Not Quite the Best Valentine's Day

Valentines Day started out great.  David and I got to sleep in a little longer since he didn't have to go into work as early as usual and I was able to make a good french toast breakfast.  It was realy cheesy. . . but yes I did cut his french toast to say "I love U"  He liked them but was wondering if that was all the french toast he got. . . He's a four or five french toast eater.   I knew that already but needed to make sure he could see the love I cut into it!  

He went to work for the day and had a normal work day.  I on the other hand wasn't quite feeling up to par.  I couldn't keep my french toast down or anything I tried to eat during the day. . . .and I promise I'm not pregnant.  Just a flu bug for the day I think.  So with that. . . I didn't want to ruin the date night with David so I thought I would tough it out.  We had planned to go to Chili's, if we could find it!  So I just went and got some flu medicine and thought I would be able to survive the night.  

We took off to Chili's and found it first try!  We were glad to finally track it down . . . but we were a little thrown off with the hour wait to get in.  Luckily it was right next to the mall so we took the little vibrating disk thing and cruised through the mall for a bit. . . David made a pit stop at Barnes and Noble and was in heaven!  It was nice for me to be able to just sit and relax while he flipped through some tax and business books.  He was lovin' it and I was surviving.  

We got seated and had our chips and salsa and a cheese dip and they were all really good.  I tried the dips but I couldn't eat a lot of it, but it was nice to just nibble on the chips.  David was right that those chips are some of the best.  

We ordered our food and when it came I just could get myself to eat it.  I got a fajita and it looked great, but I just had to ask for a box to take it home.  I just talked with David while he ate his dinner and I nibbled on the tortilla chips until I felt too nausus and had to make a quick run to the bathroom.  Luckily my body gives me enough notice so there was no mess.  After that I felt great. . . not enough to eat my fajita, but we did go and relax and watch that Benjamin Button movie.  

So our date wasn't quite the best ever. . . but it was memorable for sure!  

I gave David a haircut that he has needed for a while now.  This picture makes him look like he has gained weight but I think he is looking down. . . and his eyebrows do not connect to his hairline. . . I promise I would never let that be!  I don't think that this picture really shows how long it is and I don't have a shot of after, but it is short and that is how I like it!  I love his hair just after it's cut!  He is such a handsome guy and looks so sharp now days! . . . especially since we have been taking advantage of the exercise room at his work.  We sweat like crazy and have run our hearts away for the last three weeks!  So we look good, feel good, and couldn't be happier! 

A Weekend Full of Fun

So last month. . . I know it is old. . . My sister and her husband came to visit us for the weekend and we had a blast.  We went out to dinner to Friday's and John introduced me to the huge . . .and Delicious. . . Jack Daniel's Burger.  It was so good!  I loved it!  Brooks got some yummy mac 'n cheese with some grilled chicken which was really good too.  David thought he would be brave and try something out of his usual.  He got some special burger that was being promoted. . . when our food came he discovered that there was a layer of something chunky and yellowish orange on his burger that looked funny.  He licked it and was disgusted and he looked like he just smelled a poopy diaper or something. . . I wish I had a picture of the face he made because it was the perfect disgusted face!  He scraped this layer of stuff off his burger and put it on a napkin in the middle of our table.  We all tried it and didn't think it was nearly as bad as David did, but couldn't tell what it was either.  It was cheesy, with a twang of something in it and it had the texture of cottage cheese.  It was interesting. . . and it threw David off enough that he is now convinced that trying new things is not worth the risk and he will stick to his burgers with only lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and ketchup. . .  and maybe some bacon if he's in the mood!

We went to the zoo the next day while David was at work.  It was a clear sunny day but it was a little chilly in the shade. . . Not bad for January weather though!    We had fun looking at all the animals and as we were going through, some of the fences seemed a little shorter than what would be needed to keep those animals in.  The tiger's fence and the wolves' were the questionable ones. . . but we only live a couple of miles away and I haven't seen any animals cruising around so I guess they are fine.  I love this picture of the bear. . . I mostly like the paw with all the toes showing.  

This video of the polar bear is pretty goofy.  The bear was just walking in circle around the pillars and as he would come around the corner he would turn around and start backing up.  I don't know if you can tell very well, but as he backs up, he is swaying his head like he's bobbing/dancing to some music.  You can hear Brooks' laugh in the background.  That bear was pretty entertaining!

I love how tigers look with their stripes, but the tiger was just sleeping and we didn't get to see him very well.  I like the stripes on Zebras too and I like how thestripes go all the way up on their mane too.  I think I liked zebra's partly because I learned about them in my animal alphabet book when I was little and I think they are the only animal that I can think of to this day that starts with a 'z'.  I stillremember being completely confused at the fact that zebra started with a 'z' and that xylophone started with an 'x'. . . they sounded the same to me so what difference should it make!?

After the zoo we went to P.F. Chang's and loved it and then browsed around for a while until David was off work.  We were smothered by a tie salesman at Men's Warehouse that was trying way too hard to get his commissions check boosted a little.  John fell in love with some Puma's and felt guilty for not wanting to settle for the cheap brand shoes. . . he was like a little boy trying to convince Brooks how much they meant to him and how he didn't want to get them but that he really did need them.  He ended up getting them and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to wear them to bed every night because he was so proud of them.  

That night we all went out to eat with my cousin Dustin and his girlfriend at Macaroni Grill. . .oohhh that place was good too!  We loved the food and thanks to my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, we were able to use our gift card we got for Christmas!   We were goofy and having good times while we were there and we were all soooo full!  

As we were coming home, we realized that the power was out around my block.  It was so windy!  That was kind of scary because I noticed because the stop lights for the intersection were out.  I hope everyone didn't just assume they had a green light!  We got home and pulled out all the candles we had and luckily Brooks had some matches!  We played Balderdash and were getting pretty creative.  We came up with some interesting explanations about who people were, what certain acronyms stood for, what random movies were about, crazy laws around the world, and definitions to weird words. . . and I ended up pulling ahead of John and winning!  

We went to bed but left one light switch flipped on so we could tell if the power came back on.  Just as we were getting to sleep the light turned on and I think it scared Brooks and John a little!  It was good that it came on so all the stuff in the fridge and freezer didn't go bad, and so we could save the leftovers in the fridge too . . . we really didn't want to lose those!

On Sunday we took a day trip out to Tillamook.  It was nice to see Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob!  We ate lunch with them and then went out to Rockaway beach.  We couldn't believe it, but it was so nice out there!  We had clear skies and absolutely no wind!  We really couldn't ever remember any time during all of the summers that we spent on that beach where the weather was ever that nice!  It was awesome!  The water was probably still numbingly cold, but we didn't swim.  Brooks and John wanted to try out some of the kites that they got from their wedding, but there wasn't enough wind.  John said it would have been fine if he could run 15 miles an hour and keep the kite up.  Maybe next time!

We just built a sand castle instead.  Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob approved!  It was pretty neat!  You can tell how deep our moat is since we are standing in it. . . Brooks even put an alligator in there to protect the castle, but John killed it.  John said this was a secret. . . but he made an underground railroad. . . I bet he was thinking along the lines of it being Martin Luther King day and Harriet Tubman and her history leading the black people out of slavery. . . very thoughtful John!

David enjoyed the sun as he laid out on a blanket and read a nice book on the beach. . . Financial Accounting!  He said it was a good book but I don't know who would really consider that a beach read.  That is my nerdy little husband alright!

He got up to take a picture with me. . . Man I can't believe how beautiful it was that day!  This picture makes our majestic castle look more like a pansy of a mountain. . . sheesh!

We went to Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob's place and had some yummy Tillamook Ice Cream!  We also got to play the Farming Game with Grandpa Bob!  It is such a classic memory to always play that game with him. . . and I think that he always won when I was little so I was ready to show him up this time.  We taught John and David how to play and Grandma Honey kept our water glasses full for us!  When the time was up we all got one more turn to try and get some more money to win.  It was all really close until John had his last roll!  He nailed his harvest on his fruit that he had and it wasn't even worth counting up anything we had.  I'd say it was just beginners luck, but then again. . . I also say whatever works is fine by me!

Right before we left the raccoons came to visit!  I always love to watch them eat the dog food that we put out on the porch for them.  They just grab the little pieces with their hands and scrunch up their noses as they chew on them.  They are so cute. . . but I know they can be vicious!  I am just glad that they keep coming back every night!  

We played some games that night and all wanted to win!  We had fun and enjoyed the weekend with them!  I think they might come again and see a Blazers game with us.  Thanks for the visit and fun weekend Brooks and John!

The hunt for Chili's

So ever since we have been here in Portland, David has wanted to take me to Chile's since I have never been and we have had two gift cards.  We have tried on three different nights to try to track one down but have had no success.  Apparantly they have all gone out of business around here.  We looked on the internet and there are four or five of them posted there and also in the phone books so we will take down directions and out we go.  Each time so far, we look and look and drive in circles of where our directions tell us it should be and then finally give up and just go somewhere on our way home instead.  One night we were out to eat with my sister, Brooks and her husband, John, and my cousin and we saw one just across the parking lot!  We got excited and I tried to remember the drive home so that maybe I would be able to drive back out there sometime with David.  So last weekend we were determined to find it again.  We drove somewhat in the right direction, but we still couldn't find it.  We saw Chipotle's and Panera Bread and got a little sidetracked and we got a burrito and a sandwich and just shared those with each other instead.  So tomorrow for Valentine's Day we are going to try again. . . frustration on V-Day is not quite the date I am hoping for.  Hopefully we make it and I get to try these yummy chips and salsa that David tells me about. . . We'll see! 

What to do???

Finding a job wasn't really happening and volunteers weren't needed yet.  I have never in my life had this much time each day completely to myself and I was stumped.  When I started to get really bored and thought there was absolutely nothing to do David and I started thinking of possible and productive things I could do throughout the day. 

#1. David had the first ideas. . . He had me doing some of his homework for an online class and he wanted me to do our taxes by hand ad the business ones too. The homework was boring just because it was homework, and we didn't have all of our tax forms mailed to us yet and I didn't understand the business tax forms and where I was supposed to put all the numbers. . . .So those didn't work out.  I really felt like I needed to get out of the apartment.

#2. I went to the grocery store any time we were out of anything. I thought I was probably using a lot more gas than necessary, so I started making more grocery lists and fewer trips to the store.

#3. Then I thought it would be good to start exercising and go for a run through the neighborhood behind us. It started out great! It was all down hill and it wasn't too cold and everything was so new and interesting to look at as I went down the windy road. I had driven this route to make sure that I would know where to go and how far I was going to run. So when I got to my half way point I felt great. I blazed down that windy road and was hardly even tired! I almost kept running down further, but I really didn't want to get lost, so I turned around and started going back towards home. I was doing fine for the first five minutes or so going up the hill and around all windy turns. I felt like I made it down in five minutes so I would probably be back up and home in ten or so. . . ya right!

I tried to lean and peek around each corner to see if I was close to home, but it was so disappointing. There were hundreds of more turns on the way up than there were on the way down. . . I promise! By this point, I think that my run turned into more of a trudge. I knew I would get home sometime. . . and as long as I made it before David did in a couple hours, I would be okay. I just kept going though. It felt like a hallelujah moment when I saw finally came to the dead end right before my place.  I have never been so glad to be back at my place since we have been here...I didn't care how bored I was.  I knew that I needed to find a new (and flatter) route to run.

#4. So the whole running around the block thing wasn't quite my thing here either. I even got to the point where I went and got my very own library card and four books. Now I have never been a reader by any means. In school I just read what I have to read and I hardly was able to keep up with that, so I have never done it on my own either. I was just never that interested. Maybe it was the whole textbook thing, or that it was something that I had to read. I don't know but I have been ashamed to say I want to be a teacher and that I don't like to read, so I thought I would give it a chance.

I didn't even know where to start looking for a book. I browsed around and saw lots of dragons and knights books that weren't quite my type. (The funny thing is that those were the books that David liked to read before he found his love for reading business strategy tips books!) I thought maybe a good biography or something historical, but I wanted to get something that was fun and eventful and I wasn't seeing anyone's life story that caught me. I randomly found four books that looked worth giving a shot. I checked them out and later that day I started into one of them. I tried to get into it for a few days, but it wasn't happening. The other books were just as bad. I fell asleep almost every time I read them. . . and sometimes I read during the day when I wasn't even tired. So those were a no-go. So I took those ones back and thought I would try again.  One of the librarians suggested that I read one that was from the same author that wrote Princess Diaries. I liked that movie and thought it was a cute and fun one so I gave it a shot. It was such a fun book although it was cheesy. . . I may have lost some brains reading that one, so I hope that I like other kinds of books too. But I finished it! It only put me to sleep once! I was pretty proud of myself. . . and glad the librarian suggested it. So now I am off to find another book that keeps me reading to the end without dozing off. My friend, Sarah, recommended one so I think I will give it a shot.  Feel free to suggest some good books that you liked and I will give them a try.  I am up for anything at the moment because I don't really know what I like yet.

So I tinker around and read here and there and keep on going.  I am starting to enjoy having lots of time to do whatever because I know that once I go back to Rexburg that I will be in school full time until I graduate next April and I probably won’t get very much of this kind of time to relax and enjoy the little things I can do.  

Hi Mom and Dad!

A couple weeks ago I was able to go home and see Mom and Dad and play around with Matt, Abby and Luke too.  I left Portland on Thursday night and came back on Sunday morning in time to go to church with David.  It was a nice little trip for the few days.  I figured that David wouldn’t miss me too much since he works so much of the day. 

When I got home on Thursday night, everyone kept saying they were going to bed, but I think we were all up talking ‘til midnight. . . and Mom and I just kept chatting away ‘til 1:30 or so.  It was nice to be home!

On Friday we all went to Yakima to watch Abby’s basketball game.  It was a fun one.  The teams kept flopping who was ahead and so it kept us all anxious to see who would pull out in the end. . . and Abby’s team won!  It is such a better car ride home when you win.

On Saturday was the game against Richland.  This was the one we were all excited about.  This was the team that gave Abby the pretty black eye earlier in the season. 

In memory of Abby’s pretty war wound, Dad used some of Mom’s eyeliner to give himself a real pretty black eye.  He was definitely seen by all that night and Abby’s team and coach really thought it was pretty cool looking.  Everyone else in the gym that didn’t know him were all trying to figure out if it was real or not.  Dad had fun with it.

The game didn’t go so well though.  The referees were frustrating and were calling every little thing on her team.  Five of her team’s nine players fouled out so they had to play most of the fourth quarter with only four girls on the court.  They were winning until all of their starters were fouled out.  It was such an irritating game and we thought that Abby’s team deserved to win that one for sure. . . but those refs controlled that one.  We all pouted and griped about that game all night.  Abby and her team played really well and Abby was a powerhouse of a post down low!   She did awesome against their big girl.  Abby said that she started to get frustrated because she could never do anything when Abby was guarding her.  Once Abby got her 5 fouls, that girl scored so many points.  Nobody could guard her as well as Abby did.

Luke’s game on the other hand was, uh, how do I say this. . . I think I am safe to say that it was interesting.  They don’t have anyone who can really dribble the ball. . . well there was one guy, but he was over 6 feet tall so his dribble wasn’t so quick like it needed to be. . . that ball took a long time to go all the way down to the ground and back up.  Luke had a good 8 points or so.  He even made a lay up type of shot off of a break away.  His team has some outside shooters, but they are lucky if the ball hits the backboard, let alone the rim.  They also have some baseball players that have passes that might rip an arm off if anyone tried to reach to catch them.  Dad asked me what he should coach them on during half time and I didn’t know where to start.  They were quite the church ball team!  Luke had fun and was proud of his points that he had . . . if anyone said anything about his turnovers, he just made sure that they remembered those 8 points he scored! Good game Luke!

The rest of the time while I was home I got to go to the temple with Mom, I went and redeemed a coupon for a pedicure that I got from my bridal shower (I know it has been so long, but I have been busy the other times I was home), and the rest of the time we all just sat around and talked.  It was such a good visit.  I did miss David and he was excited to see me when I came home which was nice.  While I was home, and had a queen sized bed to myself, I realized how much I move around and use the whole thing.  No wonder David says it is like a wrestling match to keep me on my side at night… I thought he was just complaining but I think he’s right.  He’s a good sport and doesn’t make me sleep on the ground!  Thanks Babe!

I'm still trying to figure this out...

I started this blog during Christmas break when there was a lot going on and I felt like I could write forever about all the fun we had. Then when I came out here to Portland, David started working 65 hours a week and I was looking for a job. It then turned into a desperate job hunt for me. I wasn't hearing anything from hardly any of the places I had applied, and I was getting so bored. I had about 12 hours each day with nothing to do and I couldn't find anything to do. I tried to volunteer and babysit, cook dinners for sick people, or volunteer at the temple, but the temple is closed all this month, the dinner cooking list was filled for a couple weeks and nobody needed any babysitters for a couple weeks when all the babies in the ward were due. It seemed like a joke for me to be able to get out of the house. I really couldn't believe it.

So I felt like there was nothing eventful going on to write about so I didn't tell anyone about the blog.  Mom told me to tell her what it was anyways so she could add it to her bookmarked sites.  I have been thinking about  how we have been here for over a month already and that there had to be something that we have been doing.  I knew we have had some adventures, big and small so I will write about those. . . Enjoy!