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.