Change is in the Air

Change is in the air... in a big kind of way. So, there's a bit of a problem with job burn-out going on in our house right now. Steve and I have both hit the point where we've just sort of had it with our jobs. Consequently, the job hunt has been on for both of us.

I've put in applications for 5 different jobs within IHC. I've already heard back "no" on 2 of them, which I expected but figured it wouldn't hurt to get my name out there. I got a call to interview for one but haven't heard back yet on setting a date for the interview. I'm still waiting to hear on two more. They're all day jobs, in either an OR setting or a clinic setting. I'm excited for a change and ready to explore more avenues in my career.

As for Steve, things are getting scary at South Valley again. The shop has been so slow that I'm afraid come winter there are going to be more layoffs. We can't go through that again, so I've been encouraging him to start looking and interviewing for other options now. He went on an interview this morning at A to Z Produce. We're a little iffy on whether that's the right job for him or not, but it seems like a good option. He'd start out making less than where he's at now, but they give raises often. The hours are a little screwy ( 2 am to 10 am, 5 days a week), but they might work out well if he decides to go back to school. We'll see what happens.

As far as other changes, there's a possibility that we'll be moving around the start of the new year. A good friend of mine at work may be moving overseas for two years and asked us if we'd rent their house while they're gone. It'd be for two years, and we'd be in a house twice the size of our apartment for the same amount of money. It made me feel good that she'd trust us with caring for her home. She'll know in October whether or not they're going for sure, so I'll keep you posted.

Other than that, life is pretty much the same. I'm excited for fall, and I hope our summer doesn't extend too far into it. I hope everyone else is doing well.

Monday Motorcycle Mania

So, last night was a nice evening and Steve and I thought we'd take a little drive on the motorcycle. We opted for Parley's because we haven't done many canyon runs together, and that one isn't too twisty. We decided we'd go up Parley's head out past Jordanelle, drive around Kamas a little, and head home. If only things had gone that smoothly...

The ride up Parley's was uneventful, if you don't count the huge cold pockets at the summit. We headed down the other side and made our way past Park City. All of a sudden, I saw Steve shake his head and pull off to the shoulder. Not knowing what was going on, and thinking something was wrong with the bike I got off and noticed that there was a Highway Patrol officer behind us. One speeding ticket later, we were back on the road to continue our journey.

We, uneventfully, made it the rest of the way, stopped for a break in Kamas for some water, and headed back for home. By this time it was dark and starting to get pretty cold. Not to mention we were both a little saddle sore from a fairly long ride. As we were going home things were going fairly smoothly. We went back past Park City, Jeremy Ranch, and headed back up Parley's. We'd just gone over the summit when the bike started to sputter. And then it died. We coasted our way to the side of the road, just at the top of the Lamb's Canyon on-ramp.

Steve attempted to restart the bike several times, to no avail. He flipped it over to the reserve tank... still nothing. We stood there for a bit, hoping someone would stop, and knowing no one would. We were right around a bend, and most people couldn't see us until they'd passed. Steve had just decided we'd have to coast down the shoulder until we got to the bottom of the canyon (not something I wanted to do, a little too dangerous for my taste), when I noticed 2 sets of headlights on parked cars at the bottom of the on-ramp.

After making a quick decision that serial killers wouldn't be hanging out there, we walked down and asked for help. The first car drove away without even an, "I'm sorry." The second car, however, happened to have 2 empty seats and the willingness to help us out. They drove us clear back to the Jeremy Ranch gas station, took us back to our bike, hung out to make sure we got the tank filled and the bike started, and then offered to drive the gas can back to the store and meet us there.

Needless to say, we were extremely grateful. Who new that our rescue crew would be 3 barely legal, foul-mouthed, chain smokers from Park City. Nevertheless, we were grateful that anyone was willing to help at all... especially as much as they did. So, a big "thank you" to Walker, Carson, and black tank top kid for taking pity on two stranded people.

I think it's time that Steve fixes the gas gauge on the bike, how about you?

Why We Suck

Dear Dr. Denis Leary,
I am writing to tell you that your book on CD Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Being Fat, Loud, Lazy, and Stupid nearly killed me this weekend. It's true, I wouldn't lie to a doctor. Let me tell you how this came to be:
I was at the library and wanted to find something entertaining to listen to on an upcoming road trip. I happened to glance down and see Why We Suck on display. I picked it up, read the synopsis on the back, and decided that it would be my book of choice.
Anyway, back to how I almost died. There I was, cruising along at a cool 80 mph, casually taking a sip from my water bottle, when you began expounding on the subject of "celebutards". I, quite unceremoniously, snorted water up my nose and nearly drove myself off the side of the road. And that was just the beginning of the laughter.
While I find your politics laughable, your language abhorrent, and your views on Jesus downright offensive, I tend to agree with you on almost everything. I particularly enjoyed your conversations with your mother. She sounds like the kind of mother that everyone should have, even with her strange obsession with "terrible cancer."
I also very much enjoyed, and agree with, your view on child-raising. I, too, feel that whenever possible the father should be out supporting the family, and the mother should be at home raising it. While I, like you, know that this is not always possible, it is something that should be carefully thought about and tried for... even if it means going without some of life's little pleasures sometimes. My children will never have a nanny, and hopefully they'll always think of me as Mommy, and not someone else.
In short, I would just like to thank you again for saying the things that most of our society is too politically correct to say... or too dumb to know are true. Thank you for your, sometimes brutal, honesty. Most of all, thank you for the laughs.
Your new-found fan,
Annicka

August is Awesome

Oh my goodness, I didn't realize it'd been so long since I'd updated!

August is a pretty busy month for us, it includes our anniversary, Steve's birthday, and a few other things.

The first Saturday in August we went out with some friends of mine from work to see a coworker sing and play at the Tin Angel restaurant. The food was to die for, and Kris' music was incredible. From cover songs, to her own original pieces, the woman knows how to rock. Thanks friends, for a fun night out. It was also the first time Steve and I took the bike out together this summer. I have no desire to drive one, but I love riding on the back... especially in my cute pink argyle helmet.

Since it was our one year anniversary we decided to go away for a night. (Actually, we got a free night for going to some spiel about vacation time shares and booked it for our anniversary.) So, the Sunday before the big day we took a lovely drive up Ogden Canyon to stay the night at the Alaskan Inn. It was really nice, since it was a Sunday night we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Our room was aptly named the Hook Line and Sinker Suite. Everything in the room was fishing oriented. It was pretty cute. The best part, though, was the fact that I got to take a nice soak in a giant jetted garden tub... while drinking sparkling cider.

For our actual anniversary we made dinner reservations at Epic in Midvale. The food was delish, the atmosphere was great, and the live music rounded it out. Only downfall to the evening: watching the obviously pregnant woman at the table next to us down half a bottle of wine all by herself. Can anyone say Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

Then, the Tuesday after our anniversary, was Steve's 30th birthday. I love being able to tease him that he's old now. (He's not, 30 is the new 15, or something.) We didn't do anything for his birthday cause I had to work that night, but I told him that this weekend we were going to see a movie with some friends. Really, I had a surprise party planned. We had a lovely time with food, friends, babies, puppies, and cake. He was totally surprised, he had no idea that I'd planned anything. The only regret is that more of our friends couldn't make it. Thank you so much to those of you who took time out of your busy lives to come wish my hubby a happy birthday. The realization that this party brought to me, though, is that I really don't see some of my friends often enough. I'm going to make more of an effort to initiate social activities from now on.

The other big excitement of the month is Mom and Pops' new puppy, Ruby. She is an adorable Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler mix. She's succeeded in winning over everyone but Gracie-girl. She's also succeeded in making me baby hungry... for any species.

I'm sad that Mac is going back to school next week. We didn't get very many chances to go on field trips this summer, but the ones we did take were a lot of fun. I'm excited for him to be starting this new chapter in his life as a junior high student.

I can't believe we're already coming up on the end of summer, I think it went way too fast this year. I hope you all are enjoying what's left, and if anyone wants to play... Call Me!

Shhh...

So, my wonderful hubby turns 30 next month. For some reason, I've got this idea in my head to throw him a surprise birthday party. Crazy? Yes, I just might be. Luckily, he's a pretty easy guy to keep a secret from, mostly because he's got the memory span similar to that of a goldfish.

The problem is this: I'm running out of time. His birthday is on the 11th, which is a day I work. This means we're going to have to aim for either the weekend before or the weekend after. I'm probably going to go with the weekend after just to give myself more time.

I'm thinking I'll just keep it simple. Probably a barbecue, some friends, some music, and maybe some games. I'll probably have to borrow my parents house since, let's face it, our apartment is not exactly ideal for entertaining large groups of people. Oh, and the best part of the idea? I'm going to attempt to make him a motorcycle cake. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, anyone want to come party with us?

Life is Good

There are a lot of negative people in this world. I, sometimes, have a tendency to be one of them. This is something that I'm seriously working on. I don't like being a pessimist, I don't like looking for the worst in situations, and I don't like complaining. I also don't like listening to it from other people.

Lately, it seems, there has been an influx of negative people in my life. They never see anything good in a situation, they never have anything good to say about a person or situation, and every day is bad. Really, people, is life that bad?

I get it, bad things happen to good people. Sometimes life just plain-out sucks. But for most of us, the day to day is better than bad. Don't get me wrong, I know that we all have bad days, trials, and things we'd rather not experience. Just keep in mind that experiencing those "negative" things will breed blessings. Most likely, the bad days will make us more appreciate the good ones, or even just the normal ones.

So, sometimes it's not a matter of glass-half-full or glass-half-empty, sometimes it's a matter of being grateful that you have a glass to put liquid in. Sometimes it's a matter of walking a way from a closed door on an opportunity, and realizing that while you might not see the open window right away, it's generally there waiting for you to find it. Sometimes it's a matter of crying because you're laughing, dancing in the rain, and smiling for no apparent reason.

Really, what it comes down to, is realizing that despite the bad, Life Is Good.

Field Trips!!!

Ok, one of my most favorite things about summer is that Mac and I get to go on a field trip every week. Due to family vacations and such we didn't start until last week, but we had a blast! We decided to go to the International Peace Gardens and Gilgal Garden. It was a good time. Rather than tell you all about it, I'll just give you a slide show so you can see for yourself!