said if my contractions stay the way they are in 24 hours when he comes to check on me then I might have to stay longer and continue to be monitored. I am not dilated at all and my cervix is 3 cm thick so I at least have that going for me. I was told that the preterm labor contractions are a reaction from my body not wanting to expand anymore and thinking it's time... SUPER.

Too early!!!

2011-12-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

This morning I had quite the scare. I went to bed around 10:30 and was feeling some minor cramping, I called Brian at work and told him that I was going to wait an hour and see if the cramps go away or progressively get worse before calling the doctor. I fell asleep around 11 but still had cramps. I woke up around 2:15AM and my cramps were significantly worse. Needless to say I called the on call doctor and she told me to check into Labor and Delivery. Luckily I wasn't in too much of a panic, I had my bag mostly packed, grabbed a few things just in case and then got dressed. We got to the Emergency Entrance to the hospital around 3:00 AM and I was admitted, hooked up to fetal monitors and an IV. I was having a lot of contractions so they gave me a shot of something to stop them. They also did a test to see the likely hood of me delivering in the next two weeks and luckily that was negative. After about two hours the contractions slowed down but the heart rates were a little concerning so they kept me until the doctor came in around 7:30AM. When he came in he said that the heart rates have gone up and that everything looks good. I am now on BED REST, at least until Wednesday when the doctor wants to see me and see how I am doing.

This was a very scary experience for me, I am ready for these babes to come, but it worries me that THEY might not be ready to come out. I'm not so much ready for delivery, I hate needles, hospitals and pain so I was very anxious being admitted knowing that I could potentially be delivering my babies early and if I did, they would very likely be going to the NICU. I am so happy that the contractions have subsided for now but a little bummed to have to be on bed rest. I'm not used to letting people help me or being dependent on those around me so this is definitely going to be a challenge.

Being Pregnant is HaRd!

2011-09-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant is no easy feat. Every day that goes by brings a new challenge. Can I get up without my lower back screaming? Can I put on my shoes today? Can my body stop itching all over? Can my arms and thighs stop expanding? (I mean these babies are in my tummy not my thighs and arms.) Can I try to exercise without every part of me aching like I am a 80 year old woman? Can I please control my raging hormones and control my tears that flow for no apparent reason?I have such a respect for anyone who has ever had a baby and even more for those who go on for two, three, four etc. People don't realize all the changes that take place and all the sacrifices we as women make in order to create life. I was really sick for a couple weeks in the first trimester and remember thinking, why would anyone ever go through this more than once?! I know, I know, because A) you forget and B) the miracle of life that comes as a result at the end. I don't want anyone to misinterpret my last post, I do not think that because I was told by a family member to think that Heavenly Father trusts me so much that he is sending me two means that he trusts me MORE than anyone else who has one at a time. I am severely humbled by this pregnancy. I do not believe that I am more qualified or more capable at all. There are many women out there that I think are WAY more qualified to have twins. To cope with this insecurity I have to remember what I have always been taught, that we will never be given more than we can handle. I still struggle with the idea of taking care of two at a time. I knew I was ready for one and that I always wanted twins, but once the doctor told me I was actually having two I was filled with fear. Fear that I won't be able to handle double duty, fear that I won't be a good mom for both, fear in many different aspects. I am so grateful for the love and support I have been given by my family and friends. I know that without that this pregnancy would be a lot harder. I have been blessed with so many wonderful examples in just my own family alone. I have so many amazing and wonderful Aunts, Cousins and Grandmothers who are amazing wives and mothers. KUDOS to all you great mom's out there! You are my constant inspiration.

Babies :o)

2011-09-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

It has been over 4 months since I have written in this blog. I would apologize but so much has happened that I am perfectly content with my hiatus. I am in my 19th week of being pregnant with TWINS! We confirmed at the doctor about a week and a half ago that we are having a Boy and a Girl! These last four months have been an interesting roller coaster of sickness, exhaustion, fear, anticipation and anxiety but most of all overwhelming joy and love. We feel so blessed for this miracle in our lives. I have been getting a lot of different responses when I tell people I am pregnant with twins... "Oh, congratulations?" "Wow, twins huh? That's gonna be a lot of work." "My condolences?" "Oh, I'm glad it's you and not me." "Oh wow, you are going to get HUGE!" Sweet right? Don't get me wrong here there are just as many happy responses as well and those are the most helpful... "That is so exciting!" "Twins would be so fun!" "I always wanted twins!" "You guys are so lucky, lots of people dream of twins!" One response I got from someone very close to my heart in a time when I was overwhelmed, scared and stressed, was something that has stuck with me the most, she told me, while I sobbed on the phone, "You are so blessed, Heavenly Father trusts you that much that he is sending you two of his sweet little spirits at one time. You are about to experience what many people dream of but won't always admit. Take this in stride and count your blessings everyday." I cannot tell you how much I repeat those words in my head, they have given me a whole new insight and gratitude for this blessing in my life. It reminds me that Heavenly Father has a plan, only he can see the bigger picture. He knows us individually. He knows are strengths, our weaknesses, our desires. He knows our fears, our joys, and our futures. I know that I will never be given more than I can handle, not to say that I won't feel stressed or tired, overwhelmed or defeated, just that I will be given the tools and strength to handle whatever is thrown my way and for that I am extremely grateful. I am excited for this adventure that is going to start in just a few short months and await the arrival of my two sweet babies.

Crown

2011-05-22T20:45:00.001-07:00

I know these all word posts are obnoxious but I am hoping this one will have pictures!!

One of out favorite things we did in New York was visit the Statue if Liberty and make the climb all the way up to the crown!

Here are some snap shots of that ...

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Testing, testing 123

2011-05-22T09:56:00.001-07:00

Happy Sunday! I hope this picture goes through...

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All Good Things Must Come to an End- Day 6

2011-05-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

This morning, just like all the others, we got up super early and went to a charming little restaurant called Georgios Country Grill for breakfast. This was another one of our awesome Yelp finds!! I had the Hawaiian shake- frozen yogurt, raspberries, pineapple and coconut milk (absolutely deliscious!!) with probably the best French toast I have ever had. I highly recommend this place! It's in the Hells Kitchen district on a little corner that was a few short blocks from our hotel... Very quaint. :o)

Sadly, right after we rushed to our hotel, grabbed our bags and headed to the airport. We flew to Minnesota and then to Santa Ana where we found out my luggage had decided it wasn't ready to come home and took a later flight and has yet to grace is with it's presence... The airport has assured me they will deliver it to me tonight... Keeping my fingers crossed!!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...-Day 5

2011-05-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yup you guessed it, more rain... And today it came down in buckets!

We got up, got ready and headed over to the Statan Island Ferry. When we came up from the subway we walked right into filming of the show White Collar, at least that's what I think it was... It was pretty cool seeing all the cameras and the actors doing the same scene over and over again... Haha.

Onto the Statue of Liberty! There was a light sprinkle when we left the hotel this morning so I brought my umbrella... When we got to the ferry the rain had started coming down a lot harder but still nothing terrible. We got to the statue around 945 am and it was awesome! I finally felt like I was in NYC, not that I didn't before it's just this made it even more complete! Brian was awesome and made reservations for us to climb to the crown more than 3 months in advance! They only allow 300 people up it a day so we felt pretty special. When we climbed the 300+ stairs we were happy to be the only tourists in the crown at the time. We had it all to ourselves! Unfortunately once we got up there the first downpour happened... It was pouring so hard that we couldn't even see out the windows... Luckily right before we were going to descend it stopped... Just long enough for us to stick our heads out of the windows and get a picture.

Afterwards we headed to Ellis Island where we walked around and took in all the exhibits and history. We spent time looking up Brians ancestors and my ancestor only to learn that there are a lot of things we don't know about out own heritage... Need to break put the genealogy and start learning.

Once we were finished there we went outside to get on the ferry back to NYC... That's when the heavens opened up and Mother Nature decided we needed another shower... Lucky us... Now there are a couple huge bummers about this... 1-we were not wearing proper clothing... Brian had a sweatshirt and jeans and I had leggings and my sweater Ugg boots oh and a winter coat that is definitely NOT water resistant. 2- it was still super early in the day so we weren't going home for a long while and last but not least 3-I had accidentally left our umbrella back with miss liberty (second one I lost this trip, the first was at the Yankee/Red Socks game...) so we got soaked!! My shoes are literally sopping wet, my dress and leggings drenched and my jacket gained 10 lbs of water weight from being held over my head... Super!! AND if this wasn't enough we went from the dock straight over to Little Italy and China town for about 5 seconds... Not counting the 35
minute dinner we had at a little place called Da Nico. I had the Spaghetti alla Carbonera, not my fav but still yummy and Brian got a
seafood pasta that I can't remember the name of but it was Delish! Sadly our time in that part of town was cut super short because my boots
were digging into my heels making it super difficult to walk and Brians sweatshirt was soaked and making him freeze...

We made it back just in time before another downpour but were stuck indoors for a couple hours unable to see the rest of what was on our agenda for our last full day... :o( Around 1030pm we made our last attempt to see Time Square again, do a tiny bit of shopping and get our last look at NYC.

Rain Rain Go Away! - Day 4

2011-05-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today we got up bright and early hoping to go to the Top of the Rock, unfortunately though it was raining and cloudy making it impossible to see anything... We checked back with the workers every couple hours and heard the same mumbo jumbo each time, "There is Zero visibility, it's not worth going up." Booo!!

Between checking in for the same bad news we managed to keep ourselves busy. First on the agenda was the NBC tour. We got to see the sets for Dr. Oz, MSNBC and Saturday Night Live. It was awesome to see the SNL set because we watch it every week! This week they are prepping for the season finally with Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga. When we saw the set the crew was prepping for his photo shoot for the show. I wish we could have seen him!!

After the tour we ran over to Radio City to the Radio City Rockette tour. That was really cool too! Circ du Soliel has signed on to do a two year show that hasn't even premiered yet and we got to see them practicing!! It was from a very high and far away distance and only for a few minutes but so fun!

I forgot to mention that earlier in the day we for stand by tickets for Jimmie Fallon! Sweet right? Yeah well after standing in line, ok only for 5 minutes, then coming back for the first check in and then the second we were told they had full attendance and wouldn't be taking any standby... Another swing and a miss!

We were so bummed so we went outside to regroup and look for a place to eat when we saw Zach Morris from Saved by the Bell and the guy from Kate and Leopold, he played Meg Ryans brother... But back to Zach (I can't remember his real name) he is so much better looking in person! He even looked at me!! Regrettably I didn't get a picture and I am kicking myself because I had the perfect opportunity!! Haha.

For dinner we stopped at another Yelp find: Empenada Mama in Hells Kitchen. We ordered 6 different kinds of empanadas and they were all mouthwatering!! We had the Cuban, Spicy Chicken, cheesesteak, one I can't remember, Viagra (yes that was an empanada made with shrimp, oyster and crab, sooo good!) oh and did I mention dessert?! Brian and I each got an empanada with Belgium Chocolate and bananas and I got one without bananas... They were amazing!

We visited the Hershey store and the M&M store and a few other little shops.

Tomorrow is our last full day and we still have so much to see! Pray for clear skies!!

Foggy, Cloudy, Rainy and Chilly- Day 3

2011-05-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up lovely fog and mist outside our window. Today we were scheduled to visit the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center but when we got to the Empire State Building they told us it was 0 visibility and pointless to even go up. Bummer!!! We decided to swap tomorrows schedule with today's and wound up at Ground Zero instead. When we got there we just happened to see Major Bloomberg talking with some construction workers and surrounded by secret service! So fun!

We took a little tour, unfortunately there are no tours on the actual grounds because they are working to have some new monuments ready for the 10 year anniversary. The tour we took was put on by the families of those who were murdered on September 11th. One of our tour guides was a woman who lost her husband on flight 97, the 2nd plane to hit the towers. She told us how her and her husband had just moved so her husband could work from home and she could teach at a school. He only had to travel once a month and only for a few short days at a time. On September 11 she dropped him off at the airport, kissed him goodbye and he told her it would be a quick trip and he would see her on Thursday. She then went to the school she was teaching at and started that days lesson. At 9:00 AM she got a call from her mother in law who told her that Brian's plane had been hijacked and that he left her, his wife a message on their voicemail. The mother in law told her to go home and then come to her house. She went home, not knowing what was going on and checked the answering machine. He left a message something like this... "Hey Jules, the planes been hijacked, take care of yourself, be strong and move on. I love you so much and I'll see you when you get here. Bye." Needless to say, it was a very moving story. After being there and seeing the land where the towers once stood I can finally grasp in the slightest degree what happened that day.

After our tour and on the way to the subway we walked right past Julie from this seasons Survivor!! Brian tapped her as we past and told her we liked watching her on the show. We had no idea the season finally wa tapped here yesterday, because clearly we weren't home to watch it, so now we have our eyes peeled for any of the other people from the show.

Ever since seeing the movie Serendipity I have wanted to go to that little Serendipity restaurant featured where Kate Beckinsdale and Molly Shannon shared a Frozen Hot Chocolate... And today we went! I got the drink and Brian got a banana split... Soooo good!! It was such a small little place but so fun to visit.

Right on the corner next to Serendipity is Dylans Candy Bar... This place is three floors of sugary goodness!! I remembered seeing it on the Food Network so we had to go in! There was so much candy and sugar that Brian and I left empty handed... Way too many choices!

Tonight we went to Time Square and saw the famous Naked Cowboy and saw ourselves on the Forever 21 billboard screen! We had dinner at a food stand I found on Yelp called Halal... It was delicious!!! We both got the combo plate that had rice, chicken, lamb and lettuce... It was so yummy!!

The only bummer about today was the blasted weather! It never actually rained, it just misted heavily and blew all over the place. I had an umbrella but it was pretty much useless because the mist/rain was coming at all directions! Another round of lovely photos!!

Day 2 Holy Humidity

2011-05-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

For the duration of our trip the weather is going to be a whopping 66-69 degrees. Surprisingly, it doesn't feel like it, it feels warmer... The oh the humidity! Did I mention it is supposed to rain every day as well?? I prepped for this... Sort of... I bought the strongest hold hair spray under $5 can buy, I'm pretty sure that was my problem, but still my hair goes into ultra frizz ultra ugly mode... Nice. All of my lovely pictures are going to be that much more fun to look at. ;)

On to today, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.... One word to describe it...MASSIVE. This place is huge and crowded. We got there around eleven and by the time we left, about 3 it was a mad house. We saw some amazing art and some amazing wardrobes of fellow museum goers. I love checking out all the styles, believe me, there are all kinds of little art pieces walking around.

On out way to the museum we had to walk through Central Park. It was beautiful! Today is the annual Walk for AIDS and let me tell you, that crowd put the Rowe vs. Wade march we saw in DC to shame! There were thousands of people there! We had to cross through the madness to get to the museum and now we can say we participated... Sort of. Ha!

On the way home we had to get off in Grand Central Station. So cool! We got some great pictures if only I could figure out how to upload them from my iTouch. Oh and I forgot, we also took a stroll down Madison Ave where we saw Rosie Popes store!! For those of you that don't know who she is you should check out the show on Bravo called Pregnant in Heels... It's the store from the show... So cute but sooo small!

Our room was upgraded for free today! We were on the 3rd floor with a view of air conditioning units and now we are on the 23rd floor in a corner suite with two views of the city!! It's so cool!!

After we got our upgrade and switched rooms we headed to the game. We got tickets to the Yankee vs. Red Socks. We aren't really a fan of either but we love baseball and wanted to check put the new Yankee stadium, it was awesome! Yankee fans are super intense and are
die hard fans. The stadium is huge and we loved it! For dinner Brian found a recommendation online that lead us to a yummy little stand that makes mouth watering prime rib sandwiches on yummy garlic herb and pepper buns from Lobels! Delicious!!! Our seats where quite high but still a good view. We even saw a few celebrities! Steve Martin, Loren Michaels, Michael myers, and Andy Samborg! We are big SNL fans so it was fun to see some people from the show. It was a great game! The Yankees lost by 2 and there were a couple fights in the stands that the NYPD had to break up... Entertaining!!

We a dead tired and can't wait for another jam packed day of fun tomorrow!!

New York, New York Day 1

2011-05-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

We have arrived!! Yesterday we landed in the great city of New York! All I can say us that this city is busy!
Our room is two short blocks from Time Square and it's beautiful! Within the first thirty minutes of being here we grabbed some delicious New York pizza, probably the biggest slice of pizza heaven I have ever eaten and while we were stuffing our faces who walked by?? Mr. Big from Sex and the City himself! I never got into the show but I knew who he was and it was so cool to see him just out and about in NYC!

Time square was a mad house! There were thousands of people out and about. There was a commercial shoot for a new Range Rover going on and we might be in it! It was a time lapse so more than likely it won't show any one person in-particular but still fun. And of course we had check out the Disney store, probably the coolest screen signage I have ever seen!

We caught our first Broadway show, Mary Poppins last night and It was so good! I was fascinated with all the intricate set designs, the theatre and singing! The show is actually coming to OC in July and I definitely recommend it. Brian said he even enjoyed it.
I loved that when the show ended, at 11:00 pm, it still looked bright outside! There are so many lights that it literally does not get dark at night time.

On an unrelated note: Anyone else have trouble with BlogPress? I can't upload any pictures!

2011-04-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Desiree and I'm addicted to Facebook. Ever since I got my iTouch I have not been able to put it down, Brian can confirm this as he tells me every day that I am addicted. Whether it's Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Solitaire or the like, it has taken hold of my life and created an addicted monster.

A little while ago a friend of mine said goodbye to Facebook, not forever, but for a little while. When I read that I was intrigued, could I go even a full day without my Facebook fix? I am happy to report I can! As of right now I haven't been on Facebook in six days!! I do realize how ridiculous this may seem but it's crazy how freeing it is. I didn't quite understand my addiction of reading status's, checking out photos, looking up old friends until now... And for what? Knowing useless information? Now don't get me wrong, I still love that time sucker but for right this second we are taking a break. Who knows how long this will really last, but for right now I am having fun forcing myself to do other things with my time, it has been no easy feat by any means but I am certainly enjoying myself.

Ha! Watch, after this I'll break this goofy streak and succumb to my addiction once again in the ever time wasting world of Facebook... Here's to self control! Cheers!

My office

2011-03-02T16:52:00.001-08:00

Ok so I finished decorating my office! There were many things I had to consider because of the itty bittyness of it. I didnt want to make it feel like a closet over cluttered and claustrophobic... I love it. What do you think?

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Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I have an office!!

2011-02-20T10:12:00.001-08:00

So this last week I moved from my cubicle to an office... I mean I have a door now!! A door!! And walls, not panels!! I'm so excited but now I have a dilemma, how the heck am I going to decorate?? I need your help!

Here is my cubicle and here is my office.....

I know these pictures are not super great quality so bare with me... Any ideas???

Terrariums and Lemons

2011-02-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

I love my credenza, I just don't love decorating it. I never know what to put on it. I've seen so many creative ways people do it but often times they use really expensive decor that just doesn't fit my budget. Well a few weeks ago I noticed these adorable glass jar terrariums and fell in love!! My Aunt Jamie had three of them on her piano and I just had to ask how she made them. I was shocked at how simple and cheap it was. Two days later I was out hunting for jars and enlisting Jamies help.

Here's what you do if you want to make your own.... Find a glass jar, you can find them at any craft store for relatively inexpensive especially if you have a coupon. Then you add small rocks in the bottom, pour in some dirt (when I went to the hardware store to buy the plants they saw what I was doing, because I brought my jars in with me, and offered me a free little bag of soil) and add a succulent or two then you're done! Easy as one, two, three!! They are great too because you don't have to water them which is perfect for me seeing as I have a black thumb and kill every plant I've ever owned.

I have realized that I love decorative glass jars so I also got a bunch of lemons and put them in an apothecary jar I already had. I love the natural look both these ideas bring to my entry way.

Stroller Bag

2010-11-27T13:52:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I made a Stroller Bag for my cousin Missy's baby shower. It's super fun and easy to use. There are straps on each side of the bag that clip around a strollers handles for when your out and about... then it changes to a regular tote with a long strap for easy wear and carry.

My First Puff Quilt!

2010-11-20T19:10:00.001-08:00

A while back while checking out some of my favorite craft blogs I came across this amazing tutorial on Puff Quilts. Immediately I fell in love with the idea and seeing as it didn't look SUPER difficult I set out to make one. My adorable sister-in-law Claudia is pregnant with my niece Sofia so I thought it would be perfect to do it for her.This quilt was no easy feat but so worth the end result. Here are just a few pictures of it:

For some reason I am unable to hyperlink the website so you can check out the tutorial here: http://www.honeybearlane.com/2010/02/puff-quilt-tutorial-part-1-puff-quilt.html.

Happy Birthday MOM!

2010-09-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

No Motivation, lots of Procrastination

2010-08-15T16:49:00.001-07:00

I have been the Queen of procrastination, exhibit A: this blog..., I really haven't felt like I have had anything worth posting and anything I have thought of I kept pushing off posting it until I have forgotten all about it completely. My schedule is super repetitious and at the end of each day I am wiped out... plus it's even harder because Brian goes to bed at 9 every night and I have been so bored that I have started to go to bed at the same time (which is killer in the morning for me because I lay in bed awake for at least an hour before getting ready for work, I thought I could go running but it's still dark outside and I refuse to run in the dark).

So today I was going over in my head all of the things I need to do and all the things I want to do and decided to make a list...

My NEED to do list:

Organize my office/guest room/future(oneday)baby room
Take my sewing machine in for repair (neither Brian, myself or my mom know how to fix it)
Finish going through my childhood boxes my parents dumped off in my garage
Take old clothes to DI
Organize my kitchen cupboards
Paint my garage (maybe)

My WANT to do list:

Jewelry frame board (I have been wanting to make a jewelry organizer since last year, I just haven't found a frame I'm in love with or one that is big enough for my long necklaces)
More flower head bands
Refashion some old shirts
Replace base boards
Cards for all occasions
Memory quilt (in the boxes of junk my parents brought me I found a ton of shirts from sports, youth conference, EFY and the like, I know I will NEVER wear any of them again but I didn't want to just give them to DI or throw them away. I am going to cut out the logos and special designs and put them together to make a quilt of memories) eventually. :o)
Baby girl jewelry/accessories (my sister in law is pregnant with their second, a GIRL!)

I know there is more on that list I just can't remember it all... so for now I think I have my work cut out for me.

Hopefully by making this list I will muster up enough energy to work on SOMETHING and be able to check off the things on my list. WISH ME LUCK!!!

Honeybear Lane

2010-08-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

I think I just might have found a new project... well at least a new project to add to my ever growing list of projects... I was perusing all of my fun favorite craft blogs and stumbled across this gem: Honeybear Lane. It was being featured on another blog I love, Make It and Love It.

I am just barely getting into the ocean of a hobby that is quilt making. I have made a few rag quilts and have made a few other fun simple quilts, but nothing too extravagant. There are literally thousands of different kinds of quilts and techniques out there and millions of people that possess far more patience than I do that make them. For the past few years that I have been married I have decided, now don't hold me to this just in case I don't do it, that I would love to make my baby's bedding.... NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT, nor am I announcing anything. I haven't really found anything that I am in love with until just yesterday when I saw these gorgeous Puff Baby Quilts:

Aren't they ADORABLE?! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to make one of these and matching bumper pads... lucky for me... I have a while before I have to pick out colors and commit to this huge undertaking. :o)

My latest project

2010-07-19T22:47:00.001-07:00

Ok ok, I know... it has been FOREVER since I have posted anything on this thing... so here it goes...

A few weeks ago before Brian came home I wanted to make drapes for our bedroom... and not just for the window. Brian and I don't get up at the same time so in order to not disturb the other in the morning with a bright light I made blackout drapes. I also made pillows and table runners for the nightstands. Here are a few pictures:

Happy Kari?? ;o)

About time...

2010-05-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

I finally get to see Brian!!! Today I am flying to Georgia for two full days!!! I am so excited and can't believe that we have been apart for as long as we have. I must admit that in the beginning, the first month or two, time seemed to just fly by but when the third month hit it sure slowed down, almost to a halt. It has been a rough few weeks and I am just so excited that this whole thing is almost over. Woohoo!!! Brunswick Georgia here I come!!!

Disneyland

2010-03-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

Thursday was the BEST day for a trip to the Happiest place on Earth! No crowds and perfect weather! My best friend Whitney has been in town and as our last hooray before she leaves me next week, we wanted to do something fun. I am not joking, it was PERFECT! We spent half the day in California Adventure and went on EVERYTHING, then we went to Disneyland and went on all the big rides and even a few smaller ones. We also watched the Aladdin show and the Captain EO show! Here are a few pictures of our day!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2010-03-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

This week we celebrated my adorable sister's birthday, she is a whopping 9 years old!

Isn't she cute?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH BANANA!

Baby Shower

2010-02-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday I went to my cousin-in-law's baby shower. It was a lot of fun seeing family and celebrating the soon to be newest edition to the giant family. Here are just a few photos:

My gift. I especially love the tag, it was so fun using all my new card making stuff!

My beautiful cousin Nicole and I.

The awesome centerpieces.

It's here...

2010-02-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

the time I have been dreading... This past Tuesday I dropped off my husband at LAX and sent him on his way to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco Georgia for FOUR whole months. It has been 5 days and I have done everything I can to keep myself so busy that I don't have time in my day to think about it. Unfortunately, I am slapped into reality every night when I come home from work and every morning when I wake up to find that he is not there and will not be for a long time. What makes this worse is the sheer fact that I don't even know if or when I will be able to visit him. We had talked about me flying out there or him flying out here on a weekend but came to the horrible realization that it would be no cheap affair and would be for so short a visit.

How am I doing? I am ok. I am keeping busy. Yes, I do miss him, Yes, I know this is only going to get harder and Yes, I know it will go by fast. However, none of that keeps me warm at night, none of that is there for me when I get home and none of that is comforting to me; but you hear of these stories of husbands and fathers, wives and mothers going off to war and leaving families behind in constant fear of the unknown... not knowing what they are facing, not knowing how they are being treated, not knowing if they will be coming back home. I could never imagine saying goodbye to my Brian and thinking that that could potentially be the last time I could ever see him again. It is heart wrenching to me and I am deeply humbled by the many men and women that do it, leave their families to defend our nation and esentially sacrifice themselves for us and our freedoms. I could never imagine doing that, I have nothing to be sad about, I will see my husband again and it won't be for a short time before he is shipped back out, or because he got injured and sent home, it will be because he has graduated and is ready to start his career.

I am grateful for a husband who is so hardworking, so diligent in keeping the commandments, so focused in getting where he wants to be and not settling for what is easiest. I am so proud of him and excited for this new adventure he is beginning. I miss him already but I know this is where he is meant to be. I love him with all my heart and look forward to these weeks to fly by.

Meanwhile I have lots planned to keep me and my mind occupied. I have endless projects and I hope to blog about them as I complete them, but don't get your hopes up too much... I am terrible at blogging. :-)

Good News!

2010-01-17T16:56:00.000-08:00

Brian got a job! He will be working for Home Land Security in the ICE division (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). I am so excited for him and the adventures that lay ahead for him. He reports to the academy, which we are 98% sure is in Georgia, on February 17th.... YES THAT IS SOON! That's not all! Since he will be leaving in a matter of weeks, and will be gone for a while, and won't know how long until we'll be able to take a vacation, we will be leaving this THURSDAY for a very fun and exciting vacation! Now I know any sane person would take advantage of the tropical weather in areas such as Hawaii or Gulf of Mexico, especially this week with all the rain and cold weather, but we, the insane, have decided to go to a colder and wetter place... Washington DC! Now you might be thinking one of two things A) Wow you guys are nuts! or B) Wow you are going to freeze! BUT we are so excited! We have been to many tropical places and decided to do something a little different. We just booked our trip today and leave in 4 days! I can't believe how fast somethings happen. I am just so excited and can't wait to see all the wonderful things Washington DC has to offer. We have never been that far east before and just couldn't be more excited!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-01-06T19:09:00.001-08:00

My dad, along with two of his brothers, celebrated his birthday last Saturday. I wanted to do something special for him so I made him these awesome cupcakes! Aren't they awesome?! I now have ten bottles of different colored sprinkles, it's great! Here are a few pictures.
Happy Birthday DAD!!!

Another Cake

2010-01-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

About a year and a half ago I helped throw my sister in law, Claudia, a baby shower. It turned out sooo great! Here is the cake my mom and I put together for her.
And this is another cake I made for her out of Diapers.... too cute!

Brian's Birthday Cake

2010-01-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

This post is long over do... Brian's birthday was back in November and I really wanted to make him a specialty cake. I have taken every cake decorating course that has been offered by Wilton and haven't made a whole lot of cakes... but here it is.... I chose to make a sushi cake because Brian is a HUGE sushi fan. Don't worry it's all sugar and no fish. :-) PS. That chocolate egg looking thing is NOT an egg... it's soy sauce... not one of my proudest cake decor pieces.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year! We had a very packed schedule and it was absolutely fabulous!

On Christmas Eve Brian and I got to spend the night to ourselves. We made a huge gingerbread house, which you will see later as the centerpiece on my table. I made dinner with pork, potatoes, carrots, fresh baked rolls and Sparkling Cider. It was great and extremely simple! Then we exchanged gifts. Here are a couple pictures from those festivities.

A funny thing happened.... Brian and I both got each other something that we already had! I got him the Back to the Future trilogy and he got me the Julie Andrews Biography! It was pretty funny.

I really wanted new boots, these are the Argyle boots from UGG. EXTREMELY COMFORTABLE!

I also got an Angels jersey, Mickey Apron and Walt Disney's Biography.

I finally caved in and bought Brian a Wii, he loves it!
He is now an expert at Mario Brothers!

The next morning we went to my parents house at 7AM to open presents with all the kids! We got my parents another photo book, this time of our cruise to Mexico with them back in August. They loved it! We also got my dad a CD and my mom a Cricut cartridge.
Then at 9:00 AM we had Brian's family over for breakfast. It was fantastic, everything went great and we had a wonderful time!
Later in the day we went back to my parents house for the big Neilson Christmas, unfortunately we forgot to whip out the camera and snap the festivities. :-( We made gingerbread houses, had a gift exchange, and had a delicious dinner!

Our final stop for the night was over to my brother in laws house for a Christmas dessert with Brian's mom, Celia, she flew in from Washington for a week. :-) My sister in law, Claudia, made the best Chocolate molten cake ever! Then we gave Celia the gift that we all pitched in for..... a Coach purse! It was gorgeous and we found it at the outlets in Carlsbad!
Lastly... this part is for my bff,Whitney, she keeps insisting that I put up pictures of our house decorated for Christmas... warning... they are not good pictures and in no way show the full beauty in some of the decorations I found.

My sister in law found these really great vintage tags at Timeless Treasures that we were going to make an advent calendar with but decided to use them by themselves. They are really beautiful.

It's FALL!

2009-11-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

I must admit I am getting Christmas decorating fever! I blame it on the fact that last year I didn't get to decorate because we were moving and therefore feel that it is high time to brush off the dust and break out all my fun Christmas decorations! A week ago I had made up my mind that I was going to decorate for Christmas early... after all it is MY house and I don't have a ton of fall decorations anyways... but once I voiced my plan I was immediately told not do and to enjoy the fall while it's here... I must admit... Fall is my favorite season so I guess I should embrace the time. Only problem was that I had very few decorations and due to our circumstances I didn't want to rush out and buy more.... HOWEVER.... today I got the urge to go to Michaels after work and was, to put it lightly, absolutely thrilled!

I only spent $26!

All of the garland was only .99 cents a stem!I got the big pumpkins for $3 each and the little pumpkins for .35 cents each!

I love these cream glittered ones! They go great in my downstairs bathroom.

I got this arrangement for $3 and the vase for $5. They are my favorite colors and trust me, this picture is not doing them justice!

This beauty was only $1.99!!!

I found these at Target last year and waited until they were on clearance for $4!

Two years ago I made myself, my mom and my mother-in-law this FALL sign, it was so fun! Also so much work!

These candle holders were also on sale!

Gosh I LOVE FALL and all the SALES!!!

The table runners are a little project I have been working on, they are double sided, one for fall and the other is Christmas color striped. I still have to take them and get them pressed so they are flat but I think they turned out well. :-)

My Husband Can SEW!

2009-11-05T12:59:00.001-08:00

So ever since we got our puppy Baxter, Brian has asked if at some point I could make him a bed. Well we ended up buying multiple beds for this pup because it was cheaper and easier in the short run… well those did not last…. Baxter likes to play this game where the second we leave him alone with his bed it becomes this monster that he absolutely has to rip to shreds as quickly and efficiently as possible. Four beds, one comforter and multiple pillows later we discovered this lady who makes dog beds out of duck canvas material that is “chew proof,” only problem is that they are $80 each! Well we succumbed and bought one and by no fault of it’s own it shrunk when we washed it…. Not to mention that all of the pillows that were in it got demolished soon after… I absolutely refused to buy him another bed for a long time… well last week Brian went to Joann’s with my mom to get fabric for our Halloween costumes and found duck canvas! So he bought some maroon duck canvas (for a lot cheaper than the first one we bought) and brought it home. The very next day I get an email with a picture attachment that looks like this….

I couldn’t believe my eyes! Brian not only mastered my sewing machine, but made a professional looking dog bed, zipper and everything! He even wrote his name on them. AND if that wasn’t enough, he salvaged some left over material and made a SECOND one for his office! I think we know who the seamster is in our house! Great job honey!

Oh and incase you’re wondering why his foot is all taped up, it’s because something pricked him on one of our walks and then made the toe swell, we took him to the vet and they cut it open to make sure nothing was in there. He is fine now… THANK HEAVENS for puppy insurance!

My new HAIR!!!

2009-10-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted something different and I think I definitely got it... What do you think?

Brian's Office Surprise

2009-10-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago Brian went up to Washington for a few days to help his mom with a few things around her house. While he was gone, I decided to surprise him with a fully decorated and renovated office. I got an old desk from a lady at work for free and with the help of my dad we were able to sand down the top and front and stain and seal it, then put new hardware on it to make it look good as new. :-) With the help of HomeDepot.com I found my inspiration for colors and then enlisted my dad to do the actual painting. He was the BIGGEST help! I also had the help of my Aunt Jamie and cousin Missy, they came over the night before and put together this huge memo board... unfortunately it didn't go with the room as I had imagined so I had to scrap it. :-( Sorry girls! I still really appreciate the time you two put in! On the day of Brian's arrival the chair I ordered came in, only 2 hours before I was to pick him up from the airport. What I didn't anticipate was that the chair wasn't assembled, so I had to call my dad last minute and have him help me put the thing together. Well all in all let's just say that Brian was indeed surprised! He was completely shocked when he got home, and poor guy had to hook up all of his cables and transfer all of his stuff from his old desk to his new desk, but he really enjoys his new space and all of my efforts! :-) Here are some before and after pictures... hey, I'm no photographer...

Before

After

What do you think?!

Sushi Night

2009-10-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Last night we had our friends Cort and Lyndsey Clater over to make Brian's favorite... SUSHI! The four of us went to an Asian market and got all of the ingredients and had a great time looking around at all the cool things that were there that we had never seen before. Then we went back to our place and made our very first attempt at making sushi... the result? Pretty good! Surprizingly, it was really easy to make, we used sticky rice, imitation crab, shrimp, salmon sashimi, cucumber and avacado. Here are some pictures of us making the sushi and then with the rolls we created.

Update

2009-08-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I need to update more often, it's just that I don't know what to write about and then I find something and forget about it before I pick up my computer.

I just got a new calling in our ward at church, I am now the CTR9 teacher. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one had I am excited to see my mom more than just for a few minutes because she is the Primary President, and no she didn't choose me for the calling, she just approved it. On the other hand, I am kind of bummed because Brian and I have been put into callings that take us away from getting to know people. I have loved going to Relief Society every week and especially with my Grandma Neilson, it is so fun seeing her every week and being able to chat. I feel like we just get closer every week and I love that! So we will see how this all goes.

For those of you that don't know yet, Brian lost his job a couple weeks ago and now we are living on just my income, which isn't much. Luckily he can collect Unemployment so that little bit helps. This has been a challenge for us to adjust to to say the least, I know this is just a trial we have been given and it's all in God's plan, but that doesn't mean we have to enjoy it. Brian has actually been looking for a job since April because he knew he was going to graduate and wanted to get a jump start on finding a new career. Unfortunately he is finding it harder and harder everyday to find something... ANYTHING... He got his degree in Criminal Justice because he wants to be a Fraud Investigator but there are no positions open because the budgets for state jobs has been slashed. He has applied to FBI, CIA, ICE, Secret Service and Newport Beach Police Department... all with no avail. I know that we will be ok, and everything happens for a reason, I just hope he finds something sooner, rather than later so we can keep up with our mortgage and everything else...

I am still working at Genpact Mortgage Services as an office manager. I have been training to move into Accounting for the past couple of months and if everything goes right then I should be able to transition in about 6 months.

Last weekend we took a little break and drove up to Yosemite with my Dad, and brothers Cameron and Isaac. It was beautiful! I am not a fan of camping whatsoever but for some reason this time I had so much fun. We went biking and hiking and made an amazing Apple Cobbler.

Brian had fun freaking me out by climbing to unsafe places, I kept thinking he was going fall.

The is us on our way to our campsite. The views were exquisite.

Brian is king of the world!

Our hike to Vernal Falls.

The yummiest, easiest Apple Cobbler ever made!

Well that's it for us... I completely understand if you just skipped all the writing and went straight for the pictures.. :-)

I did it!

2009-07-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

For years now I have been wanting to run a 5K run but never found one to do. A couple weeks ago I found out that our stake was having one for Pioneer Day. I was so excited! I filled out the registration form and sent it right away. I originally wanted to run the whole marathon, but thought that was a stretch since I had not been training. So we signed up to walk/run but mainly walk... Well today was race day, I got up, got ready and hit the trail... and guess what?! I ran the whole way! Well, I walked like 5 minutes toward the end but that doesn't count. :-) I was so excited and couldn't believe I did it! I can't wait until another one comes around, I think I will train beforehand though so I can be a little more energetic towards the end... :-)

Our Caribbean Vacation

2009-06-03T13:42:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a much needed vacation to the land of the Caribbean. It was awesome! I am going to attempt to blog about everything but bare with me... I don't do this often...

Oh and let me apologize ahead of time for all those that read our blog and Ryan and Missy's blog because I have a feeling they will be pretty similar considering we were together on this vacation. :-)

Beginning -Wednesday night we drove to my Aunt Arlene and Uncle Rick's house in LA, they were kind enough to let us bunk there for the evening. It made it so much easier and less stressful because we had to be at LAX early Thursday morning.

Day 1- Thursday

7:30 AM- We arrived at LAX airport and were all smiles as we knew our next stop would be Mexico!

We arrived in the evening and got settled in our amazing rooms, made reservations at three restaurants and got straight into our swimsuits for a nighttime swim. We were in heaven!
Day 2- Friday-
We woke up early and bought our activities for the week. We spent the day swimming in the gorgeous clear blue ocean and chased sea turtles, it was amazing.

The only bummer to this day was that I cut the bottom of my left foot on some coral while we were exploring the tide pools and so for our whole vacation I was limping and hurting.
For dinner we ate at a restaurant called the Carib, they served Caribbean food which Missy and I both thought was ok, but Ryan and Brian took advantage of the sea food dishes and enjoyed it more.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this but after dinner we went to a Variety Show that the hotel put on and it was the most interesting, surprising and unique show I have ever seen. All of our faces were blank as we watched the cast perform Disney songs with thick accents and wild costumes. At the end of the show they brought up members of the audience and Ryan and I were some of the lucky ones who got to go on stage and dance. We had so much...um... entertainment that night that we skipped all other shows.

Day 3- Saturday-
Brian and I booked what's called the Tulum Extreme Adventure which includes Repelling, Zip-lining, snorkeling and touring of the Tulum ruins. Here are some great pictures from that:

1st- Repelling-

2nd Zip-lines:

3rd Snorkeling: 4th Tulum-
That night we ate at the Rodizio which is a Brazilian restaurant. I think it was my favorite, not only did we have lots of yummy meats, but we had the best rich chocolate dessert! I am all about desserts and this one took the cake!
Day 4- Sunday-
We spent the day at the hotel just lounging around and sun bathing... they have these great hammocks everywhere and so we all got one and took naps...

In the afternoon we went to Playa Del Carmin and walked around all the shops. Brian and I found a guy with two monkeys so we had to get pictures!
For dinner we went to a French restaurant that was absolutely beautiful inside!

Day 5- Monday-
Our last excursion was a Snorkeling Adventure! We drove almost 2 hours to get to a beach in between construction of two hotels and then took boats out to the reef close off shore. We stopped at two different areas, one shallow (4-8 ft) and one deep (18-30 ft). My favorite was the deep because of all the coral,it was gorgeous, the only downer was that it wasn't calm, it was a little choppy so I got a little sick... here are some pictures:

Unfortunately, this day was the only day I got sunburned... bad! The back of my legs and ankles got fried!

Day 6- Tuesday
This was our last day in paradise... I was really bummed...
Then we ate breakfast and jumped in the pool.
We had such a great time on this vacation that we were all a little bummed to go home... Missy and I especially...

We spent 4 hours at the Cancun airport waiting for a plane to come in and didn't get home until 2 AM this morning... it was a great vacation and now I am exhausted as I am sure you must be if you read this entire post!

4 years Together, 3 years Married!

2009-05-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is already our 3 year wedding anniversary! Gosh time flies! So much has happened in the last three years... Brian got a job at ECOLAB, I have worked at a trading company, Animal Hospital, specialty claims office, and now a mortgage company... We have lived with my parents (for a month), rented a condo for 2 1/2 years and bought a town home. We have had two pet rats who have passed on, two more rats that are alive (in Brian's office), countless fish, and a puppy.
Normally we are on vacation over our Anniversary so I didn't think anything was going to happen today but I was wrong! Brian showed up at my office with a dozen long stem red roses and a very sweet card. I couldn't suppress my emotions! Gosh I am such a sucker for a handsome man with flowers and sweet words.

Brian, I love you so much and I look forward to many many more anniversaries. You are such a wonderful Husband and friend. I am excited to see what the future has in store for us. Thank you for being so good to me.

3 weeks, tighter thighs

2009-05-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Brian and I are (hopefully) going to Cancun in 3 weeks, we have been planning this for the last three months and the darn swine flu better not ruin it! Every year we take a trip to kick off the summer and celebrate our Anniversary. This year we are celebrating Anniversary number 3!

As of two weeks ago Ryan and Missy booked the same trip and are joining us in paradise. Now Missy and I have put together a 4 days a week for three weeks exercise regime... here's how it has gone thus far...

Day 1 (Tuesday)- Plan- Tae bo/Pilates
What we did- try to get my VCR(that's right VCR) to work, watch part of Tae bo, and quit Tae bo...and try something else... actual workout time: 15 minutes

Day 2 (Wednesday)- Plan- Walk/Run Mission Viejo Lake (3.5 miles)
What we did- Walk around the lake... actual workout time: 1 hour :-)

Day 3 (Thursday)- Plan- Walk/Run our neighborhood
I'll let you know how that goes

Day 4 (Saturday)- Plan- Walk/Run our neighborhood
I'll let you know how that goes also...

I am actually really excited about this whole program we are trying... we just need a little more discipline... plus tonight I got a huge blister on my left heel in the first 5 seconds of our walk... so I need new shoes...

All in all this vacation is going to be awesome and I am really looking forward to (hopefully) seeing results soon!

Dear Miss (almost) USA

2009-04-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for standing up for what you believe in and not being afraid of what other people think. I really appreciate that you risked everything to be true to yourself and stand up for what you know is right. I cannot believe all the backlash that has come from countless "celebrities" chastising you for your beliefs. I was dumb founded by all those that said you should have been politically correct and push your beliefs aside just to be favored. It took great courage and faith to do what you did and I think you did it with finesse. You are the true winner out of all of this and I am so sorry for all the backlash and hatred you have to put up with. Thank you for being a great role model and for standing up for what's right.

2009-04-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

Hedge Clippers
$30.00

McFlurry
$2.00

Cameron taking out his aggression on my hedge.....
Priceless

Baxter's gift to us...

2009-03-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

This last week we had fake grass installed in our little backyard... we used to have dirt but that made a mess and Baxter would drag it in the house so we put in river rocks but that didn't help Brian when scooping so we had a family friend put in the grass. I was the first one to see it completely installed and Brian wanted me to send him some pictures of what it looked like... well here is what I came home to:

But... even though he has his moments... we still can't resist him when he acts so darn cute!

A little late...

2009-03-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Last month we went to the Souplantation for my Grandma Connie's 75th birthday! It was great! We had a wonderful time taking up half the restaurant and being surrounded by family. Here is a picture of my family, minus Skylar. I have no idea what happened with Hannah's eyes...

Puppy Play day!

2009-03-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we took Baxter to the dog park in Laguna Beach. He was in doggy heaven! He ran around with the largest dogs non stop for about an hour and a half and after was exhausted! Here are some pictures.

Update

2009-03-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

I just realized that it has been a whole month since my last post, it's not because I don't want to post, it's just that I haven't really had anything to post about so here is the readers digest version of what's going on with us.

Today Brian and I got called to serve in our new ward. Brian is now the 14 year old's Sunday school teacher and I am on the Enrichment committee.

We have had Bax for a month now and he still hasn't gained any weight! When we got him the shelter told us he was a Lab German Sheppard mix, but we knew right away that he wasn't. So for the past month we have racked our brains trying to figure out what he is... so far we either think he is a Pharaoh hound Lab mix or a Chihuahua Lab mix... I think he is pretty much done growing which is fine by me because he is the perfect size, not too big but not too small... :-) He is the worlds greatest pup. When we got him we learned he was potty trained, not aggressive, very loving and well behaved(for the most part). Hooray!

Brian is almost done with school, he will graduate in May! We are so excited! For now he is working very hard at both school and work, which he does full time. I am so excited for him, he has worked so hard and diligently over these last couple of years and deserves a break.

I am still working at Genpact Mortgage Services and loving it. Since I am in the mortgage industry I am no stranger to lay offs and fortunately have survived all that our company has had thus far. Thank heavens! I am learning a lot as my job duties grow each day. Right now I am the Office Manager, Team Coordinator, Payroll Supervisor, and will soon be in Accounts Payable. I am so thankfull for all the experience I am getting and feel so blessed to still have a job.

Well that's us in a nutshell, I hope to post more soon!

Here's Baxter!

2009-02-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

Pay it Forward!

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

This is a quick post about a Pay it Forward blogging game. My Aunt Jamie, Neilson News did this & I'm in. Here are the easy to follow rules:

1. Write about it on your blog
2. Mention my name in that post
3. Leave me a comment

The first four people to comment will receive a reward of...something. I'm not sure what yet. But, it will hopefully be something homemade & cute, or store bought & funny.

Happy Commenting!

And then there were three...

2009-02-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

For the past few months we have been talking about extending our little family to three. We thought long and hard and decided that now would be a good time so, without further adieu we are proud to announce that we.....

Adopted a puppy!

We went to the Riverside Humane Society last Saturday to look a a couple dogs and we found a 4-5 month old Lab mix. He is perfect! Even though he is a puppy he is surprisingly mellow... when we are in the house he curls up in a little ball in his doggy bed and falls asleep, it is the cutest thing!

I never grew up with dogs so this is all new to me. When I think of dogs I think messy, dirty, slobbery, hairy, barky, jumpy, and the list goes on, so needless to say I was not a HUGE fan. I always thought they were cute but that was about it. Well Brian grew up with dogs and always wanted one when he got married, well I must admit his enthusiasm rubbed off on me and I started to want one. At our last place we rented our landlord didn't allow dogs and there really was not any room for one either so we just kept saying, "One day when we get a yard..." Well that day has come and we now have a yard, well... patio but it is bigger than our other patio... anyways... we looked and looked and looked and then we found our pup!

The hardest part about getting this pup is naming him! For some reason we just can't settle on anything... we thought we liked Baxter, he's the dog in one of Brian's favorite movies Anchor Man, but then today we started not liking it so much... it sounds like a bad word when you call it out loud... so now we are in the market for a new name... any suggestions? I will post pictures once I find our camera...

Our only holiday photo

2009-01-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

Ever since we moved, our camera seems to be MIA. We think we lost it in the move, but hopefully we will find it as we continue to get settled.... I hope. I have been wanting to take before and after pictures of our house but that doesn't seem like it's going to happen.

So one day in December we went to Disneyland with two of Brian's friends and their girl friends and had them take a picture of us with Brian's phone... so here it is...

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T17:28:00.001-08:00

Home Decorating

2008-12-31T14:31:00.001-08:00

Last week my friend, Summer Griffin, and I went shopping for little things for the house. One of the main things I was looking for was this mirror key rack. I had seen it on PotteryBarn.com but never again since. We went everywhere searching for it or something similar, we checked Big Lots, Tuesday Morning, Home Goods, Pier 1, Walmart and the like. Then today I was at Target getting some prescriptions filled when I saw it! I was so thrilled!!! I ran home and had my brother Cameron help me put it up. It is the first decorative thing I have been able to put up since we moved in almost two weeks ago!

It's Official... we're home owners!

2008-12-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

After lots of budgeting, saving, looking, offering, and waiting we are finally homeowners!!! Earlier this year Brian and I made the decision that we wanted to save money and buy a house. So immediately I went to work budgeting and planning to see if we would even be able to do it. We watched the housing market and became familiar with certain terminology, prices, areas etc. Then around the end of August early September we called up my Uncle Alan, who is a lender and real estate agent, to meet and discuss the process. Brian found a couple listings and our search began. We saw many condos, and town homes but nothing that jumped out at us. Then we saw a place in Rancho Santa Margarita that was great! We walked in and it was the first place that actually felt like a house, not a condo but a house. I was elated, so we made and offer and got rejected… but then the same day realized that there was another house we saw online that was the exact same floor plan and model just different area. We immediately checked it out and loved it, so we put an offer on it and about a week later received a counter offer… little did we know what we were getting into. It has taken us about 3 months to actually get this house because of so many issues with their real estate agent and all the work that comes with a short sale, but thanks to my awesome Uncle and his team we finally own the property. I must say that when Brian and I first started to budget and save I didn’t think we would be able to buy a house in less than a year but we did it! We can actually say that we bought this house completely on our own and I think that is the biggest most exciting part of this whole thing. It really goes to show that if you want something bad enough and you work hard, you can achieve it. Many people have questioned us buying a house during this huge recession that the country is going through and the continuous decline of housing prices and I would be lying if I said we hadn’t thought about it, but we fasted and prayed about each house we put an offer on and this is the house for us.

2008-11-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!!

I did it!

2008-11-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that my mother is SUPER talented and can pretty much do anything... to me she is super mom! Every time I have a project I go to her, and fortunately for me she is always willing to lend a hand. Well this last week I was just surfing the web and came across this super easy, super cute project, a "Rag Quilt." Normally my first thought would be, I should call Mom, however this time it was, "You know, I bet I could do that... by myself." So that same day I went to Joann's and picked out some fabric, unfortunately the pickin's were slim in cute flannel material but I found a few that I thought might work. I went home and cut out a million squares, to be honest that was the part I was most worried about, figuring out how many squares I would need, what size and how to cut them out and not waste fabric. Fortunately it wasn't all that hard and it was probably the biggest accomplishment in this whole project.

Here are my nicely stacked squares, the fabrics were a little tricky when it came to figuring out which side was the "right" side, flannel is pretty tricky.

Then I layed them all out on the floor. The only tricky thing with rag quilts is that you have to remember to lay out the bottom as well as the top squares, so I had to make sure the pattern was the same on the front and back without seeing the bottom before sewing the squares together. Then, row by row I sewed the squares together, and finally I sewed the rows together to make the blanket.

Afer it was all sewn I had to cut slits in all the seems, oh I forgot, also with rag quilts you have to sew all the seams the same way so one side is flat and then front is "ragged." I must say, the cutting was my least favorite part, I got a bruise on my thumb. :-(After you're done cutting all the seams, you throw the blanket in the washer and the dryer. While in the dryer the seems shed and create a "rag" like edge.
And here is the finished project! It only took me two nights from start to finish! I think the best part is that I proved to myself that I could do it!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T21:58:00.001-07:00

Elder Sky

2008-10-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I have created a blog for Skylar per his request and I have uploaded some pictures he sent us! Check it out www.skylarneilson.blogspot.com or you can click the link to the left titled Elder Neilson.

Enjoy!

Picture Tag

2008-10-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

My cousin Abby had this great post, what you do is type items in google and use the google pictures to describe things about you. Here is what came up for me. It's actually a lot of fun!

My name:

My age:

Some place I want to visit: (Italy)

My favorite vacation spot:(Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)

My favorite item:(Got them at Payless!)

My favorite indulgence:

My favorite color:

My favorite food:

My favorite animal:

Past loves which I wish I got to enjoy more:(Country swing dancing)

Where I live:

Where I grew up:Guilty pleasure:

What I am doing right now:

My first job:

Tag...

2008-09-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

*Your High School's full name: Mission Viejo High School
*School Colors: Red and Gold
*School Mascot: Diablo (Devil)
*Did you date anyone from your school? Nope, they were all too short.
*What kind of car did you drive: Club Wagon Van (12 seater) and Plymouth Voyager van and one other one that I can’t remember.
*It's Friday night, where were you: Working at In-N-Out or hanging out with my friends from there.
*Were you a party animal: No…they were never enticing to me.
*Were you considered a flirt: Umm… sometimes but I think people mistake flirting with being friendly.
*Were you in any clubs: Nope.
*Did you ever get expelled or suspended: Nope.
*Can you still sing the fight song: I don’t think anyone really knew the fight song…other than it was painted in the gym.
*Who were your favorite teachers: Mr. Tsang, he was my photography teacher.

*Where did you sit during lunch: I was done with all my classes at lunch so I just went home or to work.
*Who did you go to Homecoming with: Never went to Homecoming…ever…
*If you could go back and re-do high school would you: Never! It was the worst 4 years of my life!
*What do you remember about Graduation: Some people snuck in beach balls and played keep away with the faculty.
*Do you plan on going to your 10 year reunion: I think it would be fun, to see what happened to some of the crazy people.
I TAG: Missy and Abby

Pictures of the Romantic Dinner I wrote about a week ago.

2008-09-20T21:16:00.001-07:00

Weekend Getaway

2008-09-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

Brian called me at work around 2:00 PM and asked if I could get leave work now to go on a quick trip. I talked to my boss and within 10 minutes I was on my way home. We went to San Diego and stayed at an adorable hotel right on the water. At night we walked around some shops and watched the sunset in the bay.

Today we woke up early and went to see the National Monument Cabrillo. We walked around the cemetery of War veterans, a really cool lighthouse and walked down to the beach.

Afterwords we went to the Aerospace Museum and learned about the history of airplanes. It was really cool, they had lots of neat displays and they even had the actual Apollo 9 Command Module.

Lastly we went to the Maritime Museum of boats. We took a 40 minute boat tour of the bay, walked through a Russian submarine which was incredible and toured The Star of India.

The best part about this whole weekend was spending it with my wonderful husband who put it all together. It was so nice to get away and spend some time doing something educational and fun!

Thanks honey for an amazing weekend, it was absolutely perfect. I love you!

Change

2008-09-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember I have always talked about changing my hair. I have pretty much had the same hair cut and color since birth out of fear of losing my natural highlights and not liking the cut. For the past few weeks I have been getting advice from a bunch of people as to what I should do. I like it long and I love the color but I think I am ready to change all that. I have always been jealous of girls that change their hair regularly and experiment with new styles. After much deliberation I think I have finally decided what I am going to do, and it is pretty drastic... I am going to see my cousin, Karilyn, at her salon today and if I don't chicken out then I'm sure my new hair will shock everyone, myself included. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. :-)

2008-09-10T17:56:00.001-07:00

Lately Brian and I have been feeling a ton of stress, more so Brian. Poor guy goes to work full time from 7:40 AM- 3:00 PM and then comes home just long enough to shower and cram in some homework before he has to leave for class around 5:30 PM. This has been his routine for the last 4 semesters and I just don’t know how he does it. This semester is even harder than ever because he is taking lots of core classes to be able to graduate in May. Then there is the added pressure of getting a job in his field of study soon after.

I have always known that there is a lot of stress being a guy, especially a married guy because of all the responsibility that is put on their shoulders. Brian and I would love to have kids someday and have me stay home to be with them and to do that means Brian will have to compensate for the lack of extra income. That right there is HUGE cause for stress especially if we want to live in Orange County where we are currently.

So to relieve some of that stress I decided to do something sort of romantic I guess you could say… I sent Brian and invitation to a nice dinner the other night (the one night he doesn’t have class). I set the table, got out some candles, put on a sentimental mixed CD and made Roasted Chicken for dinner. Now I have never roasted a chicken so I once again headed for the internet in search of some easy recipes that didn’t take 2-3 hours to make. I found one on www.kraftfoods.com (one of my favorite recipe sites). I bought 2 Cornish hens for about $3 each and weighed about 22 oz each. I’m not going to lie, when I took them out of there opaque shrink wrapped packages and held them it kind of freaked me out a bit because you are holding it by it’s arms and legs and to realize that YES this is a chicken. I don’t know about you, but when I eat meat I don’t like to picture what part of the animal I am eating so for me this was a little weird. Anyways… it was one of the easiest dishes I have ever made! All I did was take the hens, rinse with water, patted them dry, sprinkled salt and pepper all the way around, and put them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, then I took them out and poured honey all over them and added a can of chicken broth to the pan and stuck them back in for another 40 minutes, basting ever 5-10 minutes until the last 10 minutes. The chicken was super tender and delicious!!! I couldn’t believe how perfect and easy it was. I definitely will admit that I impressed myself and my husband.

I tried to attach some pictures but it didn't work, i'll try later.

2008-09-10T17:55:00.001-07:00

I always wonder how many people actually read my blog and if it’s even worth keeping one. I look at the small list of blogs I read and have posted on mine, and then look at some of my friends and families lists of blogs they read and it blows my mind! I love reading other peoples blogs and being able to keep connected through the internet. I get maybe one, two comments at the end of my entries (if I’m lucky), so I think only 1-2 people are actually reading… but I just learned that that is not the case. I have had 2-3 people that don’t even have blogs themselves tell me they read my blog semi regularly. It amazes me how great blogs are for keeping in touch. I love reading about pregnancies, new homes, ordinary life, etc. I mean how often do you get to catch up with friends and family? This way you are able to post what you’re doing and then anyone can comment and stay in touch. So for those of you that read my blog with out one of your own, THANKS for reading! You are always welcome to check in. I love finding out who is taking the time to read my little excerpts. And to all of those who have their own blogs, THANKS for reading and updating your blogs! I highly recommend blogging!!!

Brace Face...

2008-08-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come, and I had to get braces... AGAIN! I have had them on for a little under 3 months and I am dying! I hate these things! The pain is not the problem, it's the fact that I have to wear them and always worry about something being stuck in them. About six or seven years ago I had braces and only had to wear them for about 18 months, well that wasn't so bad because everyone I knew had them too. That is so not the case now. Everyone I know now has either already had them, or was blessed to never have them. I am hoping to only have them for about 9 months tops, however my orthodontist said I could have them between 9-12 months. I really hope it's sooner because I would hate to have them at Brian's college graduation in May. I don't want to look like his kid sister!

The Twilight Series

2008-08-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

My best friend Whitney has been trying to get me to read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer since this time last year, but I must admit when she told me it was about vampires I wasn't compelled to start them. So the year went by and suddenly everyone I knew was reading these books and telling me how great they were. My boss was talking to me one day and told me that she just started reading the best book and sure enough it was Twilight. Well that same day my friend Paola chose it for our book club and I was actually excited to read it and see what all the hoopla was about. I picked it up the next day and.... snap I was hooked! I couldn't put it down, I finished it in less than a few hours and immediately picked up the second, and then the third. Finally I was on the last book and couldn't wait to see how it all ended. Unfortunately for me, I was not as impressed by the last book as I was with all the others. I would tell you why, but there are plenty of people that are reading it and I do not want to spoil it. Don't be discouraged by my not liking it though, there are plenty of people who loved it, I just wasn't one of them. Even though I wasn't a fan of the last book, I am still a huge fan of the series as a whole and highly recommend the books, they are so good and super quick reads. I am actually really bummed the series is complete. I wish there were more books in the series because I am not done with reading about a couple of the characters. I AM excited that the movie is coming out soon! The trailer looks pretty good! I can't wait to see how it all comes together with the book. :-)

Go Twins?

2008-08-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

So I have always been a fan of the Angels, I love going to the games, eating hot dogs and cheering on those boys in white. On Friday Brian and I went to see the Angels play the Minnesota Twins and were so disappointed! The first couple of innings were uneventful, then all of the sudden we were getting showered with foul balls, our friend Kevin got one, he dove for it and bruised his knees. Then our Angels let the Twins get 9 runs to win the game at 9-0, I am embarrassed to admit that I almost started cheering for the other team, but the Angels really need to step it up! The only thing that saved the night were the Big Bang Fireworks which, as always, are amazing!

I hate being sick!

2008-07-26T09:21:00.001-07:00

For the past four days I have been sick with a cold and a small case of TMJ. I can hardly open my mouth because the right side of my jaw is "locked." On Tuesday night I started feeling a little congested but thought nothing of it, so the next day I went to work and ended up leaving two hours later. I went to the doctor on Thursday and that is where I found out about my cold and TMJ. The doctor gave me 2 muscle relaxers to help my jaw loosen so I can eat normal but so far my mouth still won't open all the way. I had to take Wednesday through Friday off, I hate taking time off work because of being sick. I have been cooped up in our little condo with nothing to do. Everyone keeps telling me to rest and relax, but I just can't. I hate wasting the day sitting on the couch or in bed. It has been driving me crazy!

I love Birthdays!

2008-07-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

I am a lucky girl! I got to celebrate my birthday not once, not twice, but three times! First, on Friday, July 11, we went out with my in-laws. Before we left for the restaurant, Brian surprised me with my very own sewing machine! I am so excited! (This is a really bad picture, so bare with me, it's the only one Brian took.)
After, we met my in-laws to celebrate my father in laws, mine, and Claudia's birthday at the St. Regis, Motif restaurant. It was absolutely beautiful! We sat on the terrace overlooking the ocean .
Then on my actual birthday, July 15th, my office brought me a cake and the entire office sang to me. After, we went to my parents house for dinner and more cake! Sorry I don't have any pictures, we forgot our camera.

On Friday, July 18th, Brian took me to Disneyland and he arranged for us to have dinner at the exclusive Club 33 restaurant. This restaurant isn't open to the public, you have to be a member or know a member to get in. Brian contacted a friend of ours and they were able to get us in. It was a really cool experience. We have Disneyland passes but right now they are blocked because it's summer, but with the Club 33, we got in free and went to both parks. The restaurant is kind of hidden, the only way it is advertised is by a 33 sign outside the door.

When you get there you ring a door bell and they ask you for your last name and verify your reservation before they even let you into the lobby to wait. Then you go up in a French inspired elevator to the second floor where the restaurant is. We sat right next to a window over looking Tom Sawyers Island. The food was pretty good, I had the Salmon and Brian had the New York steak. They brought us out a goat cheese appetizer and I think it made me sick because later that night I felt sick to my stomach.

For dessert they brought us delicious chocolate mousse. It was a great night, well up until I got sick. :-)

Karilyn's Wedding 6/7/2008

2008-06-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

At 6:30 AM on June 7, 2008 us bridesmaids kidnapped Karilyn (my closest cousin) and took her to breakfast at IHOP. We had a great time in sweats and our homemade t-shirts. Don't look too close, none of us are wearing makeup.!
After our breakfast we spent the whole day primping for the evening ceremony. Kasey and I had our hair in pin curls for the most part of the day, sorry I don't have pictures we looked pretty hott. Then we had to go back to the nail salon because our nails were already chipping from when we got them done the day before, they loved our pin curled hair by the way, we were quite embarrassed because everyone was staring and pointing. When we got back to Heidi's the make up artist was there and we each took our turn getting all dolled up. Lastly, we got our pin curls taken out and the talented hair stylist made it pretty.

Karilyn looked so beautiful I must have gotten teary eyed 4 times that day. I carried a tissue wrapped around my bouquet down the isle just in case I couldn't control myself... don't worry I kept my composure.

It was a beautiful day!

I'll try not to be cheesy...

2008-05-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

We just got back from celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary as you can see below. I just wanted to take a moment and express how much I love and appreciate my husband Brian. He is one of the hardest working people I know, he goes to school full time, work full time and when he gets home he works on his sticker business... and the best part is... is that he does it with a smile. You might wonder... well what time does that leave for me? but rest assured that he always finds the time for me.

About a month ago I started making sack lunches for us to take to work and by doing so I have found that it has given me a great opportunity to show him how much I love him and strengthen the love I have for him. I write little love notes on the bag his sandwiches are in. It is such a small gesture but it makes all the difference. :-)

I now understand when people say they are more in love now than they were when they first got married. My love for Brian grows daily, he is my knight in shining armor and my best friend. I feel so blessed to be his wife and to share our lives together. I am one lucky woman!

Our Annual Anniversary Trip to Cancun Mexico!

2008-05-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

This past week Brian and I spent our Anniversary in the beautiful and sunny Cancun. We stayed at the Barcelo resorts. Our first day we spent at the beach and in the beautiful pools, unfortunately for me I got burnt. I spent the whole week in an enormous amount of pain, and yes I did wear sunscreen.

Our second day we took an all day tour to Chichen Itza, the Mayan Ruins. It was incredible! The only problem was the heat, it was extremely hot and humid, so much so that I couldn't handle it, I spent most of the time there running from shaded area to shaded area. I just couldn't hack it, but Brian was able to learn and take video of the amazing ruins.

The next day we swam with the dolphins. It was awesome! We were able to do what they call a foot push, where the dolphins push your feet and you stand up the the water. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures but we did buy the dvd.

The next day we went to a place called Xel-Ha; it's an ecological water park. Basically there is a fresh water spring that opens up to the ocean. We started at the top by the fresh water spring and inner tubed down. We went cliff jumping and snorkeling with huge tuna. It was really crazy how you can see where the salt water meets the fresh because it looks like oil and water.

Where the fresh water starts you can inner tube down a little river...If you look carefully, you can see me in the air on the first one and then Brian in the second picture jumping. I love cliff jumping, I just wish the cliff was higher.

There is a ton of places to snorkel, here is me and my bright white body, I am actually very burnt and red on my shoulders.

They have some caves where you can swim in the fresh water springs that poke up from the ground.

There were a ton of iguanas everywhere we went even at our hotel.

There were also a ton of wildlife. Brian is here feeding some little animals that we found on one of our hikes.

These tuna were over 3 feet long! It was crazy!Giant Tuna video!

All good things must come to an end....

I love Bare ESSENTIALS!!!

2008-04-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

I have been using Bare Minerals aka. Bare Essentials for about 4 years now and loving it! I have recommended it to countless people and most all of them, I am happy to report, are avid users themselves. I don't like to feel that I am wearing make up and I definitely don't like having gross lines from make up so Bare Essentials is the perfect fit for me.

This past week while shopping I checked out the Bare Essentials counter at Nordstrom's and was informed about a mini event they were having the following Saturday. So I made an appointment, making sure that it was completely free, to get my make up done and to check out their new kit, Eyes, Cheeks and Lips.

Yesterday I went in, fresh faced (not a stitch of make-up), and met Danielle, the friendliest sales person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She showed me the correct way to use the Bare Minerals, which I should have known because I have been using it for quite a while now, and how to use their new Eyes, Cheeks and Lip kit. It was awesome! I highly recommend making an appointment and trying it for yourself. If you have anyone like Danielle you will not feel pressured to purchase ANYTHING. I on the other hand, went in it fully knowing that I would purchase the kit and now that I have, I love it!

The kit is awesome! It comes with 4 brushes, three eye shadows, blush, and a lip gloss, which is amazing! I'm not a big fan of lip gloss but this stuff is incredible, it is infused with some sort of peppermint which gives your lips a very cool (as in temperature) feeling and also has some natural enhancers. Needless to say Bare Essentials rocks and I would definitely recommend it.

Yummy!

2008-03-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

So while I was at work yesterday, walking around my office, I noticed a happy pink box sitting on a little table. Now this was no ordinary pink box, it gets the pleasure of carrying some of the yummiest breakfast cuisine inside. So I walked over to the box, with my fingers crossed, hoping to find some yummy donuts and let me tell you… I did. Not only did I find some yummy treats I found the yummiest treat of all, the cinnamon sugar donut. It was beautiful! I didn’t want to take the whole donut because I am trying to practice self control, so I cut it in half and took one piece. When I got back to my desk I took the first bite and seriously I have NEVER tasted a donut that was this good! Well naturally I had to push all self control aside and go back and get the other half and yes, it too was delicious.

You know what’s the weirdest part about eating a donut? The memories that it brings out… Let me explain… When I eat a donut I remember… seminary, early morning church basketball games, Saturday mornings, and this one time that my cousin Karilyn and I went to Krispy Kremes for the first time with Aunt Lisa and between Kari and I ate a whole box of fresh ooey gooey yummy donuts! Which, might I add, we totally regretted later on that night… Ahh Good times. It’s amazing what memories, something as insignificant as, a donut can bring out.

We've been Hit!

2008-03-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ok so last week I got tagged by Tiersha and to be honest, I had no idea what to do. She informed me that I have to write 5 interesting things about Brian and I. So... here goes...

1. We have two female pet rats, Kalel (white) and Tipsy (black w/ white feet and belly). We have had them almost as long as we have been married. I was a bit hesitant when we got them, but came to find out that they make really good pets.

2. We LOVE the t.v. shows: The Office, LOST and Survivor.

3. We are going to make giant children with buck teeth, big ears, and big eyes.

4. We secretly LOVE home shows like My First Home, Flip that House, etc...

5. We also love SUSHI! Brian has been eating it for years but I just started about two years ago. The funny thing is that I won't eat cooked fish, I only like the raw stuff. I am considering trying cooked but it will take a while.

I hope this is the type of stuff I was supposed to write...

Now I guess I am supposed to tag someone... hmm.... I tag Jamie Neilson!

Crazy Day in L.A.

2008-03-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

So this past Tuesday I went the the Ellen Degeneres show in L.A. One word to describe my experience... TIRING!!! Our group consisted of Tiersha, Missy and Paola. We spent over six hours just waiting in lines to see if we could get in to Ellen, because we only had stand by tickets so we had to get there super early and stand around...

Luckily we got in, just barely, and made it to the back row to our seats. The first 10 minutes was great, we were all dancing and singing and having a blast, but then before you knew it the show was over and we were in traffic for 2 hours.

The most exciting thing of the day was actually being on the set and seeing Ellen. Our guests were ok, the celebrity was Wonda Sykes and that Danny N kid who was kicked off American Idol last week. (We had our hopes up to see Steve Carrel, it was either him or Wonda.)

All in all it was a very exhausting day and I can say with 100% certainty that I will not ever go to the taping of a show unless I get GUARANTEED tickets.

For pictures check out Tiersha's blog.

I'm getting braces......... AGAIN!

2008-03-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

So about a week ago Brian and I went to the dentist and had a check up. I was born without one of my adult teeth, on the top left side of my mouth so I still had my baby tooth until about two years ago when my idiot dentist at the time, pulled it at ruined my mouth. I always knew I would have to get either a bridge or an implant there, but I was totally caught off guard when my new dentist told me that I have to get braces...again, to make space for an implant. I was so bummed!!! I had braces four years ago and I am soooo not looking forward to the pain of getting them again, even if it's only for a few months...

The thing I do not look forward to the most is that I am going to look even more like a little teeny bopper playing house. I am meeting with the ortho this week and hopefully he says we can do something else like invisaline. I'll keep my fingers crossed. :-)

Vinyl Sticker Pro

2008-03-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

So a couple weeks ago Brian asked me if he could get a vinyl cutter, to which I asked the obvious question, "What the heck would you do with one?"

He told me that he had always wanted one just for a hobby, but if you ask me, that's a pretty expensive hobby. The machine itself costs over $300. He told me he would try and sell stickers on eBay to pay it off, so I gave him six months, if it's not paid off by then, we are selling it.

To help in his cause I made a blog site www.vinylstickerpro.blogspot.com, check it out! It's actually really cool, he can make all those expensive home decorating quote decals for half of what they are being sold at.

I am not trying to necessarily sell anyone who reads this our stickers. Don't feel obligated to look either, I just think it's cool what he can do.

Getting all my Ducks in a row...

2008-02-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

After reading and rereading all of the books in my house, including a book Brian has to read for one of his classes, and books that have been recommended to me, I decided to check out the New York Best Sellers list on Amazon.com for my next read. I have to admit, I have a terrible habit of judging the books by their covers so my next book was mainly picked because I liked how cute it was. It's called ONE YEAR TO AN ORGANIZED LIFE by Regina Leeds:Surprisingly it is really good! The book is supposed to take a year to read as it's sections are labeled by month and the chapters are labeled as weeks. In the beginning of each section there is a section for journal writing, ok so I was not thrilled about this discovery but decided to go with the flow and try it out, at least once. After about 15 minutes of journal writing and reading the next section, I was hooked. It is an amazing book! In week three she writes about decluttering your kitchen. A lot of her advice was common sense like but some was stuff I never thought about. She said that you should go through your cupboards and take out all the things you have not used in the last year and decide whether to throw them out, pack them up or sell them. Then she tells you to look at the things you use at least once a week or more and make them easily accessible. Brian and I make rice at least twice a week and it is the biggest pain because the rice cooker is above our refrigerator so we put it up and take it down and put it up just to take it back down.

So yesterday while Brian was doing his homework I went to work on my "HOME work." I took out everything in my kitchen, top to bottom. I scrubbed everything down and since I have only been married for about 2 years most of my stuff is still pretty new and I wouldn't even think about throwing any of it away, I have packed a few things and put them in our garage until we get a bigger kitchen. I love how my kitchen turned out, it looks bigger, cleaner and more user friendly. I love cooking in it.

I have this huge fear of becoming a clutter bug and am trying my best to make sure that doesn't happen. I want our home to be organized, clean and inviting.

Since I started reading this book I have rearranged our bedroom, kitchen, office (Particially) and bathroom. I love how open everything feels and I cannot wait to have a completely organized home!

Just call me MRS. BOOKWORM

2008-02-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

So up until about six months ago, I wasn't really a big reader. I would read a book every now and then and by that I mean once a year. Last August I went to see the latest Harry Potter movie, I have never read any of the books but have been a faithful watcher of the movies. Brian downloaded the CD version of the book and listened to it at work. When the movie ended and we were walking out to the car he was telling me that there was a LOT missing from the book in the movie. Well I felt left out of the loop and decided that I wanted to see what all was really being left out. I read the whole series in about 2 weeks and absolutely LOVED it!

Ever since then I have been picking up books here and there and reading like crazy. Last month I read about 7 books, most were recommended to me by my coworkers. I must say that I am becoming quite the little bookworm. :-)

Last month my friend Paola came over and I was telling her that I was thinking about starting my own book club. She expressed to me that she was not a big reader but wanted to start reading more than just the gossip columns. One week later we did it, we stared our own book club and now have roughly 4 members with 2 other promising joinees. We are reading THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman. I have read it a couple times already but I LOVE it. I highly recommend it!!!

My little brother is all grown up and on a mission...

2008-02-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

So last Tuesday, January 29, my brother Skylar boarded a plane at the John Wayne airport and headed off to serve his mission in Brazil. Normally when young men leave for a mission they go to the MTC in Provo, but Brazil has it's own MTC so he went straight there.

I met my parents and Skylar at In-N-Out around 11:00 AM for his last meal in the states. My mother was teary eyed even before we ordered and it made it harder for me to keep my composure. My Aunt Jamie and Uncle Alan showed up with two of their kids, Anna and Katie. :-)

After lunch Brian showed up and we had the privilege of driving Skylar to the airport. My parents got plane tickets so they could go in and wait with him and then watch his plane take off so they met us there.

I of course was a mess and when I gave Skylar my last huge for two years I lost my composure, but was surprised to see that I wasn't the only one, Skylar was crying too. I am so proud of him and his desire to serve a mission. He will be a great missionary and I cannot wait for his letters.

The next day I got a call from my dad seeing how I was, and came to find out that both him and my mom were taking it pretty hard. My dad said it was hard to drive home from the airport and that night they couldn't sleep. :-(

I finally conquered my fear!

2008-01-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

On January 12, I Desiree George, faced one of my biggest fears, upside down roller coasters! For Skylar's birthday he wanted my parents to take him to Six Flags Magic Mountain, but when they tried to go in November, it wasn't open. So they changed the date and added Brian who took the liberty of having Skylar trick me into going.

Everyone who knows me knows I have always had a huge fear of going upside down. When I was little I saw a story on the news where they showed a roller coaster that stopped upside down on a roller coaster and people were trapped there for about 2 hours. I don't know if my fear was that I would get trapped, or fly off the track or fall out, all I knew was that it made me shake and tear up at just the sight of them.

In the days before going, I would pray constantly to have the guts to go on some of the rides, but on the night before when I was saying my prayers for some reason I prayed for the courage to go on ALL of the rides and when those words came out of my mouth I almost had a meltdown. So the next day with the prayer in mind, I fearfully left with the fam for Six Flags Magic Mountain, my worst nightmare.

As we entered the park I was thinking we would take it easy at first and ride some of the small rides, you know, the one's without loops, but no we headed for Revolution. Now for those of you who are familiar with revolution, know that it is a small ride with only one little loop. That loop to me was one of the most intimidating things I have ever seen, as we walked up I started shaking with fear and my tears got the best of me. Here I was a grown up crying because I was on a dinky little roller coaster. Needless to say, it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be and I actually enjoyed it.

Next we hit up Superman, and that thing was just as intimidating with it's huge straight up climb and 100 mph take off, but I jumped in that cart and held my breath and it too was better than I thought.

Then we hit up Goldrush, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and the bumper cars! Nice and Easy!

After all of this low intense fun, they decided that we should go on Riddler's Revenge. For this ride you are standing up and it has the most loops and corkscrews out of the whole park! Yes, once again I started my water works, crying like a baby! As the ride began I had screams of terror and then about half way my fears turned into cheers and I was actually laughing at how much fun it was! Brian said it was one of the funniest things he as seen in a long time. And as it turns out this was my favorite ride there!

Next we went on the kiddie ride Ninja, this was one that I had been on before and I was excited to go on it because I had already conquered this one years ago.

I went on every ride there and actually had a great time! I am so glad that I have a family who was willing to wait for me to come around and grow up to face my fears. And a husband who was patient and wonderful the whole day! I couldn't have done it without him! It was the perfect day with great weather, no lines and all family fun! Everyone was so proud of me and I was so thankful that I mustered up the courage to jump on every ride, no matter how much Brian had to beg me. :-)

A lot has gone on...

2008-01-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

Hello! Since the last time I wrote Christmas AND New Years has gone by! So...Happy Holidays!

This Christmas was crazy, we spent the day traveling from one family to the other, and having a great time at each stop.

Later that same week we spent time with my family in the desert at Ocatillo Wells. Brian and I had a great time quadding and motor biking. I am finally going on the long rides and becoming more of an adventurous rider, as opposed to a scared rider who wouldn't go up or down any hills.

This New Years was a quiet one for us, we stayed indoors and I fell asleep early. Brian woke me up with a New Years kiss and then we went to bed... no sparkling cider or anything... although we do have some in the refrigerator. :-)

Last weekend we went the Aquarium of the Pacific in Newport Beach and spent the day with Ryan and Missy. We had fun looking at all the different fish and jelly fish in the ocean. We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp and then came back to hang out at our house. It was a lot of fun!

This weekend we had Ryan and Missy over for a waffle breakfast and then Missy and I headed off to the mall for some sales. Later that night we went to dinner with our friends Tara and Dave Rubalcava from our old ward.

Brian and I are not looking forward to this week because it is the first whole we that we have to work... yuck!

It's Almost Christmas!!

2007-12-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

This past week went by so slow! I swear I am just like a kid when it comes to Christmas! I can't sleep on Christmas Eve, I count the days, hours, minutes until we can open presents and I have to restrain myself from peeking or shaking the gifts under the tree....

Despite all of that, I wanted to share this story with you that happened at my work...

My boss and I wanted to do something charitable for the holidays and decided to Adopt-a-Family for Christmas. I googled "adopt a family", and the first link I clicked on was the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. We were able to adopt a family of 5 with two teenage boys and one 28 month girl with Cerebral Palsy, that was sharing a one bedroom apartment and had no money for groceries let alone Christmas.

The Cerebral Palsy Foundation gave us a wish list that the parents put together. These selfless parents listed clothes and school supplies for their children and a set of movie tickets to take the whole family out. I sent out an email to everyone in our company 3 weeks before the deadline to bring the gifts. After 2 weeks had past we had only one item to give this family, a small fleece blanket. My manager and I decided to give everyone a little nudge, we made small pieces of paper, each with one item the family asked for. At the end of the second day every piece of paper was gone. On the final day of collecting items we had a huge outpouring of gifts for this small family. We had collected lots of toys, clothes, jackets, shoes, backpacks, school supplies, blankets, games, movie tickets, gift certificates, and grocery certificates, we were even able to provide the family with a fully decorated Christmas tree. The next day my manager and I delivered all of the gifts to the drop off location and our representative was over joyed and couldn't believe the amount of items that we collected for this family. It was really great seeing the look on Kai, our reps face, I can't even imagine the look on the family's faces on Christmas. We, as a company, are hoping to make this a tradition for years to come.

Okay here we are...

2007-12-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I know... I am such a crowd follower sometimes... So this morning I woke up and decided to check out a couple of my friends blogs and realized that a lot of people actually have these things, like my cousins and Alan and Jamie, so I decided to jump on the band wagon and create one for us as well... so here goes...

First off... Brian and I have been adjusting to a recent Stake boundary change so now we are in the Laguna Niguel 1st ward that meets at.....1:30PM!!! Ahh! I was really hoping for 9:30 AM because we have been meeting at 1:00 PM for the past year! Anyways... last week we got called to be the Nursery Leaders over the youngest class, all close to 18 months... Brian and I spent our first Sunday with the children that same day and boy was it an experience! The leaders didn't call it "birth control" for nothing! Needless to say it will be a very informative calling... After last weeks fiasco of trying to learn all 13+ kids names and trying to figure out what it is that we are supposed to do in there, we are trying to be optimistic about the whole thing and are looking forward to getting to know our class...we'll keep you posted...

Update on Brian- Brian just finished with all of his finals this last week and he couldn't be more relieved. He can finally take a break from school and try to enjoy the holidays... well after work anyways... He is working for ECOLAB and thankfully, he works during the day, so we have a similar work and sleeping schedule now, where as before he was working nights and I hardly ever saw him.

Update on Me- This past week I was sent for a crazy spin at work, I was in charge of planning our Holiday party that took place on Thursday, December 13. I had a ton of fun doing it! I found amazing centerpieces, we booked an amazing restaurant called Bistango, and we had an amazing menu! Everything was going AMAZING so we thought... At 12:00 PM on the day of our party, our restaurant called to confirm our party for FRIDAY! They over booked our restaurant so at the LAST minute we had to decide to move our party over to their "sister" restaurant, or change them date for the following day. We decided to move our party to a restaurant called Kimera that was around the corner from our original location, thankfully! When I got there to set up we ran into a huge problem! We had planned on having 8 huge round tables and what we ended up with was a ton of rectangle tables and booths, so we had to improvise with coordinating our huge centerpieces. All in all though we had a very successful party. Everyone that came was extremely impressed and the rest of the night went very smoothly... well for them... Brian and I ended up staying only half and hour because my parents bought tickets for The Rockettes on that very night, so we had to high tail it to the Orange County Performing Arts Center to run in seconds before the curtain closed. We had a great time at the show, we thought the synchronized dancing was pretty impressive. Unfortunately for us, when the show ended our night was still in full swing... I was getting recognized for a"Star of the Year" award (aka. Employee of the year) back at the party, so we rushed back just in time to see everyone leaving... I was really bummed but found out that they will be doing the recognition at our next company meeting because the restaurant was so loud.

I really want to keep this updated but I make no promises! Until next time....