What beard?

After six long months (plus 3 days, but who's counting?), Christian decided it was time to shave. It was his birthday on December 15, and his drivers license had to be renewed. He didn't really want to look like a terrorist or Charles Manson on it, so it was time to take it all off.












This is when he got to his old Chinese man phase of the shaving. I walked in the front door and he started yelling at me in fake Chinese and shaking the broomstick at me. I laughed so hard.






Getting closer...






Look at that beautiful face! I had forgotten what a handsome man I have. So smooth. So sexy!

Third Annual Christmas Party

I had my third annual Christmas party a couple of weeks ago with (almost) all of my friends. I had a few who couldn't come because they had work. It was a great time and I loved getting to see my friends.



Me and my honey. He is the best Christmas present I could ever ask for!



Me and my best friend, Melissa. You can see part of my tattoo hanging out. Ha ha.



This is one of my best friends, Chris. It is so great to have him back this year. Last year he was in New Zeland on company business during my Christmas party.



Steff Mc Combs and me. I should haul out the picture of both of us from last year's party. She has lost over 40 pounds since then and I have lost about 20. Thank you, Weight Watchers!



Kasey and David Olsen. I love these two! They call me their Diva. I am so glad they were able to come!

How we met...

Yesterday was our 20 month-iversary. I am so happy to be with Christian. He makes me feel all warm and cozy. I think he likes me too, ha ha. So I thought I would share with you how we met.

1. Where did you meet? We met in Melissa's car on our way to go to 80's night at Area 51. She was dating his roommate at the time and it was a quasi setup.

2. What was the first thought that went through your head when you met? Oh thank God that he's not ugly.

3. Do you remember what he/she was wearing? A nice button up shirt and jeans

4. Where was the first time you kissed this person? The last day of our Moab trip.

5. Where did you go for your first date? The day after we met we went on a 3 day trip to Moab with Melissa and Walker (Christian's roommate). It was a VERY last minute thing.

6. How long did you know this person before you became a couple? Roughly 22 hours. Ha!

7. How did he/she ask you out? We just agreed that we didn't want to see anyone else.

8. How did he propose to you? It's not going to happen.

9. Do you and this person have kids together? Well I have 3 and he has 1 and we love them all together, but no, we don't have any genetically together.

10. Have you ever broken the law with this person? I don't think so

11. When was the first time you realized that you liked this person? After getting home from dancing.

12. Do you trust this person? Completely.

13. Do you see her/him as your partner in your future? Oh yeah

14. What is the best gift she/he gave you? Every day that I am with him is a gift. Plus he totally rocked last Christmas and surprised the heck out of me.

15. What is one thing He/She does that gets on your nerves? Nothing.

16. Where do you see each other 15 years from now? I hope in Austin working in our fields in a nice house and (possibly) some genetically "ours" little ones.

17. What causes the most arguments? We've never argued. No really, it's true.

18. How long have you been together? 20 months and one day.

19. Are you Married? Nope. I don't see the point of a government sanction for my relationship.

20. Who Do you Tag? Shawn and Cass, Amber and Matt, Dona, Joe and Steff, and Andrea.

Freezing!

We had a good starter snow storm yesterday and temperatures down in the teens. I saw a few cars go skidding through the stop sign in front of the house last night. I had to put it in all wheel drive to go to the gym and to the grocery store. What really chaps me is that it is 73 degrees in Austin today. I really can't wait to move.

ER

I posted a couple of days ago about my time in the ER trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with me. I have a couple of pictures from that night to share with you. I was taking them with my camera phone and sending them to Christian to keep him updated on what was going on while he was at my house watching the kids.



This is after I got checked in and was waiting to go back to a room.



My IV. I am scared to death of needles but my friend, Levi, who works in the ER as a tech did such an awesome job. I really didn't even feel it. After I took it out later there wasn't even a bruise. Let me take a moment to tell you how great Levi is. Levi- this shout out is for you!

Prop 8, the musical

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... by Jack Black

I know that the voting is long over, but I wonder what people who were for proposition 8 think about this? What would their lives be like if they really lived them "according to the teachings of the Bible"?

Pain!

So I have been having this pain in the left side of my abdomen for about 2 months now. Finally last week I got of work early (at midnight) and went down to the ER. I did my final semester of nursing school there so I know almost all the nurses and techs. I told them about my pain and the doctor wanted me to have a CT scan of my abdomen. I had to drink contrast, one cup every 10 minutes for a total of 6 cups. That stuff is nasty! I now feel bad that I have to make my patients drink that stuff. Anyway after the contrast had worked its way through my GI tract I went and got my scan. It showed... NOTHING! Okay my spleen is slightly enlarged but that is to be expected with the mono. All my lab tests came back normal too. We now know what it isn't. I told the doctor that my pain usually comes after I eat and he recommended that I go to a gastroenterologist. He wants me to get my stomach scoped because it could be an ulcer. Fun for me. I'm going to wait until the first of the year because I have a deductible on my insurance that starts fresh every year. I hope that it is nothing too serious. If I don't eat between now and next year I should be pain free. Ha ha.

Coming Home

Dawn and Sheldon will be coming home December 11, just in time for Christmas. Dawn is having some health issues that are better addressed here in the states. They left on an LDS mission in Argentina in March and were supposed to be gone for 23 months. I can't say that I am sad they aren't able to spend that entire time down there. We have missed them a lot.I just hope that Dawn can get everything back in working order.

Thanksgiving Adventure.

This Thanksgiving was different from any that Christian or I have ever experienced. I worked the night before so I got home around 7 Thanksgiving morning. When I woke up around 2:30 that afternoon, I asked Christian how thawed the turkey was or if he had checked on it all week. He gave me a rather confused look and said that the turkey was still in the freezer. I gave him a rather confused look and said that the turkey was never supposed to be in the freezer. Turns out when I bought the turkey on Sunday and asked him to put it in his fridge because there wasn't enough room in mine, he heard put the turkey in the freezer since there wasn't enough room in mine. So the turkey was frozen solid like a rock.

We decided to run over to Walmart to see if they had any spiral hams available. Nope! We went to both Springville and Orem and neither place had hams. I thought- let's run by Smith's to see if they are open really quickly. It was 6:06pm and they closed at 6pm! They were shoving the last of the customers out the door as we arrived. Arg! We just should have gone there first.

So we got home and were both so dissapointed at this time. We realized that neither of us have had a Thanksgiving where we weren't surrounded by family. The kids got home from their dad's at this time and I was feeling like crud. I started to get a sore throat on Wednesday night and it hasn't gotten any better yet. I have a really funny sounding voice at this point too. We decided to postpone Thanksgiving to today so we could thaw the turkey overnight and so the kids would be home. Now that I'm up, I'll be cooking the rest of the day.

The beard

Christian last shaved on June 12th. He has decided to grow out the beard until he is sick of it and that just hasn't happened yet. His beard is getting so long and so full that I can't even remember his face. His mustache is so long now that I have to part the hair or lift it to kiss him without getting a mouthful.



This is the side view. You can see how long it is. His neck is kinda hairy too.



His cute, smiling face. I think that Christian has one of the cutest faces in the world. I just wish that I could remember it!

His 30th birthday is coming up soon and his driver's license expires then. I told him he should shave it off for his new picture because he has the full beard on his student I.D. and looks quite a bit like Charles Manson- scary! Also I am hoping to have family pictures done this Christmas season if we can get Drew out here and I would love to have his face in those too. It is quite a fine beard. Many of our guy friends have told us they are jealous of Christian's beard growing abilities.

New Bedding

I finally broke down and bought myself new bedding. I have been using the same bedspread for many years now and it wasn't really my style. It was something that I had made back when I was married and I was just over it. For the last month and a half or so, I have been using Christian's bedding trying to figure out what to do. Yesterday I went to Kohl's and got a 4 piece set that included the comforter, dust ruffle, and 2 pillow shams in dark chocolate brown for only $50. Then I ran over to Target and bought sheets and pillowcases in pale orange and some cream colored pillowcases to sew together to put over the body pillow. The last piece to the ensemble is a cream colored blanket that I bought at Walmart. I have never put together my own bedding set and I LOVE it! I now have to ask my friend, Chris Lowe, what colors to paint my bedroom. He's been helping me with the rest of the house.







I found a nice cream colored decorator pillow at Target that I'm going to get when take back the extra set of pillowcases that I accidently bought.

WTF?

I bought a new blow dryer about two or three weeks ago. Last night when I was drying my hair this tag fell off of the cord and I read it for the first time:

Warning: The power cord on this product contains lead, a chemical know to the State of California to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.

What the eff? Why would the manufacturer put lead in the cord? I have been using this blow dryer (which I love) for this long and didn't see that warning before. What if I had been a pregnant mom-to-be and was using this dryer? I would have ended up with a messed up baby. It's a good thing that I always wash my hands after I do my hair anyway because I have serious hand washing issues (it's probably the nurse in me). Now I can't let my girls use this dryer. It's a good thing they have their own.

Tag! I'm it

My friend Donna tagged me with this one.

List 6 strange or quirky things about yourself:

1- I work nights and love it
I work an all night shift from 6 pm to 6 am. I have tried other nursing shifts and they wear on me. When I work days starting a 6 am I wake up all night worried that I have overslept my alarm clock. I am so sleep deprived when I work "normal" hours.

2- I was 30 years old before I went to a concert
Actually I was 30 years old before I did a lot of things that most people consider a rite of passage. That was the age when I first went on vacation by myself, went dancing in a bar, bought my own music CD's, and many other things. The old saying "Life begins at 30" was true for me.

3- I play World of Warcraft
This one isn't as strange because many people play WoW. It's just that most of them aren't 32 year old mothers of 3 who go to work and school full time. I don't quite fit the "nerd" image that most people hold in their minds but I really am a full time nerd. I embrace this.

4- I can't stay awake for a movie
No, really. I have started so many movies that I can't count them. People at work will talk about this great movie and I have to say either "Stop! Don't talk about that, I haven't finished it yet." or "Oh, that sounds like a great part. I fell asleep before that happened." The only time I stay awake for a movie is when we go to the theater, but not every time.

5- I love karaoke- sober
I don't have the best voice or stage presence. I often sing songs that are COMPLETELY out of my vocal range (which is only 2 notes). My motto happens to be "If you can't sing well, sing loud". But I cannot deny the total adrenaline rush that come along with getting up on a stage in front of perfect strangers and singing. It is better than any buzz alcohol can provide.

6- I live NEXT DOOR to my boyfriend
That is the one that people think is the weirdest. We moved in to the same apartment building after we had been dating just a little while- I think around 3 or 4 months- and have decided that this arrangement works out the best for us. We can see each other all that we want to, we are not financially dependent on each other, we have our own spaces, and we have two kitchens- especially awesome when the holidays roll around. I'm sure at some point we will live in the same house but now is just not the time for that.

I tag Shawn and Cass, Dona Shock, Eleanor Cleverly, Casey Esplin, Lindsay Carrick, and Andrea.

Dreaming of warmer places

I would love to move away after graduation. I have lived in Utah since 1988 and never when I moved here did I think that I would get stuck here. For 21 cold winters I have hated the snow, the cold, the gray. I need to leave this town, leave this culture (where I don't quite fit in), and go somewhere warmer. Christian's parents lived in Austin, Texas for about 5 years before they left on their mission. Christian lived down there for a few months after his divorce and all of them say it's a really nice place to live. The weather is warm, the housing is affordable, there are plenty of jobs in both Christian and my fields, and there are many concerts and events to go to. I have no idea if we will actually be able to move since I share joint custody of the kids with my ex-husband, but for now I can dream of warmer places. I have placed the weather tracker for both Austin and Provo in my sidebar for comparison purposes.

My fitness journey

As many of you know, I struggle to maintain my weight. I come from a family of very large women who have taken diet pills, starved themselves, and even had stomach bypass surgery to try to keep a healthy weight. Most of them have failed. They have many health problems due to the fat on their bodies and many of them have died before reaching 65. I want to enjoy my life now and enjoy many years after I reach retirement age. I don't want to just be alive- I want to LIVE. I have started a new blog that is about my road to fitness here. I will be updating it regularly with things that I am doing that are working and I will add the things that aren't working too. As I find healthy recipes or exercise plans that are awesome I will share them. My goals are many but the two main ones are: be down to my healthy weight range of 135-138 by my 33rd birthday (January 7) and to run the Salt Lake City half-marathon (April 18). I will be making many small goals along the way and keep my progress updated. Wish me luck!

Cool

One of my favorite things to do is look at other people's blogs and then steal ideas from them. This was up on my friend's MySpace. I thought it was cool.

so stinking busy

Today has been housekeeping day. My house is seriously so messy that is is verging on dirty. I am trying to decide if getting a housekeeping service once or twice a week is worth it. The kids and Christian help me clean but it just isn't staying together. There are times that I miss being a stay home mom. These times include but are not limited to: when i get up an hour after going to sleep after work to take William to school, seeing the growing pile of laundry in the corner of my room, seeing the kitchen looking like the cupboards exploded all over the counter tops, and being too tired to do anything about any of it on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong, I actually love the fact that I have a full time job that was meant for me. I love that my kids are getting older and more independent. I love going to school to pursue my bachelors then masters degrees. I love that the family is getting better at seeing that there is a mess and doing something about it. I guess I just wish that I had more time in the day to get everything done that needs to be.

The memory game

I saw this on my nieces's blog and I think it looks fun... Here we go!!

1. Add a comment on my blog. Leave one memory that you have had with either Heather or Christian, It doesn't matter if you knew us a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about us, we'll assume you're playing the game and we'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Yes, we can!

I'm so excited to see what our future has in store. I am proud of my fellow Americans who stood up and had their voices heard. Yes, we really can!

Jesu Cristo

Here is the ultimate picture of Christian in his costume. Our friend, John, took this picture and when we looked at it we couldn't believe what we saw! The lighting was just perfect.

Halloween Party 2

Here are a few more pictures from the Halloween party.



William grooving on the guitar.



Christian and Jared



Me and Kayleen




Melissa with Josh in the background



Honey as the great pumpkin, Steffanie, and Joe



Richard and Teena

Halloween Party

We had a Halloween/ Rock Band 2 Party. It was so much fun. A lot of our friends came over and played with us. My house was a mad house! It is small but we all had a blast.

Graveyard cake.



Jesus washing the dishes. Nice apron!



Liz, John, and Josh playing Rock Band.



The Devil and Jesus- so cozy.



Bad Devil! ( Look at that smile. I think she likes it)

Halloween

Liz and Katie scooping out pumpkin guts. Liz was a cat and somehow we didn't get a picture of her in her costume. You can see the leopard spotted capri pants though.



We ended up with only two jack-o-lanterns. When Liz took the lid off from hers it was moldy and gross inside. She helped William carve his instead.



William was Link from Zelda. A whole lot of love and time went into me sewing his costume but he LOVES it! He wore it today too. I told him that he can wear it as much as he wants on weekends.



Katie was Marilyn Monroe. I think that she pulls it off nicely.



I wish I would have put the fan on her so that she had the Seven Year Itch pose. She looks great anyway.

Oktoberfest

These pictures are about two months old now. I am just getting around to transferring what is on my camera to the computer. We had a blast at Oktoberfest up at Snowbird this year. Our friends Jared, Dave, Josh, Chris, and Shauna were able to come with us.

Christian, Chris, Me, and Jared at the top of Hidden Peak at Snowbird.

Me and Chris in the tent about to eat our bratwurst.

Up periscope!

It was really windy at the top of the mountain.

... REALLY windy.

Mono

I have not blogged lately as I have been sleeping a ton. I have had a replay of mono. I got it two years ago and *lucky me* it is back. My first symptoms were a lot like strep throat- a sore, scratchy throat. Then my tonsils and spleen ballooned to abnormal sizes. Then came the tired. I am a girl who usually sleeps about 5 hours a night and I am just fine. Lately 12 -14 hours isn't enough. It has side railed my house painting project and sewing William a Halloween job almost completely. I have used up all of my paid time off at work and will have to go in sick now. Darn!

iPod

I am so upset right now. I bought a new iPod at the beginning of the school year- an 8GB nano. About a week later Apple announced that it would release a 16GB nano for only $10 more than what I paid for this one. ARG! Then today, my stupid iPod has stopped working. It is frozen on one screen and with the background lighting still on. It is frustrating beyond belief. All I want to do is transfer some new music to it and blast it while I paint the apartment. Sheesh!

A year and a half

Christian and I have been dating now for a year and a half. I can honestly say that this has been the most blissful, peaceful time in my life. I never knew that I could be loved so completely and be treated so well. He makes me smile and laugh all the time. He is perfectly okay with my inner nerd and my weird quirks (like the one where I walk through the house turning off all the lights hourly). We have turned our house(s) in to a virtual nerdatorium. I love knowing that no matter the situation I can always tell him the truth. We have never had an argument (and yes people, that IS healthy) because we agree on most major issues and never sweat the small stuff. He has helped me grow in ways I never imagined possible. I love this man!!!!!

Bailout

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So the last two Natalie Dee comics are funny until you realize how true they are. I have been comparing this bailout to me getting in a lot of debt and running my finances into the ground then expecting my mom or granddad to bail me out. Or I could compare it to using a boyfriend (but not my dearest Christian) for his money only. I don't want to be these corporations' suga mama, but I am and you are and our great grandchildren are too. It is a lovely legacy being left for the future. I hope that we don't get four more years of "leadership" like the eight that have brought us to this mess.


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