The Name Game

I've seen a few other people do this tag, so I'm jumping on the meme wagon. I'm going to tell you how my kids got their names.

Jakob H_____: When I was in college, walking up a huge hill to class, a thought popped into my mind that I wanted to name a son of mine "Jake", with my maiden name as the middle name. I have no idea why that popped into my head, because I was still single, but it did. And every Jake I had known (except for one, and we called him Jack on Crack because we couldn't remember what his real name was and he was really weird) was a really great guy. Then when Pete and I were...engaged, I think, we were talking about kids' names, and I told him about that, and at that point we decided we liked the spelling of Jacob with a "k" instead of the usual "c". So when I was pregnant with my first (Jakob), that was our boy name choice. Our girl name choice at that time was Hannah, even though we weren't too sure about it (a cute name, but we just weren't feeling it 100%).

Brock Adam: When I was preggo with Brock, we totally thought he was going to be a girl, because that pregnancy was so different from my first. So we started calling my tummy "Elsie" and everything. Luckily, though, I hadn't quite gotten around to starting to buy girl clothes, and to our surprise it was a boy. We asked about 8 times for them to double check, but it was most assuredly a boy. Not that we didn't want a boy, we just thought it was a girl. So anyway, I started reading through all the online name websites, and started a list of what I liked, and had like, 80 names on a list at one point. We finally narrowed it down to a few, "Brock" being one of them, and "Adam" being another. We also talked about doing "Rock", but then I was like, "Every time he'd introduce himself it would be 'Hey, I'm Rock'. 'Brock?' 'No, Rock. Like a stone.' 'Rock? Uh, okay.'" I didn't want to put my kid through that. We talked about doing "Brian" as the middle name (which is Pete's actual first name, FYI), but he didn't like the two names starting with "Br"-Brock Brian. So we went with Adam.

Troy Richard: We waited until finding out what we were having to start discussing names. We found out it was a boy, and we went to pick up our little boys at my mom's house. We threw a few names around then; two that we really liked at that time were Troy and Grant. I still went through the online lists, but it kept coming back to those two. Richard is for my dad. Pete has a brother named Richard, so I guess it could be in honor of him, as well. One day I called Pete while he was at work, and said "let's do Troy". We talked about Troy Brian then, too, but I liked the sound of Troy Richard better.

Ivy Marie: I had had Marie picked out for forever. My middle name is a mixture of my two grandmas' nicknames, (Jetta + Nellie = JeNell), and I thought I'd do the same for Ivy: her two grandmas are Marianne and Cheri, so it became Marie. I did the online website list thing again, but I really didn't come across anything that I liked beyond the ones we had thought of in the past: Hannah, Elsie, Evelyn, Logan, Rachel. I can't remember when I came across Ivy, but I remember not wanting to tell it to Pete because I thought he'd laugh at the choice (I was always the suggester, he was the veto-er). But I brought it up, and he loved it. When we found out we were having a girl, we almost immediately said it was going to be Ivy, but I wanted to leave the option open for a little bit. My mom gave me about a thousand suggestions, some of which were really weird. (Sorry mom, but you know it's true.) But Ivy it became.

So there you have it! Feel free to play along.

Things We Said Today

My sister did this tag, and I thought it would be fun. You pick ONE band or artist, and answer the questions using ONLY song titles. She picked the Beatles, and since I love them as well, I decided to do Beatles, but tried to pick different songs than she did. (Oh, my title is also a Beatles song.)

1. Are you a male or female: Another Girl
2. Describe yourself: I Am the Walrus
3. How do you feel about yourself: Free as a Bird
4. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend: I Should Have Known Better
5. Describe your current boy/girl situation: I'm In Love
6. Describe your current location: When I Get Home
7. Describe where you want to be: Strawberry Fields Forever
8. Your best friend is: Baby It's You
9. Your favorite color is: Blue Jay Way
10. You know that: Tomorrow Never Knows
11. What's the weather like: Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
12. If your life was a television show what would it be called?: In My Life (that's my favorite Beatles song, by the way)
13. What is life to you: A Taste of Honey
14. What is the best advice you have to give: All You Need is Love
15. If you could change your name what would you change it to: Penny Lane

I tag Pete and Lex and Mike!

Famous Family

So. My sister did a tag a while back about if someone made a movie of your life, what famous actors or actresses would play you and your family.  She did such a good job on everyone that I didn’t know if I could do it and make it be different.  But here are my picks.
I agree with Kar on my parents.  My dad would be Michael Keaton (they could be twins, seriously), and my mom would be Doris Day (she’s always so sunny and fun-both of them).

Kar would be Eliza Dushku, especially with her new bangs.  And  Ben would be Jamie Hyneman, from Mythbusters, with the goatee and shaved head and glasses.

Beej would be Liv Tyler, with the dark hair and the piercing eyes.  And Spencer would be Russell Crowe (back in his normal days), with his handsome smile and curly hair.

Lex would be played by Blake Lively-the long, blonde gorgeous hair, and beautiful blue eyes.

If the movie shows my kids grown up at some point, then Jakob would be played by Jensen Ackles, because I can honestly see Jake looking like him when he gets older.

Brock would be Joaquin Phoenix (before the big beard), because of his dimples, dark hair, and blue eyes.

Troy would be Daniel Craig, a long, LONG time from now.  They both smile with their whole faces, and their eyes crinkle up.  They’re both blondies with the blue eyes.
 
And Ivy would be Hayden Panettiere.  Again, it’s the blond hair and blue eyes.

For Pete, I pick Joshua Jackson.  The dark hair and beautiful blue eyes, and the scruff.  And in the show he’s currently in, Fringe, he plays a genius that’s funny, which is totally Pete to a T.

And for me, well, I went with Bryce Howard.  My kids saw my 8th grade yearbook picture, where I have a fabulous perm going on, and they were all, “Hey!  You look like Ivy from Billage!”  (Bryce’s character, Ivy, has permy strawberry-blond hair in “The Village”.)

So there you have it.  Hey, Hollywood?  I’m so ready to sell the rights to my family's story!

Twofer

Cute Mindy tagged me with this one:
1. Take a picture of yourself… riiiiiight… NOW!
2. DO NOT change your clothes. DO NOT fix your hair.  Just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with NO editing.
4. Post these instructions with your picture.
So here’s mine:

Gotta love the fresh out of the shower picture, eh?  At least I had my makeup on at this point.
And awesome Mike tagged me with this one: shows that I love, shows that I think should go away.  This is a little tricky for me, as I’ve been without cable for about two years now.  But we still download shows, and you still hear buzz about shows.  So first, ones that should go:
Legend of the Seeker.  Pete watches this, and I’d rather pull out my arm hairs than watch it.

The Real World.  I think they’re on Season 21.  I honestly don’t know how such a crappy show has held on this long.  I’ve only seen a couple of seasons while flipping through channels, and that was enough.

Next, the Doodlebops.  Don’t know if it still airs on the Disney Channel, but it’s one of the reasons I got sick of paying the cable bill.  It’s about creatures/people that are supposed to be good singers and dancers, and they’re not.  And they’re Canadian.  Double whammy.

Now for a show that should NOT have been canceled: Arrested Development.  If you haven’t seen it, seriously go out and rent it.  It was funny, and clever, and canceled way too soon-I think it only got, like, three seasons in or something.

And for shows that I think rock.  Pete and I have a few shows that we watch together (downloaded, and watched after the kids are in bed).  Here are my top ones of the ones we watch in no particular order:
Mythbusters

Gossip Girl

One Tree Hill

The Office

And one I haven’t seen in ages, but it’s still a favorite- Clean Sweep on TLC:

And a clip from a show that most people either love or hate: Friends.  I’ve told Pete about this clip about a hundred times.  I love to cuddle at night, and so I snuggle up next to Pete on his side of the bed.  So this clip is about Ross and Rachel, called the “Hug and Roll”. Enjoy!

I tag anyone that wants to do either of these tags.

I Do!

In the spirit of New Year's Resolutions, I present to you the things that I've done from a tag of random experiences. I've done 44 of the 100. Not to say that I'd actually want to do some of the things listed (sing a solo-#10-hey, no one else wants me to do that, either), but some of them I wouldn't mind checking off someday, like visit Hawaii (#4), or go whale watching (#62).

Things I've Done. To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (I've been sketched)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. One cavity or less

Eye Candy

Pete is always asking me if I think So-and-So actor or actress is hot, and what percentage they're hot versus when they aren't, like when the camera catches them at a bad angle. And when I say that So-and-So isn't hot, I always come up blank when Pete then asks me who is hot. So this post is for Pete, but everyone else can look too, because let's face it-I'm going to be putting up some way hot hotties in one concentrated location.

Oh, and I'm going to make this into a tag, because I'm curious as to other people's hottie preferences. The categories are: TV actor, Movie actor, Classic actor, Music artist, and Opposite Sex actor. I'm going purely with looks here, not personal choices or movie roles or whatever. And I'm going to tag Kar, Lex, Beej, Suzy, Pete, and whoever else wants to do this, which means you should do it if you're on my blog roll! (Mindy and Arin, I'm looking at you! Oh, and if you're a guy-Pete-then obviously you'd choose women for these categories and a man for the last category.)

TV actor: Justin Hartley. He plays Green Arrow on Smallville. And I seriously think he's the best thing to happen to that show. All together now: yummy!

Runner up: Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean Winchester on Supernatural.

Also, I find it ironic that I picked two guys from shows that I never even watch.

Movie actor: Johnny Depp. Even when he's wearing guy-liner as a pirate he's hot. I've always kind of had a thing for him since Benny and Joon.

...

Okay, I had to swoon for a minute there.

Runner up: Denzel Washington.

Classic actor: Marlon Brando. Not so much from his Godfather days, but more in his Guys and Dolls, Streetcar Named Desire days.

Runner up: Rock Hudson.

Seriously, the men actors back in the day make today's actors look like wusses.

Music Artist: Justin Timberlake. I'm glad he moved away from the curly 'fro.

Runner up: Usher. I mean, is a 10-pack possible? Because I think he has one.

Opposite Sex Actress: Grace Kelly. She's just so stunning. It's a shame she didn't act for longer than she did. She had to go off and get all princessey.

Runner up: Katherine Heigl. She's on Grey's Anatomy. She's a bit broke down on the show (they all are), but she's always va-va-voom on the Red Carpet.

So there you have it, my current famous hotties list! Now let's hear-and see-yours!

Tagalicious

Cute Emily tagged me with this one:
I am: loving my scanner/printer that’s finally hooked up! I need to play around with it more, but so far what I’ve done has been an awesome piece of cake.
I know: that laundry is a never-ending process, but why can’t it be done for more than two days?

I want: the weather to stay nice through Halloween, but I’m kind of doubting it right now since it snowed last week.
I have: GOT to clean my downstairs bathroom before company comes tomorrow! Ick!
I dislike: getting up early in the morning.
I miss: the college days. Not the being single thing, or the tests, but just the carefree-ness, and the endless energy I used to have.
I feel: so blessed. I have a gorgeous family, food, shelter, clothing, warmth…I’m so, so lucky.
I hear: the sound of silence. The kids are in bed. It’s so peaceful.
I smell: nothing right now, but I wish I was smelling some brownies baking in the oven…or some peach cobbler…or something else to eat…
I crave: Coca-Cola. I’ve been without for over a week now, and man, I miss it!
I cry: when I fight with people. And when I cry at night before bed, the next day my eyelids are really puffy, so much so they barely open in the morning. It’s attractive.

I search: for my boys’ shoes constantly!
I wonder: what my kids will look like when they get older. Jakob and Troy look like I did when I was little. I just hope their pre-teen years are a little nicer to them than mine were to me.
I regret: letting some good friendships drift away
I love: cuddling with Pete, much to his chagrin.
I care: a lot, I care a lot! (clap-clap, clap-clap!)

I worry: that Pete is going to die while traveling out to work. That would super suck.
I remember: when I was in kindergarten. We totally took “naps” on our desks. The teacher would turn the lights off, and we’d wait for the milk cart to come by. We would get milk and crackers. They don’t do that anymore in kindergarten, which makes me kind of sad for the kids.
I believe: that my kids are the dang cutest kids in the universe.
I dance: with my little boys, and I’ve noticed it looks a lot like my dad’s dancing. He grabs our hands, and swings them back and forth while bouncing his knees up and down. I totally have the same sweet moves now.
I don't: live up to my potential, especially as a mom. I let my kids watch way too many movies.
I argue: the most in my head. I’ll be mad about something, and then I’ll play out what I would say to whoever it is about whatever it is in my head, and I’m always so totally right and the other person sees my clear logic, and then the world is a better place because my opinion is the right one, and why didn’t they do it like that in the first place?
I write: chore lists on my fridge whiteboard, and then I never do the things on the list. I’m productive like that.
I win: nothing. I’ll fill out those survey things that you get on store receipts, and…nothing! I’ll enter sweepstakes, I’ll put my name in drawings, and nada.
I lose: real arguments. I’d just rather not fight, and when I do fight I get all flustered and I can’t express what I want to in the emotion of the moment.
I wish: we were debt free, including the mortgage. How awesome would that be??? *sigh*
I listen: to Jakob’s crazy stories that he makes up all day long. He named his bike “Snaprider”, and today told me Snaprider’s first name was “Snake”. Then he drew a picture of him riding his bike.
I can usually be found: downstairs in my home or cleaning something up.
I am scared: of growing old and getting some crazy disease, or not being able to see or hear, or worse, not having my mind intact.
I need: a haircut. I’m starting to look like one of those 15-year-old boys that have long wavy hair, kind of like in the 70s. Like…David Cassidy.

I forget: to go to mid-week Relief Society meetings. They have them all the time, and I always think I’ll go, but then I remember about 40 minutes into the activity. This always happens to me.
I am happy: when I have chocolate. Oh, mama! Chocolate and Coke are a few of my favorite things.

I tag: Pete and Mindy, because they’ll both come up with really creative answers.

Revisited

Suzy tagged me with this:


And you wanna know something ironic? April had tagged me with the same tag a little bit ago, and I couldn't think of anything. But then this morning after getting up with Ivy at 5:00 a.m., I went back to bed and couldn't get back to sleep. And I sat and thought of some random things about myself, even before I knew Suzy tagged me with it again! It must be fate that I reveal more crazy things about myself.
So without further ado:

1. I hate it when people breathe on me, like on my face. If someone whispers in my ear and they use a lot of breath...ew! I hate that. Or if someone blows on me. Ugh.

2. If someone can't remember my name, they almost always guess "Heather". I knew this girl in high school-kind of-we had the same piano teacher. Her name was Jesse. She called me Heather once, and I didn't correct her, so every time I saw her (she went to a different school, so it wasn't that often) she called me Heather. My cousins and I went to Pizza Hut one day, and she was our server. She's all, "Hi, Heather!" And my cousins were like, "Who's Heather?" So then I had to correct her. She was so embarrassed, as was I, because I hadn't corrected her, like, a year earlier when she first made the mistake.

3. I used to be able to chew gum for hours in high school. It didn't bother me that the flavor was gone. Only when it started to disintegrate in my mouth (it gets all grainy and tastes awful) would I not like it. But then I'd just put a new piece in.

4. This is kind of related to #3: I can't chew gum anymore, because it hurts my jaw. I can go about 5 minutes. But now my jaw will lock up randomly. It's called TMJ or something like that. I've had to pull my jaw out of the locked position before. It's kind of like pulling it out of socket and letting it snap back in. It hurts like a mother. My dad has the same thing.

5. No matter how hot it is, I have to sleep with the comforter on. And I have to have the covers clear up around my shoulders. I can't sleep with just the sheet.

6. When I was little (and I catch myself still doing this sometimes) I would open and close my mouth in time with my scissors. So I open them up, and my mouth would open too. As they closed, my mouth would close. Kind of like the opened mouth while applying mascara phenomenon.

7. I sucked my thumb until I was 8 years old. Not all the time, but subconsciously I would stick it in at night. My parents tried all the tricks, of bandaging my thumb, of putting nasty tasting stuff on, etc. I don't remember this, but my mom said my orthodontist started to call me every morning to see if I had sucked my thumb, and that's how they got me to stop.
So there you have it! 7 things you never knew you wanted to know about me, and probably didn't really want to know, but it's too late now, you read it already! HAHA!!

I'm a Winner!!

Apparently my blog rules. According to Kristy. And she rules, so that's all the confirmation I need.

Anyway, she "nominated" me for having an awesome blog. And now I get to put this little sticker-like thingy (except it's not sticky, because it's virtual) on my blog, telling everyone else how cool my blog is and how cool I am. It's a good deal.

So here's the lowdown:

1. The winner (whoever I nominate) gets to put this same little sticker thingy on their blog. It's like the cool club or something.

2. Link back to me, because it's all about internet traffic and about getting more visits to your own blog and to other's. A giving tree of sorts.

3. Nominate 7 other blogs. (This part is going to be hard for me because there are so many stinking good ones out there that I read.)

4. Link up to said awesome blogs.

5. Leave a message on those blogs so they can get all flustered and butterfly-ey and blushy like I did when Kristy left a comment saying she nominated me.

And the nominees are: (drumroll...)

Mindy. She's my sister's sister-in-law. So it's like we're totally related. We went to the same high school. She's an amazing writer, and so freaking funny! She even writes articles for the Ensign. I think she should write books for a living instead of teaching sevies about them.

April. She such a deep thinker. My blog is like the kiddy pool; her's is the ocean in deepness. She's very expressive and political (which is good because I'm an anti-politic-ite, so she brings the ideas and issues to my lazy butt). And she has cute kids.

Chelsey. She has triplet girls. And still finds time to blog about them. Truly amazing.

Ralphie. If you wanna see the most gorgeous girls in the best pictures in the universe, go check out her site. She's also gorgeous. And did I mention the camera skills? She's like...Camera Barbie. (Yeah, a little jealous of the camera skills, and the Barbieness.)

Kar. Three cute kids, very cute blog. She's, like, 10 times busier than I am and manages to blog twice as much.

Beej. This girl makes me jealous with all her amazing adventures. She's so open and eloquent in her blog. And when her hubby, Spencer, blogs, he cracks me up. (He's Mindy's brother. Must run in the family.)

Lex. She complains about having two blog readers. She definitely needs more! (Go check her out, because she's stinking hilarious, too.)

Man, I wish I could nominate more, but alas. Anyway, enjoy reading these awesome blogs as much as I do!

I'm 17...I'm 17!!

Cute Kristine tagged me about high school.

1. Did you date someone from your High School?
My sophomore year I "dated" (as in we sat by each other during lunch holding hands) Soren; summer after my junior year I dated Ned for all of 2 months; my senior year I dated J.R.

2. What kind of car did you drive?
A 1983 Honda Accord-the Ocean Car! We named it that because of the color, and the tape player would make the sound all wavy. The head rests got stolen, so then we got some brown ones spray-painted blue to put in it, so they were all crunchy. It was the coolest car ever.

3. What was the most embarrassing moment of High School for you?
My junior year I didn't have time to go to the bathroom during lunchtime to change my tampon. So I was sitting in class and totally leaked. I got up with my bag held around my waist, did what I could to cover up my leak, and then had to spend the rest of the day with my bag adjusted as low as it could go. And my friend took pity on me and cleaned the seat while I was in the bathroom. You'd think by then I would have had a handle on the whole period thing. Awesome times.

4. Were you a party animal?
My friends and I were always having parties and playing a ton, but drinking or any of that was never involved.

5. Were you considered a flirt?
Does Dawson have a creek?

6. Were you in Band, Orchestra, or Choir?
None. I had lots of friends in all of those, though. Um, I was in drama and student government.

7. Were you a nerd?
Oh yeah. I think Josie Grossie from "Never Been Kissed" was fashioned after me.

8. Were you on any Varsity teams?
Nope.

9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled?
Nope.

10. Can you still sing the fight song?
Dear old I.F. High we are with you... Every word, man.

11. Who were your favorite teachers?
Mr. Hatch my English teacher, Mrs. Sestero my French teacher (Misstero), Mr. Francis my history teacher, Mr. Miller my government teacher, Mr. Hampton my science teacher.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
We usually sat in the hall near the Tiger tile.

13. What was your school's full name?
Idaho Falls High School

14. School mascot?
Tiger

15. Did you go to Homecoming? With whom?
My junior year I went with Chris, one of my good friends. My senior year I went with Alan, another great friend. Both were way fun.

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
High school rocked, but I wouldn't want to repeat it EVER.

17. What do you remember most about graduation?
I totally bawled, but not until after I crossed the stage. I couldn't stop crying for the longest time!

18. Where did you go Senior Skip Day?
Our whole class went to Lagoon. Supposedly there's another Senior Skip day, and I went to class. I know, I'm a rebel!

19. Were you in any clubs?
French club, Key club, Art club, Drama club, Conflict Mediators, Honor Society

20. Have you gained some weight since then?
Actually, I think I weigh about the same.

21. Who was your Prom Date?
My junior year I went with Sean, my senior year I went with J.R.

22. 10 year Reunion? Are you planning on going?
I was in charge, so of course I went! I may or may not go to my 20 year, depending on if we live here or the hassle of getting to it.

23. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?
Take the AP classes! I didn't, and in college I wish I would have.

I tag whoever wants to do this!

Where Were You?

Cute Kristy tagged me with this one:
20 Years Ago…
1. In 1988 I was in 4th grade, sporting permed hair, sweet feathered bangs, and too-large-for-my-face eyeglasses.
2. Mrs. Farman was my teacher (one of my all-time favorites) and Heather H. was my best friend.
3. I wanted to be a professional piano player or a teacher.
10 Years Ago…
1. In 1998 my missionary just left for his mission. (Soooo glad that didn't work out.)
2. I was majoring in accounting at Utah State University.
3. I was working at Zuka Juice. I totally wrote down all the recipes and still have them...somewhere.
5 years ago…
1. In 2003 I had just had Jakob.
2. We were super poor, living in an apartment smaller than our now garage.
3. I watched Oprah and Dr. Phil, both of which I hate now. I also watched Clean Sweep, which unleashed my subconscious into my minimalist ways.
3 years ago…
1. In 2005 I had just had Brock.
2. Pete graduated from Utah State University in public health with an emphasis in industrial hygiene with a minor in chemistry. That meant a new job, a new city...basically a new life for him and me and our family.
3. We bought our first house.
1 year ago…
1. In 2007 I was in charge of my 10 year high school class reunion.
2. I was pregnant with Ivy.
3. We went to Lake Tahoe with my parents and siblings and their families.
This year so far…
1. I had our fourth and final kid, Ivy, in May.
2. I started blogging in January.
3. Jakob started kindergarten, and I volunteered to be a room mother. No idea what that entails as I have yet to get the courage up to return the phone call about it.
Yesterday…
1. I cleaned under my stove. Yikes!
2. My mom came over to help my sad sad lawn, and we couldn't get the mower started.
3. I called the hospital about our bill for Ivy-there was a mix up of insurance coverage and all sorts of good stuff.
Today…
1. I've been dealing with Troy and his really stinky diarrhea.
2. I'm going to have frozen lasagna for dinner. (That doesn't sound right; it's frozen right now, but I'll stick it in the oven to cook for the actual eating of dinner.)
3. I need to do tons of laundry, as always, but I'll probably watch shows with Pete instead.
Tomorrow…
1. I really want to clean out my garage.
2. I'll either go to the store to buy, or will be implementing, mouse poison. Right now they're still outside, but...
3. I'm gonna vacuum downstairs. I hope.
Next Year…
1. My lawn will be okay!!
2. I will have some semblance of food storage.
3. We may or may not move, depending on if/when Pete passes his CIH (Certified Industrial Hygienist). It depends on who is willing to pay the salary a CIH is worth.
I tag…
1. Kar
2. Lex
3. Beej
But only if you guys want to do it.

Memories

Here are the directions:
1. As you comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Meet My Pet, Peeve

My sister Lex asked on her blog what our pet peeves are. Or one pet peeve. Hers was people not knowing how to drive through a 4-way stop or round-abouts. I agree with her completely. But mine...

Well, the first one I thought of is I hate it when people interrupt me. And it happens to me a lot. I do tend to ramble and repeat myself, so it probably happens to me more than to other people. But it just makes me feel boring or unimportant. And I hate it when people try to guess what I'm saying. Pete will do this to me sometimes. I'll be like, "I would love to-" and he interrupts with "-go to this movie?" And that's totally NOT what I was going to say! Then I go, "No, I would love to-" and he goes, "-eat some chocolate?" NO! Stop interrupting! Then you'd be able to find out what it was that I would love to do! Grr.

So, what is your top pet peeve? Either comment with it or write it on your blog.

Reality Bites

So, I got tagged. Which, by the way, I think that tag posts are supposed to be called "meme" posts. Don't know why; I figure it's short for "Look at me! Look at me!" Something like that.

Anyway, this is about random right now shots, which can be kind of embarrassing. So, here we go...

1. Laundry room. Ours is part of our storage room. I LOVE my washing machine and clothes dryer. We had some leftover carpet from when our house was built, so I stuck it in front of the machines, for which I'm glad. I almost always end up sitting on said carpet to separate clean laundry into the kids' piles, and then fold it there as well. See the cute baskets piled high in front? That's a standard part of my laundry room scene. Oh, and I can pretty much guarantee that there's a load sitting in the dryer, too. Two big thumbs down for doing laundry for six people!



2. Favorite room. Like Kar and Arin, it's my bedroom. My bed is never made. Unless I just cleaned the sheets. But I love our bedroom furniture we purchased about 1 1/2 years ago. It's just...kind of a haven.


3. Favorite shoes. My Mary Jane Dr. Martens. Love them. Wear them with just about everything unless I'm wearing black.


4. Toilet. Shot in the most flattering position I could come up with. I hate toilets!


5. Kitchen sink. Mine's fairly clear of dishes right now. But that pile of clothes sitting in the left side would be the peed in pile, thanks to Brock and his potty training. Awesome, huh?


6. Fridge. Looks like I need to go shopping.


7. What the kids are doing. Jakob, Brock and Troy were watching Spiderman 3 when I took this. Brock and Troy were also eating fruit snacks. Ivy had just gotten done with a nap and was crying for some love and a bottle. Okay, mostly just a bottle.




8. Self-portrait. Hair not done-no time this morning. Eyes super bloodshot-not enough sleep. Kinda fake smile, because I was trying to make sure my camera made the "focused" noise. Now I know why I don't have many pictures of myself.

9. Closet. LOVE my closet. Nice and roomy. Very organized.

10. Dream vacation. A tie between Grand Cayman and Disneyland. Pete and I want to go on a cool trip for our 10-year anniversary, and we've mentioned Grand Cayman. Lots of white soft sand, lots of warm water...ahhhh. I went there 11 years ago with my parents, and it was what I hope heaven is like. And I want to take the fam to Disneyland or Disneyworld when Ivy is old enough to go on all the big rides. So we're looking at maybe 4 years down the road. Jakob should still be young enough to enjoy it all, too (going on 9 in 4 years). We just need to get out of debt a little bit first...

So there you have it. A glimpse into my chaotic/messy life! I tag...anyone that wants to do it!