Abbey Gal

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

Black Friday

2011-11-23T08:18:00.001-08:00

Halloweenie

2011-11-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Haunting! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. In college, I used it as an excuse to dress up as a skanky (insert anything here) by stuffing tube socks in my bra to create awesome cleavage (sorry Mom) and get away with it. Now, I use it as an excuse to dress my kids up as (insert anything here) and take them house-to-house to get lots of free candy... and get away with it.

This year, we dressed TC up as a Minion off of "Despicable Me". I thought it was hi-larious.

Matt said the gloves really "tied the whole thing together". Good thing, because if they didn't he might just look like a weird kid with goggles. Isn't he adorable?

Here's a real treat from the family Halloween party. Guess who Brody dressed up as?? Twinners = Winners. Thanks for the laugh, Brody!

I wanted to take them trick-or-treating this year (reason why mentioned above) but neither one of my babies were cooperating. Lamest. Kids. Ever. You will also notice TC is no longer dressed as a Minion, but an elephant. Last minute, he changed his mind and wanted to be Dumbo (he has been obsessed lately). Luckily he doesn't eat very much and his costume from last year still fit perfectly.

Here is a little family photo - TC is a little pissed off because I made him wake up to trick-or-treat. Sorry buddy, but I'm not going to get both you and miss Hazel all dressed up looking cute enough to eat and drive accross town for nothing - I'm pretty sure you'll thank me later.

Match.com for Couples

2011-11-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer:   This post has nothing to do with "swingers" or anything like that, so if you are into that sort of thing (and I'm not here to judge) you might as well save yourself some time and stop reading now...

Last month, I was reading an article in Cosmo, *ahem*, I mean some really really classy magazine called "What Happy Couples Know" that gave a list of things that you needed to have in order to have a happier marriage. Want to know what topped the list?  FRIENDS... Basically something to the effect of couples who have close friend couples have happier marriages and lower divorce rates and backed it up with a bunch of research I didn't care enough to look into. It did get me thinking though...

In the past three years, pretty much everything that could change in Matt and I's lives did. We got married, moved to California, popped out a couple of babies, and got "real" jobs with "health insurance" and "retirement plans". It was a draaaastic change from the fancy-free lifestyle we had both been living while we were in school (where my biggest stress was when I was going to squeeze in my next tanning appointment).  So when we decided to move back home to Utah last year and I found out how much I had really changed. Most of my friends were still single and living the fancy-free from before and we didn't really have that much in common anymore... Actually the meare thought of having to stay up past 11:00pm makes me throw up in my mouth a little.  So Matt and I recently decided to make a goal to find new friends... People who know a thing or two about the "hot-dog dance" and how to get crayon off of the walls.

Question: What is harder than finding someone to date? Answer: Trying to find another couple to date.

I feel like finding couple friends is like dating three people instead of one... EVERYONE has to like EVERYONE and have common interests or the group's relationship just won't last long-term. It's the perfect storm. Not to mention where do you meet these people? The produce section of the grocery store? It's not like I can approach a guy and tell him I think he would be great for my husband withouth looking like a total creeper.

I wish someone would invent a match.com for couples - they could match us on different levels and suggest good matches for us. We could review their profile and maybe text or email and get to know each other a little before we decided if we wanted to meet in real life and give it a go.

Tomorrow night we have a blind date with another couple from Matt's work.  Here's to hoping they might "be the one". :)

And One More Makes Four!

2011-10-08T10:19:00.000-07:00

She's here! We love our sweet new addition to the Mann family...

Hazel Rae Mann

9/10/11 (Yeah, I did that on purpose)

8 lbs 4 oz

19 1/2 inches long

TC's two-year-old pictures.... Cutie pah-tootie!

...And we did a few family pics while we were at it!

Summertime So Far

2011-06-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

Aaaaah SUMMER (insert long exaggerated exhale here). It has been a long wait to get here, but sooo worth it. I think I must have been born in the wrong state, because I really spend my whole winter praying and hoping summer will hurry up and get here.

I love it in the spring when you walk outside and for the first time of the year your hair gets warm from the sun. Best. Feeling. Ever. The Vitamin D soaks through your skin and it somehow translates to pure joy throughout your body. Too bad it only lasts a few months until the damn snow returns and your nostrils freeze together when you try to breathe through your nose. But that's something I don't have to worry about for a little while yet.

Now I was present when TC came into the world in August 2009, but if for some reason you don't believe he is mine, just watch him go into complete melt-down mode when he has to come inside the house - he loves the sunshine as much or probably even more than I do. So we have been spending as much time as possible outside - I've already gotten a few sunburns in the process.

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to as of late:

Playing with bubbles...

Going to the zoo...

Learning bad manners from the giraffe at the zoo...

Jumping on the trampoline...

Digging in the dirt and finding bugs (especially ants)...

Riding bikes...

Chasing Bubby Rue and telling her to stay "down"....

And going on pony rides with Mr. Shorty and Grandpa!

A HAPPY TODDLER = A HAPPY MOMMA

Matt started taking classes again this semester, and is doing unbelievably well. He's taking an online math class and is getting an A. I'm so proud of him! He's also been doing a ton of sports - he is on three softball leagues and football. A few weeks ago, he tore all the ligaments in his shoulder, but is now almost back in full working order. I don't know how he does it all, but it's working for him! Go babe!

Baby girl has been growing like crazy. This has been such an easy pregnancy, I am so grateful! Well, I'm not sure if it is actually easier, or if I have been too busy to notice, but time has really flown by. With TC, I knew exactly how "pregnant" I was to the day. This time, I rely on a weekly email reminder to keep me up to date on how far along I am. I have been feeling good - no issues with cabage patch feet or outrageous blood pressure numbers - just tired. I feel like I have a lot still to do to get ready for her grand entrance, but for some reason I don't really feel worried about it all. The only problem is in less than 3 months she will be here! Guess it's time to get this pregnant booty in gear!

I Heart Ultrasounds

2011-04-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

I am not a patient person. I pretty much ruin every surprise Matt has ever tried to do for me (including our engagement - but that's another story) by bugging him about it until he finally breaks and tells me. When I buy presents for TC for holidays, I find myself rarely waiting to the actual holiday because I usually end up giving them to him early and have to buy more last minute. I can't help it. I just get excited.

I think that's where my obsession with ultrasounds comes from. Having to wait nine months for the baby to finish up is pure agony for me. Luckily, ultrasounds give me a little sneak-peek at my babe before it arrives, and it's just enough to satisfy my impatience. They really reassure me that everything is going good by letting me see the baby is healthy, growing, has all the right parts and is moving all over the place. I love it. Even though a part of me still feels a little wierd about it all, like we are looking at something we aren't supposed to see, it all is overshadowed by the pure joy of knowing my baby is healthy.

We had an ultrasound on Monday. I'm 19 weeks now, so I was extra excited for this ultrasound because we get to find out the gender! YEAH! I have heard of couples who decide to wait to find out what they are having because it makes the delivery "more exciting", but we are definitely not one of those couples. Remember the patience thing? Yeah, I could barely wait the extra week to get the ultrasound because of scheduling issues let alone another 5 months.

Everything went well - the babe was a little wiggle worm and the ultrasound tech said the baby looks perfect. Double YEAH! Ok, maybe she didn't use the exact word "perfect" but it looked perfect to me.

Of course the baby did not want to cooperate when it came to showing it's little baby parts. It kept one foot inbetween it's legs for the whole ultrasound. A little voice in me started to panic because I thought we might have to come back later to find out. Yeah right... Good luck prying my big pregnant booty off the table without knowing... But with a ~~lot of jabbing at my belly~~ little prodding , the foot moved out of the way and we could tell it was a GIRL! When the tech told us, I started pumping my arms saying "YESSSSS!" and Matt said "Oh great, now I'm going to have to buy more guns." If the impression we were trying to give the ultrasound tech was "not crazy", I don't think we did too hot.

I couldn't (and still can't) stop smiling. Ok, here's my confession: I have been hoping it was a girl all along. I love all things girly - ribbons, lace, flowers and bows. Of course I couldn't say that until now - I didn't want anyone to think I would be disappointed if it was a boy (and I wouldn't have been). I love my boys more than life, but I can't wait for this sweet little ladybug to join our family.

Let the shopping begin!

Why I Love Digital Cameras...

2011-04-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

If I still had to use film, I would spend a fortune on getting pictures developed that looked like this...

Just to get ONE like this....

This pretty much sums up how I feel about my toddler's level of cooperation.

Not cute. Just true.

Coming September 2011...

2011-04-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to have a new little Boo join our family!

Beauty or Beast?

2011-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

As I was driving home from work yesterday, I looked in the rear-view and noticed my eyebrows were getting a teeny bit thick. I was on my way to meet my parents at their house to pick up TC, but I was a few minutes ahead of them so I popped into the local nail salon on the corner for a quick wax. I said I wanted an eyebrow wax and the little asian lady led me to a room where I laid down on a table with bright lights shining on my face. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Asian Lady: It's been a while huh?

Me: Um, yeah. I have been really busy... Sorry.

Asian Lady: So are we doing the upper lip today too?

Me: What???

Asian Lady: Your upper lip. Are we waxing that today too?

Me: (Shocked because I was not aware I had a mustache) Um, no thanks, just the eyebrows today.

Asian Lady: Ok. Have you ever considered tinting your eyebrows? It would make you look a lot better.

Me: Um, thanks for the offer, but I just want them waxed today.

Asian Lady: Ok. Do you use regular nail polish or gel nail polish?

Me: Just regular nail polish.

Asian Lady: You should try the gel... (grabbing my hand) it wont chip like yours see?

SERIOUSLY??? I thought going to a salon was supposed to make you feel better about yourself - not the opposite! Thankfully she was finished at this point and had no time to point out my relief society arms or the cellulite on my thighs.

Oh little Asian Lady... I realize you were trying to promote your business, but you just lost mine.

The Festival of CoLoRs!

2011-03-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

I was working last Saturday night at the Olive Garden when one of my tables was seated with individuals covered head to toe in different shades of brightly colored chalk. While normally I would have introduced myself with something totally mundane like, "Welcome to the Olive Garden, my name is Abbey, BLAH BLAH BLAH" I instead played a quick game of twenty questions with the whole table trying to get to the bottom of who-what-where-when-and-why they came in looking like this. Management would have probably frowned on this behavior, but I was trying to "build a guest connection" a.k.a. find out more information for myself.

They told me they had just been to the Festival of Colors at the Hindu temple in Spanish Fork. That basically it was a celebration welcoming spring where everyone gathers together for a big party where everyone throws colored chalk at each other. I liked it. A lot. I was really sad that I had missed it, honestly. But no! They told me they had spread it out to a two day event this year, and I could still go on Sunday from noon to 4:00. Victory! Now came the biggest challenge - talking Matt (a person who hates all things dirty) into going with me and getting blasted in the face by strangers with handfuls of chalk. I knew I had a daunting task ahead of me.

After a little use of my manipulation skills (which I am not entirely proud of) he agreed to go. Then I showed him some pictures of the previous year and he said "Aw, hell no." But alas, he had already said yes, and I wasn't about to let him back out now. We dropped TC off at my parents and headed down to Spanish. I can call it "Spanish" because I have family who lives there so I am entitled to. I can't, however, say I was really prepared for what we saw when we walked to the temple.

There were 14,000 people covered in bright colored chalk having the time of their lives amongst the lamas and peacocks at a temple on a hill that in no way looks like it belongs anywhere near Spanish. Possibly not even on the same continent as Spanish. These Hari Krishnas know how to party - there was a band, food, and a little recreational drug use. We made our way through the crowd as people threw handfuls of chalk at us. At first I didn't really know how to react. Should I be upset that we being targeted? Should I ignore that it was happening? Should I say thank you? It was a little awkward until we bought some chalk for ourselves and threw it back at them. The awkwardness fleeted and then we really got into it - Matt and I had the time of our lives standing near the entrance and picking out the new clean people as our next victims, trying to make them feel awkward. I know it sounds a little weird when I say it like that... Guess you had to be there.

In my experience, events like this tends to bring out the weirdies... which is half of the reason I like to go to them. This guy sitting in his one-piece long johns and bare feet in the mud by himself was cracking me up. He sat there the whole time. I had to take a picture. Not to mention the guy in front of him dressed in a wrestling singlet. Um... where do they come from?

A few hours after we got there they had a ceremony where they "burned the witch" (that I still don't entirely understand) and had a countdown to the throwing of the colors where everyone tosses their chalk into the air and makes a gigantic color-filled cloud. Definitely the highlight of the event.

Despite his hesitation, Matt had a great time. We laughed all day and hours after. See? Sometimes trying something you would normally never do can turn out to be a great thing... We will definitely be back! I asked him what his friends in Georgia would think if they could see him like this and he just shook his head, laughed, and said, "I don't even know." Cheers to new experiences!

A Little Story About the Cliche of Doors Opening and Closing.

2011-03-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Forgive me for I have sinned. It has been five months since my last blog...

Five of the longest months of my life.

November we got great news... Matt was getting a promotion! I can't explain how excited I was. More money = a little wiggle room in our budget. I want wiggle room. I love wiggle room. I embrace wiggle room with a warm smile and a cup of hot cocoa. I was thrilled. Everything seemed to be working out perfectly for us. Even though he got the job in November, we had to wait almost three weeks while the position got approved through the "higher-ups" of the company, so he didn't actually begin working at the new store until the middle of December. No worries right? At least he got it.

Uh, not so much. In January, Matt went to work early for a management meeting. He called me about 30 minutes later saying that Lowe's had just laid him off. SERIOUSLY??? I thought he was joking at first because the whole situation didn't make a bit of sense to me. Why would they promote him, make him wait almost a month to make sure the position was going to be approved to turn around a few weeks later and take away everything from us. Not just the wiggle room, but EVERYTHING. How were we supposed to live? Not to mention I was 6 weeks pregnant and we had three more days of insurance until that was taken away too. I really felt like my world came crashing down on me in just a few minutes. But I was not alone - Lowe's had laid off 1,700 of their management so they could hire 10,000 part time employees. Matt had dedicated years of his life to this company and really cared about his job and customers only to be tossed out on his ass to save a couple dollars. Disappointing is an understatement. I guess that is what happens when you care about a company who does not care about you in return. Matt had a better attitude about it all, but I was very bitter. And borderline violent. I wanted to stab all the "higher-ups" in the neck with a pen for putting us in this situation. And if they had lived within walking distance of us (gas is a luxury when you suddenly have no money) I would have. And I might have keyed their cars too just for good measure.

The next two months were really hard. I started working 7 or more shifts a week at the Olive Garden so we were able to make our bills while Matt desperately looked for a new job. Being on my feet all day and constantly lifting was exhausting. It wasn't working, and it was not going to work for much longer. We had to figure something else out. I applied for a position at Salt Lake Community College for the Residency Specialist and much to my surprise I got it! I started the first of March and so far I am loving it. It feels good to trade in my elastic band sweat pants for a pair of heels again. (No offense sweat pants, you still have a place in my heart.)

Matt and I decided it was time to get out of retail and look at this as an opportunity to do the things that he loves. My sister called him the day after he got laid off, and told us about a new professional football team that was coming to Utah called the Salt Lake Crush. They were having a combine in three days and the owner wanted Matt to be there. Matt was hesitant (because he had not been training in 6 months) but with much prodding from my sister and I he agreed to go. He did great! I went to watch and cheer him on and I was so impressed with my husband's athletic ability (something that I have nothing of)... But I wasn't the only one who was impressed. The owner and coaches invited him back to the second combine three weeks later, and offered him a contract to play with the Crush. Yeah! I can't wait for the season to start... I am ordering matching jerseys for myself and the Bug so we can cheer daddy on at all of his games. :) I guess we should get a jersey for my sister too, because she is suddenly demanding one AND season tickets to all of the games since it is "because of her he even got to try out". Maybe we can order them in bulk?

Lowe's ended up offering Matt another management position, but he turned it down. I know what you are thinking - uh, has he lost his mind? (Mostly because I thought the same thing when he told me but with a little more colorful language). But I do understand why. He no longer felt like he wanted to move up in the company - why risk this same thing happening to us again? This was an opportunity to finish school and do what he really wanted to do. He has wanted to finish school for a while now, and the rotating schedule prevented him from doing it. He is going to start in May for summer semester. Here's the best part... because I work at SLCC he gets to go for freeeeee!

Who knew something so bad could end up being so good? I would have never applied for this position if Matt had not lost his job. He would have never tried out for the Crush or decided to go back to school if he hadn't lost it either. Although it was a very stressful time, things are lining up perfectly for us. It was a big BIG blessing in disguise. If we hadn't been forced to, we would have never made the changes that we have been wanting to make for a long time to accomplish the things that are really important to us. Matt took a position at Lowe's stocking - it is one of the few positions in the store that has a set schedule and he is off by 2:00 everyday, giving him the time to take classes and play sports.

Although I can't say that I'm grateful for the stress and hardship we went through, I am grateful for the opportunities that were opened to us. Maybe God knows I don't handle stress well and I was on the verge of a nasty breakdown. I don't know. I do know in the end, I feel like we are going to be much better off. We are very blessed.

Bath Time

2010-10-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

The Bug loves baths. He runs in the bathroom and throws his toys in the tub and yells "Juice! Juice!" (He calls any kind of liquid is juice.) It's adorable when it's the tub and less adorable when it's the toilet. We lost Matt's inhaler to the toilet this week. Sigh...

I had to take some of the classic "naked baby in the bathtub" pictures. I have to have something to show his future girlfriends... I wouldn't be a proper mama if I didn't.

Let me in!

I let him be naked for like 5 seconds and he pees all over the living room... Notice the puddle on the floor. Lesson learned little bug... Lesson learned.

What We've Been Up To Lately...

2010-10-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

Oh Blog, how I've missed you! Who knew being a stay-at-home (hot) mama would be so time consuming! BAH!

Staying home with TC is an experience I am so grateful to have. I don't know how long I will be able to do it, but I am going to enjoy every day that I can. Everyday he makes me laugh - he is hilarious! We go to playdates, to the park, and Tiny Tot Tales at the library. Besides the little attitude he has developed, I am loving every minute! He is talking up a storm now, Matt and I counted 20 words. Not bad for a one-year-old. This kid is so smart its scary!

He loves helping at Grandpa and Nana's. He has jobs like taking out the dog, and feeding the cats. He also helps Grandpa with the irrigation water.

I decided to take a photography class and learn how to use my camera. I figured if Matt was willing to sell his X Box so I could have it, the least I could do is learn how to use it like it is supposed to be used. I learned a lot, and now that it's over I'm wishing it lasted a little longer. Here are a few of the Bug I have taken.

We moved into our new apartment! Special thanks to my parents for letting us stay with them until we found a place, but I am so excited to be in and be in my own space again. Going 2 months with everything you own in boxes is maddening. I can't tell you how happy I am to get everything out of the trailer.

Pregnancy was not kind to me. Besides the 50 extra pounds, my feet grew a size and a half. For a while I was in denial, and thought they would return to their proper size, but it just didn't happen. Because all my shoes were too small, I developed a really bad ingrown toenail. Geh. After a year, I finally went to the doctor and got part of my toenail removed. Double Geh. I'm hoping it looks somewhat normal by sandal weather, but hoping hasn't gotten me very far with this situation so we will see I guess.

Matt and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on the 20th. Confession: I completely forgot about it. I never claimed to be the perfect wife. I am HORRIBLE with dates. I actually thought we got married on the 21st. After a quick consult with our marraige licence, I realized I have had the date wrong this whole time. Like I said, I never claimed to be perfect. Matt bought himself the new Halo video game, and I bought myself a new purse. We are great at picking out gifts... Thank you Baby! In all seriousness though, I really am so blessed to have Matt in my life. He is truly the love of my life and makes me so happy. Love you Babe :)

We all went to the USU vs. Fresno State game in Logan. We love our Aggies!

The next weekend, we headed out to Wendover with my parents, my sister, and her boyfriend, Craig, for the air show. TC loves airplanes, and we thought he would love it. We were right. It was a lot of fun watching the show, but we had a little problem with seating. We brought camp chairs to sit in because the show is from 9-3. Unfortunately, the chair I borrowed from my parents had 3 out of the 4 legs broken. Great. Why they kept the chair after it was literally on its last leg is something I am still trying to understand. Nevertheless, it was all we had and my mom was determined to make it work. She rigged the legs together with the straps of the chair cases, and my dad volunteered to sit on it. At first sight, I knew this chair was a ticking time bomb. It was not an "if" but "when" situation. Sure enough, as dear old dad was reaching for the sunblock for the baby - SNAP! My sister signaled me to look back and there he was, booty on the ground, still digging for the sunblock like a soldier. A little boy behind us ran up with a pice of plastic that shot off the chair and handed it to my dad. I. Was. Dying. After laughing for roughly half an hour, I ended up sitting in the baby's stroller for the rest of the show. Notice TC and I are not the same size - it was not cute, but it was fairly convenient... I could roll to wherever I wanted without having to get up. Niiiiice. Not to long after, my sister's boyfriends chair went SNAP! Seriously??? What are the chances? We. All. Were. Dying. I really haven't seen Matt laugh that hard in a long time. Since we were quickly running out of chairs (and strollers) we decided to bail. I wanted a picture of myself with a jet, so I had my sister take one for me. Notice the lack of "jet" in the background. Uhhh... thanks anyway, sis :)

The boys and the remaining spinters of chairs. We decided to leave them there. (The chairs, not the boys.)

So that's about everything that is new with us... staying busy! I promise I will try and update more often, but at the moment TC is dancing to J Lo (which is right up my alley) and I think I should join him. Until next time America...

The life of a single mama...

2010-09-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

I like to compare football season to a mistress that sneaks into our relationship every year and wisks my husband away into a love affair whirlwind of rankings, statistics, rivalries, and all things pig-skin. Matt lives for football. From little league to the pro's - he doesn't discriminate. This leaves me as pretty much a single mama from now until January.

When we first started dating I loved his obsession with football... Or maybe I loved his little football booty. Eh, I'm not one for details. I thought it was so cute how he would get so excited about the sport.

To date, however, this obsession to me has gotten a little, well, bland (for lack of a better word). How can a someone be content to sit in front of the TV all day 6 days a week watching the same thing over and over again? PS - thank you, football people for leaving me ONE FREAKING DAY of the week with no football games. And thank you, ESPN, for using that one day to recap the other six days. You people deserve a swift slap.

The other day, Matt told me he thought I would like football more if I understood more about the game. Now, I get the basics - 4 downs, 10 yards for a first down, how many points are in a touchdown or field goal blah, blah, blah. So I decided to give it a shot. Quality family time on the couch is better than no quality family time, right?

We watched the Boise State vs. Someone Else game. I thought it went great. I asked a lot of questions. I even made a funny joke about how their quarterback looked a little horsey and could double as Boise Sate's mascot, the Broncos. See below - I was spot on with this one.

Later that night I asked Matt if he had fun watching the game with me. He hesitated and said "Ummm... yeah... it was alright. I mean, besides you asking a million questions and saying the QB looks like a horse EVERY time he came on the screen." (Guess it didn't go as great as I thought it did.)

I can't help that I compare the players looks to celebrities or animals. I do what I have to do to stay entertained. The sport alone just doesn't do it for me. I guess the passion just isn't there - oh well, you can't say I didn't try.

The Fastest Year in History

2010-08-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, my baby...

Happy Birthday to the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I Love you Bug.

Surprise!

2010-08-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know yet.... We are moving from here...

...back home to a state that is a whole lot easier to draw. (I don't believe in living in states that I am incapable of drawing - even if I trace it - so we're outie.)

Really, Matt got a transfer to a Lowe's in Sandy, so we are moving back to the saltiest of cities! I am really sad to leave Hanford (it has really grown on me) and all of our friends, but I am going to get to stay home with the cutest little boy in the whole world so the decision wasn't all that tough.

TC's New Look

2010-08-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Uhhhhh.....

Yeah. This resemblence is a little too striking.

I invest a lot of money every year in hair products that promise to volumize and give body to my locks, but on TC it's not such a good look. I don't think anyone can blame me when I decided it was time to take my mini Don King for a little visit to the barber shop for his first cut.

Of course he did great - a lot better than me. I started going into panic mode when I saw his baby curls dropping to the floor. Bah!

Handsome little Mann! Doesn't he look like a little grown up?

Camping

2010-08-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year people. Time to leave our air-conditioned, technology filled apartments with full-sized furniture to spend a week in the wilderness under the stars on beds designed for little people (or people who are a hell of a lot smaller than meme), swarms of flies straight out of Jurassic Park, and a handful of wild beasts... oh, and my family.

All joking aside - I LOVE camping. I love being out in wide open spaces, fresh air, riding 4-wheelers, shooting guns, taking several naps a day, and sitting by the fire with my family telling stories of the "old days". There isn't a whole lot I would choose to do over camping. (I'm still working on converting Matt to this type lifestyle - but the insects seem to be a bigger road block than I had originally anticipated. He is a pretty good sport though, and I think the 4-wheelers just might win him over.)

Disclaimer: This blog includes a picture overload.

Of course TC was in heaven - dirt, space to run, and the constant availability of family members to take him on rides and he was sold.

Thank you Auntie and Big C for buying me this big ball!

Uncle Curt and TC

Baths in the trailer

He wanted to get in the lake... and I wasn't hurrying fast enough.

This is our family tree... Literally. It's a little tough to see, but we added Matt's name under mine when we got married, and put TC's name on the list last summer :)

Naps with Grandpa... Notice the similar haircuts...

Must be genetic - either that or poor grooming. Take your pick.

Four generations on the mountain where we all grew up. Pretty awesome.

I'm already looking forward to next year!

11 Months...

2010-08-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

... and spoiled rotten. I can't help it... If you had the cutest baby in the whole world you would spoil him too!

Here he is at 11 months...

I have NO IDEA where he got the dramatic gene, but I'm thinking it is probably Matt ;)

Wife-Swap

2010-06-30T15:41:00.001-07:00

I think it was Ludicris who said you can't turn a ho into a housewife... but I'll be damned if I don't try and turn my husband into one (a housewife, not a ho).

After a looooong stressful week at work, I got off on Friday in desperate need of the weekend to regroup. I walked into my apartment only to find it looking like the aftermath of the great San Franciso earthquake of '89. Now there are two obvious problems with this.

Number one: there was no earthquake - this is just how we are living. I swear I dedicate my entire weekend to cleaning my house and within just a few days it looks like I have never touched a broom in my lifetime. Is this just me? Maybe I got some kind of faulty apartment... the kind that undoes everything that is done. Maybe I should ask for a refund.

Number two: The year is 2010. Call me not-so-much old-fashioned, but the times of a woman's place being in the home are pretty much non-existant anymore. Excluding the lucky few, the cost of living is so high it often takes a duel income to provide a comfortable lifestyle for a family... well, this is the case for Matt and I anyway. To be honest, I love my job and I love what I do but it does get tiring working full time and being a full time mom/maid/cook/laundry service on top of that. I guess I just feel like if it is going to be 50/50 in the workplace, it needs to be a little more 50/50 at home too.

So Matt and I had a little conversation about it, and I'm sure all he heard was me saying "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... I bet YOU couldn't do it". And the bet was made. We decided to switch places for a week (well mostly I decided, but Matt played along with it). When I got off, I got to relax, read, watch TV and play with the Bug. Matt got to do dishes, laundry, pack diaper bags etc. It was pure heaven. H.E.A.V.E.N...

...Until the fourth day, when I got off I came home to a large sack from Comcast containing our DVR for the cable that needed to be installed and software upgraded. I asked Matt why he didn't get it set up, and not missing a beat he said, "it's your week for that". I couldn't help but laugh (on the inside - I can't let him know I think he is funny sometimes, it only encourages him). Now you have to keep in mind that only recently figured out how to change the settings from "TV" to "DVD" on our system. It's just not really my forte.

After about an hour with no success AND technical support on the phone, he stood next to me with his arms folded... "Need some help?" I stuck out my bottom lip and nodded yes. He smiled and said "Hmmm... that's funny, 'cause I could use a little help putting away the laundry."

Ooohhh I hate it when he wins. :)

10 Months

2010-06-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

This keeps getting better and better everyday. It's amazing how fast he is learning - I swear he picks up on something new all the time.

Here's a list of new things:

We're walking! Still a little weeble wobble, but he is doing so good.

He smiles at everything... Especially strangers. What a little flirt!

He found the toilet. And the toilet paper. And he figured out how to spin the roller until it ends up as a gigantic pile on the floor. Clever little butt.
He loves to dance.
He still is obsessed with birds.

He still is obsessed with his little peeper.

He loves swimming. We go swimming every weekend and he loves to splash.

He loves to be silly!

Here are some videos of him walking and playing with Dad :)

Vegas Trippin'

2010-06-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Aaaahhhhhh.... Vacations. I live for vacations. And it doesn't take much to please me... All I really need is a pool and my ipod and I'm pretty much set. I guess technically I could vacation in my backyard... but it's even better when the vacation is in Vegas.

When Matt decided to try out for the football combine in Atlanta this year, it just happened to be over the same weekend as my mom's birthday. Now I know an opportunity when I see one, and I can't say that it took me long before I was persuading my mom and sister to meet me for a girls weekend in Vegas. But if you know my mom and sis, you know it didn't take much persuasion and we started booking flights and hotels and it was settled.

We spent the weekend of sleeping in, mornings at the pool, afternoons at the mall, and evenings at the buffet began. Any girls dream come true... Or at least any chunky girl's dream come true. At Maggiano's I concieved a "food baby" and it made me pretty miserable for the rest of the night. But what was I supposed to do? Creme brulee doesn't exactly eat itself. I don't care if it put me in a bad place... their food is so damn delicious.

We wanted to take mom out for her birthday. I wanted to go here...

But she didn't seem really enthusiastic about it so we went to the Lion King instead. It was fabulous of course! But if I'm going to expand my exposure to the diversity of other cultures, I must say I would have chosen to do so with Austrailian hard-bodies than people dressed like animals. Eh, ya win some ya loose some.

I flew home on Sunday only to find out my fridge had gone out AGAIN. I was having de ja vu from Thanksgiving break. Appliances! Matt used to sell them, and ever since he has changed positions they keep going out on us. Like they know he turned his back on them. Weird.

We finally got that mess all cleaned up and went and picked up my own southern hard-body and my little bug on Monday. I missed my boys! And now it's back to normal. I guess that's the worst part about a vacation... They all end eventually and we go back to work. If you know of anyone who is hiring a professional pool-layer-outer, I have quite an impressive resume.

When it Rains it Pours...

2010-05-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

... Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't pour considering the back window of my Rodeo looks a little something like this:

Classy.

Saturday night Matt and I did a little grocery shopping at our local Walmart, and as we were unloading the car I heard a huge crash outside. I ran out to see my husband in a sea of blue glass formerly known as my back window. Literally a gazillion (yes, that's a word) pieces. When he lifted the window to get the groceries out something popped on one of the hinges and it literally fell apart in his hands. Fantastic.

Damn my luck. So tonight intstead of my spin class, I'm making a little trip up to Fresno to my local "pick-n-pull" to get a new/old one.

I'm so excited to have this all fixed. As much as I love temporary replacement, I will be grateful to see again - and not hear the plastic whipping in the breeze as I drive.

I knew there was a reason I spent the extra money on trash bags that are heafty, heafty, heafty not wimpy, wimpy, wimpy. All things happen for a reason!

Strange...

2010-05-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

This actually happened a while ago, but the same people were on the street corners in Hanford this weekend and it reminded me of something that happened several months ago that I still can't get over.

So I'm driving along one day, and I come to an intersection where I noticed several young hispanic men on every corner (and on every median) holding home made posterboard signs that said something to the effect of:

Donations for funeral

R.I.P Uncle Mac

(and a picture of "Uncle Mac")

I did think the situation was a little strange, but I didn't think too much of it and drove the rest of the way to work. Then I saw the same group on all of the corners the next day... and every other day that week. By the third week, I had some questions.

1. Where is "Uncle Mac's" body being stored? I'm sure we're dealing with some kind of health code violation at this point.

2. What kind of funeral extravaganza are they trying to put on if after 3 weeks they still do not have the funding they need to carry it out?

3. At what point do we hang up the posterboard and spend they day punching a timeclock to cover these "funeral" costs?

I'm just saying.... it all seems a teeny bit fishy to me.

I had completely forgotten about this whole event until this weekend, while driving to Target, I saw the same individuals with the same posterboard signs that included "Donations for Aunt Rita and her battle with Leukemia".

Call me heartless, but I kept my dollar.

9 Months!

2010-05-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

Our big bug! He is 9 months old now... where does time go? He has developed quite a funny little personality and I simply adore every move he makes.

New things... He started WALKING! He is a little weeble -wobble but he took 7 steps so I am going to count it.

He has discovered that if he wants to play he goes to daddy - who can always make him laugh. If he wants to snuggle he comes to me... to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way.

He loves to play peek-a-boo and loves when I sing "Old MacDonald". He dances. (But he is shy about it). He loves birds... Every morning we leave a few minutes early so we can look for birds. When he hears them or sees them fly he gets excited and laughs - it cracks me up!

He likes to show off and flex his muscles (he must have learned this from his daddy) it's a pretty neat trick. Here's a video... So funny! We love our little Bug-a-boo but if he could slow down a little and not get into EVERYTHING I wouldn't be mad about it! :)

A Trip to the Zoo

2010-04-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday was beautiful outside so myself, Matt and the Bug headed to the zoo with our friends Shay, Sergio and their babies Nivea and Ka'lia. So much fun! The Bug loved the animals.... especially the ugly looking ones. I don't know if he just appreciated their uniqueness but this one was one of his favorites...

Dad and Bug

Nivea

Shay and Ka'lia

Stunna Shades

Awww sweet baby kisses!

It was a trick! He latched on my lip and bit me... Bah! He's such a little brat!

Boy Parts vs. Girl Parts

2010-04-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

One could write a book (and many certainly have) about the difference between men and women. I'm not going to get into details about any gender-specific tendancies, today I just want to talk today about the basics... boy parts vs. girl parts. This weekend my 8-month-old made two exciting discoveries. One, that he has hair on top of his head, and two, that God gave him boy parts. He loves them... so much that he literally can't keep his hands off them. I started to thinking about it, and at this point I realize this is sort of a rite of passage all men go through... the beginning of a never ending obsession with their "peepers". This I can understand. A man's whole world literally revolves around it. What I don't understand, however, is the need to adjust/grab/shift/scratch their stuff in public. Being a female, I really can't comprehend the logic behind this behavior. Is it uncomfortable? Is it itchy? Are they just double checking that it's still there??? I have never heard of a penis just "falling off". Pretty sure that would make national news. Hoping my husband could enlighten me, I asked him last night to explain why men do this. His answer, "I dunno, sometimes it's just not where you want it to be". I couldn't help but laugh. He is the typical male - keep it simple. I am the typical female - make it complicated.

Namaste

2010-04-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

"The word yoga comes from Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. It means union, integration, or wholeness. It is an approach to health that promotes the harmonious collaboration of the human being's three components: body, mind, and spirit."
-Stella Weller

The Bug has been focusing on practicing Yoga lately. Here are some poses he has gotten down...

Downward Dog

Cobra

Plank

... and his signature Stink Bug Pose.

Silly Boy! ;)

Spring Break

2010-04-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Aaaaahhhh I love my job. I'm not even in school anymore and I still get spring break... It's a pretty sweet little deal. Naturally, I took advantage of this situation, and the Bug and I packed up and headed to Utah for 9 days. (Probably the 9 longest days of Matt's life... or possibly the 9 shortest... Ya never know.)

Sunday I went to Xay's baby blessing. Isn't this little guy a doll? Xay and TC were born within 3 days of each other. Steph and I have been friends for a long time. I feel so lucky that we have been able to go through this whole pregnancy thing and trying to figure out how to be a mama thing together. These little boo's are going to be heartbreakers... watch out!

Of course the Bug was spoiled by his Nana, Grandpa, Auntie, and Uncle Curt. No surprise there. But I feel like I got spoiled just as much. No cooking, dishes, cleaning, staying up all night with the baby, waking up early, or changing diapers? Dream. Come. True. I even got to go out with my girlfriends and my family fought over who could watch the baby. Alls I'm saying is this is something I could get used to.

I know lately my posts have been a tiny bit on the long side... ok, some of them are pushing novels in length, so I'll spare you the details, and just give you some of the highlights of how we spent the week!

Playing with BeeBop...

...Going to see the baby chicks at IFA with Grandpa...

...Reading stories with Nana...

...Playing in the bathtub...

...Hanging out with Grandpa Coy...

...Uncle Curt...

...and going for pony rides on Mr. Shorty.

(Oh, and being cute as a Bug!)
The Saturday before Easter, we had the annual weenie roast and easter egg hunt. I was pretty excited about this because this is the first year for TC, which meant we could look for money eggs. I don't care what you think... babies are expensive! We need all the help we can get! ;

Looking for his Easter Basket!

We had lots of fun... thank you to all the family and friends we were able to spend time with on the break. Its weird... we have been gone for a year and a half, but when I go home it feels like everything is the same. Well I guess not everything... I wandered down into my parents basement, and it looks like Curt has gotten a little carried away with the decorating. It looks like the damn Bean Museum down there. Oh and thanks, Curt, for letting my baby pet the dead wild animal carcass. You will always have a special place in my heart.

The Happiest Place on Earth

2010-03-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Being the natural optimist that I am, I have never understood why people consider Disneyland the "Happiest Place on Earth". Let's just say spending the day waiting in ridiculously long lines, eating over-priced food, with hoards of fanny-pack wearing Asians is not exactly on the top of my Bucket List. Eh, I'm more of a sand and sunshine kind of girl. Unfortunately my dad is the same age as Disneyland, and he decided there was no better way to ring in his 55th year than to spend it with his BFF/birthday partner Mick Mouse. So Matt, the Bug and myself packed up and headed to the HP on E to meet up with my dad, mom, and Sisi-Pants for four days of fun-filled adventure.

Although my attitude was more on the "glass half empty" side of the idea, after getting there we ended up having a ball. The Bug ate it all up. All the attention, all the people, all the rides. I seriously have the best baby in all of the land... he didn't whine or complain at all. (I wish I could say the same for the rest of us. We we're beat! Me and Pants were ready to go home by the end of the night.... If only they made strollers for adults!)

One thing I have never really understood about Disneyland is the magnetic pull it has on adults to dress as children. It is not uncommon to see grown men or women in Mickey Mouse ears, Goofy hats, t-shirts covered in cartoons or carrying plastic light-up swords. It's like the Magic Kingdom is some kind of strange time machine. I personally liked this fellow with his Ewok backpack.

Thursday we spent all day at the park, so Friday we decided to head to Santa Anita for the horse races. Can I tell you how much fun this is? Mom and Dad taught us all the ins and outs of horse racing and betting. So we spent the afternoon running from the barns to the Paddock to the Bookie to the track. I started with $3 and won $20! Yeah for me! I guess I just know how to pick them.

Basically this whole trip my dad raved about a restaurant called the Mar Mac that he had eaten at 37 years ago (red flag) with his brother that had all-you-can-eat Prime Rib (red flag). I don't know of anywhere that has all-you-can-eat prime rib that is going to stay in business for 37 years. When I searched for the Mar Mac on the internet the only thing that came up was collecter's item matchbooks from the Mar Mac on ebay (yet another red flag). Despite these warnings we found 3 possible addresses for the restaurant and went on a wild goose-chase in search of unlimited amounts of beef. As you can guess, several hours later we ended up in the parking lot of the Downy Pizza Company... the restaurant formerly known as the Mar Mac. So we ended up going to the Elephant Bar down the street instead. On the way home, Matt's GPS died and we accidentally ended up with our gas light on in Linwood instead of Anaheim. For those of you who don't speak "ghetto", Linwood + gas light = no bueno. So we hopped on the closest freeway in search of a gas station just in time for our tire to blow out. Instead of risking our lives by getting out of the car to change the tire, we decided to call AAA and let a stranger risk his life for us. Thank you stranger... Your work was not in vain.

The next morning Matt and Dad went to get the tire fixed and we headed to the park again. This time to California Adventure to ride grown-up rides. To be honest, they were a little too grown up for my taste. There were several rides that I couldn't breathe on, and they gave me dry mouth. This is a reinactment of how me and Dad felt on the Tower of Terror. Matt of course loved it.

What a great vacation. We had so much fun spending time with the fam... eating deserts with every meal, trying to avoid getting in fist-fights with a Chinese lady, and sleeping under the stars. I guess that's why it's called the Happiest Place on Earth. :)

The Giggle Monster

2010-03-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

He already has my heart and he has only been mine for 7 months. I can't help but brag that this little Bug-a-boo is quite the clever little guy. He has 4 teeth now (and one blister that is a soon-to-be tooth). He loves peek-a-boo, playing patty-cake, singing the "itsy-bitsy spider", rolling all over the place, and making a weird dragon noise. He is so busy... I am in for some real trouble once he gets his knees underneath him and starts crawling. Already he rolls across the living room floor and tears apart all of Matt's video games. Pray for me!

This is so cute... I couldn't help but share this little video of the Bug getting tickled by his Auntie.

Training Season

2010-03-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome Spring! One of my favorite seasons is upon us. This weekend the sky looked a little something like this...

So our little family jumped in the car and headed to the park so Matt could work on some training drills for the combine that is in June. When we first talked about Matt trying out, it felt like he had a lot of time to prepare for it. Now we are down to under 3 months... we have a lot of work left to do so it will be busy! Lookin' good Boo!

The babe loves the grass. He just runs his fingers back and forth it's too cute.

He has been a little grumpy the last couple nights and I thought he was getting another ear infection. Nope. When I was changing him into his pj's last night I noticed another tooth had popped through. Not one of the top middle teeth like you would expect, it's a weird snaggle-tooth on the top right side. I was cracking up. This kid's smile is going to get interesting in the next couple weeks.

So Vain

2010-03-04T17:02:00.001-08:00

Once upon a time (like before I got married) I used to care a whole lot about what I looked like. I went to the gym everyday, I kept up on my highlights, waxing, mani/pedi's, teeth whitening and went fake-baking regularly for that "natural glow".

Then we got a little bundle of joy and somehow the amount of hours in a day shrunk by about 5, and the available budget shrunk by about 50%. Sounds unreasonable, but it's true. Trust me... I'm a scientist.

Slowly my beauty habits got cut from the top of our priority list. A few weeks ago, Matt noticed the length of hair on my legs and yelled "Quick! Somebody call the Guiness Book of World Records! I think we have a record breaker!" Ass.

I get the point. Yesterday as I was getting ready, I noticed my skin didn't have that "natural glow" I had become acustom to over the years and decided on my lunch break I would head to the tanning salon for a quick fix. The girl at the front desk suggested I go for half the time. I was so offended! Did she not notice my olive complexion??? I told her I could handle the full time to which she replied, "Are you sure?" Um, I think I know what I can handle, thanks.

Not my wisest decision. I stood in the booth holding the straps at the top and dancing my booty off for the maximum amount of time (for someone with a good base tan). I do not have a base tan. I don't have any kind of tan. Actually the majority of my skin has not seen the light of day in over a year.

I didn't realize the extent of my mistake until I returned home from my spin class, and Matt said, "That must have been a good workout, your whole body is bright red."

It's called a sunburn... it's everywhere and it's not cute. Thanks to the straps at the top I was holding onto, I even have a sunburn in my armpits - a first. Bah! I can't even blame it on the beach! So maybe I'll stick with this more natural look a little longer... being vain is too painful.

Is it Legal...

2010-02-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

... to sell your husband on Ebay? If not Ebay, what about Craigslist? If it's legal to buy prostitutes on Craigslist, I can't imagine its illegal to sell a husband, right? Maybe I'll use the money to pick myself up something nice. Something real, reeeeeaaaaal nice.

Sleep = Happiness

2010-02-24T11:56:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning and went to get the baby and I got this...
ummmm 6AM is a little early to give attitude!

But the good news? His ear infection is finally clearing up.
Which means nightime looks a lot like this.....

... instead of this.

A happy Bug means a happy Mama!

Shout Out to Love

2010-02-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

Aaaahhhhh February. The month of love... Well, that and black history - but I'm going to go ahead and stick with the first since latter isn't really relevant to me at the moment.

In honor of this month I have put together a list of the things I love. I love my family, my babe and my Bug, my ipod, tanning in real sunshine, reality tv, my camera, fresh powder on ski days, real friends, my job, long baths, high heels, my freedoms and my attachments, when people play with my hair, the color green, Mac eyeshadow, when Matt holds me, putting mushrooms in pretty much everything I cook, and keeping my toes in the sand with my head in the clouds. I love my life and I'm grateful for the little things.

February has brought us many sleepless nights. Not the good kind of sleepless nights that are associated with love, but the bad kind that are associated with a Bug and a persistant ear infection. Turns out the reason he was waking up every hour was because his ears hurt. We thought it was better, but a week later the damn thing came back with avengence. Late Monday night he had a fever of 102 on Tylenol and was puking like the exorcist so we took him to the ER. I was so scared! He was a little trooper though... we brought his favorite toy (Mr. Crabby Patty) to keep him company (he likes to show him off). After almost a week of antibiocs, Matt took him in yesterday and nothing had changed. We are trying a different kind of antibiotics now, lets pray it works this time. Poor Bug!

Valentines was great. I have been taking spin classes a couple times a week (another thing I love) so Matt got me some new spin shoes (with the clips) and Season 5 of Weeds (yet another thing I love). We spent the day having our own little Weeds marathon. Now I'm not reccommending for any of you to watch the show... the language and content may not be that "appropriate" - but I can't get enough of it. Eh, we all have our vices. Matt planned a V-day treasure hunt for me and I loved it! Matt kept teasing me... "you know, most women want flowers and chocolate for Valentine's, but you want spin shoes (with the clips) and a Showtime series." Dear Babe, if you haven't figured it out by now - I'm not like most women.

I gave Matt a gift card to E-bay. I know a lot of you are thinking "that's not a very sexy V-day present" but trust me... nothing is hotter to Matt right now than Hot Wheels Cars. He is collecting them for the baby/himself. He told me a while ago that he wanted to start collecting Hot Wheels for TC to which my response was "Those little toy cars that are a buck? Sure. Knock yourself out." To say this whole thing is bigger than I originally thought is an understatement. Matt and his P.I.C. Garrett are taking this to a whole new level (my apologies to Cindy). I'm talking about club memberships, conventions, and some serious deductions from our bank account that are PayPal. They even have Cindy and I looking for "Tresure Hunts" every time we go to the grocery store. Now TC/Matt has a nice little collection going. I must say I do love getting packages in the mail. Now if only Matt would let the baby play with them. Hmmmm....

Nana and Grandpa sent a cute little package for us. When TC shook the sweethearts and it scared him. He had a mini-meltdown. Thank you! We love you!

He is 6 months now and getting cuter by the minute (ok, so maybe I'm a little biased). Here some new pics of the little thing I love the very MOST!

Mr. Golden Sun... Please Shine Down on Me

2010-02-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

I hate having to stay indoors. Blame it on my parents who let me run free as a jay-bird all summer long on the farm, but I hate feeling cooped up all winter. At least in Utah you can ski... here it just rains and rains and you have to sit inside and wait for spring to come. But the last two weekends something wonderful happened! The sun came out long enough for me to force everyone into the car and outside to the park. Some pics from our outings...

This pic makes me laugh. He looks so cute and small!

The next weekend we went to Mooney Grove Park in Visalia. I love this park! I used to go walking there when I was pregnant. There is always a gaggle (is that what it's called?) of geese there and I knew the little guy would love it.

Some new things about my guy... He has two teeth! They are so cute - like little chicklets in his mouth.

He can sit up! He still is a little wobbly, but I think he has gotten the hang of it.

One day he grabbed both sides of my face and planted a big sloppy kiss on my lips. It was the most satisfying day of my life. Now he loves giving kisses out. This is what they look like. Adorable.

The end.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of These...

2010-01-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Turns out this whole "dieting" thing is pretty difficult. I have been trying really hard and it's sloooowly working. But last night I had a dream I was eating one of those chocolate Hostess cupcakes in slow motion. Unfortunately, the babe woke me up right as I got to the center with the creme filling. Uh really? It's bad enough I'm tempted during the day... but during the night too? Unjust!Also the baby has decided to stop sleeping through the night. The last 3 nights he has woken up around 9 times. I made an appointment to check if he has an ear infection, but he is perfectly happy when he is awake so I'm not sure. Any suggestions??? I'm desperate for sleep! Until then.... I will pump my body full of caffiene and try and make it through the rest of the day. Bah!

A Little Food for Thought

2010-01-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

I once had a friend who said "Hate leaves ugly scars, love leaves beautiful ones...."

Well my "love scars" came in the form of stretch marks all over my tummy that looks like I recently got into a battle with a tiny tiger... Beautiful? Eh, not so much. Oh and the extra 15 pounds I'm packing around? Not too hot either.

No more chunky clothes for me. I'm serious about fitting into my old clothes and be able to breathe. No one likes a muffin top.

For the last several weeks I have been working really hard at going to the gym and I feel great. I have more energy and I am getting back into my "gym rat" mode. There comes a point when working out is something I look forward to everyday and I don't dread dragging myself in there. I feel like I'm to that point now. I started spinning again. The first class I took I really felt like I might literally die from lack of oxygen but now I can go the full hour and still have energy at the end. Skinny(er) me - 1, chunky me - 0.

My biggest demise is my sweet tooth. This morning as I looked lustfully through the glass of the pastry case at the most beautiful chocolate cake donut with smooth creamy white icing and sugar sparkle sprinkles I had ever seen I had to muster up every bit of willpower I had to turn down its inviting gaze. I always want what is not good for me. It's a love affair... and it's complicated.

So far I have lost 2 pounds of the 6 that I gained the week I was in Atlanta. Although it is not happening as fast as I would like, at least the dial on the scale is moving in the right direction. We're planning a girls trip for my mom's birthday in Vegas the first weekend in June and I'm hoping all the money I save on not eating sparkle donuts I can invest in some pants in a smaller size... sans the muffin top.

Cinco Monthos (or something like that)

2010-01-13T08:10:00.000-08:00

Another post about the Bug. He's 5 months now. Here is his monthly picture with the bear. This month was fun because he realized the bear was there and kept hugging it/eating it's hat. It was so sweet!

He is a true little boy... the other day he farted and started laughing. I just had to shake my head - here we go I guess. I love his little personality. He is happy almost always (unless he doesn't get his way.) He is stubborn just like his parents.

He is learning new things everyday. He tries to sit up by himself but still topples over. We started him on rice cereal and he loves it! He tries to eat EVERYTHING. I think he is going to start teething soon because his hands (and sometimes feet) are always in his mouth.

Pants (my sister) got us a Flip camera for Christmas and I'm loving it! So I thought I'd share some little video clips I had of him. The first one is the first time he tried baby food... Bananas yum! The second one is of his obsession with grabbing the camera and trying to eat it. He got mad when I took it away... little butt!

So far he has been a good little bug... I think we'll keep him. :)

Christmas Break

2010-01-06T08:31:00.000-08:00

How hard is it to get back into your routine after a nice two week vacation? Pretty rough actually. But here I am at my desk doing it anyway. (Not that I really have that much of an option when it really comes down to it).

Christmas break was fab. We spent Christmas in Atlanta with Matt's family this year, but since I had 2 weeks off from work, me and the Bug snuck in a little trip to Utah to see my family before we headed to the dirty dirrrty. I was so nervous to fly with him by myself but he did great! When I was boarding everyone gave me the "oh great... a baby" look but he didn't let out so much as a squeak - a real Christmas miracle.

Spending time with my family was great as usual. Utah was colder than a penguin's ass. I got to see a lot of friends in SL and Logan who I haven't seen in forever and I even went to dinner with my friends for my birthday "baby free". Grown up dinners are very rare. Between my mom and sister, it was like I didn't even have a baby (except in the middle of the night... they were no where to be found... Weird.) We did a lot of shopping, grocery shopping, running errands, grocery shopping, birthday celebrations, grocery shopping, hanging out and more grocery shopping.

Yikes! Bedhead...

We did Christmas early (on the 23rd) and the Bug got super spoiled... shocking. Curt got him camo, Nana and Grandpa got him an activity center, and Auntie got him a Johnny Jump Up. Unfortunately the baby seemed to care more about the wrapping paper than any thing else. Next year I'm giving him an empty box, but I'll wrap it up real nice.

And it was off to ATL we went where we met Matt. It was only 5 days, but it was hard to be away from him that long. We spent Christmas morning at Matt's sister's house and Christmas dinner with Matt's extended family. I met a lot of family members that I had never met before including Matt's brother Michael. Everyone was so excited to see us. We definitely need to try and go to Atlanta more often. But not too often. I gained 6 pounds in the week we were there eating as much golden delicious fried food as my heart desired. I don't know how people do it in the South. I would be at least double my weight if I lived there. Georgia is definitely a lot different from the West Coast. Matt kept telling me how much I stood out there with my poofy hair, makeup, and that I talked too "proper". Well excuse me for paying attention in English class lol.

Nieces and nephews.

At the Bounce House.

Trevor and mini-Trevor.

His first time swimming. He loved it!

Getting "gangsta" in a sweatervest in GA lol.

We barely made it home after a little mishap in the Phoenix airport. We had a two hour layover and barely made our connecting flight. Who knew we would have to completely leave the airport, catch a bus outside to another terminal, and go through security again for them to tell us we cannot board because we don't have a boarding pass for the baby. Really??? This is our 6th flight in 2 weeks and we have not had anyone ask us for one yet. After pleading with the security guy we finally got to our gate as the plane was getting ready to leave. Lately airports stress me out!

Want to know the best feeling in the world? Laying down in your own bed after 2 weeks and a stressful day. It's good to be home. I miss everyone that we live so far away from, but there is nothing like your own space. Now if only I could get back into my routine of waking up and going to work... That seems to be the hardest part.

Learning From Others' Mistakes...

2009-12-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

I drove to work this morning and my office looked like this...

Um... Hello!?!? Have any of you ever seen a horror film before? They always start with a scene like this! Where the poor, unsuspeting white girl goes skipping off into the dark foggy wilderness checking things out by herself... the music that sounds like a heartbeat starts... and a serial killer who was behind her the whole time jumps out of the fog and slashes her into tiny bits.

Well that's not happening to this white girl. I headed straight for the door, locked it right behind me, and it has been locked ever since. My apologies to anyone who may or may not have been waiting in the bushes for me. ;)

4 Months

2009-12-12T09:58:00.000-08:00

You guessed it. Another post about the Bambino. Bet you never saw that one coming huh? He is 4 months old already. We (well Matt) took him to get his 4 month shots on Thursday. I always "happen" to schedule these appointments when Matt has the day off and I have to work. It just "works out" that way. What a "coinsidence". Poor little bug - how many more of these do we have to do??? He weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs 4 oz... our little chunka-chunka!

The other day I was lifting him up and down in the air (one of his favorite things) and I said "I have something sooooo important to tell you. I loooooo-" and he puked right in my mouth. Guess I should have cut the "I love you" part short. Matt was watching and just stood there frozen and wide-eyed until I screamed "TAKE HIM!!!" At which point he started laughing so hard I wondered if he was going to pass out. Being a mama has peaks and valleys I suppose.

TC has had eczema on his cheeks for months now. We are constantly putting stuff on his face and neck but he scratches up his face it drives me crazy! I sometimes call him Edward Sissor Hands Face. I cut his nails every-other day and I can't keep them short enough. Finally the doctor prescribed us with some stuff that will hopefully clear it up. Bah!

He is getting so smart. He's figured out how to use his hands and he concentrates really hard when he has something in front of him. Everyone in my family sticks out our tongue when we are concentrating and guess who has picked up the trait? (Hint: it's not Matt)

He hates laying down. He always wants to be sitting or standing so he can see. He will grab onto the sides of his carseat/bathtub/anything else he can get his hands on and try and pull himself up. Daddy has been helping him do "ab workouts". (Notice the tongue once again)

In other Mann news... Matt got invited to the combine in Atlanta in June! So it's official... he is going to tryout to play professional football. Now comes the hard part... 6 months of intense training. But we're pretty excited!

I got contacts! I finally made an appointment and got them... I guess I didn't realize how bad my eyes have gotten. No more guessing street signs for me! (doesn't that scare you a little?) I can see again - it's a Christmas miracle!

Dear Santa...

2009-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

So I'm at work on Friday, and I get a picture message that says this....

"Mama I want these for Christmas"

and another one that says "Mama I want the same ones he wants"

Bah! How can I say no???

One Long Drive and a Thanksgiving Surprise!

2009-12-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

So about two weeks before Thanksgiving, Matt woke up and asked me if I wanted to go to my parents for the holiday. Um yes... yes I do. Me and the bug were so excited! This is his face when I told him we were going to Utah. I asked Matt if he was excited too and he said "yeah of course... I mean, at least we are gonna get some good food on Thanksgiving". I tried not to be offended. My name might not be Betty Crocker, but obviously neither of us are starving.

So we planned the trip and left Monday night after we both got off work. We thought it would be best to drive through the night so the baby would sleep most of the way. I thought this was a brilliant idea of mine until about 4 am when my eyes started burning out of my skull due to lack of sleep. I used to "pull all-nighters" all of the time, but oh how times have changed. I love my precious sleep. We stopped in Nephi for the final gas-up before SLC only to find out it had dropped 50 degrees since we had left California. So we got back in the car ready to turn around and drive straight back to the sunny state of CA, but since it was 11 1/2 hours in the opposite direction, we decided to continue on to Utah. This surprise had better be worth it.

And it was! Everyone was so surprised. First we woke up Curt (who decided at that point he needed to take the day off) and then we drove to my mom's work who started crying and said "I'll shut down my computer". Sister was the only one who knew we were coming. Turns out she is a pretty good secret keeper. They were shocked! By the time we got home, my mom had called pretty much everyone she had ever met, so we had a lot of visitors while we were there.

My friend Steph and I had our babies 3 days apart and while we were pregnant we just knew they were gonna be boyfriend and girlfriend and get married and have babies and live happily ever after. Turns out they both had boy parts, so we changed it to being best friends forever. We planned their first playdate and we knew it would be great. Wrong. For some reason Xay hates TC. He screamed everytime he saw him - it was hilarious. TC just talked and talked to him. So much for planning our son's lives.

TC didn't understand what the problem was.

The Bug loves Grandpa and Nana's house. They have way better toys than we do. Remember when Grandpa bought him a pony? Well we finally got to meet Mr. Shorty and go for a little ride. His face might not show it... but he LOVED it lol.

Now I love Thanksgiving for 2 reasons. Stuffing and an unlimited amount of stuffing. It is my favorite food. I have shed tears of joy for this dish. The Wardle's did not disappoint this year. We had quite a spread. Let the feast begin! I think Jess has the right idea lol.

Then we packed up and headed back home. Have I mentioned that I hate the drive? By the time we got to Primm, I decided we should stop and stay the night because the burning sensation had returned to my eyes and I couldn't make it another 5 hours. We slept in a classy little joint called Whiskey Pete's for a couple hours before driving the rest of the way. Luckily when we got home we found out that our fridge had "shit the bed" while we were gone and all our food had gone bad. Kind of a sour ending to a sweet trip. So instead of dealing with it, me and the bug ventured to the mall and got a little shopping (for myself) done. I felt better.

Now things are back to normal, and I have already started the countdown to Christmas Break. Off to Utah and Georgia on our next adventure!

A New Perspective

2009-11-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or is time going by at warp speed? (is that even what it's called???) I feel like I barely have time to breathe and as we come into the holiday season and I don't see it letting up anytime soon. Bah!

First thing's first... Some pictures of the bug. (I am turning into one of those moms who constantly talk about their babies, but too bad so sad. He is too cute.) Everyday is something new with him.

He loves going for walks and looking at the ducks.

Taking baths... Grrrr!

And staring at the Christmas Tree we/I just put up.

When I was young(er) and single I kept thinking life could not get any better. I loved my life. I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Then I met Matt and I changed my mind. I thought surely it can't get any better than this. I get an unlimited supply of kisses and I never have to sleep alone again. But I have to say, this little guy has stolen my heart. I wake up every morning between 5 and 6 and I look forward to seeing him because I miss him when I sleep. It's funny how life gets better and better as you go. I love being a mama... everyday I soak it all in.

As some of you may know Matt is going to try out to play professional football in the spring. He has been working really hard trying to get back into shape and training. I blessed to have the kind of job that I love going to everyday, and I want the same for him. I am so proud of him. It is going to be a lot of work, but I know it will pay off in the end. (Especially after I watched E!'s THS on Football Wives) If it all works out I'm going to have to get some bigger sunglasses, a boob job, and tummy tuck (damn baby ;)!

Matt running some drills

Me and the bug watching daddy training

We are so blessed to have good jobs, and we have enough money to pay our bills. But money is tight, and sometimes we can't afford everything we would like to have. There are a lot of people who are in worse situations than we are in right now. Lately I have found myself getting caught up on little things that in the big scheme of life don't really matter. So yeah, maybe Matt watches Sports Center a little more often than I would like, and maybe he leaves the cupboard open after he gets a glass out, and maybe he buys stuff that I don't think we desperately need (okay this is no longer going the direction I want it to)... but he is a great husband and a great daddy. WHY am I so focused on the negative things??? I have to remind myself that in the end none of that other stuff really matters.

I am making a commitment to myself to have a new perspective on things. I am head over heels in love with my husband. He is romantic, smart, funny, smooookin hot (see photo below) and he loves me more than anything in the world (even more than Sports Center) Matt gave up a lot of things that are important to him to make me happy. Sometimes I get caught up in the sacrifices I have to make and forget that he makes sacrifices too. I'm so grateful that we came into each other's lives.

We have each other. We have TC. Not much else matters.

Family Pictures

2009-11-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

We just got our family pictures done... Here are some of my favorites!

2 Months

2009-10-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

My little bug is 2 months old! I can't belive how fast time is going by. If you know a way to slow it down do tell! This babe is growing like a weed. Look at the difference just a month has made.

Month 1

Month 2

He has learned how to smile. It is too adorable. It all starts in his eyes and his mouth has to play catch up. We can't take our eyes off of him!

I just have to say that Colic is a Bitch! But we're beating it! Well... we are on the downhill anyway. The last 6 weeks have been pretty rough. He is so uncomfortable and it breaks my heart! We have tried everything but nothing seems to help that much. The last two nights have been sigificantly better and I think (hope) that it will be over soon.

TC loves his baths! He loves to pump pump pump his legs back and forth until the entire counter is flooded. He cries everytime I take him out.

He got his shots yesterday morning. I purposely scheduled the appointment so Matt would have to take him while I was at work. He was so sad! When I saw the bandaids I was sad too. This is a picture of us being mad about immunizations.

Utah comes to California

2009-10-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is a long post, so if you skip over and just look at the pictures I won't be mad.

What a weekend! I think I'm still trying to recover from all of the things we crammed into three days. We wanted to do a baby blessing for TC, so my family made plans to come out for the weekend. This is the first time Curt and Grandpa Coy got to meet the baby! Gramps called him "a perfect little peach" and the baby was so obsessed with Curt. No literally... he would not take his eyes off of him. Who knew my little bro was so entrancing! Maybe it's the haircut???

As we were getting ready to go to dinner on Friday night, Aunt Teri and Uncle Brad came waltzing into my apartment, and a few minutes later Kerri, Raymond, Erin and Chels followed! Surprise! My family is too nuts! I can't believe they drove 24 hours in 2 days for this blessing. We are so lucky to have a family who is so supportive!

Saturday morning we did family pictures and got ready for the blessing. Lucky for us, the photographer suggested to do the photoshoot in a park filled with homeless people. Curt and my dad became besties with a homeless man named David... or was it Daniel? He told them lots of stories about how "12 men were hung here at 12:00 midnight" and how he has slept in cemetaries "but nothing happened". Definately entertaining.

After the shoot we (well mostly my mom, Teri, and Sister) cooked food and cleaned the house for the blessing. Shout out to my Aunt Teri... it was her birthday and she spend the day helping us while the boys took Grandpa to the hospital because his foot was really bothering him. They made it back just in time for the blessing. A lot of our friends from Hanford, family from Utah and Erin and John met in our apartment for the big event. After a few minor setbacks, my dad gave the most beautiful baby blessing I have ever heard. It meant so much to me that he did it. I don't think this baby will ever realize how much we all love him.

Naturally, we had a big BBQ after (when don't we?). I had reserved the BBQ area at our apartment complex but when we arrived it was already occupied by several large men barbecuing, boozing, and listening to music about "36 Double D's" and "dropping panties to the floor". Hardly appropriate for little ears! So we moved the party to the clubhouse. It worked out perfectly because attached to the clubhouse is the pool. So as usual, we acted like adults and Sister bet Chels $50 to jump in the pool fully clothed and yell "CANNONBALL!" No "cannonball" no dice. She agreed to do it if we made it $100. So we all chipped in. I think you will enjoy the results. All I have to say is you're welcome. That's what I love about Chelsie... she is so much fun... and easily persuaded by money lol. Thanks to everyone who came - it was so nice to relax and enjoy the time with our family and friends.

The next morning my family and Grandpa got up bright and early to head to San Francisco for the 49ers vs. Falcons game. It was the first NFL game any of us had ever been to. Grandpa waited 87 years to go and TC waited 2 months. This baby is so spoiled! He did really great. I couldn't ask for a better baby - he snuggled up with Nana the whole game and just soaked it all in. We are definately going to go back. Hopefully next time we will be able to watch Matt play!

After dinner my family headed home and we headed home. Too bad they were in opposite directions. It's not easy living so far away from everyone. Miss you and love you all! Thanks for coming!

He is all mine!

2009-09-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here is some of TC's newborn pictures. Sorry it took me so long to put them up! He is soooo hansome! He looks just like his daddy! :)

There are things I don't understand about my husband...

2009-09-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

... This is one of those things.

His Wife for Life

2009-09-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

We just celebrated our FIRST ANNIVERSARY! I can't believe it has been a year already. So much has changed in that time... new state, new house, new job, new friends, new baby! I am so lucky I have such a great husband to share all these firsts with. Love you Babe! I'm so lucky you're mine!

Retaliation Day

2009-09-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

You know those guys who love a good competition? Well I married one of those guys. Whether it be athletic games, video games, or "annoying each other" games, my husband hates losing. Often the "annoying each other" games can escalate from a poke to a wrestling match pretty quickly, so I have to choose my battles wisely. Around our house we call it Retaliation Day.

Now I have been having one-sided conversations with a 6 week old all day, so when Matt got off work last night at 11:00 I was looking forward to a conversation with a grown up. Matt, however must have been a little tired because he kept falling asleep laying in bed while I was talking at him. I may or may not have kept putting my feet on him because he hates it... I can't really remember. I guess he had finally had enough so he decided to hit my water bottle I was drinking, spilling it all over me. Naturally, I dumped the rest of the freezing cold water all over his face. And within minutes, Pepper Drive Apt D turned into a war-zone. We had water everywhere. I think every room in our apartment suffered some of the wrath of our water fight. Sopping wet, we just stared at each other and burst out laughing. I don't remember the last time I was in a decent water fight. As I was drifting off to sleep on one of the small decoration pillows (because mine was soaked) Matt rambled on and on about how thirsty he was and he wish we had some cold water to drink. LOL who said we have to act like grown-ups anyway?

Trevor Clifford Mann

2009-09-08T14:31:00.001-07:00

He's here!!! Sorry it took so long to post... who knew a newborn would take up so much time??? Matt and I are so excited to introduce you to our latest addition... Trevor Clifford Mann.

He was born Monday, August 10th at 7:15am

9 lbs 7 oz, 20 1/2 inches

Because I had a c-section, both of our families were able to be here for the big event. I only wish everyone could have stayed longer!

His going home outfit. Of course Matt has him in Jordans already :)

Nana stayed with us an extra week, it was so nice to have her help while we were getting the hang of things. The baby "fits" her. ;)

So I have to tell you about when we told my family I was pregnant. We were in Utah for Christmas, and we thought it would be a fun present to tell everyone they were going to be a new grandpa/grandma/aunt/uncle. The first thing my dad said was, "Well, I'm going to have to get a new pony". The first thing he did when he got back from the hospital was just that. So now we have two new additions to the family. Here's TC's new pony... Mr. Shorty.

He is 4 weeks old already. I can't believe how fast time is going. He already has such a funny personality. He loves to cuddle... I know I'm probably spoiling him, but I never want to put him down.

He makes the funniest faces. Right before he has a "poo-nami" he likes to make this face. It cracks us up!

Matt and I are so in love with this little babe. He is such a good baby and we are having so much fun being parents!

He is getting so big! I love my little bug!

Progress Report

2009-07-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

I'm on the home-stretch! I will be 37 weeks this weekend, and I'm definately ready to be done being pregnant. Actually I'm feeling overdone. Last week I measured at 41 weeks, and the doctor said our baby was pushing 8 pounds already (so much for the newborn clothes). Our doctor wants to do another ultrasound on August 4th to check his size, but everything else is going really well - the baby is a healthy one!

It is getting harder and harder everyday now. I will be happy when I can breathe/sit/stand/sleep/eat again. Despite all my complaints about pregnancy, I am getting so excited for this babe to get here! We are all ready for him, and I think we have everything we could possibly need for a baby... minus the baby.

Here are some pictures of my gigantic tummy... Which reminds me - these are some things I consider inappropriate to say to a rather large pregant lady. I hear these things several times a day. Common sense anyone?

"Damn girl, you are BIG!" (Really? Huh. I have not noticed.)

"You sure you aren't having twins?" (No. I definately would have exploded by now.)

"Are you EVER going to have that baby?" (No, I thought I'd wait til his "terrible two's are over before I decided to let him go.)

"Whoa Mama!" (Geh.)

"You are PREG-NANT" (No shit, Sherlock.)

Side-view

My-view

Please come soon baby! I don't know how much longer I can take it!

Softball Stud

2009-07-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to brag about my husband. He is playing softball this summer on a city league with Garrett and some of our friends every Monday night and I love going to watch him play (even if it's still 102 degrees at night). My babe is so athletic! This week he got a homerun, and I think he is the best on the team (not biased at ALL) Hopefully our baby gets his athletic genes from Matt not me!

San Diego

2009-07-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

Since we have moved to Hanford, Matt and I have really tried to take advantage of seeing what California has to offer, since Hanford is not particularly exciting. Any weekend that we both have off we try and travel as much as possible, and we have been pretty much everywhere from San Francisco to San Diego. So Matt and I decided to squeeze one more little trip in before the baby comes... kind of like our last freedom weekend before we are super busy with the little mann.

It was so nice to get away. We walked around the Gaslamp District downtown, and ate dinner outside at a cute little Italian restaurant called La Boca. Then we drove to the beach and watched fireworks. From the bay, we could see 5 different firework displays.

The next morning we slept in and went to Mission Beach to relax in the sun and play in the water. This picture is my favorite... This was Matt's expression when the water first touched his feet... Sometimes he is a tiny bit dramatic!

Me and Matt

My husband is so Mmm Mmm Mmmmm!

This guy was laying next to us on the beach, so of course I had to sneak a photo. It got me thinking... What is the advantage of having a tan line half-way up your cheek versus the whole cheek? Ooooh baby! LOL

We went to lunch and headed home. Unfortunately, we got stuck in traffic and it took us about 7 hours to get back. My (c)ankles were not too happy with me.

I think I have seen feet like these somewhere before...

Dear Everyone...

2009-06-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

Will you please stop setting your blogs as private? It makes it harder to "blog-stalk" you. That is all for now, thanks.

New things.

2009-06-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well the last couple of weeks has been pretty hectic around here. We moved to Hanford two weeks ago and I am loving it! I get to sleep in an extra half hour every morning... yesss! We are almost all the way unpacked, and I will post pictures of the new place as soon as everything is finished. We rented a Uhaul, and we only took out one curb during the process so I'm gonna go ahead and chalk it up to a success.

A picture of Matt and the Uhaul - I suggested he hang off the side with "jazz hands" but this is the best I could get.

Matt reminding us that it's imortant to stay hydrated during the move.

Matt picked out our new washer and dryer and I couldn't be happier about it.I have been doing laundry at a laundrymat for the last year and a half, and it is so nice to have a set of my own! The washer even has a timer where I can load it, and program what time I want it to start, so it starts when I'm sleeping, and when I wake up the clothes are ready to be put in the dryer. On the first load Matt and I just stared at it for several minutes without speaking... It's a dream come true.

I bought some cool new/old furniture at an estate sale last weekend, and Matt and I started a project refinishing it for the apartment. Matt decided he needed a new power drill (not really sure why) and I'm starting to question if he loves the drill more than me! After drilling something, he blows the end off like a "smoking gun". I told him that was not really necessary, but the "smoking gun" thing has yet to stop. Yesterday he started referring to the drill as "my baby". I'm pretty sure I have created a monster. But by the time I got home from work yesterday, Matt had put together the crib and dresser, so I'm not going to complain about it :) Hopefully we will have TC's room all set up by this weekend!

The ladies I work with threw me a baby shower on Friday. I feel so lucky to work with these women... they definately spoil me!

Matt has joined a community softball league with Garrett and plays on Monday nights. I had no idea how good he was! The people around me kept making little comments like "wow he has a rocket for a right arm" and "he has obviously played ball before". I would reply, "Oh, thank you." Like somehow it was an indirect compliment to me. It's weird, but in the last two and a half years I have never watched Matt play sports. He is definately a natural athelete, and I'm hoping our baby gets the athletic genes from him and not from me. Have you ever seen me play raquetball??? Or anything else for that matter?

We had our last ultrasound yesterday. Our baby is a small giant - if that makes any sense. Right now they have him weighing 4.7 pounds and he should be a little over 3. I'm sure delivery is going to be a breeze. It was so fun to get a little sneak peek at our little man though. He kept opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out at us - hopefully that is not a preview of his personality! Check out his lips.... He is gonna be a heartbreaker!

To be or not to be... Pregnant.

2009-05-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

I choose "not to be". I have conversations all the time with other women who tell me how great being pregnant is and how much they loved it, and ask me if I do the same. The answer is not so much... It's just not "me". Don't get me wrong, I do love feeling my little man kick and I know we are getting a baby out of this whole deal, but other than that, pregnancy symptoms kind of remind me of the side effects on drug commercials - you know the guy who talks really fast and says stuff like "may cause nausea, vomiting, weight gain, diziness, fatigue, hunger, back aches, mood swings, shortness of breath, insomnia, swollen extremeties, and emotional instability" to name a few.

Normally, I'm a pretty emotionally stable person. Over the last 7 months, things like homeless people and commercials about puppies make me burst into tears... It's pretty convenient. So last weekend I flew home to Utah for my baby shower that my Aunts threw for me. Matt and I woke up at 4:15am for my 6:40 flight out of Fresno. They started loading the plane and shortly after, those same people started unloading the plane back into the terminal. Just my luck - my plane had some sort of "maintenence issue" and the flight was delayed. So I waited in a line for an hour and a half to see if they could get me onto another flight. Their only solution - a 1:00 pm flight to Salt Lake City on Delta. The only problem - my baby shower was supposed to start the same time the flight took off from Fresno. I had a complete meltdown in front of all the crew and passengers of flight 2816. Like the histerical sobbing kind and for thirty minutes or so I had to hide out in the bathroom because I seriously could not pull myself together. I love pregnant emotions.

Since I had about 7 hours to kill until my next flight, I decided to walk to a gas station down the street so I could buy a bottle of hair spray so I could get ready in the airport bathroom. For some reason I felt compelled to tell the Arab cashier everything that had happened to me that morning. He stood, staring at me without saying a word, and then finally when I was finished said "That sucks. Would you like a free soda?" To which I responded, "Yes I would thank you."

From then on the trip went great. As soon as I touched down we rushed to the baby shower and I got to open up the sweetest little baby things. Thank you everyone! Two of my favorite gifts - my sister got our "Little Mann" the entire Doctor Seuss collection and my mom made him a baby quilt and all the bedding for his room. I was so excited! My mom made this quilt without any kind of pattern or anything... she literally drew the animals and sewed it. I don't have the heart to let the baby poo all over it, so I'm going to hang it on the wall and make her make another one for the bed lol.

The rest of the weekend was non-stop. A baby shower for Steph, lunch with my girls from Hammies, and family BBQ's for Memorial Day left me completely exhausted by the time I got home.

It makes me sad this is the last time I will see all my family and friends before the baby gets here. Bah! He is going to be here so soon... I'm not ready!!!

Stupid People

2009-05-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, a raquetball club was transformed into a community college campus. As a result of this transformation, my office has classrooms with plexi-glass walls covered with curtains, saunas that have turned into storage areas, a faculty lounge that used to be an overhead track, a snack bar, tennis courts, and a pool outside. Personally, I love these little quirks - especially the pool.

The pool brings unexpected joy to my life. Sometimes it is full of ducks, sometimes it is full of bubbles from homeless people taking baths in it, sometimes full of local gang members who need take a break from "thugging" for a quick dip - everyday is something new. This weekend was the kickoff of another hot trend... summer parties.

When I arrived to work on Monday, I was surprised to find our pool littered with cases of beer cans and broken bottles. Tisk, tisk. Who knew school was the place to be on Saturday nights? Luckily, when our maintenence man was cleaning up the mess, he found a receipt for 15 cases of beer... that was paid with food stamps... that had the party people's name on it. Genius. So now they are getting fined for trespassing and vandalism. PLEASE people - if you are going to do something illegal, will you not leave your ID at the scene of the crime??? Idiots.

Eating Fresh

2009-05-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Subway Sandwiches. Ever since I got pregnant, I want to eat Subway Sandwiches every second of everyday... More specifically the seafood sub with olives and pickles. I know it might not sound that appetizing to you, but so far it is the one thing that ALWAYS sounds good to me. Lucky for me there is a Subway right down the street from COS, where I work. I hit it up rather frequently. I hadn't been in at all this week, but I stopped by on my lunchbreak on Friday. As soon as I walked in, the girl at the register (Ramin - we are on a first name basis) says to me "There you are! You haven't been in for a while... we were getting worried about you!" Hmmm.... I'm not sure how I should feel about this. Should I be flattered that the staff at Subway have taken such an interest in my life? Should I be embarrassed that I have eaten so many sandwiches that they are forced to take an interest in my life? Either way, I can't make any guarantees that I am going to make any changes in my behavior.

I love the coast the most!

2009-04-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Matt and I live in Central California, which is not all that particularly exciting, but my favorite part about our location is that we are within a couple hours drive of anything from San Francisco to San Diego. This week is spring break, so we decided to take advantage of the time off with some friends of ours, Shay and Sergio, and head to Morro Bay and Pismo for a couple of days. We walked through beach shops, visited the little aquarium, and had fresh seafood. I have been so busy lately, and it was nice to take the time and relax!

On Tuesday, we stumbled acorss a little Danish village called Solvang near Santa Barbara. We wandered through the shops and ate Aebleskivers. Everyone else thought the town looked like a scene from the "Village" but I loved it!

In other news... My lovely lady lump is getting bigger everyday. I can no longer button my pants which is sort of a problem. Our little TC is quite the athelete, he wiggles and kicks all the time now. Last night he decided to run a marathon in my uterus. Everytime I would grab Matt's hand to see if he could feel it the baby would freeze. I can't belive he has an attitude already! Finally, after about a half an hour of this game, Matt was pushing on my tummy and TC booted him! I guess he was getting sick of Matt messing with him lol. Matt's face was priceless - he looked so surprised and yelled "I felt that! I felt that!" We are so excited for our little boo!

Um hilarious...

2009-04-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry I had to post this. This is my dad's interpretation of a wino. Where did he come from??? ;)

I suppose I can see the resemblance...

2009-03-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

First off, I have to give a shout out to my new job at COS. The people I work with are awesome and I love what I do. Added bonus... everyday is a new adventure. Last night I was proctoring a test for one of our distance ed classes, when a homeless man walked through the doors in the back of the classroom and gave me the "peace sign". I walked over to him, and he explained that I reminded him of "Mary Magdalen" and he gave me a copy of the New Testament. Hmmm.... I'm still trying to figure out exactly what this means, but I can sort of see a resemblance. No?

Tax Season (Part 2)

2009-03-18T11:03:00.001-07:00

So Matt and I finally decided to just go to H&R Block to get our taxes done because I wanted "people" like the commercials said. So I got online, looked at some employees profiles, and on an individual with a lot of tax experience... 38 years seemed good enough to me. Not once did it cross my mind that 38 years of experience meant that this person could be close to seventy. When we got to our appointment, we were greeted by an elderly lady who had to wear special shoes to help her walk evenly. At her desk, she had a coughing fit for at least ten minutes, and kept touching Matt's arm. Matt kept kicking me under the table everytime she touched him which of course had me cracking up the entire time. The whole time she was fillng out the form little error windows kept popping up and she would turn to us and ask "Now what does that mean?" Uh... lady... we are not "tax professionals" that's why we are here. Everytime we said something she would shout "HUH?" and halfway through the form she had to ask another elderly lady dressed in a full purple polyester suit named Bobbie to help. They couldn't figure out the problem so decided to just move on. Needless to say I'm a little bit concerned about an audit, but after asking her several times if H&R Block was going to back us up if the IRS came after us, she assured me that they "guaranteed their work". So it looks like we may be going to prison afterall. At least we will have the Golden Girls keeping us company...

Our Little Man(n)

2009-03-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

We got big big news today! We are going to have a baby boy... and we couldn't be happier about it. Matt literally has not stopped smiling since we found out. Here is some pictures of our baby's first photo shoot...

Tis the Season... Tax Season.

2009-02-11T14:12:00.001-08:00

Geh. I don't know about you, but tax season has always had a way of bringing me down from this high I call "life". Does anyone else find this whole process confusing? I finally got the last of Matt and I's W-2's today. Now I have a whole stack of papers and I have no idea where to begin... Do we file in CA, UT or both? Who is claiming who, what about deductions, tuition breaks, and where is the best place to take them? I'm turning into a hot mess! I'm one step away from a fit and I'm starting to wonder if this is even worth it. Maybe we should just risk it and try not to end up in prison... However, if prison is our only option, I have done a little research and I feel like this place would be the best fit for me... I dunno, it doesn't look all that bad.

Our newest news...

2009-02-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

Surprise! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY! And we couldn't be happier about it. :) Right now I'm about 13 weeks... and my first trimester has gone pretty smoothly. Other than being hungry and tired all the time, I have felt really well. Today Matt and I went to the doctor's office and through an ultra sound we got to see our baby for the first time. It was almost overwhelming to watch its teeny tiny heart beating. I couldn't help but start tearing up (thank goodness the lights were off) because it's the first time it felt really "real". Matt says the whole thing is still sinking in, and has been busy picking out nicknames for his "son" even though we won't find out the gender for another month or so. It is a pretty exciting time for us and our little family is going through a lot of changes. We will keep you all updated!

Dear Economy...

2009-01-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

Could you please shape up? Okay, okay, I'll even throw in a "pretty please"... It's getting rather annoying trying to find a job when there are none available. It's not that I don't love selling over-priced lattes to assholes driving brand new BMW's, I just wonder if there is something more fulfilling I could be doing than answering the question "Are you sure that this is milk is non-fat?" I spent a pretty good portion of my day filling out more applications. Normally, I love talking about myself, but for some reason writing resumes and cover letters just aren't doing it for me. I tried to think of some of the "skills" I have to offer, but I don't know that there is a job that is centered around eating and sleeping in excess (if you do, please email me the link) but I have yet to find these requirements in any job description.

I was then reminded of someone who I had the pleasure of meeting last week. He is called "The Bushman". Ever heard of him? His career of choice is hiding behind a couple of branches on the pier in San Francisco and jumping out and scaring people. First of all, I don't know that this is the most clever disguise, considering you can see him and he parks it in the middle of a sidewalk on a dock where bushes cant physically grow. Nevertheless, I can't help but admire him. He actually gets paid to do this. See the can next to him? Yup, full of tip money. Wouldn't that be the life?

Thank you Bushman... you have inspired me to continue in my search for my dream job. If you can make money pretending you are a poorly built tree, maybe there is a chance I will find something equally as pointless. :)

Christmas in the Saltiest of Cities

2009-01-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone! The last couple weeks have been so much fun, I'm sad to see it all end. Matt and I flew out to SL to stay with the family for Christmas, and this is what we came home to. What a nightmare! Matt was only able to stay a couple of days because of work but I got to stay a little longer which was fun.

It wouldn't be Christmas at the Nielsen's if someone didn't get a new gun, and this year was no exception. Curt got a new camo-colored one and Matt and I got a 9MM handgun from my sis and brother. We were all so excited! Naturally, the next day we all piled in the car to go shoot our new toys.

Aparently it is a team effort.

Christmas family photo.

I told my dad to pose like "Charlie's Angles". I don't think he really understood.

Mostly we just hung out with friends and family. It was good to see all of my cousins and my Grandpa Coy. If you are wondering if Ryker's mouth is full of dog food, you are right... Hilarious! Em, I can't believe he is getting so big!

It was a great trip! Thanks everyone I love you so much! See you in a couple months.... :)

Why I love California...

2008-12-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

Because you don't know if "Happy Birthday Jesus" is for the Christchild or just a guy who works in the store.

Update Time!

2008-12-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

Apologies to my loyal readers... It has been awhile since my last update. Lots has been happening! Sisi pants decided to make the drive to come out and visit Matt and I for Thanksgiving. I was so excited to have her here! We got to spend a lot of time together cooking a "feast for three" and shopping on Black Friday (which is a lot less exciting in California... Turns out Mormons have a lot more fire in them when it comes to getting great deals) and we went to the National Sequoia Park. I'm not sure if you have heard of Sequoia trees before, but they just so happen to be the largest trees on Earth. Yeah, the LARGEST TREES ON EARTH. Now I'm no Arborist, but I can tell you they are big ass trees. Sister and I found ourselves overwhelmed in giddyness. Here is a small documentary on our adventure. Have you ever noticed there are always a ton of Asians at places like this? This was no exception. And you can bet your booty I bought an annual pass so I can pop over any chance I get.

The next Monday we drove to Las Vegas for "Alex and Abbey's Trip" to do some recruiting for USU. It was so good to see my Aggies again! I forget how hilarious everyone is. After 4 days of non-stop binging (minus the purging) I felt like I had gained at least 10 pounds, but nevertheless I was happy about it. After a quick lesson in Craps, most of us ended up with a little extra money in our pockets. Naturally, I had spent all of my winnings by noon the next day. Oh well.

My little brother turned 23 this weekend. It was just another reminder that we are getting old! This was confirmed when I bought a new pan yesterday and got pretty excited about it. Anyway, back to the topic... So Curt and some of his friends met me in Vegas to celebrate. Happy Birthday little Bro! While the boys were on their way home, some Ass Hats robbed them while they were in a store and cleaned out the car... I'm not kidding. Completely empty. Even the ice scraper. Now I don't know if it snows a lot where thieves live, but I'm pretty sure they might be able to afford their own ice-scraper and not have to take someone elses. They also took the Panini Press I bought for Sister for Christmas. Sorry sis, someone needed deliciously grilled sandwiches more than you I guess. Hopefully everything gets worked out. I'm banking on Karma to come trough for us.

But now I'm home, and everything is back to normal. Except I'm pretty sure my new neighbor might have a deviated septum because I can hear him snoring over Matt at night. I wonder if I should tell him they do surgeries for that... I mean, I'm really concerned about his health.

Walk it out...

2008-11-15T17:15:00.000-08:00

I couldn't help it...

Matt's Day

2008-11-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BOO!!! Matt turned 22 yesterday so we decided to make a little vacation in celebration of his birth. It all started on Wednesday, when we got an enormous box in the mail from my family full of presents. The boy is so spoiled! Despite my mom's request to wait until his birthday to open them, he tore into them the minute he walked into the door. My mom insisted he send the presents back, but he has already worn some of the clothes so I guess that is probably not going to happen.

Thursday after I got off work we drove up to Menlo Park to visit my cousin Erin and her husband John. It was so good to see them! We went to dinner and got ice cream and they showed us around their city. Erin is hilarious and we laughed all night. They were so nice to let us stay with them (John even blew up air mattresses with his lungs lol) Thanks guys!

In the morning we got up and drove the rest of the way to San Francisco where we spent the day sightseeing and shopping. We spent most of the time walking around Fisherman's Wharf and on the piers. I had the best clam chowder ever made!

Matt wanted to go on a tour of Alcatraz, so we took a boat out to the island to see the prison. At first I was not really that interested (mostly because I thought it was still an active prison) but it was actually really cool learning about Al Capone and all the history. Here we are with the headphones on our self-guided tour.

San Francisco is such a unique city. It is so different than any other parts of California I have seen before. We live in a great location in California where we can make little trips like this. Here are more pictures from our trip! Enjoy :)

Little Bit of Magic

2008-11-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Something changed my life today. Inspired by my surroundings, I decided to prepare Mexican feast/fiesta for Matt and I for dinner tonight. I was watching TV when a commercial came on for Carl's Jr. (or as Trent calls it - CJ's) Guacamole six-dollar burger. As I watched the avocados bounce around in the blender on the commercial, I thought to myself... "I have something even better than that - I have a Magic Bullet". Now, the infomercial for the Magic Bullet is something that I have watched countless times (don't ask why) and I have been lusting after this machine for years so I was elated when I received it as a wedding gift. Tonight, however, was the first time that I put it to use and I couldn't be happier with the results. Turns out the Bullet is just as easy as it looks on TV... One, two, three - GUACAMOLE! Mmmmmm....

Setting up in Visalia

2008-10-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

We love Visalia! This little town in California is too adorable... I finally got everything unpacked in our apartment. It feels so good to get that out of the way. Here are some pictures of our place!

(Insert a couch here)

One nice thing about moving to a new place is that there is a lot of exploring to be done. I went to Downtown Visalia today. I actually found this street by mistake one day, so when I had the day off I decided to check it out. The whole street is filled with little boutiques, cafes, and furniture and art galleries. Trollies drive around the area picking people up and dropping them off. I spent the afternoon in 80 degree weather walking around shopping and soaking up the sun and I couldn't be happier about it!

He liked it so he put a ring on it...

2008-10-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

I love LOVE!!! Just wanted to share some of our wedding pics. I'm such a lucky girl!

Big Fresno Fair

2008-10-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

I LOVE going to the fair. Mostly because I find the fair brings out the most odd group of people that coexist with us - and Fresno's fair was no exception. Matt and I both had the night off on Saturday, so when I heard the ad on the radio that the Carnie's were in town you bet I dragged his booty there. I knew we were in for a great night when they frisked us at the gates before we went in... At the county fair? Really? My prophecy was right. It was an awesome night.

We ate smoked turkey legs and funnel cakes (my fav) and popped in to the Lloyd and Colby O'Donis concert. You know you live on the West Coast instead of Utah when all the booths are rims.

But mostly we just watched the people. California has an interesting mix. People were wearing costumes... I'm talking full-on Halloween kind of stuff, I really could not figure it out... We still have two weeks! Another observation - people were usually dressed one of two ways - beanies, coats and gloves (even though it is like 60 degrees) or they were dressed in stilletto heels and booty dresses for the club. All in all though, we had a top night in the ghetto. Matt even got a new "grill" that lights up. I think he was trying to fit in but I can't be sure ;)

Golden Delicious

2008-10-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

I did something I'm not necessarily proud of today. I was driving down the street when my tummy started growling and I decided to stop at a local favorite for a quick fix... Jack in the Box. When browsing the menu options I noticed something a little odd. Macaroni and cheese bites. That's right... Deep fried mac and cheese. Lets just say curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take my chances. It was love at first bite! Who knew this little snack could be so satisfying? I did end up driving straight from Jack in the Box to the gym because I literally could feel myself getting fatter, but I can't say that I regret it... Well, maybe I regret not getting the six piece instead of the three.

We made it!

2008-10-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

Turns out moving is quite the ordeal. I have spent the last two weeks packing up and getting ready to move to Visalia. Matt and I decided to have a garage sale to reduce the inventory of our stuff before we had to haul it accross the country. Want to feel really depressed? Have a garage sale. People would drive their cars past our front lawn really slow trying to decide if we were "worth" stopping and then speed up and drive off. When a little mexican lady offered me 50 cents for my $70 shoes I had to throw in the towel and run errands while Matt ran the sale. I belive this is the last garage sale I will ever have. I would rather give my things to charity... maybe then someone will appreciate all the money I have invested in clothes.

My mom and sister helped me load up all Matt and I's boxes in their trailer. Unfortunately, I did not think about leaving out a weeks worth of clothes while all the rest were packed up. Must have slipped my mind. I had a pair of red patent leather stilletto heels and some baby blue sneakers. Between the two I was creative enough to get by, but I can't tell you how happy I am now I have my full selection back!

Matt's parents flew in from Atlanta to help us move. We spent a couple days in South Jordan with my family before we started the drive. Curt and Matt spent some time shooting his bow and arrow...

Grandpa Coy took Matt's parents and I to see the elk...

And I taught Matt how to play a duet.

It was nice to spend a little time with the fam before we took off. I'm going to miss everyone so much! We started the drive to California on Thursday night. Longest drive of my life! I just wanted to be there, and see the city and get set up in our apartment and have my shoes back! We drove past a bunch of windmills somewhere in the middle of the desert that were kinda cool though. Finally after like 15 hours in the car we made it! Our "moving crew" helped us get everything in the apartment and get us set up.

I really do think I'm going to love it here... Visalia is really a cute city and I love our place! Here are some pictures of OUR FIRST APARTMENT! We are in the middle of unpacking so I will put up more when we are finished decorating and everything, but this will give you an idea.

We have only been here for two days and I am still trying to get my sense of direction down. I have figured out 3 main streets so far and I am nervous to venture anywhere else. Matt has already figured out short cuts back to our apartment. It's pretty annoying.

My parents left yesterday to head back to Salt Lake. I was so sad to see them go! I'm going to miss my friends and family so much. Matt and I got a two bedroom apartment just so we can have everyone come visit us! We have lots of space so please take advantage of my offer...

Mrs. Mann

2008-09-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! So pretty much the last couple of weeks have been insane. I have to apologize for not keeping people informed but I really have barely had time to breathe... Matt got a job offer in Visalia, California so we are MOVING!!! I couldn't be more excited about it - I don't have to suffer through another Logan winter ;) haha bitches! We thought about it and decided... "Why not get married before we go?" Seems perfectly logical, I mean, right? So in less than two weeks we got engaged, married, found a place to live and a job in California and now I'm packing to leave Zion. No biggie. Honestly though everything has come together perfectly. I have had a lot of help though (shout out to my mum and sisi pants) which has made it a lot easier. So here's a quick recap on all the shenanigans... (Is that how you spell it? I just sounded it out real slow haha)

THE ENGAGEMENT

Matt asked me to marry him on Sunday the 14th. I'll spare you the cutesy detalis but it was perfect. When he asked me to be "his Mrs. Mann" I didn't hesitate when I said yes! I called my dad the next day to tell him Matt proposed and he said... "Well, what did you say?" Really Dad? I have found someone who makes me truly happy. How could a girl turn that down? See the offical engagement photos below. Thanks Curt (aka Jesus) for the "bunny ears"...

DRESS SHOPPING

One of the funnest days of my life. I just stood there while my mom and sister and a couple strangers threw big poofy gowns over my head and told me how pretty I was. I couldn't be happier about it. After trying on a couple no's we finally found the perfect dress...

After that we went and registered. Turns out shopping for free is equally as fun as dress shopping.

My useless entourage... Geh.

THE BIG DAY

Yeah! After waiting two long weeks it finally came! Because we are moving so soon, Matt and I decided to do a small ceremony and do a reception next May. I asked my uncle Brad to marry us at my parent's house. It was perfect! (More pictures to come I promise)

Isn't my hubby smokin'?

After we went to dinner with the wedding party... And went to the Homestead Resort... This is the only picture I'll share with the group lol

So now I am a WIFE! Still kinda weird to think about but we are so happy together... Matt truly is God's gift to me. :)

Battle of the Bands

2008-08-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

I have been working a lot lately, so when I showed up to work tonight and they were over-staffed I jumped at the chance at night off. Knowing Matt would be at work until 11, I drove home looking forward to a relaxing night curled up on the couch with a good movie and a little peace and quiet. Unfortunately, my neighbors had decided to host what I call "Battle of the Bands" in my parking lot. There is a Hispanic family that lives below me who loves "Mexican Polka Music" (or at least that's what I call it) and they have invited about 50 of their closest family members and pets to a fiesta on the front lawn. Across the parking lot a Southern retired Navy Vet moved in and no matter what time of day it is he is standing in the doorway barefoot waving to me blasting Christian Rock or some Soulful R&B Slow Jams. As I pulled in tonight both parties have their music of choice on max volume and are just staring at each other... I can't be sure, but I think they are having some kind of showdown. Anyone want to take bets on who will win? I'm kinda leaning toward the barefoot guy but I can't be sure. So as I sit here right now listening to tuba-circus base mixed with the lyrics of Luther Vandross I can't help but laugh a little. Thie night is not a total loss.

You can stop holding your breath...

2008-08-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! So I finally gave in and decided to do a blog of my own... I have always thought MTV should base a show off of my vida loca, but unfortunately the Executives at MTV have other plans in store for me... meaning no plans. So I suppose this is my second best option of sharing the randomness that is my life with the rest of the world. I consider myself lucky though... I have the best boyfriend, friends and family a girl could ask for!