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!

A lot to say today

Man, it's been awhile, and a TON of stuff has happened in the past few weeks. I'll start with Panguitch...

Panguitch Lake was, as always, a blast. We fished (although we didn't catch much), camped, shot guns, ate good food, hung out by the fire, and spent lots of great family time together. Steve and I stayed in the tent that we got for our wedding, and it was cold!!! We decided to stay at Grandpa's Brian Head condo for Saturday night, it was a wise decision on our part. It actually worked out well for Sunday, so we weren't trying to get 7 people through a shower the size of a postage stamp before 10 a.m. church. Speaking of church, it was awesome! Last year when Zach was ordained an elder, we did it at the Panguitch Lake Branch. Well, the branch president overheard us singing a song as a family (we're moderately vocally inclined) and decided that this year we'd be in charge of all of church. Ma and Pops spoke in sacrament meeting, along with Mac and Josie. We did a choral number as a family, which brought several women to tears (I hope good ones!), and then we dismissed for auxiliary meetings. Maddie and I were in charge of primary. There were so many kids there! It was great to be in a primary where the kids actually know the songs and like to see them. We did a little Father's Day activity with them, and then headed back to camp. All in all, it was a great trip, and a much needed vacation for us all.

After we got home I got it in my head I needed to go to the temple. I wasn't sure why, I just felt like I needed to do a session. So, Thursday morning I decided it was time. I got all ready to go, and started to drive. About halfway to the Jordan River Temple I thought, "Hmm, I hope it's not closed for cleaning, I forgot to check." Well, I got there, and lo and behold, it was closed for cleaning. So I made a snap decision to head for the Draper temple. I couldn't remember how to get there, so I pretty much just drove toward the steeple on the hill. I finally made it, but had just missed a session. I didn't mind, though, one of my favorite things to do is sit in the chapel and listen to the music. As I was sitting there the organist abruptly shifted (mid-song, might I add) from hymns to primary songs. It was just what I needed. I felt so spiritually uplifted and rejuvenated for the days to come.

Lastly, my mom informed me this past week that in September there was going to be a girl's trip to New York City to see Wicked and for my Grandma Mary's 70th birthday. She invited my sister and I to come along and we readily agreed. Well, this weekend we started shopping for trip packages and I quickly realized that I wasn't going to be able to afford the trip. I decided to take a night to talk it over with Steve and to sleep on the decision. This morning upon waking I let my mom know that it just wasn't going to be possible for me to come, we had too many other expenses to cover this summer. My parents looked at each other and said to me, "We'll cover your hotel cost. All you need to worry about is your airfare. We're proud of you for thinking it over and making a wise decision, but this is a once in a lifetime trip and we want you to experience it." Ok, seriously? I have the greatest parents ever! They've even offered to give me a monthly payment plan to pay off my airfare a little at a time. So, come September, this little girl gets to visit the Big Apple!

Mac and I started our weekly field trips today... more on that later. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine (finally) and having a fantastic summer!

Blogging Slacker

I am officially a blogging slacker. Really, our lives are pretty much the same as always. So, on that note, I'll just share a few random facts about myself:

I have an aversion to turning right into parking stalls.
I am growing a cilantro plant in my living room window. It's out of control.
I really, really hate Wal-Mart, and yet continue to shop there for the low prices.
I'm not a violent person by nature, but sometimes when I get annoyed, I want to kick people.
I have a difficult time reading historical novels. Jane Austen is so not my style.
I want to write a book. Maybe someday I'll start on it.
I'm a stress baker, and cleaner, and shopper. Yeah, I lose.
I enjoy wearing patterned socks to work.
I biffed it in a patient's room the other night. He laughed at me.
I have a slight obsession with Gerber Daisies.
I am a fountain of random knowledge. Ask me for a random fact next time you see me.
I feel bad that I don't spend more time with my friends, but have a hard time initiating a get together.
I have about 15 sewing projects that I need to get underway.
I love being out on boats. I'll leave the fishing to the men, just let me relax in the bow.
I have 3 very unique siblings. I look up to them all, even the short ones. :)
I have a thing for musicals. So does Steve, it's ok.
If I could live everyday in a tshirt and jeans, I would.

That's enough from me. What's something random about you?