happy easter!

We spent all day on this.

more days like this please

We started the day sunbathing on the deck, walked the trail near our house and ended it firing up the grill for dinner. I almost forgot how good it feels to be tired from the warm sun.

the award for the most beautiful newlywed couple of the 70's goes to... my mom and dad

happy 34th wedding anniversary, mom and dad!

friday night

It has been nonstop sunny, so it has been a good Friday.  Tonight has been about Five Guys, watching the Lakers game, listening to Matt yell at the TV, Matt rewinding the game and making me watch good plays or bogus calls the refs make, old Will Ferrell SNL clips during the commercials (my favorite) and later we are going to see Atlas Shrugged. I've never heard of it, bur he says the book is good.

A little glimpse of what it is like taking pictures with Matt.

Mad about the Lakers game and covers his face with the remote.

Watching old SNL clips, so he is already smiling.

Is actually pretty good about taking kissing pictures.

Pretending to be mad I didn't take a good kissing picture the first time.

You know how some girls ask for their picture to be retaken because they don't think they look good in them? I don't have that luxury. I have to take whatever I can get with Matt.

while in provo i have been...

Liking it more now as a visitor than I did as a resident.
Distracting Rach from studying for finals.
Filling my Cafe Rio canteen every chance I can.
Soaking in the more reliable sun.
Reminiscing.
and missing Matt.

bridal shower!

We ate, chatted, opened gifts, and watched an interview of "almost-newlywed" questions I recorded with Manti. We first heard Rachel's answers to the questions at the shower and then watched how Manti had responded. Manti was a great interviewee. There were lots of fun girls and it was a fun shower.

I'm so happy I could come out to Utah to spend time time with my beautiful sister and to kick off the first of many wedding celebrations.

Dad ordered these absolutely beautiful flowers for the shower/our mom, for their 34th wedding anniversary.

We recreated the Peep "sunflower" yellow butter cake with chocolate fudge icing that our mom had made before. Even though no one got it, it was delicious.

Coincidentally, one of Rachel's friends brought a beautiful bouquet of sunflower cupcakes in a flower pot. So cute.

Decorations I made. The wedding colors are aqua, coral and khaki.

sister time is here and i couldn't be more excited!

introverts of the world...read this book!

via

Since 1 in 4 people are introverted, at least one of the seven people following this blog has a temperament like mine. For this, I'll tell you about The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in a Extrovert World.

75% of people are extroverts, so the world caters to this mentality and you are considered "a fish out of water" if you are an introvert. Extroverts and introverts are different in how they get their energy. Extroverts get energy from others, while introverts get energy from themselves. Before I realized I was introverted, it would surprise me when people told me I was mysterious, shy or aloof, because I didn't feel that way at all and it had made me self-conscious. This book expanded my understanding of introversion and gave me a mind-blowing amount of Aha! moments. I got a real grasp of what makes me tick.

If self-improvement books were steaks, this would be my Filet Mignon.

this lifestyle is going to catch up with us

Eating out is our greatest vice, especially when we have a new city to discover. I tagged along with Matt to Eugene, OR for his work and we were not let down by what beautiful "Track Town, USA" had to offer our appetites. I dare to say I had the greatest pizza and burger of my life today.

My diet starts tomorrow.

matt and his princesses

Jaimi and Danny were nice enough to welcome us to the Northwest the first weekend we got here and we were happy we could drive up North to babysit and see them again. I learned that Matt is a great dirty diaper assistant. 

Since the car trouble extended our trip, there was time to dig up the glorious video of Matt with his buddies perform for their high school Airbands (lipsyncing) contest. Watching Matt belly roll, strut around in a sailor's uniform and dance like a Back Street Boy on stage was priceless.

this is what broken down on a highway in tacoma, wa looks like

We spent a couple of days babysitting Matt's nieces in the Seattle area and as I was driving our way home, I heard a loud thump and the gas pedal stopped working. With the car slowing down and Matt's motivation I pulled over between an on-ramp and traffic.

The story is too long, but with a restless night in a hotel, too much time spent in a sketchy neighborhood, two tow trucks, two taxis, 2 transmission shops, an unexpected pounding to the wallet and an amazing ex-roommate from byu who drove us back to Matt's sister's place later, we probably won't be home until the middle of next week.

It's too soon to laugh about it. As Matt's niece Charlotte would say, "POOEYCATOOEY!".

A happy picture of Matt's other niece, Violet.

i can't wait to see her next week!

I have never been able to work the camera. The bowl cut, yes, the camera, no.

The age difference is obvious when Matt and I talk about movies, TV shows and music we grew up with and he has taken it upon himself to introduce me to parts of pop culture I have missed. Under his direction I have been acquainted with shows like In Living Color and movies like Weekend at Bernie's, Mad Max, The Shining, and Beverly Hills Cop. He is also constantly quizzing me with songs on his iPod or the radio asking if I have heard of this person, band or song.

IMDb has been our guide in making lists of movies we would like/need to see. Last night we played card games while watching the four hours of Gone With the Wind. The cinematography was amazing, but ahhh...what was up with the ending?! The last time we were this disappointed with an ending was 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"Classic" 80s films up next for my viewing pleasure include: Willow, Teen Wolf, Rain Man, Predator, The Naked Gun, Beetle Juice, The 'burbs, The Neverending Story, and Time Bandits. Gotta love the 80s!

taking recycling to a whole new level

ridiculously small gray bin for trash + ridiculously large blue bin for recyclables = big adjustment

nerd alert

Matt loves puzzles and crosswords; basically, any kind of brain teaser. I won't even attempt to work on a newspaper crossword any day after Monday.

When Matt gets back from working out of town, he usually doesn't want to go out on the weekends. So, these past few weekends have been about puzzles. Making me a nerd by association. He spent too much time on ebay, like a kid in a toy store, looking for the right puzzles to order. Some of those babies can be surprisingly expensive. We have completed a puzzle of The Last Supper by Da Vinci, (still proudly displayed on the kitchen table and will probably be there until Easter), and we are now working on Dowdle's Washington, D.C. puzzle on the coffee table. My family loves Dowdle Folk Art puzzles.

Now, I like puzzles and I get a great sense of accomplishment when I find pieces that fit, but unlike Matt, I have a short attention span. I get easily worn out and take frequent breaks. Even if I had Matt's endurance, they still take hours and I struggle knowing that every piece we put together, we are just going to have to take apart later.

[I realize in this musing that these puzzles can be easily compared to how much time I spend blogging, watching TV or wasting time on Facebook. It's almost 2 in the morning and will be going back to working on the puzzle with Matt now.]

changing it up

As much as Matt comments and states his opinion eagerly all over Facebook, one would think some of that would spill over on here, but unless he is looking for blog updates by his sisters, Matt is not going to do anything else with this. I can't blame him, he warned me. This blog has been a slow work in progress and continues to be.

Main Entry:	haphazard
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	without plan or organization

Story of my wonderful life.