Happy Birthday Ashley!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to my cute little sister! She is such a wonderful person--so happy to have her in my life. So excited about her baby boy that will be here in a few months. Have a wOndERFul day Ash!

RUN (don't walk!!!) to Amazon now!

50 albums on sale for $5. I finally got HSM III for only $5. Never bought the new Radiohead, Vampire Weekend or Death Cab albums this year either, so such a rocking deal!!!! Love new music--and even better when it is so cheap:) Joey, does your new no shopping rule extend to online shopping as well? Hope not:)

Catching Up

Been so lazy blogging the last few months. A few things I wanted to highlight in a very random order:

Kindle
My major time suck (but not really in a bad way) has been my new Kindle. Oh, it is just so irresistibly addictive--just had no idea. I guess the idea of the Kindle was to allow the reader to really get lost in reading. Yep, achieved. Half a pound, super convenient and keeps a charge for over a week. LOVE digital reading. I have been ignoring my family, church responsibilities, treadmill, sleep, TiVo, etc. etc., just to keep pressing next page. Favorite digital reads so far? Shop Your Closet (motivation for organizing my disaster zone also known as my closet), Dashing Through the Snow (still into Mary Higgins Clark), Love in the Time of Cholera (a favorite before Oprah discovered. Checked it out a zillion times from the U library. Imagery is just extraordinary), One Fifth Avenue (love getting lost in Manhattan), The Great Gatsby (trying to read off a list I found of Modern Library's Top 100 books of the 20th century. This was number two, and I had never read it. Takes place in the roaring 20's before the Great Depression hits. I guess history does always repeat itself. Loved it. Now starting on number 11--Under the Volcano) Outliers (check it out if you loved Blink,Tipping Point or Freakonomics), The Audacity of Hope (read during the election. Electrifying. Regardless of your political affiliation, it is super inspiring), Who: A Guide for Hiring (new tips on how I can do my job better), Kaplan GRE Vocabulary Exam in a Box (fascinated with vocabulary for some reason. And also want to get 700+ on the verbal section if I ever take the leap). Thanks for the best birthday present ever Shaner!

Black Friday
Had never been before. Just didn't seem worth it. But, had my eye on a Kitchen-Aid for so incredibly cheap, I couldn't resist. First stop was Wal-Mart. I don't have any deep seeded hate for the store as I know many of you do, but do try to avoid it as much as possible. But, it proved to be everything horrible I had imagined about Black Friday and more. Okay, so I am really trying to be less stereotypical, and not instantly shrink away from those in the lowest common denominator of SES, but there are some mad crazy people out there. From the toothless meth heads I hung out with at the checkout at 4:30 AM, to the seriously obese tank top wearing lady that fought me for a set of Pyrex dishes, I was ready to go home. But, persevered and went to Kohl's after that. Much better experience, and actually started to come around and have fun with my sister-in-laws. I did score the Kitchen-Aid along with some other fun goodies. Not sure if I will go back next year, but it was an experience for sure.

Webkinz
So Mack is seriously obsessed with Webkinz. My sister in law Shelley and her girls got us into these last New Years Eve. They are so fun, I may love them just as much. You get the little stuffed animal and then a code to go online into their site. The games are super fun (love Cash Cow, Cash Cow 2, Candy Bash) and also building the rooms. Our favorite animals right now: Cocoa Dinosaur, Chicken, Bat, Alligator and the Cow. Justice/Limited Too have 50% off on these right now.

Primary Secretary
Got released and then recalled again. We have a new Primary President I am just so excited about! She is so amazing. I am looking forward to starting over and digging in. Looking forward to spirituality and service. So grateful for this gift in my life. Fun? Not always. Difficult? Usually. But, I dig deeper into parts of myself I didn't know were there. Totally worth it.

Genius on iTunes
Loved discovering music I forgot about. Listening to a Lenka Genius playlist right now replete with Charlotte Sometimes, Chairlift, A Fine Frenzy, Feist and Rachel Yamagata. Yum.

Happy Birthday Jim!
My fun brother-in-law's birthday was last month. We have know each other since 8th grade math. (Okay, so I was the one in 8th grade math and he was in 7th grade:) Who would have known we would have ended up in the same family? We are now the same age again! Favorites:

His rocking sense of humor. He is one of my favorite storytellers and observers of human nature. He can liven up any conversation.

He is super smart. Always have admired this.

He is such a great Dad to his cute little girls. Can't believe they will have 3 girls this spring!

He sticks really close to his values. Doesn't cave or let things slide people say he doesn't believe in.

We are both Scorpios. I just seem to really get along with other fellow Scorpions:)

Hope you had a great day!!!!! Thanks for all you do for us!

Yes, We Did
Do you have those times in your life that you just physically remember where you were when big things happen? Elizabeth Smart being found (Harmons buying shrimp), 9/11 (getting ready for work and watching the Today show), Obama's acceptance speech (curled up by the fire with my family). Really felt like I was watching a pivotal part of history unfold while watching this. So excited to see how this new administration will reshape our country. Love how dynamic, powerful and absorbing Obama is. Yes, We Did. Wow.

Twilight
Saw this opening weekend with Amanda. Liked the book, and liked the movie too. Loved? Nope. But worth a few hours in teenage angst land. Did love the soundtrack though. Really cheap on Amazon. I guess I was informed I may be on Team Jacob, so maybe New Moon will really strike a chord with me.

Mack's piano recital
Mack started piano a few months ago again. He is really more into this time, and progressing well. Sam has gotten him into playing by ear, so he is obsessed with picking out any version of Mario, Indiana Jones and Star Wars. He played a very respectable Up on the Housetop and an interesting rendition of We Three Kings. He picked up some PokeMon sheet music at Riverton, so that is his next challenge. Camera lost batteries--no pics :( Imagine a cute little guy in a red cableknit sweater clutching sheet music.


Alaskan Inn
Shane and I kicked off December with an overnight escape to the Alaskan Inn. Shane is just one of my favorite people to talk for hours. Love his regaling me with life on the beat stories. Some serious, most hilarious. Love talking about our future. Love being in love with him still. Promise we can do these more babe?



Disneyland
Went to Anaheim for a Respiratory Therapy convention (yipee! Hired someone there!). A friend from work tagged along, and we hit all of my favorite malls in Orange County (South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island, Brea) along with nightly visits to PinkBerry. She left when the show ended, and Mack and Shane flew out for some Disney. Weather was cold, but we braved it and had a blast. I love Disneyland. Not sure why, but I tend to agree it is the most magical place on earth. Mack and I loved the new Toy Story ride, Shane's favs were Indiana Jones and California Screamin'. The Christmas parades were amazing, Small World was completely transformed into a Christmas Theme, and the Haunted Mansion was the Nightmare Before Christmas. Loved going at Christmastime--just had to be sufficiently swathed in major winter apparel. Can't wait to go back soon!

Dogs
And last, but not least, my puppy/horse dog. He has turned into such a sweet little dog. He loves giving hugs, stepping on feet, begging for food, eating my hair, destroying my DVR line (twice!!!!), running upstairs unattended, eating our Russian Sage plants, playing with the other dogs next door, and getting attention. He has the cutest personality ever. A big thanks goes out to my sister in law for watching him while we went to Disney. I am happy there is someone out there that I know will love him and not want to strangle him--even though it would probably be very easy to! He also is kicking butt at his job. He has already found two bad guys and is rocking on his tracking. The better he gets, the closer our other dog (kind of the AntiCopper) gets closer to the unknown. Pete is getting older, and is kind of unpredictable (did anyone see the news on the Somalian mechanic and Pete?), so the question is what do we do with him? He is not a family dog--doesn't really like people at all. Actually, he hates everyone besides Shane. Any good ideas out there of what to do with a slightly (okay very) demonic dog for retirement? I think Shane is having a moral struggle with what to do with him. Is it more cruel to have him live on the side of our house, or put him down? Shane doesn't think he will be happy not having his job or anything else to live for--but I guess I think he will still have sunshine and a place to run around and relax. Oh, and not posting this last piece of depressing news in hopes to inspire you to take him. It wouldn't work. He would hate you too. Hmmmm--stay tuned.