Asleep at the wheel

As I was working up in the office this afternoon I realized that I heard something rather unusual around this home.
Nothing.
Jack was eating lunch and talking and playing. Most anything Jack does, whether we are in sacrement meeting, the grocery store, or on a plane... includes talking and playing (with a few screams mixed in for good measure)
So I had to laugh to see this- Jack had fallen asleep in his high chair.;)

Broken Promises..

Sorry that I didn't end up posting. I DID end up working and have been soo busy at the office since we got back. Things are finally calming down.
So, China.
We got into Shanghai at 5:30 pm and rode the United Crew Bus over to the Hotel of choice that the crew always stays in. The captain that flew our plane was friends with Valerie's sister (Also a captain for United)and he not only flew us to China but ended up taking us all out to dinner!
(See pic 1)- Look at my "sprite" Ha!
The next day was SHOPPING. We shopped the majority of the trip, when we weren't eating or at the Spa ($13 for a two hour massage?! $12 for a pedicure? Yeah, we went every night!). The stores are so different there, they are all set up with "booths", there are NO PRICES on anything.. everything must be bartered for, and they follow you around the store. If they see your gaze slow down at any one particular item, they were immediately taking it down, handing it to you asking "How many you want?! What color you want?! HOW MUCH YOU PAY??!!" It got very exhausting and made it impossible to just "look".
The Captain taught us on the first night how to say "No I don't want it, Thank You"... which is pronounced "Bo-Ha, Shay-Shay". Well, he also taught us to say "hello" which is "Ne-How". Turns out, we got the two mixed up and spent most of the trip saying "Ne-How, Shay-Shay" to people when they tried to push items on us which meant "Hello, Thank You." Wow, dumb Americans.
Some of my purchases included : 18-20 Coach & Prada purses (already gone)$12-$20 ea.
8 REAL pearl necklaces (Already gone as well)$20 ea.
Chinese PJs for Jack and Bryce/Carli (Niece and Nephew)
The most amazing part about my trip was the Great Wall. When we got there in the morning, we were the only ones there. We rode the chair lift up over the beautiful countryside, I could hear a rooster crowing in the distance. It was one of the most breathtaking moments of my life.




The wall was indescribable. The time and effort for those men to carry all the heavy stone to the VERY TOP of those thousands of miles of mountains.. Looking at it left me speechless.
I came home from this trip very humbled. The "homes" were humble to say the least, although I didn't see ANY individual homes but rather apartment buildings.. most of which had concrete bare white walls, maybe a single flourescent bulb hanging in the middle of the room, if they were lucky a very small TV in the corner sitting on a cardboard box.


My favorite purchase was these paintings, which we are currently having framed. We met this young art student at the dirt market and we told her to bring her paintings to our hotel because we were interested in them but didn't want to haul them around all day. There were some purse vendors that did this as well, shopping from from your hotel room... NICE.

Does this look like the face of a 12 year old?

I have SOOO much to post about. I've been back a few days and have felt so overwhelmed with all there is to write. For starters, I had a great time. AMAZING time. But, I realized a week is all I can go without seeing Jack, being a mom makes traveling very different.
The first big thrill of the trip was getting FIRST CLASS to Shanghai.. this ticket is $10,000 round trip. (Of course, we only got first class on the way THERE but more on all that later) The flight attendant made me show her my passport to prove my age because she thought I was 12 YEARS OLD! And she told me this! Apparently you have to be 18 to ride in first class, so she was ready to kick me out! Ha!
So, I promise to write more tomorrow (not working)...

Jack's all packed and ready to go to Grandma's

At least someone's packed!

I'm Off!

OK everyone I'm off to China tomorrow. I have been really stressed lately just getting ready to go (mostly work-related) and now need to start packing. Jeremy and I also recently decided that we want to build a house so we spent all weekend out in the Valley (30 minutes from where we are now, and 60 minute commute to work..YIKES!)looking at lots and even met with a realtor to look at a lot that had a 1,000 sq. ft. shop on it. Hello!! My husband's dream!! Unfortunately the shop wasn't insulated or sheetrocked or anything, just "metal". So.. that makes it useable..4-5 months out of the year?? Dumb! Anyways, the land out there is relatively affordable and so GEORGOUS! We'll see what we find.
When I get back I'll post the floor plan we want to build. Also I'll post lots of PICS!!!
Thanks for all the well-wishes!

Getting ready...

I am feeling so overwhelmed.. I have so much to do before I leave to CHINA next week. My boss, Valerie, is taking me for a week to see the Great Wall, go to the dirt markets and see the culture.
I am really excited because honestly, it is not a place that I would ever go to if we had money to travel. Jeremy really wants to go to Europe, he wants to see Italy and I want to go to Paris and Spain. (Italy would be my first choice if I hadn't already been there- but still can't wait to go with Jeremy)
Anyways, I guess that's why my posting has been so off and on.. still catching up laundry from our trip last month and now trying to get ahead at work. Pheew!
I can't wait to go though and get some great pictures! Too bad I don't have Melissa's mad photography skills.
Where would YOU want to go if you could go anywhere in the world??

My new End Table

OK, I don't know if it's because I am a girl, or because I'm anal, or if it's because I do Interior Design, or what... but I have a hard time letting go of that picture perfect, clean house to make way for bright toys. I have been trying really hard, bought "nuetral" colored essentials like his high chair and swing. Alas, I am starting to give up.
Jeremy talked me into getting this slide for Jack this weekend, replacing my nice end table in the LIVING ROOM. There are other places to put it, but since I like to keep him in my sight, it serves me well to not put all his toys in his bedroom or the basement, two places I choose not to hang out all day.
Anyways, I'm adjusting. Slowly.

Alaskan Sunshine

It has been so beautiful here lately. Not warm mind you, but beautiful. Something about the sunshine warming up my face and hair as I work during the day really helps me look at life with a better outlook.
We have been busy since we got back from our trip, Jeremy has been installing closets every weekend and is installing another job this weekend. Last weekend the job was down in Homer (5 hour drive one way!! But we charged a $400 trip so it was worth it) The lady gave Jeremy a 100% wool rug from Spain. She was "getting rid of it" It's an Oatmeal color (I dont make this stuff up, that actually the name of the color as printed on the back;))- completely nuetral- and rather stylish! So, I am pretty excited. (BTW- looked it up on Ebay, similar one from same year has a starting bid of $400)
I never did mention how spoiled I am and that I ended up getting an Ipod for my anniversary. I've been loving it, although am I the only person alive who finds itunes rather poorly designed?? Not a fan.
Speaking of ipods- the other day as I was dropping Jack off (I meet my mom "half-way" at a highway exit), I open up my car door and the very first thing I see is an ipod, laying face up in the road with gravel and snow on it. And it still works!! So, Jeremy and I made up a nice sign and posted it at that same spot, we called Apple and of course it wasn't registed, and we even posted an ad in Craigs list. Nothing. So..maybe jeremy will have an ipod too? I feel horrible for whoever lost it though and from the looks of it- it was a kid. (Very few songs, all rap, named their ipod ~bAlliN~)

Arizona is Beautiful!

Here are some more pics from our trip. We loved all the huge Saguaro cactus, the amazing landscapes. Most days, we really wore Jack out! I'm excited to go back someday.

We like to gang up on helpless kids...

Yes, that is me hitting that kid square in the forehead! Dont worry, I got it bad too. I was completely drenched.

The Good, The Sad, and The Ugly

I'm so exhausted and still on Arizona time. It's 9 p.m. and feels like 11. I'm so tired! Jeremy and Jack are both sick and have been in bed for hours. I just got back from the store- got the basics like milk and bread- and am ready for bed myself.
Why is it when you go on vacation and relax you come back feeling so tired and overwhelmed?? Or is that just me? I will post pics as soon as I can- I lent my camara to my sister as she forgot hers, her and her husband were staying a few days in Salt Lake to sight see.

The Good- Lots of great talks with the Grandparents, 70+ degree weather, Kartchner Caverns (pic above), Colossal Cave, Desert Museum, Sabino Canyon, Gransdpa 4-bying through the parking lot and knocking down an endangered cactus ($500 fine- but he didn't get caught!), swimming at the pool, seeing "Breech" (which was good), Jamba Juice, P.F. Changs, Miniature Golfing, BUmper "Squirter" Boats and getting attacked by about 12 10-year-olds... and so much more.
The Sad- My grandpa(mom's dad) died on February 19th (a few days into our trip) We changed our tickets to route us up to Salt Lake for the funeral, held this past Monday. I LOVE my Grandpa so much.. this was really hard for me. They had all of his grandchildren sing "Families can be together forever" or, at least in my case, attempt to sing it. I sometimes cry at this song in SACRAMENT meeting people. You think I can sing it at the funeral of someone I love? Um, no. So I went up there and stood crying in front of the room while the rest of the grandchildren (25+ of them, most under 12 years old)sang. Nice. (Mica & Becky- SO sorry I didn't have time to see you two! It was a whirlwind. Still hoping for May!)
The Ugly- So, my last post I was freaking about flying overnight with Jack. Well, my fears were well-founded. It was a nightmare. At least, the trip down was. He cried a good portion of the trip, although Jeremy held him while standing in the back of the plane. Of course, noone really slept. Jack MAYBE slept an hour the whole ENTIRE night. It took a couple of days to recover from this for the little guy. UGH. Never again. We will just splurge the extra $$ to avoid the red-eye. Either that, or spend that extra $$ on mass amounts of Nyquil.

On Our Way!

We are leaving tonight for 10 days in sunny Arizona! I am so excited to get away, RELAX, and have 10 days to spend with Jeremy and just PLAY with Jack. We are going to visit Jeremy's grandparents in Tuscon. They have a swimming pool (which I know Jack will LOVE) and, most importantly, 80 degree weather.
I have to say though, Jeremy and I are LIVING IN FEAR... our flight leaves at 2 a.m. Any suggestions on how to get a baby to sleep on a plane???

Our Evening

We went out for the classic dinner and a movie. It was great! We had a good time, it's been forever since we've been on a date. We went to Sullivans and YES, their steaks are great. (Sorry, we didn't try the martinis) We saw the movie "Because I Said So" (starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, who, I'm convinced, plays the same character in every movie but that's neither here nor there) which we both really liked although I'm not sure Jeremy would admit that if you asked him in person.;)

Our 3rd Anniversary..

Is Tomorrow! I am working all day and then we have plans to go out, so I don't think I'll have time to post this tommorow. So, here you go! A slideshow of highlights from the last 3-5 years. Some wedding pics, "just friends" pics, a pic of our first "home" (the condo), trips we've been on and of course, Jack.
Enjoy!

A quote for Tuesday

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual tolerance, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."~Gordon B. Hinckley

I found this quote on another blog and loved it!

For those who asked, the shoes below were bought at Fred Meyer. For only $39.99, they can be yours too;) (Yeah- not the best deal! But I coundn't pass them up!)

Jack has been sick the last couple of days, so I have been home with him. (SUCH a sacrifice to stay home from work!;)) Poor little guy. He has been so clingy and in a small, devlish way I love it. He's at the age that any kind of hug is seen as a complete attack at his freedom and he immediately goes into defense mode, arching his back and sprawling madly around until at last he is free. So I'll take these snuggly days.. and enjoy them. Life's too short not to.

Can a shoe get any cuter than this? A weekend highlight..

1 going on 17...

Everybody's doing it...

So why not me? A lot of bloggers have been making up these lists and since I enjoy them so much, I thought I'd try it. I thought it would be hard to do, but once I started I realized it was pretty easy. Then I wondered if that made me too self-involved, to be able to easily come up with this many random facts about myself? I'm going for more Self Aware than Self Involved so I hope I come across that way.
I wrote this list up a good three weeks ago but have been trying to find the time to post it.
I would love to write 100 things about Jeremy or 100 things about Jack, and maybe I will someday. In the meantime, this list is easier so there you have it.

1. I prefer to stay in and watch a movie than go out on the town.
2. I love to sleep and need 9 hours to truly be satisfied.
3. I would give anything to only need 6 hours, I could be so much more productive!
4. I am VERY ticklish.
5. I can be very forgetful and spacey.
6. I hate confrontation.
7. My husband is my best friend.
8. I hate the smell and taste of fish more than anything.
9. I canNOT eat Olives. Gross.
10. I am not a fan of watching TV, though if I do, The Office is my favorite show... Arrested Development used to be my favorite when it was on the air.
11. I like to read but seldom do...unless you count Parenting magazine or House Plan books.
12. I make to do lists then lose them.
13. I make grocery lists then either leave them at home or in my car. Very seldom do I actually have them in the store when I need them.
14. I never put my debit card or my cell phone back in the same spot in my purse and have to search everytime I need either.
15. I drive until the gas needle is PAST the "E", before filling up. This drives Jeremy crazy. Still haven't run out of gas though.
16. I love Jack's giggles more than any other sound on earth.
17. I have a goal to run a half marathon this summer and hopefully a full this next winter.
18. I have a tumor on my pituitary gland that I have to take medication for that rest of my life to keep from growing bigger.
19. I like having dark hair.
20. I have 10-15 gray hairs that I pull-out when I see them (Yes, I'm only 26!)
21. All I will ever want for Christmas is a clean house.
22. I CANT both work and keep a clean house. And since I work 30 hours a week, my house is not that clean (although I keep the main areas presentable in an attempt to fool my guests)
23. Good music makes me happy.
24. I can eat candy like a 5 year old.
25. I like Kids cereals better than "grown-up" cereals.
26. I am not a big fan of veggies either.
27. I hate grocery shopping, such an annoyance!
28. I hum Christmas songs in my head starting in October.
29. I think that snow falling on a calm day is just breathtaking.
30. I don't like to drink plain milk. Yuck.
31. I canNOT eat anything that has ever lived in water, save a few pieces of deepfried Halibut here and there, so long as it is fresh and therefore tastes just like chicken.
32. I tip generously.
33. I like to make a big breakfast every Saturday.
34. When I was younger, I would have told you I'd have 2-3 kids by now.
35. I dont wash my face every night or any kind of beauty regimen.
36. I love being a mom.
37. I always feel guilty that I am not "good enough" at motherhood.
38. I love playing board games in large groups.
39. I hate scary movies. Gross images to flash through my dreams? No thanks.
40. I am at least 3 loads behind on laundry at any given time.
41. I always have a remodel plan in the works.
42. I remember meeting people way more often than they remember meeting me.
43. I can eat a whole pan of rice krispy treats. No Kidding.
44. I have dreams about being in school all the time and miss college.
45. But I wouldn't go back.. I love where I am in life.
46. I hate that most of my best friends live far away.
47.I have always wanted to look like the girls in the J.Crew catalog (though I wouldn't necessarily have to be as skinny)
48. I love cozy sweaters.
49. I am happiest when I exercise.
50. I am not that big into "dinner", I am a breakfast/lunch person.
51. I won't barter with anyone who I feel has less money than me. (Drove Jeremy crazy in Mexico)
52. I am a dog person, but not an extreme one. I dont think they belong on beds or furniture.
53. I'm allergic to cats and don't like them.
54. I don't mind clutter as long as I cant see it.
55. I love to collect scrapbook stuff but haven't actually scrapbooked more thana page or two since Ive been married.
56. I still cant decide if I'm crafty or not.
57. I go through a TON of paper towels because I hate to wash dirty rags (Sorry, Environment.)
58. I am not good about closing lids. Causes lots of spills...oops.
59. I always have good intentions but so-so follow through. Im working on that.
60. My biggest fear is that Jeremy or I will die young and leave Jack without a parent.
Sometimes I look at Jeremy while he's sleeping and think about how great he is. (Aren't they always more angelic when when they're SLEEPING?;))
61. The worst sound in the world is that beeping alarm clock. Ugh.
62. I hate anythig creepy crawley or anything flying by my head.
63. My dream house is a relatively small cottage.
64. I am a jeans girl.
65. I have never spent a lot of money on makeup or purses.
66. I go through phases of doing my hair curly or straight.
67. I want to learn to sew because I've always thought that was a "mom" thing to do.
68. I love Diet Coke.
69. I try to please eveyone.
70. I am SHY, though this is sometimes taken as snobby.
71. I love new clothes. Love them.
72. I subscribe to the idea that Cute shoes can make your day.
73. I can accomplish most things when I put my mind to it.
74. I love going out to eat and justify it by thinking that I am supporting my communities economy.
75. I pay at least one bill late every month... not intentionally of course!
76. I have a goal to be a better teacher this year in church.
77. I am not very good at being frugal.
78. I love anything with Mint flavor.
79. I have no idea what colors look good/bad on me so I wear all colors.
80. I find humor in most aspects of life.
81. I hate having long nails, they've always been short.
82. My long hair sheds like crazy, sometimes I wonder if even jeremy would be happy if I shaved it all off...
83. I can only sleep on my tummy.
84. I have a low pain tolerance.
85. I don't mind being pregant at all and kind of miss it.
86. My husband and I fight over the FLAT pillow.
87. I almost changed my major from Interior Design to Art History in college until I read a quote that went something like "The most famous thing ever said by an Art History Major: Would you like fries with that?"
88. I like supporting small businesses.
89. Though I hate to admit, Wal-Marts bargains suck me in all to often.
90. I still care & think about friends all the time, even if I haven't talked to them in months or years.
91. Other than piles of junk mail, I dont have a collection.
92. Jack can amaze me just by smiling.
93. I consider myself a lucky person.
94. I am a generally happy person.
95. I have a low tolerance for heat (lived in AK too long!)
96. As a general rule..I believe in Quality over Quantity.
97. Sometimes I still wonder what/where I'll be when I grow up.
98. I would be an eternal student if I could...I love learning.
99. I have adopted a new goal taken from fellow blogger- "Hard to Offend, Easy to Please"
100. I often wonder why I have so many blessings!?

Figured it out..

OK I had to edit my HTML but I got it to work. For some reason..I don't have a Layouts tab in my dashboard, just Template?? Wierd. Anyways, it worked. So thanks!

I got my treadmill up and going last week. I am up to 2 whole miles !! Haha...I have a long way to go. Sadly, my body is NOT a runner's body so I know it will be fighting me every step of the way. Thanks SO MUCH to all you fellow "runners" out there who are trying to increase your mileage..I'll be looking to you all for support. If you want some good ideas for a playlist to listen to while you run, visit this page. Unlike every man, woman, child on the face of the earth, I still don't have an iPod. But my husband does have a 20 gig MP3 player that is real nice. I just wish I could use iTunes with it. Does anyone know where else I could go to legally download music for a sweet Samsung??;)

So I'm a little slow....

I still cant figure out how to put links on my page..like friend's blogs etc. I have the new Google version but it is not the Beta version. Can anyone explain it? In. a. simple. way.?