To buy or not to buy, that is today's question

Dalan and I went shopping last weekend and almost came home with a brand new flat screen T.V., but then we talked ourselves out of it. It was quite a bit of money, and we do live in troubled economic times. Although, one could argue that our purchase would help stimulate the struggling economy. Since then, we keep going back and forth about if we should get one or not. Our current T.V. is ok shape, and there is not really a need to get rid of it right now. However, T.V. is Dalan's best friend, and if we got a new T.V. it would be a nice early 30th birthday present for him. (Hooray for all of us turning the big 3-0 this year.) I am also excited at the prospect of rearranging our front room to accomodate a new, bigger T.V. However, that could be dangerous and just lead to more spending. Opinions?

Special Birthday Girl

Tomorrow, my sweet little sister turns 19 years old. In honor of her birth, I am making her the V.I.P of my blog!

Let's learn a little about Ali....

A few of her favorite things:
Color: Turquoise
Food: Spaghetti
Animal: Sharks....she loves and hates them.
Vacation Spot: the good old mountains.
Thing to do: nap
School Subject: nothing right now...
school is too busy to have favorites!

Here she is at about 3 months old. Ali was 12 days late. She also came out pouting. She still is the best pouter I know! She was a chunky little baby, and totally adorable. Cole and I were totally captivated by her, and were so excited to have a new little sister.

Ali won a basketball shooting contest at Harmons when she was about 7 years old. She got to participate in a half time shoot out at the Utah Jazz half time show. She didn't win the contest, but won a hat and a basketball hoop. Later that year, while on a trolley in San Francisco, the hat was blown off by the wind. Poor little Ali was so sad, and nothing could be done to replace the hat. I wish I had a picture of Ali and the hat here, but I don't...however, she looked pretty effing cute in it.

Ali was born on our parents anniversary. One year as a gift, Ali re-gifted her pet frog to them. She had received said frog as a birthday gift two years earlier, and the frog lived longer and was more work than Ali had expected. She decided to give the gift of animal care and responsibility to my parents that year! She is hilarious!

Ali was the maid of honor at our wedding this past October. She was so fabulous. She was so organized, and threw me some of the best showers and bachelorette party I have ever been to, despite the fact she had never attended any of these events before. She looked so beautiful the day of the wedding and was beyond helpful. She gave the most touching toast.


Happy Birthday Ali!

Love you!

Channel One

Who remembers Channel One from junior high and/or high school? Dalan and I were giggling in bed last night trying to remember all we could about the classic news show that we watched every morning for six years. Here is a quick summary for those of you who don't remember itor who had a school district that did not provide you with this service. It was a 10 to 15 minute news show that is especially made for teens. The Channel One corporation puts televisions in all classrooms for free, in exchange for the students' watching their news programs, plus commercials.

Here is what we remembered. The first year I watched it Kathy Kronenberger (s/p) was the main and maybe the sole anchor. She was young, but not hip or the most attractive person. The next year they redesigned the show to make it look more like the Real World or something, and added more anchors who did their broadcasts from the "Hacienda." So, someone out on assignment would have to "throw it back to so and so in the Hacienda" at the end of their segment. These new hip and attractive news anchors included Rawley Valverde (the hispanic hottie), Craig Jackson (the cool African American), Lisa Ling (the beautiful and smart Asian), and Anderson Cooper (the hip white guy who was always sent out on assignment). I remember thinking that Rawley was the man for me, although now I have a strong attraction to Anderson! I also remember watching in horror as Anderson Cooper went grey at 23 years old after a year of covering the war in Bosnia.

We also remember the commercials, big time. This proves that playing 2 minutes of commercials for teenagers everyday during a 15 minute news program that they are forced to watch is a very effective way to advertise. The commercials we remember the most is the Nike commercials with Michael Jordan. "I wanna be like Mike" is a song that I can still sing in my head 17-18 years later. Then there were the Pepsi commercials for Crystal Pepsi. Dalan and I both loved Crystal Pepsi and drank it until it was discontinued. Apparently, their Channel One campaign was the only successful one and nobody else was drinking Crystal Pepsi.

I am sure there are things that are hilarious about Channel One that we just cannot remember. What do you remember about Channel One?

Hair Advice

I went to see Bride Wars and both Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway had such cute hair throughout the movie, but it was a bunch of hair styles that I would not even know how to begin. So let me tell you about my journey and struggles with my own hair, and then maybe you can help a sister out!

I love my hair long, well, let me clarify, I love the options I have with longer hair. I am generally lazy, and like to be able to pull it back into a pony tail, braid, or bun all quick like in the morning. (see my previous entry about my sleep issues....I am not a morning person). However, I hate straightening my hair. I used to love it. It looks so, well, straight. Now, it just seems like an extra step, and I am not digging the look as much as I once did.

Here is my dilemma, I don't know what else to really do with my hair. I have naturally coarse, semi-wavy hair. It rarely dries naturally in an attractive way on it's own. So, letting it air dry is not a good option unless it is a humid day. I don't mind blow drying it, but it tends to look coarse and start to wave if that is the only thing I do to it. I used to use a curling iron on it and either curl or flip the ends. Is that still in style? Or does anyone know how to curl it in a cute, but fast/easy way? Or maybe there is a high tech blow dryer I can buy that will set my hair for the day? I don't mind using product on my hair, but I am fairly cheap and refuse to spend a lot of money on hair product!

HELP!
I want to update my look, and be simply irresistible to Mr. Dalan Alan Peter Sellers.

Sleepy McSleeperson

I love to sleep, hate to wake up, and can never fall asleep at a decent hour. I have a wacky internal clock. My natural rhythm would be to fall asleep around 2:00 am and wake up around 10:00 or 11:00 am....however, the man keeps me down, and makes me force myself to sleep far before I am ready, and then wake up way before I am ready. I also hit a wall around 6:00 pm every night and have to fight to keep myself awake, and if I can, then I am good to go until midnight or later. I used to think that it was due to all my caffeine consumption, but since I have been off the diet coke for almost two months now (thanks mom for the shirt! pics to come when I find my USB cord), there is no change in my high and low periods.

Last night, I had a horrible night's sleep. I got sucked into a show on FDR on the History Channel and stayed up far later than I had planned. Then I had one of those nights when I just could not get comfortable for the life of me. At 2:30 I was awakened to Piper heaving, and pushed her off the bed in time to have her puke all over the carpet. This is a dog who had only puked like 6 times in the last four years, so it was a little out of nowhere. And I know those of you with kids are thinking that I have nothing to complain about....but it sucked. In addition, I had to get up an hour early and go to a stupid meeting at work, and then go to class right after work. So, I had a long ass day on a poor night's sleep....plus I was already fighting against my body's natural clock.

You can all now post comments about how you all have tremendous sympathy for me, and do not know how I survived a horrid Wednesday with little sleep and an extra meeting!

Laughing all the way

I feel like the true me is goofy and off the wall. I love to be silly, and I love the people I can be the silliest around the most. There are a handful of good friends who have seen my wildly goofy side, and you know who are! Here is a picture of Julia and me pretending to sleep after pretending to row a boat across my living room at Melrose Pace.


Also, I am often accused of being "on one" around my parents and siblings, and Dalan calls me a weird-o at least once a day. However, more often than not these people join in on my silliness. My mom, sister, and I are notorious for getting the giggles in places where it is not appropriate to get the giggles. Dalan and I have a ton of inside jokes and goofy little things we do, and I love every minute of it. I could have never married someone I could not be totally wacky with!

This weekend I was showing VaRonica our wedding pictures, and she pointed out that she liked the one below, because we were laughing together, and that is how she pictures of us as a couple. Always laughing and having fun together. That warmed my heart, because that is totally how I see us too! Plus it is a good excuse to post another wedding picture....

Television

I feel like I need to start this with a disclaimer. I like T.V. quite a bit. I watch a lot of T.V. and enjoy a lot of programs on the 100 plus channels we have through our cable plan. In fact, I don't even mind paying for cable, the DVR, and some premium channels.

However, as much as I like television, Dalan likes it that much more, and it drives me a little insane. He cannot be in the house and not have the damn thing on. He turns it on the minute he wakes up and keeps it on throuhout the day, and on weekends he insists we fall asleep with the T.V. on. We used to not have a T.V. in our bedroom, but I caved in and we put one in there, because the alternative was me falling asleep uncomfortably on the couch while he watched some program or another. We also have only ever had dinner at our kitchen table a handful of times, because he hates to eat away from the T.V. A perfect example would be, let's say one day we go out run errands, grab lunch, and come home engaged in witty and interesting converation, which is often the case. However, the minute we walk in the door, he turns on the T.V. Not because he is bored or because there is a particular show on, because he is addicted and it is a bad habit!

So, how do I break him slightly of this habit? Remembering I like T.V. too, and by no means want to get rid of it, I just want to have it on less....any suggestions? Oh, I have talked to him about it, to which he replies one of two things...."but, I love it so much" or "T.V. is my best friend."

The Pie 2009

Every year, my dear friend Steven returns from Chicago to Salt Lake and a group of us go to The Pie for pizza and lots of laughs. I always laugh when I am with Steven. We used to work together at ARTEC, and our boss once commented to me, "I can always tell when you are working with Steven, because I can hear you laughing all the way down the hall." Then if you throw in Becca, Misty, and VaRonica, you have a laugh-a-palooza. We shared tons of memories of the good old days on the locked units of ARTEC, and got caught up on the lives of one another.

Here is our annual picture:

While there is no doubt we are a good looking bunch....doesn't Becca just look gorgeous and perfectly pregnant! I cannot wait until little Buckley Shumpert makes his appearance at the end of March.

Speaking of babies, my oldest and best friend Aubrey is due anyday now with a little boy of her own. I am so excited for her and her husband, Sam! I feel like I am becoming an aunt. I think knowing someone for over 25 years entitles you to some sort of status in their child's life, right?

My Wednesday did not totally suck

Wednesdays generally suck for me for the following reasons:

1. I do not get see or squish Dalan.
2. I have class right after work.
3. I have the kids all day, with no computer lab, library, PE, etc to break up the day.
4. I have to get up early for two more days in a row.

However, today sucked much less than expected for the following reasons:

1. I did not get see or squish Dalan. If I had seen him today I would have considered the day as a non-sucking day, but alas, our ships did not pass.
2. I had class, but I kind of like it. We are treated like adults, and get to leave when the material is covered. I was home a whole hour early!
3. I took my class to the computer lab to type their animal reports and historical fiction stories. I got a break from my classroom.
4. It is a short week! I only have to work a half a day tomorrow with the kids, and then can sleep in on Friday!

Well, kick ass!

My baby turned 6ish today!

Four year ago today, I became a mother of sort, but I did not give birth-I chose adoption. After months of searching the Internet for a small, young female. I found a match. Three matches to be exact at the Tooele Animal Shelter. Now, I knew from my months of dog searching that small dogs go fast from the shelter, so the following day I took a long lunch and my mom and headed out west to see about getting a dog. We missed the exit, and then had a hard time finding the shelter. It was a good thing we were not on the Amazing Race, because we would have totally come in last place.

When we finally got there, one of the dogs I had in mind had been adopted and one had been picked up by its owners, but "Baby Girl" was still there. I put her on a leash and took her for a mini-walk. She was cute and friendly, so Patti and I were sold! We paid our ten dollars, and then Patti noticed I was covered in white hair! The lady at the shelter assured me it was the dog's nerves and that she would not be a shedding problem. (A BIG FAT LIAR-that lady was-I have been covered with white hair every day since. She also told me that the dog was fixed-not true.)

Patti drove home, so I would have a chance to bond with my dog before going back to work. I named her Piper and we were in love. She snuggled up against me the whole ride home and I held her like a baby.

Piper has been some dog. She collects spare change and hordes it in her bed. She poops on the floor when we leave and she feels spiteful. She has to take medicine daily in order to not have horrible seizures. She still pees on the floor when certain people come over. She likes to dress up. She hates all living creatures, except for humans. She loves to be held like a baby. She loves little kids, and loves to smell car seats. She destroys all furry toys in a matter of seconds. She has three beds and hides bones, change, and treats in them. She knows how to sit, shake, and speak, but will rarely preform tricks. She will speak for treats more than any other trick. She sheds like no other animal. She sleeps under the covers. She loves to sleep with my dad while at my parent's house, but can hear our car blocks away. She whines like she is being tortured every time she is left alone. She likes to go one walks, but refuses to swim. She eats any food we happen to leave out, and will even climb up on the table to get it. She eats Q-tips out of the garbage. She eats holes in underwear if she can get a hold of them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIPER!

Piper, 2005

Piper and me, 2006

Piper drinking out of a cup, 2007

Piper in her X-mas jammies, 2008

Honeymoon!

It is time for Dalan and me to start planning our "real" honeymoon. We want to go somewhere new and exciting this summer, possibly in late June or early August. We have been throwing around ideas, but are having a hard time settling on one place and making arrangements.

I want to go to Europe, but it expensive to fly there, and the dollar is still not holding its own against the Euro. However, I would love to travel to London, Paris, Prague, Madrid, Rome, Venice, etc, etc

We have also been throwing around the idea of going somewhere in Canada....like Montreal, but would be up for going to a number places.

I want to go to Cuba, but the powers that be prevent me from fulfilling my life long dream. So, I would settle for Miami, but Dalan is not interested in tropical or hot, however, he has consented to looking into Hawaii.

So, basically I am asking for suggestions. Where have you been that was fun and romantic? Where did you stay? How expensive was it? What can we do while we are there?

It can be anywhere in the world, and needs to be a place that goes well with summer traveling. We probably could go for no more than 16 days. I want to hear from you Internet friends!

Babies!

Here are pictures of baby Jessi and baby Dalan.....we were adorable!

(Edit to post: Patti found a picture of me posed with the same reindeer as Dalan...different backgrounds though, so I am changing from the original picture I posted to my same reindeer picture. Dalan is probably about 22 months in his picture, and I am 18 months.)

Bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling

My ESL (English as a Second Language) endorsement program has been a thorn in my side since day one. And while, I have learned some very valuable information in the class, I have been very disappointed with the organization of the program.

I have had professors be over an hour late for class. I have had professors who say things like if you ever email me, you will always get an email back from me, and then not email me back, only to ensure me they have my paper, only to tell me at the end of the class that I never turned it in. I have had an online class with totally vague instructions on each assignment, and then have the professor write very detailed comments in response and ask me to resubmit it. I have been told we are not meeting ever in person for the online class, but then received an email at 1:00 in the afternoon informing me to attend class that evening. And then today, I received an email today that told me I needed to register for a class that starts Wednesday and goes until the end of March.

It is enough to make me want to pull my hair out, or punch the computer screen. I hate all the disorganization. I have a life, people! Sometimes that life involves watching a four-hour Law and Order marathon, but sometimes it involves a friend's birthday party, or something cool like that. I need notice! And once I have said notice, I need professors who show up on time, and follow through with their own expectations. I have no problem working hard to learn and earn decent grades, but these are classes for working professionals with families and other obligations, so they least they can do is get their effing acts together!

If you will excuse me now, I need to go submit my final project for my online class...hopefully, I followed the one line of vague-ass instructions correctly! GRRRRRRR!!!!!

The good, the bad, and the ugly....2008

The Good:
Engaged!
New car!
New house!
Wedding!
Honeymoon!
Season tickets to watch the Utes!
Vacation to Jackson Hole!
Friends and family!
Birthdays!
Holidays!
Teaching!
Dalan's beard!
Internet Spying!

The Bad:
Dalan's grandmother passed away.
TWO car accidents.
Kidney stones.
Piper's seizures.
Internet Spying

The Ugly:
Cold sores
Unorganized spare bedroom