Miss Peggy lives for a day

So, we borrowed Paige for a day. And here it is, complete with photos!!

After mom left, we rode some rides at the outlets in Park City. But tried to not look TOO happy about it, because that would be uncool for a 3-year-old.

Then we try entertaining ourselves, because soccer games get boring pretty fast.  Also, showing off our bum is probably the best choice, given the situation.

Then we practiced our model shots.  And climbed the fence, because that's what the big kids were doing.

After the game, we went to a restaurant.  And looked really sleepy after coloring.  WE WANT MAC AND CHEESE, people.  This is serious.

Then we had our respective dinners.  We decide we don't like the toast.  It cannot be touching any of our other foods.  HEAVEN HELP US!!!  (PS, one of my favorite things she says after she can't quite do something herself is, "I cannot do it.  I CANNOT."  Instead of can't.  She is fantastic)

And then, we fell asleep.  In the booth.  At a restaurant.  After staring at the family just on the other side of the booth with a lot of kids.  Probably because they are more fun than our aunt and uncle.

We woke up in the car ride after we stop to get aloe vera because, sunburn.  We saw a rainbow.  A double rainbow, even!  But you can't see it here.  Yet, I promise it was a double rainbow.  You can see part of it in this photo.  And then we fell asleep in the car.

Not pictured:  we wanted a tubby, so we decided on bath time, then we don't want a tubby, settle on tubby with no hair washing, then, unfortunately, soap in the eyes, and screaming.  Then, movie time on the giant bed.  And perhaps that cylinder pillow would keep our tootsies warm.

Then, we contemplated making some calls to our peeps.  With Bert on the bed.  (Don't worry, it was a pet-friendly hotel.)

So we called some peeps on our "cell phone."  Which, just last year, we used to call our "hallo."

FYI:  Nobody answered.

Then, we kept peeking under the curtains, because through our window, we could see uncle Pedro (again, not his real name) in the hot tub--soaking because he'd played two soccer games in one day.  Also, we decide we're hungry because we fell asleep at dinner and didn't finish our MAC AND CHEESE!!.  So we ate some chocolate, and had an awesome chocolate moustache situation.

Last, we stayed awake until the lights turn off, at which point, we almost immediately fell asleep.  And take over the (king-sized) bed. (!)  And then, when our aunt moved us in the middle of the night, we accidentally head-butted her, and say SORRY so sweetly in our sleep.

But anyways, what a great day. 

Two canadians, a swede, the housband, and me.

Last week, I went to Elko, Nevada for the week with my housband.  It was a great week--I made a lot of flowers, visited cute little shops, got to know the place a little, and spent a lot of time with my housband.

(PS:
Dearest Elko, I'm sorry about all the things I said about you and all the continued negativity over the years; you weren't so bad, plus your sagebrush is actually kind of pretty and smells a bit like lavender.  I guess you're not the Armpit of America like I suspected.

Signed, sincerely,

ME)

ANYway, things went well during the week and I really enjoyed myself.  On Thursday night, we were heading back to Logan, having a grand old time, when we were almost run off the road by a semi, and my only reaction was to scream, which, obviously, didn't help the problem.  I just couldn't stop.  It was the weirdest thing; an out of body experience.  Eventually I realized I was screaming but didn't/couldn't stop myself... very odd.

I had a bit of an emotional breakdown after that because I laughed so hard I cried, and then I couldn't stop crying for a little while.  I have traveling anxiety due to previous accidents, and this certainly didn't help.

Soon after that, we were heading up around the hill to Pequop.  PEQUOP!  I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!  IN THE WORST WAY!  We were rocking out to some Gaga when a peculiar ticking sound began to freak us both out.  Being the bright people we are, we turned off the AC, turned down the music and tried to listen to what was happening.  This particular tick had been happening for a little while, and we made plans to take the car to a mechanic upon our arrival home.

Until the tick got louder, and LOUDER, and LOUDER.

And then.... smoke.

We made it up the hill most of the way to a rest stop which was magically there, and Pedro* pushed it up the hill to its resting spot.

There at the rest area, we see a couple Canadian tourists and their Swedish friend.  We had no idea what to do.  They said they were going to Wendover, and while talking on the phone to my dad, Pedro asked me to ask them if we could catch a ride.  In the meantime, we saw another guy at the rest stop--I asked him if he was headed to Salt Lake, he said yes, I asked if we could catch a ride with him, but he said he doesn't give rides to strangers. Fair enough.  There WAS a prison a while back with road signs which read "NO HITCHIKING."

So we put all our stuff in the trunk of my now dead car so as to discourage people from breaking in, grab the most valuable stuff (like my 10,000 cameras--I am incapable of packing light), and head out with the Canadians and Swede.  Honestly, they were a total blessing.  SUCH nice people, so kind to give us a ride, and I wasn't nervous AT ALL that they would kill us.  Ha.

So then we rode to Wendover, where we thanked the Canadians and Swede and told them goodbye.  Pedro's mother picked us up in Wendover, and we finally got home at around 1:30 in the morning, totally exhausted.

The next day, we borrowed a truck, rented a trailer, and went back to PEQUOP.  I had so much anxiety that my car would be:

1. Towed by highway patrol
A. Broken into
III. Broken into, and all my stuff stolen (including my laptop, which I forgot to use my brain and neglected to pack in the stuffed Canadian car.... whoops.)

BUT, there it was.  Totally in tact, safe, whole, with a bum engine.  We tugged it all the way back home.

There's all my photos from the day trip we took to fetch my car.  We weren't really going 110 miles per hour--the speedometer was broken, but we like to pretend we're hardcore like that.  Also, we both kept thinking there was a jerk car tailing us, until we'd individually realize that it was just my car on the trailer behind us.

It was honestly a nice drive--just too bad it had to be because my engine semi blew up.

And yes, the engine is dead.  It turns on, it drives a little, but it's not driveable.  Today, my father-in-law found a new engine with a friend for $900... so... happy birthday to me?

Kind of a craptastic weekend.  I hope yours was better.  I spent most of today really frustrated, but I've decided to turn the corner and turn my frown upside down.  Life can be annoying, I guess, but I need to move on and accept that sometimes, crap happens.



*I just decided, just now, that I'm tired of not writing my husband's name.  No, it's not really Pedro.  No, he's not Mexican or hispanic.  I just like that name.  He's asked me not to write his name on el blog here, so I will grant him that wish, but I will now call him Pedro in return.  Cool.

Hello again, dear friend.

Have I ever told you that You've Got Mail is one of my very favorite movies? 

I have discovered as I've gotten older that I like movies for weird reasons.  My #1 reason is usually because of a pretty set--Meg Ryan's apartment is about as close to perfection as I can imagine (though I often wonder where her junk is... I really am stuck on the whole de-junking thing).  She also has a fabulous apartment in Kate & Leopold.

Maybe it's just a thing I have for Meg Ryan's homes in movies, but in The Women, she had a fabulous home, and her wardrobe was great.  I think I already wrote about it.  Yep, I did here.  (That movie is weird, though--there are no men in it at all.  None!  Weird.)  Anyway, when my hair's longer, I'm going to spend time curling it so it will look something like this:

But messier, because everyone knows I'm not good at having curly, non-frizzy hair.  (I don't really care about having perfect hair.)

ANYway, back to what I was saying.  I've noticed that a lot of lines from You've Got Mail fit with my life lately.  It's just the little things... bouquets of newly sharpened pencils... nothings turning into somethings...  This probably all points to one thing:  I've seen this movie too many times.  I can think of a quote from it to fit almost anything in my life. 

This is all to say, I'd like to have a penpal.  I like writing letters.  I'm not good at doing it in a timely fashion, but I genuinely like getting to know other people's stories, their backgrounds, and sharing myself with other people.  Anyone need a penpal?  Or an e-mail pal?

Also, I would like to have an apartment like Meg Ryan's in any given movie of hers. 

I bought tulips this week, and they're spread all over our main floor living spaces.  I love tulips.  They smell so good, and they're so pretty.

This weekend, I'll probably edit photos (surprise, surprise) and watch movies on my computer simultaneously.  It will be a good weekend--I just know it!

What are your plans?  Do you like Meg Ryan, too?  (If you don't, that's ok.  Just don't tell me or we can't be friends.)  (I'm kidding.)  (Kind of.)  (Ok, I don't like her plastic surgery as of late.  And yet.)

I'm feeling a little better.

I didn't mean that November is going badly, I just meant the past month... you know, October 3- November 3.  Something like that.

I'm just frustrated with several things and though I can be pretty patient most the time, it's getting really hard for me to be patient RIGHT NOW.

BUT.  It will be ok.

I had a good weekend.  I slept over at my mom's house, and worked on photos.  (But it seems like lately that's what I always do... the photo part, not my parent's house part.) I also spent copious amounts of time talking to her dogs, which is ok with me.  I like them.


I got my hopes up way too many times about places of residence I can't afford.  Perhaps someday I'll be able to afford a real home.

I held a darling baby during sacrament meeting and I thought, I could probably do this someday... ha.   I also photographed my best friend's tiny baby and had ice cream afterward. 


We've been trying to get our house clean and keep it clean.  It's a work in progress, definitely.  I got rid of 3 garbage bags of clothes this weekend.  It felt REALLY good.  Now I think I'm ready to get rid of more stuff.

I like to listen to Louis Armstrong and imagine blasting it through our future house while I bake cupcakes.  And I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of blue in my future house... and French doors, but not the modern ones.  The skinnier type.  Like this one:

I don't know why I thought of that.  I day dream too often.  That is all for today.

I got back yesterday

in the afternoon after spending 4 days with my in-laws at a family reunion. We camped. We stank. We ate dutch oven. We rafted. My husband and I slept on a hill, and consequently had to slide back up on our pads all night long for 3 nights.

Nonetheless, it was a good reunion... or, for me, meeting (for some members of the family).

I have been thinking a lot this weekend.

I am going to look through my old photo album now. I'll show you some of it later, perhaps.

I would like to relax a bit today. I think I'll go do that now.

Sorry this post is a bunch of nothing-ness, but I felt as though I had something to say, and now I'm realizing I don't, at least not here, not now. I'll be back. Happy (or, as happy as it can be) Monday.

Mother's day was a good one.

I made my mom an envelope card, which I discovered from Elise Blaha, and we gave both moms a cactus. I know this is really belated. I'm an irresponsible blogger.

I share these with you, because once upon a time I was not good at being creative. I've come a long way.



And my love gave me flowers and a movie. Mostly because I gave him something last year for Father's day, and he knows I love surprises. Because I tell him. All the time.

I'm back

for now.

I have had a zenith of days... riding my bike, watering my flower bed, delighting in the joy that spring--finally, spring--brings. I am in love with life.

This is not to say that everything is perfect, but I think that's why everything is perfect: it's life at its best. My life isn't perfect, no, but it is perfect in its imperfection.

My house is a mess and I can never keep up with the dishes. I have been doing my hair with a functioning straightener [meaning: I can do more than keep it to its natural straightness]. It's finals week for my husband and I'm excited to finally have him to myself instead of sharing him with chemistry. I want to get a puppy, but I think waiting to get one makes it even better, more exciting. I'm feeling more comfortable with myself, and I'm letting my worries fly away [actually, it's more me shooing them away, with which I'm also ok]. I'm working on little projects, even if they're just in the planning stages.

I am dreaming and dreaming and dreaming about what the future holds.

I am taking photos. Here are a few [of my sister's children]:

There are many other really great ones... maybe someday I'll be able to sift through the millions of photos I have to process and post them, perhaps.

And I finally received my new lens. It is wonderful. See:

Ok, thanks for reading. Good-bye, friends.

Hello, hi. Guten Tag.

I decided a few things over the weekend:

• I put too much pressure on myself. It gives me a [near-constant] headache. I need to calm down and take a nap.
• I am proud to say I am a huge Hannah Montana fan. I am now plotting on moving to Tennessee after seeing the film with my 15 year-old stepsister because I loved it so much. I'm a sucker for pretty sets [and oh my, Tennessee seems so wonderful... remember how I said I'm flexible? Yeah, I could probably move anywhere that's picturesque]. And I love movies about singers. I am also plotting my music career. [If you count singing in my car plotting. If so, then yes, I'm plotting.]
• I also now like [some] country music. I am not normally too big a fan of country. Thank you, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus.
  
• I love trees. I love them too much. Almost nothing excites me more than blooming trees, or seeing trees begin to sprout leaves in spring. If I could, I'd hug a tree. All day. Or just sit under it.
• I try too hard a lot of the time. Things are better when I can sit and think, a breeze on my back and the sun on my face--much better.
• I love spring more than ever. Rain is very preferable to snow.

I haven't shared some photos in a bit. Here are some recent ones:

The trees are blooming! At my in-laws house on Easter.

If you have to sneak under a locked fence to get shots at a junkyard like these, do it. Because, more than anything, it's fun.

Also, my in-laws have several classic cruisers. I rode one once when brotherman and I were dating, and I thought I would lose control--the handlebars shake really badly until you get going. After that, smooth sailing.

I've had a lot of good experiences lately. But I've been thinking about keeping them to myself/saving them for future writing things, because once I write about something, I don't usually want to write about it again. So, bloggie, I don't know if I'll pimp them out to you. Plus, I've been thinking about lots of memories and stuff, but again.. not sure about the pimping. I've been wanting to write, and all of a sudden I have a billion things to write about, but I'm just not sure in which format I'd like to write about them. Give me some time to ponder. I'll get back to you. [Do I get ten points for creative & semi-hip use of the word "pimp"? Get back to me on that.]

Hello again

I'm back.

I had a lovely, lovely Friday & weekend. I made treats [peanut butter pie and cupcakes--I went a little crazy, but it was fun], cleaned my house, went swimming, bought a new dress and got a haircut. I also helped my sister get her house ready for my nephew's 1st birthday party the next day.

I took a lot of photos of him... he's so darling, I can't help it. Here are a few:

My sister has more photos on her blog that I took then too... Yeah, I took a lot. He snuggled me and was rubbing my hands on Friday night as he sat on my lap. Oh, I just love him. He has a little cut on his forehead--I think we deduced he must have scratched himself in his sleep or something.

My neighbors are still loud, and my husband is still great. I finished Roman Holiday, and I have to say that's probably my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie I've seen yet. I also watched My Fair Lady, and I was surprised to see that I know a lot of the songs from the movie. I especially loved Eliza Doolittle's dress at the ball...

I really liked the time I had to myself. Lucky [or not] for me, I get to do it again this week... sort of. My brotherman has a lot of engagements lately! He came home Saturday night, a day earlier than planned, and that was a sweet surprise. We rested on Sunday, and as per usual, Sunday night turned out to be my least favorite time of the week. I sometimes have breakdowns Sunday nights; I don't really know exactly why... perhaps it's knowing that the week will be busy and I'll be at work so much. I know it sounds weird, but home is where I'd like to be, and spending so much time elsewhere can be hard. I think I just need to toughen up. I'm working on it.

Anyway, I'm going to carry on and get through this week. It helps that it's spring, and I have something that's really making life pleasant for me--a new car! I traded up. It's wonderful to have a car that has a driver's side window that rolls up inside the frame, has automatic steering, and all the speakers work in it. I used to go for drives all the time, but lately it hasn't been that fun or calming... but I feel it coming back with this new car... plus I feel a lot safer.

It's great to listen to the new CDs I bought last Friday in my car. Yes, I still buy CDs. I prefer them to iTunes... I think it's the physical sensation of owning the CD, putting it in my car's CD player... I don't know, though. I don't have a CD player besides the car. Anyway, I'll tell you about the two CDs I bought later. If you're not too busy listening to your walkman. Or your record player.

Happy St. Patrick's day!

Other highlights from the weekend:

Not in any particular order:

• Krispy Kreme donuts on the way home
  
• Late-night Dan in Real Life viewing [I love that movie]
• A clean house--I just can't get over it
• Coming home Friday night instead of Saturday, when we were originally supposed to come home
  
• Pulling out one of my spring skirts and wearing it for the first time this year
• Taking photos of this sweet babe:

Meet my niece, Bergen Jo.

I think this one's funny, mostly because she's a little too big to do this... and her expression is great.

I also got several good screaming/crying photos.

There are more good ones, but that's all I have for now. I just love her.

Now I'm going home to several nights by myself. Brotherman just left on a biking trip with some fellows til the end of the weekend, so I'm going to be all by my lonesome. But don't cry for me, Argentina: I have a video store rental card, a gym membership, plenty of projects, a sweet peanut butter pie recipe from Summer, and a floorplan for my spare room.

Wish me luck.

Back

The weekend was a good one. I stayed home yesterday, and I realized how much I love home. I didn't leave once, and I wasn't sad about that at all. It's made me realize, also, how much I'll love staying at home once we have kids. It's my choice--I've always wanted to stay home with my kids, though my husband would be fine with me working if that's what I decide I want. I'm a definite home-body, and I've always chosen staying home over going out. Therefore, the future is very exciting to me. Home it is, then.

Friday, we went out of town and ended up in Salt Lake sort of unexpectedly. [It's a long story.] I picked the place to eat, and though my brotherman a.k.a. my housband didn't really like it [he was expecting something much, much different], I thought it was charming.

Behold, the Beehive Tea Room:

I love the green and black checkered floors. So quirky! Reminds me of Amelie, always a plus. There were teacups, lanterns, and little nooks; it was the perfect amount of kitsch [in a good way] and quirk.

Since it was a little chilly out, I ordered this sweet hot chocolate. I get hot chocolate almost every time we go out when it's cold, and this was probably one of the best cups I've had in a very long time.

A detail shot on the way out.

Lastly, a building on the way back to our car:

It was a good weekend; I also took photos of my niece, but I'll have to save those for later. While I stayed in yesterday, it snowed and snowed [and snowed]. I had to dig my car out with a shovel under the foot of snow which buried it this morning.

This roof had no snow on it before Sunday night/yesterday:

It doesn't look like a lot, but it kind of is for this point in the year. But it's okay. Like I said, winter can't break me now. It's sunny out!

Plus, I stayed in yesterday and enjoyed [hopefully] one last snow day. I made cookies while I cleaned up our already deep-cleaned house [which we scrubbed Saturday], and I was cozy on the couch with word searches while my favorite candles burned. All in all, a really good day, and a nice start to the week.

Spring is coming soon. Mark my words.