Susie's Leaning Tower of Chocolate for 2005

(2) Sat Jan 08 2005 13:31 MST: Yesterday was, like, the best mail day ever (in married life at least, since we don't *live* for mail. We got a letter from Aunt Anne, a paycheck, our first Newsweek (Mom, I think it's so cute that you put it in John's name!), a pair of slippers and our cruise info. John bought me a pair of slippers at Nordstrom. They didn't have my size, but it was only $3 to ship them to us. Oddly enough, they came from the Mission Viejo store, which is where Jamie and Davie live. Don't worry, Sumana, he is saving the gift card for himself.

We are very excited about our cruise. I think we got a good deal, and that we are going at a great time, price and weather and schedule wise. Speaking of fancy vacations to Mexico, Brook and Erin are going to Cancun next week, and we get to watch the kids for the weekend. Erin's parents are taking over after that. Speaking of the fam, we are going up for Nathan's birthday tomorrow.

(5) Sat Jan 08 2005 13:35 MST Pesto!: Last night I made Spinach Pesto a la Aunt Jeuney (although her recipe calls for basil). I'm not sure if this is the recipe I used last time. But for all of Leonard's obsession with pesto, he doesn't have an actual recipe posted anywhere. Here is mine: Some nuts. Some garlic. Some salt. Some lemon juice. Some green stuff. Mix in blender, pouring oil in. This is very hard to make in the blender. I'm not sure I would use a food processor for anything else, though, so I'm not going to buy one. But I might accept a hand-me-down. Anyway, it was quite yummy, John loved it, and there is a ton of it left. I filled three of our little tiny tupperware, and made seven ice cubes. I used MacNut Oil, and Gilroy Garlic. It was very garlicky.

I also made an Eclair Cake. I was on a roll. I love Eclair Cake.

Mon Jan 10 2005 08:31 MST: Snow is all gone. It had been raining. The weather is lovely- just a sprinkling of rain, and it's nearly 50° outside. Today will busy day, but I forgot about that and slept in. I mostly slept in cause John kept not getting up, so I thought it was ok if I didn't. But he doesn't have class until 11.

(1) Tue Jan 11 2005 19:38 MST: I've been cooking since I got home! I can't believe lasagne takes this long, but it's just as well because John isn't home from class yet. I made Aunt Jeuney's recipe in my box, and some garlic bread and more spinach salad. I also used leftover pasta and made some pasta salad.

We had leftover pasta (little shells) from the stroganoff. I also had an extra piece of lasagne, and for some reason, didn't think I would have enough and made half a box of big shells to stuff just in case. I cut all of it into tiny pieces for the pasta salad. It's not the yummiest thing I've ever made, but I'm sure I'll eat all of it.

(3) Wed Jan 12 2005 20:24 MST: Last night, when I was trying to cut up spinach for the lasagne, I tried to cut my thumb off. Luckily, I have abnormally short thumbs, and even shorter fingernails. I just got a big scratch in my fingernail, which I have apparently already chewed off. I really need to quit biting my nails.

Thu Jan 13 2005 14:51 MST Dum De Dum: For having so much to do I am doing so little. I suspect this is because I am waiting on my boss, but I won't blame it on her. I finally changed the January calendar though. I changed the actual calendar on the 3rd, but I still had red and green crepe paper up.

It's payday! John gets paid every week, which is nice, but it's especially nice when I also get paid.

(4) Fri Jan 14 2005 08:19 MST The Beginnings of a Wonderful Day: An old Turkish proverb says "All good things begin with... Cheesecake!" When I got to work, I went around unlocking everyone's office, and the door to our lobby. There comes Tina down the hall with her cart, cleaning up from a meeting yesterday, and offers me two pieces of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. (I don't know what kind, chocolate with chocolate pieces and syrup on the top.) She also gave me two "Carb-Friendly" yogurts.

By the way, she says she got the cheesecake at Sam's. I fully excepted the company had it shipped just for whatever meeting.

(4) Fri Jan 14 2005 11:44 MST: I am eating my Christmas goldfish, which I've been saving in my desk for an emergency. This can hardly be classified as an emergency, seeing as I'm being taken out for Sushi (or stir-fry in my case) in 18 minutes, but I'm starving!! Fishies!

Yes, I realize I could be eating cheesecake... I'm saving it!

(4) Thu Jan 20 2005 16:17 MST: I can't believe it's been nearly a week since I've updated. So I guess I'd better.

I've been very busy at work. I thought the tide of HR work was supposed to ebb in January, but it hasn't happened yet; I just feel busier than ever. Luckily being busy is very motivating to me.

Last night we got to watch Lily for a little while. She is so adorable! John is already a better parent than I'll ever be. Maybe I'll catch up when he is working late during busy season, or studying for the CPA exam.

Drinking Umcka. Can't get sick.

Thu Jan 20 2005 19:45 MST: Even though I've been very tired lately, just about falling asleep at my desk every afternoon, I came home with lots of energy today. I made John dinner (chicken pockets with rice and brown-sugar glazed carrots), went grocery shopping, did the dishes and tidied up. Now my feet are catching up with the rest of me.

At the grocery store, I was looking to see if the potsticker wrappers were on sale (are they ever?) and I noticed two things: First, Macey's has decided to carry Yakisoba noodles- hurray! Second, there was an entire line of juices (in the produce section, right next to the wontons) put out by Bolthouse farms. Fancy, expensive juices. Who knew.

I bought some kiwis. Maybe the vitamin C will help my throat. We have been married nearly 18 months and just opened our second regular-sized box of dishwasher detergent.

(9) Sat Jan 22 2005 11:47 MST Bookworm: Last night I finished reading The Work and the Glory. I was so proud of myself I counted up all the pages- 5,261 pages in 9 books. John is already encouraging me to read other serieses, I think partly to discourage me from reading Harry Potter for what he claims is the 7th time, but I think I am going to take a break from reading for a while. I think I will get ahead on my crocheting and card-making and scrapbooking for now.

When I get into reading, all I do is read. When we were first married John thought I didn't like reading because I never did, but I've gotten into it since then and proved him wrong. I think it's been about a year. I've read seven Chronicles of Narnia, five Harry Potter, eleven Series of Unfortunate Events, The Lord of the Rings, about ten novels about the Amish, two movie-ized books after seeing the movie, The Book of Mormon and nine The Work and the Glory. And about 50 magazines.

If there are 5,261 pages to read in a series, I don't do much else in my spare time until I've read 5,261 pages. I need a break.

Sat Jan 22 2005 12:25 MST: Last week at Logan's basketball game, John was looking at an I Spy book with Ember. I saw a little wooden horse on wheels (toy Trojan horse!) in one of the pictures and said "that's just like our little hedgehog" I got in my stocking at Christmas. Sure enough, one of the items to look for was a "wooden porcupine", and there it was. I still think it's a hedgehog, though. Little did Leonard know when he stopped at that yard sale he would find a famous hedgehog!

(4) Sun Jan 23 2005 21:24 MST: I've been sick this weekend, so it has been good to relax. On Saturday, I slept in, then cleaned the house while John was taking his test. We went out to dinner and then to see Saints and Soilders, which I liked but John wasn't in the mood for. Between dinner, the movie, and a Shopko-purchased treat, we only spent $10- not bad.

We had Matt and Celeste, some neighbors, over for dinner. I made stroganoff and Raspberry Spinach Salad with poppy-seed dressing. I actually followed the recipe for the dressing this time, only I halved it, and it still made 1 1/2 cups. But it turned out a lot better following the recipe. Can you tell we love the stroganoff?

Tue Jan 25 2005 10:51 MST: I am already out of Kleen*sneeze*ex. I guess I am going to have to take a walk to the supply closet to get some company-issued tissues. Poor nose.

I've noticed that I tend to do the things that take up space on my desk first, because they sit there and bother me.

(4) Wed Jan 26 2005 08:31 MST: Yesterday I was reading some articles on resume-writing, and this is so true! Then I decided to get another email address, although that's not one of the things that bothers me. Unless it's like "Iamthemacdaddy@Imnumber1.com" or something.

Probably the things that bug me most are unqualified candidates (especially those who think they are), long paragraphs, and non-Word formats (I can't open them). Linda is slowly taking over most of recruiting, so my experience in that area is starting to dwindle. Just as well though; I have plenty of other things to do.

Thu Jan 27 2005 22:05 MST: Today the long strip of bright greenness on the mountain reached Springville. Actually, it may have been a while ago, but I haven't seen the mountain in several days due to the haze. I also learned that they are putting in a new gas line and the green stuff is seed, to prevent landslides.

Speaking of haze, yuck! It rained today, so hopefully it will clear up a little. The other day I was driving home from work and I looked directly at the sun and at first thought it was the moon. That's how sick the air has been here.

(2) Sat Jan 29 2005 10:55 MST: Jodi spent the night with us last night, so we ended up staying up pretty late talking. Franco is out playing with his guy friends, so we are sitting around watching John do homework.

Monday is our 18-month Anniversary. We are going to Red Lobster for lunch, and to see "National Treasure" to celebrate.

Thanks to Joe, I have a new gmail account. Email me!

We are planning to go down to Bakersfield for President's Day. Hope to see some of you there!

(3) Tue Feb 01 2005 13:18 MST *gasp*: I finally have a moment to catch my breath. Today has flown by, as did yesterday. Yesterday I spent the morning covering the switchboard and finding other people to cover it (both operators were sick), and the afternoon verifying every single number on every single W-2. Twice. Then I went home.

Today we've been trying to, as Linda put it, catch up on our real jobs. I took back some recruiting stuff from her so she could do benefits, and I also have to do five salary surveys. I guess I'll get to work on that now.

I gave John a ride to school today because he had to take his big tax books, which remind me of the big compensation books, which are very expensive, which is why we do the surveys (to get a discount).

(5) Sat Feb 05 2005 13:31 MST Ahhhh: Today I got to sleep in to my heart's desire, and it was great. John left to take a test after I got up, so I've been cleaning and running some errands, including renting Catch Me if You Can for tonight. This week has been so busy, I am excited for John to have a short break in tests so we can spend some time together.

On Thursday I checked out The DaVinci Code and was unable to put it down. Of course, reading it before bed got me a little scared, so I didn't let myself read any yesterday. I looked up some of the paintings it refers to online, and am now less scared, so I guess I can finish it now. I think it's pretty good, I like figuring out the mysteries and such. But I'm not taking any of it to heart.

(4) Mon Feb 07 2005 20:58 MST: John and I made Fried Ice Cream tonight. Essentially, you scoop the ice cream into balls, roll it in cornflakes and deep fry it. It was yummy, but too much work for every night.

I painted my toenails orange. They have been naked for quite sometime, and I thought it was about time they had some fun. I also painted nine of my fingernails. The tenth hidden under a Band-aid, due to an unfortunate incident this morning involving a tomato. And a knife. My goal in painting my fingernails is to embarrass myself by their obvious and atrocious shortness enough to stop biting them. Hey, it could happen.

Back when I worked in the dishroom, I was always accessorizing with Band-Aids. I went through a box at least every month. Of course, half of that was also biting my nails too much. I really need to stop.

I have been doing a LOT of data entry at work lately. I definitely think my ten-key is improving. The problem is that I already type faster than anyone in my department (we are stuck with this project because of the confidential nature), and that means more of it for me. I like being busy, but I get so bored sitting at my computer typing boring numbers for hours at a time. And to think I was looking for a data entry job. I am so lucky.

(2) Sat Feb 12 2005 11:26 MST: It seems like I never update anymore, even though I still think "why doesn't anyone else update?" Another incredibly busy week at work. But I only have one more page of numbers to read! (After all the data entry (again) we had to verify every number (again) twice (again)). Yesterday I spent 2 hours doing my job- store order, resumes, itineraries, and mail. It was great! I felt so productive, after sitting in our conference room reading numbers for four days straight.

We are having some of John's old roommates and their wives over for dinner tomorrow. I am making taco soup. My P. Chef party is Thursday (if anyone wants anything!) and we are going to make Mexican Chocolate Pies and Taco Dip, yummy. But what I am most excited about this week (besides finishing our numbers project) is going to California! yay!

(1) Sat Feb 12 2005 22:08 MST: John and I went to a new place for dinner tonight. It was a soup/salad/sandwich place called Zupa's that just opened this week. We were out and about buying scrapbook stuff- the traffic was terrible and everywhere was crowded, but this place was relatively empty. While the tomato basil soup did not compare to The Soup Kitchen, it was still yummy, and I loved my salad. I was going to get a sandwich, but they didn't have sandwich bread yet... Anyway, go try it if you're around.

Mon Feb 14 2005 21:25 MST: One thing I really like about gmail is that it puts up a message box if the internet is out, instead of trying to send it and then losing it. It's great, since our internet is always going out.

Tue Feb 15 2005 21:27 MST: Even though we both said we weren't getting anything for each other for Valentine's Day, John brought me home flowers last night! They are so pretty and I am excited to show them off when everyone comes to my PC party on Thursday. I am excited for my party, for treats, to hang out with everyone, and to get free stuff.

(7) Wed Feb 16 2005 18:40 MST: I asked John what he was making me for dinner and he said "Yummy Balls!" which are, of course, pre-made in the freezer. I will use that question in the future to get him to give me ideas for dinner. We are also having aspargus with hollandaise sauce, because aspargus was on sale.

It feels like it is practically the weekend because my party is on Thursday and Friday we are driving to CA. I've been giving myself fun projects at work, like cleaning out old files. I am even determined to organize our miserable and hopeless file room, mostly with the help of the company records retention room- We never look at it- why should it be in my way when I'm filing?

We went up to the retention room today, Linda and I. She hadn't been up there in about four years, which is probably why she forgot that our stuff was in a different room in the back. We spent 5 minutes wandering around looking for a Human Resources spot, only to find four entire shelves for us in the other room. I am excited to use those shelves to get rid of the junk in our back room.

(3) Tue Feb 22 2005 22:09 MST I am becoming boring: I never write anything anymore. Well, one exciting thing: I finally made tomato-fennel soup today. It was pretty good, but I made a huge mess, even with the blender less than half full. I did like the croutons though. I bought the fennel in Bakersfield.

We had a great trip. We spent lots of quality time with Mom and Grandma learning about Grandma Della, Grandma Rachel, and Grandma Susanna. All Grandma remembers about Grandma Susanna is that she was honery and she has a picture of her sitting on the porch with a gun on her lap.

Work is going well. I am keeping very busy by picking up old filing anytime I find myself with nothing to do. I like being busy, but I suspect I will eventually even run out of filing.

(6) Wed Feb 23 2005 18:32 MST Unboring: ok, ok, fine.

Today our insurance brokers came and took us to lunch. I insisted we get mexican, because I had to slave in the cafeteria over fajita toppings all morning and then didn't get any. It was yummy and I learned about some state propositions affecting insurance plans.

I have spent most of my freetime at work (I think most of my time is pretty discretionary) doing ancient filing. Today I did old encapsulation tests and exit interviews, which were filed together instead of in individual personnel files. As boring as it sounds (or should I not use the word anymore?) I enjoy filing. I especially enjoy finding mistakes and fixing stuff (files in the wrong year, wrong order etc). It makes me feel organized.

Enrichment is tonight and we are doing yoga.

Fri Feb 25 2005 11:31 MST: Kathy wrote a quote on the board for us the other day: "We'll reach success by taking small steps, so let's take them quickly!"

Fri Feb 25 2005 17:29 MST: Hanging out briefly while waiting for Kathy to finish her part of a project we are working on. Luckily we are almost done with the part I'm relying on her for, and then I can go home and finish the rest while she is gone next week.

We are working on something confidential and I am securing it. I learned how to password-protect read-only cells in an Excel sheet so people don't accidentally change stuff, but can still change the stuff we want them to change. I also made a big list of passwords (and password-protected the file) so we can put passwords on each individual file. I also have to send out voicemails to everyone with their password.

I like figuring out how to do new things in programs, although I realized when I was halfway through that I was doing 1/3 more work than I needed to.

(2) Sat Feb 26 2005 16:24 MST: Last night when I got home all late from work, John had cooked a yummy dinner for me. He made porkchops with creamcheese-garlic sauce, carrots and some yummy lemon bars. It was delicious! We did a puzzle together and watched Harry Potter. It was nice to move our table into the center of the room so we could do both at the same time and be comfy.

Today we are up at my in-laws, shopping and making John's graduation announcements. And doing laundry. I even got the house all cleaned before we left, because John had to go to a stupid group meeting.

Also, I am teaching Relief Society tomorrow, and getting my lesson all ready. John asked if I was going to bring a tablecloth, but I informed him that the Relief Society has it's own tablecloths.

(4) Mon Feb 28 2005 21:18 MST I won 50 cents in Wendover: Well, the tally is in. I am getting $45 of free stuff from my Pampered Chef party, plus I saved $15 on the other few things I bought. I am excited for free stuff! I got some cool things.

John was making dinner again when I got home from work. Jana and I went to the scrapbook store to make cards and just hang out.

Linda took her daughter to Wendover for her 21st birthday. I gave her a dollar to gamble for me. I was up to $8 once, she said, but Brian said "one more push" and I only came out 50 cents ahead. I spent it on paper at the scrapbooking store.

(3) Tue Mar 01 2005 21:29 MST: What is the point of smashing peanut butter cookies with a fork? I didn't in my first batch because I wanted to put chocolate chips on them, but they got all crackley.

We are enjoying the first episode of the new Amazing Race season. Tomorrow morning Linda and I are going to Salt Lake for a meeting. We have to get up early, but there will be free breakfast. I guess that's about all the news.

(1) Sat Mar 05 2005 13:09 MST I love Saturdays: Today is a great day. Since John took his test yesterday he was able to sleep in too today, so he is also in a good mood. I leisurely cleaned the house, cleaner than usual because John is helpng. He is a better cleaner than me, and only have to clean two things gave me energy to do a better job.

We get to see Grandma June this afternoon. We had dinner there last month, but it still seems like a long time since we've seen her. I'm especially glad we're going because she apparently hasn't been feeling well lately. Even though we are old we still get spoiled (this is also true with John's parents). I think this is because we don't have any kids.

Aw, my honey is vacuuming, how cute!

John graduates in just 48 days! Which means 56 days until our cruise! and less than 150 until we move. Yay!

Mon Mar 07 2005 21:33 MST: Had a good day today. At work, I wrote "Happy Birthday, Kathy" on a cut-off end of wrapping paper- the whole roll. Linda and I wrapped it around her office. It was a lovely day and John and I went on a walk. I miss walking. John needs the computer now for important school stuff.

(1) Tue Mar 08 2005 12:42 MST: My goal today is to be as productive as possible. (don't worry, I'm not clocked in). I've done lots of filing, put my store order away, and other various projects.

Kathy is back from Canada today. She has learned lots about Canadian employment law and social medicine. Canadians have about twice the amount of taxes witheld, and about 50% of the tax base goes towards healthcare. The social insurance, however, only includes stuff that is done during an office visit. Anything else is not covered at all and you need supplemental insurance anyway to cover anything else (generously provided by your employer, if you're lucky). Sounds like a waste of taxes to me, since they still need to have other insurance to actually cover stuff.

Although I think if you offer insurance to some of your employees, you must also offer it to others in a different country even if social healthcare is provided.

How much of our tax base goes to healthcare anyway? I know there are free clinics, but maybe those are all privately sponsored.

(4) Tue Mar 08 2005 17:39 MST: The Girl Scout cookies I ordered came today. Yummy!

Thu Mar 10 2005 21:21 MST: After work I went over to see Shelley and invite her to dinner on Sunday. She has a pet snake named Napoleon.

Thursdays are great because it's Friday Eve! I exercised, made a yummy dinner, and read. It's so relaxing to know I can wear jeans at work tomorrow and there's only one more day until the real weekend.

Fri Mar 11 2005 15:17 MST: The Board is coming next week and we are making expresso. By "we" I mean the corporate assistant. We are apparently practicing, because I feel like I am working in a Starbucks, only I'd probably be busier if I did.

I have done some random projects today, which is probably good. It has given me a chance to catch up and finish things so far back on the burner they'd been lost behind the stove.

Fri Mar 11 2005 18:50 MST: I broke a nail! I've been really good about biting them. Then yesterday my hands were wet and I went to open a drawer and my hand slipped and my nail broke. I'm so proud- I've finally become a real woman.

I've been wondering about boys with fancy cars. I'm talking about both ganstas and mid-life crises. When they're driving around do they just think "I'm the hottest thing!"? Or do they get over it eventually?

(4) Sun Mar 13 2005 12:34 MST Saturday Evening Post: Yesterday, as usual, I cleaned the house while John got another A on a test. I also made some pretzels from scratch (yummy). Unfortunately, other than that, yesterday was a pretty boring day. Oh, except I did take Camilla to Jo-Anns to buy some patterns.

Today we are busy, but we are making special plans to go on a walk together. It is such a beautiful day, how can we not?? All the cousins are coming for dinner tonight (Except for David who has to work). We're very excited. I just hope there's enough food.

(2) Tue Mar 15 2005 12:50 MST: Well, since John has recounted our wonderful evening with the Whitney cousins, I don't have much to say. On the other hand, I don't have much to do either, so I'll just prolong my lunchbreak.

Linda is at a birthday lunch and everyone else is upstairs with the Board, so I am all alone. Except for Hugo. I think I like Hugo so much because my own grandpa isn't around anymore. I spent the morning doing payroll filing for him, back to 2003. The receptionist spent several weeks putting it in alphabetical and chronological order. At least I didn't have to do that part.

Yesterday Linda and I spent the afternoon cleaning our file room. We threw out a huge pile of stuff, old books and benefit stuff and trashy decorations. Everything is organized, labeled and put away, and we can actually shut the firedoor now!

John made dinner again for me last night. He's the best!

Tue Mar 15 2005 16:02 MST: Woo hoo! My Pampered Chef stuff should be arriving tomorrow.

(4) Tue Mar 15 2005 22:01 MST Why grind wheat when you can blend oatmeal.: Joe left a piece of chocolate cake with us. I asked John to save me half, but he accidentally ate all of it. He was so sweet when I asked about it and promised to make me a replacement treat. Unfortunately, I didn't give him a chance because I made Jake Cookies today. I need to post the recipe for that, but I'm too tired now. The cookies have shaved chocolate and blended-up oatmeal in them. They're John's favorite, but a lot of work.

Thu Mar 17 2005 20:03 MST Jake Cookies:

1 cup butter
3/4 cup blended walnuts
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar

Cream together.

Mix in:
2 eggs
1 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

Add:
2 1/2 cups blended oatmeal
2 cups flour
1 12 oz. bag chocolate chips
1/2 8 oz chocolate bar, grated.

Cook at 375° for 7-8 minutes.

(1) Thu Mar 17 2005 20:09 MST Orange-Mint Marinade:

1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons sesame seeds -- toasted
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

John prepared steak in this marinade for dinner tonight. I think it is supposed to be for chicken, but it was delicious! We used dried mint though, because we are poor.

I cooked the steak while he was at class and also made Cheddar-herb bicuits and garlic mashed potatoes. We also have some kind of a pear with a brown skin (John did the grocery shopping...) It is yummy, and I think it tastes like hyacinths.

Sun Mar 20 2005 09:45 MST: On my way home from work I drive down old State St. and pass a mileage marker that says 332. I can't figure it out; this sign isn't 332 miles from anything.

John made french toast for breakfast, which almost makes up for snow on the first day of spring.

(2) Mon Mar 21 2005 08:28 MST What is the opposite of buyer's remorse?: I am very happy with my new wiper blades. How can something so cheap make such a happy difference in a commuter's life?

Tue Mar 22 2005 18:59 MST Rainy Day: John made some yummy french toast for dinner. He is in class now. I ran some errands, including buying our last allowance of groceries for the month. We have been so good- we haven't eaten out at all and we've been very good with our grocery money. We're trying to save up for moving, as well as clean out our cupboards a bit.

I'm going to a stamping party tonight, but I'm sure I won't buy anything. After Pampered Chef, I don't need to spend anything on stuff like that.

This weekend we are going to Park City, hopefully with Jodi and Franco. Should be fun times.

(3) Wed Mar 23 2005 08:29 MST Okay: I'm a liar. But I'm a liar with cute 50%-off stamps! I also won two free little stamps at the party. It was a lot of fun and we made a cute little gift card holder.

Yesterday I signed up for our 401(k) program. I figure, if the company will match 50% of 6%, and I can transfer it for free into our IRA when we move, why would I not take the free money? I realize this works out to about 1% of my earnings, but still- free money.

I got myself a nice project at work last night, so hopefully I will be busier today.

(2) Wed Mar 23 2005 08:37 MST: Not only did I dream this last night, but I kept waking up and saying "I had a dream about this. I need to write it on my weblog." So I guess I do.

Ahem. I had a dream that a niffler dug a hole up into my bedroom (some fake bedroom). Now, I don't know exactly what a niffler is. In my dream it was a bear-dog type animal. It was supposed to be either those things that sniff out gold in Harry Potter, or the truffle-hunter thing in Ever After. And in real life, probably my Piglet pillow. Anyway, Mom and I couldn't figure out what to do with the niffler. It kept snuggling up to me. Maybe I miss Gretel.

Thu Mar 24 2005 08:31 MST: I am getting very excited for my day off. John and I are going to go to the temple tomorrow morning, and then up to Park City. Jodi and Franco are coming up for the night too. We're making dinner, they're making breakfast, we'll play games. I hope the weather isn't too bad, because Franco has never been to Park City, and we should show him around downtown.

In the meantime, I have one more day of work.

Thu Mar 24 2005 15:38 MST: I'm sitting at the front desk, and it's raining, which is lovely. There is a huge skylight over this part of the building, and it sounds so cozy.

(7) Thu Mar 24 2005 15:55 MST: I knew the scary headless Gretel picture had to be around somewhere.

(1) Sun Mar 27 2005 21:10 MST: What a great weekend. As John said, it's weekends like these that make you feel like you can go back to work. We had a great time in Park City with Jodi and Franco. We watched movies, played games, wandered around town, ate food and talked. And rested.

For Easter, we went up right after church, other than a short visit with Grandma and Lawrence Welk, and hung out at the Chadwicks. I made eclair cake and helped make the rolls and ham and Jello-eggs. It was fun cooking with Susan. She made funeral potatoes, which are my favorite, I think I ate 2 cups of them. Her rolls are really good too.

Everyone loved my eclair cake and wanted the recipe. I've never gotten anything but raves for it, but Linda made it for Bunco two weeks ago and a few people just said it was "ok". Weirdos.

We also had a nice shopping trip in the food storage room. We got lots of meat and some flour and sugar. The flour and sugar were food storage that needed to be rotated, and I think the flour smells funny. But it was free so I will give it a try.

Anyway, we're home now. I'm exhausted, but I actually feel like a break- maybe cause I took Friday off- and I can go back to work. Hopefully it will be a busy week.

(1) Fri Apr 01 2005 12:47 MST The Best April Fool: I've never had a really good April Fool's joke played on me, but Linda gave it a great shot today. I had to go to an orientation for some volunteer work I'm going to be doing, so I didn't come in until 9:15. My mouse didn't move. I wondered why someone silly had put velco on the bottom. When my drawer wouldn't open, I remembered it was April Fool's Day (partly because Linda was standing there laughing at me). Got the drawer open, and my computer had never turned on. Linda had unplugged my moniter (that was pretty good, since I had no idea how to get it back on).

The best joke was that she had pried off the "M" and "N" on my keyboard and switched them. The reason this joke was so great, is because Linda was standing behind me shouting "how are you doing that!!?!" as I typed along. The joke was on her- I don't look at the keyboard when I type.

Mon Apr 04 2005 13:06 MST: The other day I was doing I-9 information on an employee from another state and the driver's license said "anatomical gift information on back".

Things have picked up around here, although it may be because I was lazy on Friday and I am catching up on beginning-of-the-month stuff. I brought my lunch today and the exact same thing was being offered in the cafeteria. At least I paid less.

(2) Wed Apr 06 2005 09:36 MST Spoiler Alert: On Finding Neverland. I thought it was so obvious the first time she coughed that she would die. It was supposed to be foreshadowing, but it was dead obvious.

(9) Wed Apr 06 2005 11:59 MST: Linda and I spent half an hour in the copy room shredding stuff today. We cleaned out the recruiting office, where the former occupant apparently printed out and kept every report every written. One example: sign-up sheets for Breakfast with Santa in 1996.

Last night was my first night going to USDC to volunteer in their hippotherapy program. I got lots of advice from the Rec Therapists there, but it wasn't a good day to ride- only a few individuals came out. I think it will be good experience though.

I'm afraid today is going to be another slow day.

(5) Mon Apr 11 2005 16:46 MST: We had a good, if lazy, weekend. We borrowed the extended-version The Lord of the Rings from Kristen and Aaron and watched the whole thing. We also went out to Macaroni Grill, bought a new swimming suit for me, and had some neighbors over for dinner, games and good times. It went by way too quickly.

So, what is the Holy See? It reminds me of The Great Eye (and not because I watched too much Middle Earth). Ok, nevermind, I will look it up and enlighten us all. "The authority, jurisdiction and governmental functions associated with the papacy." Basically what I thought. It's the governmental state of the Vatican City.

See? You DO learn something new everyday.

(2) Wed Apr 13 2005 10:01 MST Roadkill: There are some ponds outside of my work with lots of ducks, and geese, and even more pigeons. (Now, it's pretty obvious what an entry titled "Roadkill" that starts out "There are some ponds outside of my work with lots of ducks, and geese, and even more pigeons" is about to say, but I thought I might need an editorial note to warn you just in case. If you love ducks obsessively, stop reading!)

These ducks are either very stupid or very haughty, the way they cross the street (to the other pond) with their ducklings in tow. But the cars stop for them. I only saw one dead duck in the first 9 months I worked here. This week there have been four. Yuck. Also, when I was driving to USDC yesterday, I saw three roadkills on the freeway that looked like raccoons, or something fat, gray and fuzzy. Too fat to be a kitty. And we will not discuss dead kitties.

Speaking of driving, yesterday my right turn signal suddenly started blinking much faster than normal. It is still doing it, but only on the right side. It is very annoying.

(1) Thu Apr 14 2005 16:09 MST: We're going on a cruise!!!! Yay!!! I spent the whole day in Kandis' office with the door shut, which made me feel productive, even though we talk as much as we work. I'm so excited! Thanks for finishing school, honey!

Sun Apr 17 2005 13:49 MST: John and I went to our ward closing social on Friday night. We ate dinner with our next door neighbors, then sat around and talked with our next door neighbors. Then we gave up and came home and played dominoes with our next door neighbors. Yesterday I cleaned the house and got a haircut. John and I went for a nice long walk on the Provo River Trail.

Today we are having another ward thing because we got a new Bishop today. His wife is the dean of the College of Health and Human Performance.

I am trying to sew one of those bags filled with rice that you put in the microwave or freezer. The only fabric I have is quilt squares, but I’m pretty good at sewing in straight lines. I was almost done sewing a pink flannel cover for it, but then my sewing machine started making a funny noise, and wouldn’t you know it, all kinds of stuff fell out of my bobbin door. Mommy, you will have to help me put it back in when you get here.

(4) Mon Apr 18 2005 08:50 MST: Last night I got together with four of the girls I went to Romania with (Kristen, Lisa, Angela and Emily). I hadn't seen Lisa since she left on her mission, more than two years ago. Kristen is having a baby, due on October 4. We got married the day before their 1 year anniversary (she was engaged while we were over there).

We had dinner and got to look at Lisa's mission pictures. Kristen and I reminisced about our kids, silly things we did, furniture that fell apart, etc. I got out my "Romania quotes" from my scrapbook and we laughed at ourselves.

I also got my new stamps last night. Unfortunately, I am very busy this week. I may be able to squeeze some stamping time in on Tuesday. I'm very excited to use my new stamps.

I'm also very excited to see Mom, Leonard, and Sumana who are all coming for John's graduation. The next three weeks are going to be great!

(8) Thu Apr 21 2005 08:30 MST Brag, Brag: John's so cute! Not only is he graduating with a great job and we get to move back to CA, but he cleaned the whole kitchen for me, top to bottom, inside and out. He even reorganized most of our cupboards. Then he emailed me and said "do you want to go shopping tonight?" Who doesn't! So we went shopping and bought secret birthday presents.

My family's coming today! yay! We are going to have a whirlwind tour of Utah for Sumana.

Fri Apr 22 2005 08:32 MST: Yesterday, the CFO took Linda and I to lunch to thank us for all our help and long hours fixing W-2s. I had a huge piece of chocolate cake.

Everyone made it here safely. I'm excited for all the activities we have planned, and also to see all the Chadwick clan today (except Franco who has to work). What a great weekend it will be!

Sat Apr 23 2005 08:44 MST More Bragging: John, much to is surprise, graduated Magna Cum Laude undergrad, and with Distinction for his graduate. I'm so proud of you! Thanks for being a nerd!

(1) Sun Apr 24 2005 12:51 MST: We had a great time with all the family this weekend (except the Woot!). Everyone arrived Thursday night and I made tacos for dinner. Friday morning we drove to Bridal Veil falls (it was closed), then went to Deseret Book. We walked up to the Marriott center to meet the Chadwicks and be proud of John. We all went out to a casual dinner after and I think everyone had fun chatting. Grandma June was there- she always livens up a party.

Friday we went to DI and then picked up Camilla for the big Whitney luncheon at Macaroni Grill for Mom's birthday. I guess I should say Call luncheon, because most of the Omans also came. Leonard, Sumana, John and I left immediately from there for the Salt Lake portion of our journey. We saw the Conference Center, Temple Square, the Distribution Center, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and the Church History Museum. We only visited the development of the church section and the Presidents' Gallery. The new Joseph Smith exhibit was packed.

We took TRAX to the Sam Weller bookstore downtown and read some books. Then we took TRAX back to the Delta Center to eat dinner at the Gateway. We ate at a place called "Thaifoon", despite the name. the food was pretty good, especially the banana springrolls. While we were eating it began to pour, so we had a fun trip back to the car without any coats.

We picked up Mom at Uncle Jon's and got to visit for a while. Then we squished with Camilla in the car to get back to Provo. John was kind enough to take Leonard and Sumana to the train station late at night so I could spend more time with Mom, who left this morning.

So that's my travelogue, even though I wasn't the one travelling. Thanks for coming to visit, everyone, and for supporting Master John and his achievements.

Sun Apr 24 2005 21:09 MST: Today I went to visit a friend in the hospital- she is having a tumor removed from around her spinal column! Yikes! She is very optimistic though, and the "it could be worse"s are so many. It just made me very grateful for my health.

We're going on a cruise in one week!

Wed Apr 27 2005 08:21 MST Machine Wash Cold: Only non-chlorine bleach when needed. Line-dry in shade. Dry immediately to avoid bleeding.

So reads the tag on my new bathing suit. What do they think I'm going to be doing with it?

John made four wonderful scrapbook pages yesterday. He made two graduation pages and two pages of the Holbrook (Susan's family) and Richardson farms. They are so cute! He used these antiquey stickers and paper for the farms with some old pictures I had, and some pictures of old stuff we recently took in Lehi. John is a much better scrapbooker than I'll ever be.

(5) Thu Apr 28 2005 20:32 MST Secretarie!: Yesterday being "Administrative Professionals Day" and all, Kathy went out and bought me a cute 12x12 scrapbook, for our cruise pictures. My co-workers such nerds, being all secretive. They also gave me some gift certificates (our main incentive program there). They said they couldn't get me flowers since I was leaving for our cruise- just as well.

We made it here safe. I had a great afternoon with Evaun learning about recreation consulting, and doing some quick crafts at some of the homes. Even though she can't offer me full-time right now (well, in July), it sounds like a great opportunity- very flexible, and something I can do.

We also visited the Tustin apartments we want to move into. It was much more hopeful than expected. Very cheap, fairly nice. We won't be able to get a 2 bedroom right away, but probably within a year.

Also having fun helping Jamie with her scrapbooking "kit of the month". I cut up 400 yards of ribbon so far. So excited for our cruise!

Sun May 01 2005 12:54 MST: We've had a good few days playing video games with the boys and "cleaning" Jamie's scrapbook room. I'm glad we found an apt. so we could relax and have a little fun. We're leaving in 1 1/2 hours for even more relaxation and fun! Yay!

Mon May 09 2005 23:23 MST Cruisin': I have about a million things to say about our wonderful trip. I even made a list so I could remember everything.

First of all, our free "obstructed" balcony was wonderful. There wasn't anything in the way of the view. It was wonderful to wake up to the sun rising, and to read out on our balcony, watch the ship come into the port- I'm so spoiled!

On Monday we changed clothes seven times- I counted. We worked out in the gym, went in the spa, sat out in the sun. Tuesday we went to one of the shows, with a swing singer and a few dance numbers. We also went to an art auction, the first of three we attended, to get the free seriographs they were handing out after. We now have three nice pieces of art, each of which at least one of us likes.

Wednesday we were in Puerto Vallarta. We went shopping, then went on a "jungle tour" to Mismaloya. We went on a hike in the jungle and swam in a natural pool with some fishies. I got lots of mosquito bites. We saw baby pineapple, a gum tree, tons of mango trees (these were all over in rural Mexico) and bamboo. We saw an iguana from the bus on a tree in the city. By the way, 100% of the tequila in the world is made in this state. That night a local mariachi band came onboard and played, and there were also dancers. It was a pretty good show.

Thursday we were in Mazatlan. For all the hype, I didn't think the shopping was that good. Of course, that was the day John got sick, and we didn't have a lot of time to shop anyway. We went on a seven hour bus tour to some tiny villages in the Sierra Madre. We got to watch people making brickes, baskets, and really nice wood furniture. Lunch at a Mexican restaurant was included. There was really yummy coconut banana cream pie.

Friday was the best day. In Cabo San Lucas, we ended up going on a boat tour and to a beach club, which we hadn't planned before. The boat tour went around the arches, and the sea lion rocks at the very tip of Baja California. The sun was just coming up and it was beautiful. Then we went to a private beach club and spent a few hours playing around in the beautiful, warm, clear water. I saw a school of fish swim by. I found three pieces of sea glass. We met a couple there from Tehachapi named John and Susie and, even weirder, they were the only other people we met on the cruise that didn't drink. After the beach we got dropped off downtown and walked back to the port, shopping along the way.

The only thing we really bought the whole time was a yellow bowl with chillis painted on it. One of the free things I got was a silver Aztec calendar charm that I can put on my charm bracelet. I also got a free sapphire and a cheap gold charm bracelet- you could get a different charm at each port.

Saturday we mostly just lay around watching movies so John could feel better. Poor thing had a really bad fever for a few days, so we got lots of sleep. One thing I was disappointed in was the food on the ship. I guess I'm just not a fancy food person.

(3) Wed May 11 2005 17:17 MST: Part of my job is sending "no thankyous" to people who applied for jobs with us. My latest batch is in Texas, and I've decided that Texas has the fruffiest street and city names ever. Friendswood? Sparkling Water? Sugar Land? Misty Lake? I never knew there were so many forests and springs in Houston.

I also had someone who spelled his name wrong at the top of his resume- with three Ls.

Fri May 13 2005 08:35 MST: I didn't realize it was Friday the 13th until I read an email from Kathy, who was scheduling something. So Happy Friday, which happens to be May 13th.

May is a great month. I feel like I missed part of May, maybe because I wasn't paying attention to the dates on our cruise. Well, back to work.

Sat May 14 2005 12:07 MST: John bought me some handsoap from Bath and Body Works for Mother's Day. He is so thoughtful. We like to find any occasion to buy each other gifts.

(4) Wed May 18 2005 21:21 MST: John made Matzo soup for dinner. Yummy! He's so good.

The thought that we may be moving in as soon as 6 weeks is kind of freaking me out. I guess I should get back to getting rid of stuff then.

(2) Fri May 20 2005 08:46 MST: I've only been at work five minutes and we've already had an adventure. Hugo killed a giant spider for me. Don't worry, this isn't a QA problem (they just sprayed a few days ago). We have three sets of emergency doors leading out of our office, and the bugs come in from outside. Yuck. Good thing Hugo was here to save me.

Tomorrow morning we are going to Moab with Jodi and Franco. I'm excited to go hiking, eat s'mores, and also to take pictures so we can get our film developed!

(5) Fri May 20 2005 10:26 MST: Linda brought in The Notebook for John and I to borrow. Now that it comes to it, I realize that I've read this book, but I'm not sure where or when. I can only vaguely remember it, but I don't think it was a long time ago, so I think it might have been something I read at my night job. Don't worry, I won't ruin it for John.

Tue May 24 2005 09:02 MST: While I was looking up Romania on the Atlas, to see where Odesa was for Rachel, I noticed that all of the city names used Romanian letters and were spelled in Romanian, except for Bucharest (Bucharesti- with a little comma on the t). Weird.

We had a great time this weekend, hiking Arches. I think it's so awesome that you can climb right up into most of the arches. I especially enjoyed Partition Arch, Wall Arch and Private Arch (which we actually got to have for ourselves for a while). Even though I'm not that fit, we probably hiked about 15 miles and I'm hardly sore at all- my body is just exhausted. As John said, this is a good reminder to do fun things before we have kids. We should go camping again.

Fri May 27 2005 18:30 MST: Today was a very busy day at work. I had lots of projects I had put off so I could do them today while everyone was gone. I didn't quite get caught up, but I did get a lot done, including a bit of training for the receptionist so she can take over some of my work for the travel dept.

Also: I recently sent a letter at work to someone who had "Ass. Manager" listed on her resume.

I'm excited to move, and especially to have a piano in our apartment! Maybe I will become good at it again. I'm also excited to be close to my mommy. We'll come help you in the yard!

Tue May 31 2005 09:15 MST: I love three-day weekends! Not only do you get a three-day weekend, but when you go back to work, you only have to work four days!

We spent Friday night up at John's parents' house. We saw Brynn and Kristen sing and dance on Friday night, and James, Hannah and Ashley dance on Saturday. Ashley teaches a class for little kids. Hannah was cute in her little pink tutu. This was at the mall during a "Children's Fair" so there were all kinds of booths there, including one from the zoo. They had a ferret, a parrot, a snake and a skunk. Hannah was more afraid of Spiderman than of the animals. The ferret was pretty dang cute.

Sunday we hung out with Tyler and Tasha, our next-door neighbors. We had dinner, played Racko and watched The Phone Call. Then yesterday there was a huge thunderstorm most of the morning. Since going to the cabin wasn't a possibility, everyone else wanted to stay home, but John and I said we were going to visit Grandma still, so we all ended up going to lunch with her. Then we went to see Robots at the dollar theatre. John and I (and Logan and Ember) went to get the tickets and save seats. Ember almost cried when I made her sit in a row by herself (she also had refused to dance in the mall on Saturday). The movie was worth a dollar.

We dropped by the Provo Cemetary, having already missed the Whitneys. Then we watched scrapbooked some more. Our cruise pictures are nearly done, but we haven't started our trip to Moab yet. Or Christmas or Easter....

Tue May 31 2005 19:26 MST: The other day I saw a billboard that said “Getting to hot? 555-COOL”.

Also, when John and I were driving back to Provo, we saw lots of hangliders near The Point of the Mountain- I counted 22. The sun was just setting- it was really cool.

(3) Wed Jun 01 2005 16:18 MST: I ordered a label maker for Kathy and it came today. When I opened it up and was loading the tape in, I found a piece of label all rolled up inside that said "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 23°C". I'm pretty sure it's a secret message. What better way to transmit a secret message than hidden inside a label maker!

I just printed my first label ("Congratulations!" the User Guide says). It says "Susie" and is outlined with a cute little alligator.

Mon Jun 06 2005 08:28 MST In case you don't know how clumsy I am: The other day I was copying a HUGE stack of papers for Kathy and I sat them down on my desk until I could find a box big enough to mail them in. Then I managed to scrape my arm across the pile and give myself 15 papercuts at once! But for all the letters I send and boxes I pry open (we have this weird paper-tape that gets pokey when cut with a box-opener), I definitely get the most papercuts filing.

We had a good Sunday. I like going to my in-laws on Friday night instead of Saturday because it's nice to come home and still have Sunday ahead. Day of Rest!

(5) Mon Jun 06 2005 16:21 MST: If I had a rule that I had to update every time I checked Crummy, I think the server would overload with my entries. But this time I thought I'd go for it. So here are some helpful hints for any job seekers out there.

If I can't tell what position you are applying for, I am going to delete your resume.
If you're not applying for a specific position, I'm going to shred your resume.
If you're not applying for a position we have open, I'm going to shred your resume.
If you must be 18 to get the job you are applying for, and you are not 18, I'm going to shred 
your application.
If there is no phone number on your resume or application, we won't call you for an interview.
If you show up 15 minutes early for your interview, you will wait in the lobby for at least 
14 minutes.
Remember the name of the person interviewing you.
Spell your name right.
Learn your zipcode.
Ask questions, but don't say "which job was this again?"
You should at least know what the company does.

(2) Tue Jun 07 2005 21:18 MST Funny things John says: On Golden Girls Blanche was saying that her great-grandfather said never to sell a car or a slave to a friend because when it stops working you’ll never hear the end of it. Then John said. “Did they even have cars when they had slaves?”

Also, when we were in Moab John told Franco he should buy a shirt that said “Moab: I got sand in my pants.”

(2) Wed Jun 08 2005 12:29 MST Darrell, on the hiring process: Don't count your chickens before they hatch: you'll end up with turkeys!

(2) Fri Jun 10 2005 16:38 MST Yay!: We have finally agreed on someone to follow in my footsteps here at work, and I'm very excited about it. Not only do I love training, but I think this person will be great for the job, and fun to work with for the next few weeks, while she learns our departments idiosyncratic ways.

Also, we're going to the cabin!

(3) Sun Jun 12 2005 21:00 MST The Never-Ending Day: One thing I am going to miss about Utah is the ample outdoorsy stuff. I really enjoyed our hike with Joe and Louise on Saturday. It was a great workout, and wonderful to be outdoors and see all the green trees, the little "potguts", as John called them, the moose... And I was hardly scared in the cabin! Of course, CA has the beach!

Today has seemed to last forever. We even went for two walks! I also got a bit more packing done, planned some using-up-the-cupboard-goods meals, and we watched Pirates of the Carribean. John and I got lots of time to talk. And it's still only 9 pm. Maybe it's because I've finished The Order of the Phoenix and I can't continue. It will keep me excited for The Half-Blood Prince, but meanwhile I am continuing on rereading A Series of Unfortunate Events. The drawback: they only take a couple of hours to read.

Time must have slowed down or something. We probably won't get another day like this- next weekend is Father's Day and we are spending half in Midvale and half at the cabin. The next weekend is our last and we will have to spend it packing. Then we are moving and have to spend our next weekend unpacking and getting all kinds of necessary moving stuff done (buy fridge, renew licenses and registrations, go to Disneyland...)

(1) Thu Jun 16 2005 20:34 MST: We have some conditioner that is sour green apple scented and reminds me of green Sweetarts.

I bought new tires today.

Fri Jun 17 2005 22:00 MST Another Busy Weekend: We are up at the Chadwicks', enjoying our last weekend here. Tomorrow morning we are getting up early to go to the Salt Lake Temple, since I have never been, and Jodi and Franco might go with us. Then the whole family is going to Madagascar which I think looks hilarious, and especially like a movie Mom would like. Then we are going to spend the night at the cabin. Sunday we are having a Father's day party and birthday party for Logan, James and John at the cabin for the whole family. John and I already have our hike planned and I'm excited.

Mon Jun 20 2005 12:32 MST: What a wonderfuly weekend! John and I had a great time hanging out with our family, hiking in the woods, attending a session at the Salt Lake Temple, and celebrating Father's Day. Now, moving on to the real world of... moving.

(2) Mon Jun 20 2005 21:06 MST I Like to Move It, Move It: One thing I can say about Madagascar- the music is very catchy. And it's even more cute on Hannah than the lemurs!

I'm getting very excited to move. John and I packed some more tonight and ran other getting-ready-to-move errands. I'm so excited for our new place, a deck where I can grow basil, Disneyland, Tyler, new job, Disneyland, Harry Potter, yay!

(1) Wed Jun 22 2005 12:20 MST Potato Salad and Broccoli Salad: When we had some friends over a few weeks ago, one of them brought a very yummy potato salad. John made it for our family party this weekend and I'm loving the leftovers so much I thought I'd share the recipe. I don't like mayo, so I loved that this uses mostly oil and vinegar.<

Chop potatoes and boil just until softened. After draining, marinate potatoes in 1/4c. olive oil, 1/4 c. white vinegar. Let sit for a while.

Stir in: Small amount of mayonnaise, chopped green onions, chopped hard boiled eggs, celery, salt and pepper.

We also made broccoli salad last night for dinner with Tyler and Tasha. Also very highly recommended.

Cut up 1 head broccoli into very small pieces. Add 4 pieces crumbled, cooked bacon, 2/3 c. sunflower seeds, 2/3 c. grated cheese, 1/4 c. minced onion. Dressing: 1/2 c. mayo, 3 T. sugar, 2 T. vinegar.

(4) Fri Jun 24 2005 10:45 MST: I need a hug.

(5) Tue Jun 28 2005 08:39 MST: We had such a great time at the family picnic last night. I've been so lucky to have my extended family around to hang out with and take care of me. John is still getting used to the fact that I even know who my second cousins are, much less have hung out with them.

Anyway, nearly everyone was there except for a few cousins who had to work. Even some of the Omans came, including Elliot the rabbit. It was especially great to see Michael again (the only time I'd seen him since his mission was at my wedding), and to hang out with Brynn, whom I'll especially miss.

(2) Tue Jun 28 2005 22:08 MST: Well, other than the fact that our movers haven't actually moved anything yet (mer) it's been a productive evening. We managed to get as much of the cleaning done as we could with furniture in the house and cooking/cleaning stuff all over the counters. One of our neighbors saw us in need and came over and cleaned a set of our blinds. Now I am sitting here eating frozen peas from the bag with a spoon (dinner) and wishing I didn't have to go to work tomorrow.

(5) Thu Jun 30 2005 10:12 MST: While we were hiking in the woods by John's cabin, walking along the stream, John randomly said "Wouldn't it be fun to be water?" He has such cute ideas sometimes.

(1) Thu Jun 30 2005 15:49 MST Adventures and Gifts: We are going on our merry way to California soon. Kandis and Kristen both gave me little gifts today: some candy, some yummy cookies (this is Kandis' sister), soap and tasty lipgloss. I am so spoiled!

(4) Sat Jul 02 2005 18:39 MST California Girl: We made it! We're officially moved into our new apartment in the lovely town of Costa Mesa. It was a long drive and many trips from the three cars full of our stuff, but we made it in one piece. Right now we are stuck at home waiting for our refrigerator to be delivered- our movers are (surprise!) coming tomorrow.

This afternoon we went for a drive to look at nightstands and to check out the neighborhood. We live on the coolest street! Not only are we just blocks away from South Coast Plaza, the biggest mall I've ever seen, but we drove down the road to find Bed Bath and Beyond and also found: Target, In-and-Out, Trader Joe's, Vons, and plenty of other less exciting places. I have lots of Target gift cards from Nature's Way, so they'd better watch out! I am also excited to visit The Container Store. It sounds like a place I would love!

Our new apartment is great, I love being so close to the freeway (all three of them), not to mention the beach, the temple, and we have a pool and a deck and a skylight and vaulted ceilings. All we need is furniture! (and a fridge)

I'm glad to be home.

(2) Mon Jul 04 2005 19:43 MST Happy Fourth!: Having a good time with Jamie and David etc. We went to the beach this morning and spent several hours. The boys had fun boogie-boarding and we built a sandcastle and a big hole. John and I went to walk on the pier but it was closed for firework setup. I enjoyed sitting on a chair under an umbrella eating veggies.

Jamie has already put me to work lots. I love making kits for her. She's also had me just prep some stuff for August kit-making and do some data entry for international labels. *type type type* Since John is spending two days in LA for orientation, I will probably come help with July shipping before starting with Evaun on Friday. It's time for BBQ!

Thu Jul 07 2005 23:12 MST: Sharon packed up a box of music and other things that had been in the bench of Aunt Carolyn's piano. It was very interesting to go through. There were poems and doodles on scraps of paper, newspaper clippings, two halves of a Freud book, a picture of Aunt Carolyn donating original art to the Utah Symphony (and wearing my green dress- that was weird) and a lot of really old music that belonged to Della. Mom, I've saved it all for you to look through.

(1) Fri Jul 08 2005 16:45 MST: I got tired of doing nothing while waiting for the wireless to get back up, so I finally looked up the county library. Turns out I wasn't hallucinating when I thought I saw a "Public Library" sign in the strip mall down the street from our place. A strip mall library! With free wireless! how cool is that. And your first five copies per day are free.

*Note: This library does not appear to be very effective if one desires actual books.

Sat Jul 09 2005 11:55 MST Happy Birthday, Leonard!: Sorry I called a day early.

(4) Sun Jul 10 2005 15:44 MST Planted: John refuses to post a wishlist for his birthday (July 22nd!) so I am doing it for him. John would like: Wise and Otherwise, this cool game we played with Kristen and Aaron; ~~Harry Potter 6~~; Rhoad Dahl books (in particular Matilda, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, or The BFG); Robinsons-May gift card (new favorite store); digital camera (hahaha); plants.

We just bought a nice plant at Home Depot with a gift card John got from his brother. John loves plants now. It is a nice tall tropical tree thingy and it fills the corner between our bookshelf and our door perfectly. I also planted my basil but no sprouts yet. The plant I have from Grandpa's funeral did not do well on the deck. The leaves on one side were rapidly losing all their color and becoming limp. Not sure what could have caused this.

(6) Wed Jul 13 2005 19:54 MST Job Search: This week I have been working (temp job) at a fancy desk in a fancy office in a fancy building in a fancy neighborhood. How fancy, you ask? The fancy plant in the bathrrom has plant-green hairclips holding it to the stick. I'm supposed to take 1 hour lunch (blah! how about ten minutes?) so today I wandered across the road to the Sur La Table I noticed, because I know Rachel loves that store. It seemed like a cross between Williams-Sonoma and Bed Bath and Beyond. You can go to a sushi-making seminar for only $85!

Anyway, I am being the receptionist and I basically sit there and stare into space. There are barely any phone calls. Today I actually spent 2 1/2 hours making booklets. It was great. I don't have a computer or anything, so there's very little work they can give me. However, the office does have two flat screen TVs so I can watch CNN in stereo all day. By the way, this place is marketing a cancer cure... No really.

I am making a yummy dinner for John- chicken fingers, cheddar-biscuits and brown sugar carrots. Unfortunately, he called to say he won't be home until 8. It's too bad I wasn't together the last two days when he got home when he said he would. I'm glad we are busy though- it keeps things interesting. This week I have learned that if we don't go to the pool, we never have time to sit and talk! Of course, John's first CPA exam is on Saturday and I've been busy too.

I've had a ton of interviews. How do I interview when I'm working at a temp job? Good question. I had an interview at 7 AM today. It was great, but I got stuck in a ton of traffic afterwards, trying to drive from Tustin to Newport Beach- through the business center of the OC, merging onto three different freeways. Duh. I shoulda seen that one coming. Anyway. Most of the interviews I've had don't interest me, but a few have and I think I have a good chance. The temp agencies I registered with (they thought they had a good job opening for me) were all very impressed with me computer skills scores. The job market is definitely better here. I will be settled into a job I love soon.

Yay, my biscuits are done. In with the chicken fingers.

Wed Jul 13 2005 19:57 MST Basil Update: I have sprouts! I just peeked outside and there are little splotches of green things coming up in my pot. I think maybe I planted a lot of seeds...

(3) Fri Jul 15 2005 19:53 MST Happiness Is: All the good news: Tonight we are going to Coldstone. We are also having cheesybaconspanishrice and my homemade tortillas for dinner (if it ever finishes cooking). Yum!

Tomorrow: HP!!! Of course we don't get ours for another week, but still! Also, John is taking his first CPA exam, which means at least a day or two of less stress for him. And, when he gets home we are going to DISNEYLAND!!!!! I'm also excited to go to our new ward again.

Monday: I start my new job! I got an offer to work as a Human Resources Administrative Assistant (sound familiar?) doing similar work to what I did for Nature's Way. It's with a company in Tustin that conducts clinical trials all over the country. It's smaller than NW, but still large enough that I will enjoy it; I have learned that I don't like working for small companies. Anyway, this job pays great, has awesome benefits, and the job sounds perfect for me. I'm very excited to start.

As John said, it really says something about the difference in job markets. I was able to find a great job here in a week, while working a temp job fulltime. No wonder houses can sell for so much- people keep moving out for great jobs.

(2) Sat Jul 16 2005 16:12 MST: It's been a busy day. I cleaned the house and sat around a bit while John studied this morning. I left before him to run errands- Target, Vons, bank etc. Then I put groceries away, repotted our plant (including drilling a hold in the pot- a cordless drill is such a great wedding gift), vaccuumed, now I'm pooped. John will be home around 5:30 and then we're off to California Adventure!

I hate how expensive spices are here. I enjoyed having the noname 99cent bottles at Macey's. I spent $10 on two bottles today! Ack! Also, I returned our broom to Target because the handle kept falling off. Then I forgot to get a new one! D'oh. If I'd remembered earlier I would have gotten one at the store or something. But I didn't remember until I got home and thought "hey, I didn't actually spend anything at Target cause I just used the money I got for returninig the.... oops."

Sun Jul 17 2005 22:41 MST Smile: This weekend was even better than it promised to be. We had a great time at Disneyland/California Adventure. I like rollercoaster rides and swingy rides most, so I enjoyed Screamin' and Soarin' over California and we also got to go on Thunder Mountain. We also had very yummy pineapple ice cream.

I was telling Mom in an email about Soarin'- it's supposed to be like you're flying over California seeing (and smelling and feeling) the sights. The chairs move a little with the plane and you can feel the breeze. You're practically inside the screen, watching Yosemite, Malibu, and the orange groves fly by. It's a great ride.

Tonight we went to Jamie and David's, to eat dinner with them and to stay with the boys while David picked Jamie up at the airport. I got to read 2 chapters of Chad's Half-Blood Prince and I am excited, but enjoying the suspense. Ok, well I already know some important things that happen (I'm a spoilsport), but still! I still have a great book to look forward to!

New job starts tomorrow.

Mon Jul 18 2005 18:40 MST CubeWorld: Today I started my new job at Integrium. I did corporate training all day, except when the trainer took me to lunch. They are as excited to have me as I am to be there. The company sounds great to work for. Everyone is really nice, the benefits are awesome (and outsourced!). I even have my very own cubicle! Andrea, the training coordinator, went around and got all of my desk supplies previously. She said she tried to get me all new things in boxes, so I had fun opening my new stapler, tape dispenser, scissors, hole punch. I also have a brand new computer. Of course, the place looks terribly bare, but I might be moving down the row to be closer to the two HR ladies (with real offices) so I won't get all settled in yet.

In other good news, I got three checks in the mail today. And maybe, just maybe we will finally have medium-temperatured water in our shower soon.

Thu Jul 21 2005 10:01 MST: We had a great time last night at Justin and Barbara's. We only live about ten minutes away. It was a lovely night with a lovely view and a lovely dinner prepared by Justin (Michelle manned the grill). In addition to the Walch contingent, Debbie, Suzie and her son Max were there. They were fun to talk to and get to know.

Still enjoying my new job. Hopefully that will last a long, long time.

John's birthday is tomorrow, yay! We are driving to Bakersfield to see Mom and Rachel and plan on having a great time.

(1) Thu Jul 21 2005 18:33 MST Broken Ocean: It's hot. I don't think it's as hot as it was yesterday, but there is no breeze and I am sweating. I should probably turn the AC on. I guess I am baking cupcakes, so the oven is on.

Speaking of cupcakes. I went to two stores on my lunch hour, trying to find the kind of frosting John wanted. Either they don't make it anymore, they don't sell it California, or groceries stores here have a really poor selection of frosting. Actually, it's possible that Macey's just had a really great frosting section; after all, I can't have been the only college student who ate it from the jar.

Anyway, after all that, I got home and discovered I didn't have any cupcake liners, so I had to go back to the store. I decided to check out the Japanese market that's just down the street rather than fight rush hour traffic again. I had been battling my suspicions that this was an actual Japanese market rather than a supermarket with a large section of Japanese speciality items. Turns out, my suspicions were correct. It was actually more of a Japanese mall. But they had what I was looking for.

In the midst of all this, it has occured to me that I'm having a bad week. I had basically the same issue as with the frosting with the bank yesterday. I never did find the bank. I did find an ATM in the mall, but it didn't accept deposits. I also spent two hours at the mall looking for a nice oxford type shirt and never found one. Plus, I've been driving around like a maniac in the traffic. Yesterday I got onto the freeway going the wrong direction. It was so crowded going the correct way that I didn't want to get back on, so I found my own way home.

Luckily, this bad-week-ness only affects me when I'm in the car, so I've still been having a great time at my job and being busy at home. My cupcakes are baking, I have acceptable frosting ready, and I am excited for a great weekend with my family and a great birthday for my hubby.

Oh yeah, and I spent over $20 in gas for the first time today. I almost stopped the pump at $19 just to make myself feel better.

(1) Tue Jul 26 2005 22:35 MST California Drivers: I finally got my car registered today. My license plates say "NUT". That should be easy to remember, but then again, it's always the numbers I forget. Now people won't wonder, "where did someone from Utah learn to drive like that?"

Work is going well. Today was a very busy day. I got up at 5:20 (John asked if I'd set me clock wrong) (he was already up studying) to go to work early, so I could leave early to go to the DMV. After that I went to Jamie's and worked for two hours. Then I came home (no traffic!). Since I didn't have to cook tonight (I ate at Jamie's, John had leftovers) I made No-Bake Cookies. Mine don't solidify fast enough. Any suggestions?

John is reading Half-Blood Prince. The more I think about it, the more I enjoyed that book. Yay! I reread the last few chapters, to make sure I didn't miss anything obvious, and I got all teary-eyed three times! Maybe my eyes were too busy flying through the pages.

(3) Thu Jul 28 2005 08:26 MST It's about time: The Target I went to yesterday had trees planted every four spots in every row. What a brilliant idea! At least half of the spots are in the shade all the time! Since I didn't notice this in the Tustin Marketplace before, I looked around on my way back to work. Most of the parking lots do have trees planted in every row- but they're palm trees! Give me a break.

I also found a nifty way to get to my regular Vons on my way home from work. It's nice to just get it over with then, since I still got home more than 2 hours before John. 7-4 is a nice time to work.

(3) Mon Aug 01 2005 20:59 MST Close Encounters of the Sharp Kind: I got attacked by a staple today. For anyone who doesn't knnow how clumsy I am, that means I accidentally attacked myself with a staple. I was sitting there talking to Andrea trying to get it out of my finger, and realized I was getting nowhere, so she finally did it.

I made this huge, gorgeous Thai chicken satay stir fry dinner for John. The knife slipped while I was cutting green pepper, and cut my bitten-down nail. Not two minutes later I realized I was trying to grate baby carrots. What kind of a stupid idea was that? I avoided another incident there.

The dinner was delicious. John was so impressed he jumped right up after and did the dishes! I got this recipe off Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals several months ago, but today I randomly had all the ingredients to make it. I picked this one in the first place because I new I'd never have lime juice or cocount milk, key ingredients in other recipes. This is the first 30-Minute Meal I've actually made and it took me about 50 minutes (not including whatever dessert she put with it). Here's the recipe (Susie-ized):

Chicken Satay Stirfry with Orange Jasmine Rice

Zest of 1 Orange
1 cup rice
2 cups water

2 T. oil
1 lb. chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced (I used green, but I think red would be better)
1 cup matchstick carrot pieces
6 scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 c. peas

Satay sauce:
4 rounded T. chunky peanut butter (or creamy with chopped peanuts! I’m so inventive!)
3 T. soy sauce
3 t. honey
1 t. ginger (or 1 inch crushed)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t. red pepper flakes
juice of ½ orange

Garnish:
¼ c. chopped peanuts
3 T. chopped cilantro

Cook rice and water with orange zest.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat.  Add chicken, garlic and onion, stir-fry 3 minutes.  Add remaining veggies and stir-fry 5 minutes more.  Heat all ingredients for sauce together in a small pot over low heat, stirring the sauce until all ingredients are combined.

Thu Aug 04 2005 12:35 MST: I had a good time yesterday hanging out with Rachel. It's great that I can actually hang out with my sister on random occasions! Now if only my brother were closer... Anyway, as soon as I got off work, we drove around to a bunch of stores in the Tustin Marketplace. I bought two new work shirts. That makes four new shirts I've bought since we moved here- and no shoes. I did need the shirts, but I'd still like to get some sandals. Of course, by the time I find some it will be cold and I won't want to wear them.

On Wednesday night, while John was at the Angels game with a client, I made mini-kits for Jamie's online store. I spent about two hours, coincidentally the amount of time it takes to watch "The Incredibles". It was fun, although I feel like I haven't talked to my husband all week. We are going to Ladera Ranch on Saturday; John is going to study in the library there, and I will do the beginning-of-the-month stuff for Jamie. Then we are having a BBQ. I love having our family close!

Fri Aug 05 2005 16:39 MST: I have gotten three compliments on my new shirt. It's white with silver "thread" in it, kinda "cowboy" style, only really thin material and it was only $10.

John and I are going to the Angels game tonight. I haven't been to a baseball game in years. Should be fun. I'm going to go to the grocery store on the way home, and I'm going to stop at Trader Joe's. I want to see how prices compare, and I want to buy some bulk cornmeal- I can't remember if Trader Joe's has bulk or not. I want it to make fried okra with. I've been very good about us eating vegetables every night. John mostly prefers cooked vegetables, so it takes a bit more planning, but it is health for us.

Fri Aug 05 2005 16:44 MST Presto Pesto Cream Sauce: Last night I made pesto cream sauce to go with our leftover noodles. John doesn't really like the basil pesto, and I don't really like plain pesto and noodles, so I thought this might be a good idea. It turned out to be really easy and yummy.

I just made a white sauce (2 T. Butter, 1 T. flour 3/4 c. milk) and put some shredded parmesan (1/2 c.) in it (aka Alfredo Sauce), then added an ice cube of pesto. That's it. It was so easy. I also put peas in mine.

Mon Aug 08 2005 08:48 MST: The NFSA is not what you expect: Fire Sprinklers!

Tue Aug 09 2005 15:41 MST Exhale: I just had to run our safety team meeting. I wasn't nervous until everyone kept asking if I was. It was fun, I work with great people.

(2) Thu Aug 11 2005 08:25 MST The Calls: Rachel came to visit last night. We went shoe shopping, finally with success, and then went to dinner with Justin and Barbara. Not only was the food yummy (I will have to take John there so he can enjoy fried ice cream) but the conversation was wonderful.

Uncle Justin is always so interested in our lives. He asked lots of questions and then told us about Lorna, and about his mom (Great-Grandma Della). He was reminiscing about her piano and was excited to hear that I have it now.

He was also telling us about some of the cases he's been an "expert witness" for; drug companies, contested adoptions and the like. And about how he got to be so cool. He showed us the bike path where he rides 12 miles every other day and told us about the fundraiser he is hosting on Friday. They are going to have a sign outside his house that says "Neuroscience and Psychoanalysis."

Aunt Barbara is such a go-getter, she could hardly sit still long enough to eat her food. It was nice to get a chance to chat with her too.

(3) Tue Aug 16 2005 12:15 MST: Let's see. Busy week this week. Monday: Oil change, Tuesday: grocery shopping and bake cookies, Wednesday: Enrichment, Thursday: Girl's Night Out (we're supposed to be getting pedicures), Friday: Mommy might be coming to visit me, Saturday: Tyler and Tasha are going to dinner and the temple open house with us, Sunday: Make September kits for Jamie.

They are keeping me fairly busy at work with steady projects. They are not yet used to my efficiency, but I've only been turned down by both Susan and Andrea once* when I asked for work.

In other news, John has been around a lot more since his last test. He has been coming home a bit earlier (ten to seven instead of ten after) and bringing work, since he doesn't have to study quite yet. I like having him home.

And yesterday I cute up a pepper all tiny to make salsa with and later rubbed my poor eye. I called Mommy to whine and make sure I wasn't going to go blind (any worse than I already am) and she said I'd be fine. And what do you know? She was right.

*Update: Make that twice. I believe they are beginning to have suspicions about my superefficiency (at least compared to normal slow assistants).

(2) Wed Aug 17 2005 08:44 MST: I was much busier last night than I thought I would be. I got home from the grocery store after five and I spent the next two hours making dinner, doing laundry and putting the groceries away. Then I made cookies as quickly as possible and had a huge mess to clean up in the kitchen. I made a chicken-broccoli casserole and it seemed to use all of my pots and pans. I managed to get all the dishes done before 8:00. Then I had to hang up the wet laundry, put away the dry laundry (which John so graciously went and got for me). *whew* We still have semi-dry laundry all over our house. I have Enrichment tonight, but John is going to an Angel's game so I'll have some time to find our home again. At least my cookies (I made molasses cookies) are already made.

(4) Wed Aug 17 2005 12:35 MST: Since Sumana asked, I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about Jamie's business. Basically what she designs a different coordinating kit of scrapbooking supplies for every month and sends them all over the world. Her partner does the same so there are two main kits every month. There are also mini-kits and other supplies you can buy from her store. Here is the website if you'd like to look at some of the examples.

What I do is stuff the kits, label and box the international shipments and take them to the post office. Starting next month I'll also get to help with invoicing and domestic shipping. Since I love having a nice, tidy task to sit down and do, and John gets home several hours after me each day, this is a great job for me. Another great side effect is that it's a great excuse for John to play with his best buddy, Tyler. And I love working with Jamie. And I get paid. And I get free scrapbook stuff once in a while.

So go to her website and check it out. They also have newsletters with ideas of what to do with the kits and anyone can post things they've made. It's really pretty cool, and there are lots of cute scrapbooking supplies and papers every month.

(1) Wed Aug 17 2005 13:14 MST Quoted: Susan (my boss) showed me a quote today that said "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" (Stephen Wright, I think).

Thu Aug 18 2005 08:29 MST Soaky Beach: Enrichment last night was ok. I got off to a rocky start. I didn't realize how much traffic there would be between my house and the church (not a short difference) so I was paranoid about everyone leaving me. When I got there, there wasn't a single person from our ward. So I met some nice older ladies from the other ward and got in a car and waited. We drove down to Balboa beach to have a BBQ/picnic. The lady who sat next to me in the car turned out to be pretty neat though, once we started talking. She is from Vietnam and told me all about how her family was affected by, and eventually escaped, Communism there.

At the beach: ok, like two people from our ward. The waves were huge! This beach has a very steep slope right at the water's edge- the waves were crashing over it, 15 feet high. Eventually, of course, enough water made it over and ran down toward the BBQ pits. For some reason it rolled mostly to either side of us, but we still moved down to the grass. The bulldozer, having built a wall of protection around the lifeguard building, moved down toward the picnic areas, and our place never did get wet. Anyway, it was really cool.

Eventually some more people from our ward showed up. There's a girl in our ward whose brother I knew from Nature's Way- he was our rep from the temp agency and was always taking me and Linda out to lunch. She was there, and gave me a ride home. The RS president bugged the two of us about our talents. They were pretty sneaky too. When we didn't 'fess up, they started making up talents. I had to be honest before I got stuck playing the organ! So not a complete waste of an evening, esp. since John was at the Angel's game.

Fri Aug 19 2005 08:20 MST: Rachel brought me a huge stack of CDs to listen to. I was particularly enthused at the return of my Joan Osborne CD. It's been fun listening to some random stuff from the past, as well as some new stuff I'd never heard. I'm only about on the 6th one, though, and there are at least 15 I think.

Fri Aug 19 2005 11:57 MST: While I was going through personnel files, organizing them my way, I saw a really cool check someone had (like a bank check, for direct deposit). It was a space check, with some planets and stars. The colors were very vivid, considering checks always look like they have vellum layed over the picture so you can see the writing. Pretty cool. But still not as cool as my Woodstock checks!

Mon Aug 22 2005 16:25 MST: When I told me co-worker Andrea about my busy weekend she said, "We've been living like that for 12 years." I really would like to have a day to do nothing, but I know I would find something to do.

The weekend started off great with a visit from Mom. Other than the Gretel-spots on my carpet, it was a nice visit. I enjoyed sitting in our camping chairs at the dog park watching Gretel romp. We also made fun of some scrapbooking magazines together.

I also had a great time with Tyler and Tasha Langston. I never knew Downtown Disney was so big! It's like a mall, only we get 10% off from our Annual Passes. Then we went to the Newport Beach Temple Open House. The temple was beautiful. The mural in the instruction room is painted to look like the California coastline, with the ocean waves toward the front. All the doors were made out of a dark wood and had curved tops like in a fairy tale, or a Romanian Castle, or a Disneyland ride. The grounds are also beautifully landscaped and there are some neat etched-glass panels.

Sunday we spent most of the day at Jamie and David's. John and I made two trips from the car to bring in all the work I was sent home with. It should keep me busy this week. Jamie is coming to my work tomorrow to pick up some of the kits that already need to go out.

We have another busy weekend ahead of us. John and I were asked to usher at the Temple Dedication next Sunday. I have no idea how the Stake got out phone number, because I'm pretty sure the Bishop doesn't know who we are still, but it should be fun. There are four sessions; we are attending the second and ushering at the last two. It is a long shift, but we don't have callings yet, so we might as well serve doing this.

(3) Wed Aug 24 2005 10:08 MST The Sound of Work: typety type type. click click. typety typety type. Woof! ... giggle ...

Somebody brought their cute doggie in, because he has to go to the vet. Of course, having sat at the front desk all morning, I was prewarned to the random bark.

That reminds me. When Gretel first came into our apartment and saw the mirror on our dining room wall, she gave a load bark. Gretel doesn't bark very much so it was actually kind of funny. But she ran over and sniffed and made friends with the doggie on the other side (and some noseprints on the mirror) and that was the end of that.

(1) Thu Aug 25 2005 12:14 MST: Yesterday I was craving yummy balls, so I made some. Now I get to eat them for lunch too. I'm so lucky! yum.

(1) Fri Aug 26 2005 14:23 MST: Today we had a massive game of Musical Cubicles, only without the music. I think we had 17 people move, myself included. I am actually amazed at how smoothly it all went. IT went around moving computers and people kinda moved along with their computer. It took me about 1/2 hour to move my stuff (1 cubicle over!), clean, and get settled in. Now there is only one other person in my row, way on the other side, but there are fun people behind me and I am closer to Susan and Andrea.

I tried to put my hair into two little braids this morning, but it was too short, at least for me to do it myself. So I tried french braids instead, and it worked ok. Actually, not only did it look ok on my first try, but they have actually stayed in! I couldn't even do that with long hair. However, I can still only french braid inside-out on my self. Oh well.

(2) Mon Aug 29 2005 12:29 MST Ah, the Weekend: Because we are so busy doing the week, we always have jam-packed weekends. This week was no exception. E&Y kindly let my husband loose while the sun was still up on Friday and we spent the evening at Disneyland. It was awesome! The crowds and the lines were way down. We got to go on all of the exciting rides, except for Splash Mountain, in just over four hours. My acute hearing (hahaha) got us to the front of the line at the Matterhorn in a double-rider slot. And John got us a free pinneapple whip- the girl kept saying it was too runny, but free runny whip is better than no whip, or expensive whip. And it wasn't even runny.

Saturday John worked the entire day. I cleaned, finished Jamie's kits and sewed. Yes, contrary to popular (John's) belief, I actually do know how to use my sewing machine. Mom gave me a million (about 2,000) flannel squares. I made five squares of nine. Most of my time went into sorting the fabric. I don't know what I'll do once I have a finished quilt (or three). Anyone want a quilt?

Saturday night we went on a date to the beach. This was John's idea. (isn't he cute?) I made us BLTs and we took a blanket and ate dinner watching the waves. We contemplated sand, took a walk, and poked a dead jellyfish. Then we spent the rest of the evening wandering around South Coast Plaza and Metro Pointe, and had a Jamba Juice.

Yesterday was the dedication of the Newport Beach Temple. John and I went to the second session at the Irvine Stake Center, then we went over to the Newport Beach Stake Center to be ushers. We were quite superfluous, so we didn't feel too badly about leaving early. We'd been invited to dinner with some other young couples in the ward. We had a good time there, making some friends and eating yummy food.

Anyway, other than the standing out in the sun, and poor John being exhausted from working so hard, the actual Dedication was lovely. I even used the antique white handkerchief Aunt Anne gave me when we got married. I love when we all sing "The Spirit of God" at the end. We were just in a chapel, but it was so loud you couldn't even tell when the video feed kept shutting off. Now I am excited to actually go use our new temple! John is taking off Sep. 16 to spend the day spoiling me, so we are going then.

Tue Aug 30 2005 17:48 MST Random thoughts on freeways and other things: I used to always write stories about my life in my head. Now I write weblog entries.

When I am stopped at the light waiting for my turn to get on the freeway and the lane next to me is empty, I like when cars zoom past me, using my green light as well. This is something I would do. Actually, this is something I do if that lane is empty when I am pulling up. It saves everyone time, and besides, the 55 is never crowded right there.

Tue Aug 30 2005 17:49 MST Dear John: Thank you for your not-so-subtle hint that you were almost out of dress socks, letting me know ahead of time, and allowing me to choose a convenient time for me to do laundry. Or, thank you for finally running out of socks on a convenient day.

Love, Susie

PS: Remember you are taking me to Souplantation tonight!

(1) Wed Aug 31 2005 08:08 MST: Yesterday some girls brought me back a Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Blizzard from DQ for watching the front desk an extra 1/2 hour. It was the yummiest ever!! Highly recommended for the afternoon sugar-low.

Sat Sep 03 2005 11:38 MST Soaky Susie: We went to California Adventure last night (don't want to get to Disney-ed out before Rachel and Chris come). The first ride we went on was Bear River Rafting, or whatever it's called. Rolling down a river in a giant intertube thingy. I got very wet. So wet that I finally took my shirt off and just zipped up my little hoodie. So wet that my jeans were still wet when we got home (not damp- wet). Luckily, I wore sandals, and the jeans didn't bug me so much.

The guy in front of us, with his pressed khakis and cell phone clipped to his belt, asked if his daughter could ride with us. She was a cute little Indian girl named Lika and beamed the whole time we were on the ride.

There was another poor kid we helped out too. When you get off Tower of Terror, you go down these back access stairs to get to the gift shop. There was a little boy standing in the stairwell crying. He said he was too scared to go on the ride, but was really more scared that he couldn't find his dad. So we kinda hung out by him until he found his family. Poor kid. That ride is terrifying, I can't blame him.

Anyway, I was telling John about this one time when I found a toddler wandering around crying in Tomorrowland. I'd noticed the little girl earlier, so I picked her up and took her back to where I'd first seen her, when her mom came up, grabbed her and yelled at me. Stupid lady; the kid could barely walk!

(6) Sat Sep 03 2005 11:47 MST I'm just a simple girl in a high-tech digital world:

Here is what I would like for my birthday:

plant stubs
red nail polish
nail buffer
print skirt

Mon Sep 05 2005 21:46 MST Labor Day: What a great weekend. I say that every Monday. Since I got all my cleaning done Saturday, I got to spend today... Scrapbooking! I actually scrapbooked 4-5 hours today. I made three pages and finished two others, and made/finished 12 cards, but I was mostly using scraps I already had ready to make cards with. I also sewed three more squares for my quilt (made myself do that first) and sorted through all my stickers and extras. It was so nice to pull out ALL my stuff and spread it out everywhere. I actually had a pretty good system down where I could easily reach most things. Maybe my stuff is finally to the point where it is accessible enough to actually use.

Anyway, I finished our Moab pictures- four pages. I also made a page from 1 picture from Easter. I am anti- "1 picture per page" but I only had one and it was so cute I wanted to spotlight it. It's of Me, John, Jodi, Franco, Logan, Ember, James and Hannah with our Easter baskets. The colors are so bright and real, and I had some cute Easter cutouts from Jamie's getting-rid-of pile that I used (I love Jamie's getting-rid-of-piles).

I love holidays not only because of the free day but because now my week is 1 day shorter! And Friday I am going to Bakersfield to see my mommy!

(3) Thu Sep 08 2005 08:26 MST Enriched: Last night, on my way to Enrichment, I watched two cars pull over as if they'd just had an accident. The drivers both got out, examined their bumpers, then the girl in front waved the guy away and they both drove off. I was stopped at a red light watching this, don't worry.

Enrichment was very interesting. There were only two other young girls there, both pregnant. One of them and I are getting to know each other pretty well, so that was nice. We were learning about parenting/family. There were four classes: family fun, cooking, arts & literature and religion. One of the "professors" was a complete crack-up; She was over 80 years old and I just about died laughing as she told us the story of her liberation through the invention of Tampax.

I got home later than John, amazingly enough. Poor thing has been working horrendous hours.

If Enrichment was still called Homemaking, would I have called this entry "Homemade"?

(1) Mon Sep 12 2005 20:51 MST Le Weekend: Have been very busy, but I must report. I spent the weekend in Bakersfield with Mom, Rachel and Leonard. Friday night we all went out to Frugatti's. Mom had to return home to change her TPN, so Leonard and I walked around and talked. It was nice to spend some one-on-one time with him. Dinner was good and I got sang to- over a free piece of raspberry cheesecake. Can't beat that! Thanks for dinner, Mom!

Saturday I clean around the house until Mom got up. Then we went to lunch with Grandma. Poor Grandma is slowing down. It makes me sad that she doesn't talk as much as she used to. She talked non-stop the entire way back from the last Benson reunion I took her too. I trimmed the dead leaves off of her plant and admired the baby quilt she was making. On our way back, Mom and I stopped at the Greek Food Festival to get very yummy gyros and baklava for dinner. After Mom took a nap, we went in the hot tub together.

When Rachel got home from MLI, we gave each other pedicures and painted our toenails Pink Bikini. My toes are so cute! I was sad they were covered up with shoes today. Thanks for the pedicure, Rach! Afterwards we sat on her bed reading her blog book and making fun of silly things she'd said.

Sunday we laid around in our PJs. Mom and I went to Sacrament meeting and then I headed back home. It only took me two hours to get back- there was zero traffic! Lucky me.

Today was the start of a very long week at work, even though I am taking Friday off. My boss quit. I spent the day training the receptionist in some of my training paperwork and dealing with personnel paperwork from the 5 new hires that started today. I am expecting to have a lot put on my plate soon.

After work I went to the Post Office for Jamie, and then got to work on some of the mini-kits she sent home with John last night. I got a lot of it done. John's deadline is Thursday so he is infinitely busy this week; these mini-kits will help keep me busy too. And next week I will hopefully have October kits for both Jamie and Tammy to do.

(4) Mon Sep 12 2005 21:08 MST Susie vs. The Antennae: I'm in the kitchen innocently heating up a cob of corn for dinner (lame, I know). All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see an antler! ok, not an antler, an antenna. At this point I begin talking to myself. "Oh no!"

What do I do? Smash it with a papertowel? Eew. I can't even stand doing that with spiders. I know! I'll vaccuum it up- the preferred method for post 7 AM spider-killing. I get out the vacuum. Hook up attachments. Plug it in. Aim at cockroach. Turn vaccuum on. Nothing. It scuttles away when I poke it with the tube but refuses to be sucked up. Stupid cockroach. "It won't work!" Duh, Susie.

What do I do? "I'll smash it with a shoe." I get a shoe from the closet. On my way back I glance at myself in the mirror, holding my shoe and almost laugh. I carefully move my Pampered Chef serving dish away from the hiding antennae. Thunk, "eek!" thunk, "eek!" thunk. "Eek!" Stupid cockroach. "Eek!" It runs into the sink which, of course, has some dishes in it. Well, I can't very well thunk my dishes.

"What do I do?" Turn on water. Turn on disposal. Wait for cockroach to get washed down drain. Well, a cockroach that won't get sucked up into the vacuum isn't just going to be washed down the drain. It took some careful aiming of the water, using a knife, to get the guy down inside. Crunch, crunch. "Eew."

(2) Thu Sep 15 2005 08:10 MST You know your car needs washing when:

You dream about it.

Someone in our complex has lost their kitty. How sad.

(1) Mon Sep 19 2005 08:28 MST A Weekend of Birthdays: Day 1: Friday was a wonderful day- John took the day off! Well, I took the day off too, but that wasn't quite as amazing. We slept in and then went to the Newport Beach temple in the morning. It was so beautiful, although tiny. We got to be the witness couple and the altar was all new and cushy.

Afterwards we went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It was full of ladies with stollers and piles of shopping bags. I wondered outloud who these women were that shopped all day and dined at The Cheesecake Factory. Don't they have lives?

After that we spent some time at home so John could study and I could clean. John also let me open my presents then. As is his tendency, he totally spoiled me. He bought two big, framed prints to go above our bed. He also bought me two books, a DVD, some candy and some giftcards to In-in-Out and Jamba Juice so I could go out to eat sometimes too. I also got to open my package from Susan. There was a card from Grandma June and from Jodi and Franco and also two stamp sets for cardmaking and two books. Like I said, spoiled.

Next, we went to South Coast Plaza to buy some sort of decoration for a bowl I won at Bunco. We settled on a bag of light gray rocks to put a candle on, but when we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a candle, we found some cute potpourri and bought that instead. Finally, we went home and read until Rachel and Chris arrived and stayed up much too late talking with them.

Tune in next time for our next installment: Disneyland!

Mon Sep 19 2005 14:32 MST A Weekend of Birthdays: Day 2: On Saturday, we left for Disneyland around 9 and got home just after midnight. We had a great time! This was the first time we'd gone with anyone else, so it was a lot of fun to be with Rachel and Chris. Especially because I love my sister! We went on all the good rides, and on the Matterhorn twice. Chris and I saved seats for Fantasmic! 2 1/2 hours ahead of time, then the boys when to buy us dinner- gumbo in bread bowls. That show is always very good.

Basically, it was an all around great time. We all kept making great sarcastic comments, and we had a "princess count" of dressed-up little girls- got up to 30!

(2) Tue Sep 20 2005 08:19 MST A Weekend of Birthdays: Day 3: On Sunday, John and I slept in. Then he studied while I scrapbooked a little bit. I didn't get a lot done though. In the afternoon, we went to Jamie's. We had a lovely dinner, and Tyler, Jamie and John sang to me in the corner over a lemon cake. We were in the corner because the entire Deacon's Quorum was over. David bought me a pumpkin-shaped cake pan and some pumpkin cake mix and a nice spatula from Williams-Sonoma. They also gave us two DVDs that they had bought, only to find they already had them.

Tammy's husband dropped by some scrapbooking kits for me to do, and also a gift of several mini-kits. Very thoughtful. It took me eight trips from the car to bring everything in, plus the huge pile John brought in on the first trip. With a bit of rearranging, John managed to fit it all inside our closet. Of course I got half of it out last night to start putting kits together...

Also got to talk to my mommy on my birthday. Leonard called too, but we were at Jamie's and didn't hear it. I am so spoiled!

(2) Tue Sep 20 2005 12:22 MST Thunder and Lightning Sure Can Be Frightening: We had a terrific thunderstorm last night. I was sitting around innocently making scrapbook kits listening to the rolling thunder, and all of a sudden *BOOM!* I jumped about 2 inches. It was so loud and long, it sounded like the sky was being ripped apart. There were a few other times it was so loud, including around 230 AM.

I am feeling a little sickie. Sore throat and no energy. I had some Umcka and drank a lot of OJ this morning. For lunch I am having pasta salad that my mommy made. Not exactly warm, cozy soup, but at least I am able to eat it. Thanks for the salad, mommy!

(2) Wed Sep 21 2005 13:47 MST Proud Wife: John got his second CPA score today- a 96!!! And this is the one he thought he did worse on! Halfway there...

Wed Sep 21 2005 15:41 MST I must be feeling better: I said something funny.

Two of my coworkers, with whom I spend a lot of time, commented that I seemed really down since I've been sick. I haven't been talking much because my thoat hurts. I think it is just really obvious on me because I normally have a lot of energy. This afternoon Andrea said I seemed a little more chipper.

I knew it was true when I said something funny and Noelle and I laughed like crazy. We realized it was the first time we had laughed in days (Noelle is also sick). Anyway, here's what happened:

I was giving Noelle a break and playing a quick game of Spider. Imagine my surprise when I won the game! I started another game and was shocked that I got a complete set before dealing once. Just after that I realized the difficulty was set to "Easy". Noelle returned and I related this to her. I concluded, "So I said to myself, 'self: you've been had!'"

We laughed until we had tears in our eyes. Like I said, we've been sick. I still laugh thinking about it.

Thu Sep 22 2005 12:27 MST Funny Things at the Reception Desk: Yesterday there was a gentleman waiting for an appt. in the reception area. As late as his appointment-ee was, his colleague was even later. 20 or 25 minutes late, she came in an said "oh, I didn't realize it was inside." She had been outside the whole time! I mean, who goes to an appt. and waits outside the building? Seriously.

(8) Tue Sep 27 2005 15:26 MST: Sorry I'm so boring lately. Um, let's see. I'm sick. Yup, that's about it. Oh, here's a funny story.

I made a beautiful hollandaise sauce last night, to go with our beautiful, if not cheap, aspargus. Unfortunately, it had a little mishap while I was getting the laundry- it got microwaved for 30 seconds! So we had buttery, lemony, scrambled eggs on our aspargus. Hee hee! This amuses me to no end.

Wed Sep 28 2005 08:58 MST Empty Threats: "or I'll put this pimply pumpkin in your face!"

Overheard at the grocery store.

(2) Wed Sep 28 2005 10:23: Checking on my timezone change...

Thu Sep 29 2005 15:08: Yesterday, John came home early from work and we went on a walk at the Nature Preserve at the back bay (by Uncle Justin's house). We saw: 2 beetles, a line of ants, 8-12 little rabbits- might have been the same ones twice- and some cute little birds hopping around. And some ducks. And some doggies. It was a nice walk. We even hiked around a bit on the trails.

Then I made yummy fajitas for dinner, and lunch today. yum.

(2) Thu Sep 29 2005 16:56 Delusional Interpretations:

Noelle: I'll give you a give to Molly.
Me: Who's Molly?
Noelle: tamale!
We had been discussing tamales for ten minutes!

Reading a sign in my rearview mirror while stopped at a red light. "Fee-mal-ay". Feemalay? I keep reading. "Exotic Dancers". Oh, female.

This afternoon I was reviewing Corrs lyrics for the occasional word I couldn't figure out. I was surprised that one song, Tell Me No, wasn't on a rather comprehensive list. Turns out, I had completely misinterpreted the title, which is said about 20 times throughout the song: Time Enough. I have listened to this song about 50 times. In my defense, I listened to the song on my way home, and it still sounds like "tell me no." But there is no excuse for the rest of my stupidity.

Fri Sep 30 2005 02:46: must *cough* sleep *cough*

Fri Sep 30 2005 08:17 Woo hoo!: Urgent Care = Doctor's Visit = $10 copay! + paid sick time. I think I'll go.

Update: Doctor says it's allergies. He says allergy pills and cough syrup + codeine. And shut the windows while we sleep.

(2) Fri Sep 30 2005 14:10: I got a "birthday bag" at work. It had a Pepsi, a mini bag of Cheez-its, mini granola bar, Twix, mini Pringles and a movie ticket. How fun!

Fri Sep 30 2005 18:39: Doctor also gave me a perscription nosespray. I remember the first time I ever used these things- February 2002- trying to clear up my permanent headache and sinus infection. I didn't know you were supposed to inhale while squirting! Susie: Is this supposed to be coming out my nose? Kristen: Did you inhale it?

Hee hee. I did a lot better this time.

Sat Oct 01 2005 11:32: In high school I had a friend - well, more of a friend-of-friends - named James. He got punched during the Senior picture because he was wearing a shirt that said "I love Satan". Much ado followed. I thought about this today because I was reading about Korihor, the "antichrist", and how the law could have no hold on him because there was no law against a man's belief.

Another little story about James: One time he walked home with me and we sat on the porch talking until Mom came home. (We weren't allowed to have boys in the house if no one was home.) We hung out for a few hours, and after he left Mom said, "that's the kind of boy I used to bring home to my parents."

Thu Oct 06 2005 07:31: I really do have things to say. I just keep forgetting them.

I went to Jamie's last night, to print domestic shipping labels and box up the international stuff for me to take to the P.O. I also took all of Tammy's kits and brought back stuff for Jamie's November kits. More work!

Poor Tyler has croup. Like I told John, I'd never seen a three-year-old with bags under his eyes before.

Thu Oct 06 2005 11:35 Noelle: There's always a way sometimes. ... Just maybe not this time.

(2) Thu Oct 06 2005 11:41: The password for my weblog is a random set of characters given me by Leonard when he first set the page up in 1999. (Yes, I had a blog before anyone knew what a "blog" was.) If I think too hard about it, I have no idea what it is, and the characters get all mixed up. I just have to type without thinking.

On the other hand, I recently had to change my password at work and I am having the opposite problem. I have to think very hard before typing my password to remember that it isn't the one I've been using for the last 3 months. We have to lock our computers when we step away, so I have to do this all the time.

In related news, my 90 day review is coming up, a bit early since Andrea is going on a cruise next week. Hmm. Is she really going on a cruise and leaving me as the Responsible Head of HR for a week? I hope they hire an HR manager soon.

Thu Oct 06 2005 12:39: I am page #14 in a search for "chocolate gummy shark".

(1) Sat Oct 08 2005 11:41 Am I behind the times?: The other day I noticed that the only powdered laundry soap Von's had was a few huge boxes. I figured it just didn't have a great selection because it was a grocery store. But when I bought soap at Target I was again met with a dismaying selection. I am wondering if maybe people don't use powdered laundry detergent anymore. Or maybe just not in California.

Also, I have been stubbornly not rinsing off dishes when loading the dishwasher to prove that the point of a dishwasher is to wash the dishes for you (not after you). What do you know: it works. And, by the way, we have the most ancient, low-tech dishwasher.

(5) Sat Oct 08 2005 13:17 Free Sample: Sometimes at work when I am bored during lunch or something, I sign up for free samples on the internet. I was thinking about writing this today while using the Pantene shampoo and conditioner samples I got last week. Then today when I went to check the mail, I got two more samples, including two Quaker granola bars. Yum.

Mon Oct 10 2005 19:27 Basil Update #2: I have four remaining basil plants (I picked the rest out). They are over 1 foot tall and I have used the leaves in three things: BLTs, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato-zucchini pasta. Very yummy. I'm glad we moved to a place where I could grow happy basil.

Wed Oct 12 2005 15:54: Yesterday, when I got home from the Post Office, I took a nap. I was so tired I decided I would just not worry about being grumpy when I woke up (I always am) and just get some sleep. I didn't wake up until John got home. Luckily I wasn't grumpy, but I was very confused for about 1/2 hour.

Andrea is on a cruise to Mexico. She gave me a two-page list of things to do in the meantime, including prepare for an audit next week. Noelle and I have both been very busy all week- we've been working hard. *gets out list* Should be a busy week.

Wed Oct 12 2005 19:21 Pizza Dough: I thought I had already posted this- I mean any recipe John likes has to be good. But apparently not. The dough part is a mix of two recipes, one from my sister-in-law, one from the internet.

1 c. warm water
1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
2 T. oil
3 c. flour
2 t. crushed garlic
1 t. oregano
fresh basil leaves, torn

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, oil and spices. Mix well. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Rise in covered, greased bowl until double. Pre-bake at 375° for 5 minutes before topping. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.

I don't always let it rise; it turns out ok if I just put it in the pan, top it and bake. If you do this, you don't have to pre-bake it.

Anyway, this makes two pizzas, so I usually divide it in half after rising, and put half in the freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap then foil. To use, it thaw overnight in the fridge, then sit on the counter for an hour to warm up, then roll onto the pan and let rise for another 1/2 hour. Two pizzas for the work of one.

Thu Oct 13 2005 08:26 Postbreak: On Tuesday I asked our postman if he'd had a nice holiday. He told me that he went to the dentist in the morning, and when he got home, said to himself, "I wonder if the mail's here yet..."

(2) Thu Oct 13 2005 18:55 All Dressed Up and Nothing To Do: We are have a theme-by-department Halloween contest at work. Noelle and I spent some time looking on the internet for cute ideas for three people. Any suggestions?

With no kits to make and no new books to read and no scrapbooking to do, I found myself at a loss this afternoon. Of course, if I had more energy I probably would have put it to use better.

So yes, I am *practically* caught up on my scrapbooking. I still have one Christmas page to do, and Grandpa's funeral. I am waiting until Sunday when I can get some inks from Jamie. I want to use my cute leaf stamps, but I don't have any leaf-colored ink. So that's the holdup. In the meantime, I thought I'd write a bit. Very little physical energy required at least.

Thu Oct 13 2005 19:56 Personal History: I was reading an article, in The Ensign I think, about a grandparent who is writing down his personal history in vignettes rather than trying to, you know, write his personal history. So I thought I would do the same with some of my memories I've been wanting to record. Once I got started I kept thinking of so many things I wanted to add. I had to make a list so I wouldn't forget anything.

So if you've been wanting to do anything like this, trust me, it's easy. All you have to do is get started, and type fast enough to keep up with the ideas.

(8) Thu Oct 13 2005 19:58 Yard Memories: Our house on Napa Rd. had a huge yard. It was plenty big enough for my many outdoor adventures.

I remember Leonard teaching me how to ride a bike. We had an old blue dirt bike - that one was the best, until of course I got my ten-speed. We’d ride around the yard, up the hill on one side, down on the other. I fell and scraped my right knee pretty badly going up the hill one time. I had three huge, nasty cuts that hurt when I washed them in the bathtub. But I thought I was pretty cool wearing shorts to school to show my scabs. We’d also ride down the road to the reservoirs. The guys in trucks checking on the fields were all ok with “we live down the road” when they found us wandering around.

Leonard also taught me how to place tennis, over by the palm tree with the owl. I was so proud that I could hit the ball over the pool.

We loved to go around the yard and find treasures – anything little piece of metal. My collecting spot was in the fenced-in pool filter area.

We grew a beautiful garden into what used to be a horse corral. I remember corn, watermelon, and berries. Leonard also grew loofah on the fences. In other areas of the yard, we had orange, lemon and grapefruit trees and later grew peaches, apples and nectarines. In the summer, I would make a bowl of macaroni and cheese with peas and a big glass of milk and eat it on the hammock under the lemon tree.

When we first moved to the house there was an old “shack” in the corner of the corral. It was probably really just a piece of tin with two sticks on one side and the fence on the other. Leonard was the only one big enough to get up there. That was where he stored the treasures he found. I remember being upset when the “shack” fell during a storm, before I was big enough to climb up on it.

One year, Mom built us a beautiful treehouse. It was big enough for slumber parties and had a hole with a rope through it so we could climb down. It also had a little “porch” with a sign that said “Our Precious Kitties.” And the kitties would actually sleep there! Our two Preskool chairs were up there, and a little white shelf to hold our treasures. The trees it was built on grew collections of seeds with red needles sticking out of them. We used to pretend it was pepper. There was also a beam across with rings and a swing. I used to go out and swing on the swing and sing Primary songs to myself. I remember doing that while Rachel was riding her bike by. We also had a tire swing (how cool was that) and a giant wooden spool – I think the spool was inherited with the house in Arvin.

One of my favorite spots was a tree in the northwest corner. I needed our little Playskool chair to climb up to the main branch at first, but from there I could scamper up the branch and lean myself against it while looking out over the fields. I could see cars coming down Rancho road. I could see across the grapevines to the orange groves. I could see the birds flying across the sky. I could see the mountains to the east. I loved to climb up there and rest myself against the branch and just think. I’ll admit there were some initials carved into the branch, where no one but me could find them. But I don’t remember what they are.

Ah the pool. Elizabeth Velez and I had a synchronized swimming routine that we practiced for years. I also loved spinning around with my fingers just grazing the water. Leonard was famous for his backflips, with his long hair trailing out behind. I remember learning how to dive – and trying to teach Rachel. She was too scared to just lean forward. I loved to swim all the way across underwater. I remember filling up the pool every year and having a little party. It seemed magical, for some reason, when it was only half full. I even remember swimming when the pool was nasty and green. We were just jumping in and getting out, jumping in and getting out. We always had pet frogs, which were thrown over the fence without dismay. But I would go around and carefully “save” any ladybugs, ink bugs or caterpillars I could find.

We had two water tanks, one new and one old. I am pretty sure I remember climbing on them, although that can't have been allowed. There was also one of those cement wells. I always wanted to climb up and see inside of it. I think I saw inside of a different one and it was just dirt on the bottom. But so intriguing!

Fri Oct 14 2005 07:44 4,000 year-old noodle?: I'm suspicious

Sat Oct 15 2005 15:19 I love living in California!!!: We went to California Adventure last night; the rollercoaster is open! We went on it twice, getting Fastpasses for the second time and going on Triton's carousel in between. John was on a seahorse; I was on an otter who was "swimming" tummy-up. Anyway, the rollercoaster is open just in time for the Chadwick Disneyland Trip next week. Hurray! It's an awesome ride. I mean, who wouldn't love going upside-down in between Mickey ears? No one.

We also went to see the show, Golden Dreams. It was an interesting little movie about the settling and development of California. Starring Whoopi Goldeberg as Califia, inspiring the hearts of men and women throughout the ages! It made me cry.

Princess Count: 6 at California Adventure and 2 at Disneyland (we wandered over to go on Indiana Jones). Each of the past two Friday nights at Disneyland we only saw three little princesses.

Sat Oct 15 2005 21:16: John took me to dinner at a place called "Lee's Sandwiches" over by UCI. Afterwards, we walked around campus with our strawberry smoothie. The afternoon wind brought in some evening clouds, but no rain. We went in the hot tub, I made Texas Sheet Cake and John has studied the rest of the day, like the good boy he is.

Sun Oct 16 2005 21:20: Nursery today. Even though we were a bit unprepared with the lesson (my fault) we actually managed to have a little one, because we had kids that could talk this week! Although I was exhausted and drooled on, I think I will enjoy this calling. By the way, the drool thing totally grossed me out. I guess it's just different when it's your own kid. I didn't have a problem with it when it was "my" little Romanians drooling on me. I also had a girl cry all over my new shirt for 10 minutes. That'll teach me to wear new clothes to nursery.

Spent some time at Jamie and David's. John asked if I was bored because I didn't do any work there today, but I wasn't. I enjoyed talking to Jamie and helping with dinner and playing video games. I was actually winning at "Mario Baseball", but Tyler didn't like that and started crying so we left.

We are very excited for this week. The Chadwicks (all of them!) are coming down on Wednesday night. We are spending Thursday and Friday at Disneyland and Saturday at the beach. Besides having fun with my nieces and nephews, that means only three days of work this week! This is good news because we're having an audit and it's "business professional" and I don't have quite enough really nice clothes. Plus short work weeks are always nice. Plus, Disneyland!

(1) Mon Oct 17 2005 20:44 Gloomy Day: The weather outside agrees with me. It has been rainy since yesterday evening. Noelle has the flu, so I got to sit at the front desk and look at the yucky weather all day. I'm sure she won't be back tomorrow, but hopefully later this week, because I am taking Thursday and Friday off! I did her work all day because it is do-able at the front desk, so not very much of my work got done. Even still I ran out of things to do around 3:15. I lost a record 9 games of Spider in a row. I won the tenth one, just in time to go home. Actually, late, because the 4-5 person forgot and I had to call her and wait. I have also had a headache since this afternoon.

I gave a ride to a lady who walks to the train station, since the weather was yucky and we were leaving at the same time. It made me feel a little better. I think I was blessed for it, because I went to the store to buy spice cake mix to make John's famous muffins, and they were on sale.

I made Chicken Satay for the Elders tonight. Such nice boys. I hope they had a good meal. We enjoyed talking with them. I hope I get more sleep tonight. I just enjoy having John around during those hours I should be in bed, I can't help but talk to him!

(5) Wed Oct 19 2005 13:00: John and I got new cell phones last night. I got the old one out so I could program phone numbers at lunch, and I had two messages. One was a wrong number, the other was Linda Wren! She called because they couldn't find some training records I had boxed up and put in storage. It was nice to talk to her and hear about her almost grandbaby.

I have begun reading Lemony Snicket's The Penultimate Peril. It is already very good, especially compared to the earlier books in the series. You can read the first chapter online here.

The Chadwicks are all on their way to California! I am so excited for our weekend o' fun!

(5) Mon Oct 24 2005 11:25: We had an excellent "vacation" with the Chadwicks in town. Thursday and Friday were spent at Disneyland and California Adventure, where we did just about everything and only lost two kids. Saturday we spent a few hours at the beach in less-than-ideal weather. It was a really great time. Here are some highlights:

In line for Autopia, Ashley, Jodi and I all won the free toy car, like Rachel won in September. Somebody didn't shuffle very well.
While we were waiting for the parade, Erin stood up to take a picture of me, John, Ember and Hannah. While she was standing up we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her, really loud and other people in the crowd joined in, just like on TV. It was great.
I love being Aunt Susie. "Aunt Susie, can you help me with this?" (Tyler and his sandcastle.) "I want to sit by Aunt Susie!" (Justin was particularly clingy after he got lost, and not just to me.)
At the beach, Logan, Ember and I made a pretty decent sandcastle. Of course, you can't have as many nephews as we do and not get your castle knocked over. Pretty soon Tyler and I were making mini-castles just for him to knock over. I think we will have some cute castle-building pictures.
After the beach on Saturday we went to the pool at one of the clubhouses in Jamie's neighborhood. Fancy Schmancy pool, clubhouse and hottub. The boys had chicken fights in the pool while Erin and I put our feet in the hottub and tried not to get wet.
Saturday night, someone got out MadGab, which is a funny game anyway, but soon became loud and hilarious. Even John joined in for a few rounds and was very good.

Mon Oct 24 2005 18:49 The Never-Ending Birthday, Part 4: Nathan and Ashley, and Brook and Erin brought me birthday gifts. It's like the birthday that keeps on giving! Ashley picked out some cute Disney scrapbook paper, stamps and stickers. Ember picked out a teddy bear dressed as a witch. Her official name is Mrs. Gitzy Potter (As in Mrs. Harry Potter, Gitzy because it's printed on her paw and I can't get away from it, and also as in Mrs. Potts, the teapot.)

I've never noticed the effect of having a fall* birthday before, but aside from my costumed teddy bear, there is the dark orange spatula David picked out (I have already used it like, ten times) and the pumpkin bundt pan. Anyway, I'm spoiled.

*I don't actually have a fall birthday. It is right at the end of Summer.

(3) Mon Oct 24 2005 18:55 Rave about Vons and soup: I shop at Vons. Not only is it closer, the people are nicer. I went to Albertsons and they were rude and wouldn't take my coupon. At Vons, several people always ask me if I'm finding everything alright, and they actually help me if I say no. The Vons I shop at recently remodeled and is having a grand reopening. I like that store so much I shopped there through the remodeling, even things were moved around a lot. One time 5 of the items I was looking for were missing prices!

Anyway, today continues the grand reopening and they were having free samples. I also got a book with $80 of coupons on Vons brand stuff and some coupons for some free items. I got a sample of their yummy Signature soup, all the free items, and used three of the other coupons. I have finally succeeded in "saving" over 50% using my Vonscard and coupons.

I was going to buy the soup anyway because I had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon and John had been eyeing it earlier. But after I tried the Tuscan Tomato Basil Bisque I had to get it. It was so delicious!!! I have finally found a soup that is comparable to the Soup Kitchen in Salt Lake. It's not the same, but equally yummy. I also bought a container of the Fajita Chicken Chowder. Shall post a review once I try it.

Wed Oct 26 2005 07:14: John is in Cleveland for some training. He called me while he was waiting outside in the cold for his shuttle. In the cold. So glad we live in SoCal!!

I thought the world was awfully dark this morning with out him. But then I realized it was probably because I had gotten up to go to work 1/2 hour early. I am leaving work at 3 and going in search of cheese-costume making materials. I would prefer a nice piece of foam, cut a hole for my head and some "cheesy" holes. But I don't want to spend more than $10. I will make a sandwich board out of foamboard if I have to.

(2) Wed Oct 26 2005 20:12: The foam at JoAnns was green, so I ended out with 2 yards of "costume felt". I don't think I needed the whole two yards, but at 70% off I paid less than $2 so I can hardly complain. I made a tunic-shaped thing (ok I cut a hole for my head in the middle of a rectangular piece of felt), but I am debating making Swiss-cheese holes because the felt is very orange. It's more like Kraft Singles colored, so maybe I will wrap myself in plastic. I also made a little headscarf out of an extra piece. It's actually kind of cute. You know, for a bright orange piece of felt tied to my head.

After over a year and five tries, I have finally finished my scrapbook page of Grandpa's funeral. I kept having a hard time when I sat down to do it and I'd end up staring into space. Or I'd want it to be perfect and put it off so I could get the right supplies. Anyway, it's done. I'm not 100% happy with it, but it tells the story I want it to.

Thu Oct 27 2005 07:17 Why did the train cross the road? To get to the other side.: I drive over some railroad tracks on my way to (and from) work. I thought they weren't used for several reasons:

1. Someone at work said the ones behind our office aren't in use.

2. There are none of those gates that come down for when trains pass.

3. People always stop on them.

The other day the lights were flashing red and the cars were all stopped but there was no train. Then I looked and saw one with, like, two cars slowly making it's way away. If anything this proves my theory.

(1) Fri Oct 28 2005 07:24: Grandma Mary died this week. As her second husband, my Great-Grandpa Call, has been dead for 15 years (?), I'm sure she is much happier. So I am glad for her getting to go to a better place. I remember visiting Grandma Mary's house when I was very young. She had toys in her cupboard, some toy that was pulled along with a string, and I remember her kitchen.

Sat Oct 29 2005 15:26: I am having a lovely time visiting Mom in Bakersfield. I got here around 7 last night and we sat and talked and looked at pictures, played with Gretel etc. Rachel got home late and I was in bed reading, but she made me stay up and talk to her. (I guess I really didn't mind that much.) This morning Mom and I worked in the front yard for a while, getting it ready for more bulbs to be planted. I saw 22 worms.

We went to a baby shower for Jenifer (James) Griffin's new little boy. It was really good to see her, Bobby and Nancy James. Also saw Tim Overturf's mom. And it was at Fresh Choice, can't beat that. And the baby was very cute.

Mom is napping and I am picking up something for Rachel's halloween costume. We are eating dinner together then Mom and I are going to visit Grandma Rosie. She fell last week and is in convalesence. I hope she will be glad to see us. Rachel wants me to stick around and hang out with her after MLI, so I will get home late tonight. But it will be a good trip!

Jellybean snores.

(5) Sat Oct 29 2005 16:07 MArk: MArk, are you there? I don't know if he's there, are you, MArk, Mark, are you there? I don't know, If you're there, please email. your. button.

Mon Oct 31 2005 15:16: Our costumes (Cat, Mouse and Cheese) at work, while not being great costumes, were very creative. Everyone laughed hard when I said I was "Cheese!" We didn't win, but we hardly expected to. There is always some overachieving department. Today was no exception - they even decorated their cubicles. They deserved it.

Very busy busy week. I have a lot of work to do for Jamie, and I'm going back to Bakersfield on Thursday night. I will probably be taking a lot of this work with me. We'll see.

Tonight (after the Post Office and grocery shopping, and John getting back from LA) we are going to a Halloween party a young family in the ward is throwing. I will still be cheese.

(2) Tue Nov 01 2005 13:46 You know X when Y: Oddly, these both have to do with my sense of smell.

You know you've been living in Utah when cigarette smoke reminds you of somewhere you went four years ago.

You know you go to Disneyland too much when exhaust fumes remind you of Autopia.

(3) Thu Nov 03 2005 07:42: Sumana linked to an article about getting your resume read. I once wrote something similar, if less well-worded. I was reminded of a conversation Andrea and I had this morning, relative to a recent incident at the front desk.

The receptionist is pretty much omnipotent as far as a salesman is concerned. Noelle and I screen calls for the IT director. He gets A LOT of sales calls, and rarely takes them. If you are a salesperson trying to talk to the IT director and he is always "in a meeting" or "away from his desk" or "out of the office", Face it: if he's interested, he'll call you back. Being rude to us won't help. Don't call back everyday, or four times a day, especially when we've told you he is out of the office, and will call you next week if he's interested. That's harrassment! And if we complain, you won't be getting our business anyway. Give us a break, and save us the trouble of putting you into voicemail everytime you call. You've already blown your chance - the first time we had to tell you off.

(1) Fri Nov 04 2005 17:04 Road Overkill: The drive to Bakersfield only took 2 1/2 hours last night. Apparently, fewer people want to leave LA on a Thursday than a Friday. Who knew.

I saw a tanker truck that said "INEDIBLE NOT FOR HUMAN FOOD".

Mom got some blood, I spent two hours with Grandma. She seems a bit better. She says she is still dizzy when she tries to walk, but she was talking more coherently, and more often. Pat and Don were there when I arrived, along with Rodney Love, Aunt Ellen's son, and Carroll, one of Grandma's brothers. We are going to dinner at Pat and Alan's with them.

Fri Nov 04 2005 17:18 Random Stories: One thing I love about Grandma Rosalie, or Grandma Rosalie when she has energy at least, is that she never stop talking. She just tells story after story about anything and everything. (It barely occurred to me this afternoon that I may have inherited more than just my squashed thumbs from her...) We reminisced today about one drive back from a Benson Reunion in Northern California, just the two of us. I don't think I said a word the whole time! Today I decided I was going to take notes on her stories, since I won't always get to listen to them.

Grandma Susanna: I have asked Grandma several times about her grandmother because it says in my confirmation blessing to get to know and emulate my namesake. Ok well, here's what Grandma Rosie knows: She lived with them when Grandma was a little girl; She was mean to her daughter-in-law (Rachel); She thought the girls' (Rosalie and Lou) dresses were too short, "Georgie, buy some fabric so I can sew onto the bottom of those girls' dresses" (direct quote from Grandma); Grandma has a picture of her sitting on the front porch with a shotgun in her lap. Yeah, that's it. We laughed so hard when she first told us about the photograph, though.

Grandma came to California when she was five. Mark had only had primer before, so they started first grade together and everyone thought they were twins. I think he is less than 1 1/2 years older. She said she later visited a good friend who still thought that!

I asked her if she'd ever liked to cook. She said when they were first married she made rolls from scratch for dinner every night. "When we started farming, that's when the cooking quit."

Oh, and Don was teasing Pat about burning dinner tonight. She says she only burns stuff when her brothers are around, and they told a story about one Thanksgiving when Dad turned the oven to "Broil" and let her rolls burn on purpose until the smoke detector went off. Everyone got blamed but him because he was sneaky. That reminded me of something John would do to tease and laugh about (well, maybe not ruin food...), especially since Pat's brothers are still teasing her about burning stuff!

Also, it was very cute to see Uncle Carroll sitting on the bed with his arm around Grandma, squeezing her every once in a while. Nice protective brother. He said he's been to visit her four times in the past two years.

Sat Nov 05 2005 13:28: Rachel called yesterday, all the way from London, to check up on Mom. Such a spoiled mommy!

John is getting ready for his third CPA exam today. Good luck! (like you need it)

Mon Nov 07 2005 17:50 Mail: It's always nice to get non bills/junk mail, such as magazines, letters, invitations to Halloween parties etc. Today we got a nice card from Ray and Lynn, Erin's (my sister-in-law) parents. They joined the Chadwick Family Disneyland trip a few weeks ago. We had a good time with them. They are a very nice couple and have very cute grandchildren. Very thoughtful of them to send a card.

John is in LA for tonight (and who knows how late tomorrow night). I just got home from the post office. I think I will do a bit of cleaning, since I didn't do it this weekend and read a book. Noelle has lent me a series of Christian romances (The English Garden Series by Lori Wick) and I am actually enjoying them. They have all the mushy love stuff I enjoy without being a "trashy novel".

Wed Nov 09 2005 11:24: My new spider plants are doing well. Thanks Rach. Actually, the one that survived the move is here at work and he is doing well also. They both seem to have grown a lot in the last week.

(2) Thu Nov 10 2005 07:59 The Te of Piglet: I recently reread The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff. Rachel sent this to me for my 21st birthday, when she was in London. I know because the note is still in the book and she says “favourite.” Although I think the author is a little fanatic about the environment and the cancerous effects of microwaves etc., he makes a lot of good points about appreciating and respecting nature, being humble, and what’s really important. Here are some of my “favourite” quotes from this book.

Let’s leave Behind The things that do not matter, And turn Our lives To a more important chapter.

“Eeyores are Realists, they say. But Reality is what one makes it.”

“Without difficulties, life would be like a stream without rocks and curves – about as interesting as concrete.”

“In reality, heroes are heroic because they, despite their weakness – and sometimes because of them, do great things. If they were perfect they wouldn’t be here in earth’s classroom.”

Persian Curse: May your every desire be immediately fulfilled.

“When one’s will is not distracted, one’s power is increased.”

“[The] worthwhile and important things in life – wisdom and happiness in particular – are not the sorts of things one can Chase After and Grab.”

I also love when he is talking about how this book will be more serious than The Tao of Pooh… and Piglet falls into the wastebasket.

Fri Nov 11 2005 07:24 Give and Take: Noelle and I moved the computer over so that we don't roll off the chair mat. Yes, we could have moved the chair mat, but the cleaners move it back every day. Unfortunately, this puts the sun very bright in my eyes for 20 minutes of the morning, between the roof of the building across the street and the top of the door frame. Right now I am fading in and out as the flag blows across it. Very annoying.

Also, they have started construction on the [empty] top floor of our building. Loud. And the guys had to be told they couldn't smoke up there (duh).

A couple nights ago, I dreamt I went back to Haven Drive to see Mr. Autry. Maybe because I was playing my flute while I was at Mom's house last weekend.

(1) Mon Nov 14 2005 07:27 San Diego: On Saturday, John and I went to San Diego. We left early and went to the temple first. It was a big, beautiful temple, although John said the geometric lines reminded him of waiting in line for Space Mountain. (I told you we go to Disneyland too much.) There were a few people getting married, and a little girl in a fancy dress stomping about and pouting, while her mom tried to take a picture. ("We have to document it, Hannah!")

After the temple, we went to the outlets in Carlsbad. We went in all the shops and saw a few things we liked. We didn't buy much though. The parking lot was crazy!! Apparently, people don't do anything but shop down here. On the drive home, I got to talk to Leonard about various Christmas presents.

(2) Mon Nov 14 2005 07:29 It's Different: I got a random phone call from Kristen Davis on Saturday. She and her mom and her little baby were in town for a funeral and she remembered that I lived down here, and I'd just emailed her my new phone number. So they came to visit.

Kristen's baby was very cute. She is just 5 weeks old, and her name is Lizzy. I asked Kristen if Lizzy made her miss her kids less and she said, "No, it's different." I told her I understood (although probably no one else ever will). It is different. And now I know that ache will always be there.

It's been almost four years; my kids are all older than my nieces and nephews. But I think they'll always be my babies in my mind.

Tue Nov 15 2005 07:27 Foggy Memories: It is a bit foggy today. Not "Gah! We're going to die, we'd better drive 10 mph" fog, but "oh, it's a bit foggy today" fog. When I went into the wide world of Provo, Utah, I didn't realize that other places don't get fog like Bakersfield does. I was shocked that other people didn't get fog delays! What do you do without fog delays! The joy of all winter existence! The Cancelor of Seminary! The reason for getting up in the morning (to listen to the radio)!

Other than listening to the radio, I have two distinct memories about fog. One was driving home from Bakersfield on a very, very foggy night. We were going less than 25 mph and had the windows rolled down to help us see better. Took us a very long time to get home. Someone was following us to make their way easier.

The other one was at Haven Drive. It was so foggy that we'd probably had a fog delay, but it hadn't cleared. Anyway, my friends and I were playing hide-and-seek on the playground, just feet away from each other in the open space. You can't do that in non-B-town fog!

(4) Wed Nov 16 2005 07:33 Caramel and Cream: I tried two new recipes last night and they were both yummy, so I'm going to share the yumminess with you.

Creamy Tomato Chicken Penne

2 1/2 c. uncooked pennne
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 T. olive oil
2 T. chicken broth
2 c. cooked cubed chicken
1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese (I didn't have any so I used Mozzerella)
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 can sliced ripe olives, drained

Cook pasta. In large skillet saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in broth; cook for 1 minute. Drain pasta and add to the skillet. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through and slightly thickened. I added a handful of chopped fresh basil at the end, and I think it made a big difference. Makes 6 servings.

Caramel Apple Cider

1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 c. apple cider
1/2 c. water

Bring cream and brown sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cider and water and raise heat to medium high, heating just until the cider begins to steam, about 4 minutes. Divide among 4 mugs, top each with 2 T. of caramel whipped cream and serve immediately.

Caramel Whipped Cream

1/2 c. heavy cream
1 T. brown sugar

In a small chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the brown sugar until soft peaks form. (I didn't make this because I was using cream that had been in the freezer.)

(2) Wed Nov 16 2005 11:22 Spilled Beans: Guess what? I'm spoiled!!!

Oh wait, you already knew that. Well, here's further proof: John is taking me on an Alaskan cruise next May! We want to do it all: dogsledding, flightseeing, canoeing around a glacier.

Like I said, spoiled, spoiled, spoiled.

Thu Nov 17 2005 14:31: I had a lady call work the other day asking about something she had seen on "Good Morning Alabama." I also recently had a call for "Channel 7." Maybe it's related.

(2) Fri Nov 18 2005 07:52 Ahem: Dear Family,

It's that time again - time to make Christmas shopping easier for each other. Please post your wishlist (you know you've got it) so we can start emailing behind your back and calling dibs.

I will be a bit of a hypocrite here, because I left my list at home, but I will post it soon. I even put potential stocking stuffers on this year - mostly because I didn't get any of them for my birthday =P Just kidding.

PS: Rach, you get to watch your Christmas present be made, because I haven't had any other time for it. You can be extra picky!

(2) Fri Nov 18 2005 18:33 Wishes (not "Wishin'", sorry Chris): Thanks everyone who has (or will) posted their wishlists. I knew you had them! Here's mine:

black buttondown shirt
bright pink buttondown shirt
eyeglasses cleaner refill
$$ for Susie's Alaskan cruise fund
cookbooks
plants
red nail polish
nail buffer
cream nylon trouser socks
big bath pouf
small soap dish
Dr. Scholl's cushy feet thingys ("He's so not gellin'")
cute socks
interesting books
practical little useful things
anything from Ghiradelli Square!!

Also have an Amazon wishlist, searchable by swishina@hotmail.com for CDs, DVDs, games etc.

(1) Sun Nov 20 2005 20:15 Holiday Spirit: I love weekends! I love the Christmas Season! yay!

John said yesterday "everything we did today had a Christmas theme." He was talking about our Disneyland activities, but really the whole day was like that for me. In the morning, Noelle and I went to a service day sponsored by the local Interfaith Council. We sewed hats onto little dolls, tied a quilt, made two fleece blankets where you tie the knots around the end, and wrote two letters each to Afghanistan orphans. It was really a lot of fun, although my fingers hurt from all the needle-pulling.

Then John and I went on our twelfth Disneyland trip. We visited the reindeer, had our picture taken in a sleigh, waiting in line to meet Mickey, watched the "Christmas Fantasy" parade, which was very good. Princess Count: 16

In the evening we pulled out all our Christmas decorations. We put our little tree up, with twice as many ornaments this year. I only decorated the front 2/3, and it looks pretty good. Our little tree skirt and stockings I made last year. Our light-up snowman and two nativity sets, and the blocks I made at Enrichment last year. It actually doesn't look like much, but it's still quite nice. Feels like home.

We spent tonight at Jamie and David's, me putting together her Christmas-themed kits. I got half done, which was nice because we are tired of hauling the stuff in from the car and back again. Only one trip this time!

I am excited for our busy, two-day workweek. Hopefully we will get to see Goblet of Fire tomorrow night. I am doing laundry now so we can get all packed and ready to leave Tuesday night. It should be a wonderful trip to San Francisco for Thanksgiving; it sure was last year. I am looking forward to seeing all of my family.

Tue Nov 22 2005 10:56: A few weeks ago we got a new Bishop in our ward. We really like him. He and his wife pretty young and have two little boys, the younger of whom is in our nursery. Even though he can't talk very well yet, John says he knows all his colors and shapes. We've also heard stories about the older boy excelling in Primary and have decided they must be great parents. When I told Sister Watkins this, she said, "Oh no, we're on day 5 of 7 with no TV for not listening." Sounds like decent parenting to me.

I brought my paperwhite bulbs to work so Noelle can water them while I'm gone (needy bulbs). They have been quite the conversation piece.

Also, very clumsy today. I almost fell out of my chair this morning, right onto the floor - please, laugh! I did. Then I knocked an entire cup of water onto my desk when reaching for the phone. Luckily no papers got wet.

(2) Mon Nov 28 2005 07:47: Well, Fun Stuff first. We had a good time in San Francisco. I especially loved that we were able to visit the Zoo. We got to see lots of fun animals, including the anteater (which doesn't eat ants but ingests a lot of sand), the albino kangaroo, the dancing rhinocerous, the whiskered hippo and the sunbathing lemurs. We also got to watch the penguins and the big cats be fed. And Big Cats! One of their tigers was HUGE! My favorite was Orkey the seal. Seals only live to be 25 in the wild and 35-40 in captivity, and this seal was over 35. His enclosure was rather lame, but the sign said they didn't want to move him or introduce a new friend because of his age- they didn't want to stress him out. I thought that was very considerate of them. He was a playful, friendly seal.

Rachel, John and I went to Chinatown on Friday morning. We parked on Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. John got his sweet bread and some mango soy milks. We had a nice walk around. We also drove down to Jollibee in Daly City for John. Such a spoiled boy.

I also had a lot of fun playing games with everyone. John hopes I got my game fix, and I probably did. We also watched A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which was pretty funny. My favorite quote, of course, was when they were shooting each other with the Point of View gun and the President turns it on the girl and she says, "It won't do anything; I'm already a woman." Mom and Leonard said the book is funnier so I will add that to my reading list.

Mon Nov 28 2005 11:45 The World is Quiet Here: My Grandma Rosie is gone. No one else in the world will ever be excited to hear of someone I met with thumbs like ours. I won't get to hear anymore of her Random Stories. I've been very lucky to have a wonderful, caring, grandchildren-spoiling Grandma.

I am a teeny bit mad at her for not waiting a few hours so I could visit her again. But she got to go home from the Skilled Nursing place, and she'd had a nice Thanksgiving with Pat and Alan. And she had finished the baby quilt she'd been working on.

I am more than a bit sad to have joined the realms of the grandparentless. There is still Grandma June (who "adores" me).

Other bad news: Unlike John, my cold followed me home from San Francisco and I am all runny today. Efrain was nice enough to bring me a box of tissues. Yesterday John and I brought in some Christmas decorations and did some fix-it things for mom. While trying to mend a pipe, I tripped and fell on the patio and now I am sore and bruised today. I am going to go stocking-stuffer shopping after work to make myself feel better, even though today is the only day to finish Christmas kits for Jamie. With John in LA, I will still have enough time to work, I hope.

Wed Nov 30 2005 09:34 All the flowers: Would have very extra special powers/They would sit and talk to me for hours/When I'm lonely

I remembered why I like paperwhites so much- they're delicious smelling. Mine opened up two little blooms yesterday. I'm sad to be leaving them again. I tied a sparkly red ribbon around them so they could stand up straight. It's very pretty. Thanks, Mommy!

Also got sympathy flowers from work.

Thu Dec 01 2005 08:05 Yesterday: all my troubles seemed so far away.

Since John's car doesn't have a CD player, he mostly listens to Radio Disney. They have "Disney-ed" up some of the songs to make them more appropriate for their younger audience, but I couldn't believe one I heard on my way to pick John up in LA. It was Mambo No. 5. I knew they had changed the lyrics when I heard "ice cream." Ice cream? Women and liqour maybe, but no ice cream. So I listened and heard something like this:

A little bit of Minnie in my life/A little bit of Mickey by her side/A litte bit of Donald is what I need/A little bit of Daisy is what I see/A little bit of Pluto in the sun, etc.

No. Really.

(3) Thu Dec 01 2005 08:11 Starving Kids in China Don't Have "X": Where did that phrase come from? And does it actually guilt kids into eating their vegetables? We are beginning to use it when anyone whines. Last night Rachel, John and I were all cuddled on the couch hanging out and Rachel said that her leg hurt from not stretching at the gym.

John: Starving kids in China don't have legs.

As not funny as that ought to be, we laughed for 5 minutes.

Fri Dec 02 2005 16:14 Bliss: There is nothing like having a vibrating kitty wrapped in your arms while sleeping in under a puffy quilt with the rain pouring outside.

Tue Dec 06 2005 10:57 Traffic Trouble: Yesterday I tried taking a different way home from work, or to the store, actually. The freeway entrance I normally use is closed ("Major road work on the two blocks you need to get to the freeway, November 2005 thru November 2007") (oddly enough, I don't have any trouble getting to work...). Anyway, I found two other ok ways to go home, but tried another. Unfortunately, I got a little lost. Who would have known the street I was on and the street I wanted to be on both turned and met up twice?!? I ended up going the wrong way. Mer.

(3) Tue Dec 06 2005 11:51 Paper Trouble: Why is paper in other countries a different size? Or, more likely, why is paper in America a different size? I get to trim stacks of papers to make employee files for our employees in South Africa.

(1) Wed Dec 07 2005 07:10 Cute Things Kids Say: On Sunday, John and I were playing with Tyler, a little thing with a pump you jump on and it shoots a plastic rocket. John went to get one that had landed over the fence and was gone a while.

Susie: Honey?

Tyler: Honey! I mean, Uncle John!

Later, Tammy (Jamie's business partner and in their ward) and her husband came over with their little boy. I was sitting at the table facing away from the door.

Andy: Hi Jamie.

I look at him.

Andy: Oh, hi Sister Crawford. What are you doing here, Sister Crawford?

I keep looking at him, and finally say, "I'm Tyler's Aunt Susie", because I haven't realized it's Tammy's son yet. He just walked off to play with Tyler.

The really funny thing is that they don't know any Crawfords. But I probably just heard him wrong.

(4) Wed Dec 07 2005 15:16 "You seem like a sensitive person.": Yesterday I met with the new HR Manager (my boss). Can she tell I'm sensitive because she is an HR person? Or is it that obvious? I know I'm sensitive, I just hate to admit it.

Thu Dec 08 2005 09:58: This morning I have had two more calls for a TV station. Is this Channel 7? No, it's not. If it was Channel 7, I would have said "Channel 7", or perhaps, "KATV".

Fri Dec 09 2005 07:17 It all evens out: Yesterday I went to the post office to do Jamie's shipping. I was supposed to go on Wednesday, but I got new brakes on my car instead. The post office was practically empty yesterday. I usually wait for about 20 numbers to be called, but last night it was only 5. Plus, Jamie just paid me for November and it was more than enough to pay for my new brakes.

John brought me home a very yummy treat from Starbucks. It had a cookie bottom and caramel and chocolate and nuts. It tasted a bit like Almond Roca, only chewy. He is such a thoughtful husband!

(2) Sun Dec 11 2005 13:40 Lucky 13: Saturday was a great day. John and I cleaned the house and did some Christmas shopping and then went to Disneyland. This was our thirteenth trip. When we arrived Disneyland was "full", which didn't bode well, but it was one of our best trips ever. Special things kept happening.

Obviously, we went to California Adventure first. We went on all the good rides: Tower of Terror (front row), the river rafts (hardly got wet), the swings in the orange (John hates those and has never gone with me before) and then California Screamin' opened just as we got there. We got very front row seats and it was awesome! So fast!

Then we walked over to Disneyland. As we walked around, everything had such long lines we didn't feel like waiting in, so we ended up going on the Mark Twain riverboat. Such luck! Not only did we walk right on, but the "captain" asked us if we wanted to go up to the wheelhouse with her. It was really awesome. We got to ring the bell, blow the whistle, and "steer" (John was right - the boat runs on a track). Also, we happened to have brought our camera, so we got lots of pictures taken with the awesome view. Athena told us lots of stuff about Disneyland and working there. And we got Pilot Certificates.

The fun didn't end there. We walked around the whole park, then ended back at Main Street and got on the train. We rode the whole way around. We were sitting at the very front, so we got to watch them fill the engine (it's steam, you know). Also, got a nice view of the "it's a small world" lights, and drove right through the middle of the parade lined up "backstage." Mrs. Claus waved to us.

After the train ride, we went back to California Adventure and had a delicious sundae. It was finally time for our FastPasses for Soarin' (we'd had them for 4 hours!) We got the very last top row seats. Oh, and did I mention we saw about a million characters? I mean, everyone was out today. Chicken Little, the Incredibles, Mushu (gave me "5"), Baloo, Pluto, Santa, Penguin, etc etc etc.

*sigh* what a wonderful day. I'm so spoiled!

Tue Dec 13 2005 07:19: Susie: Good Morning, this is Susie.

Lady: Can you tell me the bid on the pop-up Santa?

!!!

(1) Tue Dec 13 2005 15:05 My Slogan: Happiness is Susie-Shaped. No, really. Try it.

(1) Thu Dec 15 2005 09:21 Take Flight: At Thanksgiving, Mom and Robert were talking about when young adults land and are grounded. Poor Rachel got told she was still "in orbit." I asked Mom when I landed and she said, "When you got back from Romania. My baby grew up in an orphanage in Romania!"

Fri Dec 16 2005 07:11 Traditions: John and I made some sugar cookies this week and decorated them. I used my Pampered Chef bowls to set out five different colors of frosting. We didn't roll and cut out the dough though; just made little balls. It is too much work for too many cookies that we won't eat, I'm afraid.

Somewhere along the line the Richardson's started drinking orange juice with ginger ale. I don't know where this came from (I suspect Leonard, an alcoholic drink, or both), but it's yummy! Of course, when John drinks his eggnog/ milk concoction, it means four bottles on the table for dinner.

Fri Dec 16 2005 07:17 Product Reviews: I have finally used the Silpat mat Leonard bought me for John's birthday. (I know, bad Susie: I really haven't made cookies in five months!!) It worked great! I'm more excited about how it keeps my pans clean than how it keeps my cookies from sticking.

At work we have giant tape dispensers for packaging tape. I haven't found them very useful in taping a box - I can barely lift them - but anyway. Efrain (maintenance man and "all-around good guy") was taping down an extension cord for us with one of these things, forgot he was taping down an extension cord and dug into it when we was trying to cut the tape. Do Not Do This! Huge sparks went flying. The tape dispenser teeth are all bent and the cord has a big burned spot, but luckily Efrain is fine.

Mon Dec 19 2005 09:21 Fun Times: My new favorite game-playing memory is of playing Taboo on and off during our Thanksgiving stay at Leonard and Jeff’s. Rachel and I kept playing until we had done both sides of practically all the cards. The funniest anecdote was when John and Sumana were playing. Sumana was trying to get John to guess the word “dawn”.

John: Sunrise?

Leonard helps: We have an uncle named this.

John: Larry?

Following close behind in the memory list is the time all the Chadwicks played MadGab at the Vans. I love playing games, esp. with my family.

Also, I consistently mispronounce the word “gestures” like the game “Guesstures”, which I have never played.

Thu Dec 22 2005 07:13 Old People Like Me: We got a card from Brook and Erin yesterday. Erin wrote “Susie, my mom thinks you’re the sweetest.” Then there was the time David came back from a visit to Utah and said, “Grandma June loves you.” What is it with me and other generations? It’s like when John and I went to Mexico and we went on shore excursions with old people and didn’t enjoy the couple our age we had to sit with at dinner.

Not that Lynn is old. I am a terrible judge of age and if I didn’t know she was Erin’s mom I’d say she was, like, 50-55.

In other news, yesterday the CEO complimented my outfit and the ribbon in my hair. From what I’ve heard, he is a very fashion-conscious individual, so I was pleased. I am wearing the “Christmas Tree Skirt” skirt that Mom made in the ‘70s.

Thu Dec 22 2005 07:13: I really enjoyed this column in Newsweek. She writes about how Christianity will survive not being “recognized” by Target.

(1) Fri Dec 23 2005 07:27 Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer: I can't hear this song without thinking of Mr. Autry, the band teacher at Haven Drive Jr. High. Leonard and I were both in band the whole time we were at school there. I played the flute; Leonard played the oboe. I think we both got suckered into the xylophone at different times because of our piano playing skills. I was in winterguard drumline. I'm not sure what Leonard did. Mr. Autry loved us Richardsons, either because we were brilliant or because he worked with Dad.

I heard this song on RadioDisney on my way to work. I mentioned this before; they edited this song too. I went like this: Grandpa's taking this so well [cut to next verse].

(2) Sat Dec 24 2005 15:07 Christmas in SoCal: John and I went to Disneyland last night. We drove by a bank sign that said 78°. yay! Disneyland wasn't that crowded, considering it was December 23rd, and a Friday. It was very nice. We bought each other ornaments in hopes of starting a tradition where we give each other one in our stocking each year.

This morning we awoke to a bit of fog, which really made it feel like Christmas to me. Leonard also mentioned today that the weather in Bakersfield is usually foggy on Christmas. There was no traffic, it only took us 2 hours to get to Bakersfield, and Leonard and Sumana pulled up right behind us. We took Rachel out to lunch since she has to work (John's idea!) and Leonard and I have started a Christmas Eve feast. We made a turkey! Gretel was excited: she got the gibblets.

(3) Wed Dec 28 2005 07:52 Holiday Highlights: So much stuff happened this weekend, I don't know where to start. Coolest first I guess:

On Monday morning, Leonard, Rachel and I cleaned out Mom's garage and the shed. It was great! Leonard boxed up all the junk for the Salvation Army and Rachel and I dejunked, cleaned and organized in the shed. Then we all cleaned in the garage. We were out there for several hours and filled both the trashcan and the recycling bin. The place looks awesome now, and we can get rid of so much junk. Except now Mom is worried we'll want to keep all our old junk in there.

Leonard and I made a huge dinner on Christmas Eve. We cooked the turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, gravy, mashed potatoes and spinach dip. Then we had fun sorting the stocking stuff we'd all got for each other. I love doing stockings!

Christmas evening we went to Pat and Alan's and had fun playing with the little cousins and eating. This year was more fun than some because the little kids are getting older and Santa has started coming again.

We had a good time going to church together and opening stockings/gifts. We are all quite spoiled, I think. John and I got some fun games, books, clothes, DVDs, etc. Also some Target gift cards, so we can buy a digital camera. And peanut brittle.

Monday night Leonard, Rachel, John and I went to Black Angus and split the $46 Filet Mignon meal for two, with a few add-ons. It was delicious. We also played lots of games: Apples to Apples, Guillotine and Settlers of Catan. I love playing games! My new Guillotine game is fun.

Yesterday John and I stopped in Valencia to hang out with Tyler and Tasha. We played another game of Apples to Apples with them and two of Tasha's siblings. It was a lot of fun. When we got home we "took down Christmas" and put up some of our new decorations. Then we watched "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", which is my favorite of the Rankin/Bass films John loves.

Now I have two days of work to live through and then another four day weekend!