It's poker, not poke her.

So, we had a pretty uneventful weekend, but still pretty fun filled. Saturday night was our ward party consisting of a chili cook-off and quick wits. I must say, my chili was delightful even if it didn't win the $1 grand prize. Pretty much anyone who knows me knows that I am anti-tomato, so I decided to find a recipe for a spicy, tomato-less, crockpot chili (no, I am not demanding!). After searching what felt like every grocery store in the city for a dried habanero pepper (and not being able to find one), I settle for a different kind. I don't know what it was, but my chili still had some bite to it. This was the first ward party we'd attended with our ward, even though we've been in the ward almost 9 months, and I must say that it was a blast. Way to go Heidi and Marcus for putting together a fun Saturday night for us.
The next day at church I spent the morning wrangling sunbeams into singing. We've only got one more primary session to practice before they sing in Sacrament meeting for Mother's Day, and they are nowhere near ready. I think the teachers may be helping out with our performance. Anyone have any good ideas on how I can keep them entertained but still ingrain into their little brains the songs for the program?
On Sunday night we successfully climbed out of the newlywed abyss by accepting an invitation to Sunday night poker night (I know, seems wrong somehow) at the Wings. It was a good time. The boys played poker while the girls sat around and ate leftover candy and chatted. It feels good to have some friends in our ward that are in similar life situations to us. Too bad they're all buying houses and moving away, hopefully we can keep Sunday nights alive even after they scatter.
Our ceiling is coming along nicely. They've got the tape, mud, and texture done. They were supposed to paint this afternoon, we'll see what it looks like when I get home. I'll be pretty excited to have this particular apartment adventure over with. Hopefully with the new roof we won't have to worry about any more cave ins.
Well, I think that's all I have to update on for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the warm sunniness while it lasts!

Not quite fiddler on the roof

So, we had a pleasant surprise upon returning home Saturday evening... the Ceiling Fairy (aka the maintenance dudes) had come at some point during the day and patched our impromptu skylight. They also had put our furniture back in it's regular spot, vacuumed, and generally straightened up. They still needed to tape, mud, texture, and paint, but it was a start. They left us a lovely note saying that they would be back on Monday to do the tape and mud. Well, Monday rolled around and we had about a bazillion things to do, so we took off with hopes of returning to another Ceiling Fairy completed project. Alas, this was not so.

Tuesday morning as I was leaving for the gym I ran into one of the maintenance guys in the hallway and he informed me that due to our issues they were going to be re-roofing the whole building. Now, in general, I love the idea. I'd rather not have anymore cave ins, leaks, etc. Only problem, I sleep during the day. All through nap time yesterday and trying to sleep this morning I laid in bed, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, and wondered how it was possible for two grown men to sound like a herd of elephants. I still don't quite know the answer to this question.

Anyway, yesterday it sounded like they were making something fall in my laundry room while they were stamping around upstairs. So, I decide to take a quick peek to see what the ceiling in there looks like... Lo and behold, we're on the verge of another cave-in. So, I had Steve call the management and leave, yet another, message. You think after all of this someone would have the decency to return a phone call (maybe they're afraid of what we'll say to them on the phone), but alas we never got a call back. So, this morning he called again and was able to leave an emergency message for whoever holds the magic pager. The phone call was never returned, but I have evidence that they came and checked out the ceiling. Granted, they didn't do anything about it, but they've at least seen that we're about to have another impromptu skylight.

Needless to say, our living room ceiling still isn't finished (we're waiting on texture and paint). They did, however, say that when they are all finished they will pay to have our carpets and couch cleaned. I wonder when that day will finally arrive.

In the meantime I think I've developed a twitch.

No, I wasn't planning on a skylight...

So, our living room ceiling had been bowing for about a week. After three unreturned calls from the management, this is what we ended up with this morning:

Yes friends, that is my living room ceiling. No, we weren't planning for a skylight.

Let the Games Begin!

So, Mac and I have a tradition of going on one field trip a week during the summer months when he's out of school. This works out well for both of us cause it gets me out of the house in the daytime, and it gives my mom a chance to get things done without him underfoot.

Anyway, today was our first field trip of the season, he's off for spring break. We decided to go to the Clark Planetarium and see the Imax 3d movie that Jim Carrey narrates. It was really cool. I enjoyed the movie, and I always enjoy a trip to Gateway.

Anyway, Mac and I were trying to decide what we want to do this summer on our weekly field trips. So, once again, I'm turning my blog over to you...

Where would you suggest we go? What cool places have you found in the city that are worth checking out? What things in Salt Lake do you think every person needs to visit or see at least once?

Help a sister out!

Last one

This has been a lot of fun, and I'm more than happy to keep answering any questions sent my way, but for now this is the last one I've received.

Talina asks:
"For my question, where do you see yourself in 10 years? You can do realistically, best-case-scenario, awesome dream fantasy, or all of the above ;)"

Alright, get settled, cause this could be a long one. Just for the record, 10 years from now I'll be 34.

Realistically, we'll be in a house with a yard. We'll most likely have 4 kids. I'd like to have 2 or 3 of our kids be biological children, and 1 or 2 of them be adopted. I would love to be able to take in some children that need a good home to live in. If we're not able to adopt, then I'd definitely love to take in foster children. At this point I'd like to have my bachelor's degree. As far as my career goes if I'm still doing floor nursing I'd like to just be working part time so I can be home with kids as much as possible. Ideally I'd like to be working at a doctors office or an insurance company so I can be home when my kids are home. No matter what else happens, I'll be happy. :)

Really, my dream fantasy would be close to what my life will be like in the realistic scenario. About the only thing that I would change, is that job-wise I'd be working for a plastic surgeon, assisting in surgeries and working in office. I'd be living in our dream house, built on an acre somewhere not too far from Salt Lake City. We'd both be driving our dream cars, working our dream jobs (I know what mine is, I don't think Steve has any clue what his is), and raising well-behaved and intelligent children.

Okay, I know this post was kind of lame, but really, this was kind of a hard question to answer. You should try it for yourself...

Number 5

This has been a lot of fun. I've really enjoyed answering your questions, whether serious, silly, or just plain fun. This is the second to last round...

Mel asks:
"How is the "married Annie" different from the "single Annie?" And why? :)"

This has actually been a little hard for me to answer, because I'm not always sure I've changed for the better since I got married. I guess the biggest difference is that I have a husband (Thank you, Captain Obvious), but I really have changed quite a bit in the last 8 months.

Now, don't get me wrong, the changes are by no means all bad. And some of them could even be thought of as good or bad, depending on your point of view. I've definitely learned to be more patient. I got a little used to getting whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. Now that I've got someone else's feelings to consider I'm learning how to wait for things I want. I'm much less Veruca Salt ("I want it now, Daddy!") than I used to be.

One of the things that could be good, or bad, depending on your point of view, is that marriage has turned me into a bit of a neat-freak. I like our house to look nice, and it clutter bugs me. Anyone who saw my bedroom as a child or teenager knows that this has definitely not always been the case. Sometimes I think my neatness has taken control of me, though, when I start to get a little peeved that he doesn't see the messes that I do. Granted, we grew up with very different standards and expectations of cleanliness, and he's been very patient with me and my nit-picking. The more we settle into marriage, the less annoyed I get, but then again maybe we've just found a middle ground cleanliness standard.

Sometimes I also feel like maybe I've lost my sense of humor a little. I'm definitely much more serious now than I was in my college and post-college dating days. I guess it could just be maturity, but I also seem to feel this compulsive need to keep our home in order. I'm much more organized than I ever have been before, I'm much more budget-conscious (of course, this could be due to six weeks of being single income), but I also seem to care more what others think of me. I seem to want to show the world that I was, and am, ready for marriage; that I can manage a household; that I can keep my husband happy, my home clean, and my life managed.

One other thing that has definitely changed about me is my feeling toward babies. It used to be that newborn babies terrified me. Now, I'm the first person to volunteer to hold a baby in church, watch a baby for a few hours during the day, etc. I'm much more conscious of children around me, and picking up tips for how to raise, and how not to raise, kids. Don't worry, we're still going to wait a little while before we start our family, but I think about it often.

What it comes down to, though, is that I'm much happier than I ever thought possible. I love my husband so much and I am so thrilled to be building a life with him. He truly is my other (and often better) half. He keeps me balanced, calms me down before I can freak out about things, and makes me smile everyday.

Essentially, Married Annie is the same girl as Single Annie... just a little more grown up.