Mad Tea Party

2011 in Review - Mass Chaos in a Blog Post

2012-01-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

Rats! It's 2012 and I'm still not done recapping 2011!!! That's okay though because I still contributed far more posts to this thing in 2011 than I did the previous year. Sometimes we have to measure progress in inches and not in yards. Why do we not use the metric system here in the states? It just seems silly. The math alone is so much easier. Anyway, this will have to just be a huge mass recap that will take us to December:

1) Jen and Adam do massive amount of yard work. Our back yard is fenced and it was landscaped with shrubs, mulch, and cement curbing along the fence line, and around the house. Unfortunately, the previous owners did not take care of it and we needed to replace everything. After we got Hero we decided we wanted more room for her to run and a little space for a container garden. It took all summer to get the landscaping cleared out and leveled for the sod we put in. I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the final product, but we're not done anyway. It's maybe a little hard to see, but the below pics show all of the ripped out landscaping:

This was all of the cement curbing we ripped out before it was hauled away:

It's still very much a work in progress. My goals this year are to stain the fence, add the garden, flowers, plant a tree or two, make sure Hero doesn't ruin the lawn, and possibly extend and stain the patio because, you know, dream big.

2) We said goodbye to Amelia. Amelia was the silver Saturn I bought when I was fresh out of college in 2002. I was so proud of her and also clearly still in my car naming stage. We had some good times and poignant moments together she and I. However, Adam and I knew that we would need to replace her sometime in the next few years and why not do it now when we still have two incomes? We replaced her with fun, zippy little Subaru Forester and we love it! Sorry Amelia, but I feel better knowing you're with someone who will still appreciate all of your good points.

3) I got bangs! My hair's so now! (What movie is that from? 10 points) They probably won't last long, but it was a fun little change for a while and thus noteworthy.

4) Adam and I went on a Thanksgiving cruise with his family. We left on a Saturday and came back the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was just lovely, lovely, lovely. Jenny and Ben took much better pictures than what I took below with my iPhone, but at least it conveys the major parts of our wonderful trip!

Don't you love Adam's below outfit? It's kind of like a mullet. Business casual-like polo shirt on top and an athletic event down below. Please be aware he doesn't dress this way in public. Anyway, all of our cabins were next to one another and we had them open up the balcony partitions so it was like having a nice, private common area for the family. I loved just sitting and reading on our balcony! The downside was the chain smokers who were in the room right next to ours.

Here's a beach shot from Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. I love beaches, but I have a little bit of a shark phobia. Seriously, I've told friends not to swim too far out before. At this beach, though, the water was so clear, I had not a care in the world. The sand was like baby powder and it was so great to lay in the sun and swim! Adam and I rented a paddle boat and went all around the little bay area we were in.

Who's this handsome sandwich getting ready for a day at the beach?!

Oh, look! Another beach! Next stop was Grand Cayman. Adam and I were beach fiends this trip. We just hung out at Seven Mile Beach and did a little shopping right before we got back on the ship. This beach was lovely, but I swear I've been to prettier ones at this same port on previous cruises.

I bought a hat in Grand Cayman to protect my aging skin. This is right before it flew off my head and I made a nice spectacle chasing it. Yep, still got it.

I think my favorite port and shore excursion was in Mexico. Adam's parents booked us a private tour of the Mayan ruins at Koba and Tulum with LDS tour guides. They are a husband and wife team and run a company called Alma's LDS Tours (wife's name is Alma). They were so great - very knowledgeable and they set up a fabulous lunch for us and arranged everything with the tours. It was awesome! The below pic of Alma and Miguel is actually our second stop at the Koba ruins. The site is huge and so spread out that you ride bikes to see all of the ruins. I loved it!

There were several towers/pyramid type structures with steps going up to the top that you can climb. We climbed the tallest one. At first it seemed like no big deal, then I got about a quarter of the way up, looked down, realized I was climbing up something with only a rope in the middle to hold on to and the fear set in. I looked at Adam and declared my intention of going no further. Why tempt fate? Then I saw all these other people, many of them older than I was and possibly less graceful (is that possible?) and I decided to give it another try. I made it to the top and it was kind of a defining moment for me. Seriously. Here's what it looked like looking down from the top.

A triumphant Jen. One of my favorite kinds of Jens.

Adam, annoyed that I'm taking this photo, smiles halfheartedly. He's at the base of what we climbed.

Here are some pics from Tulum. It's also pretty neat and right next to the ocean. I'd been here before when Lis and I went on a cruise so it was fun to see it again.

More Tulum.

Our stop before Mexico was Roatan, Honduras. If you enjoy going to a place that has been entirely created by the cruise lines, and is crowded with just more of the shops you've seen at every part, this is your spot. It may have been the rain that poured on us. It may have been the fact that Amber lost her hat in the water when we were on the sky coaster thing. I'm not sure.

Heading to the beach at Roatan, just before the rains came.

Once we got back to Fort Lauderdale, we had one more excursion planned before our plane left. We went to the Everglades and did the air boat ride thing and communed with the alligators. This was one that wandered over to the wild life preserve. Up close and personal.

Et voila! This is 2011 up to December. I may not have it in me to talk about December.

2011 in Review Part 4 - A Week Apart in California and a Tribute

2011-12-28T19:06:00.000-08:00

The above photo has absolutely nothing to do with Adam being in San Francisco for a week in June while I was in Newport Beach, but he didn't take any photos while in San Francisco, not being a photo taking kind of guy so I thought this would be a good substitute. Pretty freaking cute, right? I mean, if he had attended my elementary school instead of somewhere in a suburb of Cincinnati, I never would have lost my heart to Peter F in the fifth grade. Adam would have had me from the start. So what was Adam doing in San Francisco? And why was I in Newport Beach? I'll tell you! Adam was sent there for work to attend WWDC, which is the big Apple conference in San Francisco. You know, the one where Steve Jobs (may he rest) would wear his black turtle neck and unveil new Apple products? That's the one. Anyway, this trip coincided with the beginning of my slow time at work where it really is imperative for me to take time off to preserve my mental stability. I thought about tagging along, but since he was going with another co-worker and would be in workshops all day long, not being the type that really likes to wander around unknown cities alone, I really wasn't sure what I would do with myself. I could go visit my parents, but didn't really want to fly alone and was only looking to be gone for about 4 days. So I called Lis.

Anyone who has spent a reasonable amount of time with me since 1997, knows that one of my best friends in the whole wide world is a girl named Lis (pronounced Liz). I met her the same day I moved into my dorm at BYU on a hot day in August 1997. I had just said a tearful goodbye to my brother and parents, my roommate was no where in site (she wouldn't show up for another week), and I was trying to distract myself by hanging up pictures on my bulletin board, when this cute girl with short blond hair poked her head into my room. Our conversation went something like this:

"Um, hi, I was asked by the RA to let everyone know we're having a floor meeting in a few minutes."
"Oh, okay. Thanks!"
"You're listening to Barenaked Ladies! I love them!"
"Really? Me, too! I've seen them like four times in concert!"
"That's awesome! Well, I'll see you around!"

She left and I remember thinking, "I'm going to be friends with that girl." I need to point out something before I go on. In 1997, few people outside of the Northeast knew about Barenaked Ladies and it was long before they released their lame mainstream albums like Stunt. They were considered cool were I came from. I just want to reiterate that this is before they were cheesy. We became fast friends after that. Lis is the coolest. She's unflappable and confident. She's kind and upbeat. She's smart and cultured. She's introduced me to Jane Austen, countless TV shows, and various fashion trends. She's influenced my political and world views. She's seen me at my best and worst. Here's a photo of us in our junior year with all of our other BFFs at the time. We're both wearing stripes:

Here we are (with our one of our other BFFs, the lovely Kimberly Neves) in 2001 when we graduated.

This was taken in 2004 (ish?) with the rest of our roommates in the huge house in Holladay we lived in. Lis and I were roommates in four different houses in Salt Lake before I got married. Yes, in this house there were nine of us. Yes, it was crazy.

So there's a brief photo time line. I have much better photos for such a topic, but these are the ones I had readily available in my computer. There are other friends I've been fortunate to meet whom I love oh so dearly, but no one else has been as much a part of my life for so long as Lis. Adam was just reading over my shoulder and says I've gotten way off topic, but it's an important thing for this blog to take note of. Some people don't have a "Lis." But I do and will be forever grateful for that.

So to make a long story short, Adam was going to San Francisco and I needed something to do. I called Lis, who teaches and was off for the summer, and we made our plans. We found a good deal on flights to Orange County. There was a vacation package with what looked like a nice hotel just down the road from Newport Beach and off we went. The flights went smoothly, the hotel was nice (aside from the mile walk to the parking lot), the women in Newport reasonably matched their stereotypes on TV, the sister missionaries could be seen walking around, and we got in some nice beach time in perfect weather. Almost too perfect. In spite of putting on SPF 55 sun screen, I got a sun burn of legendary proportions the first day. That kind of put a damper on my visions of sun bathing the entire time and it was a good thing we had buddy passes to Disneyland to pass the time. These are terrible pictures of us, but life's like that sometimes:

Walking down main street.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This was my first time in Disneyland. I've been to Disney World about 4 times, but not since I was 9. I think that Cinderella's castle is the prettier of the two, but Sleeping Beauty was always my favorite Disney cartoon so this was a big moment for me.

A nice photo of one of the beaches we stopped at. On our downtime, we watched episodes of Parks and Recreation and I read Bossy Pants by Tina Fey, a perfect vacation read.

So that was our week at opposite ends of California. I did really miss Adam. He had a fun-ish time on his business trip but it was nice to get back. It was also nice to get back to Hero, who decided to catch pneumonia while we were gone. Apparently dogs can get pneumonia and Hero would, of course, be the dog to get it. Something I didn't mention before is that Hero is rather prone to illness and accidents. She's like Beth from Little Women or Tiny Tim. Hopefully she grows out of this...

2011 in Review Part 3 - House Guests

2011-12-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

So - another big event for the Zundel Ard's was visiting of my mom, sister and two of her boys, and my brother and his family in March. I can only hope that it was as nice for them to visit as it was for us to have them there. It was a varied lot with many different agendas and opinions of how time would be best spent (particularly when catering to two three-year old little boys and one 15-month old), but we managed to get the important things done: 1) Lots of good natured ribbing around the dinner table; 2) Wende's birthday lunch; 3) An eventful shopping trip to Ikea and the Sundance Outlet - Tianna is very good at helping out when someone has a seizure in the store; 4) Surviving toddler melt downs at Cafe Paesan; 5) Family Meeting up at Grandma's house; 6) Saving Hero from Connor and Connor from Hero (when he was eating Goldfish crackers).

Of course I took few pictures. In fact, there were only two worth showing:

Connor and Liam aka the Puppet Master and the Future Rescue/Construction Worker

I really think Connor needs his own reality TV show. I would watch it. This kid has charisma as evidenced by the below musical number. Sorry for my loud cheering at the end. It's what aunts do. I really liked how he would lay back on the couch at different points during the song as though he was actually looking at the stars. Nice.

2011 in Review Part 2 - Hero

2011-12-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

Oh, my. Two days in a row? Yeah, that's right - I am committed to my review of 2011. Today I get to blog about one of my favorite things or rather creatures....animals....canines....dogs I own:

Hero!

Boy do we love this dog of ours. One of my first posts of this year rather sheepishly announced that we bought a yellow lab puppy in November 2010. Two weeks into that decision, I was wishing we hadn't. More than a year later, I miss her when we go on vacations, smile whenever I see her, and spoil her to an absurd degree. Replacement child? Possibly, but I don't care. Adam did ask me the other day how old she would need to get before I stopped calling her "Baby Girl." (I don't think he's a fan of that nickname) I told him probably never. I can't help it. We are possibly the worst dog owners ever - at least I'm pretty sure that's what my parents think. We do everything you're not supposed to do. We let her lead the way on walks, sleep on our bed, and we feed her people food. Not all the time, mind you, and only healthy stuff like fruits and vegetables, but yeah. Please set your judgment aside. She's happy and we're happy. That's what matters right?

When we went to NY to celebrate Christmas with my family last year, we boarded her at this place where they socialize the dogs and let them play together during the day. Hero loved it. She loves other dogs. When we take her on walks and she sees other dogs, she wags her tail and cries because she wants to play with them so badly. Because of our full-time work schedules, we decided it was only fair to start taking her to a dog day care place. Yes, we're those people. It's embarrassing, but I'm mostly over it. Maybe I already mentioned this? Anyway, since February, 3-4 days during the week, Adam drops her off before work and I pick her up after work from this place in South Salt Lake. It's great - she plays all day and then Adam and I don't feel so guilty and don't have to spend hours playing with her when we get home because she's been couped up inside all day. It's not a permanent solution, but while we both work 40 plus hours a week, it relieves a lot of stress and she loves that place. As soon as Adam gets ready to go in the morning, she's bouncing around and jumping on him to make sure he doesn't leave her behind. She has been known to whimper if we're not fast enough getting her out of the car to go inside. Here are some other things about Hero:

1) She's a great source of exercise. This dog will play keep away with you as long as you have the stamina. She's relatively good at hide and seek. She loves her walks around the neighborhood and going over to Adam's parents' house to play in their huge backyard.

2) She's obsessed with socks - she knows exactly where to get them. In a laundry basketful of whites, she can separate the socks from the rest of the clothes and unmentionables with surprising ease. She mainly uses them as a way to get attention and play keep away.

3) She loves peanut butter and will do pretty much anything for a treat - not so unusual, really.

4) She's a cuddler. Her preferred relaxing position is anything where she can be touching me or Adam. This is not so great at 5 in the morning when suddenly I feel dead weight on my legs or her head dropping on my stomach, but at least she's courteous enough to wait until 5.

5) She's afraid of anything with a motor sound. The vacuum cleaner and the lawn mower in particular.

6) She needs more training. I really do intend to work on that. But she doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body, according to a trainer we were using for awhile. Adam and I just have problems being consistent - it's good we've realized this now.

7) She loathes baths and getting her nails clipped. Adam has to sit in the tub with her while I pour water on her and he lathers her up. This is all done with a pathetically beaten look on her face.

So that's that. Some people will not understand all of this affection for a rather troublesome collection of fur. And that's okay. You can skip the below visual chronology of her life so far below. Forgive my grainy iPhone pics!

This is from February 2011. The halo in the picture is inadvertent yet miraculous

This is one exhausted puppy after one of her first days at day care

Vanity is unfortunately one of her failings

She joined me once for my evening prayers. This is legit - I really was praying and she jumped up beside me resulting in Adam taking the picture. If only my pajamas were more stylish!

Payback on Adam. I told you - she really will sleep anywhere as long as she can be touching someone

This was taken last Saturday. She is also afraid of the Christmas tree and needed some reassurance when we were putting it up.

2011 in Review Part 1

2011-12-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

So begins my epic summary of 2011. Epic primarily because I haven’t done a blog post since February. I could just give up on this whole blog thing. I mean, obviously I’m bad at it, but I really do like keeping some sort of a record since my journal writing tendencies are also completely abysmal. So here we go!

Instead of going chronologically, I’m going to summarize the year based upon events. Sadly, the dominant theme for the Adam Ards’ this year is failed attempts to hear the pitter patter of little feet. Or is it? Yes and no. I personally think the dominant theme for 2011 is better reflected in resilience, scrappiness, hope springing eternal, etc. In a nutshell though, Adam and I tried two rounds of IVF this year. Once in January/February and again in July/August. The first round resulted in a miscarriage. The second round resulted in two ectopic pregnancies and two surgeries within a week of each other. No risk that they’ll forget who we are at the fertility clinic! I have started dozens of posts, some only in my mind, about what has happened. I know that I’m under no obligation to touch on the subject at all, but it wouldn’t feel like this blog is about our family, currently consisting of Adam and I, if I didn’t. These experiences have been heartbreaking and significant. They have changed us permanently and therefore deserve to be acknowledged.

The IVF process is a draining one, particularly when you do a second round within a few months of doing the first round. You start with birth control pills to essentially shut down your body from doing its own thing. Next come the injections. The first time we did the standard thing: one injection in the abdomen for about a week or so, then add two more also in the abdomen for at least another week. Then come the daily ultrasounds to check your progress. Once, you’re ready, there’s the egg retrieval and the beginning of the daily progesterone shots in the back side. Don’t be fooled, those progesterone shots are by far the worst part. You recover from the egg retrieval after a few days and in the meantime get a phone call from the lab telling how many eggs they were able to fertilize and when they want you to come into to transfer then back into your hopefully hospitable womb. Oh yeah, and your husband has to provide a sample and take some antibiotics, too – they really like to make sure everyone feels involved. That’s a very general overview of the process.

The first time around, I reacted very strongly to the drugs and they had to retrieve on the earliest day possible to avoid hyper-stimulation in my ovaries. They were able to retrieve about 28 and of those about 19 were mature enough to be fertilized. Out of the 19 or so fertilized, there were about 6-7 that survived and of those only 3 were really considered good enough to transfer. They transferred two and we opted not to freeze the other one that survived since there was only one. The miscarriage occurred on March 31st. We were told that there was no specific reason it happened and therefore there was no reason to not try again when we were ready.

The second time around, in light of my first response, they elected to change up the injections and triggers typically used to get me to the egg retrieval. It seemed to work fairly well because they didn’t have to retrieve quite as early and we were hoping the quality of embryos would be better. Bizarrely, only two embryos survived this time, but they didn’t just survive – they were considered stellar qualify embryos so we transferred them with high hopes on my birthday at the end of August and well, you already know the rest. We found out about the first ectopic on September 16th and I was finally able to get back to work, resuming my normal life without the prospect of children on October 3rd.

So, as you can see, this took up a large chunk of the year. So much so that I can hardly believe it’s December. But it is. It’s funny because even now I experience such a multitude of different reactions when I think about everything that has happened. There’s the hand-wringing, teary eyed Jen who wants to sink to her knees with her face to the sky screaming “why did this happen!?” Seriously, why? That’s the weak Jen that now is only acknowledged during moments of extreme fatigue when the other Jens are off their game. There’s the Jen who shrugs her shoulders and says, “it is what it is and I can’t change it so I must accept it.” This Jen almost feels like laughing when she thinks about it because seriously, have you even heard of such bad luck? Then she secretly worries if there’s something wrong with her for wanting to laugh. There’s also the Jen who somehow knows that this is going to be okay. She has no idea how things will work out, but she knows that God is aware of her and her struggles and will be with her. I was told that in a priesthood blessing during the pain-filled night before the first surgery. For the most part, I’ve never doubted that and have had countless other experiences since then to reaffirm this simple, but precious fact. That’s where the peace comes in and where hope springs eternal.

So there you have it – this has been a big part of our year. I really do feel like we haven’t been beaten. We don’t know why this has happened, but we have grown closer together as a result of it and we know that we’re meant to raise children. We’ve just got to figure out what to do next. We’ve had very positive visits with our doctor. The thing we’ve learned through all of this is that I can get pregnant. A lot of people with fertility issues can’t, even after multiple IVF cycles. Although we’ve been very unfortunate in the outcome, it’s a promising thing that I’ve had two positive pregnancies as a result. Based on what they know about me and Adam’s tests, our doctor is very optimistic. We’re also considering adoption so……we’ll see.

We’re so grateful for family members and friends and neighbors who have reached out and shown us so much love and support. My co-workers have been positively angelic. One friend gave me a list of over 200 hundred names of people who fasted for me one Sunday. Adam and I got spoiled by our neighbors and by my mom when she came to help out. You have all been the major blessings in our lives this year.

Stay tuned for some other moments in 2011 that will, I promise, be a little less heavy than this fun guy. Fungi?

Game on, Wende

2011-02-09T21:06:00.001-08:00

My dad told me the other day that I'm not longer the favorite because Wende has more recently updated her blog. Game on. This will be a less exciting, pictureless post. I'm going to talk about work. Yep, work.

I kicked butt at work today. In January, I felt like I was losing some ground. I was upset about a decision made that affected the work I was doing. I was already emotional that day for unknown reasons and I went into the bathroom and cried. I couldn't help it. I hate crying at work. I want people to think I'm tough. I've cried at my current job at least 4, maybe 5 times in 4, almost 5 years. That's not bad, right? Usually I can get away with it and no one knows. One time, I even crawled under my desk and stayed there until I was composed. To be fair, my grandma had just died, I was dealing with a particularly obnoxious co-worker over the phone, and my desk was much more out in the open than my current cubicle so what choice did I have? Okay, I'm digressing again. So, the point is, usually no one knows about it, but this time I got caught by my manager who was very graceful about it and legitimately felt bad about the situation. He did lose some points though when he told our director. Since then, I felt like I had lost some ground in some way. But last week, I took the initiative to do something major for the weekly meeting I run and it totally paid off. I would go into more details, but it's boring and I'm already bored with this topic. But still.......I kicked COB butt today. That's all you need to know.

So that brings me to something else. The obnoxious co-worker who made me cry after my grandma died (to be fair, she didn't know about my grandma)? She's actually responsible for at least one other Jen crying moment. Guys, I'm not a wimp, really! I'm not going to get into it, but you would cry too if it happened to you. (Ha!) Well, anyway, we eventually came to a sort of mutual, if slightly grudging, respect for one another and we work well together and I don't think she'll ever bring me to tears again. Here's the thing though: I recently found out that we are distantly related! What the what?! You just never know who you're related to. I think she was a little thrown by that news too. Here's the other thing: I recently lost one of my earrings at work and they were my favorites and she was nice enough to help me look all over my cubicle, in the bathroom, and down the halls. She even used a flashlight and a yard stick and all I was using were my eyes. I don't think she was doing that because she knows we're distantly related. I think she was doing it because she is a really nice person after all and it just took me awhile to realize it. Food for thought.

Okay, now, I'm going to blog about the day last fall when people kept saying mildly offensive things to me all day, but didn't realize they were doing it. It was seriously a strange day.
The first instance: I was going to lunch with the people in my section at work and was talking to this one guy about politics. Normally I avoid that topic at work because well, sometimes it's best. However, he started talking about the current political climate and I made an argument for how things are far too partisan nowadays and how politicians need to overcome party politics, etc. Then he proceeded to tell me that he had that same opinion before he really started studying the issues and getting informed. Huh.
The second instance: I was putting books together for my weekly Wednesday meeting. It's tedious work and involves putting copies in binders, etc. This older guy who works on the other side of the floor in a different division came over and said, "well they finally found something you're good at." What? You mean filling binders? I really think he was trying to be funny/make conversation since he really has absolutely no idea what I do, but well.....
The third instance: Shoot! I forgot the third instance exactly, but involved one of my good friends at work implying that I was never on-time. This post is unraveling. There were seriously one or two more instances all in this one fateful fall day. It really was funny and no, I didn't cry.

Okay, so here's the thing. There's a lot of negative in this post about work. I didn't mean for it to be negative, I was just thinking about things at work that I've found humor in recently. I really can't think of a more rewarding place to be. I feel like I work for an organization that truly changes lives for the better. I have witnessed small, but real miracles and I wish I could talk about that more, but I probably better not on a blog. Plus, I get to eat lunch outside in the spring and enjoy tulip time in the plaza. Does it get any better than that?

One more thing....

2011-01-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

How could I forget the fact that my visiting teacher, who was the now non-existent activities committee chair, drafted Adam to be Santa Clause at the ward Christmas party!? Oh, I think that's one of my favorite memories of last year. He told me later that he would've have paid someone $100 to take his place, but he was a good sport about it. We didn't bring any stuffing for the Santa suit so we ended up using a little kid's coat - not the best for a regular tummy shape. Also, anyone who is in charge of such things should know that Santa suits need to be dry cleaned every year. Adam said the suit smelled pretty bad when he put it on. No wonder some children cry when they have to sit on Santa's lap...

Last but not least, I had to include this video of Wende's boys over Christmas. It's not the best quality since I used my phone, but these boys have the comic stylings of the three stooges and they begged me to do videos for the last 3-4 days of my trip.

Holding Out for a Hero

2011-01-20T19:26:00.000-08:00

Wow! So, 2011. Sometimes when I was a tween, I would think about the year I would graduate from high school and the date sounded so futuristic that I thought maybe they would have hover-boards....and that was 1997 which now seems like an incredibly long time ago. Maybe because it was. Anyway, my point is, I don't think I could even fathom 2011 and yet here we are! No hover-boards, but we do have the Interweb, as Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock calls it, and smart phones and tart frozen yogurt and novelty cupcake stores. Life is good. I'm not really going to do a lot of catch up about the last half of 2010, but I do need to hit some fairly big things that transpired.

1) In October, I met my mom in Denver to visit Collin, Tianna, and Liam. It was a quick trip - just 3.5 days, but it was so fun to see where they are living and what the law school looks like. They are adjusting so well and making friends so quickly - like they always do. I really admire my sister-in-law for that. She seems to have a knack for making friends. So for the long weekend, I ran around the apartment with Liam, visited U Denver and walked around the law school, went to the zoo, visited with my cousin Amber and her awesome family, went shopping, and then sadly it was time to leave, but here's evidence of my time there:

The Collin Zundel Family at the Zoo!

Amber and Matt invited Liam to go to Gage's soccer practice. Here they are - all decked out.

Visiting U Denver!

2) End of October: we get rid of Adam's Nissan and buy a new car. Well, new to us, technically the car is used, but it only had 13,000 miles on it and we got a fabulous deal. It's a lovely grey 2007 Honda Accord and I named her Stella, but I actually think I'm kind of over the car naming thing. It used to be whimsical and quirky, but now the magic is gone. Anyway, the new car is fabulous and we don't miss Adam's car primarily because the defrost was so bad it was sometimes scary to drive in the winter and we couldn't use the stereo system anymore due to a high pitched squeal, although sometimes I got so desperate I would just turn up the volume to drown it out. This may explain why when I sleep on my right side, I can't hear very well. I get to drive the new car and I looove it!

3) In the beginning of November, we bought a sweet puppy dog named Hero - thus the title of this post. Oh man, how our lives have changed! Truthfully, if we had known how hard it actually was to have a puppy, I don't think we would have done it. However, even though Adam and I say that frequently to one another, we always finish it by saying we're glad we did. And I really think we are. She's a yellow lab and was just eight weeks old and probably only six pounds when we bought her. She is now almost 5 months old and at least 30 pounds! The decision to by a dog happened gradually and I blame Adam's sister Amber for starting it all. When Adam and I were seriously dating, we talked about pets and he was adamant that he had never wanted one and never would. While I had always liked dogs, I hadn't really missed the responsibility of having one when I was single and so I readily agreed. No pets. Consequently we began our married life with this firm resolve.

Fast forward to probably July or August. Adam, Amber, and I had gone to dinner in Orem. Has anyone been to Cafe Paesan the new Italian Restaurant created by the original Cafe Rio owners? Well we hadn't yet and decided to try (YUM). Afterwards, Amber suggested we stop at this pet store we were driving past because they have actual dogs and cats. We saw the cutest Jack Russell Terrier/Beagle mix puppies and that's when we first got bit by the puppy bug. Still, despite of our sudden desire to nurture a cute little bundle of fur, we were still certain that possible dog ownership would be a long way off. "It wouldn't work since both of us are working full-time. It would be too sad to have to leave a puppy all alone for eight hours." "Maybe once we have kids and they get older." So the arguments went. Fast forward again to my trip to Denver. Adam and I had talked enough about dogs for me to know that if we got one, he would want a beagle. When I was at the mall with my mom and Tianna, as a joke they suggested we go to the pet store where they have dogs, too and I could take a picture with a beagle puppy to send to Adam. So we did and it was the cutest, softest little thing and I fell in love. Then I sent a text to Adam and he fell in love and after that the conversation was more like, "okay, how could we make it work to get a dog." So there you are...a few months of madness and life will never be the same. Be warned from our example!

The beagle at the pet store that drove us down our dark path - we ultimately decided against a beagle because we heard they're a lot harder to train, particularly potty train. Enough said.

Here's Hero a few days after we bought her - pardon Adam's feet.

The most recent picture of our Hero - I think she looks quite noble.

However, I will say that we love her to death and even missed her when we boarded her over Christmas. She's a sweet dog who never ever barks and loves everyone she meets. That said, we are commencing some much needed dog training on Saturday! Woohoo!

Okay so those are the major points. Thanksgiving was spent with Adam's family - good food and great people. Christmas was spent with my family - more good food and great people. This is a really long post....

The One Where Jen Turns 32

2010-09-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

This isn't really a post about my birthday. Since I can't seem to post often enough to do single events, this will be an update about a myriad of things that happened over the summer, but my birthday was one of them and since this is my blog, I get to mention what I think is most important. Not to say that visiting my family and old friends, celebrating other people's birthdays, growing tomatoes for the first time, reading lots and lots of books, never going swimming or camping once all summer, etc, aren't important things to mention, and that is why I just did. I could really finish this post right now, but my mom mentioned that my Aunt Rebecca told her I should update my blog. Maybe I should change the title to "Rebecca, This One's for You," but then everything I just wrote would be irrelevant and I'd have to start over, which I'm too lazy to do. But seriously, Rebecca, this one's for you:

So, July was full of family fun! Adam and I left on the 3rd to fly to Rochester and spend a blissful twelve days away from work or cares. We took my grandma and grandpa with us, and let me just say that if you can find a pair of amiable 80-year olds to travel with, do it! You get to ride in carts, go to the front of the security line, and you even get your seats reassigned to the first row of coach, all because you're traveling with two saintly and serene-looking, white-haired individuals. We had pretty easy, uneventful flights out and arrived just in time for pizza and wings with mom and dad (I loove Buffalo Wings). Dad doesn't like going to see fireworks so we kept it low-key on the 4th of July, with the exception of the fabulous dinner of shrimp, steak, and scallops my mom made. I wish I could relive that part. Then, we did one of my favorite things to do: watched the movie 1776. I love that show - even with the cheesy music that most of the time I fast forward. I feel such a kinship with my founding fathers... Mr. Feeney from Boy Meets World when I watch it. The next day, we headed out to the pier at Charlotte Beach on Lake Ontario. The heat was intense and we didn't last long, but here are some shots of mom, grandma, and Adam at the beginning of the pier:

Adam doing his best Popeye imitation

Love the hat, grandma!

Our quiet relaxing vacation didn't last much longer because Wende, Kurt, and their four boys got back into town on Tuesday (they went away for the 4th). Then the excitement began! The next few days, involved playing with energetic little boys, sitting in the shade with grandma and grandpa, going to Sonnenberg Gardens, and eating at various burger joints. For some reason, there are a lot of them around this town. Here are some of my fav shots of the boys:

Pretty much anytime I went to take a picture of my dad, this is what I saw. :)

I met this little guy for the first time and he's just about the cutest thing ever. Check out those leg muscles!

The boys liked to steal my camera. This is Owen's picture of Connor...it's probably the best one I have of Connor aka "The Puppet Master."

This is pretty much the shot I got whenever I tried to take a picture of Owen. He has the cutest personality! And no, I'm not biased.

Aiden took this picture himself. Love that cheesy grin!

My cousin Emilie and her two darling girls came into town on Thursday to see the church sites, go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant, and see everyone. It was so fun to have so much family all together in Rochester - a rarity! Of course, the kids had a great time together and I got to take Adam to see the pageant for the first time. The little girls gave Adam and I a nice break from playing transformers non-stop with the boys, although the tables turned when, Aiden came looking for someone to be Megatron. I volunteered since everyone else was downstairs and Adam was beat. Instead of readily agreeing to this, Aiden looked at me and said, "well, I've had a lot of time with you...." He then proceeded to reject my offer and went to find Eden. Ouch. The break-up talk hurts even when it comes from your five-year old nephew.

Adam and I in our yearly photo at the Sacred Grove.

The whole gang at pageant. This was definitely a trip highlight.

I loved this pic of Wende playing with all the kids!

So, we finally get back to our house and reality and then three days later, Tianna and Liam arrived from Phoenix. They stayed with us for three weeks before we helped them move to Denver. Collin came the last week. We loved having them with us, even though it was a little crazy helping them get ready to move. Liam is quite the character. He basically had it figured out from day one that I would do whatever he wanted. He also has inherited my mom's love of shoes:

You may have to enlarge this pic to see his eyelashes! They are to die for! This kid could make millions with Latisse! We're so happy that things are going well for them in Denver. We also had a great time staying with my cousin Amber and her kids, and with Adam's grandma! Sadly, I never had my camera handy so you will have to just imagine the joy!

I'm basically out of steam for the rest of this update. Maybe my birthday, the tomatoes, etc will have to wait for a few more days. Let's see if I can get back that quickly!

Self-Improvement

2010-06-23T21:11:00.001-07:00

Yes, we're back. All I can say is that the key to self-improvement is never giving up. I'm only a failure if I never do another blog post right? So, wow, June. It's really okay that I don't update this too much because if I did you might then see how mundane the lives of Adam and Jen really are. I know we give off the impression of glamour and high adventure - do not be fooled. So let's see....we survived a rather tempestuous spring and are now officially into summer. Oh, summer, I love you so much! I would say I wish it could be summer all year round, but being a homeowner has made me appreciate when my yard is covered in a blanket of snow and I don't have to worry about yard work. But right now, loving the sunshine, warm weather, flip flops, shorts, etc.

Adam is done with the video game programming world. There were a lot of perks to that job such as silver passes, discounts on resorts, cruises, vacations, movie sales every six months w

here you could purchase any Disney or affiliated company movie for $7.50, but his hours were so crazy that he couldn't enjoy it. Miraculously, he didn't even have to look for a new job. His old manager contacted him and offered him a permanent position with their company. He was a contractor before which is why he left in the first place. He's much happier now and gets to geek out using all sorts of obscure programming languages. No silver passes and apparently the air-conditioning makes for arctic conditions, but his vending machines take debit cards, they have a pop corn machine and a pizza-cooking vending machine and he gets every other Friday off if he chooses to do nine hour days. Nice. Plus, he doesn't have to wear nylons. Lucky!

Next - right before Adam quit, we went to the Oregon coast with his family. It was so nice to have a long weekend away! Adam's parents rented a beach house near haystack rock in Cannon Beach. It's so pretty there! We went on runs every morning, read a lot, watched movies. went to Astoria and on a nice hike, and ate lots of Tillamook cheese curds and chocolate covered pomegranates. I really wish I had some now. I already posted a bunch of pics from last year's trip and since we were at the same house, they're pretty much the same, but here are a few good ones:

I took this one on our hike. It's so much more impressive in person, but still pretty cool.

The Ard clan with the exception of Adam's dad who is taking the picture. I have great in-laws!

Adam and I on top of the Astoria Column which you'll see below. I love Adam's face - he always gets caught mid-expression in pictures. That usually happens to me, too, but I look more cartoonish when it happens, which is why those pictures never show up here.

This is the Astoria Column (?). To be honest I can't remember if that's the actual name or something I made up, but it is a column and it is also in Astoria so.....You can take stairs to the top, which reminded me of being in Italy a little. I miss Italy!

I really need to keep a travel journal! I think this is the mouth of the Columbia River with the bridge going over to Washington. At least I finally know how to pronounce Wilamette.

So, I also want to mention that Adam and I attempted a little tomato and basil container garden. Things were going great until a nice wind storm and some really cool temps almost decimated them. I'm not sure they'll make it. I'm hoping for the best. They're starting to feel like children to me, which I guess fills the void until my own finally decide to make an appearance, but kind of weirds me out. If I blog about having a nice Caprese salad later this summer, you'll know that we got at least something out of it. I just don't know!

Now I'm just looking forward to our visit to see my parents in July and when Collin and Tianna come and stay with us at the end of the month! Does anyone else want to come and stay with us? You're always welcome at Casa Ard. We'll introduce you to Friday Night Lights. We are addicted.

Quarterly Report - I know, I'm bad

2010-03-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Warning - this is a long post. You may want to stop reading now. I meant to blog at least a couple of times a month, but a couple of times a quarter is okay, too, right? This first quarter of 2010 is all about love and maybe birthdays, too. Love of family, friends, and yes, even a few material objects. Let's start with January:

One of the things that I'm most grateful for about going to BYU is the super, ultra, fabulous friends I made there. My French friend/roommate Rachel was in town the first week of January and I got to meet her, and her mom, and her cute kids for lunch. Rachel and I became friends in French class our Freshman year. She is partially responsible for my now horrible French pronunciation. Many years later, she was also one of my roommates in Salt Lake. She is one of the funniest and coolest cats I know. Thanks for lunch!

My cute nephew Connor and his personable dad, Kurt had birthdays! I'm so glad these two guys are part of our family. Connor can melt my mother's heart just by looking at her. I think it's the blue eyes. Really, he looks like he should be more my baby than Wende's. I offered to take him off her hands, but she said no. One of the things I like best about my brother-in-law, Kurt, is how easily he can provoke my sister - it's awesome. Sorry, Wende, but it is entertaining.

There's only one other thing that I really fell in love with in January. As part of my Christmas present to myself, I ordered a pair of leopard print heels. This is something that one has to do when one works where I do. There is a frump factor when you have to wear nylons everyday. It has to be battled diligently. These shoes really hurt after 8 hours, but the pain is worth it!

February: My dad has a birthday! I wish I could have been there for this one, too. I know that other people may argue this point, but I really do have the best dad. He's never been one of those distant father types. He tells his children he loves them all the time. That has always meant so much to me. He's fun to talk to. He used to dance around the kitchen when my mom wasn't around making up songs for us kids about the cold cereal we were eating, but he will deny it if you ask him about it. He has a stage presence and, if he chooses, a voice like thunder that has scared many a deacon in our ward. I think some of those boys are still afraid of him, but really, he's a marshmallow. The smart people figure that out. Happy birthday, Dad!

Another old friend comes to town! This time, it's Ingrid. Lis and I met her during our junior year at BYU. We bonded over the Sound of Music, slurpees, and salt and vinegar potato chips - a lasting bond. She wrote me a soliloquy once - that should really say it all. I love that girl. I love the types of friends who you don't talk to for months and months or even years, but when you see them it was like you were never apart (except for the whole two kids thing). She brought Camila and Henry with her. Oh, the eyes on these children!

Adam's grandma has her 80th birthday! Her children threw a surprise party for her and I was cursing myself for not bringing a camera. She looked so happy when she came through the door and saw everyone. On the invitation for her party, they put a lovely picture of her when she was really young. I was remarking to Adam on what a nice picture it was and then I said, "We both have such pretty grandmothers! Don't you think our grandma's are so pretty?" He said he didn't feel comfortable analyzing the attractiveness of his or my grandmother.

Then, as a symbol of our love for one another, Adam and I got iPhones at the end of February. This is a huge upgrade for Adam and I, who have often been mocked for our outdated phones. Mock not, world. I knew that Adam was the one for me when we realized we had matching Nokia brick phones in 2007. I'm now in love with my iPhone as well. Do you realize I can play the Oregon Trail on this thing!?! Love it.

March: Adam has a birthday! He doesn't like to make a big deal out of his birthdays so I had to content myself with a family party on Saturday and making him a birthday hat, which he was a good sport about wearing upon request. His actual birthday was yesterday. He's been working so much lately that Sunday's are usually the only day he has off. We had so much fun just hanging out and doing nothing...and eating the left over birthday pies. I love him the

most.

A BCW reunion! For the first weekend in March I got to hang with not one, but three of the best friends a girl can have. Lis, Kim, and Abby were my roommates my senior year at BYU. We all live close to each other except for Abby, who came into town for a week and oh, what times we had. We are older and wiser than we were (that is particularly true in my case), but I think we're just as much fun. I'm sure that Kim's baby, Lily, thought so...

Things yet to come - my sister has a birthday! Born on St Patrick's Day. It's a shame we have no Irish blood. I wish I were going to be there for her birthday, too. Why aren't NY and UT closer!? Happy Birthday, Wende. I love you, too!

Was this a little sappy? I don't think of myself as a sappy person, but really, other than the aforementioned happenings, my life during these dark, dreary months of winter is pretty boring. I am so not a winter person! The older I get, the more aware I am of how difficult life can be for me and the people around me. Isn't it lucky that there is also so much to compensate for those hard times?

Airy Voices

2010-01-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

"He is ne'er crowned with immortality who fears to follow where airy voices lead." John Keats said that - did anyone catch the movie "Bright Star" this year? If you haven't seen it, check it out on Netflix or however you view movies. Warning: It's sad, but so, so beautiful! And if you haven't guessed yet, it's about the life of John Keats. This is not a quote from the movie, but one I actually read a long time ago that was quoted in the L.M. Montgomery novel, "Emily Climbs." If you've read any L.M. Montgomery, we'll probably be friends or at least we'll have something to talk about. Anyway, I've always been intrigued by the quote. What exactly are these airy voices? Are they the random, beautiful thoughts/inclinations that swiftly enter and leave one's mind? How do I follow them when they pass so quickly? Does this mean I need to be more spontaneous? I'm going to factor this into my new year's resolutions once I make them, which will hopefully be relatively soon as it's New Year's Day.

So, the new picture at the top of my blog is a picture of Adam and I in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. We went there the first week of November in part to celebrate our second anniversary. Yes, we made it two years! Now can I start giving out marital advice or do I still ne

ed more experience? I meant to blog about this sublime, am-I-really-here trip that we took, but I got busy. Sorry - I should have a better excuse, but I don't. If you'd like to view the photos I took with my running commentary, view here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/zundelje/ItalyTripNov2009?feat=directlink

We went to Florence for four days and to Venice for two days. It was my first European experience and I loved every minute of it. The highlights for me: our nightly gelato runs, walking through the Sienese Duomo, and seeing Michelangelo's David. I loved all three cities we stopped in, and I can't wait to go back!

But this post is not about Italy. It's not even a catch-up post, really, or at least I didn't intend it to be. It's more just a friendly, "hi, it's been awhile" post. We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday run. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love the long weekends and vacation days that allow me to catch my breath after busy work deadlines and Christmas parties. I have mixed feelings about Christmas parties this year, especially when I essentially had three work Christmas parties this year. Another potluck - really? I also love the feeling on New Year's Day when you realize that the holiday craziness is past and that normal routines will set in again. I like routine...For awhile. I like making new year's resolutions. Starting today, Adam and I are giving up refined sugar - again. I want to last at least a month. I'm putting this in my blog post as to document the start and create greater accountability. But I have just one question. Does today count? It is a holiday after all.

So, for Christmas this year, I got a new nephew and new experience in building snow caves. Adam is reliving his Boy Scout past this week. We've built caves in our yard and in Adam's parents' yard. The one in his parents' yard is over 6' and has not been fully excavated yet. I have a feeling I know what the rest of my day will hold. Mom and Dad, here are some pictures from the last little while:

Christmas Day 2009 - note the copious amounts of snow outside

My first gingerbread house ever - mine is the far left and also the most structurally unstable

Adam's brother, mom, and sister creating their masterpieces

Adam in the snow cave in our yard

Adam and Jen preparing to build the second snow cave - note the head flashlights, a present from Adam's mom. Adam looks like he could rob a bank

As you can see, our Christmas decorations really added something to a drab living room that I've been meaning to decorate. I'm really going to miss them!

Blah, blah, blah

2009-09-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of recaps - it's like when you get behind in your journal and then feel like you need to do a massive update so as to correctly record history, but then you don't want to write in journal because it will take to long. Can you tell I'm not much of a journal writer? Or like when you have a good friend you want to call, but you feel like if you do, it will be a three-hour phone conversation because it's been so long and who has that kind of time unless you're sixteen and talking to a boy you like? Of course, nobody is requiring me to do an update in my journal, stay on the phone for three hours when I call them or recap my entire summer on this blog - it's all in my mind. So, I'm going to ignore my mind and just throw out my favorite pics from July and August - here we go!

My cousin Devin got married at the beginning of July. Since all of the other pictures I have of Adam and I were taken with me extending my arm out with my camera, I thought I'd include one where that wasn't happening.

Here's the wedding party in all their splendor, smiling as though they haven't been taking pictures for hours...

This is my cute grandma eating an ice cream cone at the wedding. She told me to delete this picture. How could I possibly?

This little guy and his mom and dad left us in mid-July. See the bottom of this post for a video of Tianna and her good friend Candace boxing it out the night before they left. After witnessing this, I will never challenge Tianna to a fight. It was a sad, sad morning when they left and I cried myself back to sleep (it was 5:30 AM). We miss you guys!

I consoled myself by forcing Adam to let me take a picture of him like this. This was after a Sunday afternoon nap and I couldn't let that hair go to waste. It's hard to tell but he's wearing a leather jacket. He's like a taller, brunette Billy Idol. Well maybe not Billy Idol but you know what I mean.

July was definitely a wedding month - shouldn't that be June? Nicole got married - woohoo! She was a beautiful bride and this was the first wedding I've ever been to where the groom's cake was an iPod. I should've taken a picture of that!

Since my birthday was on a Monday, we celebrated all weekend long....and into the next week. This picture was taken Saturday night at Sugar House Park - we had a picnic. Sunday, Adam's mom cooked an amazing dinner for me, Adam's dad, and Ben since we all have birthday within like a week and a half. It's an intense time in the Ard Family. Monday, Adam and I went to an amazing Italian restaurant and then...

This was taken on my actual birthday (August 24th - mark your calendars) as proof that I've really matured...

Still my actual birthday. This was what the sky looked like driving home - not to brag, but this was taken from a moving car. Can you see the penguin? I took it as a good omen for this next year of Jen. Penguins are lucky, right?

Hooray for extended birthday celebrations! I love celebrating for a week. We had a great time alienating the other restaurant patrons.

Rest of NY Trip

2009-08-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

So, maybe some people are wondering, why does Jen have to try and update the last four months? Well, it's partly because I took a million pictures that I feel I should do something with. I'm not really sure about other reasons other than it seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm getting kind of bored with the immediate past - I may run out of steam soon. It's like the time I decided that I was going to get a head start on writing my memoirs during the summer of 2005. It seemed like a good idea. I have a head crowded full of memories starting from about the age or two or three. Why not jot some down on paper and maybe create some more room in my brain to memorize more Top 40 songs? Anyway, I was maybe a little too detailed at first. I filled at least 10 pages in a notebook and only got to age four. I got a little discouraged and gave up the attempt, although one day I'll get back to it. I'd like to note that the discouragement may be partially due to the mocking tone that my roommate Lis employed whenever she would tell people what I was doing.

So, to finish with the NY trip, I wanted to include some shots from one of my very favorite places - the church sites in upstate NY. Do you know how beautiful upstate NY is in the summer? Some of you do, but for those of you who don't, I will simply say that there is a reason that Rochesterians brave those bone-chilling winters and continue to live there. Adam and I went to the Hill Cumorah and the Sacred Grove. It was a perfect summer day and surprisingly not too hot. We had a nice, peaceful stroll through the grove. This was my second time going there with Adam. I took him there right before we got engaged and so it was fun to recall that time as we walked around. Next we drove over to the hill. As we were walking around the monument at the top of the hill, we saw this black and white cat just lounging in the shade, looking like it owned the place. It soon got up and started following us around - maybe the cat is employed for security?

After we finished visiting the site and headed home, the heavens opened up and it rained the rest of the day. We stopped at Wegmans for lunch and soon after headed over to my sisters ho

use for some Pontillo's pizza. If we had been able to stop for some ice cream at LuGia's, then this may have been the most perfect day possible. I have to include the two pics - I overlooked them in my last post and they're my favorite. Can you see why I'm such a proud aunt?

This is Aiden's smile every time you take his picture.

I had my finger on the flash when I took this of Owen, but look at those brown eyes!

They're lots of fun. Here are my shots of the grove and the hill. Visit if you can!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2009-08-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

Should there be an apostrophe in the title of this post? Lisa? I think you're my Shakespeare expert so if you still check this blog, I'm counting on you. So, yeah, I made it to my June update and it's only August! Woot! Tia Juana, you may just be able to read about July in September - no promises though. I'm all about the shout outs tonight. How about this one: Hey Wende, just because you're with child and you have three little boys to chase around, doesn't mean you can just neglect your blog. What? Like you're busy? I mean, I thought I was bad. Who wants to hit me yet? No one? I could go all night. August is my birthday month and that means that I get to be a diva. Hey Jess and Rachel, what is this come-to-Utah-and-don't-call-Jen-or-Lis-while you're-here-business? You can blame family obligations all you want, but the next time around, I expect to hear from you. Do NOT mess with me. I am almost 31 (does snap in z formation in the air). No one gets to mention that last fact but me.

This blog post should really be titled, "A Lack of Focus." To the task at hand: June. I know that I was alive in June and that I did more than just go and visit my family back east, but I am seriously drawing a blank. At work, my job revolves around a series of three approving committees that meet every single week. That means that I have three weekly deadlines that I am constantly having to meet. The one thing that keeps me from going crazy is the fact that the committees break from mid-June until August and then for most of the month of December. This makes mid-June feel like salvation and July feel like happiness. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I probably spent most of June reveling in my lack of things to do. I took long lunches, I left early, Adam and I sometimes slept in and got there a little late. One day, encouraged by Tianna, Adam and I bought a slip and slide. It turns out that those things aren't really as fun when you're an adult; however, they can be refreshing if you just use them as a place to sun bathe.

Then along came June 16th. Adam and I were discussing when we should go to see my parents and sister. We were thinking July, but then Adam told me that he couldn't leave until after the 20th, which is right when I start to get busy again, preparing for July. What a quandary! Then, Adam said, "what about next week?" Huh. What about next week? To make a longer story shorter, we bought tickets that next day and were on our way by Saturday. I am not usually that spontaneous - ask anyone. We had a great time! I love visiting my parents. They are seriously the best hosts. They go out of their way to make people feel comfortable and welcome, and they have more food than anyone I know. Plus, I am addicted to my nephews. Adam and I slept in, watched movies, went on multiple ice cream runs, visited the church sites in Palmyra and played with the kiddies to our hearts content. I went on my second zoo trip this year. Who knew?

These pics do not show up as well in this format. Let's try these:

Out of time! I'm sorry I only take pictures of my nephews. Next post will contain non-nephew photos.

May

2009-07-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

So now here's my recap for May. To be honest, it's kind of a blur. The tree in our front yard bloomed. We celebrated three birthdays - Adam's sister Jenny (although we really celebrated when were all in Oregon), Adam's sweet mom, and Liam's first birthday. Since Liam's party was at our house, I only have pictures from that celebration. He greatly enjoyed his cake:

Of course there was also Mother's Day and Collin, Tianna, Adam, Amber and Ben (Adam's younger brother and sister) and I cooked dinner for Adam's mom. I think we overdid it as far as how much food needed to be cooked, but it was really fun to host it at our house. We need a bigger table, but I did finally use the cloth napkins I registered for.

We also had a fun Memorial Day spending time at Hogle Zoo with Liam and Tianna. It was my first visit to the zoo since 1987. I have decided that going to the zoo makes me feel both good and bad. It's fun to see the animals up close, and I know that they were raised in captivity and don't know any different, but still...Would you like shrieking children around you every time you ate and went to the bathroom? Anyway, I did bring my camera that day and yes, I'm subjecting you to those photos as well.

Oregon - the rest of our trip

2009-07-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Wow! This font is looking really big as I'm drafting this post. I hope it's not quite as big on my blog. If so, please note that Jen recognized its abnormally large size but was too lazy to find a way to change it. So - it's like July 26th. I have had so many ideas for blog posts/pictures since my last post in April and guess what? I can't remember half of the ideas, although I'm sure they would have made anybody who still reads this blog laugh/cry, but I still have the pictures. I never finished adding the rest of my pictures from the Oregon Coast when we were there with Adam's family and you're going to see them now:

This was the view from the beach house we stayed out. I loved looking out at seeing the coast every morning! This is Haystack Rock. Does anybody need me to explain why I was possessed by a constant desire to watch Goonies while we were on vacation? If so, see me after class....

Every morning, Adam and I would try to get up for low tide so that we could walk around the rocks and tide pools. The getting up early was no small feat for either of us - just ask my co-workers or anyone who's ever known Adam. It was so worth it though!

I went a little crazy taking pictures of all of the starfish and anemones that we saw on the rocks and in the tide pools so I thought I'd include one and spare you the rest.

Yes! The one sunny day with blue sky we had! We even waded in the water for about 5 mins and that was about all I could take. We bought some cheap kites had a blast flying them on the beach. I should have gotten a picture of the kites - the most hideous I've ever seen...

Here's Adam holding on to his kite and the demonstrating the reflection capabilities of his jacket. We were lucky enough to catch this gorgeous sunset - sorry you get me in the picture with the sunset.

We had such a great time with Adam's family! Thanks again!

April Showers

2009-04-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Oh my. It's been awhile. If I'm not mistaken, today is the last day of April - how time flies. I've noticed that the older I get, the quicker time goes. That seems unfair. Maybe if I had a shorter commute or got up earlier in the morning, it wouldn't feel that way. Maybe if I organized my time and used something like a planner, it wouldn't feel that way. But I'd have to find the time to either make or buy a planner and if I don't already have one, how will I set aside the time to do that? Also, I'm telling you right now that the getting up earlier in the morning will only happen sporadically. I don't have kids to wake me in the morning and I'm going to make the most of that. So....what have Jen and Adam been doing? This will not be in order of importance:

- Killing weeds in our yard with copious amounts of weed-killing lawn fertilizer

- Driving to our places of employment

- Working at our places of employment

- Doing stuff for our church callings

- Doing laundry

- Reading: Adam - Huck Finn, programming books, Uncertainty

Jen - The White Tiger, Harry Potter (again - I know it's nerdy), The Road

- Replacing the alternator in Adam's car - that was an awesome little surprise

- Mentally spending our kick-a&% tax return

- Planning a trip to Italy (we're really going to do it this time)

- Watching Lost every Wednesday and bemoaning the fact that we got sucked into it

- Watching the Office and 30 Rock on Thursday

- Eating Adam's mom's delicious Easter dinner

- Wishing my mom and dad a happy anniversary (thanks for getting married!)

- Trying to stick to some sort of exercise plan (tonight it was a power walk)

- Making fools of ourselves over Liam

- Waiting to see where Collin goes to law school

- Spending five wonderful days with Adam's family in Portland & Cannon Beach!

So, yeah, that's what we've been up to! I'm going to conclude with my pics from day one of the Oregon trip. Adam and I flew in on Thursday night and spent the night at his sister Jenny's apartment. On Friday, we went and hiked Multnomah Falls. Then we had lunch, drove by the house where he spent his adolescence, and met up with the rest of his family to go to the Tulip Fest and then shopping at the outlets. The hike almost killed me, but it was so worth it! Dad - enjoy!

2009-03-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to be better about updating my blog so as to be the favorite daughter. Here's an update about the last two weeks in Jen and Adam's world:

Major Event #1: Adam's Birthday

What a beautiful day! Saturday the 14th was warm and sunny. We hosted a little birthday lunch in Adam's honor with his immediate family and Collin (who was going solo while Tianna visited family in AZ). It was my first hosting event in the new house and since it consisted of pizza and Marie Callender's pie, I'd say it was a success. I think this may have been Adam's favorite present:

No - that's not an announcement. I just realized that might be misleading. We got his brother Ben a Disney Princess Diary for Christmas this year and he decided to exact his revenge. Sigh.

Another year older. I really can't believe that Adam used to look like this:

What a handsome sandwich!

Major Event #2: Wende's Birthday/St Patrick's Day

I couldn't be with her on her birthday of course, but it sounded like a great day. I really can't express how much I love and admire my big sister. I think that about 60% of who I am comes from growing up with her playing "Carol and Diana" and "What's for Lunch," making up and acting out plays such as "The Death of the Mailman in the Kitchen," begging her to tear herself away from her book and play Barbies with me. That's just the tip of the iceberg. I love our relationship now and how we can talk about anything and everything and frequently do! Happy Birthday, Kitten!

I tried to take part in some sort of celebration for Wende and St Pat and and so we went to my friend Nicole's annual Leprechaun Frolic. Nicole needs to do event planning. Her parties are amazing and she doesn't lack in enthusiasm:

That about does it for major events. The rest of the time has been spent working, doing our taxes, house cleaning inside and out, etc, etc, etc. We just found out this morning that Adam gets to teach Gospel Doctrine and I am the new RS secretary. Yeah, third time's a charm - I apparently didn't get it right the first two times and still need to grow in this calling. We'll see how that goes. I'm reading Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier again. I love that book. I've read it like a dozen times and it never gets old to me. Mrs Danvers is the creepiest of housekeepers and I can relate so much to the awkward, gauche heroine without a name. If you've never read it, do. If you don't read, the movie isn't bad either. I'd like to conclude this with the latest Liam pics. He has definitely perfected his stare. Until the next time I post - let's hope it's before April.

Beware the Ides of March

2009-03-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

That title has nothing to do with this post. My sister and I were discussing that phrase and neither on of us knew what it meant. If anyone can tell me, I'll send them a candy bar...or something like that. If anyone actually reads this blog post it will be miraculous since my dad informed me that if I wait this long between posts, no one will check my blog and I won't have any more friends and I'll be alone at 80 years old. I always thought I go my dramatic streak from my mom...hmmm. So, okay, life has changed a little bit since January. For starters, my brother and sister moved into our house with us in February. They're between gigs right now since Collin is waiting to hear from law schools. It's been great to have them. I was a little nervous, but it's so fun to see them when we come home from work, etc. Since they will most likely not be staying here for law school, it's also great that we get to spend the last few months they're around seeing them every day. Liam is another bonus - so cute. And so entertaining in church!

What else? There were some lay-offs in Adam's office to remind us that no one is invulnerable to a really bad economy. Luckily, he made it through and it doesn't look as though there will be any more in the near future. Whew!

I am excited for spring and, this is for you, Wende, am excited to celebrate Adam's AND my sister's birthdays this month. Hooray for birthdays! If anyone has any suggestions for good things to plant in your yard for a dry climate, let me know. My mother will stare at this sentence in disbelief, but I'm so excited to work in my yard! Last but not least, after a long delay....here are some pics of the new house - we still love it!

So this is what our house looks like from the back yard (I should have stood a little further back).
Note the extremely random little look out balcony from the main floor. Adam and I have decided that this will be where our kids will go for "time-out." We may also use it to host neighborhood theatricals...I'm thinking Romeo and Juliet balcony scene - sans cleavage.

And a few shots of our cute back yard. I just realized I really don't have any of the interior from after we moved in. I'll work on that...

Adam's birthday is this Saturday! It's cool that I'm younger than him...

First Things First....

2009-01-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

You know those movies where they try to do too much and everything seems really chaotic and disjointed? This is one of those posts. We've got a lot of ground to cover, people!

Item One - Cindy's Wedding

My dear friend Cindy got married in December. Our other dear friend Jess couldn't be there, but I promised Jess I would post some pics so that she could see what a gorgeous bride Cindy was. Here we go:

The pictures don't do her justice (mainly because they're so dark). She was a beautiful bride!

Item Two - We are all moved into our house and unpacked! I'd show you pics, but I still need to take some and we've been far too busy shoveling snow this past week for me to feel like it. I will soon. We're loving the house and all the space. I'm cleaner when it's my own house - go figure.

Item Three - Christmas in Ro-cha-cha with my family! Everybody made it out there this year and it was so wonderful to be able to spend so much time with everyone. Now I get to play the proud auntie once again:

I hope my dad's not mad that I included him too, but it's a cute one of Connor and I felt particularly satisfied with the set of John Wayne movies I gave my dad this year for Christmas (which he is holding in the picture). Many moons ago, my family and I were getting ready to go somewhere, and I was told to go downstairs and let dad know we were ready to go. He was watching a John Wayne movie downstairs and I just went over and turned the TV off without a thought. He was extremely indignant and said, "What did you do that for? I wanted to hear what that old Indian had to say!" He can now hear all the wise words from that old Indian and can even rewind them.

The last one isn't the cutest one that I have of Aiden, but he was such a fun playmate while we were back there, and everytime I look at this picture, I just miss him! Anyway, it was a grand old time. We enjoyed every minute of pizza and wings, garbage plates, keeping the boys entertained, Christmas, etc.

Item Four - New Year's! We had a great time with Adam's family once we got back into town. His sister Jenny was able to stay a few days longer so we were able to see her too! We had the best chicken cordon bleu I've ever had and some nice tennis and boxing sessions on the Wii. I won at Scattegories. It's no big deal.

Whew! That was a lot. For those of you who were able to make it through this post, I thank you for your time. After the holiday rush, it's nice to get back to a routine and make some empowering resolutions for the new year. I recently rediscovered Dolly Parton's "Light of the Clear Blue Morning" song. Years ago, I used to listen to it when I needed a pick me up. It's maybe a little cheesy, and something I shouldn't admit to liking but I feel like I could hike Mt Everest whenever I listen to it. It was a good way to start the new year and you should listen to it on youtube or something for a quick fix. I feel no shame. I also like Timbaland's "The Way I Are." It's called being well-rounded - sheesh.

I'm Pregnant!

2008-12-09T21:38:00.001-08:00

Just kidding. I'm NOT pregnant. I'm also not quite as skinny as I used to be, but just to set the record straight - no pending babies here, although I do plan regularly to kidnap my brother's baby once he's no longer nursing. You would too if you saw this kid smile. I digress. The real news is.....drumroll.......we bought a house! We're moving in this week! It's so exciting! I can't use enough exclamation points!!!! !!!! !!!! See what I mean!?! Needless to say, we're very happy although now completely debt-ridden. This was us last night after the necessity of buying a fridge and a washer and dryer:

And yes, I do get that dressed up while appliance shopping. You dress for success, you know? On a side note, washing machines are looking more and more like those escape pods on Star Wars. Is there a reason for that? Should I be afraid? I'll post some pictures soon before my sister kills me. I'll also have some other updates. Spoiler alert - on Sunday, Adam and I saw Santa Clause's real mode of transportation. Love to you all!

12-hour work day

2008-11-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

Ah, November. I have so many mixed feelings about you. Election day - I felt proud to be able to exercise my right to vote. Veterans Day - another patriotic holiday. Thanksgiving - LOVE it! Spending time with family, having a delicious meal, and did I mention two whole days off of work? I can't wait! On the flip side, this is my busiest month of the year as far as work goes. I've been doing web training sessions with international areas and today, Adam and I left the house at 5 AM so I could be to work by 5:30. I made it on time (no small miracle) and then worked till 5 PM. So, I'm tired and loopy and blaming November as if it's the cause of all my problems. It's not, but have you ever noticed how as soon as November 1st comes around, the number of cloudy days increases exponentially? I have. It's just weird. On top of that, there's the whole you-can-never-count-the-weather thing and the landscape begins to look really dead. I thought of another plus though: Adam and I busted out the hot chocolate on Sunday and have enjoyed a nice comforting late night snack every night since. This was done in spite of the fact that one night, I turned the AC on because it was too hot in our apartment. Like I said, mixed feelings. Maybe it's the lack of sleep.

A year and one day......

2008-10-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

So, Yesterday was my one-year wedding anniversary! I really cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by. What did we do to celebrate our anniversary? We had all sorts of grand plans leading up to it, but since we're looking to buy a house and wanting to save our time-off for a trip to see my family at Christmas, we settled for spending Thursday and Friday at a hotel downtown, dinner at the Melting Pot and lots of sentimental speeches interspersed through out the weekend. ("You're pretty. No, you're pretty! And the like...) Can't you just picture us?

In all seriousness, this past year has been so great and so eye-opening, and I mean that in the best sense! I've learned so much about myself, how I communicate, and what it's like to not always do things my way. It hasn't always been easy, especially since both of us were single adults for more than a decade. There were some things that I thought would be difficult to adjust to (sharing a bathroom with a man, etc) that were surprisingly easy. Who knew that the real challenge would be realizing that the fact that we both speak English doesn't mean that we interpret things exactly the same way? ("So when you say that you're upset, that's like my version of slightly annoyed. It doesn't mean that you want to throw your hairbrush?") Some of you don't know Adam very well. Let me tell you what kind of guy he is:

1) The kind who listens, really listens to everything a person says
2) The kind who thinks before he speaks (I don't always do that well)
3) The kind who would buy a book on Mathematics and another about Gandhi in the same trip
4) The kind who loves to cook with me even when it takes until 9:00 to eat because we can't understand the recipe
5) The kind who doesn't realize he has the nose of a Greek god (that's how I describe it anyway) and isn't vain about his glossy brown curls

Hopefully nobody who reads this is dry-heaving. I'm really more of a private a person when it comes to things I feel deeply, but I wanted to at least say this much. He's great and we've been happy and grateful for the miraculous circumstances that led to one year ago (it might be thanks to my grandma Kate - you just never know). For any of you who may want to relive the joyous day:

http://picasaweb.google.com/zundelje

Nooooooooo!

2008-10-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

This was going to be my weekend to rest. The long anticipated mornings where I could sleep in. The countless hours of leisure (I'm a leisure addict - I don't know what I'll do when I have children). This was my chance to fully heal from my monster cold (still coughing). What did I get instead? Too few hours of sleep last night, and a sore throat! This better be some slight little blip because I live in a semi-arid region of the United States and not an indication that another virus is preparing to stage a full-fledged attack on my already weakened immune system. What happened to Jedi-knight white blood cells? What about my pioneer constitution? Time will tell, I guess, but as Sunday night draws to a close there is one unhappy camper in my house and her name isn't Adam!

On the upside, we've been enjoying lovely Fall weather, there's plenty of apple cinnamon herbal tea for me to drink and our voter registration cards came in the mail this weekend.

What do you think I should be for Halloween? Seriously.

Last pics from NYC, sickness, and Liam!

2008-10-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

So, I got waylaid in my quest to report on my trip to NY. Ravaged by disease is a more accurate description. Some people (ahem, Lis) have teased me in the past for being slightly dramatic when I'm sick. I'm coming to the realization that there might be some truth in this. For example, at the first sign of illness, I go to the grocery store, buy OJ, lots of soup, throat drops, lemons, cold medication, tissues and anything I can think of to help treat symptoms. This time, I was able to send someone else out while I laid on the couch bemoaning my pitiful state. Yes, being married has it's advantages and this is one of them. Poor Adam. I did promise to spoil him rotten after I recovered, which I define as being symptom-free. Since I still have a rather convenient cough, he's still waiting on that promise.....

You'll note that I'm calling him Adam now. My less than clever alias was ruined when, as he pointed out, I forgot to use it in the last post. So, instead of being the simplest form of matter (is that right?), he's a regular old Joe..........except that he's a genius and super awesome.

So, I just don't have the energy to give a real play-by-play of my last day in Manhattan. Suffice it to say, we saved the best for last and spent most of the day in Central Park. It was great! The weather was beautiful! We basked on a blanket in the sunshine for awhile eating a lunch of bread, cheese, fruit and cookies, browsed at a book fair, watched the regular crew of roller skaters as they boogeyed to some music, ate some free Ghirardelli chocolates and roamed around the park. It's nice for these city-dwellers, these pavement junkies, to have their own green space:

I loved those roller skaters! I would have joined them if I could, but I was lacking skates and a cool enough outfit. For those of you who don't get to hang out with my best friend, Liam:

NYC Part Deux

2008-09-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

Soooo...day two of my brief sojourn in Manhattan began at around 10:00 in the morning. Luckily, Abby didn't have to go into work for the rest of the weekend which guaranteed that Lis and I could at least be spared countless wasted hours on the subway. Since we weren't able to get tickets to Mary Poppins on Broadway, and we'd already toured one art museum, today was dubbed "wander-around-and-shop" day. We grabbed some pastries for breakfast and our first stop was the CO Bigelow's Apothecary, which was full of fun things like jasmin mint toothpaste and this perfume that I will probably always regret not buying because it had the most heavenly fragrance. I've already tried to look for it - argh!

We then headed over to Union Square, meandering through a Farmer's Market on the way. I bought Adam a t-shirt, we enjoyed sampling apple cider, and slowly made our way to the Strand Bookstore, which is the home of 18 miles of new, used, rare and out-of-print books. Needless to say we enjoyed our time there. My sister would probably disappear in this store never to be found again. For the sake of her children, I won't ever encourage her to go.

As we were walking, I saw this building that had a hole in the middle of it with smoke coming out. I asked Abby what it was and her answer was, "I think it's art, actually." She couldn't remember what the concept was for it so I did some research later and apparently it is called, Metronome. It's a public artwall, and it's supposed to symbolize the intangibility of time. It does seem rather intangible.....

The next stop was another one of Abby's favorite stores - I can't remember the name, but it was chalk full of old-school candy such as atomic fireballs and these "gourmet" lollypops that I remember classmate of mine selling in high school for fundraisers. If I hadn't already indulged in pastries and an order of sweet potato french fries, I probably would have loaded up in the name of nostalgia. I settled for taking a photo.

We eventually ended up eating panini's at a fun restaurant on the lower east side and heading to Soho where some more serious shopping ensued. I've come to a realization that my pictures aren't all that exciting - mainly street scenes in the neighborhoods we went to, but I love all of the different building facades and just the feel of the city as you walk around.

At this point of the day, Lis and I were beat. Our feet weren't as tough as Abby's NY feet, who by the way, walked around in heels while Lis and I wore the most comfortable walking shoes we had. We discussed walking to see the Brooklyn Bridge, which probably would have been really cool to see and in the end called it quits for a siesta back at the apartment to rest up before going to dinner. Abby suggested this Japanese restaurant, Ippudo, where you can get ramen. All this time, I've been thinking that ramen is the cheap food you buy when you're in college! My bowl was (insert Japanese word for delicious, here)!

We capped off our evening by going to a piano bar to meet some of Abby's friends from grad school. Picture, a super crowded bar, with a piano in the middle and tables all around. There were two men and one sassy lady who would alternate serving drinks and singing numbers like, Son of a Preacher Man and Love Will Keep Us Together while the drunken patrons (except us) sang along with them. We sang ourselves hoarse, and I'm quasi-serious about pursuing a career in piano bar singing - I'm pretty sure that my Son of a Preacher Man was better than Natalie's. Just sayin'...

NYC Trip Part One...

2008-09-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is for you, Dad:

Atom's birthday present to me was trip to New York City with Lis to visit our dear friend, Abby. This is why I really like him. It was our first time apart since we got married, and it was so hard to leave! We sat on the couch before going to the airport and both of us cried like I was going away for a year. Do you think our children will be dramatic at all? Luckily, I was only going away for three days and four nights (counting the red-eye flight), and so we put on a brave face and if you'd seen us part at the airport, you would have thought we were old hats at the whole saying goodbye thing. So, the trip begins....

with a torturous flight that left at midnight, Salt Lake time, and was due to arrive at JFK at 6:15 AM. I am not one of those people who can sleep on an airplane. I think I might have dozed off for a good 7 minutes, and that was about it. We arrived at JFK on-time. Our bags were miraculously the first ones out at the baggage claim and before we knew it, we were in a cab on the way to Abby's apartment. I fell in love with her neighborhood in Greenwich Village with all of its old buildings:

After we crashed for a couple of hours, Lis and I got ready to meet Abby for lunch in the financial district. Abby left us very detailed instructions regarding how to get to the subway and which lines to take. One thing we neglected to take into to consideration: the lines travel both ways. We knew we should be heading downtown, but we neglected to check which train we were getting on and ended up on the upper west side instead if downtown. It took about another half hour to remedy that mistake but eventually we made it. We walked along Wall Street and saw about a million people taking pictures by the stock exchange, and some fun old ships along the water front, but we didn't linger too long. We had decided to go to see the art collection at the Frick mansion. It's a smaller art museum, but with a very eclectic collection. First, we had to get there. It took about an hour longer than planned, and a brief foray into Harlem, but eventually we made it. (We didn't tell Abby about our trip to Harlem - too embarrassed.) The museum was amazing! I partcularly enjoyed the Whistler paintings in the last room that we walked through. Here's one of my favorites:

I finally mastered the subway map on the way back downtown (no small feat in my mind), and we made it to the apartment with no problems. We went to dinner at a Spanish restaurant where they only serve tapas, or appetizers. We tried about a dozen different tapas ranging from grilled quail to pork empanadas. It was fantastic, and after we rolled ourselves home, we promptly hit the sack. Stay tuned (if you care) for Day Two...

Hail to the Chief...

2008-09-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

So, probably like many of you, Atom and I have been absolutely fascinated as we’ve watched the presidential campaigns unfold this year. We can’t get enough of it. We talk about it all of the time when we’re together. I’ve always been interested in politics. Those of you who know me well know that when I was 11 years old, I read a biography about our 41st president - George Herbert Walker Bush, and I loved it. Since that time, I felt a certain kinship with him. I have t-shirts, commemorative coins, photos, newspaper clippings and an autograph. I need to make sure you know that every single item was given to me from someone who knew that I really liked him, and are not the results of my own endeavors! No crazy people here, okay? When he lost his re-election campaign in 1992, I still remember walking into the kitchen the next morning and asking my mom whether he had been re-elected. When she told me no, my heart sank, I was so disappointed! My fascination didn’t end there – I’ve read at least a little bit about every American president, although I can’t say I remember very much about some of them (William Henry Harrison – my mind is blank). My favorites? I would say John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and George H W Bush (duh). I have a profound respect for that office, and the demands of such a position.

I received a forwarded email from a co-worker recently with images of suffragettes such as Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul who fought so hard to give women the right to vote. I’m so grateful for strong, intelligent women who have made my life so much easier through their struggles. I feel like I come from a long line of them myself!

Since this is my blog, and consequently my opportunity to share my voice, I’d like to encourage everyone to not only vote, but to get educated about the different candidates and their positions. Don’t rely on forwards or political commentators, do your own research. Below are two links to get you started, if you haven’t already. I like the CNN one because it’s easy to navigate, but I also tried to find one not affiliated with a news organization – it seems pretty unbiased, but I could be wrong. There are probably better ones than these, and if you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them. Googling a candidate’s name and then going to their campaign website is also a good place to start. Happy hunting!

http://www.issues2000.org/Issues.htm

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/

The Countdown...

2008-08-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ten days from now I will reach a significant birthday milestone - 30. It's weird. I act really melodramatic when I talk about it to other people, like I'm facing impending doom, but that's mostly an act. I don't think it will bother me that much. Here are some reasons why:

1) People have to take you more seriously once you turn 30 - especially at work.
2) I think I've gotten more graceful with age (family members are strictly prohibited from
commenting on this statement) - maybe by age 40, my movements will be so smooth and fluid, I'll be ready to perform at Lincoln Center.
3) I also think that I have more poise than I did ten years ago (close friends are strictly prohibited from commenting on this one).
4) It's a liberating thing to finally face something that society has taught you to dread. It's usually anti-climactic, you wonder what all the fuss was about, and then.....you're free!
5) I doubt that I will feel any different on my actual birthday than I did the day before. To be honest, most days I still feel like I'm about 14 years old and there is that mantra about how you're only as old as you feel....

Aren't you glad I ran through that list? Me too. Now to other things:

This is me killing two birds with one stone. Now y'all can see the new hair cut (for a length comparison see pics below) and how big this new nephew o' mine is getting.

He smiles a ton! He's on my cute grandma's lap right there so he has a lot to be happy about.

I love this picture! He's a lucky great grandson, that's all I have to say.

So I haven't really touched much on the day-to-day lives of Atom and JZ. Let's see...poor Atom is at work right now. The video game he's been working on is due to be released this fall, along with the movie it's based on so that means lots of long hours and no time off til October. My work at the COB continues. Ironically July is my slowest month so I took advantage in small ways: leaving early on Fridays to hang out with friends who also weren't at work, catching a movie or two, etc. All while Atom slaves away. I try to make him feel better by telling him that I didn't have any fun at all and buying him ice cream (the man is an ice cream fanatic) - I think it works sometimes. Don't feel too bad for him though. We've both been able to log some decent poolside hours and we laugh and frolic as often as possible. Two of our favorite hobbies this summer: watching episodes of the West Wing (Bartlett for America!) and YogaBurn (do not try it an hour after eating - not good), and planning our future vacations! Finis.

Name Change

2008-07-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

I had to change the name on this blog. I always had my doubts about it, namely because I've never been hard core (is that one or two words?) and so why even imply it? I actually have a lot of fears. When I worked at my old job, my boss used to tell me that my five biggest fears were spiders, sharks, snakes, bears and long-term relationships. He was right, although I guess I can finally remove long-term relationships from that list. To be honest, I think the moment that Atom fell in love with me was the night of our first date when I told him that if I ever ran for office, one of the highlights of my political platform would be to rid the world of sharks and create jobs at the same time. At least that's when I like to think he fell in love with me. I hope that I haven't offended anyone by my anti-shark stance. I try to view them as a beautiful component of the circle of life and then I read some article about a shark attack in Florida or Australia and I regress. It's rather sad because if I could be anywhere right now, a beach with soft white sand and crystal clear water is at the top of my list. I would still go in a heartbeat. I just wouldn't swim very far out......and never at dusk. That's my advice for the day.

Anyway, I'm not in love with the new name either so if anyone has any suggestions/feedback, I'm all ears. I'm trying to be better at posting on this blog. This week is birthday week for Atom and I. My brother's wife Tianna's birthday is tomorrow (Friday) and Atom's sister's birthday is on Saturday
so we're looking forward to a lot of good family time. I'll get to see my cute new nephew and go to the new Batman movie with Atom's family. Maybe I'll try to give a review next week......

Who says that?

2008-07-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted. I blame the fact that our laptop imploded about a month ago. I also blame my loose grip on reality. There are so many imaginary posts that I do in my head every single day. How am I supposed to remember that I never actually posted about the new shoes I was enraptured about for about a day until I realized they really hurt my feet? Or the the tribute to my lovely friend Ingrid that I had planned after the comments she left on my last post? Be warned, Ingrid...it's coming! The list goes on and on. So here it is, July 13th and now I will get to the meat of this particular post:

I got my hair cut. Not just a trim either - this was a full-blown transformation. My hair used to be well past my shoulders in length. It now barely comes past my chin. After I left the salon, things seemed to go well at first. I liked it, Atom liked it, Lis liked it. I went to work the next morning feeling simultaneously nervous and excited. Would anyone say anything? The first half dozen comments were all very positive. The world is rose-colored. Enter one normally very nice lady from finance:

finance lady: "You got your hair cut."
Me: "Yeah, it was time for a change."
finance lady: "Did you cut it yourself?"

Did I cut it myself? What??? Who says that?! All of a sudden thoughts are swirling around in my head. Does it really look as though I cut six inches of my own hair by myself? Is it because of my cowlick? I know what my hair would look like if I cut it myself because I used to do it all the time when I was about four. Now, I'm pretty sure that this lady did not mean to cause so much angst. Maybe she just didn't know what else to say and is trying make conversation. It gets better about four hours later:

same finance lady: "So, are you trying to look your age?"
Me: Well, since I'm turning 30 next month, no, I hope I don't look exactly my age."
same finance lady: "Some people were talking about your haircut. They think you look older."

Awesome. I look older. Again, not something I want to hear as I exit my 20's. And on top of that, people are talking about my hair out of earshot. Self-esteem plummeting.

You'll be happy to know that I've recovered and really like the new 'do. Like I said, I really don't think she meant any offense and hopefully this will be viewed as the humorous anecdote that I meant it to be. But still......who says that?

Misc.

2008-06-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

Man, what a crazy week! Between my fabulous parents flying in on Tuesday, Atom working SUPER late this week, visiting my brother, sister-in-law and their new baby and celebrating King Kamehameha Day (yes I have to look it up to spell in every time) at work, I am spent, simply spent.

It's so great to have my parents here, though. I went to lunch with them the afternoon they flew in and it was just me and mom and dad. I was so excited thinking about all of the places I could take them, and where did they decide they wanted to go? Crown Burger. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a Crown Burger fan. Those french fries, the special sauce they put on their burgers....I try not to think about how I usually end up feeling after I eat there. Still, I'm a fan. It was just a slightly anticlimactic moment for me to hear their decision after imagining all of the places we could have gone. I digress. As I watch my mom cooking up fabulous meals for my brother and sister-in-law and I listen to my dad showing Atom his latest Linux gadget (I'm sure it has an actual name), I'm reminded of how awesome my parents are and how fortunate I am.

Another highlight? King Kamehameha Day at work. My co-worker brought in dark chocolate Mounds bars, I played the Hawaii 5 0 theme song for every person who entered our workstation - a fabulous day. I am in love with those Dark Chocolate Mounds bars! Buy them! You won't regret it.

Auntie Mame

2008-05-30T17:15:00.001-07:00

I am a very proud auntie today! Not only do I get to claim these adorable tots:

But I now have a new one to worship! His name is Liam (I think - they were undecided for a while), and he was born on May 29th at 4:58 PM. He had a pretty rough time of it and spent the majority of yesterday in the NICU, but he is a fighter! He surpassed everyone's expectations and is doing great. My little brother is a dad! Weird, wild stuff....

2008-05-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so, I've had ambitions of creating a blog for sometime only, I'm kind of a procrastinator so I was really proud of myself the first time I created a blog. Imagine my dismay when at work I find out that my blog page has been blocked due to a suspect key word. I swear I did not intentionally put this questionable word on my blog. I had to think long and hard about what could possibly have caused this problem. Then, my sister kindly pointed out that it could be the alias I gave myself. Who knew that she was more up on urban slang than her only recently married sister? At any rate, this is my second blog attempt and I sure hope you won't judge me. Il faut soufrir pour reussir!