To be or not to be

So being in AZ is always an adventure. For one, it's hot. Two, my family is crazyyy!! But in a good way. they are loud and funny. Little Bros are adorable. I almost start crying when I think about how much I have missed them growing up.

Moonfish is golfing right now with some buddies and my favorite return missionary cousin ever :) So happy he is home and I was able to see him. So far today I have established that I will be tired this entire trip, if you wake up after 6am it is already too late to go running because of the blazing heat, and I've washed 3 tiny little puppies. so fun.

I just wanted to drop in and say hello to the blogging world.

Anyways. I am loving this skirt over here at NattheFatRat. It makes me smile.

K I better go get some food in my stummy before its too late.

Hope you had a good weekend!

home sweat home. (seriously, it's like so hot here)

well we made te 10 hourish drive from provo to arizona. finally i get to see my lovely little family. i have been getting texts from people saying, your mom looks so good, for the past few weeks now. and folk, its true. my mom is itty bitty. oh, dont worry she is still one fine foxy lady. but my dad, he is looking fit. man, i have a good looking family. i shall send pictures so you can come to love them too.

hope everything is going well for you

peace. be kind to everyone

The Girl I Never Knew I Was

please let me tell you something that concerns me.

since my sophomore year in high school have feel i have been the same height. 5 foot 6 inches. well then a met a girl or two who also claimed to be 5 foot 6 inches but some how they were taller than me. this made me question what i thought i had been told. or i though those girls must be mistaken.

well last night i got sick of all the rumors going around about me not really being the height i claimed to be so many years now that i decided to put an end to it. turns out, according to the tape measure which resides in zacks tool box ,

i am 5 foot 5 inches.

five foot, five inches.

seriously.

all these years i would walk around blabbing about my 5 foot 6 inch stature and now all of the sudden i am not. what a joke. had i known sooner i could have had a totally different high school experience. i could have been in a few plays, i could have possibly been a flyer in freshman cheer, i could have kept with cheer and been a cheerleader all through high school which could have led me down a different career path. oh my, life would be so different. thank goodness i didnt find out about this sooner. my married life is far too good to think anything could possibly be better.

What would you call this?

Can you guess what this is?

Ohhh- it's a pillow. . .I would LOVE to find someone who made this look good.

To Judge is to be Ignorant

recently I finished an autobiography written by Marlyn Monroe before her early death at 36. My perspective on her life totally changed. I didn't know a whole lot about her in the first place, all I knew was that she was the sex icon of her time.

well turns out, she didn't want any of that at all. she wanted to be wanted. she wanted to be loved. she wanted to be known.
All growing up she didn't have anyone who wanted her except for manual labor or sex. when she was nine she got her first "prostitution" gig that she didn't want. she got paid a nickle.
Any time she thought she was going to "make it big" turns out she was only wanted because of her curves and mysterious personality.
she was told multiple times that she was NOT photogenic. Ha. that's all I have to say about that.

I am once again reminded that I am far too judgmental.
Oh and another thing- who decided that being poor is funny? I can't understand that at all. Why is it funny that a child has to go to school wearing the same outfit day after day?
Why is it funny when an adult is driving around in a car that is about to fall apart and runs out of gas on the way to work.
It's not funny. So don't laugh please.

Every time I have decided that I didn't like someone it was because I didn't understand them. I didn't know where they were coming from.

I'm trying to not judge.

what a site to see. if anyone was there to see if :)

picture this.

a blonde girl out for an afternoon run on her lunch break. she sees a nice little park she would like to check out. so the girl jogs across the street and just when she reaches the curb on the other side she falls smack on her face.

now picture that girl as me. it was quite embarrassing. no one saw though so dont worry

A Provo Bucket List (to accomplish before we leave Utah

The Hubs and I have been trying to figure out fun things we can do in Provo. We've hiked the Y, we've explored BYU campus, we've fed the ducks at BOTH duck ponds, we've visited J-Daws- twice (not all what I was told). We saw them try to put the fire out when the Provo Tabernacle burnt down. we've gone up the canyon countless times, visted the natural hot springs (disgusting, friends. disqusting) I know there is tons more to do but we are having a tough time finding them.
And so, last night at 6pm we set out to find the adventure. First stop was to pick up the pizza Zack has been craving for weeks (maybe even months). And then, with the beautiful weather and all- the park was calling our name.
Yes, I can eat half a large Domino's pizza. I shouldn't- but I can (if I ever need to).
We just laid in the grass watching couples throw footballs back and forth (we decided the girl was far better than the guy) and playing a game of bad mitten. I often wonder how many of the couples are married. Most of them are just trying to impress the other and try to be as adorable as they can be. It's cute, really.
There was a group of people (college age students) dressed in black and talking really loud. they were setting up some sort of stage and families and couples started laying blankets out gathering around the stage.
Turns out it was "Shakespeare in the Park". I'd heard of it but never knew anyone who had seen it. it was actually pretty entertaining. We decided there were a couple actors that were REALLY talented.
The show ended just before it started looking like rain (which never did end up coming) and we set off to get the dessert Zack has been craving (I've deprived him of all deliciously unhealthy foods as of late). Macy's Soft Service Ice Cream, in a cone of course.
It's finally warm enough to be outside past 7pm so we opted to take it outside instead of at our usual table near the TV.
I hate TV by the way. Takes up so much time.

Field of Dreams- Apparently it's a big deal and it's Somewhere in Iowa. Here's what I found in Iowa instead

The parfait that expires on a day that doesn't exist.
Does that mean it never expires?

Juliette. Such a sweet girl.

This cute girl is my favorite.
I would adopt her if I could.

Fire Flies and Lighting Bugs- or Are They the Same Thing?

hey there

sorry for the absence. you will never gues where i am right now. iowa. gardner iowa. super fun. let me tell you a little about iowa around july 1st to 3rd 2011. its hott. like 105 degrees with 95 percent humidity. i literally wanted to walk round nked. i went running and i was sweating like crazy but not cause i was working hard, no, it was due to the incredible heat.

and then friday evening there was a huge storm. as we were admirng the lightnigh bugs it started raining like crazy. when we arrived back at the hotel all the power went out from all of the buildings surrounding the hotel. we gathered in the pitch black loby with tons of strangers waiting to check in. it was pretty funny.

so im blogging on my phone and i cant figure out how to capitalize my letters and howto get other punctuations other than a comma and a period. so please excuse the mess of a post. also i dont know how to add captions to the pictures, so here they are, we had yogart that was to expire on june 31st. the other picture is a picture of a couple of my cute nices and nephew riding in a tracker. its so funny listening to children talk when they arent with adults. one nephew asked me if there was humid in asia. then he said oh like in the indonisian forest. he is 7. no idea how he knows about the indonisian forest..

wo my phone wont let me upload those pictures. soooo...this is awkward now...um rain check. okay. thanks.

Play me a song

We got a piano.
Yes, a real piano.
Where shall we put it you ask?
I have not a clue. Our apartment is far too small.
Do we play?
No. Zack can play a lovely song but that's about it.

But we got one and it is a terrible mess, but sounds lovely.

Happy Saturday!

Some lovely posts created by lovely people just to make me smile-

Fancy International Thrifts

I love when crafty beautiful girls can take an
ugly dress and make it beautiful

Purses I am dying to add to my wardrobe

on another note (not too high pitched, just a medium soft tone note)- our bathroom is getting fixed today ("yay!" I can hear you chant on my behalf. thank you).

Also last night we watched Benny and Joon with our good friends Quin&Nicole. It was lovely.
If you haven't seen that movie, please watch it.
If you have seen it and you liked it, please see it again.
If you saw it but you didn't really like it I order you to watch it again and again until you do like it. I'm certain you will find love for it.
Wasn't Johnny Depp just astonishing? (typical Johnny Depp-crazy man role)

I hope the weekend is fantastic. Here is your weekly does of farm animals to keep you happy because, well, aren't cows adorable? And how about my husband? wait don't answer that- I already know.

Moo.

P.S. I love you
P.S.S. don't worry, There will more than likely be more farm animals to come. I was pretty obsessed.

Banana Sink

*NOTICE* Please disregard the mess you are about to encounter. I will clean it up after you take a peek. This was just too funny to not share

This is what happens when I don''t give Zack enough sleep, or when he is watching sports while making food:

Dear Zack,
I know I've left the kitchen a mess, but the sink is no place for your garbage. Please remove and dispose of in proper place. Thank you, Love. You Rock.

Love,
Seahorsexoxo

a sweet kiss

via

alright, so I may be wayyy behind everyone else because apparently this circulated around the globe faster than you can say "lickity, split" but i am in love with this picture. looks as though its an image straight from Hollywood. How romantically sweet.

the second little piggy built his house out of brick...first with wood

a few weekends ago zack decided we should just build our own house. how does it look

i know it seems a bit small but it really is quite spacious.

okay you caught me. thats not our house. i lied, okay. but zack did help with building this shed at his sisters house. check out those muscles. and farmers tan..sexy.

Happy Sabbath. Happy Father's Day.

Oh what a happy day. Can I just say how nice it is to wake up early Sunday mornings and listen to it rain outside? Can I tell you how much it sucks that my dear Zachary has to leave for work at 5:30 AM so I am left here to try to fill my time lest I go insane!

Well enough about me. Today is about Fathers. I dedicate this post to all Fathers, soon-to-be Fathers, and someday-will-be Fathers but especially to my Dear Dad. He is a rock star. literally.

A few years ago he decided he wanted to play the guitar. And he did. I hope that some day he and I can play a song together.

A few years before that, he decided he wanted to become a cyclist. And he did. He got the whole family involved and we would go on long Saturday morning rides together and participate in races.

Around that same time my dad decided he wanted to learn how to be a really good chef (I don't know if that was his ultimate goal, but it happened). He is so good at cooking. I love being in the kitchen with him and watching him cook. He teaches me new techniques every time.
He made my wedding cake you know. Yes, he did. It was a giant cupcake. I'll have to find a picture and show you.

I remember going camping with my family most years of growing up. My dad would pack everything up in the camp trailer and when we got to the camp ground he would unpack everything and make it super comfortable.
The last several Octobers he's taken the family down to Rocky Point, Mexico and we would stay there for a week or so. He was so good about letting us just go out and play while he set up camp. I don't know exactly how long it would take him but I sure appreciate it and I'm so sorry I did not help more.

My dad taught me how to drive the boat and dock it. When I would get super frustrated and I would be in tears wanting to give up, Dad would not let me. He would just smile and say "try again. you're fine". I'd get so mad at him. Thanks Daddy!

I swear my dad can fix anything. He is amazing. Whenever I have issues and need to fix something I call my dad. I call my dad for everything. You can tell he truly cares.

I love you Dad! So very much. Thank you for everything.

Sugar and Bushes. then Shopping

me: hey babe do you care if i still go to D.I?

Moonfish. no that's great.

Me: ... do you want to come...?

Moonfish: sure I'll come

me: Are you sure? It's going to be pretty boring and...well...I might take a while

Moonfish: if you don't care then maybe I won't come...

(we haven't reached the point where we can be completely honest without beating around the bush but we are to the stage where we can see the honesty without the sugar.)

And this is why I don't recommend Zack coming with me on shopping extravaganzas:

Scary, huh?

I tried all of it on. Only took me. . .45 mins?
I'm pretty quick. I tried to put all of it back, (because lets face it, employees really don't deserve to have to find a place for all of these just because I felt like playing dress up)
but the cute little old lady insisted that I put them on her clothes rack. She is sweet. Bless her dear heart.

How long before I give in. .

i thought craving sugar was just a natural way of life. it wasn't until i couldn't stop thinking about chocolate and cookies and ice cream while at work that i realized i might have a problem

articles i have read told me that sugar cravings and complex carb cravings go hand in hand. if you want one, you want the other. that is exactly me. i love salty almost as much as sweet. when i try to be honest with myself about which i like better i can hardly think.

at work i have access to sugar in all different forms. all covered in chocolate heaven (or hell, how ever you think of it) A co-worker told me that it's satan's fault that I love chocolate. He told me that eating Chocolate is a sin. . .really? Thanks for the judgment.

i try to stay away. truly. but it is so darn impossible. i know that i get sugar highs and then i crash and i literally fall asleep on my desk.

everything i have read about in the last 2 hours at work somberly disctrict sugar addiction like a drug or alcohol addiction. i have yet to find a sugar and carb rehab facility near by. i think there is one in fiji though...

So now that i have confessed my greatest "sin" to the blogging world, i suppose i should tell you how i'm going redeem myself.

i don't know yet. i need to eat more food so that when i do get bored and hungry i will reach for the veggies and only glace toward the Drawer of Chocolate Death. I need a support team. So far Zack has joined. And that's the only team member i need at this point. He is a rock star Moonfish.

K, i love you.

ma certo!

isnt he just the cutest. we saw him on center street by an italian place. i had to take a picture. obviously.

Good Morning, Good Morning

via

Can my hobby be photography even though I suck at taking pictures?
I imagine when I'm older and we have a home of our own that I will have a room that has a wall covered in black and white images from our years past framed in classic silver and with a 3 inch matte around the picture hung on a solid white brick wall.
Aren't pictures just so fascinating? I wonder what they will be like when our children grow up.

Happy Warm Beautiful Wednesday!

I woke up one early morning from a dream feeling disgusting. In the dream I had been taking shot after shot of some vile concoction. I'm pretty sure it was suppose to be vodka but I have never tasted the revolting liquid so I couldn't tell you for certain. All I know is it did not make me want anything but water to flush the imaginary drink from my system. I have expressed my feelings about dreams before but I can tell you this one will not come true. Especially because i have thought about it so much. Those dreams usually don't come true.Usually.

I have realized a thing or two about myself in the past little while. I jump from hobby to hobby and never perfect one. Remember when I was in reading books to become cultured? Well that didn't last long. Reading about Rome was only interesting for so long. Remember when I went through my learn how to play guitar faze? Well you probably don't unless I told you in person because I didn't blog about that adventure- that's how quickly it past. It did last much longer than learning a song and a half. Then I was on my running faze. I shy away from pounding pavement. Just sticking to the cross training activities. Most recently I was very into biographies. After reading about a real New York mobster from his sons point of view and a book about the wonderful life of Gandhi, I didn't even pick up the book about the lovely bliss of George and Laura Bush's marriage.

Now I'm wanting another passion. Last night I asked Zack if we could take a year off and study music in Europe so I could someday be talented enough to audition for The Voice. But I decided that would not do anything for my goal of buying a house and have cute little Zack Jr.s running around the house in their socks.

How lovely would it be to sit on this beach every evening listening to the waves?

(If I told you this was a beach from South Carolina would you think of Nicolas Sparks and his romantic novels?)


Well having children and going to their school concerts and throwing parties for every year we make it closer to the babies growing up sounds ever better.
A Saturday lunch with the family

(yes. I will be wearing dresses and serving the food with a smile and perfect posture)

I day dream about the days Zack and I will sit on our front porch watching our children play with the dogs and waving to neighbors as they go for evening walks, stopping by at a friend's house just to say hello and let the children play "while mommy visits."

Those will be happy years. Although, I cant imagine being happier than I am now I'm sure it can only get better. So I hear from veterans who have been married long than Zack and I.

Summer is the best time of year. I love wearing light flowy shirts and dresses that won't fly up when the wind sneaks up underneath but are light enough to not be uncomfortably hot. Any fun summer plans for anyone out there? We're headed to Iowa and FL. And hopefully. . . AZ! What are you doing?

A Love Note

Dear Zack,
You're at work right now. But you emailed me from campus to let me know that you forgot your phone. I was sad to hear that news. I have no way of reaching you to find out if you made plans for this evening or if I should plan on making us a yummy dinner (we haven't had any yummy dinners as of late).
I decided that I was to use the back yard more often. I know that our neighbor girls are always in the back yard but it's just as much our yard as theirs! and I want to use the deck. I'm thinking of moving a small table and chairs out here so that you and I can enjoy some time out in the open air. I think that is why we aren't getting better- we're stuck inside! Our sick germs are just circulating. So if you would like- I'd love to have you join me for dinner tonight! I'm thinking of making Salmon and Vegetables. what do you think? Well I think I will make it anyways and hopefully you will be hungry enough to eat. Since it will still be light outside, plan on eating in the back yard.
You and I deserve a nice little date without the distraction on TV. I know there is a game on that you want to watch so I shall try to keep it quick.
Wow Moonfish. You sure are awesome. I love when you call me just to make sure that I made to to work safely. and when you text me and say "I love you wife face!" Those things make me smile out loud.
When you say, "Ah come on!" that is really funny too.
Thanks for letting me treat you to a nice dinner at Outback every once in a while. I know it's really something special for you.
Well moonfish- tomorrow, don't forget your phone!!
I love you!
Love,
Your Wife Face

How to become a VIP Regular at your favorite restaurant

1. Eat there frequently, or should I say- Regularly?
2. Order the same delicious meal.
3. Order tons of bread and water

It really is that easy. Although, Zack and I have worked hard to find the perfect restaurant. It took us over a year and a half to even decide that this was the place. Outback Steakhouse in Orem, UT.

Friday nights are packed. Saturday nights are even more packed! Calling ahead works sometimes but you should still expect to wait 20 to 30 minutes even after the time they tell you your table will be ready (guess it's hard to get people to leave).

You know you're a VIP regular when you walk in the door and before you even check in the Manager walks up to you and says "two, right? I have a table for you guys."

You know you're a regular when Jeff (the manager) stops by just for small talk and lets you know he appreciates how often we come in and recognized that our favorite table is in the bar area so that we have full access to TV viewage.

Let me just say, we never planned on becoming regulars. Let alone VIP regulars. We never expected to have this great honor- especially while living in Provo, UT. I thought we would have picked a non-franchise, hole-in-the-wall, sort of restaurant. But no- Outback stole my heart with the Chicken Artichoke Flat Bread. And Zack can get the steak that I never cook.

Happy Weekdays

What a crazy long day! I had a pretty difficult start to the week. I thought it began with the fact that I brought the wrong pair of pants with me to work today to change into. But as the morning grew on I knew it had to be something else.
I felt completely anxious and stressed over every little thing that presented it's self to me. The gloom cloud continued to hover over my desk until I broke out into tears.
The clouds would part slightly and I'd begin to relax and focus on my work but they would return soon enough (or far too soon for my liking) and the tears would break the dam again.
I tried to inform everyone that my blood was boiling and I was in a pretty bad mood. I was snippy about everything. That only brought more tears.
I was having issues today, my friends. Serious issues.
I was looking for Prince Charming to save me from these swings of emotions.
Zack sent me a message (after I had text him a million times to tell him how sucky I was feeling)
"we need to do something to cheer you up tonight. Ice Cream?"
my reply,
"or my meds!"
That's right folks. I hadn't taken my happy pills in a few days and the effects were finally wiggling their selves out of my body.
Prince Charming (AKA Moonfish) came and took me away for a little break and to pick up the prescription.
I doubt my pill kicked in as quickly as I started feeling better. I'm pretty sure the cause for my sudden cheerful disposition was because of my honey coming to see me. I only had an hour left of work by the time I got back so that was perfect timing.
I love Zack!
Then I got caught in the rain on my way home.
Oh rain. You're stupid. Stop coming to visit.
I was welcomed by the stench of drenched carpet in our bedroom when I walked in the door. We noticed the smell this weekend and we could not figure out what it was! We cleaned everything possible. Then we noticed a large wet spot next to one of the walls in the bed room. The smell got so bad that it woke me up this morning. Bleh!
Our trusty fix-it man (Our landlord's go-to guy) came by and pulled up the carpet. Sure enough, soaked. The gross scent consumed the entire apartment. We are leaving the carpet pad exposed so that it can dry out. I don't think I'll be able to sleep in the bed room tonight.

All in all I'm ready for the day to end. I'm ready to take advantage of the weather and use it for some serious cuddle time.

Happy Monday! And I wish you an even better Tuesday!

House Rules

We don't have house rules around here.
If I want to stay up past 10 pm on a school (work) night, I totally can. If I want to eat dessert before dinner, I can. If I don't feel like doing Saturday morning chores, I don't have to.
And this pleaseth my soul.

But lately, I have felt a little out of control. I have neglected the dishes. I have been sleeping in because I have been going to bed far later than I should be. I have not been eating a well balanced dinner!

What is to become of me??

Well, I'm quite certain I will grow up to be a fine young lady, but I should really set some boundaries for myself, shouldn't I? I mean, I should have a bit of self control. A few more restrictions. Higher expectations for my standards, right?

I shall. From now on, I will be more disciplined.

I will eat 2 to 3 well balanced meals.
I will go to bed before 9:30 on week days.
(mostly because I can't function after 9:30 anyways)
I will do my chores, weekly.

My dear, sweet Carolina (I have yet to decid on a name but this will work for a stand in until then)

I don't know what all you know about my commute to work this days, but let me tell you it's a totally different world out there.

When you don't just hop in your car only to inevitably get annoyed with other drivers and pedestrians that are inconsiderate of where I have to go- you see so many things you've never noticed before. Like broken took brushed on the road (I know, what?) or the homeless man who lives near the river but is so kind!
During the days of snow, I would take the bus. A $2.25 fare {I'm pretty sure it's up to $2.50 now} and a 30 min ride would get me there all in one piece. When you're on the bus, you meet all sorts of people I have never really interacted with very much since living in bubble-like Provo. Cute elderly women, older men with handicaps. It's quite interesting, although, I think it would be a lot more fun if we all broke out into song and dance while we were driving around picking up more friends. But I don't think that would happen. How would we all know the same dance moves? Right?

Now that the weather is more friendly I ride my bike.
Absolutely love it! We could totally work it out to where I take the car every day but I like the early morning work out and then the work out at the end of the day.
I realized I kind of have a little bit of road rage. Cars can be so inconsiderate. But the sucky thing {which maybe it's actually a good thing} I don't have a horn to honk at them to show them how stupid they are. So I tend to shake my fist. Okay really, I just roll my eyes because if I shook my fist I'm sure they would come after me, alright maybe not while I'm in Provo, but I shouldn't make it a habit in case I ride my bike outside the bubble.

The people I see while riding are so cool. I ride through this cute little neighborhood where the husbands are out early mowing their yards, groups of women are speed walking while catching up on yesterday's rumors. My favorite is this cute couple, probably late 40's, who walk their 3 dogs. A great Dane, a golden retriever, and some really tiny dog. they are the cutest.
One day when I was riding, I was coming up to a group of kids waiting for the bus to come gather them for school and these 2 boys walked out into the middle of the road chests puffed up, hands on hips, eyebrows scowling, blocking part of the road. Maybe I would have been slightly intimidated if they weren't 3 feet tall and had cute little smiles on their face.

There's this guy who leaves for work about the time I get to his street. He rides his bike too. Only his is a really nice bike and he is dressed in his cool cycling outfit. Dude, he can fly up that hill! It takes a lot of work for me. But he is so friendly, says "good morning" whenever we cross paths.

I know what you're thinking- "uh don't you totally stink up the office when you get there?"
Yes, yes I would. If I didn't shower. I wouldn't bike if they didn't have showers. I just get ready for work when I get there. I don't even bother at home.

And that, my dear friends, is what I do almost every day. If it's raining a lot then we figure something else out but other than that- I will stay devoted to taking my bike out to stretch her chains. She's awesome.

K love you, bye!

when i have too much free time- this is what my miond makes me think about

If i were famous i could write a New York Bestseller. i would be asked to do a book tour and sit at Barnes and Noble signing a bagillion books for "fans". Oprah would call me and ask me to appear on her show. I could decide i dont just want to write books- i want to write music too. Taylor Swift would mentor me. she would co-write songs with we. She would ask me to guest sing in her newest single that is expected to hit the top ten charts for several weeks. I could decide i want a break from the music industry and that i want to travel the world performing humanitarian service and becoming cultures. i could build orphanages and make a real difference in a place where no one knew my "famous name". i would be come a better person. could all that ONLY happen if i were famous? what if i wanted to do it as just a "normal" girl? would i have any sort of impact in anyone's life? these are things i wonder about when i have too much time on my hands

I am not my sisters keeper

Why can't you just accept our love?
Accept the fact that we care about you and are concerned for your well being?
Accept the fact that we will try to find you when we haven't heard from you in months?
Accept that your brothers miss you?

Your brothers don't even know who you are.
They were too young to remember "Buddy Bears".
Too young to remember that you loved to watch soap operas.
They weren't there when we would watch 7th Heaven on a weekly basis.
They don't remember how cute your laugh was when you got super happy
Or when you would tickle me until I almost peed my pants.

You were there when our family, all dressed in white, went into the sacred room to become a forever family.

I wish you would let us love you.
I wish you would love us back.
I wish you cared about yourself as much as your family cares about you.

I am angry with you.
I'm angry that you push us away when we reach out to you.
I'm angry that you belittle yourself.
I'm angry that you limit your potential.

But I love you.
Sister, I really, truly love you.
I want to be your best friend.
I want to be there for you when you have a hard day.
I want to be there when you had an amazing day.

I want you in my life.
Why won't you let me be?

Snow-go away please!

If you were to win a "family vacation" it would be for 4. Traditional family cars like the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra- they comfortably fit 4 passengers- any more than that you are cramped. So I guess now my parents are really living life! They are the perfect sized family since the 3 oldest children no longer live under their roof.

Isn't my family just the cutest!?

They came into town to watch me run my half marathon (I'll have to tell you more about that later).

Luckily, the weather was nice. It would have been embarrassing if it wasn't.



I was hesitant to load this next picture.
It is my absolute favorite picture of my parents.
I didn't know if I wanted to share it with just anyone...You know, other people just might not appreciate it.


My mom is gorgeous and I love when my dad laughs. It's contagious.

So this post was pretty much to show off that I faced the fact that my computer is dead and that I should just load all my pictures on to Zack's computer.
Welcome back to my blog Pictures. Welcome.

p.s. I love you Moonfish. thanks for letting me use your computer :)

To Zachary

Two years baby!! I can't believe we hit 2 years already. I mean, I feel like I've known you forever but haven't the last 2 years just flown by?
You have truly made them the best 2 years of my life.

You make me laugh uncontrollably, especially when it's past 9 pm and I'm slap happy.
You make me smile when I think about you during the day.

You totally rock my world, Moonfish. Totally.
Thank you for your love.

Thank you for asking me to marry you for eternity.

Thank you for teaching me how to seriously live life.

I have never been happier.

I have never loved someone as much as I love you.

I hear year 3 is the best. ( I didn't really hear that, but I'm sure its true. Until we get to year 4, then 5, then 6...)

I really do love you.
XOXO

Love,
Seahorse

I had an intimate moment with a worm (don't be gross)

Almost exactly 2 years ago, I was in Salt Lake cheering for my best friend as she ran 13.1 miles and crossed the finish line.
At the time if you asked me to run a mile I would have laughed in your face.
Literally. I hated running.
Absolutely hated it.

And now I'm here at a race with over 11,000 participants waiting to hear the air horn to signal the start of a new adventure.
I'd never ran 13.1 miles before.

Unfortunately I had to use the restroom so I was stuck behind 20 people waiting in line to use the same gross porta-potty when the sound of that horn went off.
From a distance I could see the sea of people starting out their run.
I was actually kind of glad I wasn't stuck in the middle of all that.
I get claustrophobic sometimes.

It was early morning. I was still trying to wake up.
The Early Birds were out trying to catch the Worm.
(Yes, this is where the worm story comes in).

Have you noticed how after it rains worms are all over the sidewalks?
It's disgusting!!
I hate worms and I hate squishing worms.
Anyways, as I was standing there waiting in line (it had been like 12 minutes by then) I caught sight of this loooong worm feeling it's way through the forest of grass and mud.
I become interested in his motives.
Is he looking for something? food? a mate?
Or is he just wondering around until it finds something better than what he already has?
Either way, I put my foot right in front of it to find out what he would do.
When he came in contact with the toe of my shoe he jerked back.
He slowly reached out and touched me.
He felt around.
He gave me a little wormy hug.
Then he started to climb.
Onto my Shoe.
And that was the end of the intimate moment.

10 mins later, after I stepped out of the death box (aka porta-potty), I started my race.
2 hours and 24 mins later, I crossed the finish line.

Thanks for your support :)

P.S. I love you.

Seahorse Moonfish Productions Presents:

Zackman and myself had the pleasure of traveling up to Ogden yesterday to spend a lovely evening with family :) We went to an arcade last night and played a few games. Here are a couple videos of Yours Truly, Moonfish and Seahorse (sorry they are sideways. I couldn't figure out how to rotate them):

(When I was younger I would play a version of this game and I was pretty skilled. {not so much anymore. I only got 3 stinkin' tickets!})

Look what else we came across as we were venturing through the jungle of games:

(my very own trumpet playing seahorse. We're a talented species, you must know)

This is long because I have missed you-

*Disclaimer*: This may turn into another "sad" blog post. Bullying has been on my mind again.

Hey hey hey! How you doin'?
Sorry I've been a lazy bum lately!

Just so you guys know, my race is a week from today. Pros and Cons, please:

Pro: I will finally be able so say out loud to strangers I meet, "I have trained and ran a 13.1 mile race. AKA, a half MARATHON". It's a big deal
Con: I will be able to tell strangers, "I have only ran a HALF marathon." Because they will all be able to say, "yeah? Well what about a FULL marathon."
Pro: I will no longer have to plan my life around short runs and long runs. They will just be a regular "however long I feel like going" run.
Con: I wont make the time to spend 2 hours of quality time with the pavement.

Road, I will miss that connection we shared. You took me through my toughest work outs. you almost killed me. Twice. You rock.

Overall, I have really enjoyed running. I know I know, I tell everyone when they ask me about how my training has been, "I'm getting really sick of running." I don't know why! Running has only been good to me.

Besides being stranded 3 miles from home completely dehydrated and not being able to focus long enough to jog more than 10 seconds at a time and besides injuring my knee so many times that it completely took me out of any kind of training for months at a time. I have forgiven you for your transgressions. And I can honestly say that you have become one of my closest friends. Through the tears and after a long stressful day at work you have supported me. Thank you, Run. Thank you. P.S. I'm sorry I have talked crap about you behind your back. I wont do it anymore. Until you hurt me again. Then your reputation will be ruined. But I love you still.

I have no idea why I am writing thank you letters to these sort of things.

Last night, I treated Zack to Outback Steakhouse. It is my favorite because of their Wedge Salad. I decided that next time, I shall order it for dessert (don't worry, I'm not going to express my love for it through a letter. At least not now). We also go because my poor Moonfish needs some meat! I never cook meat for the guy. I'm a bad wife. (I don't really like meat so I don't see why I should cook it. . .)
So after we finally go seated we ordered our water and I noticed, sitting across from us was this dear elderly man all alone. He was just sitting there eating his steak and yummy potatoes. I don't know what overcame me but tears started coming to my eyes. these weren't just "watery eyes" they were full blown running-down-my-face-unable-to-control-myself-tears. I wasn't trying to make scene! I tried to play out different scenarios in my mind to convince myself that he wasn't "lonely" and that he was completely content. But he wasn't wearing a wedding band and he didn't look very happy. I couldn't see a sparkle in his eye; probably because it's so stinkin' dark in there! I sort of feel silly now but at the time it completely broke my heart. He ordered dessert, paid his bill and soon after his spot at the table was replaced with a cute newly engaged couple. I don't know what more I could have done. What would you have done?

That brings me to bullying. (I told you it was bound to happen).
There is this show called What Would You Do? Brookie and KC introduced it to us.
One segment that we watched was about cyber-bullying.
Imagine this:
You're at a coffee shop, minding your own business reading a book or whatever. A few tables down from you, you hear these 3 loud teenage, really pretty girls talking about a fellow student at their school. Pretty soon you hear enough information to understand they are looking at a Facebook page on a laptop and they clearly think they are far better looking than the "Facebook girl". You hear them say things like, "Gross! Why would anyone post a picture of themselves like that?!" or "Haha Jaime is so fat! Lets tell her. I'm going to write it on her wall." or "She is so ugly!! She really shouldn't go out in public anymore." Then these 3 girls decide they want to post a video on the poor girls wall of them taking a poll of people in the coffee shop telling "Jaime" that she is ugly.
They come to your table and ask you, "would you look at the camera and say 'Jaime, you're so ugly!'"
What would you do?

Let me tell you that those 3 teenage girls were hired as actresses and "Jaime" was a fake Facebook profile.

But cyber-bullying is out there. It is real. There are really teenagers, male and female, out there who do this sort of thing everyday. They belittle those around them whom they think are below themselves. But like one of the bystanders said to the girls, Those 3 girls didn't do anything to "earn" their good looks. They were fortunate enough to be born pretty and into families where they could afford good fashion and able to do extra-curricular activities.

Bullying is really sad to me.
I'm trying to figure out something I can do to help the situation but I am struggling. do any of you have an idea?

Well I don't want to end on a "downer" kind of note, so I'll have to leave you with something cheerful so that you can enjoy your lovely weekend.

Biggest Loser is an awesome show! everyone is looking so good! Thankfully Zack likes it too. we usually miss the first hour but make it home in time to see the weigh in. It's so good.

Well my fine feathered friends, and those who may not be so feathered, I shall go now. We are headed up to see my sister-in-law and her cute little family today. They are in Ogden. We get to get out of Provo for a bit. (THANK YOU KIM!!)

I hope to write soon. I really miss it. And I love you all :)

P.S. I love you, Moonfish.

"And such as.."- (guess who said it first. Moonfish, you've got this one)

Well my friends, I am sorry. I have been absent the last little while (in case you didn't notice my lack of postings) and I'm not quite sure why. I have my theories though. First off, let me just say that I have missed you. My readers and the lovely blogs I follow. They brought me cheer this early Saturday morning (where I should be in bed but I found myself unable to catch my Zzzzs after 4:30 A stupid M). So my Theory as to why I have been on blog strike lately is that my computer is still broken and I can't post pictures therefore surely no one would be interested in my blog. another Theory is that I have been having such a fabulous adventure the past little bit and I was too busy to share it with the bloggosphere. Well the truth of the sad matter is, my computer is broken and I cant post pictures, I haven't taken any pictures, and I've been so tired and drained lately. Don't get me wrong, we have been having some pretty fun adventures but I have been too tired to post anything. I have gotten some lovely comments about my blog from dear friends and that gave me the courage to "get back out there, Champ and show 'em what ya got", kind of thing. I don't want to have another blog failure like the last time I decided I was too good for this. Truth be told, I really enjoy writing. I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm good at it or anything, but it certainly gives me peace knowing that my thoughts are out there being noticed by people who care. My opinions have a place in this world. Finally.

Everything has been fab lately, thank you for asking by the way. I have found this new obsessive interest with the LDS Mag The Ensign. Did you know there are some amazing stories in there that you can actually relate to? Why had I not noticed this before? can you tell me that? Well I know that some of you may not be LDS but if you get a chance, pick up that magazine because it will make you smile. I'll even mail you one or two if you really want.

Also I got a second job. Not that my first one wasn't good enough, I just wanted/needed something to mix up my schedule a bit. I somehow found this lovely lady who wanted help with projects around her house. She is so cute and sweet and her family is adorable; of course I've actually only met 2 of the 5 children and the husband. They have a charming beautiful house. She has let me help her organize and clean different rooms and also do other household caring activities. It's so nice to have a bit of diversity in your schedule, I think, and I love being able to help other people and she is so sweet too!

Zack is still kickin' butt at school. He's a rockstar, I must say. He sure knows how to make a girl swoon with is smarts and athletic ability and that is aside from his dashing good looks.

My job is going along just great. I've been able to work on a few different projects and such that have been very fun to be apart of. Yesterday I was asked, along with 2 others in my department, to stand on a little stage and be introduced to about 60 technicians for our company. I'm pretty sure they could all see my knees shaking under my jeans. Let me also mention that I was the only girl in the whole room. Now I'm not saying that they were checking me out, but for some weird reason I can become very uncomfortable when I am the only girl. and that happens quite a bit in a department like mine where we are pretty much all of the male species.

Running has been rough lately. Zack will tell ya. I have been struggling big time! this week was the hardest. I just could not and would not run. I guess you could say I refused, but I have good reasons! Just listen. I have never really been all that into cardio. I just haven't. I really really love lifting and that sort of thing (I'm not strong at all, I just like my weights). Since I have been training for this oh-so- fun half marathon that I'm super excited for, I've gotten pretty burnt out from running. I feel like it's the only thing I can do! I have to plan everything around how many miles I have to run, even our dinner schedule is planned around my runs. Luckily today, my dear friend Sarah (she totally inspires me because she is awesome) is going to take me out for a long run. Without her, I probably wouldn't do more than 3 miles (I know that's far too but I have a schedule I need to keep up with). I'd like to say that I eventually want to do a full marathon, but right now, I absolutely do NOT! I just want to be able to do other things and not have to spend my full work out time running. I mean, like I mentioned before, I even have to wake up early just so that I have time to let my food digest and my water belly settle. Anyways, I'm super grateful for the experience and the discipline training has given me and I will be a much better person than I was before. I now feel more confident in what I do and confidence is key to success, right? So Mom, Dad (who registered me for the race), hubbers (who purchased these amazing new running shoes for my birthday)- thank you for the opportunity to run this race and supporting me all the way through.


There isn't really much else going on in our lives, besides my obsession with dogs and my desire to somehow trick our landlord into letting us have one, I haven't really been up to anything else. Work, Run, Eat. that's my motto.

Oh but I did discover, while out on a long run day, that what really helps me get through my runs is when people smile at me as I go, especially the cute older couples holding hands and walking their doggies on an early Saturday morning, and the kids that are outside in there underwear that yell "hi!!" at me across the street. Those make me happy. So please-

Smile. It helps me run better, faster, stronger.

P.S. I love you, Moonfish.

Failure to Plan is Planning for Failure- unless you're planning around the weather because your plans will change.

On Wednesday, my friends, I established Saturday of this week to be my long run day. 12 miles. Crazy, I know. I had to prepare for it. On my long run days I have to prepare very well. I have to be sure I have enough time for my food to digest, but not too much time so that I'm hungry right before the run. Also, I have to have time to hydrate and let the water settle so that I don't have a water belly (I hate that feeling). I knew that I wanted to get my run finished early today and so I planned my time out like this:

(*Times are all in the AM)
Wake up at 5:45- Eat breakfast
6-7:15- drink lots of water!
7:25- take ibuprofen (not too much water though)
7:30- get dressed, warm up and stretch
8:00 head out the door

I set my alarm for 6 because waking up in the 5 o'clock hour on a Saturday is pushing it, really. I rolled out of bed at 6:04. Made some peanut butter toast at 6:15, grabbed a water bottle and stared my computer up.

I looked out the window and noticed a suspicious amount of dark clouds.

This is not what the weather had in mind yesterday. . .

I checked weather.com (you know, the most reliable weather website) and it said the stupidest thing I had seen in a long time:

"32 degrees and stupid rain all stinkin' day because we don't want you to run"

Something to that effect, well that's how I saw it at least.

Seriously?! I planned this 3 days in advance and you're telling me, the day of, that it is going to rain? Weather.com, this is getting out of hand. Please, don't let it rain today!

For those of you who live in Provo, Utah, you know that when it says it's going to rain all day it doesn't. and if it says that it will be cold, it will be. Further more, if you check the weather the night before expecting everything to go as planned, it won't.Because you know why? the weather demons are out to get us, you know. They don't want us to be out in God's beautiful world enjoying the blue skies and Utah construction.

I am going on strike against these demons! I'm going to go out into the "rainy weather" and conquer a 12 mile run (only because now, an hour later than when I first looked out the window, the clouds are parting and I can see the sunlight). That'll teach them that they can no longer mess with my weather!

This morning when I logged on to my computer, she kept freezing up and I would have to turn her off. This happened twice before I decided to use the Hubber's computer. I don't have any pictures from the last day or so on this computer so unfortunately I don't have anything pretty for you to look at. Please come back later today and I should have something sweet for you!

I hope you have a fabulous Saturday. Let me know if you have fun plans! I might join you because, well, after my run my apartment is due for some TLC (Tedious, Long, Cleansing).

Not Fun.

P.S. I love you.

Date Night! Whoo!

Last night there was reason for celebration. Zack had been juggling so many different assignments and tasks with school that he was beginning to feel a bit over whelmed. But last night he completed a test that he had been studying so hard for and finally- it's done. and he didn't do so bad, if I do say so myself.

So to honor the great achievement, I decided to take Zack out for a treat {really it was Zack's suggestion and I tried to talk us out of it because I didn't work out that day, but it didn't work. Zack wanted a frosty and I couldn't honestly resist}. A frosty from our friend Wendy's. It was delicious, as expected.

{This is a reenactment of the balloons that tried to attack me}


{I tried to frown while eating a frosty one time, it didn't work out so well}


{Makes you want a frosty right now, doesn't it?}

We also had a bishops interview last night. He asked us, "do you have regular weekly date night?"
"We have date night every night."

And I love it :)

Mostly our dates consist of some sort of sporting event such as basketball or football, and food, of course. Sometimes our date is Zack studying and me reading or surfing the webesphere so there isn't much conversation, but you know, we feel the love.

This makes I wonder what other couples do for their official date nights compared to just a regular old evening. There have been talks in church about how important it is to have a date night weekly. Is this meant for families with children when a husband and wife won't have time to themselves?


Also I have been wondering, why do they have to put swear words in movies? I mean honestly it doesn't add much to the story and a lot of times it sounds out of place. I'm okay with a word here or there I guess but when they drop the "F-Bomb" every 5 seconds that's when it gets ridiculous. Even in kids movies it's sort of used casually, maybe not direct profanity, but poor vocabulary skills.

Another thought, last one, what should I have for breakfast...?

A Thought From Me to You

So here I am, just minding my own business watching the make over episode of America's Next Top model (I'm not a regular, but if I were this would be my FAVORITE episode to watch every season) and on pops a commercial (as expected because this happens when the show reaches a climax point and decides to drive you crazy by throwing ads at you). This commercial is featuring a close up on a 40-something year old wearing too much eyeliner and gorgeous hair. As they slowly pan out they show her escorting two children. They are showing all these men around her gawking, crashing their bikes, tripping- you know, that's the way men act when they are around pretty woman , I guess. I've never actually witnessed it. At the end of the commercial the say something to the effect of "Be confident after you have plastic surgery" and the contact info for "(bleep)Plastic Surgery" flashes the screen.

The very next commercial is showing a house wife, typical mother looking at pictures of past memories and her going through and "erasing" the flaws that she sees with her body. And the contact information for that plastic surgery company comes on the screen, different from the last one.

What? Why do we have to resort to going under the knife to feel pretty? I see billboards around here that say "Love your legs, love your life". Umm I wouldn't say I love my legs. in fact I hate my skin on my legs and even on my arms but hey, it's my skin and I love my life still!

So why are there so many ads telling people, more specifically women, that what they have right now is not good enough and they will not be happy? There are shows out there about weight lose and I think that is a better approach rather than puncturing skin.

Shows like Biggest Loser and Shedding for the Wedding, are done by showing people that it's a lifestyle change to achieve the goal that those Plastic Surgery doctors promise.

I don't know, maybe I'm not one to talk. But I can say that ever since 9th grade I have had body image issues. I won't go into details but I'm learning to just be happy with what I was given. To be happy with what I can control. I can't make my feet smaller, my hair longer, my eyes prettier. But I can take my husband's word when he tells me he thinks I'm beautiful.

I just want all girls to feel pretty. Everyone from 2 to 108 years old deserves to feel pretty. What can we do to help those around us feel prettier? I always like to think of what I would like myself to make me feel pretty. I was at a store one time waiting in line to check out and this complete stranger told me she thought my hair was gorgeous. It was so ugly that day! but it made me feel so good. How many times do we go about our day looking a girls and thinking how good they look, how cute their shoes are, how lovely their skirt is? And do you always tell them? Some times I do. Some times I get the guts to share my feelings to that model pretty girl rockin' the gorgeous waves of blond hair flowing down their shoulders, but most of the time I am guilty of holding back.

So I am challenging myself to speak up more. I'm going to share my compliments. I don't want them to come across as fake (as some girl in high school so kindly labeled me as). Would you like to join me in this challenge?

I love these little suckers!
Sometimes Clara tells me I'm a princess :)

P.S. I love y.o.u.