Last Post of 2008

Where did this year go??? We went out to eat with Jeff's family earlier this evening (the same people as in the Ruby River post a few posts below this one). We ate at the Olive Garden. It was good, but I got full!
Tonight, some extended family will be going to Jeff's uncle and aunt's house. It's a nice, big house. It even has a home theater with stadium seating (3 rows of couches) and a big screen with a projector to watch movies. I think I've only watched 1 or 2 movies on that screen.

Anyway, Happy New Year 2009!!!

Christmas Kitty and Christmas Doggy

This is our cat soon after we opened our gifts ....

This is Jeff's parents' dog Pugsy (see 2 posts below this one of him in a Santa suit) ....

STILL Snowing ....

NEED I SAY MORE???

This was yesterday when we were leaving to go somewhere (Jeff's grandparents, I think). I'm glad we were kept safe in our travels to his grandparents and both sides of our immediate family.

(Oh yeah, our condo is on the 2nd floor)

Pugsy the Santa

Jeff parents have a cute house dog named Pugsy. We went over to his parents' house for a yummy turkey dinner on Christmas Eve, and Jeff's sister, Lori, dressed Pugsy up in a Santa suit (complete with a hood). It was cute. :-)

Snow... Please Stop!

Please stop already!! I'm sick of the snow and driving/walking in it. I hate being cold. Below are a couple pictures I took after I got home from work. I got home right after Jeff did (after I got gas). I couldn't get my car over the foot of snow in the parking spot to the left of the vehicle you see below. Jeff tried to park my car, but ended up spinning my tires (hence the darker snow right above our balcony railing). So he took this spot (he was gone getting gas in his car at the time I took these pictures) ....

And my car got to be in a covered spot, as you see in the picture below (we take turns taking the covered spot, and this week was Jeff's turn). Click on picture to make it bigger and you'll see it's still snowing ....
PLEASE STOP ALREADY!

New Favorite Candy

These things are SOOOO yummy! They're Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses. I've never had them... until night before last. Jeff got a few from his co-worker where he works. He's not a huge fan of mint or peppermint, so I get to eat them and they are SOOOO good! I think they're my new favorite candy. :-)

Ruby River with Jeff's family

Last night we went to Ruby River to celebrate Jeff's mom's birthday which was the day before. Here's a picture of his family while we were waiting to be seated ....
Left to right is his mom, his dad, his brother Jason, and his sisters Lori and Katie. It was a fun evening.

We also put up our Christmas tree yesterday (finally!). Yes, we're such slackers! We're hoping to get a nicer-looking one sometime in the future, but this one was on sale the day after Thanksgiving a couple years ago and it's our 1st one as a married couple ....

We also put on our balcony railing some lights we recently bought. Makes it feel more like Christmas!

My Work Christmas Party (Backstage Library Works)

I actually remembered the camera at my work party last night. It was at the Wilkinson Center at BYU. We had some good food with a talent show from a few co-workers. Not as fancy schmancy as Jeff's work party, but it was nice. Here are a few pictures ....

Ryan and Rebecca (Rebecca's birthday is today... Happy Birthday, Rebecca!)

John and Melissa

Jeff and I (don't mind my looking really tired since I didn't get much sleep the night before and I have a cold)

The yummy food

Jeff's Work Christmas Party (WingateWeb)

Yesterday was Jeff's work Christmas party. We left early to stop at Shane Co. in Salt Lake to get my ring cleaned. It was long overdue for a cleaning! About halfway there, I realized I forgot the camera! So you'll have to settle for a picture I got off Google Image Search of the outside of the hotel where the party was at. It's called The Grand America Hotel ....


Can I just say fancy schmancy? It was business casual dress, so I wore a blouse and some black slacks. We went into a little room where they had very fancy appetizers (shrimps, sushi, fruit and veggie plates, etc.), plus soft drinks and eggnog. It looked so fancy (even the dishes!) that I didn't want to eat any of it, haha. Through the room with the appetizers, we went into a bigger room (the ballroom, I'm guessing?) with several tables and chairs. For dinner we had rolls, then a little fancy salad surrounded by a couple slices of cucumber (I don't like cucumber), then a main dish of a small piece of steak, small piece of chicken, mashed potatoes and a couple veggies on the side, then a very rich dessert with a raspberry sauce and chocolate sauce to dip it in (complete with 3 real raspberries). I couldn't eat all of the dessert 'cause it was so rich! Talk about fancy schmancy! We watched a video done by someone at his work of new hires within the past year being interviewed a little bit... Jeff was one of them since he started there last February. Then they gave out some awards, then prizes, then it was time to go. We didn't get home till almost 10:00 p.m. last night, so I'm a little tired (which doesn't help my cold).

Tonight is my work Christmas party (I'm hoping I'll remember the camera)! I'll post about it tomorrow.

Change of Plans

In my previous post (below), I said we have a Ward Christmas Party on Saturday. I've made, copied, and cut the flyers for it (and will help pass them around tomorrow) and will go help set up for about half an hour in the late afternoon. But then that evening, we'll be celebrating Jeff's mom's birthday at Ruby River. I think her birthday is actually tomorrow, but some of the family (us and one of Jeff's sisters, I think) can't do it that evening. It's fun to spend time with family!

Tonight is Jeff's work party and Friday is my work party. We'll try to remember to take our new camera to both and see if we can get any pictures, so I can have some to put on here. :-)

A Plethora of Christmas Parties Coming Up

That's a cool word... plethora. Anyway, Jeff and I have a few Christmas parties coming up this weekend. It may not be a 'plethora' amount, but it seems like a lot because we will be going to a party 3 days in a row. Thursday evening is Jeff's work party (up in Salt Lake, I think), Friday evening is my work party (at the Wilkinson Center at BYU), and Saturday evening is our Ward Christmas party (which I get to help get ready and clean up afterwards since I'm part of the activities committee). Should be fun!

What's not so fun is I think I'm coming down with another cold! :-( I just had one a few weeks ago! Time to get more sleep and eat more oranges (since we still have a few left in our refrigerator)!

"New Month" Resolution

Who needs New Year Resolutions when "New Month" Resolutions are so much easier to stick to? :-) Today is Dec. 1 and my "New Month" Resolution is exercise every day (except Sunday) and eat healthier all month... in fact, I'm even doing this until Jan. 18, the day we leave for our cruise. I've been able to lose 25 lbs. since earlier this year (I gained over 30 since we got married), but in the past couple months I had the flu one weekend and a cold last week and I was also lazy, so I really wasn't exercising and I gained 5 lbs. back. :-( We'll see what results come from my "New Month" Resolution. I'm getting very excited to go on our Mexican Riviera Cruise! It'll be so fun!

On a completely different subject, I'm VERY happy with the lower gas prices. Over the summer they were over $4/gallon and from a quarter tank of gas, it cost over $40 to fill up my car. I got gas today and it only cost $19.50 (from a quarter tank). Very nice! :-) Let's hope it stays that way for a while!

We're Nuts!!!

At first, we weren't going to do the shopping thing the morning after Thanksgiving. But then we went online last night and found a few things we wanted at Wal-Mart. The suitcase I use when we go places is a bit beat up and one of the zippers is broken (the thing you grab to pull on the zipper broke off). So we found a 6-piece luggage set for $44.


A little while back, we were at Wal-Mart and Jeff was saying he wanted a Monopoly game, so when we saw it online, I wrote it down on our 'shopping list' and got it for only $10. Not bad! It's a classic!


When I saw this thing I have pictured below, I knew I wanted it. It's a 10.3 MP digital camera for $79. We were using a 5.0 MP camera (what I used to take these pictures). I just remember a lot of pictures we took when we went camping this past summer were a little blurry. So hopefully this new one will be better, especially for when we go on our cruise in January. :-) We also got some cheap memory cards and a case to go with it.


Jeff also wanted a Blu-Ray Player for $128. I was thinking about it, but I know Blu-Ray discs are more money than DVD's. When we finally found where they were (after getting our camera), they were out of them by the time we got to them. That's OK, though... we're content with our DVD's and DVD player. And maybe one of these years, we'll get one. So that was our shopping trip this morning. We got up a little after 3:30 and got to Wal-Mart a little after 4:30 and it was packed! Yes, we're nuts!!!

Anyway, Thanksgiving was good yesterday. We're enjoying our 4-day weekend and dinner was good with my family, although I ate a bit too much... but the food was good! I'm grateful for this time of year and with Christmas coming up... exciting times! :-)

Nothing Exciting

Wow, I haven't posted anything in almost 3 weeks! I wonder if that's a new record.... We really haven't had much of anything exciting happen lately. Unless you wanna hear about the cold I started to catch a week ago. I started losing my voice on Saturday, I think. Yesterday morning, I could hardly talk at all, so I had to whisper. I'm a little better today, but it's still sometimes hard to talk. It's hard not being able to talk. Hopefully my voice comes back all the way soon.

I'm excited for this week. At my work, they're not making us work Friday since they're replacing the server (I think?). Even though I won't get paid for that day, I don't care. I'm just excited for the little break from work. So today seems like Wednesday, tomorrow will seem like Thursday, and Wednesday will seem like Friday. :-) And Thursday, we're having Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It'll be yummy!

Happy Holidays!

I love this time of year... looking forward to Thanksgiving AND Christmas. And the day after Halloween, two of my favorite radio stations started playing non-stop Christmas music. I have a few of my favorite Christmas songs at the top of the right column. When Jeff and I were first married, he didn't like to listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving... but I think I've softened him up a little 'cause now he wants to listen to it. :-) Except for the cold and the snow (I HATE driving in it, but it's pretty), this is a fun time of the year! So I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!!

Happy Halloween?

I've never been much into Halloween. Where I work, they have costume contests and goodies contests. 2 years ago, some of the team I was on dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz (only 3 of us). I found a scarecrow costume online and so I was the scarecrow. Here's a picture of it (but that's not me) ....

I could have used that costume again this year, but I didn't want to. And last night I was looking for something I could maybe use for a costume. I actually tried on a button up shirt of Jeff's, some khaki pants of his, and my hair hidden with a cap. I was going to dress up as a boy, haha. I was excited about it last night, but then this morning while I was getting ready for work, I thought it was a dumb idea, so I didn't dress up. Maybe next year Jeff and I will find some costumes. This year, we're trying to save up money for our cruise in January. Anyway, so for those who are more into Halloween than I am ....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Crazy Busy Work Week

Wow, I'm glad this week is over! I am a team leader over a team working on 5 or 6 different projects and sometimes there's a lot to do and it makes for a crazy busy work week. And now it's my weekend and my weekends ALWAYS go too fast and I never look forward to Mondays! Here's a picture I found on Google Image Search ....

HAPPY WEEKEND BEFORE HALLOWEEN!!!

One Word tag

I just noticed Melissa tagged me for this post a couple weeks ago. Either I didn't notice, or I did notice and forgot. :-) Anyway, here you go ....


The rule: you can only answer each question with one word.
Then tag three friends to participate!

(Words in parentheses don't count, they just clarify some things)

Where is your cell phone? work (I forgot it at work today... I think the only time I've ever forgotten to bring it home with me from work)

Where is your significant other? computer (playing a computer game)

Your hair? bun

Your mother? nice

Your father? retired

Your favorite thing? Jeff

Your dream last night? forgot

Your dream/goal in life? kids

The room you're in? computer

Your hobby? blogging

Your fear? failure

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Disneyland!! (sooner than that if possible, too... I think I'll just move to Disneyland and live there, since I mention it in every other post!) :-)

Where were you last night? bed

What you're not? boy (haha, good one Melissa!)

One of your wish list items? money (can't think of anything else, so I just want money to have when I DO think of something I want)

Where you grew up? Missouri

That last thing you did? answer (previous question)

What are you wearing? clothes

Your TV? off

Your pet? kitty

Your computer? on

What do you think of Tags like this? hard (only some questions are hard to come up with just one word)

Your mood? tired

Missing someone? Jeff (when he's not with me)

Where would you rather be? Disneyland!! (oh wait, am I allowed to have 2 of the same answer?)

Something you're not wearing? shoes

Favorite store? Wal-Mart (unfortunately)

Your summer? hot

Love someone? yep

Your favorite color? maroon

When is the last time you laughed? today

Who will participate? anyone

High School Survey

Jeff's cousin Kristen had this on her blog and it sounded like fun ....

1. Did you date someone from your school? No... I was a shy little thing (still am at times, haha)

2. What kind of car did you drive? Didn't drive a car till I went to college

3. Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? No, but that was because I was EXTREMELY nervous! But the 2nd time I knew more what to expect and passed it (like 4 days before my 1st day of college classes) :-)

4. Were you a party animal? Nope (read the answer to #1 to see why)

5. Were you considered a flirt? Nope (same reason)

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Not in high school, but I did play the flute in Junior High Band (as if anyone cared to know that)

7. Were you a nerd? Hmmm... not really

8. Were you on any varsity teams? No (I didn't have very good knees, so I didn't do any sports)

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No

10. Can you still sing the fight song? We had a fight song???

11. Who were your favorite teachers? I don't remember (I graduated high school over 12 years ago!)

12. Where did you sit during lunch? Umm, at a table?

13. What is your school's full name? East Newton High School (in Granby, Missouri)

14. School mascot and colors? Patriots - red, white, and blue (I think)

15. Did you go to Homecoming and who with? Didn't go (probably for reason in #1)

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? If I knew to work a little harder to be in the top 10 (I was ranked 17th of about 100 in my class), then yes. Otherwise, no.

17. What do you remember most about graduation? Probably thinking that I was finally done with high school

18. Where did you go Senior Skip Day? I don't remember

19. Were you in any clubs? Art Club, I think... I liked art classes in high school and thought I would like it in college and majored in it, but I was wrong. After the 1st year of college, I switched majors to business

20. Have you gained some weight since then? Umm, yeah

21. Who was your prom date? Didn't go (see reason in #1 again)

22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? I probably would have gone if there was one

23. Did you have a job while in high school? No

24. What was your favorite thing about high school? Favorite thing? Maybe graduation? :-)

25. What was your least favorite thing? Taking tests (I hated studying)

26. If you could go back and say something to someone what would you say? Since I was so shy, probably anything!

I Miss My Hubby!

Jeff left early this morning to go to the airport to fly to Las Vegas for another business trip. He was going to go to Miami, Florida, this week, but they postponed that conference I think 'cause of some construction on the building where the conference was going to be held. So instead, Jeff got to go to Vegas.


I probably could have gone with him if I had asked for the time off, but he'll be working very LONG days and even though I have a mission companion who lives in Vegas, I probably would get kinda bored without Jeff. So maybe we'll make it down there some weekend, so I can show him the area where I served there.

Jeff was gone for 2 days a couple months ago when he went to Los Angeles. This week, he'll be gone almost 4 days! Hopefully time goes by fast 'cause I miss my hubby!! Keeping busy with my job and things to do at home will definitely help!

Week is Almost Over!

The title to this blog post says it all! I actually did come down with the flu last weekend, complete with achy muscles, being weak, and a fever... a few times I would be really cold, even with a blanket over me; then I would take some Advil which would help my fever and I'd be really hot and sweaty. I didn't like being really cold or really hot. At least I didn't throw up (which is the worst part about having the flu)! I was able to get a blessing Sunday evening from Jeff and Jeff's cousin's husband (who lives in the same condo building we do). I was kinda worried I'd get another staph infection like I did last year 'cause I had some of the same symptoms, although not as bad as last year. The blessing helped and I was feeling better on Monday. I probably was well enough on Monday to go to work, but I decided to take the day off since Sunday night, I was still sick and wasn't sure how I'd be on Monday, so I decided to rest. I've been trying to work a few extra hours so I don't have to take a full 8 vacation hours for Monday. Maybe that's why I've been feeling extremely tired this week? Who knows. But there's just tomorrow, then the work week will be over!!

Oh, here's a funny picture of our kitty. I took some laundry out of our dryer and took it to our bedroom. I didn't close the dryer door and came back to find this ....

Girls' Night Out

My mom and sister (Melissa) hung out tonight while our guys were at the Priesthood Session of General Conference. My other sister (Rebecca) couldn't make it since she and Ryan are up in Ogden this weekend, helping Ryan's parents to move. We first went to Deseret Book at the University Mall in Orem. Every General Conference during the Priesthood Session, they have a Ladies' Night and the first 100 people in line get a free gift. This was this gift this time ....

After that, they have give-aways throughout the evening and other stuff (a couple authors who sign books, a singer, etc.). But we usually don't wait around for that stuff. After standing in line for about an hour or a little more and getting our gift, we went to eat at IHOP. The service wasn't the greatest tonight, but it was fun hanging out with my mom and Melissa ....


Also, I don't really like this sudden change of weather... cold and rainy! I woke up feeling a little off-ish this morning, then as they day progressed I started getting achy muscles. I took some Advil before I left to meet up with my mom and sister, so I was able to make it through the evening. Now my muscles are aching a little again. :-( I hope I'm not coming down with the flu and that it's just 'cause of the change in the weather. We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow, I guess.

Mission Reunion

Jeff and I went to my mission reunion tonight. I wanted to take our camera so I could have a picture or two to post, but I forgot it. :-( I had two mission presidents on my mission (Nevada Las Vegas West), and the one tonight was my 2nd one... during the last half of my mission. There weren't a whole lot of people who showed up, but it was a nice little group. Other than President & Sister Hill, I only really knew an older couple who served around the same time I did. Lots of the others were after my time, since I only served under President Hill the last 9 months of my mission. We just visited a little, everybody introduced themselves, then a little more visiting, then we left. It's always good to see President & Sister Hill. We were talking about trying to get more people to come next year and I'll definitely bring our camera then to post pictures. :-)

Favorites

Since I can't think of anything to blog about, I saw this on someone else's blog a little while back and thought I'd share some of Jeff's favorite things and my favorite things ....


Jeff's Favorites:

Color: Blue
Movie: Eragon, Lord of the Rings, Narnia movies (among others)
Food: A really good steak
Dessert: Peanut butter bar
Season: All (for different reasons)
T.V. show: Heroes (among others)
Place to visit: Uintahs
Book: Some of the Shannara and Wheel of Time series
Hobby: Computer games, books, movies, horseback riding, general outdoor stuff
Scripture: Mosiah 4:27
Holiday: Christmas
Thing to do: See hobbies above

Vicki's Favorites:

Color: Maroon
Movie: A few favorites... Enchanted, Chronicles of Narnia (both movies)
Food: Italian (preferrably pasta dishes like spaghetti)
Dessert: Ice cream (preferrably anything chocolate)
Season: Spring or Fall (I don't like it too cold or too hot)
T.V. show: I don't really watch much TV, but I have Full House and 7th Heaven on DVD (I watched them growing up and liked them). A recent one is Heroes... even though it's sometimes too intense for me, I keep watching it because every episode is a cliffhanger.
Place to visit: Disneyland!!
Book: I don't read very much... I'll just say Book of Mormon
Hobby: Blogging, computer games
Scripture: Alma 17:10 (it has a special place in my heart, maybe I'll share my story sometime)
Holiday: Christmas
Thing to do: See hobbies above

Stupid Work (and a wedding survey!)

OK, I really do like my job... except when you have to use the Internet for your work and it keeps going down throughout the day and then they send those who have to use the Internet home early (there are others who don't need the Internet and they get to work... lucky them!). Now I have 9.25 hours I have to work tomorrow. Call me crazy, but I'm going to try to go in at 5 A.M. so I don't have to get off as late (especially on a Friday!). Hopefully the Internet works tomorrow!

Anyway, my sister Rebecca had this little wedding survey on her blog. I thought I'd do it, too! :-)

When were you married?
Mar. 4, 2006

Where did he ask you?
Behind the Mt. Timpanogos Temple (Dec. 17, 2005)

Where did you honeymoon?
Disneyland! (I want to go back!!)


Can you still fit in your dress?
I rented my dress... part of me wishes I would have just bought one


What was the worst gift you got?
I don't remember if we did get any bad gifts, they were all good!

What flavor was your wedding cake?
I think some of it was chocolate mint flavored and some was vanilla (I don't exactly remember... it was so long ago, haha)


Were you a bridezilla?
Not exactly sure what this meant, so I looked on Wikipedia said "Bridezilla (a portmanteau of bride and Godzilla) is a generic term used to describe a difficult, unpleasant, perfectionist bride who leaves aggravated family, friends and bridal vendors in her wake. A bridezilla is obsessed with her wedding as her perfect day and will disregard the feelings of the family, bridesmaids and even her groom in her quest for the perfect wedding" .... so my answer to this question would be no

What’s one thing you would change about your wedding?
I don't think I'd change a thing... I loved that day!

Do you still look at your wedding pics?
Yep, even occasionally watch our wedding/reception video my brother Jeffrey made for us

What colors did you use?
Maroon, dark green, and white

Where did you tie the knot?
Mt. Timpanogos Temple (in American Fork, UT)

What’s one funny thing that happened that day?
I don't recall anything funny... it was just a very good and happy day!

How many showers did you have?
2... one in Provo at the house my sisters and I were living in at the time (now my parents live there) and one at Jeff's parents' church building in the Relief Society room

Did you cry?
A little bit, in the temple

Did you give any wedding favors away?
I don't think so

Who caught the flowers and garter?
No garter, but my sister Melissa caught my little bouquet of flowers... even though this photo is blurry, you can see the bouquet in the air :-)


How much was your wedding dress, undergarments and all?
I don't remember

Was there dancing?
No

Where was the reception?
At Jeff's parents' church building in American Fork

Would you go back and do it over again?
You bet!

What kind of car did you drive away in?
Jeff's Chrysler Concord (he's still driving it!)

How many in your wedding party?
If I count who was in our reception line, 7 (not counting me or Jeff)


Did you do anything different in your wedding or reception?
Not really out of the ordinary, no

Did you save the top layer of your cake for your 1 year anniversary?
Yep! I was a little hesitant to eat a 1-year-old cake, but it was wrapped up VERY well and kept in the freezer (thanks to Jeff's mom!)... it was actually pretty good!

What were the songs played at your wedding?
No songs

What was the grand total spent on your wedding?
How should I know?? That's not important... what is important is that it was a very nice day for us

Who was the guest that traveled the furthest?
Probably my parents, who were living in Missouri at the time

Work

I work here ....


I've been a team leader for 4 weeks now and I actually love it! I love my job now!! :-) Before, I would get so tired and feel like falling asleep, sitting in front of computer screens all day. And usually, team leaders are on a team working on one contract at a time. But I'm on a team where everyone is working on different contracts, so I get to work on and/or QC them all. It makes the day go by faster when I work on different projects throughout the day, and I'm not as tired as I used to be. I'm on a team doing cataloging, which is basically making a database record from actual books or images of books. Even though some of the time, I'm not sure what I'm doing ('cause I'm still learning!), it's not as bad as I thought it would be at first. Not to mention, the nice $1/hr. pay raise! :-) Oh, and everybody got another $1/hr. pay raise a couple weeks ago and if they maintain 70% quality or higher in a calendar quarter, they'll keep that pay raise. If they fall below, they'll lose the $1/hr. until the next quarter if they're over 70% (then they'll get it back). So $2/hr. pay raise in the last month isn't half bad! And now I make dang good money! I love my job!! :-)

9/11

I'll never forget what I was doing the morning of Sep. 11, 2001. I was living in Provo (moved from Missouri 2 months earlier). My mom and brother flew out to Utah on Sep. 10. My brother was going to enter the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Sep. 12. I had a part-time job at the time and I worked in the afternoons. The morning of Sep. 11, my mom, brother, and I went to the Provo Temple to do a session there. I remember going into my apartment that morning to get something I needed or forgot (or something). The TV was on to some news (I think), but I don't think anyone was watching it and I really wasn't paying attention to it because I was in and out the door. When we were at the temple, someone said something about it but we didn't think too much of it then. It was after the temple that we found out what really happened. It was really sad what happened. And my mom couldn't get back home for a few days after she was supposed to go back home. When I was about 17, my family went back east and we were able to go up to the top of one of the towers (I think the one without the spire on top).

I thought this was a really cool picture of the World Trade Center towers ....

Uh oh, I was tagged!

THE RULES:
1. link the person who tagged you
2. post the rules
3. tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them


#1 Rebecca (not my sister)

#2 see above

#3
1. Even though I COULD sleep in when I go to bed late and go into work later (since my job is flexible), I choose to get up very early (4:45 these days) and get to work at 6:00 and leave work in the early afternoon. I love getting off in the afternoons. :-)

2. Even though pickles and cucumbers are from the same thing, I like pickles but hate cucumbers.

3. I've been known (at least by my hubby) to make nose crinkles for lots of emotions, namely for things I don't like or things that disgust me, or like the picture below... happy! I'm guessing a few other emotions, too, but those two are the main ones.

4. I get extremely nervous when I ride with other people. I'm not saying anyone I ride with is a bad driver 'cause they're all good drivers! My family was in a car accident when I was 10 (and my brother got hurt pretty bad, but he's fine now) and I think that's why I'm nervous when I'm riding with other people and there are lots of other cars around. Most of the time, I prefer to be the one driving.

5. I'm just getting over my cold and one thing I love about my colds is that I LOVE talking in a squeaky voice. When I say 'squeaky' in a high-pitched voice, it comes out all squeaky and it's funny. Also, when I try singing when my voice isn't good during a cold... hahaha, it makes Jeff laugh, which in turn makes me laugh! :-)

6. It's hard for me to explain things sometimes. Like I know what I want to say in my head, but it's hard for me to make everything in my head come out of my mouth. It's also been VERY hard coming up with 6 'quirks' of mine, but there you have it!


#4 tag 6 peeps (hazards of friendship) <--- I like what Rebecca (not my sister) had on her blog, so I'm keeping it, hehe

1. Melissa
2. Rebecca (my sister)
3. Mindy
4. Kristen
5. Casey
6. Megan

Anyone else not on this list who would like to do this, too, feel free! :-)

My Birthday Resolution... Not So Good

But it's not my fault! A little over a week ago, I'm not sure what I did (ran too much or ran too hard?), but something happened to my ankle. So I couldn't really use the treadmill to get my mile a day. It was frustrating after the first few days because I had to walk slow and had a little limp (and I usually like to walk fast). I had to live off of Advil most days, so it wouldn't hurt so much. But for the "Backstage 100" at my work, I only needed to lose 1 more pound and get 2 more miles in to get to 100 miles. The past 4 days, I walked slow on the treadmill for 1/2 mile each day. And I did lose the 1 pound (even an extra one, but not going to count it just yet till the work thingy ends on Labor Day). I think my ankle is starting to get better slowly, but it still hurts if I'm on it too much. On top of my ankle hurting, I also caught a cold on Wednesday. It was weird... I was perfectly fine at work Wednesday morning, but in the late morning, I felt it coming on in my throat. Colds are no fun!! I'll probably stay home from church tomorrow so I can rest and so I don't give it to anybody! I'm glad I have this 3-day weekend (with Monday's holiday) to rest up.

My Many Names

Got this off my cousin Mindy's blog. I thought it would be fun to do, so here you go!


1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Callie Camry (that's 1st pet since I've been married, I don't remember the first pet my parents had when I was little)
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Chocolate White Chocolate Macadamia
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) V Hog
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Maroon Kitty
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Jolene Provo
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Hogvi
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Forest Green Water
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) John Howard
9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) Vanilla Peanut M&M's
10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Jean Jay
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Randolph Randolph (haha, looked up on the internet cities that started with R and there were 20 states in the list with the city of Randolph) :-)
12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Christmas Rose
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Kiwi Jeansie
14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Bagel Maple
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, weather element+ Tour") The Computer Tornado Tour

Tired!

Watching the Olympics the past couple weeks and staying up late and getting up early for work has made me VERY tired! Even though I love watching them, I'll be glad when they're over. I hardly watched any last night. I was so tired I fell asleep on one of our recliners in our sectional. Then I woke up and it was all dark and Jeff was in the bedroom reading. I got ready for bed, then went straight to bed. Time to start catching up on sleep!

Beijing 2008 Olympic Gymnastics

Like I said in a post a few days ago, I love watching Olympic gymnastics! All of the competitions in artistic gymnastics ended last night, and I think my favorite part was watching 18-year-old Nastia Liukin win the gold in the all-around.


The uneven bars event was a little screwy with the judging, but Nastia won the silver there (stupid tie-breaking rule!). Also, with a silver for the U.S. team, a silver on balance beam, and bronze on floor, she ended up with 5 Olympic medals, tying with Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller for the most medals won by an American gymnast at the Olympics.


But don't forget about 16-year-old Shawn Johnson ....

She won 4 medals at these Olympics. She won 3 silver (team, all-around, and floor) and she had one chance left on balance beam to win gold, which she did ....


Good job to both of these girls and hopefully they'll stick around for another 4 years to go to London in 2012. :-)

My Birthday Resolution

You've heard of New Year's Resolutions, right? Well, I made a birthday resolution, since my birthday was 5 days ago. That is to run/walk a mile on our treadmill every day except Sunday. So far, it's going good! We'll see how long I can keep it up. It feels so good to get exercise!!!

1st Day of Being Team Leader-- Done

Well, today was my first day of being team leader. It wasn't too bad... and I have 4 people on my team who pretty much know what they're doing (no new people). And the day went by fast because I QC-ed (QC = Quality Control) two different things and then worked on something else that sometimes makes time go by fast, too. Maybe this position won't be so bad after all. I was a little scared on Friday and a little bit over the weekend, too.

Yay for Liukin and Johnson!

I love watching Olympic gymnastics! That's why I'm up so late and getting very little sleep tonight. I'm even staying up a little later to watch the interviews of the 2 U.S. medal winners (after the news is over). I always get nervous watching those I want to win, fearing that they'll make mistakes or fall. But Nastia Liukin deserved her gold medal! She was stunning, especially with her stuck landings on vault and balance beam! And Shawn Johnson coming back from 5th after the 1st rotation and 3rd after the 3rd rotation to win a silver medal... she deserved that, too! I was SO happy to see them go gold and silver! :-) Yay for both of them!!!

Jeff's Work

Here is Jeff right before he left for the airport to go on a 2-day business trip to a conference onsite in Los Angeles ....

He looks handsome in his shirt and slacks. :-)

And here is a close-up of his shirt and the company he works for (WingateWeb) ....

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had to take about 50 pictures of me to get a half-decent one. But this is me today on my birthday ....


I still have a fat face, haha... but I'm slowly working on it! I chose where we ate and you know what? I cannot get enough of the chicken caesar flatbread salad. Every time we go there, I get that (without onions, of course). So we went to ...

... for my birthday. :-)

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Yesterday, I found out that I got a team leader position at work. They advertised it last week and I decided I would apply. I was the only one to apply for it, but the project manager was hoping that I would. I think it's next week that I'll start. That means $1/hour pay increase, so that will be nice! :-) I also went to my parents' house for dinner last night, since Jeff is still on his business trip.

Today, Jeff comes home from Los Angeles! I've missed him, even though it was only for two days. I'll be happy to have him back... until Oct. 11 when he leaves for Miami, FL, for one whole week. :-( I'm excited for the women's gymnastics team competition tonight. Hopefully USA can do what the 'Magnificent 7' did in 1996... win team gold. Go USA!!!

Tomorrow, it's my birthday. I will be 30. I don't think it'll be too depressing. I still look and feel young (on the most part). And I decided to take tomorrow off work (who would want to work on their birthday?). It will be so nice sleeping in and getting some much-needed sleep! The past couple nights, I've been staying up late watching the Olympics, so I've been a little tired.

Only 5 more days :-(

That's right... only 5 more days to enjoy my 20's, then I turn... yep, 30! :-( Not sure how I'm going to feel about that. A good thing about it is I still look and feel young (most of the time!). And I'm making slow but good progress on getting my body in shape... I've been putting our treadmill to good use most days and I eat healthier than I used to (chocolate and other fatty foods don't even sound good to me anymore!). Since my highest weight earlier this year, I've lost 16 lbs. Since the beginning of my work's "Backstage 100", I've lost 9 lbs. Just 16 more lbs. to go to be the weight I was on my wedding day!

On another note, Jeff has his 1st business trip this weekend. He gets to go to Los Angeles. He flies out Sunday morning and comes back Tuesday, so only 2 days (in October he'll be gone to Miami, FL, for a whole week!). I'm so glad he got this job!

The Road Trip of My Life

The Road Trip of Your Life

You see romantic love as what's most important in life. A deep connection with someone else is the primary thing you crave. You live life at a fairly leisurely pace. You take time to enjoy the sweeter parts of life, even when you're busy. You don't like a lot of risk or randomness in your life. You prefer to stick with what's known, even if it's a bit boring. You tend to be a workaholic. You overwork yourself without ever realizing it and sometimes suffer the consequences later. In another life, you could have been a great artist. You trust your creative instincts enough to let them lead you.

The Road Trip Test

Tip of the Day

Don't drink water (or other drinks) while you're walking. I had a glass of water just now and while I was walking, some water spilled down the front of my shirt. So unless you're very careful and coordinated, don't drink while walking, haha.