.

Camouflage

2011-08-23T22:31:00.000-06:00

This little girl doesn't mess around when we play hide-and-go-seek...

large and in charge

2011-08-17T21:18:00.000-06:00

15 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight and the scale isn't moving...
I would gladly trade my new boobs for my old tummy
Time to go shopping!

Hospital Bag

2011-06-27T14:43:00.000-06:00

In the days before Emi came I googled a bunch of "hospital bag check lists" to see what I would need to bring. Baby Center has a list, The Bump has a list, our hospital had a list, but they were all different and left me a little confused. So to remind myself for the next baby, here is what I brought, what I did and did not use and what I wish I had brought.

Night gown Bought especially for the hospital stay and didn't wear is once because you can't breast feed in it. Super unnecessary.
Cheap underwear Glad I bought them because I used them after I left the hospital, but didn't need to bring them with. I wore the mesh throw away kind they gave me at the hospital while I was there and really preferred that. I had no idea how much you bleed after giving birth! Holy cow! Glad I didn't ruin my own things.
Nursing bra Again, glad I bought it, but it wasn't ideal for me at the hospital.
Nursing tank-top The greatest thing ever invented. I bought one at Target per a recommendation I read online and my mom ended up buying me four more while I was still in the hospital. These tanks are worth their weight in gold. (Gilligan & O'Malley brand)
PJ bottoms I only brought one pair (plus the ones I came in wearing) and had more brought while I was there. I would pack three or so in the future
Toiletries I brought minis of all my stuff and was so glad I did. The nurses said they had shampoo if I wanted it but I preferred to use my own. Showering for the first time after giving birth was pivotal for my sanity and I'm glad i had my own things including contacts and make-up
Pads I wore the ones the hospital gave me and then switched to the night time Always kind once I was home. Didn't need to bring any.
Nursing pads and cream I cringe at the thought of not having lanolin cream, it was a life-saver.
Boppy Didn't pack it and had it brought, makes feeding so much easier.
Baby Mittens Emi had long fingernails from the get-go and the hospital doesn't give you a file and shorten them, so someone had to bring me a pair of her little mittens from home so she didn't claw her eyes out. I won't be forgetting this next time.
Baby going home outfit no explanation needed here.
Socks with grippers on the bottom I read this on some list to have to walk the halls, but they're unnecessary. When I did leave my room, which was rare, I wore my flip-flops. I'm a desert girl, what can I say? Plus you sweat a TON after delivery and socks just seemed uncomfortable.
Camera
Lap-top
Couple changes of clothes, pjs, snacks and HIS OWN PILLOW ;) for Dad
Scentsy Plug-In and Bar! Seriously. I brought it to be soothing during labor and that just happened too fast to use it, but it was so nice to have in recovery. All the nurses said how our room smelt amazing and it got people taking about Scentsy which I love! I will absolutely be bringing this again! (We warmed Luna in case you're curious... very calming :) )
Newspaper! I didn't fill out a baby book (kind of wish I did) but I still wanted to get Emi's hand and footprints and so we had them stamp them on the front page of the newspaper that ran on her birthday! Now it is a keepsake! Will probably have it framed or preserved some how.

Miss Emi K

2011-06-24T10:50:00.000-06:00

Most of you have heard, but on June 12 at 6:36 am (four weeks early!) our sweet baby girl, Emileen Kerry Andrus, made her debut.

Here is how it happened...

I had been having what I now know are contractions Saturday afternoon. They were not painful at all, just a tightening for a few seconds, very similar to how it felt to have her push against me. I even asked someone if that is what a contraction felt like and they said no. Goes to show that labor is different for everyone. Anyway, around midnight Sunday morning I could tell something was different and the contractions started getting a little painful. I started timing them around 2 am, they were ranging from 15-60 seconds long and coming about every 10 minutes. They were too frequent and starting to get too painful to get any sleep. I woke Chris up around 3 and asked him when he thought we should go to the hospital, he said, "I don't know" and I said, "Well I think I'm in labor!" and he said, "I don't know" and went back to sleep. :) haha- funny now but kind of annoying then. Thanks a lot honey.

He woke up to my groaning about an hour later (4 am) and realized that this was actually happening. He threw himself a bag together and I called my mom to let her know we were heading to the hospital. We checked in at the hospital at 4:40am, I remember because you have to write the time on the paperwork. Speaking of which, why on earth did I have to do paperwork?! I had already preregistered and it was just a bunch of signatures, but seriously? I have no idea what I was signing, I was a bit distracted. We sat in the waiting room for about 5 minutes before Carrie, my rockstar of a nurse, brought me into triage. She checked my vitals and had me change and she monitored the baby for a few minutes. She asked me all sorts of questions about my health history and had me rate my pain level from a one to a 10. She said something like, five is like you could cry, 10 is near death (ok she didn't say near death, but the worst). I said four and could tell that she was skeptical about admitting me, especially since I wasn't due for four more weeks. Finally she checked me to see if I had made any progress since my Thursday appointment. Oh had I ever, I was a seven! She got this shocked look on her face and said, "OK, we're having a baby!"

They quickly got us into a labor and delivery room (5:45 am) and realized that they didn't know the results of my Strep B swab I had just had and so they start calling every lab in town to try to find my results, but alas, they could not be found. So they had to treat me as if I were positive, which meant a bag of antibiotics into my IV, not a big deal. I got on a labor ball to help the pain, but I'm pretty sure it just made the contractions come faster, so I just got back into bed and chewed on ice chips. They asked if I wanted to get into the jacuzzi but I could tell if I got in the baby would be born there so I said no. The contractions were coming so fast, right on top of each other, it was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. I found it really helped me to have Chris count for me during the contractions so I knew how much longer they would last, since they were about a minute long. The only problem was he would start counting with my breathing, so I knew the timing was off depending on if I was breathing fast or slow. I found this really annoying, but didn't have the strength to say anything to him.

I had told the nurse I wanted to try to have her naturally, but at one point I did ask for an epidural. I'm weak, what can I say? It never happened though. A bit after 6 am I felt the urge to push (it was just Chris and I in the room) and so I just started pushing and I broke my own water. Chris called the nurse and told her and I asked if I could push and she said no and I said no, I have to push, so I did. They quickly called the on-call doctor in. I kept pushing on my knees, because it felt the most natural and they kept telling me to hold my knees back to my chest to push. Even though I know this is how it is done, it did not feel intuitive. Chris was by my side the entire time, pretty sure he lost circulation to his arm for much of that, up until Emi started crowning. He got all teary eyed and emotional on me and had to sit down :) Carrie, the L&D nurse really stepped in then and talked me through the rest of the delivery. A dozen or so pushes and an episiotomy later, Emi was here!

She cried as soon as she was out, which was music to my ears. She was a little purple-ish right when I saw her but as soon as they rubbed her clean she pinked right up. She has a full head of dark brown hair (which I think will lighten up) and is such a tiny thing. She was 19 in. long and weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz, five days later she was down to just 6 lbs. at her first check up. I'm hoping we'll hear she has put on some more weight next week at her next apt.

She is so beautiful and such a good baby, I don't know how we got so lucky.

On baby watch!

2011-06-09T22:20:00.000-06:00

Had my 36 week appointment today. They did the Strep B swab and I asked the Doc. if he was going to check my progress, he said, "Only a Dr. not nearly as good as I am would check you this early, but I will check if you want." I said yes, check, why not. So he starting checking and he gets this weird look on his face... and then he asks, "You're sure this is your first baby?" Me, "Yes." Another weird look on his face. "Are you feeling a lot of pressure right now?" Me, "Yes, that's super uncomfortable." Him, "Well, you're dilated to a 3 and almost completely effaced." (So much for being "such a good Dr." and not wanting to check!)

He was absolutely shocked with how far along I am considering the baby isn't even full-term until next week and that it is my first pregnancy. He said there was no way I was making it to my due date, that she would come in June and that I should tell work I wouldn't be working through the end of the month. I guess I could stay where I am for a while or she could come at any time. That puts us on baby watch! Woohoo!

The Doc. also said that normally they have women wait until their contractions last 1 minute and are 5 minutes apart for an hour and a half before going to the hospital, but he told me I'm going to go super fast and to go to the hospital as soon as my contractions are regular.

It feels so wonderful/scary to know she can come at any time. We've really kicked ourselves into gear on last minute preparations. Hospital paperwork is filled out and my hospital bag is half packed, nursery is mostly ready except for finishing up her curtains which I WILL DO this weekend!! Baby showers have been thrown and we are well stocked in purple and pink (and two dozen tie-dyed onesies!) We have lots of wipes and diapers are in the mail via DiapersDirect.com-- thanks Groupon! I guess ready or not here she comes!

help unwanted

2011-05-21T21:44:00.001-06:00

It seems the bigger this baby gets the more people feel the need to shower me with unwanted advice and "help."
Today was no exception.
I was at Home Depot picking up some tension rods.
An older (65-ish) man who worked there asked if I needed help finding anything.
I told him what I wanted and he walked me to the right isle.
Totally normal and appreciated.
UNTIL he thought it was necessary to also point out the best path to the restrooms.
"Just in case."

Thanks a lot.

Things I want to remember about my first pregnancy: Part II

2011-05-15T11:57:00.000-06:00

I've been craving sweets for all of my third trimester (I've been eating much more in general in my third trimester)
I didn't have to use the bathroom much more than before I was pregnant until around 30 weeks.
I've put on way more weight than I'm supposed to! (see first bullet) I am always surprised/embarrassed when I get on the scale, good thing you lose an instant 15-ish lbs. after birth!
I've been sewing for this kid like crazy! So far I've made 9 burp cloths, 6 bibs with washcloth backs, a set of soft blocks that make different noises, a fabric chewy chain, the top of one baby quilt, and have another blanket, and curtains in the works. Here are some pics, the colors look really dull because I took the pic at midnight when the lighting was less than great, they're all much brighter and cuter in person!

Below are the burpies... I love these because I made the tops out of old tee-shirts I don't wear anymore, two are concert tee's (The Format and The Fray!)

I still need to make one more block, but one of these has a plastic easter egg half filled with rice (glued and duct taped shut!) so it makes a really great sound when you shake it; the other one make a crunchy noise when you touch it. I used mylar balloons and grocery bags for this one.

and the chewey chain! Should be a good teething toy.

We had a third ultrasound this week (32 weeks) because I switched meds (I have an intestinal condition) and they want to check to see if the meds have affected the baby's growth. She is absolutely perfect though! They estimate she weighs about 4.5 pounds, which is the 66th percentile. She she is just barely above average in size. She has a very quick heart beat, the highest beats per minute she can have and still be considered normal is 160 and hers was 156. We also learned at this apt. that she is head down now! So if she can just stay that way for 5 more weeks we will be set!
On Chris' last day of school there was a pile of baby gifts waiting for him at his desk! His pharm class all chipped in and bought a bunch of things off our baby registry! I felt so loved and I don't even know these people! It made my day!
I started getting what I think is RLS a week or so ago, I would keep waking up in the middle of the night with cramps in my legs and have the urge stretch stretch stretch them! I tried sticking a regular pillow between my knees to keep the blood flow even but that didn't work until I switched to a long body pillow which works like a charm! With the body pillow I can keep space from my ankles all the way up my legs and it gives my belly something to rest against. Plus the fabric on the pillow is super soft and so Chris likes it too!
E is a very busy girl! She moves all over the place! It was all kicks for a while, but now she twists, wiggles and rolls more than anything. (Sorry for being all cryptic with the name, you'll know soon enough!)
Yesterday we had an all day birthing class, it was awesome! We learned about all sort of different breathing and laboring techniques and different birthing options. Chris was not looking forward to going but he ended up really glad he went! He learned a lot and I know he'll be an excellent coach!I've really had a hard time deciding if I want to go natural or use drugs in delivery. I think walking away from the class I've decided I'm going to (try) to progress as much on my own as I can and if I find the pain unbearable than use a analgesic (pain shot) rather than an epidural. We'll see how it turns out.
Chris finally set up the crib in the nursery this week! It looks so pretty! Here it is... (again, sorry the colors are so muted, bad lighting! The sides of the pumper and the skirt are actually a bright blue, but you can't even tell in the photos)

And finally, the belly! These were actually taken a couple weeks ago, but will have to do for now!

Provocative Dessert!

2011-04-14T14:33:00.001-06:00

A new restaurant, Ling and Louie's, opened next to our office a week or so ago. The PR team went there today for lunch to say goodbye to one of our associates who is moving to another department.

This was part of the dessert menu:

THAT caption with THAT image?
Pretty sure I blushed.

April

2011-04-02T21:32:00.000-06:00

April is a month of celebration and change in our house!

One year ago in April... we graduated from BYU-Idaho, moved to Boise and I started working for Scentsy.

Two years ago in April... we had just completed Chris' internship traveling throughout Louisiana and moved back to Rexburg to finish our last year of school.

Three years ago in April... we made the best decision in our lives and got married!

Hope you have a wonderful and eventful April!

Things I Want to Remember About My First Pregnancy: Part I

2011-03-20T15:08:00.000-06:00

Tara's List:

I always knew E was a girl
When Chris told his parents we were pregnant (at Grandpa Pollock funeral) he said something like,"With death comes new life"
The day we got a positive pregnancy test we bought "Pregnancy for Dummies"
I called my doctor the day we found out to see if I could do a blood test to confirm and the receptionist said, "Did you take a home pregnancy test" Me, "yes" Her, "Was it positive?" Me, "yes" Her, "Then you're pregnant."
It took a long time for me to "feel pregnant" and know it was real- even after hearing the heartbeat- because I didn't have many symptoms
After my very first doctor's apt. I had a little bit of spotting and freaked out. Come to find out this is normal in the beginning and especially after an exam.
I never craved anything strange, I just wanted things I've always wanted in spurts. I've gone through phases of sub sandwiches, oatmeal, cereal, and fruit.
However, I have had cotton-mouth my entire pregnancy. I guzzle water like crazy.
Oatmeal saved my life during the first trimester because my morning sickness was night sickness and oatmeal always put my stomach at ease before bed. Chris became a pro at making me oatmeal at midnight. Thanks, honey!
Before I felt her kick, I would feel E push. Rather than a kick or poke it was more of a rising in one specific area. Imagine her arching her back and pushing that into my stomach.
Chris felt E kick for the first time at 23 weeks (so late because of the anterior placenta). I had to lay on my stomach for a minute for her to kick hard enough (sorry for squishing you, E!)
My belly looks bigger when I look down on it then when I look in the mirror
We're giving E my mom's name as her middle name. My mom and I cried when I told her
I knew my belly button would eventually pop out, but I never knew it was going to become a huge pit before it did that! I can see parts of my belly button I've never seen before!
I really "popped" between weeks 20 and 22
I had my first stranger ask me when I was due at 23 weeks- I was tempted to say, "due for what?" and look half confused half offended. I didn't.
I started wearing maternity pants around 17 weeks- I think they are the greatest things ever. I love the full panel because my pants stay up and I don't have to worry about flashing anyone when I lean over.
Maternity tops on the other hand are so unnecessary. You can find clothes that are cute and long and stretchy enough in normal sizes if you look hard enough. No need to pay $40 for a t-shirt at Motherhood. Try Forever 21, they have a huge selection, plus lets be honest- some of their dresses are short enough to pass as t-shirts! :)
*Note To Self* - Next time do this a lot earlier!! I bought new, better fitting undies at 23 weeks and holy cow it has made all the difference.
Having people ask me how I'm feeling was nice at first, but has become kind of old. I'm fine, baby is fine, everybody is fine. I have to remind myself that they are just being polite and 1. Don't realize that everyone is asking that and 2. What else are they going to say?
Both times we got to see E she was sucking her thumb/chewing on her hand
Round ligament pain can feel sharp or dull like cramps
If I'm not careful when I sneeze I sometimes leak a little bit... TMI?
Finding cute bedding is hard, but can be done. (Here is what we bought! Just the 4 pc. set)
We have been financially blessed to much since finding out we're expecting. Little bonuses have been popping up like never before.
I already love her so much.
I think she is going to be a momma's girl- which is just fine by me! (But Chris thinks she is going to be a Daddy's girl)

Chris's list:

Don't call Tara "BIG"
Don't laugh when she pees herself
Buy cereal in bulk
Get used to very little sex
If you find milk in the kitchen cabinet, don't worry about it- Tara is just losing her mind.
Get used to being alone after 7pm (first trimester) because Tara will be asleep already
Get used to having all of the money go towards maternity clothes and baby stuff
Get used to being asked your opinion on nursery stuff every day
Don't be annoyed when you can't feel the baby
Procrastinating putting up the crib doesn't stop the baby from coming any sooner!

Taken today! 24 weeks 3 days!

Current Loves

2011-03-13T19:21:00.000-06:00

I go through phases with things I love, sort of short-term obsessions. Here is what I am loving right now:

Quaker's Oatmeal Squares. Oh. My. Gosh. They are so yummy and so filling! I have gone through at least 6 boxes in the last 30 days. I am generally loving all cereal right now, but this is my favorite.

Bones. I love crime dramas (Law & Order: SVU, Forensic Files, I even watched all of the seasons of Veronica Mars and Pushing Daisies...) Bones has the perfect combination of interesting crime, cool science and forensics, comedy and romance! If you haven't seen it you're missing out!!

The side twist. I am too lazy for those tiny braids but the twist has the same effect and is the easiest thing under the sun.

Stenciled Walls. I really want to do something like this on the wall our bed is on, it is dramatic yet with the right paint colors can be subtle still.

This foundation. This one isn't a short-term obsession actually, I found this my first semester of college and it is the best foundation I have ever found, I've switched back to liquid, even tried two other mineral brands and I keep coming back to this! It gives the best coverage without being cakey or oily- plus the container lasts forever.

What are you loving right now?

To help you get through your Wednesday...

2011-03-02T12:41:00.001-07:00

Source

update on baby E

2011-02-18T21:31:00.001-07:00

The past month has gone by so fast! First of all, at my 16 week check up we had a surprise ultrasound and found out the sex of the baby! My parents happened to fly into town (to go skiing) the morning of my appointment and were able to come with. I thought it would just be neat for them to get to hear the baby's heartbeat, but after we told our AMAZING doctor they were just in town for a couple days he said, "So you won't be here for the ultrasound next month?" We said no and he said, "well that just wont do!" and whisked us into the other room and we got to see our baby! Plus since he knew our insurance only covered one ultrasound, the practice ate the expense- woohoo! It was so neat to get to see the baby, positively surreal. This is getting hard to write without saying the gender (and most of you already know) so... we are having a girl! I wasn't surprised at all, I knew she would be a girl. McBride women only know how to produce girls (except for the freak occurrence of my nephew of course (seriously, 7 girls 1 boy!) During the ultrasound she was chewing on her hand, not just sucking her thumb, but absolutely gnawing on her hand! It was hilarious and adorable, I like to think she already has a ton of personality. :)

I'm now just over 20 weeks and doing great! We had our real 20 week ultrasounds on Wednesday and everything is perfect. I had no idea how detailed these ultrasounds were! We saw each chamber of the heart, each side of the brain and all sorts of other body parts I can't pronounce! The only out-of-the-ordinary things were that she is breech, which isn't a big deal because she has another 20 weeks to flip over, and that the placenta is anterior, which means it is in front of her instead of behind her. Again, this isn't a big deal apparently- the only minor stinky thing is that the placenta is padding her kicks and I can't feel them yet, but I will in a few weeks when she is stronger.

Here is the belly...

The first is at 14 or 15 weeks... can't really remember...
and the second is at 20 weeks

It is hard to believe this pregnancy is already half way through! Next step: find adorable crib bedding!

Favorite Blogs

2011-02-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

I just got home from three weeks on the road- 18 days of which were spent traveling the western US for work in this fancy little RV...

More on that later!

I have a work related question for you: I am looking for a new spread of bloggers to review products in 2011, what are your favorite blogs? (sorry, family blogs don't count- but craft, fashion, home decor, mommy blogs, etc. do!)

Please comment! You'd be surprised how hard it is to find quality blogs any more!!

Thanks and stay tuned for an update on the bump!

Have you seen this?

2011-01-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this article floating around the blogosphere? It is called "Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs". SUPER interesting... check it out, and then go bake yourselves some cupcakes you crazy Mormons! ;)

{in}conceivable

2011-01-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

My infertility is a subject I have wanted to blog about for a long time but I never had the courage to do it. I am going to talk frankly about my lady parts and my sex life and I might use words like ovulate and discharge, so if you're uncomfortable with that you may want to stop reading now, or just skip to the last paragraph.

Chris and I have always wanted kids, we've had baby names picked out since before we got engaged. I started birth control (bc) months before we got engaged because my periods were making me sick, the day I started I always had terrible cramps and became so dizzy I would be nauseous and unable to get out of bed because the room was spinning; it was completely debilitating. My doctor put me on Seasonique bc because unlike normal bc you only have four periods a year with it. I think this was my first mistake on the road to being a mother. Even though it claims that you can get pregnant a month after you stop taking it, I never should have taken something that stopped my body from doing what it was intended to do. This isn't to say I don't believe in birth control, I 100% do, just not one that stops your regular cycle. I was on the pill for 14 months, I stopped taking it six months before we officially started "trying" to get pregnant.

After getting off bc my period was always irregular, I had one every month, but I never had the basic 28 day cycle. My cycle varied from as little as 16 days to as long as 38 days. For those of you who have tracked ovulation before know this makes timing sex nearly impossible. I saw an OB who put me on clomid (which is a drug that hyper stimulates your ovaries to make you release multiple eggs, increasing the chances of pregnancy) but after two rounds we couldn't afford the pricey progesterone tests (blood tests to see if the drug is working) anymore so we had to stop. We were on student insurance at the time and it didn't cover any infertility treatments. I tried ovulation predictor kits but they never seemed to work (but if you are going to give these a try PLEASE don't buy the expensive ones at the drug store, buy them here). This basically left us on our own, out of luck. We kept hoping that eventually my body would restore balance to itself and we would magically get pregnant but that never happened.

After one year of trying (and beyond,) trying to get pregnant becomes emotionally and physically tiring. On the physical subject... sex is more or less ruined for you, just saying. It stops being about pleasure and is strictly for reproductive purposes, there is no spontaneity, no spice, it is all about timing and how many pillows I can use to prop my hips up! :)

Emotionally, it is one of the hardest things a woman can go through. You feel inadequate, broken. I think this is probably intensified for women in the LDS church because we are taught from childhood that we will be mothers, that it is our sacred duty to bring children into this world and rear them in righteousness. If I can't do the one thing I was brought to this earth to do, what good am I? Something is wrong with me. Luckily I have my mom and sisters and one especially wonderful friend who was going through the same thing (you know who you are) to support me and remind me that I'm not broken and I will be a mother, in time. I love them for that.

Unfortunately, part of what makes infertility such a horrible thing is not the pain you feel every month when a stupid, plastic, pee soaked stick breaks your heart month after month, it is people. People who seemingly have no common sense who ask you when are we EVER going to have children? Friends who knew we are trying that stole a baby name we love and literally said to our faces "sorry, we got pregnant first" and then proceed to shove every moment of their pregnancy down my throat and be a constant reminder that I am broken. Another that said how terrible their morning sickness is and how being pregnant is horrible and they wouldn't wish pregnancy on anyone. Not to mention all of the announcements and belly pictures of Facebook and countless people who tell you to "just relax and stop trying" (OH! Is that how you do it?! If only I had known sooner!) And as much as I hate to admit it, I have felt anger towards perfect strangers with ready to pop bellies. I have felt hatred, or something close it, toward girls announcing their second pregnancies. I don't like it, but it is what it is.

When we moved to Boise and I got my job I also got real health insurance and so we decided to give fertility treatments another shot. In August I started seeing a new OB, Dr. Parsons. Chris and I really like him, mostly because he looks slightly like Dr. McDreamy...

Kidding. Mostly because he prescribed my miracle drug: metformin. Metformin is a very common drug that is usually prescribed to diabetes patients, but is also given to women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (cysts on their ovaries). I don't have PCOS, but he prescribed it to me because it helps women ovulate in a similar way that clomid does without overstimulating your ovaries. This eliminates a lot of the risks clomid presents and it eliminates the need for those costly progesterone tests! Woohoo! It worked the first month, meaning I ovulated, not that I got pregnant. I could tell because I had all of the ovulation symptoms I had been reading about for months. I took an ovulation test and sure enough, I had ovulated! It was so exciting! I was skipping around our apartment waving my pee stick! Unfortunately we did not get pregnant that month, but it was a step in the right direction.

I started on the next prescription and also took a leftover refill of clomid I had lying around from the year before. This month I think we were only able to try a few times because I had a week long work trip to Canada right in the middle of my cycle. Two weeks before I was supposed to start my period I started feeling that onset of your period feeling in my belly which really made me angry because it was two weeks early, which isn't surprising, but irritating. It ended up going away and I didn't start my period after all.

Two weeks later at work 1 pm hit and I felt like I got hit by a brick wall, I could barely keep my eyes open. Chris's grandpa had just passed away and we were heading down to St. George the next day for his funeral and so I had the day off. I decided, what the heck, I will take a pregnancy test. After 16 months of negatives, we finally saw a positive pregnancy test. It was the most surreal feeling.

We told Chris' parents and his siblings the next day and my family soon after. We are so grateful for modern medicine and the opportunity it has provided us to be parents. Having struggled with infertility has forever changed me, when I want to complain about not feeling well or feel sorry for my ever growing waist line, I try to remember how for so long I longed for these things and that there are thousands of women (some who are reading this) who have been trying to have children for far longer than we did. If you are struggling with infertility know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.

I am just over 14 weeks along now, officially in my second trimester! We find out if baby is a boy or girl the week of Valentines Day. Our little one is due July 7, 7/7/11! Its a lucky day!

Chores

2011-01-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is not relevant to anyone and does not deserve a blog post, but I'm encouraging myself! I got absolutely nothing done the week I had off work, but I caught up today!

Today Chris and I:

Went to the bank
Went shopping
Did lots of dishes, including the cookie cooling racks that have been sitting by the sink since before Christmas and a half dozen other hand-wash-only things I hate
Swept, dry mopped, vacuumed or mopped every floor in the house
Did six loads of laundry, all folded or hung (minus two shirts because I ran out of hangers!)
Put away a garbage bag full of seasonal clothes that have been sitting in our mudroom since we moved in

I know these are things you all do every day, but I'm feeling accomplished, so go me! :)

2010 in Review

2010-12-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

This has quite possibly been the biggest year of our marriage! Here are the highlights:

In April we graduated from BYU-Idaho
We made our first big and semi-permanent move to Meridian, ID
I got my first real full time job doing public relations for Scentsy
In September Chris started his first semester of pharmacy school through Idaho State. The first year is supposed to be the hardest and he did wonderfully!
In October we moved into our first house! We couldn't love it more!

More recently...

I took a work trip to Toronto, Canada and to Ohio for work. Since I was already back east I took a few days and was able to visit my sister Traci and her family in New York! I hadn't seen them in 2 years! I cried at when I saw Traci at the airport! I couldn't believe what a baby I was being, but sometimes you forget how much you love your family and how important they are to you until you see them face to face. It was such a great trip!
We are loving our new ward! Chris teaches the 14-15 year old Sunday school class and I teach the 4th Sunday (teaching for our times) Relief Society lesson. I was also on the "fruit basket committee" as I called it, literally that is what it was! haha! But unfortunately that ended with Christmas.
We hosted our first Thanksgiving! It was chaotic but a success none the less.
We were unable to go home to AZ for Christmas this year because the didn't want to face the scary roads and we waited too long to buy plane tickets before they were way out of our price range. This was my first Christmas away from home and family. I was sad about it at first, but the closer Christmas came the more fun and exciting it was to have our own little Christmas. We got a tree (fake, but with the Christmas Tree Scentsy Bar, who needs real? :) ), I stuffed our stockings and we got each other all sorts of fun gifts. It was a wonderful Christmas after all!
I have had this week off of work for the holidays. It has been one of the best vacations ever! We have literally done nothing but lounge around in our PJs all day, eat, sleep and watch movies. I feel so well rested and refreshed and ready to take on a new year!

I can already tell 2011 is going to be full and eventful year! I cannot wait to see what life has in store for us! I am starting it with a bang thanks to work: I am going on a two week Scentsy tour of the Southern US. I will travel to Washington, Oregon, two cities in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas in just two weeks for the Spring Sprint! It is sort of a traveling, mini, one day convention in each city. We will be traveling on these awesome decked out Scentsy RVs and will see thousands of Consultants along the way. Since I end in Texas, I'm going to fly home to AZ for a few days to see my family. Its gonna be fun!!

Happy New Year from us to you!

The House

2010-12-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you who keep asking... here is the house!

Specs: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, 1903 (ish) sq. ft., we got it for an absolute steal and we LOVE it! We only plan on living here for the next 3 1/2 years (until Chris graduates) so it is the perfect size for us to grow into but not out grow. Please keep in mind that only ONE room is decorated, so don't judge all the beige walls!

The view from the living room into the kitchen Dining room

Kitchen (and yes, many of those beautiful cabinets are EMPTY!)

Stairs...

LOVE my pantry

Hallway from kitchen that leads to the pantry, half bath, master and mudroom

Half Bath

Cute bench in the mudroom

Little laundry room

Master closet... love.

My favorite wall... in our living room

living (that is the front door there on the left with the glass)

living... love the fire place (and use it nearly every day!) but not that it is in a corner!

This is one of the extra 2 bedrooms upstairs, it is actually bigger than the master and so we made this our informal family room. Chris spends most of his time time here :)

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2010-12-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today was a SNOW DAY in Meridian! We got 9 inches of snow in the past day; the roads are terrible so they cancelled school (even Pharm. school!) and my work emailed to say we can work from home or take the day off! 22 years old and I just had my first snow day! It is fabulous! I can see why kids get so excited at the thought of it!

This was the highlight of my day:

His name is Elmer

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T10:07:00.001-07:00

Chris and I are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year. We will have 11 adults (ages 9 and up) and 4 children (ages 6 and under).... that's a lot of bellies to fill!

I am a little bit concerned because 1. I have never cooked a turkey before 2. It's Thanksgiving dinner, it's kind of a big deal. 3. If it sucks I will be hearing about it forever i.e."...remember when Tara's turkey went up in flames and we had to eat Dominoes for Thanksgiving?"

I was researching a blog for work (yes, I get to read blogs at work!) and she had this fantastic post about Thanksgiving mishaps and I just had to share!

"Ladies – Bedlam will strike this week, and we have a choice. We can either react or respond.

Turkeys will not be thawed in time. Pies will burn. Company will be late. Kids will throw up. Kids will fight. Dogs will throw up. Dogs will fight (well, maybe just my dogs.). Grandparents will lose their patience with said kids and dogs. Jokes will be misunderstood. We will be misunderstood. Our food may be misunderstood. Our new recipe may not be enjoyed….

This list could continue for awhile, but I think you get the point. But guess what? Amongst this all, we can find beauty in the midst of those bedlam moments.

So when your turkey is dry, and your tablescape isn’t what you want it to be, it’s OK. When your bread dough over flows onto the ground, just laugh, so you don’t cry, and remember me whispering that you have a choice: to take a deep breath, and JUST LAUGH. Enjoy the beauty in the midst of the bedlam. (But please make sure you take a picture and share it with me next week.)" seen here on www.beautyandbedlam.com.

So in the midst of the chaos this holiday season, I hope we can all find a moment or two and see the beautiful things around us and to remember the true meaning of our celebrations.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Cheers!

the small things

2010-10-08T19:47:00.000-06:00

30 seconds ago...

Chris: "I'm gonna go get the mail...in my robe. HAHA! I've always wanted to do that!"

Emmy Gifting Suite

2010-10-02T21:46:00.000-06:00

I had a great time at the Emmys! It was quite an experience! Stephanie and I flew in a day before the events started, just getting there was an adventure!

First our connecting plane from Salt Lake was canceled, so couldn't fly into LA
The airline in CA offered us a free shuttle from the new airport to our hotel, so...
We drove up to our uber fancy hotel in a bright yellow "Super Shuttle"!! The bell men were looking at each other and grinning like, "Who the heck is this?!" The other guests at the hotel were coming in limos and private cars, haha.
It took an hour to get checked in because they didn't have the credit card on file from the company, and we didn't want to give ours because it would be a huge charge. We eventually made it to our rooms.
The hotel was so weird! In the lobby was a life size statue of a horse...with a lamp shade on its head. There were three statues of pigs, one in the lobby with a tray of apples on its back, one standing in the pool and one on a terrace wearing socks!
The water to our bathtub came from a little hole in the ceiling!

Back to the event... it was so much fun! All of the celebrities were really nice and very down to earth. They all really enjoyed the product and thought the concept of wickless candles was really smart. Enjoy the photos!

Emily (from our PR agency) and I with Seth Green
With Quinton Aaron (The Blind Side)

Emily and Steph with Mike O'Malley (Glee, Yes Dear)

Melora Hardin ("Jan" on The Office)

Melissa Joan Hart and I

Steph and I with Joey Lawrence and his friend

(Joey was my favorite to meet since I grew up watching him; and yes, he is that good looking in person :) )

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Miss J and I!

Henry Cusick (Desmond on LOST) and his georgous wife

Gregory Itzen (President Logan on 24) and his wife.

They were such a cute couple!

Carrie Ann Inaba (Dancing with the Stars)

Candace Cameron Bure (Make it or Break It, Full House)

Blair Underwood (The Event)

Steph and I with Alex Trebek (Jeapordy)

Apartment Living

2010-09-18T11:03:00.000-06:00

We are closing on this wonderful little house next week...

This is obviously a huge step in our lives. It marks the end of the "Apartment Living" era. This morning while lying in bed, Chris and I compiled a list of things we are going "miss" about apartment living:

1. how hot our east facing bedroom got every morning

2. the pink glow our red curtains gave our bedroom walls.

3. how our closet door couldn't be opened all of the way because it hit our bed

4. the loud groan our neighbors air conditioner makes every three minutes

5. having zero storage

6. trying to sell our apartment contract over and over and over again

7. the bird poo on our cars (the covered parking is supposed to prevent this, but the birds nest IN the covered parking... so much for that grand idea)

8. getting tons of mail for past tenants

9. storing all of our small appliances on top of our kitchen cabinets (see No. 5)

10. using our office closet as a food pantry (see No. 5, again)

What do/will you "miss" about apartment living?

Good Quote

2010-09-12T11:14:00.000-06:00

It's going to be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end.

White Coat Ceremony

2010-08-24T20:06:00.001-06:00

Last night Chris took his first step to becoming a pharmacist with his white coat ceremony! Here he is signing the Pharmacy Code of Ethics... Here is the Meridian class (the other half of the class is in Pocatello)

And here we are! Doesn't he look so wise and professional in his white coat? I think his IQ went up just from putting it on!

Off to LA tomorrow for the Emmys! We'll talk soon!

Once in a lifetime

2010-08-19T20:02:00.000-06:00

Once (or twice) in a lifetime you find yourself doing things you never thought you would/could ever do. Next week I get to do one of those things! Next week Scentsy is sending me and my coworker/buddy Stephanie to LA for the Emmys!!

Crazy, right? We aren't going to the actual awards, but we are going to 3 days of "Emmy Gifting Suites" to promote Scentsy's products with A-List celebs! We will be staying at and the event will be held at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills... looks very swanky ;) More swanky than any hotel I've ever stayed at anyway...

The first day of the event is for managers, publicists and agents and then the following two days are for nominees and other actors and actresses! I feel so lucky to get to go, what a fun experience! PR wise it will be a completely new experience as far as pitching goes, Hollywood is going to love Scentsy!

I'll update you with details (and hopefully photos) soon!

2010-07-24T23:47:00.000-06:00

I have been such a bad blogger lately, I'm sorry.

I am even more sorry because I am not going to give a thorough update right now!
But in short...

We are buying a house that we are head over heals in love with
It is so stressful
I feel-- strike that-- I am... so poor. and it's not cute, glamorized, newlywed poor. It sucks. Zero fun sir. But what can you do? It is what it is.
I still love my job
Chris is turning 28 on Monday!
I love my husband so much, he is my perfect match.

and lastly, I was at Sonic the other day and while looking at their drink menu I saw this:

I know its hard to make out in this picture because it's blurry, but there is a trade mark symbol next to the flavor cranberry! Seriously? Can you trade mark a fruit? If I order that is some cranberry man getting .5% of the cost of my drink?? It blew my mind.

That is all.

2010-07-03T21:39:00.000-06:00

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-20T10:47:00.000-06:00

The older I get the stronger my appreciation for my Dad grows. He taught me, and continues to teach me, so much.

My Dad is the reason I have a degree; he always stressed the importance of eduction to me. I didn't think I would actually ever use it, but he was right, and I am. My education is something I treasure because of him.
My Dad taught me the importance of having a few quiet minutes to meditate and think. Growing up I always had music playing, I couldn't stand not to have something in the background. Now I treasure the quiet moments I can find, that clear my mind and prepare me for the day. Because of he stressed this, I have made it a rule to not have anything playing every morning until I get in my car and head for work.
My Dad has taught me to be meticulous. Growing up before we could do anything we always had to prepare... for anything! If we wanted to go out to eat or go bowling we had to "make a few phone calls", make lists, do our research on prices and times. This was so annoying growing up, but I am so glad I was taught this! Now my organization and annal-ness about knowing all the details is an asset to me.

My Dad taught me forgiveness. One of my Dad's flaws is that he is quick to speak, often times saying things before thinking them through. This got him in trouble on more than once; but he was always the first to come to me and apologize for things. This taught me that everyone makes mistakes, including my Dad, it made me love him more, it taught me to forgive.

I know these may seem like random things, but they are so important to me. My Mom tells me all the time how I am just like my Dad, I used to disagree, and didn't like that she said that. Now it makes me happy. I hope I can be as great an example to my kids as he has been for my siblings and I.

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Fathers in my life...

Especially to my sweet husband, who I know will make the most wonderful Father.

Thanks RedBook

2010-06-08T18:31:00.000-06:00

I love reading magazines, they are easy, you don't have to concentrate on the articles, I don't feel guilt for not finishing them, and sometimes they actually give good advice!

Sunday I was reading an article from June's RedBook about how to save money on home repairs, specifically clogged drains. Well wouldn't you know it the next day our bathroom sink got clogged up! So I did what the magazine said (using products I already had) and IT TOTALLY WORKED!

All you do is pour a little bit (1-3 tbsp.) of baking soda down the drain, then pour some vinegar in! Yes, just like making a volcano in elementary school! Let that bubble for a few minutes and then pour 2-3 cups of boiling water down the drain. That's it! It completely cleared out the clog! So next time your sink gets clogged save yourself the $8 on Drano and try this instead!

Pottery Barn knock off quilt

2010-06-05T13:47:00.001-06:00

So do you all remember my craft blog Pretty'n Peach? If you don't, I don't blame you-- after all, it has been 3 months since it was updated. In an effort to keep the blog going my sisters Traci and Tori and my sister-in-law Monica are going to add their own craft/scrap booking/cooking/etc. projects too! So keep an eye out for our updates! like right now! Go look! Its updated!!! CLICK!!

May in review

2010-05-31T13:11:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry for the lack of updates! life has just kept me so busy! Here is a bit of what we have been up to:

I love my job-- at times it can be stressful but I love what I do, the company, the products, and mostly THE PEOPLE I work with! With so many new grads unemployed out there (including Chris) I feel so blessed to have an amazing start on my career.
We got some AMAZING deals thanks to Craigslis!

Yesterday we were called at CTR 4 teachers in Primary! We have NINE rambunctious little 4 year olds! Yesterday was our first day...and church will never be the same again! Chris and I taught Gospel Doctrine in our old ward so going from that to this is so different, but equally challenging! Its fun to get to spend all 3 hours of church together and brush up on our Primary songs!
Chris and I swapped holidays this year and I got him the best Mother's Day gift! I got him a golf pass to a golf course in Eagle! The pass comes with 4 free 9-hole rounds, 4 free 18-hole rounds, a bunch of buy one get ones, $1 bucks of balls for the driving range, plus a ton of other discounts. HE LOVES IT! He has been going to the golf course with his brother or friends almost every other day-- and I'm super happy about it because I would much rather him be out golfing than playing stupid video games! :) The best part of all is that I got the card for half price from one of the local radio stations here! It pays to listen to the radio!
We are starting to look for a house to buy! Here is one I LOVE, it is close to my work and Chris's school, it is only 5 years old, there is no way we could grow out of it in the next 4 years, and it is in our price range!

And lastly, I am getting bored with my hair! I promised myself I would grow it out until I had a baby but I made no promise about color! So what do you think? Stay blond or go brown?

Kodak moment

2010-05-21T20:44:00.000-06:00

Chris and our sweet niece Lockly.

This photo was taken by an Idaho Statesman photographer at the Boise Race for the Cure earlier this month.

Did you hear about the Andrus's?

2010-04-23T12:41:00.000-06:00

Here is what has been going on with us since we graduated...

I sent out half a dozen or so resumes to different places in Boise, mostly non-profits. I saw a position posted online for an Executive Assistant position with Scentsy. It was full-time, full-benefits and required a 4-year degree so I figures I may as well apply. Not 2 minutes after I sent my resume in Scentsy's HR department called. She said they were looking for someone with more assistant experience but they saw that my degree was in Communications and she asked if I wanted her to pass my resume along to their Communications department. I said, yes, sure, but wasn't really hopeful that anything would come of it because there weren't any comm positions posted. Well later that day she called me back and asked if I would do a breakfast interview with their Vice President of Communications. Um, yes please!

So we drove out to Boise the next day and stayed with Cody and Lyn (and their 4 sick babies!) The interview went really well and the boss man was super nice. I had another interview with a non-profit the next day which also went really well but I could tell that the job just wasn't for me.

While we were in Boise we also signed a lease on a new apartment! This place is a little smaller than what we're in now (square footage wise) but has a lot of great upgrades like stainless appliances, hardwood floors and a balcony (so of course Chris wants a grill now...)

So we came home and a day later I got a call from Scentsy offering me a job as a Public Relations Associate! Yay! I was so excited and feel so blessed. Jobs are hard to come by as it is, so to get a job offer less than a week after I graduate with a job in my field and with a company I actually want to work for... its amazing.

So while this is all happening we both got bad colds from our nieces and nephews we think. Since I was starting work on Monday I drove out on my own Sunday night (I know its only 4 1/2 hours away, but that's the longest I have driven alone and I was dang proud of myself !) Work was good, but I wasn't feeling fantastic, just achy and my nose was running like crazy. Well Tuesday morning I woke up and had NO VOICE and get this... PINK EYE!!

Of course this would happen to me on my second day of work in my first real job! Ah! So I tried calling in to HR to tell them but they couldn't even understand me because of my freaky voice so my BIL Cody talked to them. I got into a doctor in Meridian and he confirmed my virus and pink eye. He said I was very contagious and couldn't go back to work until Monday. GREAT.

So I drove back to Rexburg that night and Chris and I have been laying around sick ever since! I am actually starting to feel a lot better today (and my voice has more or less returned!) and so I've been working on getting us moved. The new tenants are moving into our apartment on Wednesday so Chris and his Dad are going to move us out on Tuesday. Unfortunately we can't get into our new place until the 7th! BOO. So we are will be bumming off family for a bit until then.

I'll be back to work Monday to give it another go. Wish us luck!

We did it!

2010-04-13T08:51:00.001-06:00

WE GRADUATED!!

Here are the pictures to prove it!

The "grad outfit"

WAHOOO!!!

With Thor, the Viking!

Elder Jay Jensen of the 70.

President Clark

Wednesday Night Date

2010-04-09T09:01:00.000-06:00

Chris and I had the funnest date on Wednesday! Since we are leaving Rexburg we wanted to use up all of the free things on our Starving Student Card. (and for those of you who don't know, a Starving Student Card is a card with tons of listings for discounts and buy-one-get-ones for local restaurants, retailers, activities, salons, etc.

Here is what we got for dinner... and yes, it was all absolutely FREE!

Fries from Dairy Queen
Fries from Arctic Circle
Tater-tots from Sonic
Chips and Salsa from Bajio
Frozen Yogurt from Mill Hollow
Frozen Custard from BRC
A hand-made chocolate from Florence's
Crazy Bread from Little Caesars
A Lion House roll from Deseret Book

Yes, it was a little awkward just asking for the free stuff, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! :)

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-02T09:49:00.000-06:00

BIG NEWS! Yesterday we found out that Chris was accepted into Idaho State University school of Pharmacy!!! Whoohoo!! **Tara doing a happy dance**

We are (obviously) thrilled!! I am so proud of Chris! The entrance process is based on a point system, so he not only had a high enough number to be admitted, but a high enough number to get his preference of location! So he will be attending the Meridian, ID campus which means we are moving to Boise!! in like a week too! ah!

So I am on the move trying to find us somewhere to live and sending out resumes! I will keep you updated on the move!

Graduating, Grad School, and Moving!

2010-03-19T08:59:00.000-06:00

It feels like its been a while since I have written anything significant, plus I am tired of seeing that gum photo thing whenever I come to the blog... so here is an update for you!

Chris is in the process of applying to pharmacy school at Idaho State. After sending in his transcripts, letters of recommendation, application and all that jazz, he was invited to interview! We were so excited that he made it through the first elimination. He interviewed on the 9th and now we are just waiting to hear the news! They said we should know the first week in April.
Here are the numbers: 500-600 people apply, they interview around 160, and 70 get in. Of those 70, 75% are Idaho residents. So he made it through the largest cut, and being a resident is in our favor... fingers crossed!!!

We are GRADUATING 3 weeks from today! I can't believe we are done! It doesn't feel real at all, its such a weird feeling knowing I will never take another class.
Since we're graduating we are moving away from Rexburg! I feel so conflicted about this because I am ready to get be done and move on with life, but honestly this has been home for us the past 4 years, and the only place we have lived since being married (living out of hotels for 4 months in Louisiana doesn't count!) I have a feeling I am going to be very sad when we drive away for the last time.
Rexburgians- we are selling our apartment contract! So if you are looking to move or know someone who is, let me know!!! Our apartment is less than a year old, has high ceilings, granite counter tops in the kitchen and bath and rent ($635) includes cable and Internet!! We really love our place and hate to move, but we have nothing holding us in Rexburg anymore.
So yes, we're moving, but we don't know where to yet because of Pharm school! If he is accepted we will either be moving to Boise or somewhere between Pocatello and Idaho Falls (maybe Blackfoot?) and if he isn't accepted we might move to Boise or we might move back to Arizona! Its such a tough spot to be in right now because since we don't know where we are moving we can't look for housing, apply for jobs, or even transfer our mail!! I am such a planner so this is super hard for me!! I can't believe our future will be held in an envelope in our mailbox in 2 weeks!!! gah!!

I will keep you all posted with our plans as they happen in the next month!

Oh yeah, and I have lots of sewing/quilting projects in the works, so look forward to that too! :)

and for good measure, learn how to make Grandma Betty's Nacogdoches cake from last weeks Food Friday!!

P.S. I have already won two $5 Amazon gift cards from Swag Bucks and its been less than a month! If you want to do it click here and start with 30 free bucks!

To add a smile to your day

2010-02-24T11:36:00.001-07:00

SWAG BUCKS!

2010-02-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, everyone knows how much I love a good deal; well I just learned about this program called Swag Bucks and had to tell you about it.

The long and the short of it is that you sign up and then use the Swag Bucks search engine to do your searches (instead of Google or Bing or whatever you use).
When you search the right things you earn Swag Bucks which can be redeemed for prizes!
For instance, if you search my favorite coupon blog (Krazy Coupon Lady) you get 1 swag buck!
Now you don't earn swag bucks on every search, just some.
There are lots of prizes you can get, but my favorite is the amazon.com gift cards; you can get a $5 gift card for 45 Swag Bucks.
I have read that you can earn about 20-30 points a month just using it like your regular search engine (not searching for hours on end... which I guess you could do if you're religious about it and really want those points!)

Anyway, give it a try! I just signed up today and already earned 5 SB's! Here is the link!

Can't Live with him, can't live without him

2010-02-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

I asked Chris to help me hang up some laundry and this is what I get...

February

2010-02-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

Highlights of February so far...

Starting the Census Campaign at College of Southern Idaho for my P.R. Campaigns class (check out the fab blog I made for it here)
Valentines Day: celebrating 2 days early, coming home to a spotless house, my favorite food, my favorite flowers (tulips!), and a GIANT heart balloon! (more on the balloon in another post...)
President's Weekend in Boise: celebrating our nephew's 9th birthday with a wonderful family dinner and taking him to see Percy Jackson and The Olympians (which was actually very well done, minus the super drugged up 16 years olds in Vegas...)
Dinner with an old friend of Chris's who he hadn't seen in over 10 years!
Mini golf with Cody and Lyn. Cody won, but I was the only one who got a hole in one!!! Go me!
Updating my craft blog after 3 months! I'm in love with this burp cloth pattern! Check out the blog! and comment! It boosts the moral!
Updating my "Tara the Intern" Snake River Landing blog. Did I tell you all about my internship here? I am working in the marketing department and it is GREAT!! Plus my boss loves Damien Rice and ice cream and blog stalking so that's obviously a plus.
Weekend in Twin Falls starting tomorrow morning... more to come!

100th POST!! and tofu!

2010-01-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

This is my 100th post! How exciting is that?! It feels good to know I am documenting our lives, even if it is just to tell everyone that I creamed Chris in Monopoly...

So if you are friends with me on Facebook you may have seen this:

"Tara McBride Andrus does anyone have any good recipes for tofu?" (this is my status, and below are all of the comments)

Christopher Andrus
Take it out of the refrigerator, unwrap it, and then put it in the garbage disposal for 10 seconds on high, add a pinch of salt to flavor.

Jereme Conley
i agree with Chris on that one.

Heather Jewkes Kamer
I'm not sure good and tofu belong in the same sentence.....

Monica McBride
You guys are hilarious!! Tara I'm going to get you some recipes. I have a friend that is vegan! I'll write her and send it your way! I know it basically tastes like what you cook it in. Terryiaki is my favorite. You can make tofu scramble and it's like eggs... I'll let you know! I like tofu if its made right it's just a different texture...

Heather Stecker Andrus
LOL, Chris...are you related to my husband?

Um, excuse me? Why is Monica the only supportive one?? (Thanks Monica, by the way)

Chris had never even TRIED tofu and he just assumes its gross!

Well I have good news to share!

Last night while Chris was in class I made tofu peanut butter pie! (see recipe here)

When Chris got home I told him I made him a special treat! He was super excited to see a yummy dessert in the fridge! We each had a piece of pie after dinner-- and NO, I DIDN'T tell him what was in it.

He said he LOVED it!

WHAT?!

can I hear that again?!

he loved tofu?!

hahahaha... I felt so sneaky.

Well later in the night I did tell him what it was made of, he was shocked. He said there is no way he would admit it publicly, but he liked it!!!

Try it! Its was really good. Plus, tofu is so much better for you than the alternatives! I can't wait to try more tofu!

Monopoly

2010-01-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Back in the summer, Chris's brother Cody lent us his Monopoly game for X-Box. We LOVE it! We play at least 3 times a week...sometimes 3 times a day! I normally don't do very well (Chris is just super good at games) until now!

Check it out...

Chris is "Sumo Man" on the left (see his sumo character?) and I am that weird circle symbol on the right.

That's right! He had a pettily 2.22 million and I had 122.56 million!! Woohoo!

As my wonderful sister-in-law Monica would say, "Sucka-fish!"

:)

yummy coupon

2010-01-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Have any of you tried Hard Hat in IF?

Its basically amazing.

And the cherry on top is this coupon!

Their meals are around $12, so with this coupon you can pretty much get a dinner for 2 for $20.

Umm... yes please.

Print and enjoy!

whats new...

2010-01-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

It feels like it has been ages since I posted last! I have so much to tell!

We spent a wonderful Christmas in Arizona, here are the highlights:

surprising the family by showing up 2 days early
80 degree weather
pedicures
listening to my mom play flute and my dad teach Sunday School in church
playing games almost every night with my parents (Bananagram & Blockus!)
making a 3 year old gingerbread house with a glue gun!
playing with 3 sweet nieces
eating holiday treats
seeing The Blind Side
Pei Wei with high school friends
Mario on wii with Tori and Josh- how many times did I hear, "Stop jumping on my head!" or "Did you just eat me?!" or "Sorry, I didn't mean to kill you..."
and most of all being home, feeling happy and and being with the ones we love.

New Years was pretty uneventful, Chris worked until 11pm and then we just welcomed in the new year by watching the ball drop and drinking Martinelli's.

Yesterday we celebrated my 22nd birthday- I'm getting old! It was a wonderful day, here are the highlights:

Birthday breakfast (waffles with strawberries and whip cream) *thanks Chris!
Getting flowers and being sung to at work *thanks LDS P!
Having a balloon bouquet delivered to me (also at work) *thanks mom and dad!
Having lunch with the hubby and my uncle and cousin who I hadn't seen in at least 8 years
Frozen yogurt at Twizzle Berry- SO GOOD!
Getting to wear one of my new birthday sweaters *thanks Forever 21 :) and Chris!!

oh and something that was NOT a highlight:

Seeing AVATAR. ugh. I don't even like thinking about it. The story line wasn't terrible, but it lasted almost 3 hours, it was super violent, and it made humans the enemy. I felt so conflicted because they make you love these giant blue people who are being killed by humans, but I didn't like seeing all of the human soldiers die because I am really sensitive when it comes to military. So yeah, I wasn't a fan.

And last but not least, today was the first day of (hopefully) our last semester! YAY! I will be so happy to be done with school! Just 94 days left... but who's counting?!

Till next time,

Happy Holidays

2009-12-18T11:56:00.001-07:00

...see you in 2010!

President's Club

2009-12-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

[This post is way late, but better late then never]

(and sorry for all of the repetitive photos, they're all I had to work with!)

Back in October Chris and I were asked to host and emcee at LDS Philanthropies' annual President's Club event. President's Club is where all of the University donors from across the country are invited on campus for a dinner (or a lunch in this case) to honor and thank them for their contributions to BYU-Idaho.

Chris and I were excited to get to attend the event at all, and were honored to be asked to emcee it. Here are some photos from the event take by the University photographer Mike Lewis.

The event was held at The Crossroads, which is a newly opened student union sort of thing in the Manwaring Center.

LOVE these panorama shots!

Vice President Henry Eyring introduced us and then we opened the event.

After we had our meal, Chris and I were able to share some of our thoughts and experiences about being at BYU-Idaho.

A combined University choir surrounded the entire facility and sang for us, it was AMAZING.

Here they are almost tip to tip.

Lastly, Chris and I were able to introduce University President Kim B. Clark.

He is such an amazing man. This was only the second time I have met him in person and I am just in awe of the spirit he carries with him.
This was definitely an experience we will not soon forget!

Home Made Panda Express

2009-12-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

Another "Use What I Have Meal":

As some of you may know, Chris and I are obsessed with Panda Express. Its probably what attracted me to Chris the most when we were dating. (TOTALLY kidding, but it was a perk!) The only Panda in Idaho is in Boise and so we pine for it daily until we get our fill.

Let me tell you a little story to convey how much Panda means to me ...in high school I went to Pandas at least once a week. So I went through crazy bad withdrawals when I moved up to Rexburg. Well when Chris and I started dating we took a trip to Utah and stopped in Ogden to get some Panda. I literally cried when we walked in. The sights and the smells just completely overwhelmed me and it just felt like home. I LOVE this stuff.

Anyway, moving on...

Chris's brother Cody and his wife Lyn are so good to us and have bought us a couple bottles of this because they know how much we love the Panda.

Orange Sauce!!! They sell it at Costco now apparently! We have been using it as a marinade and on stir fry (Chris puts in on everything, including burritos! Sick, I know!) Well the other day we got adventurous and made real Panda Express orange chicken.

You start with cut up pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast, dip them in egg and then cover them with a flour/salt and pepper mixture.

Next you fry them up. You are supposed to use a deep fryer or a wok, but we don't have either of those so we just did it the old fashioned way.

Lastly, cover them in the orange goodness and you are good to go!
It wasn't just like the real thing, but it will tide us over until we get to Mesa!

PS.

This is our 2010 calendar hanging in our office:

At the bottom of each month are Panda Coupons! Happy Day!

You can get this calendar for free when you buy a $25 Panda gift card! When we were in Boise for Thanksgiving we bought the gift card, got the calendar for free, and then used the gift card to pay for our $38.05 meal (we were buying for 8) all in one visit! So basically free calendar and $50 worth of coupons! I love working the system! Coupons and Panda Express in one?! Does it get any better people? I don't think so!

"How Cute Are These Boots?!"

2009-12-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

Am I the only one who loves this commercial? The train thing they do at the end is adorable!

I've been tagged!

2009-12-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Ashley tagged me for the "8 Things" survey, so here it is...

8 TV Shows that I watch (or would if I could)
1. Divine Design
2. The Office
3. Bravo (almost anything)
4. Lie To Me
5. E! (Almost Anything)
6. The City
7. LOST
8. Grey’s Anatomy

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Panda Express
2. Olive Garden
3. Cheese Cake Factory
4. Chilis
5. Red Robin
6. Tia Rosa’s
7. Paradise Bakery
8. My Mom’s Kitchen!

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. Went to work
2. Went to school
3. Watched Top Chef Marathon with Chris
4. Checked e-mail
5. Had a class presentation
6. Blog-stocked
7. Had a meeting for another class presentation for today!
8. Map Quested directions to get to my interview for today

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Seeing my family for Christmas
2. Getting out of the cold of Rexburg
3. Seeing my Grandparents when they get back from Japan
4. Buying a house, hopefully sooner than later
5. Having kids one day
6. Starting my internship in January
7. Starting “Family Biggest Loser” in January
8. Seeing old friends back in Mesa

8 Things on my wish list:
1. Posterity
2. A sewing machine
3. Getting out of debt
4. Chris getting accepted to ISU’s Pharm D program
5. A hand sander (weird, I know)
6. Graduation coming sooner!
7. A new HEAVY wool coat
8. A house

8 People I will now tag in order to pass this on:
1. Sarah
2. Allison
3. Brooke
4. Natalie
5. Tori
6. Monica
7. Traci
8. Rachel

Grrrrr....

2009-11-30T19:31:00.001-07:00

Around 7pm tonight Chris came home from work. I was surprised to see him because he was scheduled to work until 11 tonight. Well turns out he got sick and tossed his cookies while on the job. He told his supervisor what happened (and obviously that he needed to leave because he was feeling super nauseous still) and guess what happened?

They told him that if he left he would be written up!

Are you freaking kidding me?!

This is the same penalty for people who don't show up at all!

Do you want him to get sick all over the place?
Do you want him to get other people sick too?

This company makes me so mad I could scream.

Chris left anyway.
which is exactly what he should have done.

What kind of ridiculous company is this?? GAH!

Look-A-Like

2009-11-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you watch this show, but doesn't Erin Kaplan from MTV's The City look just like the character Marage from The Incredibles?

Happy Thanksgiving Tomorrow!

2009-11-24T15:27:00.001-07:00

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow and enjoy your Big Birds ;)

P.S. Check out my latest project @ Pretty'n Peach! Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

lucky girl

2009-11-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day, imagine that!

As I was pulling into our parking space after school today I HIT THE BEAM that holds up the covered parking thingy, you know what I'm talking about?
I was horrified.
I checked it out, it dented the corner of the car pretty good and scraped some of the paint off...

Well, Chris was still in class so I had to sit and wait for him to get home to tell him. I felt so bad! This is the last thing we need right now. Chris eventually got home and I showed him, I was so afraid he was going to be upset.
I told him I was sorry and that it was an accident (obviously) and you know what he said?
"Its OK, I'm just glad you didn't get hurt!"

How sweet is that? He wasn't bothered by it at all!
I am so grateful for a sensible husband that (unlike me) doesn't get upset by things in the heat of the moment.
I know I am going to be blessed by this trait over and over again as things come up in our lives (like when our kids fall and break their arm and I will (undoubtedly) freak out, he will be the calm one who knows what to do and takes control.)

I am one lucky girl

Love you babe!

Using what I have... TACO SOUP

2009-11-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

So I said in an earlier post that I am going to try to make more creative meals using what I already have on hand, here is a good example of that from tonight's dinner...

TACO SOUP!

I didn't use a recipe, I just kinda threw stuff in and hoped it would taste good...

I browned 1 lb. beef with some onion powder (I would have preferred using an actual onion, but didn't have one- again, USING WHAT I HAVE)

I put this in the crock pot with
-1 4 oz. can diced green chili's
-2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
-1 15 oz. can kidney beans (drained half the juice)
-1 15 oz. can corn (drained)
-1 spoonful of minced garlic

I sprinkled in a little more onion powder and who knows how much taco seasoning (we have the big shaker from Costco, but I imagine using one packet would do the job)

I set the crock pot on high for 2 hours, once the two hours had passed we topped it with "Mexican blend" cheese. It was SUPER good! I bet it would be good over tortilla chips or Frito's too if you had them!

Let me know if anyone tries this!

life

2009-11-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

I have come to a juncture in my life I honestly never thought I would come to. I am graduating from college in 5 short months. This is something I have always planned on doing, of course, but I had always planned on just moving from being a student to being a mother/homemaker. But, as we know, life never seems to go as we plan it, does it?
After graduation I plan to find a full time job in Public Relations, hopefully in an area where I can be involved in event management. I started researching PR firms in the Boise area (because that's most likely where we will be moving after we finish here.) At first I got really excited to apply to all of these great places and then when I started really thinking about my qualifications, interviews, competition, and the daunting thought of having a "grown up" full time job I started to worry. I have realized I need more experience to show potential employers what I can bring to the table.

So...

Last week I sent in my resume for a special events internship with

Well I got a call for an interview at 9:30 this morning...
I had my interview at 1:30 this afternoon...

and she gave me the position on the spot!

I am so excited! I am going to be heading up the Idaho Falls "WALK MS" event! It is a walk-a-thon sort of like Race for the Cure, but for multiple sclerosis. I will be working with recruitment (for volunteers, participants, and businesses that want to donate), marketing, logistics, and everything in between! The internship runs from January through May (when the event is) so we will for sure be staying in Rexburg until then!

I am so happy to have this to look forward to, I know it will be a great experience- hopefully one that will help me get a great job come next May. Even though life isn't going quite as I had planned I am still happy with it and am looking forward to what the future holds!

Frost

2009-11-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

This is what makes me late for work every morning...

kinda pretty though, huh?

Homemade pizza!

2009-11-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

We successfully (more or less) made our first homemade pizza without burning the building down!

It didn't turn out quite like we would have liked it to though...

First of all, the dough didn't rise at all (maybe I have bad yeast?)

Then it would not roll out! We tried so hard to make it thin and round but it was just not having it! So we ended up having a heart shaped pizza! It was basically awesome :)

Here is us...looking lovely.

It is nearly impossible to get a serious photo out of Chris! and the heart-shaped pizza in all her glory!
YUM!

PS. Check out my new project @ pretty'n peach!

How to save big money using COUPONS

2009-11-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have had a bunch of people ask me how I get good deals using coupons and thought I would explain how it works... here are some (hopefully) helpful facts...

Since most of the coupons out on the Internet and in the paper are for name brand products (which are expensive) it isn't worth your time to just use coupons in your normal shopping because even after using a coupon the cost of a name brand product is most likely going to still be more expensive than the generic brand product. SO...

You have to wait for a product to be on sale! and then buy in BULK, even if you don't need the product right now. The whole idea behind couponing is stocking up when things are super cheap, that way you never realize you need something while making dinner and run to the store and pay full price.

My favorite grocery store deals usually include a CATALINA. A catalina is a coupon that prints after your receipt that is good for a certain dollar amount off your next transaction and looks like this...

The deals that provide catalinas will usually require you to either buy a certain number of products for you to get a catalina (like "Buy 10 participating products and get $10 off your next shopping trip") OR to buy a certain dollar amount and then you get a catalina (like "Buy $30 worth of products and get $10 off your next shopping trip")

Here is a promotion that started Tuesday at Albertson's that I did tonight:

This is a General Mills promotion. You must purchase $30 BEFORE coupons and tax. If you purchase $60 worth of participating items you still only get a $15 catalina, so what you do is purchase $30, Receive a $15 Catalina- Buy $30 more items, use the $15 Catalina to pay- and still receive a new Catalina (this is called rolling your catalinas and most stores let you do up to three transactions in a row).

This is what I bought

(1) Betty Crocker Frosting @ $1.69

(3) Progresso Soups @ $1.69

(3) Hamburger Helpers @ $1.69 11.83

(5) General Mills cereal @ $1.88

(1) Skippy Peanut butter @ $1.99

(1) Better Crocker Cake Mix @ $0.99

(2) Yo-Plus Yogurt @ $2.49

(1) Dove Hair Conditioner @ $4.99

Total: $36.11 (with tax)

I then used $14.25 worth of coupons for all of these products and my total was brought down to $ 21.86! When factoring in the $15 catalina I still have its like getting it all for $6.86!

I hope this (brief) info will help some of you! Questions?

PS. This is where I get most of my deals

and many of my printed coupons come from here and here.

Halloween

2009-11-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

The curse of Chris working at Melaleuca is that he ALWAYS has to work the last day of every month. New Years Eve and Halloween are no exception, such a bummer! So once he got done working (at 10pm) our Halloween started. We had a quiet but fun night together.

It started with making a trip through the Taco Bell drive through for FREE BLACK TACOS!! (have you seen those? with the black shell and pepper jack cheese?) They tasted so good plus they were free, so I was one happy lady. After inhaling our taco's (and wishing we had more) we settled in to watch

The Haunting in Connecticut

It was so scary!! If you are in the mood to be really freaked out I recommend it!

I absolutely did not want to be left alone after watching it! I probably shouldn't be admiting this publicly on the Internet but lets just say Chris had to use the bathroom and he ended up having company! :o

Sorry, you didn't need to know that, but I had to emphasize the scariness of the movie!

Hope everyone had a fun and spooky night!

PS. for FHE tonight Chris and I are making homemade pizza! I'm super excited about it! Photos to come!

p.s.s We are trying to spend as little money as possible right now so we are going to see how long we can go without grocery shopping (minus the essentials like milk and bread). I foresee a lot of ramen, cereal, and rice in the near future! Look forward to hearing about it!

Craft Blog

2009-10-31T19:31:00.000-06:00

Hey all!

As you may have noticed I have become a little craft obsessed lately! (like you haven't noticed, right?)
Well I want to try to keep this blog for updates on our little family so I have created a craft blog!
It is called "Pretty'n Peach" and you can find it here! I just started it and started transferring things over today, so it is a work in progress. Keep checking back for new projects!

Hope you all have a fun Halloween! and as my mother would say, "BOO to YOU!"

Coupon Book

2009-10-29T16:42:00.000-06:00

As most of you know over the past couple months I have gotten really into couponing and I LOVE it!!

I try to get my hands on as many coupons as possible: I print them, I swipe them from the news papers at work :), my parents even send me their coupon inserts every Sunday from AZ!!

So as you can imagine it is hard to keep track of all those coupons, I tried keeping them in an envelope but that just wasn't cutting it!

This is my solution:

I got a $1 photo album from DI and covered it with a cute fat quarter...

It holds all of my coupons and keeps me organized!
The best part I didn't find until I had already bought the album: the pages fold open for twice the storage! Happy Day! :)
and for those of you who want to know....
on Monday I bought 12 Yoplet yogurts and 3 bottles of Prego spaghetti sauce for....
$1.16

Recently

2009-10-17T17:04:00.000-06:00

Recently...

We discovered Wing Street from Pizza Hut.

Honey BBQ.

DE-Lish.
We will be repeat offenders for sure.

I made and bottled peach jelly for the first time.
I have already eaten 1 jar by myself, enough said.

BEFORE:

and AFTER:

Chris and I are so happy with how this new dresser turned out! It was given to us by a friend to moved out of state and after a few coats of paint and new hardware we are LOVIN it!

THANK YOU CHRIS for all your help!!! (He did most of the dirty work!)

This was a fun 15 min. project I copied from a blog I found.

I would normally link to it, but I can't find it!!

This was just a cereal box I cut and taped paper and a label to.

Perfect for all of those Ensigns and other magazines I will never throw away!

And finally...

My work had a dutch-oven cookout for the students and their spouses (like 2 months ago!)

This is a fun picture I took and never got around to posting!

Thanks for putting it together, Stephanie!!

For all the Moms/Moms-to-be

2009-10-08T17:36:00.000-06:00

For all of the Moms and Moms-to-be-someday (like me!) this is for you!

My sister-in-law sent me this and I am so glad and had to pass it on!

The company Udder Covers is doing a promo where they give you a free nursing cover (normally $32!) and you just pay the shipping (about $9).

Just go to their web page http://www.uddercovers.com/ , click on nursing covers, select the one you like, then when you go to check out, type in chatter for the special code and it will deduct the price of the item!

I ordered this one:

Super Cute, no? and I know I don't have any babies and I'm not even pregnant but I will be one day and I may as well get it while its free, right? RIGHT!

Thanks for sending me this Monica!

Also....

Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs came back out on DVD/Blue Ray this week! (Its a combo pack) It is 19.96 at Wal Mart but if you use the coupon from www.snowwhiteoffer.com you can get it for only $10! (Its a $10 off coupon)

I got mine today and am watching it as I type!
I LOVE Disney animated classics. We are trying to collect as many as we can before we have kids. So far we have Meet The Robinson's, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and now SNOW WHITE! I am waiting anxiously for them to bring out Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin again!!

Idaho

2009-10-05T10:09:00.001-06:00

This morning I was on BYU-I's website looking at classes for next semester...
I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this!
I flippin LOVE Idaho, hahahaha....
and PS. I woke to 3 inches of snow this morning and its still snowing as I type!

Falling for Fall

2009-10-01T22:48:00.000-06:00

I hate to say it, but it is officially Fall.
I had to scrape ice off my car window this morning! and it was almost 9 am!!
Boo.
But on the bright side... Fall Decor!
Chris and I don't have ANY fall decorations. Well today I went to Porter's (which is like a small Rexburg version of Hobby Lobby or Michael's) to get a little easel and one of their fall displays was of a pine tree with twinkle lights and fall leaves and little wicker pumpkins, I LOVED IT! I remembered that last Christmas we bought a little 4 ft. pre-lit tree and so I was inspired to try to cheaply copy their cute Fall tree.

Here is my version!

I went through our box of ornaments to see if anything would match and I found a box of little glittery pine cones I had completely forgotten about, they made a great fit in the tree!

I am going to get some little pumpkins to put on the table to cover the tree base

After I had wrapped the garland around the tree Chris and I were looking at it and he said it needed a topper and Chris (being the genius he is!) remembered we had just bought this leaf ornament in Oregon in August! (We try to find an ornament on all of our vacations-- I think it makes a useful souvenir) It matches perfectly, right? Good thinking babe!

I am really happy with how it turned out! Especially since I only paid around $9 to put the whole thing together.

Happy Fall everyone! :)

Click for more Fall Decor!

New, Green, & Warm!

2009-09-21T09:53:00.000-06:00

@ $30 off it almost makes me excited for the snow to come

...almost

Grandparent Love

2009-09-19T08:58:00.000-06:00

I was feeling the love from both sets of my grandparents yesterday and thought I would share.

Last night we went down to Idaho Falls to run a few errands and stopped by my grandparents house to pick up some peaches my grandma had ordered for me. They are so good to us. They made sure I had all of the bottles, rings, and lids (for canning) I could ever need. They took us out to their garden and loaded us up with onions and tons of yummy tomatoes. and on top of that they made us dinner and we watched the first half of the Boise State game with them. It was nice to be pampered-- I don't know if pampered is the right word-- but have someone help you out.

After we got back from Idaho Falls I checked my e-mail and found I had an email from my Grandma Pyper (they are on their 3rd mission in Japan).
This is the letter:

Dear Tara,

I just made Hangburger soup in hopes you would stop by. Oh, well, I guess some other time. Grandpa and I will have to eat this for a week now. I always think of you when ever I make it.

Give Chris a big hug from us.

Love, Grandma

It literally brought tears to my eyes. My grandma's hanguber (hamburger) soup is one of my favorite things of all time and she makes it for us EVERY TIME we come over, and it means the world to me. I thought this was such a sweet little note, it meant a lot to me.

I love my Grandparents. <3

Mod Podge Wooden Stool

2009-09-12T13:50:00.001-06:00

I found this blog called Mod Podge Rocks. You can probably guess from the name, but it is all things mod podged! She has tons of ideas for fun projects and I was in love with these little children's stools I kept seeing; like this one and this one!

Here is my version (and PS sorry for the grainy pics, I used my phone camera)

I literally just finished in 3 minutes ago... its not even dry yet, but I was so excited I just had to post it!

I'm kicking myself for not taking a before picture, it was $2 at DI, it was pretty sad, just trust me.
I'm not sure what I will do with it, either keep it or give it to a niece or nephew I guess.
Does anyone want it?

Deal and crafts make me so happy

2009-09-07T15:37:00.000-06:00

I have read a lot about mod podge lately and had never done it and so this was my first attempt.

I found these little ceramic tiles at DI for 25 cents each and mod podged scrapbook paper on and then used the mod podge to seal the top.

You probably can't tell, but they are now coasters!

Here is a big full sized tile $1- also from DI. Again just scrapbook paper and mod podge!
and my greatest couponing moment yet...
(I'm sorry if you get tired of reading these- but hey its my blog! ;) )

2 boxes orig. Cheerios
4 boxes multi grain Cheerios
2 boxes Lucky Charms
2 boxes Coco Puffs
5 boxes Golden Ghrams
2 boxes Gushers
2 boxes fruit snacks
6 cans of Progresso soup
2 bags of frozen vegi's
2 boxes of granola bars
1 box of Cheeze-Itz

Total Cost: $111.53

I PAID: $34.11 (That's like 70% off!)

Saving money is so incredibly fun, I know it sounds dorky but I get such a kick out of it!

An upholstered headboard and that pesky frame

2009-09-05T23:13:00.000-06:00

My friend/co-worker Stephanie and I decided we wanted to make an upholstered headboard this summer, and since this was the last free weekend before school starts we figured it was now or never! It is actually a really simple process and I LOVE how it turned out! We more or less used this tutorial except instead of foam (which would have cost $100+!!!) we used a couple layers of that egg-carton style mattress topper (the smooth side out). Even though we used the same process our 2 headboard look so different because of the difference in fabric. Mine was leather-ish and Steph used a heavy cotton and then we tufted it. You can see how her fabulous headboard turned out here.

(The flash made it look much lighter than it actually is)

And remember my clown/frame project that didn't look just right? Well, with the decorative help of my mother (and Hobby Lobby) this is how I fixed it!

SO much better!

If you can't tell, those are little crystal drawer pulls! and hanging is an A-for Andrus, a crystal angel, and some antique looking keys.

Oh, and PS. I got to go home to Mesa a week or so ago to help my Dad out at work and I got to see my friends! Jay Tucker, Todd Kitchen, Dane Larsen, and Jessica Lumsden (from top to bottom, left to right). It was so fun to get to hang out with everyone, I miss all the fun times we had back in "The Day"!

Green Smoothies and crockpot lasagna

2009-09-02T22:58:00.000-06:00

A friend/coworker of mine - Allison - gave me this fantastic recipe for crock pot lasagna and I thought some of you out there would like to try it! It is delicious and SUPER easy!

9 lasagna noodles (uncooked!)
1 lb. ground turkey (I used beef)
2-3 minced garlic cloves
28 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used 2 15oz. cans)
24 oz. can tomato sauce (I used 2 15oz. cans)
1/2 t. basil
1/4 t. oregano
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 c. cottage cheese
1 c. ricotta cheese
mozzarella

Brown the turkey (or beef) with the garlic and mix this in with the cans of tomatoes and sauce. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano and basil. In another bowl mix the cottage cheese and ricotta. In the crock pot put 2 cups of the tomato/meat mixture. Next break up 3 of the lasagna noodles into 1-2 inch pieces and lay them on top of the sauce. Next place 1/3 of the cottage/ricotta cheese mixture in dollops over the noodles. Layer 2 more times with the tomato/noodles/cheese. Top the last layer with the remaining 2 cups of the tomato mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese!

Cook on high for 3 1/2-4 hours or on low for 6!
This is another fun foody thing I am loving right now. Chris and I make smoothies almost every day which is great and mostly healthy on its own, but I am taking the healthy meter a step up!

I do the basic mix with ice, frozen strawberries, bananas, a couple black berries, milk/water, and vanilla yogurt- and....

a big handful of spinach!

It is so good and good for you! and you can hardly even taste the spinach!

YUM!

A mosaic of me

2009-08-27T12:10:00.000-06:00

want to make one of your own?

step 1: go to flickr.com
2: in another window open http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php
3: choose 4 columns, 3 rows
4: answer the following questions in the search bar of flicker.
pick your favorite one on the first page and paste it into your mosaic

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your nickname.

another screamin deal

2009-08-16T15:45:00.000-06:00

Here is another great Albertsons deal for those of you who are poor like me and want free stuff :)

Right now you can get free Velveeta mac'n cheese at Albertsons, here's how...

It is on sale for $1 each (for the kind in a cup) and you need to use a coupon that was in Sunday's SmartSource coupon book from the newspaper for a Buy one Get one Free or $1 off. That makes it 2 cups for $1.12 after tax. BUT WAIT there is a special promo going on where if you buy 2 or more of these you get a $1 off your next order catalina (coupon same as cash). Which brings your total down to 12 cents!

I did 2 transactions with 2 cups in each one (so I got 2 $1 off coupons total)..., so I got 4 cups of Mac'n cheese and they ended up PAYING ME 76 cents!

Love it.

Gettin Crafty...

2009-08-15T18:45:00.001-06:00

I have found a few craft blogs lately that I am obsessed with. There are so many incredibly talented ladies out there, they make me feel completely inadequate! I am so envious of the the great things they come up with that I wanted to try my hand at it "crafting" too.

So I bought this NASTY looking frame and clown man at DI for $10.

I paid too much.

Yes- it is a neon clown painted on black velvet.

I intentionally bought the biggest frame I could find because I am trying to fill up this big wall here...

I started by removing the clown and sanding the gold paint off as best I could

Then I painted it a dark glossy brown I had...

Much better already, right?
Once that was done I wrapped the clown in some fabric I found to match our curtains (Here is the rest of the room, so you can see the color comparison...)

Ta-Da! The finished product!
I added a cool star wreath and gold ribbon too...

What do you think?

Here is a closer look at the fabric

It feels like it is missing something, anyone have any suggestions on how to improve it?

I am sort of proud of how it turned out since I have never attempted anything like this before, but I know it could be so much better. I have many more projects coming up, so keep your eye out for them!

BIG PICTURE UPDATE

2009-08-13T14:12:00.001-06:00

Time for a big update on our lives! Starting with July 26th, Chris's 27th Birthday!

I cannot believe my husband is nearly 30! That sounds so old! (No offense to all you 30 year olds out there... ;) ) But everyone who knows Chris knows he is a kid at heart and always will be.

Since his birthday was on a Sunday we celebrated on Saturday. The day started with our traditional McBride birthday breakfast of waffles, strawberries and whipped cream, and opening presents. I got Chris 2 X-Box games. Amazing, I know. I HATE video games, but these were sports games and I got them cheap used from a student here in Rexburg, so I couldn't resist.

For dinner we went out to eat at Red Robin (one of his favorites) and then saw 2, count'em one- two- movies! We saw the second transformers movie and the new Harry Potter, both of which we thought were great.

Here is a picture of us before the movie...

(notice the big blank wall I haven't gotten around to decorate yet...)

Next on the list...

We have another new niece! Brooklyn Joyce Robinson. She was born on July 28th and weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 ounce. She is the 3rd girl in her family, the 7th granddaughter and 8th grandchild on the McBride side, and is our 29th niece/nephew total.

(sorry, no pic!)

On Sunday, August 2nd, we drove to Boise for our newest nephew- River-'s blessing.

(sorry, no pic!)

The next day me, Chris, Denise (my MIL), Cody (BIL), Lyn (SIL), and their 4 kids Noah, Lockly, Lili, and River started our grand road trip.

We drove from Boise to the Oregon Coast and all the way up to coast to Marysville, Washington where Chris's brother Casey lives with his wife and their 4 kids.

Here are some pictures from our adventure!

The view from our hotel in Oregon

Sharing a room with your MIL isn't exactly romantic... :) But we definitely got to know each other better and that I am very happy about.

Everything is so green!

This scary 18-wheeler was following us!

Yes Twilight fans, its true- we stayed a night in FORKS, WA!

Lockly

Me, Noah, Lockly, and Chris

Noah

Marien (Casey and Heather's only girl)

Chase (LOVE THIS PIC! What a face!)

The Seattle skyline

Crazy troll statue under a bridge... his eye is a disco ball and that is a VW bug under his hand!

Space needle

Chris with Captain Obama

Me and my homies... ;)

Pike's Market

The first Starbucks

In WA they have George Washington's silhouette on all the the freeway signs, kinda weird

Again for the Twilight fans... in Seattle there was Edward's on 5th right next door to cafe Bella! Sorry its hard to see- I took the pic out the car window while we were driving...

I started calling these silly tree's "the Dr. Suess" trees. Aren't' they funny looking?

All in all it was a fun trip! We got to see a lot of beautiful things and got to spend lots of quality time with family. I am making a trip down to Mesa next week, but besides that the rest of our summer will be pretty relaxing with just work and getting ready for a new semester in September.

the best is yet to come...

2009-08-07T13:00:00.000-06:00

We have been spending our time here....

Posts to come about Chris's birthday, new niece, baby blessing, Oregon coast, Washington, and lots and lots of family!

It's Official!

2009-07-31T12:00:00.000-06:00

As of yesterday I am officially a resident of Idaho... I finally got my driver's licence changed.

This is something I have been putting off for over a year now (since we got married) because

I didn't want to take the stupid exam

Because my AZ licence didn't expire until 2053! and you have to renew every 4 years in ID
Because part of me didn't want to admit that I actually permanently live here.

I remember when I first drove into Rexburg with my Mom the weekend before my first day of college and I was absolutely disgusted with this place. It was flat and old and none of the buildings were more than two stories high; I thought it was a complete joke. But now this place has really grown on me, and I actually consider the flat wheat fields beautiful in their own way. Don't get me wrong, Arizona will always be my home and if everything goes as planned it will also be where we raise our family. But in the mean time, "Way to go, Idaho!" ;)

Growing old together

2009-07-30T19:23:00.000-06:00

I was assigned an interesting project at work last week...

There is this elderly couple (he is 94 and she is 86), who have been donating to the University for years and years. They even agreed to donate their house and land to the school once they felt they were ready to move to an assisted living facility. Well they let us know that that time had come, so I was assigned to research all of the assisted living facilities in Idaho Falls to find what would be the best one for them. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

The homes ranged from smelly hospital looking places to ones that looked more like resorts. One was so nice, in fact, that it has a gourmet chef/ice sculptor, its own travel agency, and even a Wii. I kid you not, there was an adorable little couple playing wii bowling in the lobby!

Well today Stephanie (my boss) and I went out to Arco, which is where the couple lives, to let them know what we thought would be most comfortable for them.

It was so sad.

We sat with them in their kitchen and literally watched them cry at the thought of leaving their home. Since the husband is so old and uses a walker he can't do much around the house and so his wife does everything, including gardening, canning apples and picking raspberries, and taking care of all of his medical needs. [ and yes, she is 86!] She asked him to explain what he wanted in a new place and as the tears rolled down his face he said, "Its not what I want, its what you need." He has lived in Arco for 90 years and as much as he just wants to stay in his home, he knows that his wife can't do it all any more and that a move would be the best thing for her. And all the wife wanted was for him to be happy and comfortable. They both just wanted what was best for the other person.

It was very touching, they love each other so much. It really made me think of my marriage and appreciate all of the things Chris does in my behalf, and for our little family.

So here is to growing old together.

Jamba goodness...

2009-07-29T21:13:00.001-06:00

Enjoy

I love a good deal!

2009-07-23T18:07:00.000-06:00

For all of you Dr. Pepper fans out there like me, this is for YOU!

Right now Albertsons is doing a buy two get two free promotion on all of their Coke and Pepsi products. So... 4 12packs of Dr Pepper ring up at 21.16 then you get 2 free dropping the price down to 10.58. Then because of the Dr. Pepper sale you get a 10.00 Catalina (which is a coupon for $10.00 off anything in the store, same as cash) for spending 20.00.

So after the coupon, its like getting 4 12 packs of Dr. Pepper for only $0.58!

That's less than 15 cents each!

When I asked Chris if it was OK that I buy it (cause we always check with each other when we buy frivolous, unnecessary things that we want but don't need... and 4 12 packs of soda is definitely a want) this was his response...

"Well, you've gotta start food storage somewhere!"

summer snacks

2009-07-09T12:04:00.000-06:00

We have discovered a new summer treat!

Frozen raspberries (or peaches or strawberries) in water.

It sounds simple (because it is)

but we are now drinking 4 or 5 glasses of water a day because of it!

and

We saw the mouth-watering commercials

we tried to resist

but we gave in.

and we LOVE it

Thanks Wendy's!

Move

2009-07-02T11:31:00.000-06:00

Last night we made the big move-way down to the other end of our parking lot! Our apartment complex just built a brand new building and we jumped at the chance to get into a new unit! WE LOVE OUR NEW PLACE!!! It feel so much more "us". The carpet is a darker brown! There are granite counter tops with drop in sinks! And although they are not vaulted, the ceiling is significantly higher! AND they pained a wall for us! I couldn't be more thrilled for a taupe wall!! :)
Photos to come!!

Monday Night TV

2009-06-23T11:45:00.001-06:00

As many of you know, I am a television LOVER.

and last night was a big night in TV for a couple of my favorites.

1. Jon and Kate plus Eight

Announced last night that they were separating- and then after the show it said that on June 22nd, which was yesterday- that they actually filed for divorce.

Now I know after the months of seeing magazine covers (like the one above) telling the world about cheating scandals and criticizing their parenting techniques- WE ALL SAW IT COMING. But I am still really sad about it.It is always sad to see a family split up, but especially a family with so many kids at such a young age. I hope their kids will take the transition well and that Jon and Kate can salvage some part of their marriage and still maintain a civil relationship.

2. Secret Life

For those of you who have never heard of this show... it is basically about a bunch of high school kids, one of which gets pregnant the first time she has sex and yatta yatta yatta, you can guess the rest. Well last night was the premier of season 2.

So you see the blond girl in the cheer leading uniform above? Well her character is this super nice Christian girl who firmly believes in saving sex for marriage. I was so happy when I started watching this show because it had a character that believed in abstinence. Great role model, right?

WELL... in last nights show she apparently "prayed about it for a month" and decided that she was ready to have sex with her boyfriend. and then they did it! So much for my great role model.
I was disappointed to say the least.
Moving on.

3. Here Come the Newlyweds

Chris and I have been watching this show together every Monday night for FHE for the past 5 or so weeks. We are crazy in love with. I think everyone should watch it. We can obviously relate a lot to the contestants since we are fairly newly married too, but more than anything it is just a fun and funny feel good show.

Nothing Earth shattering happened it it, just wanted to share the LOVE :)

New Nephew

2009-06-21T21:18:00.000-06:00

At 11:48pm on May 28th Andrus nephew #11 was born!

They named this sweet baby boy: River Pollock Andrus
Here is Lili trying to give him a kiss...
looks more like she is going to take a bite out of his head... ;)

and here is Noah watching over his first little brother

Welcome to the family River! We love you!

June so far!

2009-06-18T13:16:00.001-06:00

It has been a while since I have updated with REAL info about our lives. This is June so far...

Scratch that...back to May for a second.

Chris and I were both sick with the flu for a week in May, remember? Well as soon as I got over the flu luck would have it that I caught a cold! I was achy all the time, lost my voice for a few days, and was up to my eye balls in Kleenex! My nose was so raw from blowing it that one side of my nose literally swelled up! Lovely, I know! At the tail end of my cold my parents came up from AZ to visit us for Mother's Weekend!

For those of you who don't remember this, last year at Mother's Weekend Chris and I did a photo shoot for LDS Philanthropies. Just for fun the photographer took some pictures of my mom and I and said they might use them for next years advertising. As mothers weekend got closer we kept an eye on the ads. When we got this post card in the mail we were super disappointed. They obviously weren't going to use our photos after all.

Well on the Monday of the week of Mothers Weekend I was sitting in class and one of my best friends, Jessie, text me this photo: I was so surprised! As you can see they ended up using the photo on a poster advertising Mother Student Photos! I forwarded the pic on to my Mom right away, she was thrilled!
When she went to class with me on Friday people actually came up to her and asked if she was "The Mom from the poster". She got such a kick out of being a "celebrity mom"!

That Friday morning we went to two of my classes and then met Chris and my Dad at the Rexburg Temple where Jessie got married!! It was the first wedding I have been to in the temple, minus my own. It was such a sweet experience. Their sealer was wonderful, and there was such a sweet spirit in the room. Jessie looked beautiful, of course, and her hubby Devro didn't look too bad either. ;)

That night we went to their reception in Territon; it was "super cute"! (Jessie makes fun of me when I say "super cute...") They had a fun dessert bar with chocolate fountains and lots of things to dip in it.The next morning we went to two "education week" like seminars on campus, and then rushed home and to the Idaho Falls temple. (It was a big temple going weekend, obviously). Since my Dad's dad is a sealer in that temple, he invited us, along with my parents, my aunt, and one of my cousins and her husband, to do sealings. Again, this was the first time I have ever done this. I loved it because it helped me remember some things I had forgotten about our sealing; which, P.S. was almost everything! Our wedding is such a blur to me!

Later that day Mom and I went shopping (THANK YOU SO MUCH for that MOM!!) and then to a BBQ at my uncle Mike's house. We came back to Rexburg later that evening and saw this guy in concert:

He is an amazing pianist from Phoenix. He has toured with Josh Groban and really just blows my mind! I would love to see him again. Click here to hear him play Kashmir, by Led Zeppelin- LOVE IT.

All in all it was a fun weekend with my parents. We were able to meet up with them again the next Wednesday because my Dad was a guest speaker in my Money Management class! He always amazes me with how knowledgeable he is. He did such a great job my teacher had him stay and speak to her next 2 classes!

In other news...

I got a calling in church! I haven't had one in almost 2 years, if you can believe it. I was called as a District Leader for visiting teaching and am really happy about it!
Chris and I spoke in church on Sunday, both on the topic of prayer.
We are half way through our semester! Chris has straight A's as always..., and I'm doing OK too. :)
We are moving into a brand new, never been lived in apartment on July 1st! So excited.
If you didn't notice, I made that new picture at the top of our blog! It is from our Disney Land trip back in January and I just got it! I am sort of proud at how it turned out; thank you Photo Shop!
I am getting into couponing! I am not one of those hardcore coupon Moms who know how to buy 10 tubes of toothpaste and a turkey for $2.05...yet. But I am learning some good tips and have saved same good cash from just looking for coupons online for the stuff we buy anyway.

Until next time...

Free Dozen Donuts

2009-06-05T13:26:00.001-06:00

Starting tomorrow (June 6th) until Fathers Day, Krispy Kreme Donuts is giving away a free dozen donuts to anyone who brings in an ugly tie!

My closest KK is in Orem, UT and they ARE participating, call your local KK to check it out too!

I'm hitting up DI tonight to find a nice ugly one :)

Free Chocolate!

2009-06-05T09:43:00.000-06:00

Did you know...

That every Friday through September Mars is giving away coupons for a FREE chocolate bar!! Quantities are limited, 250,000 coupons per Friday, so make sure you fill out this form!

This offer is good starting at 9AM Eastern so go NOW!!

Nothing is better than free chocolate, am I right?

Happy Birthday T.C.!

2009-06-04T14:12:00.000-06:00

Yesterday my oldest sister Traci had her 27th birthday!

Traci and her family are living in Ohio right now, so we weren't able to see her, but we still want her to know how much we love her and what a great sister she is!

10 things I love about Traci

1. She always looks on the bright side of things

2. She is unbelievably patient

3. We look alike

4. She loves unconditionally

5. She is a great mom to 3 lucky kids

6. She has the most beautiful blond hair (that I have always secretly been jealous of... mine turned dark in 6th grade and hers was nearly white through all of high school- Not fair! :) )

7. She can play the flute like no body's business even after not playing for years

8. She makes the sweetest little baby bracelets for a good cause (see http://babysoelegant.com/)

9. She is kind to everyone she meets

10. She appreciates a good pedicure

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOO BABY!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-25T13:09:00.000-06:00

Chris and I have been home sick with the flu since Thursday. Even though we have been feeling pretty lousy it has been a fun weekend still. We blew up our air mattress in the living room and thanks to our new best friend NETFLIX we watched the entire first season of HEROES

via Chris's XBOX 360.

We freaking love modern technology :)

Chris' brother Kim and his family were in town this weekend for a family reunion on his wife's side. Since they live in Alabama and never get out to Idaho this is a big deal in the Andrus family so another brother, Cody and his wife and kids drove 4 hours from Boise just for a couple hours to see them. On their way out here they stopped in Twin Falls where their sister, Staci, lives and picked her up for the trip too! So our small gathering of 8 turned into a house party of 14! It was a tight fit in our apartment but it was a lot of fun! (and yes, we sanitized the place before everyone got here...there are no reported casualties yet). Watching Sleeping BeautyCute Cousins

Siblings (Cody, Chris, Kim, and Staci)

the past 3 months...

2009-05-20T16:10:00.000-06:00

This post is the past three months made of pictures! Sorry the order is all wacky, it runs backwards. This was this past weekend (May 16th) at Chris's best friend's wedding (Andy) in Twin Falls

Chris with his other best friend from high school, Clayton
(they were both groomsmen, hence the matching outfits)

They couldn't have picked a more beautiful place to get married!

Shoshone Falls

The new Twin Falls Temple

Chris loves this picture! Look how tiny he is!

Easter 2009

Coloring Eggs

Moving into our new apartment (We are moving again in a month and a half!)

So much stuff!

Houston, Texas! Such a sweet skyline! This photo was taken from the top of a ferris wheel.

In Baton Rouge, LA during Chris's internship

Playing speed with Chris's brother Kim's family in Alabama

Ellie! What a cutie! She was my best bud this trip!

Swine Flu

2009-05-15T08:36:00.000-06:00

He is the first reported celebrity fatality from swine flu....

and we all know who gave it to him...

Kerry Pyper McBride

2009-05-12T16:17:00.000-06:00

I LOVE my Momma

she is

beautiful

independent

everyone's friend

not afraid to speak her mind

honest

caring

funny

supportive

a quilter

a carpenter

a seamstress

a chef

and comedian

a therapist

a good listener

and

one of my best friends.

Happy Birthday and Mother's Day Momma-- I love you!

WIND

2009-05-12T16:00:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know, Rexburg, Idaho is THE windiest place in the world! OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating, but it is ridiculously windy here. The past two weeks have been the worst. According to weather.com the wind is gusting at 58 mph right now. That's twice as fast as we are allowed to drive here!!

These are the wind stories going around the office:

Faith: I found our garbage can in the front lawn of the people across the street!

Kristine: The wind picked up our trampoline and pulled the legs right out of it!

Joe: Did you see the tree get pulled out of the ground over by the park?!

and as for me...

I've had my skirt fly up to my ears more than once this week! I hope everyone enjoyed that little show

Things I've Done

2009-05-10T19:18:00.000-06:00

Things I have done... Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done and make sure to put your score at the end. It got me to thinking about what I would like to do in life.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band - marching band counts, right?4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France- kind of a disappointment

20. Slept on an overnight train- that would be so cool!

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping- but only after I was married!

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David- he is one BIG dude

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Gone without food or water for 24 hours or longer

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie- does it count if I'm the one that made it?

56. Visited the Great Wall of China- missed my chance by one year!

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Stayed up for 24 hours with NO sleep at all

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma- and I STILL have the scars in my arm!

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp- a life-changing experience

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - My little white stuffed dog Ralph

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square- the TS equivalent in London "Piccadilly Circus"

76. Changed a light bulb

77. Broken a bone- I broke someone else's bone though...

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Mowed the lawn

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House - technically I visited the White House's fence

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby- its on the to do list!

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

One year ago today...

2009-04-18T11:30:00.000-06:00

We were getting married!

It has been such a wonderful year!

Happy first Chris! I love you!

In honor of Patty the Post Office lady..

2009-03-25T15:21:00.000-06:00

I had this really great "people are really good after all" experience a couple weeks ago and was reminded of it today, I think you will all be impressed. Here's the story...

I have been working for my Dad since January, he is a CPA and a financial planner- so since it is tax season we are crazy busy and are constantly sending out people's tax returns in the mail.

I took a bunch to the post office (the one one Power and Broadway) one day and all I had was my Dad's business American Express, I didn't have any cash or my debit card, I didn't even have my driver licence. So being the sticklers that the USPS is, they wouldn't take it because it wasn't in my name. I tried "But its a BUSINESS card! Look, the name on the card matches the return address on the envelopes!" but that didn't work. I tried calling someone at the office to bring me some cash but no one could. I didn't know what to do because they had already stamped the stuff, so they couldn't just give it back to me.

So this is what happened: the teller lady next to the woman I was working with payed for my bill out of her own pocket. I couldn't believe it! I was so impressed; she didn't know who I was, she didn't know if I would pay her back, she just trusted that I was a good person and did it!

There really are good people in the world after all! So next time someone tells you all government workers are sleazy or corrupt.. just remember Patty: my Post Office Angel.

The Tucson Festival of Books 04-14

2009-03-16T12:54:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my mom and I (and about a dozen of her friends) drove down to Tucson to volenteer at this:

It was this HUGE book fair! There were 400 authors doing workshops, lectures, and book signings. Our job as volunteers was to escort the authors to where they were giving their presentation, listen to it, and then take them to their book signing. The authors spoke in groups of two or three in the same genre. The title of the lecture my first group was giving was "Spicing up romantic writing" or something to that effect. So we all thought, "oh romance writing! That will be fun!" WRONG! The title was very decieving... these three ladies wrote erotic fantasy romance. Oh my gosh was this the wrong assignment to give the 21 year old Mormon girl! It was quite an experience to say the least!