Peas in a Pod

Rest friend... find peace

2011-12-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

I lost a good friend on Friday...
She was more than a good friend. She was like a 2nd mother to me.
Rest in peace Glenna. You will be missed, but I know Bob was waiting for you, and oh, what a sweet reunion it must've been.
I wanted you to meet B. He's such a sweet boy. He's starting to crawl and babble. I kept meaning to stop by your office and see you. But I didn't. And for that I am truly sorry. I didn't follow that prompting, even though it came to be several times.
I wanted you to see what I've become and I wanted a chance to pay credit where it was due. You had a large part in making me who I am. I looked for a man to marry that I would love the same way you loved your Bob. And I found him. I try my hardest to weather trials and hard time with a smile, the way you did.
I'm gonna miss you. You will always be special to me. You will always hold a place in my heart.
Someone once said, at the funeral of a good friend, that no death is untimely. Merely people are here on this earth to have bodies and return to their Father in Heaven when they are needed on that side. We all have work to do here and there. I believe it. And while I feel you had so much more life to live here, you were needed there more. And we will miss you. You made an impact on so many people. But I am happy knowing I will see you again some day. And I will be so happy to see you again. Because I believe in a life after this one.
Goodbye Friend. Until we meet again.

In light of recent events I came to realize a few things. And maybe most are too personal to share, but of one I have to share. This last year has been a trying one for my mom. On several occasions, if it had been His will, I could have lost my mom. This weekend I lost a good friend, and it made me realize that I still have my mom. And she is a wonderful mother. We have a tiffs from time to time. We joke about how much alike we are and at the same time, oh, so different. Growing up she was at every concert I ever sang in. She helped me through college. She encouraged me through dating (oh the drama). She taught me about the gospel and she raised me to know the good from the bad.
I love you, mom. You are the best a daughter could ever ask for. Thank you for being my mom, and my friend.

We all stand in a very fragile balance of losing someone. At any time. I'm being reminded that life is too short... Life is too short to hold grudges, too short to stay upset at someone you love (or even someone you don't love) and too short to spend your days worrying about things you can't change.
I'm gonna live life... even if I stumble and need to be reminded of it's fragile nature, I'm going to at least try.

A Bennett update

2011-10-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

I really lucked out. I have a really cute clone of the man I love, and he's a good baby to boot.
We have a lot of fun together. We spend a lot of time with Noah and Quinn (just 2 months younger) and are learning about each other together. This mom gig is so much more than I thought it'd be and I'm happy.

Just woke up from a nap... He's a lot like his daddy - a little dazed and confused after waking up

People say they look alike... We're working on the smiling deal. Most the time you just get the shocked face.

Puppies are for riding. B didn't know what was going on.. and neither did Rho for that matter.

This was when he discovered that his belly was more fun... but for the longest time he couldn't get back to him back. Now, he's a rolling machine

Lovin' him some carrots. After we're done I usually give him the spoon to play with and he can usually get it in his mouth. Maybe we'll try food on it sometime :)

After a nice morning run. He was all snuggled and happy on that chilly morning. It even started raining and he just burrowed in and kept sleeping.

An awesome hat someone made me... if only I'd pulled it out sooner. When she gave it to me, B was still itty bitty and so I figured it'd be a while before it fit him... oops

I just can't get enough of this face. No matter how hard I try, I always end up getting food up his nose. Poor kid. And to think he chose me as his mother. :)

We've been doing this a while... Feeding his random things (supervised of course) Despite the face, he really did like it.

That's all I have for now (my computer takes forever to upload pics. I'm surprised I had this much patience.
He'll be 7 months next week. I really can't believe how the time flies.

House Update: All over the place

2011-10-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

We have a shopping problem!
Phew! Now that I got that off my chest... You'd think we don't have a child the way I never talk about him... or post... about anything. But we do. I'll update this and then if he is still asleep (fingers crossed) I'll update on him... promises promises... Let's just go with it suffices to say I am in love with that kid. so cute.

About the shopping thing. We're working on it... But when I get a danged idea in my head, I cannot stop thinking until I get it out.. which leads to shopping and that always gets us in trouble.
In this post I'm proud to announce that one project is all Zac (so it his shopping prob not mine), and the other two I already had the stuff... as in I shopped for it a while ago :) that counts, right? (hey I know my grammar sucks. leave me alone)
Numero uno on my random list: Zac's surprise!
I went to Texas. It was a blast. Zac missed me. I missed Zac. It was two very long weeks, where in I had a ton of fun, but was SO excited to go home and see my husband. Then I got home and found he had done This.

He called me one day right before I came home and we did some face time on our pods and I saw our bedroom in the background. For some reason it made me really home sick, so I asked to see our room. He showed me around and I secretly thought to myself "Dang, I was really hoping he'd redo the bedroom while I was gone. Ohwell." I hadn't told him that, I just pulled a woman move and sent him mind messages.
Apparently he started like that night or something crazy. Worked 'round the clock for essentially two days and finished it literally minutes before he came and got me from the airport. It was the best surprise. And I love it. We designed it together, but he still took some leads to get it finished without having to ask me.

This was my original inspiration. I bought it on etsy probably 2 or 3 years ago.

I still want to do a couple things to spice up the room, but so far so good and I love the chair in the corner

The other two things don't have stories.

The kitchen curtains (don't mind the mess) were something I had on the ol' ToDo list forever.. I wanted to pull it into this.

That IS another story... later

and then lastly (B just woke up) I bought this fabric a long time ago... like when I was still prego... barely prego... and tried to work on the project a little at a time... but there were a bajillion staples.
Seriously, whoever upholstered it last was a spazoid with the nail gun. Every time I'd ask Zac to help me, he'd grunt something about having something else better to do and move on :) For my birthday I pulled out a favor, and he pulled out his Hercules muscles and went to town on all the staples.

It took a couple trips to the store for the decorative nails, etc... but we finished it in just over a day and a half. I'm in love. it changes the whole look of the room.

The End

Texas

2011-09-19T09:00:00.001-07:00

The B and I went to Texas
I miss my sister... that's where she is, ergo that's where I go

... well that and Zac was going to be gone for two weekends in a row camping with the scouts... I hate being home alone.
I decided 13 days would do the trick... 13 days is a long time... but we had fun
I can't decide if I should just post pictures, or blog about everything.
Highlights of the trip

Getting stuck in the elevator (been in TX less than an hour)
The Alamo (where's the basement?)
The San Antonio Riverwalk (super hot = super fun)
Mission Tours (gotta love old buildings)
Jaxon's First birthday (and Amy's awesome cake)
swimming .... where Kaylee swam and the B slept

and then of course there's just the fact that I was in TX... with my sister... and Jefferson and Kaylee and Jaxon. And moments like when we gave B a good ol TX 'stache

Ole`!!

Lazy mornings.

2011-09-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Like Father like son..
and no. I didn't pose these and Zac was really sleeping.

Cute boys

BZT 4 months and getting big! (to me)

2011-08-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

I only have a few minutes. I feel as though I have to feverishly type because at any second The B could realize that the awesomely cozy Sherpa blanket is not me, and wake! I know, I know what you're all thinking "the kid has to learn to go down somehow..." but I have nothing to say, but I may stick my tongue out at you (kidding... or maybe not)
Anyhoo... Yesterday was his four month check up and he's doing great!
I won't lie, I was half expecting to have them tell me he isn't growing enough and blah blah blah, put him on formula, but I was pleased when she had nothing but praise. The highlights on her comments:

He's strong.
Good head control... still a little wobbly
Good leg strength (the kid tries to push off anything that come in touch with his feet and loves to stand... and I asked... no he will not have bowed legs if he stands too early)
He's growing well, working his way up the percentiles (10th percentile at 2mo, between 25th and 50th now - woot!)
and Oh SO CUTE! (I'm not kidding... she thinks it so cool how he looks so much like us.... but really she means Zac :))

So here are the stats:
But for comparison, here is this day 4 months ago
April 2, 2011
5lbs 7oz
16.9in

August 2, 2011
14lbs (even)
24.5in

I really love him!

and because I can't remember to write these things down anywhere else... a list of things he's doing

loves to stand, or stretch out his legs... anytime there in something in contact with his feet ( grr like when we're nursing)
loves techno-gadgets... no surprise (I have proof) stares at Zac's Ipod and Blackberry
Smiles... even if I can't get it on camera
will laugh, but it's sort of a silent laugh.
babbles. this kid is SO related to us... a Truscott/Christensen through and through
kicks his legs. He can get his bouncer going like crazy!
sleeps (on average) 8-9 hrs a night (knock on wood)
has just a little hair and we're wondering if it'll stay ginger like his party mullet in the back
He also knows his mom and dad and tracks us as we move around the room
His favorite toy is his bouncer and he has regular conversations with the plastic lion

The Coop

2011-07-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

When all my family was in town we went to Thanksgiving Point's Baby Animal birthday thing-a-ma-jig... while there Zac and my nephew were looking at the baby chicks for sale and had this conversation.
Hayden: Zac you should buy some chickens.
Zac: Yes! Yes I should

Then he and I had this conversation.
Zac: I think we should get chickens ... blah blah blah all the reasons why... and it'd be super cool.
Me: ??? what just happened.
Zac: me and Hayden were looking at the chickens..
Me: oh... um... ok...

The following weeks Zac designed, built and perfected (with help from our good friend, Seth) the Hilton of all chicken coops.

TA-DA!!!

House Update: Garden

2011-07-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our backyard sucks.

But I have big dreams. Beginning with a garden. More specifically box gardens.

Zac and I probably spend more time debating how to accomplish a task than actually completing it. In this case it was about even. We stood in the lumbar aisle at Home Depot for as long as we could before the B had had enough and wanted to go home and eat. Luckily we had the brilliant idea to just have our wood cut while we were there. Supposedly they started charging .50$ a cut, but the worker that did the cuts found a loophole and then when we took the slip to the cashier we think she rolled her eyes and didn't even put it in the total... haha.

Anyway I love them... I especially love my man for making them for me. We have voles in our neighborhood... if you don't know what they are, you'll have to google them. They are one of the main reasons we don't have a yard and it's perilous to your health to try to run (you will fall in a hole) in our yard. Anyway so we put this plastic netting stuff as well as some weed fabric stuff to the bottom of our boxes and hopefully it'll keep both out. Then we sifted out about a bajillion rocks out of some of our yard dirt (creating yet another hole) and combined it with some compost from the local dump and filled her up! We also had some help planting.

House Update: Craft Room

2011-07-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

I'm a little spoiled ... When we lived in our apt, and I wanted to sew, I would get out all my stuff and the living room/kitchen became some sort of war zone.... Result: when looking for a house, Zac looked for a craft room for me... I'm a lucky girl.
This house has one room in the basement (that's finished) it just so happens to be the 2nd largest room in the house... and I claimed it :)
It's been a long time in coming. For a while it smelled funny. Then I got pregnant and it REALLY smelled funny. Then we painted it and I was pregnant and I really couldn't stand the smell.. Then I had Bennett and I didn't have time to organize... FINALLY I just took everything out of that room (I mean EVERYTHING) sorted it in piles in my family room and took a whole week putting it back together one piece at a time... Here's the order of events

The Starting Block: everything just got shoved in here... and every once in a while I would dig through it to find what I needed for a certain project (annoying)

The empty closet. I never got a picture of everything that was shoved in there... it was amazing the clutter..

Painting the room... I borrowed the idea from THIS Site. And we got the cabinets FREE off KSL and hung them in the corner... sometimes I don't know if I love them or not

The disaster zone. I still can't believe Zac let me leave it like this for as long as I did... He's a good man. I would sit and go through stuff and watch Bones - I devoured ALL six seasons in just about six weeks - eek

The finished product and my new Sanctuary! Smell gone. Lighting fixed (love Ikea). Painted. Organized and Zoned... Everything has a place and is, wait for it, LABELED!

MS150 - GO ZAC - Go Team Ultradent

2011-06-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm working backward... this is our most recent event.

Zac loves his new job. At Ultradent in South Jordan... He's a "real engineer" now... you'll have to ask him what that means (and give yourself plenty of time... lol ... kidding, Zac)
He started biking sort of ... I don't know, a couple years ago? As in he borrowed his dad's 1970's road bike and we would go out once every blue moon or so.. He on that bike and me trying oh so fruitlessly to keep up on my mountain bike... (ah, the memories)
Anyway, his company does the MS150 bike ride in Logan every year, and this year he was stoked to join up! He did the necessary training, raised the necessary funds (min $250) and got the cool jersey and padded shorts... (and the bike we bought with our tax refund... :)) He's been biking to work so I figured this was good! And of course I was right! It's these new mom super powers - that I'm always right... lol
We drove up to Logan Fri (6/24) night and stayed with our good friends, the Nani's.
Besides a few set backs (nothing huge... just me barfing all night.... haha and a cranky baby) I got Zac to the starting line just in time for team photos, and to line up.. It was a good thing they sent the bikers off in waves because it gave me time to bounce around annd be that annoying wife with the camera out and snapping (another mom thing/trick, I'm thinking) I scored these gems in the beginning.

Believe it! He totally rode 100 MILES. He took some pics along the way

and then I caught his triumphant finish!!

I'm super proud ... did I mention that!

The Lobby

2011-05-09T22:11:00.001-07:00

This is the place...
but it's not a park in Utah...
rather it's the approximate birthplace of Baby B

Gotta love the drama right? Now I've burned an image into your mind forever!

How to be in complete denial (A very LONG story)

2011-04-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

Well Hello all my blogging friends... the 18 of you who patiently follow my blog because that-a-way you get notification of when I blog rather than making the painful trip to this url only to see the same exact post that's been atop my blog since January.
Funny how, usually, pregnancy brings about more blogging, a cute little countdown on the side bar and monthly belly pic updates... Alas, my version of a semi announcement was a silent plug by way of a prego Christmas pic at the end of the aforementioned post.
To all my faithful followers (and my mother and mother in law) I apologize.
If you are on Facebook or were lucky enough to receive a text (if you didn't, PLEASE don't take it as an offense... I wasn't really in the right frame of mind...) You probably know that I now longer look like this...

But I'm supposed to.... I'm actually supposed to be much larger, nesting, putting together my nursery and finally painting over the random paint swatches on my walls. I was supposed to have a Cinco de Mayo party and a baby. I WAS due May 5th. Rather I decided to give birth... in the lobby at the University of Utah Hospital. The L&D Unit was way to posh for me. This baby apparently needed to make an entrance!
How? you may ask? Well, it's called denial. I can show you... and you too can master this technique for use later in life... you never know when it might come in handy... like when you go into labor at 35 weeks (although I don't recommend it in this circumstance... do as I say, not as I ... did)
This is how to be in complete denial - just keep telling yourself what is supposed to be happening and try not to believe anything else...
At least that's what I did.
April Fool's day... I was at work. One of my coworkers actually asked me why I hadn't sent her an email saying I'd had my baby, and I remember looking at her, then down at my most pregnant belly and then back at her... I had NO idea what the crap she was talking about... it was a good thing that she went on to explain; the day was April Fools day and apparently the ultimate best I could do was email everyone (including my husband) and tell them I was in labor!... ... ... I've never been much of an April Fooler. You have to remember the day to play tricks.... I don't remember anything.
But having it fresh on my mind (the fact that I was obviously still very pregnant) did make it easy to overlook the 3+ times I got really "uncomfortable" while helping a fellow coworker hang some frames in her bosses office. So "uncomfortable" that I had to sit and breathe...
STEP ONE on How To Be In Complete Denial: Blame everything on the current situation... In this case, all that lifting my hands over my head was apparently exhausting work. Heaven Forbid I lift my hands over my head!
On the way home I was passing the car wash and remembered how much Zac kept mentioning wanting to get the car cleaned before the baby came... They had Free vacuums... of COURSE I had to use them, they were FREE! So I did. I vacuumed out the entire car. I later learned that this was probably me "nesting". In hindsight I do remember having a certain determination about getting EVERY nook and cranny..
Once home, I was tired... again... It probably wasn't the best idea to do all that bending... it made my already tired back, more tired. The solution? Dinner and movie! And Zac, so happy about the newly cleaned car, was happy to oblige. DATE NIGHT!
We went to Joe's Crab Shack... mmm I love Joe's...
STEP TWO on the denial course: Act as if this is normal!
I DISTINCTLY remember telling Zac (while I had my feet up and was breathing through a "little side pain") "I think I've reached the point in my pregnancy where I'm always uncomfortable" He agreed. He gave me the standard "I'm sorry" face and we continued on eating our crab... I breathed through a couple more "little side pains"... probably Braxton-Hicks. ha ha
STEP THREE: If all else fails, call it false labor... there's NO WAY you're in labor.. you're 35weeks.
We caught the 9o'clock show of Source Code. A decent movie. Enough to distract me. I had to breathe through a couple more pains and I kept squirming in my seat... I decided to "time" a couple.
Jana: "Zac, my contractions are coming about every 3 minutes"
Zac: "Oh yeah? Is it Braxton-Hicks?"
Jana: "Probably"

~an hour-ish later I grab Zac's hand.... I just needed a little extra support through the latest Braxton-Hicks (lol) and he asks me (slightly more concerned) if I wanted to go home.
OF COURSE NOT! Hello, I wanted to see how the movie ended.

The movie ended. It took us a good ten minutes to get to the car. (I had to stop every so often to breathe some more... silly Braxton-Hicks)

STEP FOUR: Blame it on exhaustion and the day

I told Zac I was sure I was just super tired. It'd been a somewhat long day at work, and I cleaned out the car... I just needed to get home and lay down. I had just overdone it that day. I JUST needed to lay down.

We got home and went straight to bed... it was about 11:30pm. Zac was out before his head hit the pillow...

I slept for about 5 minutes at a time... But remember, these weren't really contractions... I was only 35 weeks.

12:30pm: I wake up Zac. He suggests I call my midwife, but I didn't want to bother her. I didn't want to be the crazy lady who cried wolf for a couple of Braxton-Hicks (ok, a few more than a couple) This was False Labor! I could prove it. So I made him get down all my prego books... and they read "call your provider if A, B, C happen... DON'T be stoic"... or something like that... but I didn't want to be the girl that cried wolf... so we text her :)

and she text back "Get in the tub..." So I did...

We continued to text her, never giving all the details that we probably should have. She was at another birth, so she continued to reassure us, never really knowing the extent of the situation... because remember? I wasn't in labor.... so I didn't really give her all the details... because they weren't really happening.

At some point Zac downloaded an app on his Ipod to time contractions... gotta love my husband. He kept me fed, watered and cheered me on... I still didn't believe I was in true labor. I talked to my belly. I told the baby he was NOT WELCOME. I couldn't have a baby now... and I wasn't going to! These contractions were going to stop, and we would go on with our lives. I was prepped to go overdue. I was going to let him come on his own, no inducing if at all possible, but he was not allowed to come now... I told Zac to talk to his son... tell him he couldn't come...

Zac wasn't very convincing... I needed him to use more authority in his voice.

between "contractions" I floated happily in my tub and tried to relax, keep eating and stay hydrated...

As each "contraction" hit I was on my hands and knees groaning, moaning, singing, crying through the intensity... I just kept telling myself "it will stop... it will stop... it will go away..." I got out of the tub a couple times to use the bathroom, but my time out of the tub was for more intense than in the water, so back in I would go.

I was in the tub until about 4am, when suddenly I needed a plan B... what if theses weren't stopping... they weren't stopping... and not only were they not stopping they were coming about.. hmmm.. every minute... So Zac text my midwife

"what if they don't stop"...

And she was on the phone. She asked to speak with me. I cried and told her about my contractions... they were coming right after the other at this point. I told her I couldn't have a baby at 35 weeks. She told me later that she could hear in my voice that this was advanced labor... She told us to pack a bag and go to the hospital... Somewhere in that conversation I "heard" her tell me that they would stop my labor... just for the record... no one said that... I was still in denial. :)

I barked at Zac from the tub. "don't forget this.. ahhhhhhh... and don't forget that.. ahhhhhhhhhhh... Put on your DUDLA shirt!!" (I apparently needed to see the shirt)

Zac got me dressed and just as we were about to leave I needed to pee... umm.. excuse me.. I needed to use the restroom... I sat down JUST as a contraction hit and it was too much to be sitting, so I dropped to my knees and told Zac I was just going to pee on the carpet... but I didn't pee on the carpet.... instead my water broke. We got in the car. I was in the back seat on all fours. Zac had the sense to throw the dog in the backyard with some food and we were on our way.... we were going to the U because that was our backup hospital... and that's where I work (ie that's where my insurance covers %100 inpt stay...)

As we were pulling out Zac asked the ultimate question of the day... "Jana, how many miles to the U?" 27miles... only to be outdone by part B of the question "Can we make it there on E??"
Yes, E... as in Empty... we had NO gas (seriously, I'm not making this up) we were going to have to make it.... there was no way we were stopping for gas!

I won't tell you how fast we drove... but we got to the hospital in about 20 minutes... time was relevant at this point. Some time around I215 and state street I declared to Zac that I felt the urge to push... "No no no, no pushing Jana!!"... I believe that was his response... but that didn't stop me...

When we got to the hospital, we pulled up the front entrance and Zac came around to get me out of the car... as he did I reached down (as in down).... I could feel the baby's head... he was crowning as I was walking in the front doors...

The security guys at the front looked like they were dreaming of doughnuts and coffee when we walked in.. Zac decided to inform them "Just havin' a baby!". They offered a wheelchair and I think I yelled something to the effect of " NO I DON'T WANT A WHEELCHAIR! I CAN'T SIT! HE'S COMING NOW!"... I was super polite about it, too. Then I barked at Zac to move faster... we would walk a few steps and stop, push or breathe and walk a little further...

If you've been to the U recently, you know that they have newly lobby remodeled that is big even if you aren't in labor. To get the Labor&Delivery Unit we had to get to the elevators. And the get to the elevators you had to pass information, admissions, the gift shop, pharmacy and a Starbucks. I made it to just about Starbucks... somewhere around there... And suddenly like 7 people came out of nowhere. Apparently the fact that my pants had fallen off and I looked in a bit of distress gave them the clue that I must be the woman that security just called about. It's all a little blurry for me, but I think one of the nurses names was Nancy... scratch that, I have no idea who ANYONE'S names were...but they did tell me. I didn't really care who they were. I mean, if I'm not going to mind the location of my birth or the state of my lack of pants, I could care less who was in attendance.... wouldn't you? maybe that's just me... I have been told that I AM a little wierd. But none the less. The group came armed with a couple kits. They pulled out towels, blackets, clamps, etc... as if one should have been named Mary Poppins and the kits were carpet bags with no bottoms and endless space. Zac was talking, I was.... talking... for lack of a better word... and someone told me to get on my back. Now, I'm not going into reasons why - this post is already the size of Texas (hi Amy) - but I didn't want to be on my back, and gratefully my Dudla knew that too. I think I told them no, but Zac made himself heard (I think they were all in a bit of shock and didn't think to listen to the woman with a watermelon between her legs. Zac told them I was going to squat and Nancy (as we'll call her) decided to announce it to everyone else... because you know I was a circus show anyway... and then Zac turned to me as I was blubbering something about not being able to do this, and he looked me in the eyes and told me "Jana, if you squat this baby will come out." I don't know if it's because I felt like practicing my plies or that I thought he was so handsome I couldn't say no, I just nodded my head and did what I was told..

There was some blinding pain, then a release and suddenly I looked down and Nancy was holding a greyish blue alien... and he coincidentally looked like Zac. There was a flurry of hands clamping the cord, someone handed Zac some scissors tp cut the cord then he looked at the alien and told him to cry... and suddenly it wasn't an alien... it was a sqauking pterodactyl and I cried (I was already crying) and blubbered (enough with the blubbering already) to Zac something to the effect of "His name is Bennett, okay?" ... he agreed... what was he going to do? Argue with me? and with that Nancy took off with my baby. He was too early and I guess the lobby wasn't the place to get to know my new kid.

{a fortune we got a month or so before Bennett was born... no joke lol}

Somewhere in the chaos, a bed appeared behind me and they loaded me up and took me upstairs...

{a couple hours after he was born when I finally held him for the first time... they were happy tears I swear}

The rest is all history really... Weighing in at a whopping 5lbs 7oz and 16.9in long Bennett Zachary Truscott proved to all around that he, indeed, was the one in charge of this party... and he was NOT going to have a fiesta themed party every year for the rest of his life.

Oh and the lucky news.... aside from being little, a little bilirubin and glucose adjusting, he's perfectly healthy... and super cute!

Congrats to you... this story probably took you as long to read it as it took me birth a kid! Props to you.

And the years keep ticking on

2011-01-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Zac!

I would like to list 26 reasons why I think you are a pretty rad guy...

1. Your name is Zac ... not Zach or Zack ... it just adds to the mystery factor (where's the last letter? NOWHERE!)

2. You like things that I'm not supposed to mention... like arranging awesome flower bouquets, and D&D.

3. You recently told me you were nesting - that's just awesome!

4. You love me (that's a pretty incredible feat ... of strength :))

5. You are a 'dude'la

6. In lieu of Karen Nani - "MAGIC! I NEED MAGIC!"

7. You like to shower every day (yay for non-stinky boys!)

8. You are a really hard worker that doesn't stop until the project is finished - I on the other hand am an expert at quitting :)

9. You do yoga on the Wii

10. You like to clean

11. Your latest created character is a Level I Human.

12. You keep track of everything in your Ipod - EVERYTHING!

13. You no longer require Valium when going to the dentist, although I will miss those funny conversations while you were there drugged.

14. You pretty much rocked the college years and now you're rocking life.

15. You bought me a house. (have I ever said Thank You?)

16. I can buy you funny things like a $1 can of mini Chips Ahoy and you are just as excited about that as you are the tools I bought for you.

17. You have an shirt of Invisibility... but only a select few know about it ... oops, until now.

18. You let me dress like a maniac and are willing to be seen with me in public.

19. If I ask you to sing a song you say "But I don't know a song that I would sound good
singing..." then when I ask again, you make up a song "lalala" :) haha

20. You love the baby in my belly.

21. You like to read like 5 different books AT THE SAME TIME.

22. You do the dishes.

23. You let me get a dog (and now you love her)

24. You would do anything if asked.

25. You have a testimony of the gospel and love and honor your Preisthood.

26. You are my husband, my partner in crime, my high five buddy,my decorating sidekick, my team mate, my best friend.

What more could I ask for.

Here's to another 26 years and more!

Flash Back Friday

2010-12-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

I love my sister!

Once upon a time we went on Cruise...
I was looking through the pictures and reminiscing
She's only a phone call away,
but I miss being around her
Love you Ames!

The dog child

2010-11-16T12:53:00.001-08:00

Her name is Rho ... pronounced row...

I'll accept Rosie, Roseph (like Sara called her) and Ro-baby... or you can just call her puppy like I do. However, much to my family's chagrin, I will not accept Row Row Row your Boat, followed closely by the song in around as many times as there are siblings.

I can't stop you if you sing it to yourself, like my Aunt Susan does, to help you remember her name :)

Be happy it's easy to say... My first dog's name was Laplace (pron: Luh-plahs`)

"Your FIRST dog?" you might ask?

Yes my first dog...

So when Zac and I first got married I told him I wanted a gigantic dog... He wanted a cat - figures. Over the years (all 4 of them) I've whittled him down and convinced him that he didn't want a cat and then continued in my quest to obtain a dog. We've lived in apartments most our married life, so I don't think he realized the extent of my brainwashing - he just auto-responded "we can't get a dog, Jana, we live in an apt". This didn't stop me from stomping my feet and flopping on the bed in dramatic mysery. I really wanted a dog. We had a fish - it died. I couldn't handle a repeat loss and asked for a dog... we could just hide it in our apt and no one would know... there was a couple in our court that did that... but we didn't ... so when we bought our house he no longer had an excuse AND I had him BELIEVING he might actually want a dog...

On a whim I bought a dog on the side of 90th. I begged Zac, and he seeing how happy it made me crumbled in any defense... Turns out Homeowners insurance can dictate the type of pets you have. FYI Bear River Mutual has a STRICT dog Policy - NO PITBULLS... Did I mention that Laplace was a pitbull? Sweet as can be, cutest face you've ever seen... we took her back after three days and I sobbed.

After that sad day, Zac made it his mission to find me a new dog (oh MAN I have him trained!... Zac not the dog) He kept asking me what dog I wanted... pretty much I just always described Laplace...

Then one day we were supposed to go with my family to the temple. They were all in town for our college graduation and Britta had never been to the Salt Lake Temple for a session. Zac bailed on me at the last minute on claims that Jefferson needed help with the kids.. but I was furious! Jefferson is Super Uncle! The man is LegendarY! I was selfish and wanted Zac with me... but I digress... of course YOU know where this is going... you're on the outside looking in.. it's obvious, right? Of course. We came home after a fun night (no temple afterall - just a bunch of girls being girly) and I walked into my mom's house to see this little ball of fur... ... I didn't know what to think of her... Zac was beside himself excited. He thinks he's so sneaky! and clever! (which, of course, he is!) Come to find out he really did leave the J-dawg to his own devices and drove 2hrs north to Cache Valley and bought her from a breeder on a farm. And then drove back only to sit still for like a half hour before I got back.

She was my graduation present!

She wasn't Laplace...

It took me a while, but I got over Laplace... and the possible lawsuits...

We pretty much latched on to Rho like she was our own flesh and blood. NEVER did I think I would be this attached to a dog... NEVER! But I am.

Isn't she cute? (you don't have to answer Abby)

You think I fell off the planet... you're almost correct

2010-11-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

I always told myself that I wouldn't apologize for not blogging... My reasoning being that nobody cared about the excuses, just the posts (and even then I'm not sure many really care about my random lies and silly stories)... but my mom asks me when I'm going to blog about every other time we talk, so here it is....

I'm sorry - Lately I seem to hate the computer.

You see I spend 8 hours a day at a computer... The last thing I want to do is come home and get back ON the computer... but that's where all my pictures are, and I've always felt that posts just aren't the same without pictures. BUT my inspiration for text comes between the hours of 8:30am and 5:00pm and then randomly in the hours that many people refer to as "the sleeping hours". I won't put numbers on this time frame - it'll just give you cause to make fun of me. lately I don't go to bed much after 8pm... I mean, I've always been a night owl (psych!)
Hopefully this doesn't get me fired. Yes, Tina, you are the best supervisor... yes I have blogged at work... and written personal emails and (gasp) changed my status on facebook. But can you wait until we celebrate Cinco de Mayo to fire me... that would be most convenient.

Speaking of Cinco de Mayo, anyone up for a party? I don't love parties (hosting them that is) but I'm feeling a party coming on.
If you are a facebooker I swear I'm not crying wolf, although I have failed to provide any proof. The one picture I have is on my phone and I have NO clue how to get it off... The parasite I just contracted isn't helping with the whole thought process either (that's supposed to be funny... please laugh - even if it's a complementry laugh)

The thing is if I were actually a good blogger I could name all the things I have yet to update with on my blog. But alas, all I have is this:
WE GOT A DOG!
I'll tell you all about her, maybe even with pictures. The rest of the posts will have to come as they have always come - at the random discretion of the author (which is me, since Zac really doesn't come around much :))

Flashback Friday (well for me anyway)

2010-08-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

I was going through my old blog posts...

I found this:

does it remind you of anyone?

Just a little?

I still think he's Incredible (haha)

A TWO Car Garage...

2010-07-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

HEY LOOK!

A TWO car garage with TWO cars in it!

Well isn't that Splendiferous!
and a clean-ish work station to boot!

Uh buh buh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2010-06-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

(come on guys... it's Gus Gus from Cinderella... tell me you KNEW that!)

I rarely (never) post things on or even remotely near the actual event... but these tidings (and pictures) are too good to pass up!

HAPPY 4th Anniversary to US!

{please note my broken glasses}

These are our "anniversary" presents (aka things we needed a good excuse to buy)

To Jana: A Vacuum
with love from Zac

{This is me straight out of bed... with bed head and all}

To Zac: a Tool Belt
with love from Jana

Aww isn't he handsome!

Congratulations to us... people still ask us how long we've been married, I think expecting us to tell them something silly - like 5 days. HAHA

I love him like the day I married him, and much much more!

Memorial Weekend Projects - Hallway

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

We have this crazy hallway. It's like something out of a Dr. Suess book where the ceiling is super tall (like 15 feet, hellooo) and not super wide which makes for a bit of a weird feeling... at least I think so. If you look closely at the right you can see it.

I had the BRIGHT idea (because Zac says I'm amazing like that) to get some chandeliers to "bring down the ceiling"... I was feeling all "HGTV script" as I typed that.
So anyway, I don't have a before picture. The above is a lame excuse for showing you my hallway - you can see the dome light... anyway, you really can't get a true feeling of this hallway unless you're in it anyway. Zac says I'm exaggerating, but it always felt like the walls were going eat me, and if I wasn't careful then they would scrape my shoulders.... both of them... at the exact same time.

Here's the master at work... if nothing else, I enjoy house work because Zac wears a sexy bandanna (see kitchen post). Bonus! I got to look up his nostrils.. they are so large I could see them from the ground.

Tai Pan Trading Co is pretty much a death trap for us... then you add in the Annual Sidewalk Sale factor, and you gotta know we'll be headed back to Shoppers' Anonymous without our heads held high. "Hi my name is Jana... and we haven't shopped in half a day..." (then everyone gasps and murmurs)

Anyway we got this sweet awesome mirror - love the color right?

Well check this out! (aren't you wondering how I took this picture? truth be told I went all invisa-girl to get this shot. I really am that amazing) It makes the hallway feel a little bigger - the wide way... remember my poor shoulders?

Then AFTER of course... the whole enchilada!

Could probably use some paint at some point... for now we're killin' it with white.

Memorial Weekend Projects - Kitchen

2010-06-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

Our house needed a little spice.
I found some inspiration in a magazine (ok, I pretty much copied it color for color) and convinced Zac that was exactly what he wanted to do. This is what our kitchen looked like when we moved in

{notice the banister on the far left of the screen}

So we took all the doors off the cabinets

Spread them out in our garage (isn't it so great! to have a GARAGE!?)

Primed EVERYTHING (I'm usually too impatient for this, but it was better than sanding)

Add a little bead-board (it's so "in" right now... lol)

and take the next TWO days painting, drying and regular sessions greeting the Lowe's/Home Depot staff.. This was our favorite part! Nothing quite like driving there, spending 36 hours figuring out exactly what you want only to pull in your driveway and realize what you'd forgotten.

{ooo-wee what a mess!}

Aaaaand VIOLA!

I think it still needs something. Maybe an odd accent color... I was thinking some splashes of orange (oh, don't get your panties in a twist.. I just said a splash!)

Graduation

2010-05-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

WE DID IT!!

Zac graduated in Mechanical Engineering
and I graduated in Human Development and Family Studies.

We're both very happy to be finished!
Thank you to all our family who supported us!
Thank you to all that were there in body or in spirit - we love you all!

I'm still working at the Hospital for now, and Zac accepted a job, at his current company L-3 Communications, as a full fledged engineer.
Yay for being grown ups...
but really - NOW WHAT!?!

Countdown ...

2010-04-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

3 Days until my sister comes (and Jefferson and Kaylee and baby brother)
4 Days until I pay my first mortgage payment (not really something to countdown to)
5 Days until Britta gets here (and Hayden, Mia & Ryan)
8 Days until Zac takes his LAST FINAL EVER
9 Days until Lance & Kelsey get here (and Erik and Brock)
and Brent (of course... he's a little late)
10 Days until GRADUATION

But the thing I'm MOST excited about...

11 Days until the Jack & Zana Mini Golf Tournament ... in my BACKYARD!

(PS I still need some astro turf - if you have any)

Internet

2010-04-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Reason #487 that I don't post regularly (between the dates of Mar 20 -present): NO INTERNET

Problem SOLVED!!

Thank you Digis - we are back on the net (at home)

Turf anyone?

2010-04-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Anyone know of anyone who wants to tear out their old astro turf? Who knows! Maybe you had one of those steller back porches with the grass-like carpet to hang out on. I'd tell you what it's for, but that's top secret at this point. I have about $10 to my name, so they'll have to be willing to part with it. HECK! Maybe you've been dieing to get rid of it and you just don't have the energy... Well I'm sort of a young buck (they call me "the baby" at work) and I bet I could offer some sweat in exchange for a sweet piece of grass (fake grass that is) I don't know... just let me know.

And TRUST me. If you find me a piece of Astro turf, you won't regret it!! It's going to be the BEST thing you've ever seen!

And NOW, the news you have all been waiting for ...

2010-03-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

This is how we have felt about this process...

But we finally found this beauty

and would you believe me if I told you we bought it?

Well, be ye BELIEVERS! For we are proud new HOME owners!

V-Day

2010-03-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

Zac made it seem like he had forgotten all about Valentine's Day this year. I was pretty proud of myself for, not only remembering, but I even put this together.

I thought I was cool and uber creative.

Then he came home with these before I could get the aforementioned set up. So I combined them... as if I planned it that way.

My man, the soccer playa

2010-03-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Zac started playing in an Indoor Soccer League. He is committed to nothing else the way he is committed to this.
He moves pretty fast, so it's hard to catch a good shot.. But here's the pro in motion.

My husband the M.E.

2010-03-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

Lingo. M.E. = Mechanical Engineer.
It means you are certified to:
1) Find an old Kitchen Aid by the dumpster (don't worry, it's acceptable in the Village)
2) take it home
3) Pull it apart
4) mess with the gears (all in the name of "fixing" it)
5) Equip with less gross goo
6) put it back together.

That's what we've paid the UofU thousands of dollars for - a FIRST rate ed-yoo-ma-CA-tion (sound it out slowly mom...) (No comment from you Lance :) )

It's pretty much a dream come true.

PS> By the time we bought all the stuff that no one bothered to leave with it when they dumped it, and with that cash I probably could have bought a new one that worked... probably... but this was WAY more fun.

Zac pac the birthday attack!

2010-03-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a pretty lame wife.
I seldom remember things I'm supposed to. While Zac will have Christmas planned (and all the shopping done) no later than Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving for all you lame-os out there, too afraid to confront angry mobs all in the name of a "good deal") and our Anniversary thought out before the end of the year (our anniversary is in JUNE) I usually have "Brian Reagan" moments... you know, like "your head pops off the pillow and 'OH, NO! It's due TODAY! I had nine months to work on it and I did nothing!"... yeah those.
In the (almost) 4 years that we've been married I've managed to lessen Zac's expectations of me remembering that he does, indeed, gain a 'year old' EVERY year. I was thinking that by the time he turns thirty, I'll have a pretty good chance of surprising him with a party or something. He won't even see it coming.
Because, you see, if you noticed (or know when Zac's birthday is) I actually posted, about MY birthday, two whole days before his birthday. If you had a keen eye, you would have noticed that Zac went to all sorts of lengths for my birthday. I had a cake, a party (which was a surprise) I had presents, and most of all I had a good time.
Zac asked me if I would throw him a party... I told him no. But I DID get pretty gussied up - because he's special and it takes a special person/occasion for me to even care to put mascara on - and we went to Joe's Crab Shack and then to see Avatar.

I know... I pretty much went all out.
I would also like to note that, in the name of his Birthday-ness, I beat him at that gem game (on his new Ipod Touch) while we were waiting for the movie to start.

I told you - I'm pretty much the best.

Flashback Friday (Thursday)

2010-02-18T17:51:00.001-08:00

{2002 Honda Shadow Ace 750 cc}

Two summers ago we adopted this beauty into the Truscott clan
We call her The Pearl II

And now, with much sadness, we have to let her go - in the name of a down payment..

If you're interested, let me know
she has a new leather seat... and a sissy bar...
don't lie - I know you are drooling

Excuses

2010-02-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

My mom signed me an excuse note.
Due to my facial acne (equivalent to that of a 13yr old going through puberty) I am unable to show my face to the WWW.
Also as a result of my debilitating zip population I can not offer a sincere apology. The time spent in front of my mirror, excavating possible pimples, renders me incapable of putting the appropriate words together (did I just admit to picking zits?)

One small note of noteworthy proportions: We just MIGHT buy a house in our life time. Never thought "adulthood" could be both an exciting horizon as well as the death of me.

If I don't die of anxiety (or excess inflammatory skin issues) I will likely report on the hunt... or I might not. I think many of you have learned not to lean too much on my promises of pink roses and rainbows.

Birthday ... in October

2010-01-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

It's January. I've had plenty of time mull over the details, I think. I need to tell the world about my birthday (ok, actually just my friends and family... I'm sure the world could care much less)
I live with a really funny boy. He has a mind for details, and remembering the small things. Along with many of his awesomeness features, I would have to say that being sneaky is one of his best. But let's be honest. It's not hard to pull the vale over my eyes - I'm pretty oblivious. I'd like to say that I choose to ignore details... especially around my birthday. It makes surprises that much more fun! I love surprises. I'm sure you've never heard me say that.
Anyhoo.. the funny boy threw me a surprise birthday party. It was beyond awesome. I have a lot of awesome friends who came, set up, played along etc... Here I'll just show you.

Zac made my cake. Please note the pictures of me openly laughing... He and two of his friends spent four hours making the cake... If only you knew the creativity to took these engineers. I laughed out of surprise.
The theme of my party was RECESS. And so it was. (note the cake) There was Karaoke, Rock Band on a projector, and we all played four square and dodge-ball. The whole night I laughed from the core.. It was a good ab workout, and really fun night. I even had my own personal photographer, Karen. She covered the nights festivities with an easy 200 pictures... This is why I love her. I had to contain myself to these ... cough... few. You're lucky I didn't show more :)

Halloween

2009-12-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

I realize this is way overdue, but I bet you've always wondered what the Truscotts do for Halloween. Come on, admit it... you are curious.

Usually, as in years past, we talk about Halloween, but when it actually comes, we do nothing. This year we had a couple reasons to get all gussied up.

I rocked the DR Frankenstein look. And Zac did approximately an hour and a half of YouTube research to get his part as Igor DOWN PAT!. He even put a ball of yarn in one of our Ikea jars and labeled it ABnormal. To top it off he mastered the walk (complete with gait)

Most people just thought I was Hermione with a lab coat on. They didn't bother to look at my lab coat that told them I was part of the Division of HUMAN Surgery (I thought I was clever)

Finals

2009-12-06T14:51:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time of the year... finals time. This is the time where Zac starts to pace around and mutter to himself.
Now Zac would have you believe that I am Charley Brown (putting off papers) but I would like to remind you who is NOT in school anymore. Andy once played Snoopy in the favorite play of mine.
Regardless of who is who, this is a classic. Gotta love Peanuts

Yellowstone - a look at 4 months ago

2009-11-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

Zac decided to grow a beard for our week long stint in the great outdoors. . . I'm proud to say that after aprroximately 5 long months of coaxing, he's managed to keep this a growing tradition (get it? growing? hahaha)

Before...

After...

(Can't see anything? Don't worry... your eyes aren't going bad)

Now...

{Father Abraham.. had seven sons (seven sons!) Seven sons had Father Abraham... ...}

He likes to twist it in his fingers whilst trying to think. He does that a lot - trying to think that is, the twisting comes naturally.

I really can't believe how long it's taken me to write about this. I have no excuses. All I do these days is sew and watch as much reality TV as Zac will let me. But Yellowstone was quite the adventure, and I can't let it die.

Let's start with the fact that anyone who was unable to make the trek was GREATLY missed. It probably would have been helpful to have Lance's analytical mind when it came to losing mom's car in the parking lot of an apartment complex and Andy's calming words when I cried at a truck-stop thinking I had parked it illegally and it had thusly been towed.

To the nice man that pulled over to make sure I was ok: Thank you, whoever/wherever you are. I was merely a deranged emotional woman overcome and racked with guilt...

Luckily the car was found - right where I parked it, mind you - and no one had to pitch in to pay a towing fee...

You see Amy and Jefferson were flying in from GA. Jefferson's mom was glad to pick them up from the airport, but not as willing to drive them the five hours north to Yellowstone (I'm not sure why.) Mom wanted to leave in the early morning light, so the plan was to drop off a car at the J-dawg's mom's house, give her the keys and continue on our merry way. Well, let's just say that not only was it merry, but mom and Dell got pulled over for speeding in a construction zone, and we were two hours north when Amy called to ask us where we parked the car. CUE Jana's freak out session, worrying all who passed by and witnessed her stomping about and shrieking sporadically frantic phrases such as "IT DIDN'T HAVE A SIGN!" (a "no parking or you will be towed" sign, that is)

The day got off a little rough, but we managed the 6 and something hour drive to the Madsen River only to find out that we had to come up with some crazy amount of cash because the po-dunk camp grounds has a website, but won't take a check or credit card AND they are incapable of posting that ON their website.

Not having cellphone service was only a problem when mom realized she had given Brent and Britta (driving from CO) the wrong directions. Amy and I spent the better half of the afternoon driving around looking for at least two bars and trying to snag a few seconds of airtime with Britta.

AND ALL THIS ADVENTURE IN JUST THE FIRST DAY! I wasn't entirely sure how much more super duper fun I could handle. But handle it, I did, and there were several "Best!" parts of the trip.

Including our awesome cabins. One was even equipped with a pink stove and the ground slanted ever so slightly to give you a sense of vertigo when you walked around. We were even a stones throw from the river which, several of us discovered, was freezing.

We played, we fished (well most of us "fished") Hayden caught bugs and fish and one toad (but Mia found it), we cooked, we hiked, we even celebrated birthdays. But most of all, we just enjoyed spending time together.

The only thing we didn't do was visit Quake Lake... and I still feel bad about that, mom.

Thanks to all who traveled far and wide, thanks to mom for all the crazy planning. Family is the best place to be. Even if you braid your hair and refuse to wash it for the whole trip, they still love you.

OH yeah! and we went to see OLD FAITHFUL.
I did find it rather... faithful

And Zac did a LOT of fishing.

Exciting!

2009-10-26T13:31:00.001-07:00

I know I've been the ultimate slacker. I still plan to post all about this amazing summer we've had and all the fun, but for now I'm feeling pretty good about this...

More info to come.

Post Edit:
For those who live in the SLC vacinity and want/need something to do on Saturday November 28 AND you were hoping to see a Christmas Concert but didn't get tickets to the Mo-tab concert... Consider this as an alternative. Tickets are FREE-99, but you have to have a ticket to gain entrance to the Tabernacle. BONUS: it's after they light the lights on temple square... you might as well see an awesome concert while you're down there.
TWO shows, ONE night-O-fun! Show times @ 5:30pm and 7:30pm
Tickets can be obtained here:

Cali-for-ni-a

2009-10-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Four score and fifty-seven years ago (not really) I google-mapped my brother's address. From Salt Lake to Sacramento it boasted a 9 hour and 15 minute travel time. This was the email I sent to him.

"Did you know that it's only a 9hr 15min drive from my place to yours? What do you want to bet I can make in less?"

Plus it was over the fourth of July. That meant I had a day off, and the rest of the weekend to make it super fun. This is what I learned

When you've never seen the Salt Flats, you HAVE to stop and take a picture. It is really cool.
Don't walk bare foot on the salt flats- that is gross..

if you do walk bare foot, you're not allowed to wash your feet in the restroom sinks... you are, however, banashed to the hose just out side (try not to blast your skin off)

This is what else I learned...

Have a Summer mascot (preferrably a $1 toy from IHop) and post him on the dashboard.

When driving across Nevada, DON'T listen to "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"
When driving that LONG stretch, you can very well lose your mind
Always count on construction SOMEWHERE!
IT DOES NOT TAKE 9 1/2 HOURS TO DRIVE FROM SLC TO SACRAMENTO!

Despite my devious speed demon ways, we arrived approximately 10 1/2 hours after our departure. BAH!

Even though my lead foot didn't end up pulling it's weight (HA!) We had a blast... Here's a run down

Thanks for such a fun time Lance, Kelsey, Erik and Brock!

If all that fun wasn't enough to convince me to come back - which it is - but if wasn't, THIS would for sure have me back in a second!

John

2009-09-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Rest in Peace

Good Friend

For those of you who missed the memorial, it was a beautiful tribute to such a wonderful man. I know, with out a doubt, that John is doing work on the other side. That, as he was loved here on earth, he will be loved in heaven.

All who knew him were blessed to be a part of his life. What a great example of Christ-like attributes and genuine love and generosity for your fellow man. He will be greatly missed.

Back to School

2009-08-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

Guess who started school today?!!!

Guess who didn't!!!

You'll have to decide who is cooler.

Once Upon a Time...

2009-08-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there was a boy who liked to play jokes. One day he asked his mother if he could go play in the woods. She was a poor woman, and didn't have time to entertain the child. "Yes, you can play in the woods. But be sure to look out for wolves. If you see one, cry for help and someone will come rescue you."
The boy was excited and as he entered the woods a grand idea came into his mind. Would they really come if he cried? What a funny little joke.
"Wolf! Wolf!" the little boy cried, and his father came running!
"Where?" the protective father asked.
The boy roared in laughter, and the father turned and walked away. As he left he warned, "be careful boy. One day there will be a wolf, and I will not believe you when you cry."
The boy rolled in laughter, what a funny joke!!
The next day the boy went to play in the woods. Out of the shadows came a wolf. Terrified he cried in urgency, "WOLF! Wolf!" But no one came... and the boy was gobbled up.

My friends, I cried wolf..
I merely meant to tell you that Zac and I both passed the classes we took together this semester. I don't know what gave you the idea that I was pregnant... No idea whatsoever... I'm innocent I swear.
August Fools (hey it may not be April, but at least it starts with an "A")

Announcement

2009-08-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

For all those who have waited... I would like to make an annoucement. It's been a long time in coming, and Zac and I've worked hard to conceive this dream, to put this oven bun on the list of accomplishments. We celebrated with a little Prego sauce, and dined in celebration of our accomplishment...
This announcement.... drum roll please ...

Will come as soon as I've reported the recent adventures of JZT..

Cali
Yellowstone
Zac admiting I was right
etc...

Tell me you LOVE the suspense!

HAPPY 3 Years

2009-06-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

.......

June 8,2006

Look at us now...

June-ish 2009...

3 years ago I said YES to the rest of my life. I said YES to dishes, vacuuming, making a bed, and cleaning the toilet. I said YES to ignoring strange smells, randome quirks, and stinky feet. But most importantly, I said YES... and I would have shouted it if they had let me..
My answer hasn't changed... only that now I DO shout... I shout a lot... in a good way!
Happy Anniversary to my Best Friend, companion and lover... yes my lover!

*******************************************************
Our anniversary was a lot of fun... but we forgot our camera (of course)
We stayed in the luxurious Hotel Garner in South Jordan (my mom's townhouse that she doesn't live in anymore) Had Dinner at Eat at Joe's (and breakfast at IHOP) and did 9 holes of par3s at Mulligans.. We rocked it and i won with a 44/27 beating Zac's 47/27. We really should consider going PRO, but we don't want to have to leave our stuff home alone... Our bed might get lonely.
We also went to see the new Pixar movie "UP" ... LOVED it. Go see it. I will own it.

Just for the Record

2009-05-31T17:10:00.001-07:00

Moms and sisters are super cool...

I guess this would have been so much more appropriate around Mother's Day.. PSH..

I love these two girlies.

Amy came to see me a little while back... As did these super cool peeps.

( I use "super" sparingly)

We did a little Bear-A-Buildin' for Kaylee.

{She really did enjoy it}

We partied

We laughed

Amy ate Oreos with water... And I made fun of her.

(because that's what little sisters are for)

Kaylee was like a crawlin' machine!

Then we decided to hang up this bang up family activity by giving the "Zac" statue to Kaylee which she promtly decapitated.

..........
..........

It was a great time

WICKED

2009-05-31T16:48:00.000-07:00

I bought tickets to this back in October... I waited and waited, and it was so worth the wait. I think we went opening night.

April 8, 2009

These were our Awesome back row seats.

Imagine the Capitol Theatre... for those of you have been there

I was all the way to the back in the corner (litterally... they put me in the corner

no body puts Baby in a corner... but I'm not Baby... and I guess that's why it was O.K.)

The stage was AmmamaZA-ZING. It was all gears-ish and cool. Like you were looking inside a clock.

After I took a few of these shots, a lady came and said,

"Just make sure not to take any [pictures] of the stage" ..

ummm... oops.

pretty sure she knew I'd alredy transgressed.

I was pretty much indifferent... Can't you tell that I wasn't excited at all?

PSYCH!!

I told you! It was super splendid!

Now, I can mark both these things off my bucket list

See Wicked (a pro version)
Do a Tri

Check! Check!

So far I'm sitting pretty to kick the bucket... .... ... ... maybe I should make the list a little longer.

Sort of...

2009-05-20T10:40:00.001-07:00

I sort of broke my home computer.

But I think we got it fixed.

Coming next: the Tri... TRI reading this super long post.. haha I dare you!

A very long Play by Play - Triathlon Volume 1

2009-05-07T13:18:00.001-07:00

Sometimes (most the time) I like to get in an elevator and walk straight to the back wall.... and stare. Luckily for me (and those around wondering if I'm crazy) there is often many interesting things to read on the make-shift bulletin board that hangs in the back. My purpose is not really to read the latest grand rounds announcements, or "will you be in this study?" requests, but rather to avoid looking at, or making eye contact with any of the doctors, nurses, whatsitz who get in the elevator and promptly ignore that you are there anyway. I normally prefer to stare at said subjects, but something about the MDs that make me uneasy, with their loftiness, gracing my presence. Besides... how many people do you know that get in an elevator and walk straight to the back and stare at the wall... well maybe you know a few, but my self esteem rests on the knowledge (however mislead) that I'm unique... I told my mom so in preschool.

There, on that very wall, I got my greatest hairbrained idea for Summer (more like Winter trying to strangle Spring) 2009

The Fourth Street Clinic Sprint Triathlon

Oh the glory! I could taste it! It was fabulous. It was daring, bold ... it was in 2 and half weeks. None the less I needed a workout schedule, and there isn't much that coaxes me out of bed when I could be sleeping (just ask my boy). This was the jump start I needed.

{you'll have to ask him later. He's a little sleepy right now}

Later that day I was with my fellow medical secretaries. Trying to recruit unwilling middle aged desk workers is not the easiest feat. I was on the brink of conviction with my supervisor when she struck a deal with me. Get all the General Surgery Secretaries to do the Tri and she would do it with me as well. Well of course I could care less if the whole hospital did it, I just wanted ONE person to be crazy with me. Why do I always have to be alone in my quest for crazy?!

Needless to say, I was quite the loser salesman (woman) No one shared the dream of becoming a tri-athlete... surprise surprise (why is surprise spelled suRprise, and not sUprise? WHY!) I considered bailing. But deep down I'm a super hero, and I'd hate to let all my fans (the few brain cells I possess) down..

I still didn't register until the thursday before.

I "trained" ... if you call splashing in a pool a couple times a week, running(walking with random spurts of speed activity) here and there, and buying a bike 3 days before the race, training... then I trained.

Forcast for the weekend was ... wait for it.. RAINY, with the possibility of snow showers... SNOW showers! who-da thunk. I can think of no better thing to do on a Saturday morning, then swim in a pool, bike in the snow, and attempt to run (or wheeze) my way through the innards of the UofU campus - with wet hair. Did I mention wet hair?

Well Friday night came.. I prayed. "please... just wait for me to cross the finish line". It rained Friday evening. Eat it Jana - there are more important things for the heavens to worry about than the weather for your crazy hay-day at the park..

Don't get me wrong. I'm tough (as snot). I don't mind the rain. But remember how I bought a bike three days prior? I also biked the would-be course... IN THE FOOTHILLS.. who wants to be muddy when there are photo-ops around every corner? (Zac was my own personal papperazzi that day) As if the wet pool/bike helmet hair combo wasn't bad enough. DOES NOBODY SEE MY NEED FOR ACCEPTANCE AND BEAUTY... ... ...

REALITY: I didn't want to ride in the rain.

Saturday morning: Everything was wet, BUT heaven wasn't actually spitting at the current time. I prayed again - just wait until noon... ELEVEN THIRTY! (I'm a great comprimiser)

Friday night I put together the ultimate "pound it out" playlist for my Ipod. It consisted of some serious bass... There was Pachbell's Cannon in D, Moonlight Sonata, The Vienna Boy's Choir (goes pop), Ave Maria... to name a few. Let's just say that once I hit the trails, I was a jammin'! Bow-Chicka-Wow-Wow!

I also bought this stuff called "singing bowls" (because I'm weird like that) and listened to that the morning of as my heart threatened to bounce right out of my chest. GEEZ!

After they branded me with my number, I went over to get my bike and gear all set up. There were all varieties of ways to arrange, but Zac (my personal assistant and manager) was doing most the work... I stood by with a whip and barked orders.. while listening to the calming sounds of bowls (these are not cereal bowls - much less caloric) Then we went inside to the pool area where I'd attempt my "fish out of water" act IN water.

Then it was about to start and all the volunteers started arranging us. We stood in line according to our "estimated swim time" from fastest to slowest. I don't think anyone was more suRprised than me when I found myself NOT at the very end. Then I realized that I had to pee (ahem) excuse me... I realized I needed to relieve my waters.. but there was no time for that. There were already like 35 woman in the pool (looking like those tourist ponds where you can feed fish - and the fish look like boiling water trying to leap over each other to beat the other to the nasty candy-machine pellets - seriously.. there was a lot of splashing/colliding/craziness) and the line was progressing fast. I had my own cheering section (for those of you who know my husband... ... ) and I distracted myself by annoying the women behind me. I accomplished this by inviting myself into their conversation, and even though they tried to ignore me I continued to act as if we were the best-est friends from 2nd grade.

Then I was at the front and debating if I was going to attempt a dive (belly flop) OR slide ever so delicately into the pool and push off the wall (cannonball!) I attempted the belly flop/dive, but am unaware of the effectiveness, because I was in "the zone".

12 laps...

{I spent a lot of time on my back :)}

At six, I heard my sweet husband chanting the countdown... 6...4...2...1.. Yes I'm aware that's not how you count down, but those are the only numbers I remember hearing.. remember - I was IN THE ZONE.

After that I (with my ridiculously pink flowered swim suit) was out of the pool and out the door. The volunteer barked at me when I didn't walk straight out the door, but I glared at him angelically and reached over to grab my towel and shoes (I had planned to put them on inside, but that was apparently against the rules.)

So I was there by my bike, MINDING my own business, listening to my fan club pumping me up, Zac was dressing me like in that movie Secret Garden, when I saw a flash of pink out of the corner of my eye. Low and behold there was a naked man amoung us. Just two rows over the man was, I kid you not, BUCK NAKED. Toweling off with his whole backside for our viewing pleasure.. ahem.. viewing... shock? I'm at a loss for words.. OF COURSE I had to announce it to everyone and immediately we had to discuss the matter.

Then I was dressed, head bangin' tunes in my ears and on my newly purchased Schwinn ready to go. I rode like point 2 minutes and had to de-bike and climb up like 40 steps. Then I finally got a chance to "get in the groove".

The course was shaped, I thought, like a pair of ovaries. The right ovary I called the first leg, and the left the second.. then back down the middle, but I won't give that a name.. just "the end part". (haha)

So the first leg- thanks to my unwelcome rain the night before- was MUDDY. Super muddy and I admit I walked up a hill or two (or three or four). But I didn't feel too bad because at least I didn't fall off my bike like the lady right in front of me.. I kind of laughed... under my breath of course... because let's be honest, had the roles been reversed she would have laughed quietly at me.

That mud was tricky. Like a thief in the night, it came out of the overcast-ness, and stole our dignity. The rest of the first leg was pretty fun.. some crazy spots where only the special and daring actually powered through and all the rest of us meek at heart.

Coming out of the first loop was my personal photographer, Zac, who looked like a proud mama (except that he's not) as he snapped a few photos. He told me I looked awesome.

The rest of the bike portion included 3 mother hills, 2 crazy spots, and a couple (few) words of choice. But as I came around the corner on the second leg, the rest was down hill. And it felt good. When Zac and I bike, he likes to take off crazy fast (thus why we bought him a helmet) and I like to ride my breaks and swear as the dirt skids under my tires. I tried my best to just let the momentum carry me and once I was on the pavement I let all my inhibitions loose!

If I was talented I would have taken those steps (the ones I hiked at the beginning) on my bike, but I had already worn through my bravery ration for one day. I got off my bike and carried it down.

Transition numero two was cool, though less eventful. No one felt obligated to strip down to their birth suit for the run. Even though it might have made sense. I WAS MUDDY!

I swore at my backpack when it didn't produce the gum I knew was in there (I swear I've never been a cusser... until my later years... it's a stub my toe reaction... kind of like an addiction.. with out a cessation patch to wear.. maybe I'll invent one for the perpetual cusser) swigged some nasty carb drink (Zac made me) and was off to the voices of Vienna. I cruised a decent "running" pace for a good 400 yards and gave up the act. I knew I wasn't going to run all three miles. I snagged a girl who was just behind me and we paced together the rest of the way.

Any time my photog showed up (like he did at random points in the race) I pretended to run. and I ran down the hills. ...

Then I ran the last 100 meters to the finish line..

I DID IT! (and you got to hear every detail)

Here are my victory photos.

I finished in 1 hour and 50 minutes (ish)

And I didn't collapse (completely) at the end. That was an accomplishment in itself.

I had a lot of support - Ami, Todd, Kole, my mom, Zac.. and my friend Heidi even came saw me at the finish line.

And then you got to hear all the details... Congrats if you made it all the way through that...

You deserve a prize.

If you want a good laugh, here is my placement
Age/gender division - Women 18-24: 33/36
All women: 71/77
All Racers: 199/209

At least I finished right? Right? ok so next time I should probably try just a little harder :)

2009-04-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

I hate posting with out pictures... I feel pictures do a great job of covering up my lack of grammer and punctuation skills as well as my bad spelling and lack of interesting plot. I'd rather show you in pictures that I've gained 40 lbs instead of telling you about it (isn't that wonderful - ha!) But, alas, I have no pictures today. Not even a plot really. Just an update... a lame update.

loading loading loading loading loading loading

Zac is officially a nerd. He speaks Nerd, breaths Nerd, sleeps Nerd.... Today he told me he didn't want to be a Nerd anymore, and said he didn't have a choice right now. Nerd-dom is calling his name and he doesn't get a break for approximately 4 more weeks. It's like a virus. There is no cure, it just has to "run it's course". His robot is the source of the Nerd virus, and his Heat Transfer class has him speaking in strange Nerd tongue, and swearing under his breath... terrible words such as stupid... darn it... and even the dreaded .... suck fish! (*gasp!!*) I'm not entirely sure how well fishes suck, but according to him it's correct terminology and his coping mechanism. I pray for his full recovery and request you do the same for him.

I've taken the term "nuts" to a whole new level and decided (two days ago) that I'm going to do a Sprint Triathlon. I make my debut at the end of this month approximately two weeks from tomorrow (April 25) but let's just pretend like I didn't just tell you because I told Zac that I wasn't going to tell anyone... I'm doing this for me (such a selfish comment) It's been on the TO-DO list for some time since my good friend and roommate Amy told me about her experience. I've always been to chicken and who knows, I might just chicken out.. as it stands I've started to "train"... since I don't really know what I'm doing, I'm just flying by the seat of my crazy pants. Zac agreed to cheer me on and would catch me at the finish line and then take me home and nurse me back to "normal" (ice packs included) I think my biggest challenge will be the swimming and biking... the "running" will be whatever I can manage short of stopping and taking nap. Here's what I'm up against

300M swim (oh Kelsey how I wish you were here with me)

8mile mountain bike ride through the beautiful foothills of SLC, Red Butte Garden etc... and

5k (about 3.2 miles) around and about campus.

If I live to tell the tale, I'll tell you all about it.

Aside from the clinically insane, and the nerd virus, life is life and moving forward. We're still working and schooling and trying to keep graduation in our sites.

Seriously, that's all. I know - pretty boring.

If I say Crazy, is that too cliche`?

2009-03-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well, Spring Break is coming to a close and I'm holding onto it with every bit I can. I guess the only thing that really keeps me floating is knowing that come August, I AM DONE! But I already told you about that.

I wanted to show you what Zac's been up to. I originally wanted to wait until it was finished, but it's come so far and I really want to show it off...

This is Zac's other woman. I guess I really can't be too jealous. She's quite the piece of work. I mean, let's be honest, I'm sure I annoy Zac, but this girl has no boundaries. They've spent countless hours together, what seems like days on end. But in the end, when this relationship ends, Hopefully Zac will have found a little of himself in this crazy process.... Right?

It all started with the main body

Then some tweaking

Add some wires

If I show you these cool wannabe-a-photographer-with-my-lameO-camera shots, will you pretend that you know what you are looking at?

So far he's programmed it to follow a black line, but she had a tough time performing in front of the camera. Stage fright (eek!) I told Zac that there's no way it could have anything to do with my crappy wannabe of a course (there we go with the wannabe word again... Apparently I'm meant to come 2nd... at least for now. HA) She was just being picky and didn't want to follow the line because I put it down. We are competing for one heck of a man after all. The more "adjusting" she needs, then more time she gets with him... I might play the victim if I was her. (I'm starting to sound a little looney with all this other woman crap, aren't I? It's all my crazy imagination)

{Oh yeah, please ignore the PMDD commercial in the backround}

Zac's brother, Tadd, has been his sanity. Having been through the same rigamaroo, he's been a lot of help. Thanks to our new friend Skype, he's been able to trouble shoot over webcam. Not ideal, I'm sure, but it helped Zac get his ideas straight, as well as a few fresh ideas from Tadd (Thanks Tadd)

All in all I think it's going to rock... we have a little while until the actual competition, but the 'bot has to be done this week, I think. Cross your fingers that it all comes together. Just think! In the time it would have taken to make a baby, Zac built a robot... ... Oh the Joy!

So if you've been wondering what Zac's been up to, just know that as long as she goes away eventually, I'm perfectly ok with this :) HA! I'll be sure to update the final product.

I love you, Zac! You are my one true love. I'm so proud of you.

My brain was working pretty hard

2009-03-19T12:05:00.001-07:00

Quote of the Day

Some times we need someone to state the obvious so that we can feel good about our obvious observations, obviously.

Reason #4

2009-03-12T08:31:00.001-07:00

I was under the impression that I had another FULL semester ahead of me. When I started college, 12 credits sounded whimpy to me, in a way. Could be because I have achievers in my family, and the fact that I didn't work (a job) much until my sophomore year... then I got married, and suddenly I felt like a whimp for taking 12-14 credits... These days, however, I pretty much feel like a champ for going one up on the minimum... THIRTEEN whole credits and I'm feelin' like a pro! AhHA!
Anyway, so according to previous calculations (probably a good reason that we leave all the nerdy math stuff to Zac) I thought I'd have 12+ credits up to the last day.... but alas I pulled up my DARS (I have no idea what that stands for -- Digging Academic Rats out of Sewers - no I don't have a tail... Dang Arts credit Ruined my Semester - probably not, because I don't need an Arts credit... Digital Academic Record...stuff? - way too simple... probably the first.) ...where was I? ... right.. DARs report - I pulled it up and come to find out (drum roll) I only have SEVEN credits left.. after this semester ... that is if I don't screw something up this semester. So yesterday I skipped off to my advisors, chatted about April showers and May flowers and then she gave me the sheet... "THE SHEET" ... the sheet that I never thought would grace my life... the sheet was my golden ticket outta here - my application for cap and gown... I'M GOING TO GRADUATE!!!
I know, I know.. I make a big deal out of nothing. I probably could have just posted one line "I have officially applied for graduation".... come on! where is your sense of adventure. Didn't you want my life experience spoon fed to you in details sips?

I Have Reason to CELEBRATE!

2009-02-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Life is so drab sometimes. You'd think school would be more interesting, and work more engaging. It's not. Poor pity me. But today? Today I have reason to celebrate. Some things a little late in coming (but still a celebration none the less) and some fresh off the brain, newly recovered from a devistating run away - it's the the prodigal son... no.. daughter... no.. the prodigal brain has returned. I wouldn't count on it to be around for long. Midterms are just around the corner and I think my brain is a wuss when challenged with the "fight? or flight?" decision.

Enough about my brain already!! Don't you think it's gotten enough flack for being gone? Let's try not to assume it will make another run for it (but let's be honest - it's track record? not so good)

Back to the CELEBRATION!

REASON #1 came in the form of one of these...

Brooklyn Faith Christensen
January 26, 2009
8lbs 2oz
19.75 inches

About 4 1/2 weeks ago. She's beautiful and sure to be a princess. Her brothers adore her, and love to give her loves. {photos from Lindsay}

I got to meet her this weekend when they came to do taxes. She's so precious and dainty. She hardly ever moved - I thought I was holding a doll. But she woke up a couple time. She loves to look around. At least that was my observation. Welcome Brooklyn!! Who's next??

REASON #2 is this...
I know it's a little silly to celebrate the new arrival of a spice rack, but COME ON!! Is it not the prettiest thing? If you talk to my goofball of a husband, he would tell you that I'm reletively preoccupied with all things container, but my thoughts are... ... wait, where did my brain go? (DANGIT!)

It's pretty! I spent about 2 hours labeling each and every jar and alphabatized all the spices we had. It's attached to our ultra lux cinder block wall with none other than my best friend - HOT GLUE! You bet that I could probably hang on that thing - it. won't. move. ... at least let's keep it in our daily prayers. I would seriously have to greive the loss. We got all the parts at... yep! IKEA!! (that is a dangerous store). Spices from my cabinet.

REASON #3: FOUND IT! my lost brain came back to me. I have a new desire to blog ... maybe... for the most part.

It came back to me with a little dirt and lint stuck to it, and a few pieces missing (no wonder I can't ever find my shoes)

So let's celebrate! Party at my house. If you live in the SL Valley, Biggest Loser, my place, tomorrow @ 10:30pm. We watch it TiVo style ... only we don't have a TiVo, just a VHS tape. I like to watch it to celebrate those contestants losing so much weight while I sit on my couch and eat my weight in chips in salsa. Isn't that so great that Mike lost 81lbs? These chips are delicious!

ZAC! (also know as Jack to some people)

2009-01-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here's to the man of my dreams who dared to wear a hawaiian shirt on our second date,

who laughs like no one has ear drums to break,

who dances whether someone is watching or not.

Here is to the man who's been 25 since he was 19 and is only one year from the goal age (yes Tadd 24, not 23 :) )

who has the poofiest hair,

who loves his scarf, regardless of whether.

Here's to the man that's made my life the dream I've always wished for. (cue gagging)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Zac

Here's to many more years of shaking someone else's presents because I won't let you shake your own (you ruin my surprises - it's not my fault your so good as guessing presents)

*Photo courtesy of the kittenfishes - thanks Ami... I kind of stole it (I do that a lot)

He's Here!

2009-01-05T08:04:00.001-08:00

Ryan Grant Christensen

Arrived January 2, 2009 @ 8:37am

Weighing in at a whopping 7 lbs 13.6 oz (to be exact)

20 inches long

Britta already looks fantastic, and Hayden and Mia are so excited!

One down, one more to go (for now)! Come OOOon Brooklyn!

My Sister Left ....

2009-01-01T08:47:00.001-08:00

It went down like this:

Jefferson Graduates from Westminster as a Nurse - May 2008
Jefferson and Amy wait for Orders (where to be stationed) May - Aug 08

Orders come August 08 (Georgia?!)

Wait, try to love on family whilst waiting, sell house, live with family, wait, love on family, wait, enjoy holidays, wait Aug 08 - Jan 09

Movers come - Dec (after Christmas) 08

Pack, Pack (stuff/cram) Pack - Dec 31, 08

January 1, 2009 (way to start the new year Ames) = 6:30AM + 2 cars + 6 checked suitcases + 4 carry on bags + 2 & a baby + 5 airport well wishers + 3 Boarding passes + 5 "security passes" =

LOTS OF PICTURES, and small talk to avoid the elephant in the room.

So if you did not successfully translate all that, pretty much we (Me, the Zac-ster, my mom, Jefferson's mom & sister, Amy, Jefferson, and Kaylee (I tried to get them to leave her here) got up at the squeak of dawn (that's just after the butt-crack of dawn) loaded ALL of their luggage and headed to the airport to catch an early flight (If I told you it left at 9am, you probably wouldn't classify it as early so I'll just leave that detail out).

The lady at the check in counter was uber nice and told us that, because Jefferson was military, she would give us security passes to see him off at the gate. That's right! We went through security and got to sit at the gate with them... LIKE IN THE OLD DAYS! It was actually really nice. We all pretended that we were part of the adventure...

THEN they called for the passengers to board. I was fine. I even was giving hugs and saying the words... you know what words - don't make me repeat them. And then the finality of it all hit me. I can joke all I want about how Amy packed 8 kabajillion (sound it out ka-ba-jill-ee-on) bags, how it took TWO cars to get to the airport and how all five of us were their personal entourage to escort them to the gate, but when it came to the ... goodbyes ... MAN OH MAN! It was like some one hit me on the back of the head and activated the water fountain. I was trying so hard to be "strong" too (whatever that means). I mean, if anything, Amy has it harder (not to rub salt in the wound Ames) she's the one movign to a new place, new culture (heLLOO bible belt), new life, and here I am blubbering that there won't be anyone I can call to pick me up at work, or play the stinkin' bean game with. I love all my friends, but sorry guys, you aren't my sister.

For the record: the farthest I've been away from Amy was when I "lived" in South Carolina ... for EIGHT WEEKS.. The longest she's "lived away" from me was like a year while she was in Logan going to school (but let's face it - she missed me and visited often) This is the first bonefied Move-away-from-her-sister move. To add to my grief (because, yes, this is all about me and my misery) she took the ONE niece/nephew (does anyone know a combo word for nieces and nephews.. I don't think there is one - brothers and sisters are siblings, husband and wife are spouses, your friends are ... friends (or peers) ... what. they couldn't come up with nieceffew (sound it out neec-eff-few .. then agian maybe you shouldn't sound that out ... sorry mom) -- back to the subject at hand, um... oh yes -- so she takes the only Nieceffew I have within a 200 mile radius and moves her to other side of the freakin country!! GEEZ!

Well, so I'll spare you the details (ha) and here are some pictures of my attempt to document the event... I HATE THIS CAMERA... will someone please fix my other one (that is newer, nicer, and has 10.1 megapixels --- this one has FOUR!! the nerve)

AND yes if you must note, Zac and I were straight out of bed, pj's, bedhead, stinky pits and all (teeth were brushed, however - lucky you) .... Security made me take off my hoody and I had to think twice about whether that would be possible/appropriate or not..

Let's hear it for Photoshop

2008-12-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

We have a really cool friend... Let's call him Arthur Healey.... He claims he is NOT a photographer, BUT he does some wicked photoshopping (I just used the word wicked like I was some teenager - puh! .... does photoshopping have two P's?) Apparently he liked the ones where were more serious. What do you think? Don't mind the ghetto booty... In my family we affectionately call it the Christensen Booty... it is not just reserved for the girls (sorry Kelsey) I don't think the angle helped in reducing it, but that's ok... I can wear it with pride. I can shake what my mamma gave me (because you better believe she has one too - she's proud of it as well..
{This one is my favorite}

So, also, we're counting down to finals (thus I haven't really been around) AND Christmas is almost here!! Can I get woot woot!

Have I ever told you that I STINK at buying presents. Well I do. I'll let you know how it all goes down. At least our tree looks pretty - maybe if you are lucky I'll remember to post a pictures

WARNING: favorite camera dies, and old camera doesn't take as cool of pictures...

A run down of events

2008-12-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

We went to Vegas... oh, like a month and a half ago.... I'm apparently the ultimate lame-o at actually recording things with in a reasonable time frame after said event. At least lately. I'd make excuses, like: "finals are close and I'm swamped" or "I just never have time". REALLY I'm just lame, but enough about me and my self absorbed paragraph.

Zac's mom got married and she figured since she'd be down there anyway(for a convention), then might as well do it there. So since we were leaving on my ACTUAL bday, thus the party was my UN-brithday (yes, Amy) My sweetie pie of a husband thought it would be great to schedule our cleanings for that morning as well (how romantic, huh?)

Anyway we have some good friends who live down in Boulder City just outside Vegas proper and they let us rent a room at their place for FREE99!! woot woot. Plus it was good to see them. I'll just show you some pics, since my story telling skills are just not up to par.

Lara taught us how to make these drinks she calls the "green monster" it looks like the grinch took a dump in a cup (sorry mom) but it actually tasted pretty good, and it's super good for you.

Besides the point -- Tadd and Julie came from Boston. We were so excited to see them. They can really make a party a PARTAAY.. haha. Wouldn't it be cool if were in France for real. Tadd speaks french.

We were acutally out and about when we realized we had like 5 minutes to get back in time for the ceremony... good thing it wasn't 80 bajillion degrees and really hard to run in sandles... we might have walked in when everyone was already seated... even worse we might have had to walk all the way to the front row.... wait... that is pretty much what happened.

The preacher guy was pretty cool. He said that "marriage is the highest form of human friendship" I thought that was cool. Kenny kept making faces at Kris and she kept laughing (she has a distinct laugh kind of like Zac) The photographer was like a little crazy like. He was all over the place like a yuppy dog on crack. If I was the bride I'm sure I'd be distracted (shiney things...oooo) The lighting was weird and I didn't want to use the flash because it would draw weird attention to me and that would be ... weird. anyway here are a couple of the bride and groom.

Zac's nanna came from Canada (Oh, Canada...) - it was good to see her agian, and she brought her sister Auntie Glory... she was a kick in the pants and really fun to chat with.

OH! and I played Blackjack... ... ... and won fifty buks (sinner, I know :) )

Then I went back and lost $20 of it.... oh well. Fun while it lasted the first (and last) time I played "the tables"

. . . .

2008-12-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging tonight... aren't you excited?

What's NOT random on this blog?

2008-11-12T10:15:00.001-08:00

I just re-found this picture. I kind of sort of stole it off my brother-in-law's blog...

Apparently I have virtual sticky fingers (as in the blogosphere) they aren't actually sticky... although they probably should be the way I just devoured this apple I ate... but really they aren't sticky... just in the virtual world... as in not the physical world.. you get it right?

MY POINT IS.... I know I just posted something very similar (what am I doing, justifying MY blog) THE POINT IS -- I love this boy. Here we are in Boston just this last June, in front of the Boston temple. He's such a handsome beast (and I sing like a siren - haha - sorry inside joke, lame I know)

The last few days - HA! - I mean evenings, we've been playing video games together. Whoever thought I would joy in such thumb exercise. I just had to say, Honey, it's so sexy the way you maneuver through those catacombs slaying zombies, and R.O.U.S's, and how you sweetly remind me to restore my life. Especially when you drop things for my character to carry because I can hold more. It's even awesome-er (awesome-er?) when I can't make Mario swim a straight line but you take on that shark dude with no hesitation and then pause at the star to let me be the one to retreive it. Who needs a fancy restaurant and a night on the town when we have Big Daddy's $5 pizza and Boulder's Gate/ Mario Galaxy.

People may say we need to get a life, but BABY, WE GOT IT ALL!

Happy UN-Birthday!

2008-11-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

At work the ladies call me the "sweet twenty-somethin' year old" either that or the baby.. WOOooo (like a dieing whistle - is that how you spell dieing, dying, diing - no thats a bell...) It's quite entertaining that I am at least 10 years everyone's jr. - well me and Crystal. So a couple weeks ago I added another year. WOOHOO (not a dieing/dying whistle) I'm a whopping 23 years. Can I get a what! what! Pretty much I'm twenty-three but if you asked me I would probably consider telling you I was 19. This is all aside from the point. The point is I had a birthday (shout hooray) and we partied hard all week long! So here is how it all went down. Apparently I am too good for just one day of birthday goodness, so I got several.
It all began on the friday before. My sister (the meany) had the nerve to skip town on the day of my birth to go to CO (apparently she forgets that I need her HERE!) So my fam (including new members Asleigh, Alana, and Macee)

all got together for our norm dinner party. My sister made Chicken Cordon Bleau homemade! (if you have only ever had this Costco made, then you have never lived) It was an awesome dinner and whilst we were all digesting we pulled out presents. Ashleigh, Alana, and Macee were sweet enough to get me a sewing box, and some Fat quarters (my favorite way to collect fabric these days) and Alana drew me a pretty picture in my card (thank you Alana)

Then Zac pulled out this Monster of a present..

I had NO clue what it was... only that my mom had mentioed going in on it, and my sister "let slip" that it was a new closet and that she got me some clothes to go in it. All I know is that Zac was head over heels excited about it (Can I just say that i hate buying presents... this boy shows me up every year - I suck) Of course it could have been a human sized doll for all I knew - it was a massive box. So huge that Zac had wrapped it in white paper and then drew circles all over (such a creative boy. but don't tell him I told you) Here's a run of events with pictures..

{Zac duct taped the logo on the box because it "wasn't what was inside" - heaven forbid..}

{Oh, look! it's a blonket from my house! How sweet of you honey... to regift one of our fav blankets} (I still didn't know what it was and was getting a little nervous)

{Holy Crap!! It's a guitar... I mentioned ONCE that I wanted one and he picked up on it. Do you see why I hate buying presents? This boy will always one up me}

{These were "add on" presents... "My life is always in tune when your around" was a tuner, and the "Thanks for picking me was ... Ope you guessed it - picks.. so original. The other package was cool strap so I could be officially cool}
My sister also got me some guitar books to learn how to play. I'm just plain excited. I've always wanted a guitar. Now I can jam with the best... well not quite.. but someday!

{Ice cream was all I could think about ... so we didn't have cake - we had milkshakes... of course we had to have candles}

{The is me "christening" my guitar. It was officially mine!}

AAAAAaaand this is why my husband ROCKS THE CASBA!! He wrote me a birthday song...

Thanks for a Fantastic UN-Birthday Sweetheart (and family) I really loved it...

Happy 874 DAY-aversary

2008-10-30T08:15:00.001-07:00

Gag if you must! But I found this on my sister-in-law's blog (I know! I'm always stealing all the good material from her... but thanks, Linds) and I couldn't help myself. Since today is of no special significance, I decided to do an "Alice in Wonderland" and celebrate a Happy Un-Birthday... or rather a Happy Un-Anniversary. This is to 874 days of pure Awesome-ness and 26,645 more to come. I love you, Zac

Love,
Your Sweetheart

My blog is pretty boring these days - despite my attempts to not be boring

2008-10-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

I know you must be sick of seeing those creepy yeabook faces. I don't usually "tag", but I'll make an exception for your personal viewing health. Mor to come I promise. I have some pretty eventful things to blog: ie. my Bday, Vegas, a dam tour... so on... so you just hang in there okay? So for now feast your eyes on some little know facts that I'm sure most you already know.
*Link the person who tagged you: Kat
* POst the rules on your blog
*Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

1. I just discovered that I have a twin. Some one else feels compelled to clean her ears out daily - I agree Kat, it is a MUST

2. I HAVE to dry between each of my toesies when I get out of the shower... I hate soggy toe crack (kind like soggy bum... nevermind)

3. I wiggle a LOT before I can be comfortable enough to sleep, AND I have to sleep with a pillow between my knees and a body sized pillow behind my back (that I replaced with a husband)

4. Zac and I can easily justify eating an extra large tub of popcorn at the movie theatre and call it dinner.. true story

5.I can make a certain face and garuntee %100, the same reaction out of Zac - every time!

6. I can't stand outspoken know-it-alls, and have a hard time taking direction from my sweetheart (the two are completely un-related though, I swear... no, really, I swear!)

*** I know tag: NO ONE ah hahaha... who ever wants can try it. It's liberating to have those off my chest and you all can now appreciate me for who I REALLY am.

Jana through the years

2008-10-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

Ok! So I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not much into tagging and that sort of thing... Don't get me wrong, I like to read every one else's, but I can never bring myself to do it for some ODD reason (I'm a nut -- for reference please see previous post) BUT my sister in law posted this on her blog and I couldn't stop LAUGHING!! It's from Yearbook Yourself. I checked out the page and could have peeed (peed?) my pants I thought it was so funny! Also, once I'd started I couldn't stop. So, if you don't mind, I wanted to share. Some may not look completely believable, but if you sort of squinch your eyes you'll see that I was as much a hottie in 1960 as I am now, for SURE!!

1952

1954 This one is a little scary -- all you Christensens understand I am sure... am I right, Mom?

1960 LOVE the cateye glasses. HOTTTtt

1962

1966

1970 And here is a good representation of where those Big Macs are taking me...

1974 This is HOT ! If only I didn't lose my chin in a bad day of shaving..

1982 I have nothing to comment here..........

1986 Aretha Jana... the perm gone a little wrong... just a little though.

1990 WOOOO WEE! Check out this Bang-age

1994

1996 And Andy says I don't make a good blonde - Puh!

1998 Here is where you need to squint a little... but trust me. let it go a little blurry and you'll be askin' for my DIGITS! OW!

2000 (I'm telling ya.. just SqUiNt!!)

So there is some good clean fun for the day... I might just have to do a part two for Zac... I'm already salivating over the '80s... HECK YES!

If you do this, you MUST tell me about it. Oh, and post some pictures of course.

IT'S OFFICIAL -- I'm a NUT

2008-10-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

The votes are in, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am officially a NUT! I've had inklings in the past, but it appears to have been validated and I am hopefully on to recovery soon... OK! so really I just have absolutely nothing to blog about (we all know what happens when I get in these moods) and I felt it was important that you all know where I stand. I'm a nut and so far, even with all the research out there, there doesn't seem to be a cure. Years ago I thought for sure that a sane husband would be my cure, but I apparently married a nut as well...
Last time I had nothing to blog about I rambled about Primary songs and blah but at least there was substance. This time I fear for all my dear friends and their attention to this blog. I may soon loose all 2 of my readers (Mom, I could really use the loyalty in times of blog hardship)
SO aside from my nutty muttering and strange babblings, I did have quite the productive weekend. Of course I didn't do anything ultra imporant like, oh say, HOMEWORK (quiz this morning.. AHH! saw it coming. shoulda known... managed to pull Mu +- SEM x t to the alpha .05 score..
Zac and I watched Kaylee this weekend. LOVE IT!! We got her for a full 24 hours play date. It was great! Amy and Jefferson dropped her off on Friday around 5, and picked her up about the same time the next day. Bedsides a couple midnight wake-ups and Zac, not fully functioning, asked to hold her wilst I made bottle (that was rough for him) we got through it with out much incident. I'm really going to miss her (and my sister I guess) when they move to GA...
Plus this weekend was conference!! LOVED IT! Henry B Eyring is my current fav. We had a lot of fun, and I was not to joyous about returning to work, but I came with honor and thought I would share my random samplings of thought with you (just so you know.. a random sample is true when everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected -- in this case all my thoughts had an equal chance... and you got quite the random sample. Yea, for quizzes!)

MYSTERY date

2008-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was totally the cool wife last week. Usually if Zac wants to go on a date it's either him planning it, or a colaborative effort of trying to shove the final decisions onto the other person (we are terrible decision makers.. ie "I don't care, you choose" "No, I really don't care, you choose") AND if there is anything spontaneously romantic then you should automatically assume that it was not me who did it. All the explanations aside - last week I was Mrs. Cool and spontaneous. (not too sure this was "romantic" you can decide)

ANYWAY so my work gave us free tickets to the Body World 3 exhibit. We could choose one of two nights to preview. I made sure Zac was free and had him put it on his calendar as "Mystery Date" and then tried my darndest NOT to tell him (this was very difficult)

Anyway when we got there it was a little hard to hide where we were headed since we approached the building with "Body World3" sign spanning the entire freaking wall.

I wasn't too sure how Zac would like it (He's not too in to blood and gore and organs and junk like I am) I kept asking if he'd be ok with it and he finally told me "Jana, it's all about psyching yourself out... you're not helping so just be quiet and I'll be fine" -- ok so maybe not his exact words, but who's counting.

So short story long, this was a really awesome exhibit. I highly reccommend it. A little on the "creepy" side as my friend said, but truely fascinating!! They had all sorts of dissected body parts and WHOLE bodies carved up to show you where and how things work and fit together. And come to find out, Zac liked it too. He actually insisted on seeing some of things I just wanted to pass. I think my favorite parts were the artificial heart valve, and the lady with all the metal parts (like a hip replacment, knee replacement etc... they took everything you could possible do and put it on one body - if that makes sense.) I also liked all the random facts they had on the walls. One lady in my ward said that her husband said it was kinda dumb and elementary, but I really liked it. Here's a pic a snagged from this site. We weren't allowed cameras, or chewing gum (seriously) and phones had to be on silent. So thus I have no pictures.

All in all I thought it was a fun date. We ate pizza at Big Daddy's pizza (SOOO good) and went home.

I'm sorry

2008-09-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm sorry I'm being so neglectful of my blog. I have a couple pre-written junk stuff, but they lack pictures. I swear I'll get them up.... .... ....
PS school is good, work is work, and NO I'm not of the bun in the oven variety.

How To Make A Sandcastle

2008-08-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well aren't you happy you stopped by my blog today! Like any do-gooder blogger wannabe I created a tutorial for y'alls. (y'alls... haha... I said y'alls) Zac and I went to Bear lake with Joe and Steph (the fairly good looking young redhead - aka my BFF from HS... did you catch all that?) Joe's aunt has a cabin up on the I-da-HO side, so we headed (headed? is that the word? say it out loud... it doesn't sound right) up there for kind of our last little HOO-RAH before we had to... gobacktoschool (ahh I said it! now it's bound to come true!) Anyhow, Zac and I got Friday off so went headed (there's that word again) up there thursday night. But Joe and Steph couldn't come until friday afternoon/evening. Since they had the keys we decided to just camp out on the cabin's front lawn and hope that none of the neighbors thought we were there to case the place. We also had decided to take our air-mattress to sleep on...we only realized the potential problem once we were there and had our 1 and 1/2 man tent all set up... How were we going to get the mattress INto the barbie sized tent? Zac calls this type of situation "square peg, round hole". I would have to agree... Also we didn't have electricity to run our "electric" pump... so we went across the street to the Stake Center.... shhhhh... and borrowed some from the pavillion (apparently church pavillions exsist to save me. My mom's wedding, the mattress.... ....) So even though I thought we were going to break something in the process (i.e. the tent, the matress, Zac's back) we actually managed to make it work! And it left us plenty of room... now we were in perfect range to make out with the tent ceiling if any occasion called for it (not sure what type of occasion that would be, but be prepared never the less!)

The next day we proceeded to make THIS tutorial for you, after paying $4 in dimes and quarters to get into the "state park". Zac did a lot of research on sandcastle building prior to our coming (and now you want to google it I'm sure) and we implemented our new skeels.. SO here you go!

STEP #1.1 Find the perfect spot

STEP #1.2 Dig a freaking HUGE moat

Choose your shape. Circle, square, oblong, oval. Here we opted for a circle longing to be egg shaped, and started to dig. Keep digging until you find yourself watching Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson on the balance beam... or until you find the "water line". That is apparently where they keep all the "good" sand (as opposed to the sand that did 5-7 years for robbing a bank)

STEP #Tres: Create a foundation (a firm one)

Feel free, if the mood strikes you, to hum a little hymn action. There is nothing like real world application here. We decided to build some what of a mound and then pat it down to create a somewhat smooth surface. Since sand isn't a liquid, but millions of tiny particles grouped together, you won't get a completely smooth surface, so leave perfection at the beach (oh wait...)

STEP #4 Build walls

What is a fortress without walls... THIS TOOK FOREVER! However we brought some techniques to share. They are pretty technical, so don't feel bad if good ol' Webster aids you in your understanding.. (stephanie says I'm a "ham"... whatever that means)

This is "Patting"

And "Dripping" presented by Zac

Step # Lastly: Add detail

We finished (as in the last hour of our endevour) up our project adding some nice homey detailing. Zac carved out the bricks and I employed the "dripping" techinique to apply some castle-eque features.

Then you take pictures and get "Heck out of DODGE" because you are the last people on the beach as storm blows in...

Tools needed:

Sand (the good kind)

A Shovel (we forgot the big one)

Some Ccarving Tools (heaven forbid you don't detail it)

A nice day at the beach...

Oh and water...

Estimated prep time: zero - none

Building time: approx 5 1/2 hours

Burning to a crisp? priceless...

For everything else please just use the dang card!

The people at MasterCard had nothing to do with this post

The rest of the trip was doing about the same thing... we didn't have boats or anything like the cool kids on the block so we decided to come back for day 2 of Sand building... Zac and I got a little cocky (we pretty much rock -- hah - no pun intended... that would require whit) and tried to make a Lighthouse while Steph and Joe were content to build Buckingham palace (actually I don't know what they built.. something from their recent live-in vaca to London...) This is what we ended up with.

And then we DESTROYED them. Stephanie insisted there was no better way to end to day.

We had a Bushell and a Peck of fun... haha. (that doesn't even make sense... for that reason, I'm leaving it be) Here are some pics.

Ca-didily-abin

2008-08-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this pictureless in hopes that it motivates me to continue moving my posts from draft form to readable blog form. I realize that people like pictures... you will have to check back for when I add them. I wrote this blog a while ago - sorry you have a nerd for a blog-buddy.

Feast or Famine my friends... feast or famine... that is what we should name this blog. I refuse to apologize for not updating the blog... for some reason I just can't bring myself to say "we were so busy... blah de dah" ... it's true.. but that's beside the point. The point is that I love to blog as unfiltered finger exercise. My docter says it can help prevent osteoarthritis while causing carpultunnel AT the same time -- Ok, so maybe I'm full of crap (sorry mom, *a quarter is added to the cuss jar*)

ANY-HOO... our old Logan friends (old as in like a whole 2 years ago... our friends are rather young themselves) came up from their new home town in Vegas (actually Henderson) NV and cherry picked us to come spend a weekend with them at their parent's cabin. We also saw our favorite Dr Barry Cook from our never-blogged trip to Mexico... I don't think it needs to be said that we had a blast... and, as uncommon as it is, I'm at a loss of word to describe this trip. Check out the pics though. Of course Zac didn't bring the camera on the bost ride that I actually got up on the knee board AND did a 180. So now that will be up to debate whether or not I'm telling the truth. I'm pretty wicked on a knee board.

{insert cool pics of the cabin and the boat}

Travel log not included, the cabin was really awesome, and right on the lake.

{more pictures of the groupies and the lake}

Mark and Lara are BIG gamers, and, of course, after we were done frying in the sun on the boat we came back inside for some good-as-the-old-days round of games. Mark and Lara have Landon -- isn't he cute? Who wouldn't be with those eyes!
{cue cutie pie picture of one-year-old Landon giving a cheeser smile!}

The Day 'O' Wedding Bliss

2008-08-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sure, sure, I told you I was going to update this. Mabye some of you checked back, thinking I would actually be true to my word and get up on it. But I know that those of you who truely know me, knew better, and are just checking back now... then again, maybe I grossly underestimate your faith in me. Never the less, here it is, the travel log version because I'm fresh out of creativity.

Just for the record... I DO NOT remember my day feeling this LONG! There is definately something to say about "Wedding Day Bliss" .. as much as I thought I was totally into the day -- apparently I wasn't. THIS day, as awesome as I thought it turned out, was a very long day... Now, out with the down-er thoughts -- on to happy ones.

For those who may not know as well as many, my mom was pretty accustomed to the single life after aprox 10 years. Then this Handsome Gent. came and swept her off her feet. A last minute cancelation/approval came through that made it possible to start this lov-er-ly day at the temple (what better place could there be?) The preview post was of them coming out. Look at how happy she is!!!

Followed by the luncheon, and of course some family pictures. Amy was in charge of this (the luncheon), and it was great! I was happy to sit back and eat to my hearts content - which can be a lot, as evidence to my growing *ahem mumble mumble*. It was nice, with close family there and of course all my siblings from far far away (no, not the city in the movie Shrek)

Yes, I made the cake, and picked up a cussing problem along with it. You probably can't tell, but the bottom layer faded from purple to blue in the short 30 minute drive from my casa to mi madre's... (thus the cussing -- at least in part... I am currently in withdrawls and seeking therapy for my devilish ways) BUT all in all I think it turned out handsome for my first swear word-inducing cake. My mom and Dell totally tried to cut the cake without anyone noticing, and it resulted in quite the uproar from all those bearing cameras at ready. Serves her right, as I'm sure that would NOT fly on the day of my wedding.... all my siblings joked that this was our day to get her back for all the things she made us do at our weddings (stand in a line, something something, stand in a line etc... you get the idea)

The reception turned out ok... if you count pouring rain as a good thing. But, a rainbow appeared, and according to my cousin that supposidely means fertility... I told her she should tell that one to my mom :) She never did -- I'm not sure why. No one seemed to mind the rain. We were under a pavillion, and it broke the blistering heat from earlier.

The food was good and the music perfect (provided by my Ipod). We couldn't put the food out fast enough and only once did an old man, with his hearing aid turned up a wee bit, complain that the music (most likely Michael Buble`) was too loud... and the best part... against her wishes... my mom got stuck in a line!! AH HA! sweet journey! In her words "I just want to mingle and talk to people" *as we all roll our eyes* Needless to say she attempted to "mingle" but that lasted all of five seconds and suddenly -- as if we had planned it (should have thought of that) -- there was a LINE!

Here's a peek

2008-08-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

July 26, 2008

My mom got married!! Woohoo. Here's a peek of the happy new couple. I'll show ya more once I have some. I was too busy smelling, directing, and looking pretty to take pictures myself. I'll need to rely on Christensen Photography (if she doesn't mind so much, and no, smelling wasn't a spelling mistake)

Flashback Friday

2008-08-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

So I've heard of some people doing this Flashback thingy, and even though I don't know that I could have the brains to remember to do it every Friday, it's at least fun this time. I was fishing through some pictures from last year and I managed to snag these beauties... I could possibly loose my life for posting these... ... Zac wouldn't let me post them on his profile for facebook, so here I get my revenge. This is what happens when you take over the blog -- you get to choose the fate of the pictures posted here.

This time last year we were happily swimming in my mom's pool. Mom was still single. (for those who don't know, my mom just got married, see here for a glimpse of the lucky guy.) Amy's family was only 2, and my hair was like 5 inches shorter. I just love Zac's sequential cannonball.. What a hunk he his!

We (as in Amy, Jefferson, Zac and me) all went on a cruise last year too... here's a cheesey picture I asked a stranger to take. I actually meant it to turn out like this, but when you try to explain to a complete stranger that you are going for utterly gag-erific romance movie quality, you start to feel a little sheepish for not just growing a third arm to take the picture yourself (preferrably an arm that could stretch like the Fantastic Four guy.. so as not to be in the picture) and all the while you are trying to look dreamily into eachother's eyes as 27 other people try to look on (but are strangely attracated to the wierd couple taking the picture... you know.. when they try to mind their own business, but also stay out of the picture - it requires them to look with out actually "looking")

This one is better... This picture was taken the day just prior to a royal frying, wilst Skidoo-ing, where I didn't even want to wear clothes... opps! I mean... it hurt really bad.... yeah.

I think we all look nice. Wilma let me borrow her necklace.

A Tag? Is this like Tag you're it? ... Now what do I do

2008-07-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

4 places I go over and over:
1. Work (lame I know)
2. Emily Jane (like a garage sale, but it's a store)
3. School (the tall buidling, or the one on Prez circle.. that's how Zac refers to them to know where to come rescue me from)
4. My bed... 2nd best friend...maybe third.. but pretty close to the top

4 places I like to eat:
1. Cafe Rio (I eat there so often that it's starting to get old.. nooooooooo!)
2. McDonalds... I know I know.. but I love a good BigMac -- vein clogging goodness
3. TGIFridays
4. Movie Theatre Popcorn (it's not a place, but I often like to replace dinner with a Large bucket of popcorn and lots of butter... yeah I'm weird like that)

4 places I would like to be right now:
1. Home ... in my bed
2. JoAnn's Fabric store.. or any fabric store.. with some money...
3. Boston
4. Anywhere, but work or school

4 t.v. shows I like:
1. Reality shows - So you think you can dance, Bachelor, Wipeout, Amazing Race, Amercia's Next Top Model - to name few
2. Lost
3. The Office
4. House

4 Books I've enjoyed:
1. Harry Potter
2. Ender's Game/Shadow
3. Twilight (who doesn't)
4. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Who I am tagging:
hmmm... Gonna have to pass... not sure about tagging just yet

Random post order...

2008-07-17T23:00:00.001-07:00

Apparently the posts go in the order you WRITE them and not the order you POST them in. I pre-wrote some posts and just waited until I got home to add pics, and now they are out of order .. sort of... so here is the Boston post ... and here is the New Car post..
Side note... I like comments... gives me an excuse to remember to post -- if that even made sense.

Barfing in the Park

2008-07-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

So a little tip for all you who may wonder... Don't go a whole day without eating, attempt to endure a lecture from a certain professor and choose only to ingest half dried, half gooey apricot-ish treats attainable from your local Nutty Guys retailer.... the result of doing so is making great impressions on friends you haven't seen in a while, and one such friend's girlfriend you have yet to meet until that fatefil day of terrible choices... TRANSLATION.. I barfed in front of a lot of people I know, and one person who will, I'm sure, forever remember me as the girl who barfed at the park.

Michelle took a picutre (of the group I shamed myself in front of, not of the action resulting in the shame) and maybe I'll post it later (if she gives me a copy) and you can, too, laugh at my pale face just prior to said action.... haha... yes I CAN laugh at myself... on occasion

SkOoL

2008-07-16T08:58:00.001-07:00

Ok so I must have had something in mind when I wrote this on the "promises" list, but honest to blog I can't remember what it was I wanted to say... but I'll just fake it like I did remember. Here's a blip...
I GOT AN A!!! Ok so it was an easy class, and I probably would have shot my foot had I failed it, but this happiness comes two-fold. ONE it's an online class, and my track record shows a long line of Flubbers (with a capitol F) and a few curse words (not C... that would have meant I passed) so to pass is one thing, but to get an A!! woohoo... TWO this is my first official grade at the so-called "Evil University" (lance) and I'm so happy I could start at the top... and then catch the slippery slide to the bottom.. haha. there is nowhere to go but down right? haha. I'm kidding. -- really I am..
This Summer has been part happiness, and part misery.. My Understanding Children class has been a lot of work outside of work, but really fun... My other class... well I'll let you deduce the rest... Should I survive this class... I know I can conquer the world... should I go missing... try not to wait too long before sending out the search party..

NEW CAR... well sort of..

2008-07-16T08:38:00.001-07:00

Ok so I didn't mean to be so misleading.. I realized that when you say car, people automatically assume a quadra-tire with a multi passenger capacity (as in more than two) but alas, we did NOT get a new car by those standards mentioned. What I meant was we got a new "mode of transportation"... I've been bugging Zac for a 2nd form of transportation, and he has been bugging me for a Moped.. Alas (after months and months of searching mind you) we settled and agreed on this.

A 2002 Honda Shadow ACE... pretty huh? I'm actually really excited, and I've even driven it around the parking lot a few times. Like any good dad, I mean husband.. I will need to complete the motorcycle course and obtain the M on my license in order to take it on the road... or so he tells me.... ok fine I will..

Zac did.. he took the class... came home and told me about it every day, and now he's official. His favorite part about riding the bike? Waving the official motorcyclist wave as he passes other riders (yes there really is such a thing) He says it makes him feel cool... and he is... cool...

Tell me what you think!

Hah ah yah! We went to Bahston

2008-07-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

YO! Ok so yes we did go to Boston. We did get back like 21 days ago, and no I haven't posted an ounce about.. but let me just TELL YOU! It was soosoososo much fun.

SO! The original idea to go was based on several conversations with Tadd and Julie about coming to visit them before Tadd graduates, and they head off for another adventure. Then Gus (one of my most favorite 6 -now 7- year olds) would call us and say things like "My parents like to go on dates, and if you were here we wouldn't have to have a babysitter" (haha) and then he wrote us a letter, and we finally decided it was time. Our justification started as "We're going for Tadd's graduation" but we have no idea when he is going to actually graduate and he may not even "walk", so the next excuse was "We'll go for our anniversary" but Tadd wouldn't be home if we centered the trip around June 8th (No Zac not the 6th) and then we looked at the next week... June 19th to be exact... and it was Gus's birthday... the same favorite boy I was telling you about. It all just fell into place. We decided to fly out late the 18th (a wednesday) get there after the kids were asleep and wake up Gus the next morning for his birthday.. HOW FUN WOULD THAT BE!?!? So we kept it a secret from Gus. Tadd said we had a couple of close calls, and they were tempted to tell him, but we held it... did I mention how much I LOVE suprises? well I do.. So we bought our tickets clear back in April (so a long time to hold my mouth shut... that's a feat in and of its self -- yes mom I know) and Gus would call us and talk to us, and ask us about coming, and we'd try not to lie, and change the subject. Those weeks past so slowly, I swear!

Well the day came and we were smooth sailing all the way to Boston by way of Denver (my hometown) and everything was going to plan. We got there at about 11pm and ended up staying up to chat with Tadd and Julie until nearly 2am (sorry guys) but we were just so stoked to be there. Well needless to say we didn't beat Gus out of bed, but he walked by our closed door with out a thought about it. Everyone else was awake! How could i let this happen? We were at the top of the stairs trying to figure out what we should do and how to navigate down the creeky stairs when Zoe walked by (our 9 year old accomplice... yes she knew we were coming... good secret keeper) the look of shock and suprise was classic... like she knew we were there, but it was still a little surreal.. She motioned for us to wait and went and got Gus to sit on the couch (out of site of the stairs..) and told him he had a suprise... so once we got to the bottom of the stairs we started singing Happy Birthday and when we rounded the corner, the look on Gus's face was CLASSIC!! It couldn't have worked out better.. I don't think he knew what to say or do.. Did I mention I LOVE suprises!! Ok so if I told you my whole trip in that much detail, it would be a novel for days to come. We had so much fun! But here is a small synopsis..

This trip was the perfect combination of touring Boston, traveling, relaxing and having fun with the fam. We've never had Tadd, Julie, Zoe, Gus, and crazy little Sam to ourselves before, so it was more than enough just to hang out with them. We went on the Freedom Trail (the famous red line that takes you through all the historic sites) and I reminissed about my senior trip with my high school choir, and ate at Mike's Pastries -- oh so good! We went to Harvard Yard, oooed ahed and then rubbed the germ infested golden toe. We went and saw the new Indiana movie with Gus for his bday, toured MIT and Tadd's oh so cool lab (he's pretty much as smart as they come). We drove to Maine to shop (oh, yes we shopped!) and see a lighthouse (just one *wink*) and finally we went to the beach the morning of our flight. I went the whole trip with out getting burned and then managed to fry myself like a pig on a spickot mere hours before our departure to home... but it was still fun -- I found little hermit crabs and played with them. That was our touring/traveling portion. We also just chilled at home. Julie and I are still getting to know eachother, and it was really fun to get to know my only sister-in-law on Zac's side (he only has two brothers) She likes to sew! (yay for common interests) she has an awesome knack for finding really cute fabric, and an eye for putting them together into beautiful quilts. I wanted her to rub just a little of her talent my way. We decided to have some girl time and let the boys hang out. We took Zoe to the fabric store, picked out fabric and then took a little time out of each day, for a couple days to craft these fun dolls. I found the pattern on another blog that led me to another site.. if you're interested, you can find the pattern here. It was so fun to design them, sew them, and learn together. It took a little longer since we only had two machines (only one for a while) and none of us had done it before.. I ended up making two.. here are the four together.. and we named them.

The rest is history. you can find our "coming home story" here. Which was an adeveture all on it's own... Sorry this blog is so painfully long..

Thanks Tadd and Julie for being such amazing hosts, and letting us come crash the party!!

Promises

2008-07-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

OK so I know that some of you are wondering if I have dropped off the face of this planet... I'm starting to wonder the same thing.. haha but I pormise an update is a'commin. Here is a list of things I promise to share... I'll write it down so I can remember too
*New Car
*BOSTON!!
*School-ee-O
*Latest projects
*and a few other random things I've been meaning to share. I have a ton of pictures, so you might want to brace yourselves.
So this is what I get for taunting Britta for not posting enough :)

AAaaaand We're Back!

2008-06-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

SO just in case you worried, yes we are still alive. We had a wonderful time in Boston (and this time I really will post pictures.. I don't know if Mexico will ever happen -- oops) On our way out we said our sad goodbyes, boarded the plane, taxied out to the tarmack (I really have no idea how to spell that) and then waited. and waited and waited... The captain came on and told us we were looking at a 90 minute delay due to rain and lighting in the direction we were headed. We had a chance to get off, but we decided we would just try, and hopefully our connection in Chicago would be delayed... well it was but we didn't make it in time and so after speaking to 3 Customer Service Reps we took a "discouted" rool at the glorious (not so much) DaysInn in shabby Chicago and caugth a flight to Denver the next morning and from Denver to Salt Lake... Now that I think about it we should have just stayed in Chicago and gone to see Wicked... oh well.. but we are safe and home back to our crazy work and school routine... Now all I have to do is study for two tests I'm completely unprepared for, write a paper for a movie I missed, sew a dress for a 9 month prego woman, and blog about my most fantastical family vacation to Boston.
To Tadd, Julie, Zoe, Gus, and of course Sam... YOU GUYS ROCK THE CASBA! So much fun!

Graduation, Blessing and Family

2008-06-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

SO! We had a big weekend of fun the first week of June (just took me a couple weeks to recover and write about it :) ) Jefferson gradutated from Nursing School (YAY Jefferson) and Amy & Jefferson blessed baby Kaylee. It was a great weekend and as usual my wonderful family came from all over to support and congratulate. I love my family (even the dramatic parts -- oh wait that's me too.. oh well what can you do) I was so great to have everyone crammed into mom's three bedroom townhouse. It gets a little crazy (and a little messy) but I think it's great! Lance, Kelsey, Erik, and Brock came from Cali -- they drove in wed or thurs. Brent, Hayden and Mia drove from Colorado and Britta flew from AZ straight from a cousin's wedding. Andy, Lindsay, Talmon and Cooper came from Vernal, UT. It's so nice to have family support and so good to get together. Saturday was the graduation and we cheered the loudest cheer we could muster (and it was pretty loud) for 2nd Leutenant Jefferson Uhro Hunter, as he crossed the stage. I couldn't stop crying. One the one hand I was so proud of him for persevering and finishing RN school, on the other hand I was SO so so happy to have my family around me and on a third hand (hidden somewhere so people dont' make fun of my third arm) is the excitement at the possiblity of finishing my own degree here in the near future. After the ceremony and a billion graduates later we took off to the celebration BBQ where they had a little kiddy pool set up and we were fortunate to snap this gem!

Love these boys! Now, the one in the middle tan pants... not sure who he was, but I claim the rest as my favorites! left to right is Hayden, Brock (in the background with the hose) stranger boy, Talmon, and Erik.. LOVE their faces right?

They had a blast running and jumping into the pool earning a cheer fom the audience and a nice big splash! Erik started it all and it lasted until he hurt his foot. Did I mention I love them?

Well the next day (Sunday of course) was the blessing. Jefferson gave Kaylee Grace Hunter a beautiful blessing and the circle was HUGE full of love and familiy from all over. After we got some more pictures and one of all the kids.

Talmon, Mia, Brock, Hayden holding Kaylee, Erik, and Cooper. They were all such troopers. After this picture we had lunch and then Lance and Kelsey had to get back on the road so we all said goodbye. It was a great weekend and I can't wait to see them all again come mom's wedding July 26th! YAY

Oh and here is the dress I made.. I'm happy with how it turned out, but Kaylee just makes the dress look so good. What a beautiful baby (and dress -- if I may say so) of course the basket was a must.. and she's smiling!

as well as the mommy and baby couple pic. My sister is going to be such a great mommy, and I want her to know I love her.

Here is what I have from the weekend in pictures. A special thanks to Lindsay of Christensen Photography. If you like her work, I have her contact info :)

So Thankful to be ME!

2008-05-26T01:02:00.000-07:00

Ok so really I don't know what that title has to do with anything I'm thinking about. Of course I am thankful to be me -- I have a husband of whom I adore, a life that's worth living, and travel plans a'comin' that I am so excited about I could possibly pee my pants. But wet pants aside, I'm really just thoughtful. Really the only thing that drives me to blog is when I'm thoughtful, and it comes in random spurts. For example: it is 2:05 AM on Monday (memorial day woohoo!) and I'm WIDE awake begging for some relief from my realing mind. I know why I'm awake. I slept in until 10:30am this morning and then took an un-needed nap after church -- but I'd like to think it's because I have a lot on my mind. It makes me feel like I'm making progress... Instead of a constant nothingness, I have something... ... ... ok so that only made sense in my 2AM alternate mind set. So today, in preparation for Primary (in sacrament... ) I decided to go through the Children's songbook, in an effort to get a grip on what I'm trying to accomplish in my new calling as primary chorister, and I came upon this song. (if I even remember the words)

At night, when I'm alone in bed,

I close my eyes and see

The many things I'm thankful for

That God has given me.

I seee my friends and teachers, too,

And others who love me.

These many blessings make me feel

So thankful to be me.

I actually couldn't stand to put up half of the words, so I went and got my book. But you know how they say that your mind repeats a song because it's trying to finish it right? You know, when you have a song "stuck in your head" and you keep repeating those 2 lines over and over again.. they say it's because you're trying to remember it.. Well I guess that could be true too.. but maybe I just needed an opportunity to remind myself that I'm thankful to be me. Even though I'm back to school, and that's crazy, and life is crazy, I'm still thankful to be where I am, doing what I'm doing with the beliefs and faith I have, and the person I'm sharing it with. This post just took a nose dive into a pool of sap... and here I'm stuck. Maybe I should stop.. yeah that sounds like a good idea. But one more thing... I had a friend most recently make the statment that he no longer believes in God, or any higher being for that matter. He stated, pretty much in a nut shell, that to have intellegence and faith don't mix. I want (in my WIDE awake but sleepy thoughtfulness) to state my feelings on the matter... but I'd rather keep it simple. I believe in God, our Heavenly Father, and that is my statement. I feel no need to explain further. And with that I conclude this, yet another, confusing, discombobulated and random posts. Cheers to those who've read, and continue to read, dispite my ... unique qualities. I'm really done now....

You can have.... nothing on this menu

2008-05-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

This post goes out to my sweet nephew Cooper... A couple months ago he was admitted to Primary Childrens Hospital for some issues including some serious swelling all over his body. If you know Cooper, you know he is one of the sweetest, most loving boys I know. Seeing him there was so hard, and you could tell he just wasn't his normal chipper self. Each day we hoped he could go home, after this test he could go home, as soon as they got these results he could go home, etc... Finally after 4 days they concluded that he had a milk allergy. I'm not a dr, so I really don't know all the details, just that this wasn't an intolerance, but an allergy... and Cooper LOVED cheese. The swelling went down, but Lindsay was still noticing hives breaking out all over. So she brought him back for some more allergy testing and found out he is not only allergic to dairy (the protein in dairy) but also treenuts, peanuts, eggs and gluten. I was shocked! I didn't know what he COULD eat, but I knew there was a lot he COULDN'T eat. Lindsay, I think, is such a good sport about it. She kindly reminds people about the things he can't have, and has patience when even we, his aunts, uncles, and granparents, forget. I LOVE this boy, and it makes me feel so sad that this has to affect him in such a huge way, at such a young age. BUT my point. So, much to my suprise, there are roughly 11 million people in the US with food allergies, and 9 million are specifically allergic to peanuts, dairy or eggs. I will probably be the first one to admit that I think the whole "organic" movement is a little silly in a sense, but when I think of my little nephew, who has so few options, I may open to the idea in a very NON OBSESSIVE way. Lindsay told me about this site Cherrybrook Kitchen that sells all allergen-free treats! HOW EXCITING! I read through the FAQs to find out more and also found another site where you can learn more about Food Allergies. Anyway check it out. I'm feeling the need to raise awareness, but I have NO idea where I would start. The Cherrybrook Kitchen is one such person who has dedicated her time and passions to finding alternative foods and such to the like. I really just love my nieces and nephews -- they are the light of my life. To: Hayden, Mia, Baby A, Baby B, Erik, Brock, Kaylee, Talmon and of course Cooper, I LOVE YOU ALL!

Good news comes in the form of... summer school??

2008-05-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

So I've been sitting on this announcement a little... a little little.. I can't keep a secret, but I tried.

Last wednesday (after a bit of soul searching) I woke up with a very strong voice in my head that said "YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL" (you can laugh at my all caps, but it really felt like that) It was like someone put a bug in my pants. I suddenly had the motivation that I have been lacking to get back to school. I think someone (upstairs) knew I needed a strong kick in the pants. Anyhoo, it was amazing how everything came together. I determined that if I waited for fall semester to roll around, I might freak out like I did last semester and not go back, so I determined to aim for summer semester (started monday May 12, haha and rememeber this is wed may 7) I talked to the admissions office, and they said I could still get in for summer, applied online (complete with late fees and app fees) got all my transcripts together, called advising (lucky apt THAT day) talked to my advisor, and found out that I only have 49 credits left to graduate!!! For those of you who think that still sounds big, it's not. 49 credits translates into either, 2 semesters of 15 credtis, and one of 17, OR 3 semesters of 12 and 1 of 13... THAT'S IT!! All this time I have been dragging my feet thinking it was going to take me another 4 YEARS to finish! (don't ask me how I got that in my head) and I REALLY want to finish. I've never felt so driven in my life. SO, I'm really sorry Lance, but your little sister will be graduating from the U.. But I'm so excited! My plan is to go Summer, Fall, Spring, and finish in Summer of next year.. and even if worse comes to worse I can graduate Fall09 and still be done before my beloved (sorry Zac) My dream is coming true!!! I'm going to graduate college, and it is as sweet as I could have imagined .. now all I have to do is pass that pesky statistics class... Human Developement and Family Studies here I come! and then you ask, Jana, what is the BEST part about this whole deal... and I answer and say, well, friends, the BEST part is I only need 32 credits for my major... But Jana, you say, what about those other 17 credits you need to eqaul 49? --can we say FLUFF CLASSES!!! (or a minor I guess :) )

Zac is taking a class this summer too, and I am so proud of him. He works so hard, and I know it can't be easy having his wife start later, and finish before him, but it's all for a good cause.

NOW, the reason I was sitting on the announcement (sort of) was because I haven't been accepted to the university yet (small wrinkle in my plans) but I just checked this morning (after checking like 183 times AND bugging the people at the admissions office on a couple occasions) and I'm OFFICIAL! Onward to glory! I'm so happy happy! Now I just have to convince Zac that he wants to take the ballroom class with me this summer... he he he

Finals Finalize and Gorilla glue... doesn't glue

2008-04-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

So today is really just a rant... a little bit of blubbering, a little bit of venting and a lot a bit of babbling... if that is even how you spell babbling... babbelling... babbaling? whatever. So it's apparently Spring.. I have the fever... but apparently they haven't taken snow off the menu and someone keeps ordering it... WHAT-EV! (that the cool slang) Today is supposed to be blazing 81 degrees with a slight breeze translating into what we westerners like to call a" B-E-A-Utiful day!" Simply glorious. I'm feeling a little shafted that I have to be inside (as far from a window as you can get and still have the vents kick a little un-used air your way) BUT the weather is there, and that is what counts -- kind of like the thought, on a present. Give me dollar store, made-in-china, lead infested statuette, as long as you mean it with the if-I-had-a-million-dollars-to-spare-it-would-be-wrapped-with-a-pretty-bow-with-your-name-on-it attitude (that hyphenated sentence was harder to achieve than it looks... I had to deny my instinct to hit the space bar..) so all tangents aside doesn't Spring translate into happy birds singing along with a soon-to-be princess, with a glass shoe, or running through the forrest with the local animals to "enjoy the breeze" smell the flowers, and pick berries? what happened to the intended disney magic? Alas instead it is finals week and I still work 8 to 5... no time for prancing in the forrest or feeding mice you clothed yourself. Does anyone hear me? Well, as hard as it is to imagine, my poor Zac has had it a significant amount harder. Who ever said that voluntary self torture was the definate alternative to hiking Mnt Everest .... the oxygyn levels can't differ THAT much.. My poor dear has hit a point of insanity. I pitty him. Well without much further ado, I'll tell you that Gorilla Glue is NOT all it's whacked up to be. Poor Zac had a heck of a time trying to get to school yesterday. After trying to print his notes for a good hour (before he took me to work, and then some after he got back) he finally gets technology to agree that he needed them, and in one moment of pure coincidence (again, my second grade spelling skills fail me) he somehow manages to bump the Jesus statue which, ever so movie-like, lands right on the metal leg of the computer chair... I guess he had had enough because he was so upset, he left the affending mess and went to school... in one smooth swoop he bumped, broke, grabbed, and left the scene. Well I should say how upset I was, but aside from the religious value of the statue, I wasn't all that heart broken. A five minute convo with my mom revealed the price, of the now priceless piece, was seven dollars, at an enrichment activity, too long ago to mention dates... Needless to say I really didn't care. (Yes Lance, that was probably a run-on sentence with way too many misused comas... we can talk about it later... call me) If ANY of this story makes sense to you, then you have officially entered the realm of Jana-ese... I speak my own language... Alas Zac was pretty upset -- he cares and that is what matters. If he can just get through this week I'm sure he'll have time (and the brains) the forgive himself. SO! I thought, if I can just fix the statue... put it back together... then he won't feel so bad. The super glue was dried up (go figure) and all I could find apart from my kindergarten school pal, Elmers glue, was the Gorilla Glue we bought after we had heard so much about it. Well, short story long, after about 45 minutes of piecing, damping (as it says in the instructions.. because you need instructions for glue) and glueing and piecing and damping and glueing... my fingers were gorilla-ed out and my perma fist was wishing there was a wall to punch.. As all of our walls are cinderblock, I opted out of that option and went on a walk with Jana. (2 miles to be exact... helLOO fat burner)
Zac still has some finals left, but with any luck he will be back to normal in no time, ready to conquer the summer.. BOY will I have stuff to blog about then! Until then, I'll try to keep my run-on sentences and hyphenated bad spelling to myself.
I love you Zac... hope you feel better soon

Happy BIRTHday

2008-04-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yay! and welcome to new baby Kaylee Grace Hunter of the Amy & Jefferson Hunter clan. It's my sister's first baby, and she did a great job. Kaylee wasn't due until May 8, but a visit to the doc on tues showed high BP and a drive straight to hosptial and into Labor and Delivery. They induced Amy at 5:00pm and Kaylee came at 11:20pm.. not bad for the first one, I hear. She came out a skinny/short 6 lbs 9oz and 17 inches. I think she looks a lot like Jefferson, but it's agreed that she has Amy's nose. I wanted to credit my sister with an amazing jorb well done. She was brave the all natural way. Here are a few pics my mom took... Take note of the new man in the leather jacket.. he's my mom's love interest.... cool guy.. I'll keep you updated.

Dentist Date

2008-04-15T11:04:00.001-07:00

I think I have found, perhaps, the most creative, most interestingly... expensive date!

Zac and I went to the dentist together yesterday. The office laday was so nice to give us apts at the same time, so I didn't have to take two days off work. Zac is usually in his happy Valum induced world when embarking on advetures to the dentist, so I'm always happy to drive him. We were quite the half-a-mouth numb couple, laughing at eachother's inability to smile or drink wanter without drooling out the offending side. We were a regular comedy. We had so much fun on our date that we scheduled another one in two weeks.. The office lady was sure nice to make that possible! Don't tell Zac I told you, but I think he actually enjoyed himself... but that could be partial to the Valum.. don't tell him I told you that either.

The first of many

2008-04-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in old pictures or my old blog you can go here to check it out. This blog is from here on out!

Coming soon is "MEXICO: The Adventure"... sounds riveting eh?