I curse, slash, I love blogs

I just spent over an hour looking at people's blogs. I haven't had anything to do at work since about 2:00 today. I bet these people are real glad they hired me! :)

The Uglies

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Congratulations Sadlers!

My cousin, Bethany, married Patrick Sadler in the Oakland Temple on Friday. We are so happy for them. The both looked so incredibly happy that day! It was a beautiful day and they had a beautiful reception. We were glad we were able to be a part of such a special day.



We had fun spending time with the Lams. I think Nate had fun too, even though it looks like he's being tortured in this picture.

Drive, Sleep, Wait, Drive, Sleep, Wait

This past weekend was a very exciting weekend for our family...PETE'S HOME! Doesn't he look great!? And he's not even that weird. I was really worried that he was going to be quite the weirdo, but surprisingly, he's still himself. :) I'm actually really proud of my brother. He got so smart...well he was already way smart before...but he's REALLY smart now! I'm amazed at how much he grew while he was gone. Go missions!





While we were waiting for Pete, we got bored and decided to document how I am the shortest sister in the family. I also have the biggest feet, I don't get it.



After we picked Pete up, we went to the Cheesecake Factory where my uncle dared Seth to drink a bottle of ketchup for $60. Seth accepted the challenge and drank only a third of it. My uncle still paid him $20 for drinking a third.




The title of this post refers to the obscene amount of driving and waiting we did. Everywhere we went we were with a whole lotta people and it took forever to make decisions and to get moving. Seth kept a log (he had some free time) of everything we did. The breakdown went like this:

Driving 45%
Sleeping %20
Waiting %13
Activities %10
Getting ready 12%

Egg Nog and Polyester Suits

I just love Christmas. I am getting really excited for this Christmas since Pete will be home.

Seth and I went to a Christmas party given by my one of my friends from work. We were supposed to wear our best Christmas get-up. I am so glad Seth invested in this green suit! He won the award for best get-up at the party (I'm not surprised). We had a great time at the party...Thanks Abbie!

Also here's a pic from going to see the lights at Temple Square.

More Birthday

My birthday was like 10 days ago but here are pics of my office on my birthday. I also got one more box of Diet Pepsi from my sis-in-law Lara. That's 48 cans of Pepsi. Twice my age! :) I also forgot to mention that the night before my b-day I went out to dinner with my friends Jamie and Amber from high school and had so much fun.
Sunday was fun celebrating with my family. Ever since I was little it seems like I've always wanted white cake with chocolate frosting on my birthdays. It's not even my favorite dessert but I just always want it on my birthday, so this year I asked for it again and it was delicious!
Anita and Tom, here are the boots that I got with your money you sent for my birthday! Thanks, I love them!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I wasn't really looking forward to my birthday all that much this year. Birthdays just aren't that excited once you stop having parties with cake, ice cream, and mounds of presents. To my wonderful surprise however, this birthday was so great!!

The day started off with pancakes made by Chef Seth! Then, when I got to work my office door had streamers and signs that said, "Happy Birthday Heidi!" and office was decorated with streamers and signs as well! My friend at work, Amber, had gotten to work early to decorate and she also gave me really good hand soap from B&BW. THEN...a few minutes later a few people came and sang Happy Birthay. THEN...my other friend at work Ashley, brought me a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi, a bag of Tootsie Rolls (i love em), and a bag of those tasty Cadbury eggs that they make at Easter, but also make at Christmas now. THEN...my friend Abbie (who I also work with) brought me another 12-pack of Diet Pepsi, a bag of Smartie's (which I also love), and some way cute kitchen towels from Anthropologie(I had mentioned once when we were at Gateway how I loved Anthropologie's kitchen towels and she rememebered!) I know, I was really feeling loved and it was only 11:00! Throughout the day I received text messages and phone calls from family and friends wishing me a great day. My friends from work and I all went out to lunch and it was delish. After work, Seth gave me his presents and a note that made me cry. Oh, and I got another 12-pack of Diet Pepsi from him as well. I think I'll be set for a while. Hey Lara, need some Pepsi?
Speaking of Pepsi, everyone at work thinks I'm sick for liking D.P. They're all Diet Coke drinkers. Seth gave me a yoga mat...which I have been so excited to get. He also got me some snickerdoodles from Paradise bakery (he even wrapped them! so cute.) I Love those cookies.

I just realized almost the entire day was about food. Oh well!

Seth and I later went to dinner at such a good restaurant called, Trio. SOOOO YUMMY. We had an appetizer that made us both think of Seth's mom Anita. When we were eating it I said, "I bet your mom would love this!" and he said he was just thinking the same thing. Ha! Anita, you're probably curious what it was! It was Rosemary Flatbread with carmelized onions, goat cheese, and roasted red peppers and tomatoes.

It was such a great day! Tonight we're continuing to celebrate by going to a play at Pioneer Theater Company. The celebrating will continue until Sunday night when I'll have my family b-day party.

In conclusion, birthdays are so great, as long as you're with people you love and people who love you! Even just getting a phone call or text on your birthday totally makes your day. Birthdays are the best even when you don't have mounds of presents, cake, and ice cream.

Blast from the Past!

A couple of weeks ago I got a comment from my friend MICHELLE GRATZINGER...who I haven't seen in forever! We were such good friends in middle school, then one day she got in a food fight at lunch and got kicked out! I know...way dumb. Well, she went to a different school for 9th grade and all of high school and we lost touch. So, you can imagine, I was way excited to see a comment from her! I was way excited, but when I clicked on her name to see her blog...she didn't have one! So now I have no idea how to contact her. So ATTN: MICHELLE GRATZINGER if you read this...MAKE A BLOG or email me...heidiherway@gmail.com

Oh and everyone should know Michelle too. I remember having so much fun with her in middle school! She was way funny and loved to eat as much as I do! FYI...I love people who love to eat as much as I do.

Chillin Out Max

I think we're posing. I don't know if we're supposed to be reverent or gangsta. This is Pete and me.

I've been tagged

I was tagged by my cousin Rachel. What I'm supposed to do is tell you six things not commonly known about me. When I'm done with it I'm supposed to tag some other people so I'm tagging Lara, Melanie, Natalie, Anita, and Hailee. Here we go:

1. Like Rachel, I think Rachel said this: I am SO AFRAID OF LARGE BODIES OF WATER. I think part of it is that you don't know what's under you! I was told that they have never found the bottom of Bear Lake. That means that anything could be living in it, like some lake sea monster! I also saw a movie once when there were like pirhana's in a fresh water lake. You never know, some pyscho person could breed a species of fresh water pirhanas in Lake Powell. PIRHANAS will EAT you. Of course, I am also afraid of sharks and I don't need to explain that one. But I am also afraid of all fish. Seth tried to make me snorkel in Greece this summer and I lasted .25 minutes. Just long enough to put my face in the water, see a tiny, translucent fish,and freak out. When I was younger I used to think that swimming pools had sharks in cages behind the pools walls and at night they let the sharks out to swim. I always worried that someone would accidentally let the sharks out when we were swimming during the day. I still wonder sometimes.

2. I WAS ALMOST ARRESTED FOR BUYING BEER WITH A FAKE ID. It's not how it sounds, but of course, this all came about because of stupid boys. I was hanging out with some friends one night in Salt Lake. These friends wanted to play billiards at a place where ID was required. I was only 20 at the time, so I had to let them down by saying I couldn't go. Then some wise-a got the idea that it would be SO funny if they tried to get me in with a fake ID. Then another person thought it would be even FUNNIER if they drew a goatee on my face, put a baseball cap on my head, and sent me into the 7-11 to see what the cashier would do if I tried to buy beer with a fake id. Not just anyone's id, but a very large man, which I believe of Middle Eastern descent. (He was with us, it wasn't just some random guy) Now, we were all LDS and didn't want to actually buy the beer, they just wanted to see the cashier's reaction to my ridiculously drawn-on goatee. So, I went in, grabbed a Corona or two and some gum and went to check out. The cashier didn't bat an eye at my goatee and asked for my id. I showed it to her. Cashier: "This is fake. I'm calling the police." Me and everyone else:"No! We were kidding, it's just a joke!" Cashier:"I don't care, it's against the law." The police were called, they arrived, looked at me and started laughing. No charges were filed and I was free to go.

3. I RAPPED MY SIXTH GRADE STUDENT COUNCIL SPEECH: It went like this:
"Hey Joe, Whadda you know?
Student Council is my show
So walk real fast and don't be slow
Vote this week for Heidi Ho!

Got a beef? Want to groan?
I'll make your wants and wishes known
So walk real fast and don't be slow
Vote this week for Heidi Ho!

Be a deer, be a doe,
Be a Larry, Curly, or a Moe
So walk real fast don't tippy toe
and vote this week for Heidi Ho

Student Council is the place
To represent each sixth grade face
So vote me and you'll see
that Heidi Ho is the way to go!
Heidi Ho is the way to go
Heidi Ho is the way to go"

My dad wrote it. And yes, I won. Boo-yeah.

4. I GAINED AROUND 15 POUNDS IN RUSSIA. I have the pictures to prove it but I definitely am not going to post them. I wasn't fed very healthy food while I was there, didn't exercise much, and my daily Snickers bar didn't help much either. Everyone in my group gained weight as well so I guess I just didn't notice I was blowing up so much. We also discovered these chocolate covered cream cheese bar things. The were kinda like little cheesecakes. I know, you're all thinking, "You're lucky you only gained 15! Daily Snickers and chocolate covered CREAM CHEESE?!?! No duh!" Different rules apply when abroad.

5. ALONG WITH MY DOUBLES PARTNER, EMILY BROADWATER, I PLAYED JV TENNIS MY SOPHOMORE, JUNIOR, AND YES, MY SENIOR YEAR. Don't feel sad for us. We were awesome. Our coach however, did not think we were so awesome. I believe he called us "flaky, airheaded, ditsy, and they don't take tennis seriously" something like that. No hard feelings, Jim Hashimoto. We were the coolest JV Seniors ever. We wore intimidating bandanas on our heads, way rockin' sunglasses, we grunted every time we hit to intimidate the other team, and we had a victory dance. We won every game and not just our senior year, cuz of course, we were seniors playing JV! But we were region champs our junior year too. Did you know you can letter for being on JV 3 years in a row? Well you can, it's way cool. Our coach seriously hated us though. The day of our yearbook picture for the tennis team, we were 1 second late and he wouldn't let us be in the picture. We got him back though. We had our own picture of the two of us put on the tennis page and Emily was even quoted! Take that Jim!

6. MY CLOSET DESIRE IS TO BE IN A BROADWAY MUSICAL. I can't carry a tune at all. I think the term is "tone-deaf." But I just think it looks like so much fun to act and sing and wear fun costumes. It'll never happen, well lets hope it doesn't happen. That would be a terrible musical.

Tates and Toot wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of Thanksgiving I decided to post this pic. This must be like 12 years old because I think Taylor is only 4 or 5. Aren't they so cute! We spent Thanksgiving in Heber (as we usually do) at Alan and Mary Bluth's house. My Aunt Vicky was up for that Thanksgiving and everytime she's around she always brings a craft, so we all made these frames. This picture is of Taylor and our cousin Ali when they were probably 5. Ali got the nickname Toot, when everyone was telling her how cute she was and she replied, "I not toot!" (toot=cute)Tates got her nickname because she is my father's child and nobody really knows where his nicknames come from. :) Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy all the turkey, rolls, and pies you can handle!

Our Very First Anniversary!

Seth and I celebrated our one year anniversary this past weekend. We went up to Wolf Creek Resort in Eden, Utah. It was gorgeous up there! Although, we did drive through Ogden to get there, and I have to say, Ogden is quite the dump. (No offense to anyone who likes Ogden.) I was also sick with a cold which was a bummer, but we still had a great time.

My parents gave us an anniversary present of a DVD with all of our wedding pictures set to music. It was so fun to watch and relive that perfect day! Seth and I have said so many times how perfect that day was!

I feel so lucky that I got to marry Seth and that he wanted to marry me too! I really couldn't ask for a better person to have as my husband. He treats me so much better than I deserve. I thought that I loved him when we were engaged and when we got married, but it's amazing how much more I just keep loving him! I can't imagine what it's going to be like when we're 80! That's gonna be a lot of love! :) Everyone knows how great Seth is, but I just wanted everyone to know that I know how wonderful he is too.

We Danced The Night Away!

One of my favorite things about our wedding day, was by far the dancing! I had so much fun at our reception and I think anyone who has seen Seth dance, knows how entertaining it is! He really is a good dancer, but he sure gets into it! His tux was SOAKED with sweat by the end of the night! For days after our reception we both kept saying how much fun we had! We hope everyone who came had fun too!

Conference Champs!

Lanx and her UVU team won their conference tournament last Sunday! It was a great game, despite a really lame referee. He called a bunch of stuff against UVU but failed to notice when lanx totally got WWF'd. Seriously, this girl grabbed Lanx around her waist, flipped her, and dropped her! It reminded Taylor of a game my dad used to do with us (without the dropping part) and it was called BowWowSkiWatinDaddle. So the new term for getting body slammed in a soccer game is now "getting BowWowSkiWatinDaddled." It was still a great game though and there were a bunch of Lanx's friends and supporters there. Grandma Shaw came all the way up from St. George just to watch the game! Seth was sporting his St. Patrick's day suit for the special occasion as well.

Soccer Lanx

Conference weekend we went down to St. George and Las Vegas to support Lanx as her UVU team played Dixie State and UNLV. Unfortunately they lost both games. :( It was still fun to see her play though. I love when she gets pushy and aggressive because anyone who knows Lanx knows that's not like her. She's a really great player and I'm excited to be able to continue watching her throughout her college career. Here's what the Salt Lake Tribune had to say about her too:

UVSC soccer
Bluth finds her place on the fieldFormer Hillcrest standout is contributing as a freshman but is expected to gain even more playing time soon
By Ben Webster
Special to The Tribune
Article Last Updated: 10/04/2007 03:22:04 PM MDT


With a packed roster of freshmen on the UVSC women's soccer team, there are good things and a few bad things about being a first-year player.
Not only do the 12 freshmen get to go through the growing pains together, they also get a lot of playing time, though the minutes may come in losses.
The team is winless through four games.
But while some freshmen struggle to get on the field during their first year at college, former Hillcrest High soccer player Lauren Bluth is seeing more and more playing time as the season goes on.
"She's one of our best 13, 14 players," UVSC coach Brent Anderson said. "We expect her to be competing for a starting position."
Anderson also expects Bluth to contribute more than just minutes to his team.
He knows she can be a scoring leader, if not this year, soon.
"We expect her to be challenging scoring records and assist records. She's that talented and if she works hard at it she'll be scoring for us," Anderson said.
Playing midfield, she's already the first player off the bench most games, if she doesn't start the game.
And although she is getting the minutes she is still making the adjustment to playing in college.
One of the adjustments for Bluth, who earned first-team, all-region honors in her senior year by scoring 10 goals and dishing out nine assists, is not being a scoring threat yet.




"Part of the reason I'm not a scorer or shooting the ball more is because I feel like I need to be 100 percent a team player," Bluth said. "I'm starting to gain more confidence in taking people on and that will come with experience."
Anderson saw what he wanted for his team when he watched Bluth play in high school and for her club team.
"I watched her play in high school and with her club and the thing I liked is her attacking mentality. She would play defense and fly up and be a part of a goal," Anderson said.
Of course Anderson wants to see the kind of scoring production she had her senior year as soon as possible.
The veterans are getting used to playing with the younger players as well and UVSC forwards are recognizing the benefits of Bluth's efforts.
"She's good on the outside," said Jenni Clough, a junior who currently is tied for the school record in goals scored with 13. "We didn't have many outside players, I think we had two that played with us last year so it's nice to be able to mix it up."
Anderson has seen the growing pains from playing several freshmen but he is also excited about the possibilities Bluth and her young teammates will bring to the program. He said he doesn't want UVSC to be rebuilding every year like it has been doing for a number of years.
Bluth decided to go to UVSC but she wasn't sure how long she plannedto stay. After a couple of weeks she may still leave but she would like to stay all four years.
"I'm going to keep going. I still don't know what I want to do but the way it's going I don't want to change things," Bluth said.
Anderson wants the same for Bluth and the rest of his freshmen.

Impact player
* Lauren Bluth is a freshman midfielder at Utah Valley State College.
* Bluth scored 10 goals and had nine assists in her senior year at Hillcrest High School.
* Bluth has started a few games for UVSC and when she doesn't start she is usually the first player off the bench.

Saturday Adventure

Saturday Seth and I went up to the Uintah mountains to maybe go on a hike (except hiking through snow is not my fave) but we basically just walked around. We went up to Mirror, Lily, and Teapot lakes. It was gorgeous up there! Kamas was also a little charming town we drove through. Oh! and the air is so much cleaner! Seriously, Salt Lake's air quality is so gross. As we were leaving the valley on Saturday there was so much smog in the air. Sickening! We had fun though and it was great to be able to spend some time together. After the mountains we came home, I made a scrumptious Thai dinner, and we watched about six episodes of The Office. We were pooped.

Working Woman

This past week we had our Placement Interviews at work. When we were all hired (we meaning my training group) we were hired as caseworkers, but none of us knew where we would finally end up, like in which office. There are about 5 offices in the SL Valley. There aren't always vacancies when Placement Interviews come around. For instance, this time there were only three openings and there are seven people in our training group. Well, Thursday we all interviewed and I was offered one of the open positions. For the people who weren't offered positions will continue doing secondary work, which basically means they just won't be in charge of any of their own cases until another position opens up. They still get paid and everything. I was kind of hoping for the secondary work because then it'd be like extra training! Sometimes I can't believe these people are trusting ME to do this job! Anyway, I got to pick out my office and everything on Thursday. I have my own office with a door and everything! I will also be doing Permanency work. Permanency workers work with the families after the allegations of abuse or neglect have already been finished, or if a child's been removed. I work with the families and offer them any services they might need like drug treatment, or parenting classes, foster care, etc. I go to a lot of court hearings. I'm really excited to be working here! We still have five weeks left of training but it's been so fun! Oh, and this was my first day of work outfit. :)

Attn: Rachel Paulich

My cousin Rachel just started a new blog and I'm so excited! I love new bloggers. But Rach...you don't have it set up so people can leave comments! I wanted to comment on how cute Gertie is! First of all, I LOVE her name, it's the best name for a rolie polie dog like that! Check out Rachel's cute dog at rachelandbrady.blogspot.com

Stupid Checker

I know there's such thing as a spell check, but I need a stupid check. Sometimes I go back and read my posts, and I realized that I make SO many typing mistakes! It's annoying because when I read magazine or newspaper articles and they have things wrong it totally bugs and then I can't even write a paragraph without some big blunder. Sorry if you're like me and find misspellings and grammatical errors way annoying. Live with it. Love ya!

Who knew Seth was a comedian?

Today Seth and I had to speak in sacrament meeting, since we moved into a new ward and all. To say I was nervous, is a major understatement. I felt like I was going to throw up all morning! Luckily, I got through it and felt like I did ok. Seth on the other hand had people laughing so hard they were practically rolling in the isles. Ok, maybe not that hard, but serious, joke after joke, people ate it up! Seth's talk was actually very good and I was way impressed, not surprised one bit, but definitely impressed. He's funny and he's a smarty!

GO INDIANS!

Who knew I was a baseball fan?! Well I didn't until last weekend when the Indians were playing the Yankees and I got way into it! Seth's Dad's cousin (or something like that) is Casey Blake and he plays for the Indians. Last Friday they played a way awesome game against the Yankees and totally dominated. Seth was jumping up and and down laughing so hard, like a little kid, when the Indians won. Seth likes the Indians but also HATES the Yankees so he was excited about a lot. But surprisingly, I was really excited too. Last night the Indians beat the Red Sox 13-7, we're excited to keep watching... Go Casey!

Tagged

This is kinda fun if you're bored....

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? The Heidi that lived with her grandpa in the mountains. Never read the book.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I think like two weeks ago and only for a few seconds. I haven’t really cried much in the past yeat now that I think about it. Well, if you don’t count movies and touching commercials.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I guess
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey usually, but lately I’ve been into PB and J.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? This weekend I had three kids, but tomorrow I will be motherless (and I can’t say I’m not excited)
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Hell yeah!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yep.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yeppers.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I’ve already been, duh!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I’m like Lara, I don’t love breakfast either, but I do like Cascadian Farms Hearty Morning. It’s has tons of fiber though if you know what I mean.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? The only shoes I own don’t tie except for my running shoes.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? NOT AT ALL. But I have been lifting and I’m starting to see what I think could be a muscle.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Mango sorbet, oh my gosh it’s good.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I could like and say I notice people’s inner beauty, but I don’t, I notice shoes and clothes.
15. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? That I have expensive taste. It’s a curse, it really is.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Elder Pete
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I think like two people are going to read this, so sure.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? My fave jeans and a tan hooded zip up jacket. So comfy. It’s Sunday afternoon and you have to be comfy.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Pizza. It’s helping my muscles.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? 4 hyperactive ten year olds talk about the movie Twitches.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Seth’s cologne and Spring.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jenny Mackenzie, the woman who’s kids I’m babysitting.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Eh. Jk, yes, Lara’s the B-E-S-T best.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Baseball on TV and in person, soccer in person, and tennis on tv.
27. HAIR COLOR? Brown
28. EYE COLOR? Brownish greenish
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Thai and salads, oh and good soups and bread, and of course all kinds of treats.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I can’t watch scary movies at all anymore. I’m way too wimpy.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Blades of Glory. Don’t ask.
33. WHAT COLOR undies ARE YOU WEARING? The really sexy white kind that go down to your knees.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? I like each for about a month and then I’m ready for a change.
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Anything that involves chocolate and berries, or angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries.
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Glass Castle
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? A map
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT? Nothing
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Ufa, Russia
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? No and I hate it.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? SLC
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Dunno

The Best Life Diet

Right now I'm reading Bob Greene's (Oprah's trainer) book, The Best Life Diet. It's a super great book whether you're looking to lose weight or just start eating and living healthier. I've been doing his program for about 2 weeks and I'm feeling really good, not tired and deprived like some diets. Check it out www.thebestlife.com

I never thought the day would come...

Yes, this past Thursday was the season premier of Grey's Anatomy. I was able to get my self caught up with last season via dvd in time for Thursday's premier. By the way, the last few episodes of last season made me bawl! I also watched it the same day I watched Oprah when she had the children of 9-11 victims so I was already super emotional. Anyway, the premier was great, but I already don't like Meredith's step sister too much, she might have to grow on me. I'm also sad that Burke and Addison are gone. Yes, I know it's just a tv show, but I LOVE IT!

I'm also addicted to America's Next Top Model. It's great. Don't worry about me anymore thought because I start my new job tomorrow. No more Grey's or ANTM marathons for me. It's a good thing.

For Cute!

Now that I have a job secured I've been enjoying my time to myself. The other day I checked out a couple of stores I've driven by a bunch, but this time I stopped in and I'm so glad I did. For you fellow Salt Lakers, Abode is a way rad vintage consigment store. I think it's on 9th east and like 17th south ( I think) but you can also check their website www.abodepfm.com. The other place is called Hip & Humble on 9th South and like 10th East. Hip and Humble just has way cute gifts, decor, clothes, etc.

D is for Division of Child and Family Services

I GOT A JOB! I was offered a job Tuesday with the State's Divison of Child and Family Services. I am way excited about it. I know it's gonna be a tough job, but a really great learning experience. Also, I found out it pays more than I originally thought which is also a plus! I start Oct. 1st so I am going to enjoy my last week and a half of freedom!

Bellagio, Pisa, and Cinque Terre

Here are a few pics from our third and final installment of our honeymoon. Seth and I were able to spend a week in Italy. I absolutley loved the view from our balcony in Bellagio, but I also loved the teeny tiny towns of Cinque Terre. We had a great time while we were there but didn't have the most perfect weather, but everything was perfect because we ate gelato every day!

Some Oregon Pics

I still need to post a bunch of pics from our summer. Here's just a couple from the trip. Look how pretty it was!

Cool!

One of the things I loved in Europe was all the way good bread! I thought this thing was kinda cool, a bread vending machine! I've actually missed having good, fresh bread, but I've been able to find a couple of places to get great bread here.

War Sites

One of the days Seth and I were in Belgium, we went around to different WWI sites for a day. It was very moving to see so many headstones at a couple of different cemeteries. About a month before we left on our trip I read a book about the war in Iraq, The Long Road Home. It really made this war and war in general more personal to me. Until now I wasn't affected much by the war, I think mainly because I don't personally know anyone who is serving in the war. Reading The Long Road Home made me realize that there are real live people, who have actual lives at home, with husbands, wives, children, siblings, and parents worrying about them, serving in Iraq.

One thing that struck me hard while reading the names on the headstones at these cemeteries, were how young most soldiers were. They had barely started living their lives! A few months back, I was serving a table of about six young guys at work one day. It turns out five of them were going to Iraq in a week. I was amazed at how young they seemed.

I so admire these young men and women who voluntarily join the military. I hate this stupid war, but I totally look up to every person who is serving there and all the others who are here, but are more than willing to go to Iraq.

This kinda sounds like a bummer post, but it's not supposed to. Props to the troops!

I HEART GREY'S ANATOMY

I didn't see any of the last season of Grey's because I was usually working, but I found out today that season 3 comes out of DVD on Sept. 11th! It's like Christmas! I am so so so EXCITED! I need a more grown-up show to be hooked on because lately I've been watching The Hills on MTV. I can't believe I just admitted that on my blog. Don't judge me, I'm unemployed!

Back to Real Life

Seth and I are back from Europe and are getting adjusted to real life again. Seth started school a couple of weeks ago and has already had a test. He felt like he did well, which he most likely did. This weekend was the equivalent of Christmas for Seth. BYU football had it's first game. A few days before the game I heard Seth talking to his brother Dan saying, "If you think about it, it's like today is December 21st because in four days is the game which feels like Christmas!" Seth came home from the game happy, BYU won.

I've been a tad bored since we've been home. I have stayed somewhat busy getting our condo put together a little bit more. My cousin Amy was in Utah for a week and she painted our kitchen and our bathroom for us. She's really great. Our condo is starting to feel like home now that we're making it ours. However, I haven't really been including Seth on any of the major home decorating decisions. The day before Amy was coming to paint I told Seth that she was coming. Seth: "Amy's coming to paint tomorrow?" Me: "Yep." Seth: "What colors is she painting?" Me: "Oh, yeah, I totally forgot to ask you if you liked the colors!" Good thing Seth really has no opinion about paint colors and I would probably end up talking him into the colors I liked anyway. :) I feel like there's still a lot to do in our place, but it's starting to feel more like home every day.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I realize I'm a day early on wishing my dad a happy birthday, but we will be traveling on his actual birthday. I wish I had a picture of my dad to post too, but that will have to come later.

I seriously have THE BEST DAD in the world,I know that everyone says that about their own dad, but seriously, mine's the best. Other people, non-family members, even tell me how lucky I am to have such a great dad. I am so grateful to have been raised in a home where I knew my dad loved me, my siblings, and my mom, unconditionally. I always knew I could talk to my dad about anything and that he would always, listen, be patient, be empathetic,and understanding.

Growing up in a house with my dad was a lot of fun. I remember Sai-Soo (however you would spell that), Doggie-Doggie Find That Bone, The Tiger on the Stairs,"Help,Friends,Cousins,come quickwee!", Bow-Wow-Ski-Whatindoddle, and Knee Football. My dad had nicknames and still keeps coming up with nicknames for everyone.
His nicknames never really make any sense but I think everyone gets excited when they get one. :)He's very creative and I've always loved hearing stories,songs he's changed the words to, new nicknames, slogans he's come up with, jingles he's made up, and the different voices he uses. I think he's pretty funny too.

Through my dad's example, I've learned that it's important to always listen to both sides of the story and to not be quick to judge. While my dad was bishop of our ward I would notice him at youth activities always talking to the kids who didn't have many friends in the ward. He's a friend to everyone. It seems like everyone is instantly attracted to my dad and likes him right off the bat.

When I was in high school, I got grounded, A LOT! It was my own dumb fault of course, but at the time I thought it was totally and completely unfair. I remember I would cry and feel way sorry for myself, and my dad would be in the same room as me and I could tell he was trying not to laugh. I hated it at the time, but he would make me laugh too because I would realize how ridiculous I sounded. Now, I really like that quality about my dad though, he never makes things more dramatic than they need to be, and doesn't take life too seriously. He doesn't sweat the small stuff.

My dad is super generous with his time,services,and money. He's mentioned to our family before how he wishes he could give us more. I always feel bad when he says that, because he has no idea how much he has truly given us.

My dad set a great example of how a husband and father should treat their family. In dating I always looked for someone with qualities like my dad.(Good news, I found a winner.)

This tribute doesn't even come close to describing how much my dad means to me. Dad, I think you're the best, funniest, nicest, most generous, loving, creative, patient, understanding, BESTEST man. Happy Birthday! I love you!

Paris

Anita's birthday present to Seth was an all expense paid trip to Paris! We had such a great time. We started off seeing Notre Dame, then headed over to the Eiffel Tower. Of course, we got panda picture there. After the Eiffel Tower we saw a place that was renting bicycles for only 2 euros an hour! We all got bikes and rode up Champsd' Elysees, past the Arc de Triumphe (the roundabout was pretty scary), and up to Montmarte. We saw all the artists, got a crepe (yum!), saw the Sacre-Coeur,and then headed back to return our bikes. After all of that we still had 2 hours to spend it the Louvre. It was such a great day! Thanks so much for taking us Anita!

WICKED!

Seth, Nicole, and I spend the last two days in London. We saw all the major things like, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament,and the London Bridge. The biggest high point of all was seeing Wicked! I loved it so much I almost cried and Nicole loved it so much she did cry! It was a surprise from Seth, I knew we were going to London but I didn't know we were seeing a play. He told me the week before we came out to Europe. I was so excited!

We saw Stonehenge and that was pretty awesome too. We went mainly for, you guessed it, a panda picture. I'm way glad we went though, it was cool.

Greece Photos

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