Christmas Letter, 2008

Dear Friends, Family, and Blog Followers,


As I sit here very early on the morning of Christmas Eve, I am filled with the need to put some thoughts down. 2008 has brought more change for my family and me than I ever could have imagined.

January found me living the life of a single career woman, and loving it. I had a job that I loved, good friends to keep me company, and a cute condo with Mr. B. I was content with where I was and not really looking for more.

Then February hit me like a ton of bricks and changed my life forever. After recieving my endowment in the Salt Lake Temple, I had several amazing experiences leading up to me dating the man who had become my best friend.

Even though we'd just begun our relationship in February, we decided in March that we were meant to be together forever.

With April showers came an engagment and plans for a summer (even though I'd always wanted fall) wedding.

May through July were spent fervently planning a wedding, house/apartment hunting, getting ready to share my life with someone else, and making decisions that I thought I'd never have to make... all while trying to have some fun and throwing in a few trips to exotic places like Panguitch and Logan.

August brought me the most life-changing day of all. On August 5th I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Salt Lake temple with the love of my life and be sealed for time and all eternity. We took a fantastic honeymoon in Zion, and rounded it up with an okay trip to Vegas. Then it was back to the daily grind for awhile. Also, this was the month that Maddie moved home. I'm so glad she's back in Salt Lake and we've been able to spend some more time together.

September was another month of growth, just not for me. I had the awesome opportunity to watch Zach prepare for his mission. It was also the month of my best friend, Ally's, wedding. What a great thing it was to see her sealed to her companion for time and all eternity also.

October dawned with more mission plans than ever. On October 15th we took a trip to P-town to drop Zach off at the MTC. It was one of the hardest things we've ever done as a family, but also such a blessing.

With November we started sending and receiving regular mail from Hawaii, and we all loved to hear about Zach's mission adventures. Steve and I were still doing great, and trying out one of the new-found hardships of marriage: which family do we spend the holidays with? Ok, so I did more stressing about it than he did, but it was still a bit of a challenge working it all around my Holiday work schedule.

December has been a blast so far. I've enjoyed watching Steve become more a part of my own family through sharing some of our family Christmas traditions, and the bonding ties of college football. Unfortunately, it's my year to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at work, but we'll work around that and still have a great time celebrating with friends and family.

I'd just like to take a moment and let all of you know how grateful I am for your love and support throughout the past 12 months. They have been fun-filled, emotional, adventure-packed, and crazy... but I wouldn't trade them for any other year in all of time. I have grown so much, and it's because of the support and coaxing of those around me. I learn something new about myself everyday, and I love it!

I am especially grateful for my testimony of the gospel. I know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me, and I know that he sent his son to atone for my sins. I am so in awe of the wonders that he has created, all out of love for us, his children. I love this Christmas season so much and am so grateful for the opportunity I have to think of Jesus maybe a little more often than I normally would. I am grateful for the love that is shown among the people of this earth at this time of year. I am especially grateful for all of the blessings that Steve and I enjoy personally.

This year has been such a journey, and I look forward to all of the new, fun, scary, and exciting adventures that 2009 will bring to me and my little family.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Love,
Annie

Thursday-mania

Thursday seems to be rolling around quicker every week. I'm not quite sure how it works, but there you have it. And now, your regularly scheduled 5...

1. Early Christmas Presents: Steve gave me one of my Christmas presents early this week. It was a beautiful pair of leather gloves lined with cashmere... No more rainbow stripe homeless man gloves. I'm ecstatic.

2. Down East: I bought a great pair of red candlesticks for $3.50 apiece. They're hot.

3. Sweater Dresses: I treated myself to a new dress last week, I've worn it twice since, and recieved multiple compliments every time. Gotta love new clothes.

4. 4-wheel drive: How can you not be grateful for it in the almost-constant dumping of snow we've recieved this week.

5. Christmas Cards: I want more to put on the back of our door. I love recieveing them and hearing about everyone's families.

I hope everyone has something to be thankful for this wonderful Thursday before Christmas.

Tales from Primary... and other stories

So, if you are a follower of this blog you will recall that I was recently called to be the primary chorister of our ward. Well, this past Sunday in church I went to primary to watch the current chorister, pick up some tips, and maybe learn a few names. I hope this Sunday is an omen of things to come in this ward, because I have a few awesome stories.
1. As the children were getting ready to leave primary the presidency announced that they had a little gift for each of the children. One little boy stands up, obviously thrilled and asks, "Is it a Wii?" Apparently they make comments like this all the time, so it's not hard to tell that our ward has money.
2. During sharing time once a month we do a special thing called "Sister Friendly". One of the older women from the ward comes in and shares stories from the Friend magazine with the children. Well, she asked if any of the children knew how to dance or enjoyed dancing. One boy, probably about 8 years old, announces that he can do the worm. Pure awesomeness.
3. During singing time we were letting the kids that were well behaved choose the next song we would sing. We were trying to prod them in the direction of Christmas songs, but that didn't always happen. There was one child who had done particularly well the song before, so he was chosen to pick the next song. He gets all excited and says, "Book of Mormon Stories, because the Book of Mormon is about Jesus!!" Well, we couldn't argue because he had a point, so we sang Book of Mormon stories.

I guess asking for callings was a good thing, because with in 2 weeks we've both received them. Yesterday at church Steve was called to be the assistant ward scout master. So, now that we both have callings with the youth I've figured that their either trying to use it as birth control to make us hold off on kids, or push us in the direction of getting started on a family.
I think I have an addiction to buying Christmas decorations. Everytime we go out to run errands I find a few more on sale and can't help but buy some. Between my need to get a good deal, and my wanting to have a festive house I'm quickly overrunning our little place. Steve doesn't seem to mind, though, so I guess I'll keep it up until he gets annoyed enough to stop me.
And now for some audience participation: Is it wrong to regift things we got for our wedding as Christmas gifts to other people?
I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season!

It's Thursday Time...

Alright, Thankful Thursday, yet again... A few things serious, and a few things silly, this time around.

1. Bishop Flamm... what a great bishop he has been for us! We had tithing settlement on Sunday, and it was really our first chance to sit down and talk with him since we moved into the ward. In our "interview" he helped to calm a lot of the worries I've been having lately, made me feel so welcome in the ward, and offered us some great advice. I look forward to getting to know him better.

2. Christmas music... I always wait until after Thanksgiving to start listening, and every year I anticipate it more. I love the feeling it brings to our home and the feeling it brings to me.

3. Fun socks... I always wear fun socks to work, and patients notice. I like to think it helps brighten their day as well as mine.

4. Candy cane Oreos... Delightfully minty, but not overwhelming.

5. A missionary in the family... I can see how much it is blessing everyone in our family, including those we've "adopted". I can also see how much Zach is changing and growing, even in the short time he's been in Hawaii.

A few other things of note: I got a calling at church on Sunday (finally!). I am now the primary chorister. I am very much looking forward to the new adventure this is going to bring to my life, and for the chance to get to know some of the children of our ward. This calling is going to be a stretch for me, but it just goes to show that the Lord knows what we need, even if it's not always what we think we want. Luckily I know several people that have done this calling and have ideas, visuals, and many other things I can "steal".
Work is finally picking up again, which is strange. Usually we don't have too many patients around this time of year, but there seem to be a lot more sick people right now. Maybe they'll all clear out before Christmas, I'll just have to wait and see.
We've decided to put house hunting on hold for awhile. With Steve's job on the rocks we don't want to fall in love with something we can't have right now. We think we'll probably stay where we are for another 18 months or so. Luckily I'm quite fond of our apartment, and it seems to be working out as a good place for us. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the future holds for us.
I think that about covers it for now. I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season.

I almost forgot!

So, technically it's Friday now, but since I haven't been to bed yet it still feels like Thursday to me. So, your regularly scheduled Thankful Thursday:

1. Menu planning: So, this week Steve and I decided to plan our dinner menus for the week (for the nights I'm home anyway), and then only grocery shop for the things we needed. We not only ended up spending less money, but each of the nights we cooked we had leftovers that Steve has been able to eat on the nights that I work. I think this is going to be a good plan.

2. My car: I know, silly, and not so significant in the long run, but I don't know where I'd be without it. Oh wait, yes I do... on the bus.

3. A library card: I got my library card when I was 5. I've been using the same one every since. It makes me glad that I can read a lot of fabulous books and not have to buy them.

4. My education: Without it we might be in a desperate situation right now. Because of it, we live pretty comfortably for newlyweds, and will still be ok if Steve loses his job.

5. My health: I've been very lucky to have excellent health my whole life. No broken bones, no major illness, no surgeries. I hope it continues that way.

Alright, I hope everyone else had a very Thankful Thursday. Stay tuned for more updates...

Is your life really that bad? Really?

Okay, children, buckle your seatbelts for a bit of a rant. I don't use my blog to vent often, but there are some things lately that have really been bothering me.

1. Christmas right after Halloween: Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas just as much as the next person. My little apartment is stuffed to the gills with Christmas cheer, but I have a problem with completely skipping Halloween. I don't want to hear Christmas music, I don't want to buy Christmas decorations, I don't want a Christmas tree... Until we've had Thanksgiving. I say that the day after Thanksgiving, anything is fair game. I just have a problem with the so-called Christmas season creeping up earlier and earlier every year.

2. Inconsiderate drivers: I understand, sometimes you just get "in the zone" but really, is it so hard to check your blind spot...not follow right on my tail...merge normally...etc? Are you really in so much more of a hurry than me that you can't wait the extra two seconds it would take to get in behind me rather than in front? I know, I'm not the most patient person in the world, but sometimes waiting at a red light isn't such a bad thing.

3. And now, the big one: I have little tolerance for people who complain about their situation but do nothing to fix/better it. For example: I have a coworker who, I'll admit, has some challenges in her life. She's 40, married, has 4 gorgeous kids (her oldest, 19, is autistic), has a nice house in a small town, a good job, and yet she still finds things to complain about. Her husband lost his job two months ago, and rather than looking for a new one she just comes to work and whines about his unemployment. She's pregnant, and rather than just take it and roll with it (not like she can do anything about it at this point anyway) she just complains that she's too old to be having a baby, her kids are all teenagers, blahblahblah. Plus, it's her own fault she's pregnant because she and her husband went on vacation and she forgot to take her birth control. Uh, duh! There are ways to prevent such things! Anyway, I just get sick of hearing the complaints, "woe is me", "my life is so hard" crap. Is your life really that bad? Really? Sometimes we just need to take what we are given and make the best of the situation... and if you can't do that, change your situation. It may take some work that's a little harder than complaining, but I can guarantee you'll be happier with the outcome.

In other news: Life is going well. I got our apartment all decorated for Christmas and our tree up. Yeah, it's a fake tree, but really that's a better choice for us right now. I'm almost done shopping for gifts, so I hope everyone likes what they are getting. I'm doing several holiday-related things in the next few weeks, which I'm really looking forward to. I finished the quilt top I've been working on from designer fabric remnants, it looks fantastic. I'll post some pictures once I've taken some. I also picked out the backing. It's a little bolder than what I was originally planning on, but I think it's going to look awesome finished. Steve and I have also started planning our meals for the week in advance. Since I only have to cook three nights a week, the plan is that I'll make enough for him to eat the three nights I'm at work. This week it's worked out pretty well. I think it's going to save us money on our grocery bill every week too. We're still looking for a sub-for-santa, so if anyone comes across a family in need, please let us know. Well, I think that's it for now. Happy December! (Now we just need some snow)

Happiness is...

Belting out Christmas carols in my car at the top of my lungs
Making an excellent cheeseball (The food, silly people!)
Hot showers
Cranberry and rustic star wreaths for 50% off
Better Homes and Garden
New shoes that don't chew my feet up
A book that makes me cry, even at work
A big kitchen
Finishing a project
Starting a project, for that matter
Letters from Hawaii
Letters to Hawaii
Printed socks
The "organizer" gene
The color red
Painted fingernails
Sticker charts
Trying out a new recipe
When Steve likes a new recipe
A clean car
Birthday dinner reservations, made more than a month in advance
Playing matchmaker
Unlimited text
Soft toilet paper
Having your husband suggest a sub-for-Santa instead of exchanging gifts for yourselves
Being grateful for what you have

Happy Husband

A bit about Steve

What is your husband's first name? Stephen
How long have you been married? Just under 4 months
How long did you date? We dated for not very long... about 6 weeks before we got engaged.
How old is he? 29
Who eats more sweets? I'm going to say he does.
Who said "I love you" first? He said it first, but I thought it first.
Who is taller? Steve
Who is a better singer? Probably me, but he tries hard.
Who is smarter? I'm more book smart, he's more common sense smart.
Who does the laundry? Generally me
Who pays the bills? That's usually me, too
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Steve
Does he snore? Only when he sleeps on his back
What does he do in his spare time? Watches movies, or works on motorcycles
Who mows the lawn? The lawn crew that our apartment management company hired.
What is his favorite candy bar? Anything dark chocolate
Who cooks dinner? Usually me, but he helps when he's home
Who drives? Steve
Who is the first to say they are wrong? I don't really know. We usually talk about it together.
Who kissed who first? He kissed me
Who asked who out first? I asked him out, but we didn't start dating until almost 4 months later.
Who wears the pants? We both wear pants... meaning we share the responsibility of pants wearing.
Does he say he loves you everyday? Yes

Thankful Thanksgiving Thursday

I bet y'all thought I forgot about Thankful Thursday, with it being the holiday and all, but I remembered! So, without further ado, my 5 for the week:

1. A steady job in this time of crisis: It may not be the most glamorous job in the world, but it helps pay the bills, and there's always going to be a need for nurses. It's nice to have a little job security in an insecure time.
2. Learning to sew: I can't wait to have a machine of my own, because this is a skill I want to get better at and learn more about. I'm not very good yet, but I piece together a mean baby blanket.
3. Argyle: what can I say, I really like it.
4. Half-price sales at the craft store: I got a wreath for a really good price. SCORE!
5. Good food: I am especially thankful today for the company of friends, family, and a good meal on the table.

Happy thanksgiving everyone!!!

I still hate Bella Swan

So, I'm officially a Twilight fangirl. Lame, I know.
Last night at ten o'clock Steve and I headed for Gateway for an evening out with some work friends. What was on our agenda? A dinner of half-price appetizers at Applebees and then a 12:50 showing of the Twilight movie. I am officially a nerd. I'm not going to give a movie review here, because I have a lot of strong feelings on the subject, but I will say that I'm excited for the second movie. "Why?" you may ask...Let me tell you: I am a Jacob girl. Please, don't throw things at me. Anyway, Jacob really comes into his own in the second book and I'm excited to see how that's portrayed in the movie. Plus, Jacob is the only character that I feel was well cast in the movie.
Anyway, my trooper of a hubby came to dinner and the movie with me, even though I gave him the option of not coming. He said he enjoyed it but felt like there were a lot of holes in the story since he hasn't read the books. I filled him in on a few things and he seems excited to follow the story further.
In other news: I bought the cutest nativity at the hospital gift shop. I'll post pictures when it's out of boxes. I've also been working on a few more projects for the house. I'll put up pictures of them as they get a little further finished. One of them is a quilt that I'm super-excited about. It's half denim squares and half designer fabrics that I've bought as scraps online. All in all the whole quilt is going to cost me less than $20. Pretty sweet.
Oh yeah, I still hate Bella Swan.

Idea Thief

I'm going to turn into an idea thief. First idea I'm going to steal comes from a private blog of a friend, it's called Thankful Thursday. Every Thursday I'm going to post 5 (legitimate) things I'm thankful for.
1. Steve: He is the best husband I could ask for. He helps me clean, he takes out the garbage, and he changes my oil. He works hard to help pay the bills. He's going to be such a good daddy someday. He is tireless when it comes to playing with kids. What can I say, I love him.
2. My Co-workers: Sometimes they are the only thing that gets me into work. They make me laugh, they give me a shoulder to cry on, and they're always there to lend a helping hand.
3. My Family: They have always been there and always will be there. 'Nough said.
4. Facebook: It may seem silly but it's a great way to keep in touch with people. I've reconnected with so many friends that I thought were lost, it's awesome.
5. Indoor plumbing: Because, really, who wants to trek through the snow to sit on a cold outhouse seat in the middle of the night.

The second idea I'm going to steal come's from Greg. He suggested the idea of making sticker charts to accomplish goals and then reward yourself. The side of my fridge is about to become sticker chart central. I'm going to make a few sticker charts for myself and think up some great rewards. I'll let you know how this goes.

Other than that things are going well. Hope everyone else is good too!

A few things of note

Irony of the week: I am addicted to the show Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew... that's right, I'm addicted to other people's drug addictions.

Overheard in West Valley:

Little Girl: "Mom, where did my name come from?"

Mom (maybe 25 or so): "Well, honey, Mommy is a big Neil Diamond fan."

Okay, so I've been saying for weeks now that I was going to post pictures of my projects in the making... Prepare yourselves, cause I'm really not a homemaker:

This is an awkwardly placed corner in our bedroom that until now has been empty. We found a great shabby chic table and spruced up the corner.

This is my French Flea Market apron that I finally finished... I made it all by myself (ok, a little help from my mom). It's a little hard to see but on the right hand side I pinned a vintage brooch I found.

I'm a red neck woman...

That's right, I'm definitely NOT a high-class broad. So, last week Steve was trying to come up with something for us to do on Saturday night (he didn't know that I had a romantic evening at home planned thanks to the advice from my Vietnamese eyebrow waxer), and he stumbled upon the realization that Sunday was the 1 year anniversary of our first date. That's right, November 9th of 2007 Steve and I were at a Grizzlie's hockey game paying no attention at all to what was going on down on the ice. Anyway, Steve comes up with the brilliant idea that we should make it a yearly tradition to go to a Grizzlie's game the second weekend of November. It makes me chuckle that he's a little sentimental at times. Well, there go my plans for a romantic evening for two out the window. Instead, we decided to red-neck it up with about 20 complete strangers at the hockey game (Okay, there were more than 20 people there, since it turns out my family was there and there are 5 of them, but it was a small crowd). That's right... we got sentimental at the most physical hockey game I've ever seen. Good times. Guess our classy night in will have to wait... maybe on Thursday.

I've come to the realization that I enjoy being barefoot in my home. Now, this may not seem like a big thing to most people, but I especially hate wearing shoes or socks in the kitchen. So, I guess when Steve and I finally decide to have a baby I'll spend a lot of time pregnant, barefoot, and in the kitchen (cue comedy drum beat).

Last night (much to Steve's dismay) I attended a cooking class for young married girls in the ward. It was a blast! The fabulous Jane Ream and amazing Berni Wunderli showed us how to make some great appetizers, Christmas treats, and winter fruit salad. I'm so excited to try them out on my guinea pig of a family at Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we've had quite the time figuring out where we're going to spend holidays this year. I think we've settled on Thanksgiving with my family, and Christmas Eve with his. He says that his family party will be over in time to spend some time with my family, but seeing as how it's my year to work Christmas I don't know if we'll make it to both. Guess we'll just play it by ear and count our blessings that both families live so close.

I've been working on quite a few projects for our home (I know, it's just more stuff to take with us when we move), but I just can't help it. I'll post pictures as I finish them.

Hope everyone else is doing well and enjoying this fabulously rainy fall!

A Good Cause

I'd just like to take a moment and ask everyone to look at this blog here. The blog author is doing a quilt giveaway to raise money for a sweet baby that needs a heart transplant. Not only is it for a good cause, but you could win cute stuff. Thanks everyone for your support of the cause.

I'll be honest...

I didn't vote. I know, I'm going to be struck down by Hatch family members past... and possibly my own father, but there's the truth of the matter. In all honesty, I just never re-registered after I got married and changed my name. Sheer laziness? Possibly. Oh well, in all honesty I don't know who I would've voted for anyway. I strongly dislike (can't quite make myself say hate) both candidates policies on certain things. All in all, I'm just glad the election is over. Can we all move on and start living our lives again?

One thing I will miss seeing, though, is the Sarah Palin soccer mom hair and red power suit. I can't help myself, I really like her. I think we could be friends... you know, if I were into living in Alaska and all that. I think she seems like one of those women that would bake you casseroles if you had a sick family member, or just gave birth, or something. I think she should release a "How to cook like you're from Alaska" cookbook. I would buy it, I'll be honest.

As for other things, this has been quite the week. My parents left town on Sunday, so I've been helping Maddie out by taking Mac to school and helping to cook dinners. I know, she's an adult, but she's a very busy one... and I have a lot of free time. Plus, I still can't help but see her as my little sister, even though she's working on a doctorate degree and is way more of an adult than I'll ever be. I got to talk to Zach on Tuesday for a few minutes while he was waiting to board his plane to Hawaii. I must say, I'm incredibly jealous about the weather he's experiencing there versus the several inches of snow we've received today. Sometimes I think if I didn't love the Utah bubble so darn much I'd move somewhere that it doesn't snow.

Our Halloween party was a lot of fun, we didn't have as big of a turn out as we'd hoped, but most of our favorite people were there. I decided that we should have one Halloween-type day a month, where we get to dress up in costumes and be someone else for the day. I don't think the Stacey London/Clinton Kelly devil-angels that sit on my shoulder constantly would go for that. *sigh* A girl can dream.

I've been feeling a bit under-the-weather lately, but it doesn't really seem to be going anywhere. Sometimes I just wish it'd turn into a full-blown cold or flu so I could stop just feeling so-so. Maybe night shifts are finally starting to get to me... of course that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to switch to days.

Steve is officially making the move to American Fork in December, so we've started townhouse shopping in the Herriman/Bluffdale area. I don't really want to leave this valley but I don't want him to have to commute from where we are now. I figure we can split the difference and live in the south end of the valley, that way we both get to keep our jobs... and we wouldn't be renting anymore. I'm so ready to have a house that's MINE. I want to be able to paint walls.

I've been doing a lot more sewing lately, and I'm hoping that Santa will be bringing me my own sewing machine for Christmas. Santa, did you see that?

I go my eyebrows waxed today and the cute Vietnamese lady that did them made fun of me for waiting almost 2 months between waxes. I know, I'm lame. She decided, with no input from me, that I was finally getting them waxed for a hot date. I told her that I'm married, I don't go on hot dates anymore. She then proceeded to tell me about how I needed to plan hot nights for my husband to keep the spark alive. She may be onto something there. I should buy some sexy shoes for inspiration. (I'm such a lucky girl, my husband loves it when I wear great shoes).

All in all, a good week, I'll be honest.

Halloweener

I love Halloween. Let me say that again: I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!! I love everything about it, from the season that it falls in to the chance to dress as someone I'm not. Also, I just like a good excuse to throw a party, and halloween gives me one.
A good portion of the last few days has been devoted to preparing my home and my costume for said party. My plan for this year is to go as a gypsy, but in order to do this I had to made a few portions of my costume, along with a trip to the d.i. My costume is just about finished, I just need to accessorize a bit, but hopefully it'll be a good one. I have this funny thing about buying costumes... I hate doing it. When we were growing up our parents always made our costumes, and they had to get creative, like, for instance, the year I decided I wanted to be a mermaid. Kudos to my parents for that one. Needless to say, my parents have a large selection of various costume bits and pieces that have been worn over the years, from "Where's Waldo" to the tooth fairy. We cooked up some crazy costumes.
Also, a little sick but I can't help it, I've already decided what Steve and I are going as next year... so someone better throw a party!
I'm turning into quite the little Betty Homemaker. I've been cooking a lot more often, and I've signed up for a cooking class for newlyweds offered through my ward. I've been learning how to sew, as well. I made the major piece for my Halloween costume (see a previous blog with a picture of the "French Flea Market Apron", and I've still been quilting up a storm. I set up a filing system for Steve and I to keep track of important documents, and I've almost got the spare room cleaned out completely. My goal was to have it done before the Halloween party, but I don't think I'm going to make it. We've still got quite a few empty picture frames and framed pictures from the wedding reception and I have no idea what to do with all of them. I guess I'll save them for Christmas and re-gift. I hate doing it, but they're nice frames.
Speaking of Christmas, I've already started buying/making gifts. I've got Steve's big gift, it's being shipped currently. I've also got my mom's gift already. I told Steve what I want for Christmas, let's see if he remembers.
As for other things, Zach seems to be doing well, but is excited to get to Hawaii. He sent home a few pictures from the MTC and it looks like he's having some fun as well as learning. We send him packages, letters, and emails regularly so he's been voted the Elder most loved by his family. I just keep sending him encouragement and reminding him of what a good missionary he'll be.
I think that's it for now. I'll give you another update when I work later this week.

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

This post is brought to you by the letter N... and the number 10. So, without further ado, 10 things having to do with the letter N:

Nursing (duh): Nursing is my calling in life. Not only is my career, but it's what I LOVE to do. I can't imagine any other career for myself.

Natural hair color: I haven't seen mine since high school. Do I care? No. If I did I would stop dyeing it.

Nails: I love having my nails done. So relaxing.

Nellie: My Great-Grandma Nellie was an amazing woman. She was a great example of how to be a wonderful wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend. I can stand to learn so much from the woman she was. She's also going to roll over in her grave when I name one of my daughters after her. She hated the name Nellie.

Nice: Something I haven't done enough of lately is being nice. I should work on this.

Name: I love my name. Good job mom and dad.

Noodles: I love that place. Wisconsin Mac 'n Cheese is my fave.

Neutral tones: The easiest to decorate with... I like 'em.

Nerds: My family, my friends, my husband, myself. Nerds are the only way to go.

New Shoes: I love new shoes. Especially if they're hot and inexpensive.

If anyone else wants to play, let me know and I'll give you a letter too!

Tag-a-roo

8 Favorite TV Shows:
Scrubs
Grey's Anatomy
Ugly Betty
Chuck
Diners, Dives, and Drive-ins
What Not to Wear
America's Next Top Model
Ace of Cakes

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
Dishes
Made lunch
Texted Steve
Cut quilt blocks
Took a nap
Came to work
passed some pills
Watched Chuck online

8 Things I Look Forward To:
Getting my eyebrows waxed
having my name off the condo mortgage
Halloween party
Halloween costumes
Going to bed
Getting the heater fixed
My patient going to sleep
Real food

8 Favorite Restaurants:
cafe Rio
Dragon diner
Tocano's
Lonestar
Chili's
Z'tejas
Joe Morleys
Crown burger

8 Things On My Wish List:
Working appliances
Trip to Disney World
Sewing machine
To not feel sick
Super hot jeans
To see body worlds
Hot shoes for every outfit
New dress

8 People To Tag:
Lena
Nik
Christi
Elmo
Paris
Vee
Mom
Anyone else who wants to

One for the books

What a week this has been... and it's only Thursday night. Sunday was Zach's farewell, and it was a really great day. I won't go through everything here, but if you're interested in reading more about it you can check it out on my mom's blog here. Zach's talk was awesome, and we could all feel his readiness to serve.
On Monday night I was working my first shift of the week when I got a call that my grandma was in the ER downstairs. It turns out she'd tripped over the dog and broken her arm in 2 places. She was admitted to the hospital and scheduled for surgery on Tuesday morning. What was supposed to be about a 2 hour surgery ended up being about 4 when the surgeon got into her arm and discovered multiple bone fragments floating around. She now has a metal plate holding her humerus together and another holding her wrist together. She's still in the hospital and having a grand old time climbing out of bed, pulling out her I.V., and just causing general mayhem. It's true that nurses make the worst patients.
Wednesday morning was "D-Day" for Zach. We packed up the family, Kel included, and headed to P-town. We stopped for sandwiches at Sensuous Sandwich, I highly recommend it to anyone that's never had one, and then made our way to the MTC. There's also much more information on this in my mom's blog, but it was a good day to. We could all sense Zach's readiness to go and I think that made us more willing to let him go. His blessing he recieved when he was set apart was incredible, which I think helped ease our minds some. He was promised greatness and I know he'll live up to it.
Other than that it's been a pretty standard week, I've started making a few more baby blankets and I'll post pictures when they're done. If you're a mommy-to-be (whether for the first time or not) let me know and I'll be happy to do one for your little bundle of joy.
Also, just a small plug for Halloween... Steve and I are throwing a party and would love it if anyone who wants to could come. Costumes are encouraged.

Raindrops on Roses...

So, fall is officially here, and with the drop in temperature I tend to cozy up in a blanket and think about some of my favorite things. So, without further ado, I share them with you: Giraffes... I don't know why, but I love these guys. I finally got Steve to take me to the zoo and I spent forever chillin' with the giraffes.
The French Flea Market Apron. I'm making myself one. For real.
Fall colors. Oh please, can we drive through the canyon?
Utah Football... Nothing says Autumn like a bunch of dudes in red tossing around a pigskin.

Homemade soup. Delish!

Lately I've taken to quilting. I love using Amy Butler and Michael Miller fabrics.

It's sweater season, finally!

Finally, I'd just like to take a minute and talk about my awesome brother, Zach. He leaves on his mission on Wednesday for beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii. Zach, I know you probably won't read this, but I just want to let you know what an example you are to me and to Steve. You honor your priesthood, always live your standards, and truly shine with the light of Christ. The people of Hawaii aren't going to want to give you back at the end of your mission. So, little brother, go out there and be the example I know you are. Serve the next two years whole-heartedly and I know that Heavenly Father will bless you and help you grow in ways you never thought possible. While you may be missed here at home, we know that you will truly fall in love with the people of Hawaii as much as they will fall in love with you. So, on that note: a big, fat "Hugsies!" and one last "Hey, little brother."

May she rest in peace...

After months of making the sad-mac face at me, I finally scheduled an appointment for Petunia the iPod to visit the apple-doctor at the genius bar.
Diagnosis: Dead battery and fried hard drive
Prognosis: Immediate death
Plan: Recycle her and get 10% off a new nano

Anyway, Steve and I hadn't been a date night in awhile, so we decided to build one around Petunia's appointment. After Steve got home from work we hopped a trax train and made our way to Gateway.

Sidenote: I hate it when you're just getting out of your car at the trax station and the downtown train pulls up. You know you won't make it to the platform in time to buy a ticket and board that train, so you end up waiting for the next one with all the crazies eyeballing your purse.

My appointment was set for 8:10 p.m., not the most ideal time in the world since it falls in the middle of all date-type activities, but you take what you can get on short notice. We arrived at Gateway with some time to spare, but not enough time for dinner, so I decided we were going to pop into Anthropologie for awhile. If you're unfamiliar with Anthropologie I suggest you either make your way to the nearest location or visit the website here. It is my favorite "I'll never be able to afford anything here, but I still love to look" store. After looking at some great antiques, some awesome cabinet hardware, and some linens I'd never put in my house, I happened upon a few little treasures. If I were rich they would have come home with me, but alas I'm just a poor newlywed. The first was a great 3/4 sleeve, mustard yellow pea-coat. The second was a cute little cloche hat.
The Coat
The Hat

After this we made our way to the appointment where I learned the sad fate of my beloved Petunia. Good thing the new nanos are super cute, and pretty freaking cool, too. I think Steve may be getting a new iPod classic for Christmas as well. Shhh... Don't tell him. Also while at the apple store we ran into Allyson, whose iPod bit the dust on her wedding day right before their first dance. She went home with a shiny new one.

By this point in the evening Steve was so hungry I could hear his stomach growl from across the room, so we made our way back to Z'Tejas for some south-of-the-border food fun. After enjoying our blackened catfish enchiladas we decided to trek over to temple square and wander for a bit.

All in all, an enjoyable evening. Plans for a future adventure: a visit to the Lion House, church office building, and various other downtown sites that are better enjoyed in the light of day.

Some pictures from our honeymoon

I think this was on Emerald Pools

Steve loves his beef jerky!
On the river walk with some cheeky squirrels.
Me enjoying some organic cream soda
More Emerald Pools
Waiting for the sunset

10 things I've learned this week

A few tidbits I've picked up this week:

1. The best way to kill a sea bass (apparently) is to lasso it's tail and drag it backward so it drowns

2. Drunk+White Trash= Your typical football fan

3. Drunk+White Trash= Your typical State Fair Attender

4. The giant yellow slide is just as much fun when you're an adult

5. It is virtually impossible to stay awake at the temple if you worked all night

6. Our wedding day was not perfect. Something major did, in fact, go wrong

7. I am not pregnant

8. I don't care how old and decrepit they are, it is wonderful to have a washer and dryer in your own home

9. Speaking of washers and dryers, I need to teach Steve how to do laundry my way

10. Blue mint Aggie ice cream is, in fact, equal with dying and going to heaven (can we say white chocolate chunks?)

I was strolling through the park one day...

So, last night I was desperate to get out of the house for awhile. We've only been married 3 weeks and already I feel like we're in a dinner, movie, bedtime rut. Hence, I decided that we should take an outing.

While Steve was on his way home from work I popped over to the grocery store to purchase some picnic supplies. We made some scrumptious sandwiches (I always make mine too big, but never learn), tossed in some cookies, fruit snacks, lemonade, nectarines, and a special dessert surprise, and jumped into the car. We took a lovely drive through town and finally arrived at Red Butte Garden.

We parked the car, walked inside the very modern lobby building, paid our entrance fee, and started our trek through the park. I wanted to eat over by the pond and the waterfall garden, but little did I know we'd be sharing it with 5 (yes, 5) brides-to-be getting their pictures taken. (Sidenote: I am SO glad I was a low-maintenance bride. Every single one of them seemed so high-maitenance, and almost 'zilla-ish) Anyway, we found a lovely little corner near the bush-rustling quail and laid down my handy-dandy picnic blanket. We ate our food, watched the sun drop behind the mountain, and quietly made fun of the prima-ballerina brides. The best part was when we had one bride beg to take picturers near where we were sitting because she was quickly losing her light. Don't mind our romantic picnic, getting your picture taken next to a specific tree is MUCH more important...

Anyway, we finished up our meal, had our lovely dessert surprise (60% dark Ghirardelli's chocolate squares), packed up our stuff, and went on our way. We took a short walk through the oak tunnel, ventured into the herb garden (it smelled DIVINE!), and played around in the childrens garden for a bit (I especially enjoyed getting "swallowed" by the giant snake and wandering through his belly). It felt so great to get out, watch the sunset, smell the garden, and be with Steve.

My only regret? I forgot my camera.

Bella Should Never Name Children

So much to blog, so little time...

First and foremost: Breaking Dawn. I must say, that as a huge fan of the Twilight series, I was hugely disappointed in this book. I won't spoil anything for anyone that might not have completed it yet, but I feel like Stephenie Meyer went to every extreme possible to wrap up the story. All in all, I feel as though it was sort of a waste of time.

Secondly: Married life and the honeymoon. So far, I am LOVING married life. The only tough part is that neither Steve or I is getting much sleep (and not for the reasons you'd think!!). Pretty much niether one of us can get used to sharing a bed. Well, I think more me than him. I'm used to having that whole queen size bed to myself, and when it gets too hot on one side rolling to the cool side. Problem: Now there's a body on the other side of the bed. Also, it doesn't help that even with a fan going and the ac turned on our room feels like it's about as hot as the gates of hell. As for everything else, it's going just swimmingly. Our honeymoon was a blast (well, the Zion part anyway). That, too, was hotter than the Sahara in mid-July, but it was so much fun that we really didn't care.


While we were at Zion (the national park, not one-heart-one-mind-where-the-saints-will-dwell) we had a lot of fun. We stayed at a lovely little B&B (Red Rock Inn, for anyone interested), ate at some really great local restaurants, and went into St. George one night to see Sound of Music at Tuacahn. Let me just say: it was phenomenal! I really dug most of the cast, except Captain VonTrapp, but Liesel was my favorite. Anytime she'd start singing I'd break out in goosebumps. Serious set of pipes.


And now, a few honeymoon adventures:
1. Hiking Emerald Pools. I don't even want to think about how out of shape I am, because this hike that is usually no problem for me, kicked my big bahookie. Oh well, point is: we made it to the top and it was gorgeous (minus all of the fat, hairy, middle-aged, European men scattered about).
2. Cheeky Squirrels. Now, there are signs all over the place stating not to feed the squirrels. Why? Because they end up fat, uninhibited, and kind of weird me out. We went on the River Walk and there were squirrels running right up to the tourists. I have a picture (somewhere) of one sitting on top of somebody's lunch box, begging for food. Cheeky buggers.
3. Weeping Rock. Okay, this alone was worth the $25 it takes to get into the park. I highly recommend it for anyone who has not partaken. It was very short, but a steep climb. As we started out up the path we could hear what sounded like drums and tribal chanting. The higher we climbed the louder it became. Upon reaching the top of weeping rock trail we discovered a Christian Youth Choir, complete with bongos, shakers, and guitar, singing praises to Jesus. I literally cried. Being in the middle of one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and hearing praises sung to God moved me to tears. I still break out in chills just thinking about it.
4. Heat rash. Yeah, that's right, all of our lovely time in the sun made me break out in heat rash up and down both arms and across my chest. Thank you, Mom, for the lovely genes that cause honeymoon heat rash.
5. Jump start. While in Vegas we jump started a Mexican man's super-old Subaru behind the Luxor. He didn't speak any English, but he paid us $10.
6. Zach's mission call. Now, I realize it was my honeymoon, but I spent one evening on the phone with my family. You see, Zach recieved his mission call while we were gone. I fell really bad for him having to spend 2 years of his life in the Honolulu, Hawaii mission. Poor bugger.

I think that's all the updating for now, next blog will be purely pictures.

Oh, and for anyone that hasn't seen them yet:
http://www.visualimprint.com/annieandsteve
http://www.visualimprint.com/annicka_bridal

Pictures!

Alright, there are about a million pictures from the wedding to post, so I'm just going to give y'all the link...



www.visualimprint.com/annieandsteve

Thank you to everyone who shared in our special day!

Round One

Alright, any readers who followed this way... This blog is officially under construction. Hopefully in the next week I'll get it up and running and fully functional. In the meantime keep an eye on my other blog for updates.