I’m a blogging failure. I don’t really have time to sit here and write out long blogs as much as I’d like to. I’ll probably come back to this once in awhile, but I don’t know if we’ll renew our domain once it comes up for renewal in May. Eh. I was saying that I wanted something that was a cross between Facebook and Twitter and so I discovered Tumblr. A couple of my friends have used it before but I was never very familiar with it. It’s like “microblogging.” PERFECT. Check it out here. It’s mostly just random things I find online or things I find that are cool and want to share, etc. Come check it out and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I may come back here from time to time to post more family oriented posts. Thanks for reading!
January 23, 2010
October 6, 2009
October Happenings
This is a busy month and the beginning of the holiday season. We’re closing on our house soon and moving in this month. Hopefully things go smoothly…
Events I’m looking forward to:
Baby Day Expo 2009
Andrew and I went last year and it was awesome. I’m excited to attend this year.
Halloween-Related:
Gardner Village
Gardner Village is THE place to check out especially during the holidays. They have such great events to attend. It’s fun for the kiddies and just an overall fun time. Check them out if you’re ever in the neighborhood. They’ve got some fun stuff.
Movies I want to see:
Couples Retreat - Opens Oct. 9th
New York, I Love You - Opens Oct. 16th
Where the Wild Things Are - Opens Oct. 16th
Thanks for reading. I’m keeping it short this time around. Happy October!
September 26, 2009
Building Our House
Well if you haven’t already heard… Andrew and I got our number one choice house. And I’m not talking about the second tier number one. I’m talking about our first choice (if only we could afford this) house. Everything worked out beautifully so we were able to go with the house we loved from the very beginning but was originally too pricey for us. Here’s the lowdown of the building process:
Our house was supposed to be completed by the end of August at the latest. Obviously that didn’t happen because of some weird thing with the city being slow about the permits. (Apparently, we were told that only one guy does the permits and he had to deal with some tragic health thing and so everything was slowed down in his absence.) We finally got the permit and they started building our house.
Week 1
There was a hole in the dirt for the longest time before they actually started doing anything. After the foundation was in, they really got a lot of things done pretty quickly.
Week 2
Week 3
Here it is fully framed. They framed the entire house in about a week. Quick huh? From here on, we finally were able to see what our house would look like. We loved the model home we walked through, but by the time we had decided on this floor plan, the model had sold and we weren’t able to walk through it fully knowing that was what our house would look like. We only could go by memory and measuring out areas to get an idea of the sizes of the rooms. Our house is also the mirror opposite of the model home so that was interesting to try to flip everything over in our heads.
Week 5 - Exterior
Week 5 - Main floor interior
By week 5, they’d finished up all the drywall in the house and we really were able to see how things were going to look. They even started putting the siding up. Everyone told us that the house looks smaller when it’s framed. Andrew and I aren’t sure if we took that into account when we viewed the rooms, but when they put the drywall in, we thought the rooms looked smaller… Nice huh? Actually, we went back to look today and the rooms really do look bigger than when we first saw it with the drywall so that’s good so I’m not sure what we were thinking at the time.
Not even a week after they started putting up the siding, they finished it all up and even got the trim and painting done. So here it is: Our purple house.
PURPLE?!?! Many would ask… Well, we decided to go with the Victorian exterior since our first choice Colonel wasn’t available. We took a look at the exterior color options before our color selection meeting and chose the ones we liked the most. Of those few, we went to our color selection meeting to find that really only one of the ones we liked was available. And that color was purple. Aubergine is the official name. Andrew describes the color as a plum. Sure, you can’t miss us, but we don’t stand out as much as you’d think. It is a very colorful neighborhood after all.
So there you go. Our house is in the final stages and we’re closing in less than three weeks. We’ll be moved in probably before Halloween which is great to have the Halloween house on the street. Oh well. All that is left to do is all the cosmetic stuff inside, like carpet and paint. We went by today and saw that they put the tile in… But then realized afterward that they have the WRONG tile in. Ugh. Stay tuned for more house adventures in the coming weeks….
September 14, 2009
Oh How I Love Sweet Sadie…
The Oh Sweet Sadie! Art and Gift Show is coming up again… This weekend in fact! I first found out about this show last Spring and was able to attend their show in Daybreak. Oh Sweet Sadie! is a traveling boutique filled with loads of local artists. If you’re all for local, handmade, and unique, this is totally the show for you.
Last time I went, I found lots of really great things for babies, kids, moms, cooks, scrapbookers, girls, pets… Name it. Some items can be pricier than you find at department stores, but that’s just the price you pay for local, handmade, and unique. I did make one really cool purchase that stands out above the rest. I bought Jadon (and Andrew really…) a wooden rifle that shoots off rubber bands. I’d never really seen those sold anywhere before so I was really excited to purchase it. (That same company made old school slingshots too. So cool.)
The show is this Friday and Saturday. Check out the website for details on times and to enter daily contests. And if you’re interested in coming with me, let me know! I’d love some company.
September 10, 2009
September Happenings
Hello September. School’s in full swing now and our house is getting built quickly, which I’ll post about later… Here’s what I’m looking forward to this month:
In the movie department:
Love Happens - Opens September 18th
Fame - Opens September 25th
Forever Strong - Opens September 26th
Not movie related:
Fall Dine O' Round - September 11-27
I’ve also got some events planned with my old high school buddies, so it’ll be fun. My high school homecoming is coming up at the end of this month which means I can stunt again! Maybe… I don’t know if I’m really in the shape to do it anymore, but it never hurts to try.
As for the above mentioned things, I’m not sure what is really plausible at the moment for us, but we’ll see. I definitely need to update soon…
Happy September!
August 31, 2009
My Netbook Birthday
Yay! I finally got a new computer! I mentioned in previous posts that I was moved from my dying laptop to my old desktop. Then I moved to Andrew’s old laptop which quickly entered the dreaded blue screen phase and wouldn’t ever start up without restarting 50 times over, which I’m not exaggerating. My “luck” with computers came to an end and I resorted to using my iPod Touch exclusively for internet use for months. Occasionally, I was able to get onto Andrew’s laptop when he wasn’t using it to do things I needed to do that I wasn’t able to do on my iPod.
Now I’m on my brand new pink Dell mini. Andrew was kind enough to finally get me a new laptop for my birthday. He knew I wanted a netbook for the small size of it and that I wanted it to be pink. He still complains about the cost to make it pink, which really isn’t that bad, and thinks it’s ridiculous, but he was the one who allowed it in the end. He surprised me with the news that he’d ordered about a month ago, but it didn’t arrive until this week. I love it. It’s small, light, and boots up quickly. It’s just perfect for what I need it for. It came just in time for me to do my online class too, which is great.
What else did I get for my birthday? I an external drive to go with my netbook, a couple of DVDs, TOMS shoes, spa and food gift cards, and other random stuff.
All in all, it’s been a fun birthday. I don’t expect too much on my birthday anymore, so it’s nice to just relax. I had a fun birthday BBQ with some old high school buddies that was really fun and a birthday party with the in-laws which was great too.
Thanks everyone for another great year.
August 22, 2009
August Happenings
It’s already August?!? Really? Wow. August really crept up on me this year. August is another big birthday month for me. It’s mainly because mine and my sister’s birthday is this month. [Fun fact: August is the month with the most baby births.] It’s always been a busy month too because school always starts in August. Andrew and I aren’t quite done with school yet… We’re each taking one online class. Andrew has two classes left to finish his Economics degree (his second B.S.) and wants to at least earn a Masters in Computer Science, while I’m still working on my first degree.
We haven’t been to the movies yet since Isabelle was born, but we plan on trying an early matinee soon. In the meantime, here are the movies I want to see coming out this month:
The ONLY movie that I MUST see opening this month…
The Time Traveler's Wife - Opens August 14th
is The Time Traveler’s Wife. I absolutely loved the book and have been waiting for this to come out since I first heard about it years ago. [Fun fact: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston purchased the movie rights to this book before they were divorced... Interesting, huh?] Andrew had me read the book and I was hooked and had a bunch of others read the book as well. I’ve heard it’s not as good if you haven’t read the book before, so be warned…
Other movies coming out this month of interest:
Paper Heart - Opened August 7th : Gotta love the dorkiness that is Michael Cera…
Julie & Julia - I’ve heard Meryl Streep is great in this.
Post Grad - Stars Alexis Bledel which would be interesting to see.
Sorry for the lateness, but I started writing this post August 9th and only now have I been able to come back to it and finish it off. Happy August!
July 22, 2009
Nordy Sale!
I forgot to mention on my July happenings post that I was looking forward to the annual Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. This is the big Nordstrom sale of the year and it’s pretty much like Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) in July. They get a bunch of new stuff that is priced at Anniversary sale prices and once the sale ends (August 3rd this year) the prices go up to the regular prices. This is a great time to buy stuff since it’s not very often you can get this stuff at a lower price.
I went to the sale when the store opened last year at 7 A.M. This was the first time I ever went to the store when it first opened for the sale and I was surprised to find that the store was absolutely packed. You actually had to get a number to wait for a shoe department associate to help you and of course the lines to check out were huge. It really was like Black Friday madness. In the maybe 45 minutes I was there, I ended up purchasing two things and ended up returning one. I still regret returning that item, but oh well. I never ever thought the Anniversary sale was ever that big of a deal but that’s because I never went in the morning. There is stuff that sells out that time that you may never see if you come at a later time. Definitely try the early morning shopping if you want any of the “big ticket” items. Like last year, the two items I purchased were pretty much sold out by the time the sale ended, if not earlier.
This year, the sale began on July 17th at 7 A.M. (1 A.M. online). Selina and I tried to hit the sale as early as we could, but Isabelle had a weird schedule that morning and I wasn’t able to go until just before 10 A.M. It worked out still because we weren’t too interested in any of the catalog items and made it out with a lot of stuff that we liked. Jadon did really well coming along with us and I bought him a pair of blue sunglasses which he modeled so nicely below…
Selina and I went back the next day with Andrew. Andrew thought we were crazy to have to go the day the sale began and didn’t think it was worth it, but I think he changed his mind quickly. I couldn’t find any thing in his size that he wanted. I only found one pair of jeans in his size, but they were too bedazzled for his liking. Fancy lad jeans, as Andrew’s brother-in-law Jason would call them. Another pair I found that fit his waist were too long in the inseam… Selina and I went back to see what they had left of the stuff we liked the day before and weren’t too surprised when we found nothing left in our sizes. Geez! Andrew ended up ordering things online since they still had his size in some things he liked there.
All in all, it was a good shopping day. I got what I wanted and it was fun. Definitely check out the sale if you haven’t yet and look forward to it next year around this time.
Thanks for reading. I’m sure reading about shopping is really amazing…
July 13, 2009
July Happenings
What does July mean to me? Birthdays, fireworks, and Harry Potter! Lol. Andrew’s family wanted to fit 4 birthdays in July so this is a fun month for birthdays. Two of Andrew’s sisters, Rachel and Tonya, and their husbands, Jason and Ryan, all have July birthdays. So in addition to celebrating their birthdays, usually all in one family dinner, we also have fun patriotic celebrations this month too. With July 4th being Independence Day and July 24th being Pioneer Day (Utah’s independence day for those non-Utahns) and the fact that we have lots of kiddies on both sides of the family, Andrew, Jadon, and I have our fair shares of fireworks.
What else am I looking forward to in July? There’s movies and music! Even though it’s a bit hard for me (pretty much impossible at the moment) to attend anything I’m about to mention. I’m excited all the same. Andrew put it best just this past weekend when asked if we were excited for Harry Potter by replying, “Simone’s excited by the idea.” That really just sums it up. Here’s what movies I’m excited for:
Opens July 17th
Opens July 17th
Opens July 24th
While searching for movies that come out in July, I noticed there were a couple of Sundance films that I wanted to see too. Interesting. They’re called The Answer Man and Adam. I wonder how well those will do and if they’re any good. I missed the first half of this month also, so I’m not sure what else I wanted to see. Mainly I do this as a check list of movies that I’ll remember later to see. I tend to really want to see something, but then completely blank about it later on…
As for music I’m looking forward to, Incubus, the Fray, and Jack’s Mannequin are all in town this weekend. Boo. I am missing out on $10 Incubus tickets. Usually I’m not too insistent to see a band I’ve already seen again, but this time around, I’d really like to see the Fray and Jack’s Mannequin again, but oh well. Next time around…
Happy July!
More Wedding Flashbacks!
Our awesome wedding photographer, Pepper Nix included some of our engagement pics on her blog which I posted in an earlier blog post. Here is the link again… Now, she’s posted some pics from the ceremony and reception of our wedding day. Check them out here. (Don’t you just love all those links above?) She’s really a wonderful photographer if anyone’s ever in the market for one. Andrew and I also have some more copies of the slide show Pepper put together for us of our wedding pics. Let me know if you’re interested in a copy. Sooner or later, we’ll have our wedding video. We’re slow about that one…