The World As I See It

December Update

2011-12-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated in a while, but here are some of the highlights from December:

Christmas Day shot, all dressed up for church.

We can't open one present until February.

And then of course it wouldn't be the Christmas season without a trip to Temple Square to see all the lights.

I hope you had a great Christmas and here's to a happy new year!

Guess What...

2011-10-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

So Ben and I have some news. The newest Blanchette will be arriving around February 20th. We're so excited and It's a Girl!yea! So far we're pretty sure she takes after me as she spent most of the appointment kicking her legs, rolling herself in a ball, and constantly flipping.

The only thing she was not adverse to showing us was that she was in fact a girl. Ben is concerned and already wrote a song for any boy that tries to date her when she's older. The song involves Ben's purchase of a gun.

Great Movie

2011-09-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

This evening I got invited to watch a movie called "17 Miracles" at my church with the relief society and the young women. The movie is about some of the mormon pioneers and their experience on the trail. IT.WAS.INTENSE. I had heard it was an amazing movie but a tear jerker. Already being in an emotional state today, I was concerned I might lose it while watching this movie. It was epic but I held it together, right up until the last 10 minutes or so and then I lost it, in a big way. Big blubbering tears. I highly recommend this movie. It's not made or produced by the LDS or mormon church officially but most of the people in the movie are LDS. If you get the chance to watch it I would highly recommend you take it.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.17miracles.com/

Scary Day

2011-09-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

Today started out an average day. I, being exhausted most days, like to take naps outside on my lunch break. It's a nice break to my work day.

Now just for informational purposes. This is what a brown recluse spider looks like. It looks big and scary right? Well lets be honest all spiders look scary. None of them are exactly cute and cuddly. Either way. This looks big but a brown recluse is usually about the size of a quarter.

Now that doesn't seem so bad. It's big enough to be scary but not that scary. Until you consider that this is what a brown recluse spider bite looks like.
Basically it starts to disintegrate your flesh and the only way to treat that is to cut out the affected flesh that spreads the longer it's not taken care of.

Now back to my story. I like to sleep in the shade under a tree behind the building where I work. I did so today and my cell phone alarm went off to let me know it was time to go back in. I proceeded to get up groggy and disoriented and went to pick up my shoes which were on the grass next to the blanket I napped on. I look down to discover a normal looking brown spider taking up the heel of the inside of one shoe.

I proceed to freeze since all spiders freak me the heck out. I stand there for a good minute trying to process what I can do. I consider leaving my shoes and making a break for it. I then consider I work in an office that requires business attire and I need my shoes. I finally decided to try knock my shoe in hopes the spider will leave. As I lean over to do so it evacuates my shoe only to go into my other shoe. I am back where I started. I knock the shoe over then retreat 4 feet while I try to figure out if that got rid of the spider or not. There is no movement by my shoe so if the spider is out of my shoe it's just sitting next to it and not going anywhere. I figure maybe it's not moving because I'm still there. I gather my blanket and walk barefoot back to my car to put it away and give the spider time to leave.

I return and gather my one shoe and put it back on while still trying to scope out if the spider is still anywhere near my other shoe. I proceed slowly. I finally realize the spider has left my shoe but is sitting in the grass just next to it and has not seemed to move from the spot where it was hurtled out of the rolling shoe. I once again freeze and consider my options. I can no more go back to work with only one shoe than I can with no shoes at all. I kick the shoe and retreat once more to stake out the situation. The shoe remains spider free and a good 3 feet away from where I believe the spider still is. I grab my shoe and run. I then stop on the sidewalk, try to compose myself, inspect my shoe once again, put my shoes on, and return to work.

Now keep in mind the whole time I am afraid of this spider but it looks like an ordinary brown spider. I tell my co-worker about my experience and quip, at least it wasn't a brown recluse. This leads dear Megan to research what a brown recluse looks like and leads we to have a near heart attack when I realize that based on appearance, size, the quick movement from shoe to shoe, the crouched stance, and the relatively non-agressive/not moving really after coming out of my shoe, that there is a very good chance that the spider in my shoe was a brown recluse. Had I put my foot in my shoe without noticing the spider there is a chance my foot would have looked like the picture above.

I said quite a few prayers of gratitude today. I will never again sleep under a tree behind my work. Ever. The End.

Ben's Birthday

2011-09-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Ben's birthday. I was so proud of myself because I bought his presents weeks ago and bought the ingredients for his cake days in advance and was so excited to make it. Usually for Ben's birthday I do the normal cake mix in a casserole dish and if i'm feeling adventurous I'll make peanut butter frosting from scratch and decorate it with chocolate chips. This year I told Ben I was going to make him an epic, totally from scratch cake and I did! I actually picked out this cake a year ago but alas I was intimidated and it did not get made for Ben's birthday last year. Of course that made it that much more epic because I've been waiting to make it for a year. Here is the cake in all it's glory:

And for proof I actually made this creation...

I mixed the cake from scratch the day before to make sure I would have plenty of time to assemble the epicness when I got home from work on Ben's birthday.

the first order of business when I got home was making the peanut butter cream cheese frosting...SO. VERY. RICH.

Partial frosting...

Totally frosted and chilling in the fridge in anticipation of the layer of chocolate peanut butter glaze.

Finished product. This cake is so rich I took it to Ben's work and Ben and 6 of his male co-workers only finished off a little less than half. We are going to be enjoying our sugar high in our house for awhile.

If you'd like to make your our cake here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Adapted, only barely, from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes

This cake is INTENSE. Serve it in the thinnest slices possible, and keep a glass of milk handy.

Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16 (the book says, I say a heck of a lot more)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle (I skipped this)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (Deb note 1: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-colored frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosted, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

5 years down Eternity to go

2011-05-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

On a New Years Eve 6 years ago I got asked on a date. That November I was proposed to and 5 years ago today, I got Married!This is our first picture as husband and wife walking out of the Boston Temple.

Here's our close up.
Then our far away with the temple.

Later we had our reception.

Happy Anniversary to my hubby. It's been an adventure and completely worth it. I love you.

Speaking of Adventure, for our 3 year anniversary we went to Ireland. Here we are at the top of Blarney Castle, Ben even kissed the blarney stone.

Here's to many more years of adventure!

Honey Bread

2011-05-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally did it. I made homemade honey bread!

This is the recipe I used

1 C. milk
1/4 C. honey
1/4 oz. active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp., 1 package)
1/2 stick (1/4 C.) unsalted butter, melted
2 large egg yolks
4 C. flour
2 tsp. salt

How to make it

In a small saucepan, heat milk with honey, stirring, over low heat until just lukewarm. (It should be warm, but not be uncomfortable to keep your finger in the milk.)
Remove pan from heat. Stir in yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add butter and yolks, whisking until combined well.
Transfer milk mixture to bowl.
Gradually add flour and salt, stirring until incorporated. Knead 10-15 minutes.
Transfer to lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat with oil.
Let dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk (2 hours in warm place, or overnight in refrigerator).
Punch down dough, place in loaf pan, and let rise until doubled in bulk.
Bake at 400°F for 25-30 minutes.

It turned out delicious. Ben and I had breakfast for dinner and this bread went perfectly with in. Speaking of perfectly I made some honey butter to go with this bread and it was delightful. Now I'm not an expert at honey butter as I just take a little unsalted butter and scoop some honey on top and microwave for 30 seconds and stir. I then refrigerate and its spreadable in as little and 30 minutes. Yum.

Back to Basics

2011-01-25T08:40:00.000-08:00

This is my running companion. Here name is Eva. This past year (2010) one day in July while Ben was gone at scout camp I decided i was going to start running. I realized that since Ben was not home I felt like I didn't have a ton of motivation and I was just kind of sitting around. Ben was gone for a week so I needed a purpose. A neighbor of mine is a marathon runner and a computer programmer. He took his two loves and made a blog for running. (fastrunningblog.com) . It has a calendar where you can enter in teh amount you ran that day etc. So I started using that and every weekday night and morning I was running. (I took weekends off) I started tracking my time and got all excited about it. Then things happened like I got attacked by a pitbull who lives two houses down from me and whose house you have to pass to go into or out of the cul-de-sac. This made me less inclinded to run because it was the second time the unattended dog escaped and attacked. Last time it got my dog Boston, this time it got both of us but mostly me. I eventually got over it and started running again as soon as the brace was off my wrist. Then it got to be November and I got busy, then December and more busy. Then it got cold and I got lazy. Either way this is the report from the running blog of how much I ran last year. The total is at the bottom.

Training Report

Report for entries starting Jan 01, 2010 and ending Dec 31, 2010 .

Month	Total Distance
Jul	30.10
Aug	52.70
Sep	36.10
Oct	22.70
Nov	5.50
Dec	2.83
Total	149.93

It's beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

2010-12-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

This...
This...

And this... all combined = I had to be driven to work today by my neighbor. My tiny car made it 10 feet out of my driveway and could go no further. It doesn't help when there is a foot of snow on the ground and my car is only about 11 inches off the ground. Now I just have to figure out how to get home...

Ideas

2010-11-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

I need ideas of what kinds of things I can do with some teenage girls for Youth activities. This is in a church setting so they need to be appropriate but lots of fun. They need to be low budget but involved and now and again it needs to be something that can be done in combination with teenage boys as well. Any thoughts?

I survived my first 6k...and had fun

2010-10-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

So I posted a few weeks ago that I was running a 6k on October 9th. My first official race. Now, the real question. How did I do? Of 1067 total participants in the 6k I got 56th place overall and 7th place in my age division. According to the race stats I averaged a 9:31 mile. I was very excited to run my first race ever and it was a 6k, 1 k further than I thought my first race would be but I reached my goal of running a 5k. I LOVED IT! I had a blast. Which surprised me since I don't really enjoy running on my own. I tend to need a dog or a husband to accompany me.

The day started out nervously. I rolled out of bed at 6:15, showered and ate a granola bar for breakfast. Ben and I drove to Thanksgiving point and then walk around and looked at the vendors for half a hour or so. They had all the runners in the 10k and 6k warm up together and then had the 10k runners line up and start their race. The 6k was suppose to start 10 minutes or so later. I found Brooke who I worked with and we planned to run together. We lined up and the 6k didn't end up starting for another 35 minutes or so. The gun went off and we started out. Ben had to be to work at 9:30 so he left right after the start of the race. About half a mile in I realized Brooke was going to pace herself at a pace that was quite a bit slower than I was planning to run so we split and I took off on my own. It was absolutely exhilarating to be running with that many people but not only that, I was passing quite a few. I expected to be shown up but once I got out there I was passing people. I usually tire quickly when I run on my own or with my dogs but I was so excited my legs just kept going. I ran a good 2.5 miles or so before I ever had to slow down and eventually take a breather. At that point I paced myself with two teenage girls who talked to each other the entire race. I would pass them and then when I got tired walk a little and watch the people who passed me. I listened and as soon as I heard the two teenagers jogging up behind me I'd start running again. It worked great and I finished the race in good time for me and awesome for my first race. The end was lined with the families and everybody cheered for everyone running. It got my spirits up and I was able to sprint the last leg. Which resulted in me almost puking all over the girl who had to cut the electric timing chip off my shoe. The timing chip was attached with two zip ties at the beginning and had to be cut off at the end. I survived and after some time Brooke finished the race and her family gave me a ride to Kohls to see Ben. I survived and I think I'd like to do it again in the future.

It's My Ben's Birthday

2010-09-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Today is Ben's Birthday. He is old. Well not really, but older. I thought I would take this opportunity to post pictures I've taken of him. Well at least most of the pictures were taken by me or at least our camera. Since I'm in some of the pictures I probably did not take those, although we do have a timer on the camera...not important. On to the pictures. In no particular order here is my sexy husband.

My Ben is so handsome

Technically this was before I met him and while he was on his mission in Australia which means Christmas is in the middle of summer so no snow. He had to improvise with Mash Potatoes.

At this point we were dating and on our way to a black and white ball young single adults activity in Massachusetts.
Aw, so cute.
What's better than reading a book while floating down the swannee river on a house boat in florida?
This was a birthday hike for my friend's birthday last year. The boys had fun.

This was on a double date with an elder who served with Ben in his mission and who's last name was blanch. We were inside nuttyputty caves. Someone died in there recently so you can't go in anymore.
I love cowboys. Salt Lake in 2007 probably at the gateway mall.
...and dates with my husband. This one was in New Hampshire in the summer of 2008.
This was the night we got engaged. Ben put so much planning in it wore him out.
This was on our first date. This portion of the date took place at Jared's house. Look how young Ben looks. No wonder people asked if we were with our parents when we took a cruise for our honeymoon.
Florida family vacation '08. No, he is not actually a lifeguard nor would he be prepared to rescue from the water.
Awesome Hike, May 15th of this year. The dogs loved it.
Y Mountain hike in 2007. Too Late the Hero came through on tour. Yea for goat bones! (sick).
Who can say no to a musician?
Halloween 2005. We were dating and it was the first time my home teachers met me and Ben. Sweet.
While I was at school and after Ben visited me and then was 2000 miles away he sent me this picture.
For our anniversary in 2009 we went to Ireland. You're jealous I know.

Another town in Ireland, called Kinsale. Same trip.
Also in Ireland. We went to Foto (a petting zoo) Ben had to find the Kangaroos. The little guy is my cousin Eoin.

This is when we were dating so I'm thinking sometime in Fall 2005. That's all I've got.
This was summer of 2005. In New Hampshire. By a waterfall.
This one was after we were married. Summer of 2006 in New Hampshire before we went back to school.
February 2005. This was went Ben drove 2000 miles to be my date for Valentine's Day. He's awesome like that. I on the other hand was dressed like a slob. That's what early classes and snow did to me.
This was on our Hike May of this year. The circle of Life and it moves us all...

this is Early 2006 while in engaged before we were married. We decided ward prayer was in fact the perfect time for mac and cheese. Yum.
This was Fall of 2009. We were so excited to go to the Manti temple with some friends. We got there only to discover it was closed for renovations. So we took pictures instead.

We got married. It was epic.

This is while we were dating. I met his mission president at his mission reunion.

This was New Hampshire in 2008, Sam and Nikki got married in New York but had a reception in the shire, well actually it may have been Maine... those tricky state borders. Muscles!

Our apartment in Orem. Sometime between May of 2007 and May of 2008. Doesn't he look studly?My peter pan. SLC 2007.
It is in fact the plan of Salvation pumpkin. Ben's cool like that. Fall 2005.Ben got asked if he was half Obama, half McCain. He was in fact a politician and since they're usually tw0-faced that what he was. Halloween 2008.

We hiked the Y. Ben is awesome. The end.Ben took this picture at his school. He looks so serious. I love him.
New Hampshire! Look at that sweet background.
Orem 2007. He's so handsome.

The crew. This was our wedding day. Ben and his boys.August 2005. Ben's styling with his blond hair that I dyed.
Ben worked at a toy store once.

Happy Birthday babe! I love you.

Yikes. I'm running a 6k

2010-09-02T11:46:00.001-07:00

I just signed up to run a 6k on October 9th at Thanksgiving Point. A few of the girls from the office are running it too. It's the Wasatch Woman Love Your Body 6K/10K 2010

Changed again

2010-08-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

My family is coming to visit me this weekend and I felt like I needed a little bit of change. So here it is.
I Love it!

Operation New Front Door

2010-07-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ben and I have been continuing our home improvements. Recently Ben and I were talking to our neighbor about how we wanted to get a new front door because the one we had left space for air to get in and it was just ugly (see above picture). She told us that the people who were renting our home before we moved in had gotten drunk one night and punched a hole through the door. Since they were renting they called the landlord to come fix it. Their landlord said they broke it and they were responsible to fix it. The renters did not have money to go buy a new door so they simply took an interior door, cut it themselves, glued the hinges on, and viola, that was our front door. Sweet right? Not so much.

That's when we decided to go look at new front doors. We found one we loved at Lowe's and recruited one of the young men in our church ward who had a truck to help us go pick it up. We got all the supplies needed to take the old door and frame out, and put in the new door and seal it etc. Ben recruited another young man in the ward who said he'd help Ben install it on his day off. Everything was set and then Ben called the Bishop of our Ward to ask if we could borrow a crowbar. He said sure and asked what size we needed. Ben explained it was for the door and the Bishop told Ben a story about installing his own door and how it has never been right ever since. He gave Ben the number of a great handyman Nick and told him to call him.

We called and Nick was willing to come do it for $200 cheaper than Lowe's or Home Depot would have charged to install the door.

This is Nick taking out our old door. Nick IS AWESOME. and it only took him a few hours take out the old and put in the new.

No Door! Even no door was an improvement over the old door.

This pretty item is our new door. It is on two totes because while Ben and I found the door to be a thing of beauty just as it was, we (I) really wanted a red front door. My house is white with black shutters and I just thought that a red door would be just the thing to make it shine.And shine it does. I LOVE IT! Ben likes it too.

Doesn't it look so pretty? Now we just say we're the house in the cul-de-sac with the red front door.

Improvements

2010-05-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

We got new couches! They're an improvement over our old couches that were free. Our last couches my boss gave us after we helped him move and he decided his old couches didn't look nice enough for his new house. We appreciated those couches but are most excited to have these new ones which are the result of a yard sale.
Yea for yard sales! Ben and I have found BYU students often buy furniture and other items several months before they graduate and plan to take it with them, they then get prices on moving vans, realize how expensive it is and have yard sales where you can get their pretty new stuff for cheap. As a result April is a good month for us. More yard sale goodness...

We found the patio table at a yard sale brought it home and then found cheap chairs at Home depot and while we were their found this grill. We now have a patio set, woohoo! We christened the grill two weekends ago and invited over our married friends from American Fork, Mike and Chelsi. We had steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and root beer floats, you know you're jealous.

A few months ago we finally bought a lawnmower. We would have bought one last year but we had just bought a house and so most of our money went to a down payment. Also the lawn was dead when we moved in so we thought we'd wait until spring to work on the lawn. It's an electric mower because, one, I hear gas mowers are hard to get the right mixture for oil and gas and two,they smell. This mower you plug in using an extension cord and it feels a little like you're vacuuming your lawn but it's entertaining to me. Maybe that will change when I've used it more than three or four times. I also thought it was cute, Ben heard me say this and he said if I called it cute I would be the one mowing and his prediction came true. Ben mowing: 1 Dara mowing:3.

I said I would post pictures when the windows were done. And I didn't but I am now. I blame it on the fact the weather was really nice and then it snowed and I didn't want to go outside to take pictures. Oh well here goes:

Here is the outside of our house after. I LOVE the new windows. And they make a huge difference with the temperature inside our home. They also look nicer than the aluminum frames from the seventies and we can't hear the kids playing in the cul-de-sac anymore. Just for comparison, although you can't tell as much from far away, is the house with the old windows.

Here is the close up so you can see the beautiful new clean windows and we have screens!

On a side note this window is so clean I came running down stairs a few weeks ago because I heard a loud bang at about 7 am when I was getting ready for work. I came down to investigate and found a bird, it's head twisted to the side, sitting outside the window. I was terrified it was dead so I asked Ben to go check. He naturally was tired and still in bed and refused. So I bugged him. He wanted to let the cats out and let them investigate but I did not want parts of a bird, feathers or otherwise, all over the front yard/porch. Ben eventually came down and looked out the window. He said the bird was not dead because he could see it blinking, then he went back to bed. The bird did not move and by the time I left for work it was slowly regaining movement. I talked and encouraged him and eventually I got to close for comfort and it shook it's head, looked at me, spread it's wings, and flew away. I'm pretty sure it was in shock so I hope it didn't land on a branch, then fall out again once it froze up from shock and it's likely concussion. I envisioned this happening my entire time at work that day.

And from inside you can see the pretty window again and...our pretty new couches.
Next up we may be having an open house... a few months late.

Home Improvements

2010-04-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Ben and I bought a house last July and have been so excited to have a place of our own. For the first time we can alter our surroundings. We can paint, we can replace, we can nail things into the wall, we can put up shelves. So we have.

The first things we did after we moved in was to paint. We started with the living room and the hallway going upstairs. Next we moved to the kitchen and painted there then slowly, the bathrooms, bedrooms and finally the den or Ben's place downstairs. We were so excited about our accomplishment. We showed it off when family came in to town and have friends over. We put up our pictures and got some new curtains and Ben with the help of his mom stained some wood planks and put up shelves in his Den. That was completed in January.

Now we're moving on to our next project. Ben and I filed our taxes and we were excited to get our tax credit for buying a home. Our house was built in the seventies so the windows are single pane and our utilities go right out the window quite literally. We started shopping around the got quotes from several places to get new windows. As a result we found out about a tax credit program were we can get up to 30% not to exceed $1500 of the money we spend getting energy efficient windows. Once we received our tax return (which took 7 weeks by the way), we chose our dream windows and ordered them last week. They should arrive April 8th and we're so excited. After that we'll work with an installer and after 2 days labor tops we'll have beautiful new windows! Fear not, pictures will be posted. Once that's done and the snow goes away, (It's snowing as I'm typing this) we'll have our open house and invite over some friend for some grilling goodness and some fun.

Next projects on the agenda, painting the exterior of our house this summer and after that tiling the bathroom, I love owning a house!

Will I have more fun?

2010-03-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

I thought maybe I need a change. Winter is winding down and spring is almost here. I need a haircut. Here I am before...

And after! I decided I wanted a little color change as well. I guess I'll find out if Blondes really do have more fun.

So far the best compliment I've received is a girl I work with told me I look like Tinkerbell.

Life Continues.

2010-03-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

So in more good news. I passed the second investment licensing test I needed to become investment licensed. Now I just have to do my company's small assessment that I promise not to do anything that is not in the clients best interest and then I'll be on my way.

In other news, I'm still loving working with the Young Women in my Ward and we are planning a humanitarian project for the victims of the recent earthquakes.I don't have all the details yet but we're all very excited to help in anyway we can. I think sometimes we feel tragedies that happen far a way don't affect us and we have trouble feeling like that event is real and not just another fiction or movie but that something that affects real lives. I'm glad to work with girls who are so loving and giving of themselves and their time both to people in our community and to those they will never meet in other parts of the world.

Speaking of reality it feels like every married person I know is either pregnant or getting divorced. My very good friend is pregnant right now and I'm asking her all my questions that I don't feel comfortable asking acquaintances. While she's my first close friend to experience pregnancy, I work with a pregnant girl, a girl who used to work with me at my office is pregnant, two of the women I visit teach are pregnant, a girl I was in the journalism program at BYU with is pregnant and blogging about it, a girl from my freshman ward is pregnant, and a girl from my sophomore ward is pregnant, a girl from my seminary class in Cincinnati is pregnant, and the list goes on. On the other side I have three friends who either are in the process of getting a divorce or their divorce was just legalized. One girl I work with, one is a friend I met through my other friend, and one is a friend both my husband and I met in New Hampshire while we were dating. In each case a spouse was being selfish and not willing to work with their partner. All three were married in the temple and all of them seemed happy. It makes me appreciate my husband just a little more and it has led us to have some heartfelt conversations in hopes that we never end up in a situation where we feel divorce is the only answer.

I love my husband and appreciate all he does I hope it stays that way.

So I fit in a golf bag...and I'm investment licensed

2010-02-17T21:51:00.001-08:00

Today was an interesting day. I found out my car will be in the shop for a week being repaired. Thus, I was given a rental car. I took my series 6 investment licensing test and passed. And I discovered I can in fact fit in my bosses golf bag. All good things. Of the three I have to admit I'm most excited I passed my licensing test. Now I just have one more test to take and I will be legal to sell securities, well in my case not really sell them but accept trade requests and give people information on tax implications etc. of their trades. Yea!

On the other items, I'm driving a red hyndai accent until my car is fixed, and it was not my bosses idea to see if I fit in the golf bag but rather another co-worker who said my reward for passing my test was to see if I could fit in the bag. I do and the bag can be fully zipped and rolled with me in it.

With that much amazing happenings in one day I'm going to bed.

2010-02-04T18:52:00.001-08:00

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2010-02-04T18:45:00.001-08:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Vintage pictures - Family history

2010-02-04T18:29:00.001-08:00

2010-02-04T18:14:00.001-08:00

2010-02-04T18:07:00.001-08:00

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2010-02-04T17:58:00.001-08:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family history - Geneology search

Christmas Cards!

2009-12-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

About a month ago a nice lady in my Ward taught we how to make homemade cards and gave me some creative ideas of things I could do. I was asked to make some cards for a Young Women and Young Men's activity in my ward and here is the result.

Pictures

2009-11-08T13:42:00.001-08:00

New House

2009-11-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ben and finished painting the last room inside our house so this is the promised viewing. We did a quick little video to show an overview. There also might be some pictures coming later.

Catch Up

2009-11-07T19:20:00.000-08:00

So I haven't blogged in a while. In part due to the fact I couldn't find the camera cord to transfer pictures over. Now that its found I have no excuse.

A few weeks ago some friends of ours decided we were all going to go down to Manti together since we hadn't been to a session there before. We woke up early on a Saturday got dressed up all pretty and hopped in the car with Chelsi and Mike for the drive. We devoured delicious cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk as we drove and we arrived to see the beautiful temple.

We walked up to the doors only to discover it was being remodeled and would be closed for another week and a half. So instead we walked around the temple.

It was a fun day.

Recently I got to do something I had wanted to do for some time.

I got to go to a Real Salt Lake Soccer game. This was made possible because of this beautiful person.

My friend Krystal.

Not to mention we had great seats right behind the goal which by the way, Salt Lake beat New York 2 to 0. Yea!

In other news Ben and I have finally completed painting the inside or our home. We're excited to be done and psyched with the results. Pictures will be forthcoming once we've had a chance to clean up. That's all for now.

Mmmm Pie!

2009-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

I LOVE apple pie. We have an apple tree in our backyard and I've been meaning to make some apple pie. Now that the apples are the pretty red color I thought I would give it a try this weekend. This is my pie. I have to thank Chris for the recipe because she is in fact the most amazing cook I know. In case you want to try it out here's the recipe:

Apple Crumb Pie

Crust:

2-1/4 cups sifted flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbl crisco

1/3 cup cold water

Sift dry ingredients. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or two forks. Sprinkle water one teaspoon at a time and blend with fork. Roll into ball, cut in half and roll out. Makes two 9 inch crusts.

Filling:

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbl all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

6 to 8 tart apples sliced thinly

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

Combine first 3 ingredients; stir into apples. Place into pastry shell. Combine last 3 ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of apples. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

Enjoy!

The pups

2009-09-14T20:14:00.001-07:00

So I forgot to mention an important event in our lives. Boston gained a new friend about a month ago when we got this little girl who we named Eva. She's named after the robot in WallE. She basically took over the household in about 30 seconds flat and made sure Boston knew who was boss. She's a rat terrier and only weighs about 11 lbs to Bostons 30+ lbs. Overall she's a might mouse of a dog and is definitely a huge personality in a little dog. We rescued her from a shelter and she's been bouncing around ever since. They said she's about 2 yrs old so she's a little over a year older than Boston.
If you notice I'm holding her in both pictures. That's the only way we could get her to stay still long enough to take the picture. She is one crazy little ball of energy.Here's Boston Dog looking as handsome as ever for the camera. He poses. This is his I'm curious why you're taking my picture but don't I look dignified? look. Of course he always has one ear that sticks up and one that flops over and yes he can control it. He's goofy.
Here are my pups playing you can see Eva is quite a bit smaller than Boston.
She may be little but she's a fierce little fighter when she wants something. I hope you enjoyed the pups, we sure do.

Happy Birthday Christina

2009-09-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday was my friend Christina's Birthday so we celebrated all day long. We started the day with a hike to the timpanogos caves. It was great and a lot easier than the hike to the top of Mt. Timpanogos. Here are some picture for you viewing pleasure.

The girls on the hike minus Krystal...not sure where she was.

The three musketeers, one of which is Christina the Birthday girl.

The boys...looking crazy as always.

The hike up.

The view from the top right before you get to the caves. That's American Fork Canyon and in the distance the cities of highland and alpine?

Benji and me at the opening of the cave. Its actually to the left but we like the sign. We wanted proof we actually hiked here.

the birthday girl and her hubby.

These are all at different places in the caves. There are actually three caves with man made tunnels connecting them so you can tour all three.

This was called Jaba the hut, That flowing rock is 12 feet deep.

After the excitement of the caves we call took a break and napped/ate/showered. Then we headed for Salt Lake to go to the Greek Festival in honor of the fact Christina is in fact Greek. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of that but I did eat way too much because all the food was sooo good,

After the stuffing of ourselves we headed over to Christina's sister Liz's apartment for cake with ice cream in the middle. It was good. Definitely an all day birthday celebration.

Move in Day!

2009-07-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

Its finally here! Today is move-in day. I got the better end of the deal because I'm at work in air conditioning while Ben and a few other people are actually packing up our stuff and moving it. Tonight I'll be sleeping in my new house and joy of joys it will be ours. Our first home! I. CAN'T. WAIT. Pictures will be forthcoming.

Almost there

2009-07-23T14:45:00.001-07:00

We have almost reached a very exciting yet scary goal. We are almost the proud owners of our own home. We were suppose to close today in anticipation that we would be able to move in this weekend, but alas it was not to be. Since pioneer day is a holiday in this state even if we did the paperwork today nothing would process until monday and we would not get the keys until Tuesday. So now we will be moving in the middle of next week when no one can help us. Thank you pioneer day for making my life harder. Oh yeah and thanks to Provo city for not coming through on the downpayment assistance program and for wasting our time for an extra week they didn't need too, if they had even told us one day sooner than they had I could have moved into my house this weekend. That is all before I get really bitter. I promise pictures soon.

Harry Potter

2009-07-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I'm seeing Harry Potter tonight for free with my work. Yea! I can't wait.

Camping

2009-07-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

I was unloading pictures from my camera the other day and realized that never posted anything about the Camping trip Ben and I took at the end of May on memorial day weekend. Here are the highlights. We camped in the mountains. It was pretty but a slight bit cool. That is in fact snow on the mountain behind me. We also took Boston, he was delighted at all the new smells. Here we have Ben "the fire master" Blanchette. He took his job very seriously.

Boston wanted to help by stealing the firewood. A fierce battle ensued, Boston won mostly because he made me laugh. He got to keep his piece of firewood and I found another stick to place on the fire.

Boston also kept me warm while we sat around the fire. Ben and I spent the rest of the night freezing and trying to sleep on the hard ground. There were highlights of cooking hot dogs and s'mores around the fire though. Overall it was a good trip minus the lack of sleep and coldness.

If all goes according to plan...

2009-06-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

This could be ours on or before July 28th...but only if all goes according to plan.

We met with our mortgage representative on saturday and he gave us a list of 88 bumps along the road or possible things that could go wrong in the process. We're hoping for zero bumps. Ben and I are super excited to see how things go. Wish us luck!

Birthday!

2009-06-23T12:19:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. Thank you to all of you that made my birthday awesome yesterday and all weekend. Thanks guys!

Fun

2009-06-19T07:11:00.001-07:00

Jackie and Eric added a new addition to their family about 9 days ago. Her name is Jixie. She's really pretty. I got to play with her.

Like any girl see really enjoys being groomed and looking her best...

She's cute. I like her.

Jixie in action.

I got to be the dead weight on her back to get her used to having things on her back. Jackie and Eric both ride her but now they're working on desenetizing her so she doesn't spook as easy.

I hate waiting...

2009-06-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Anyone that knows me probably knows that patience is NOT one of my virtues. I don't like to wait for anything, food, people, telephone calls, planes, etc. Which is why not hearing back about houses is really annoying me. We got another update yesterday on the white house that basically the person who originally made a bid is dropping out or not getting the home, but they're in no hurry to sign the paperwork taking the house out from under contract...as in available for us to try buy. So basically we're just waiting on someone that has no motivation to sign paperwork to do so in order for us to proceed. While I'm glad our real estate agent is keeping up posted, I just wish he had better news than "we're still waiting." Once again, patience is not my virtue. I just want a place of my own. Grrr.

Another option...

2009-06-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

Just waiting to hear back and see which one its going to be.

Third Times a charm...

2009-06-11T14:13:00.001-07:00

I'm crossing my fingers on this one.

I Just want a House...

2009-06-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

I just want a house. A place for Ben and I to call our own. Unfortunately that has yet to happen. After viewing I don't even know how many homes and making offers on three different homes since February just to have each and everyone fall through is really starting to get on my nerves. Is it really so much to ask that we actually find a place we like in our price range and actually have someone accept our offer? On the last house we even submitted an offer above the listing price and someone outbid us by $1000. We missed out on a house we loved by a mere $1000. I'm more than a little frustrated by this point. Sorry there are no pictures to make your reading of my venting more interesting.

A little late...but here's some pretty pictures

2009-06-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

So most people don't think of Kangaroos in Ireland but there's this great place called Fota that we went to the first day we were in Ireland. My cousins Eoin and Jack love it and its pretty much a petting zoo, without the petting since they do in fact get angry if you touch any of the animals. I would know, I got yelled at for pettting a lemur that walked up to me. This picture is in fact two very hansome men, Ben and my cousin Eoin. I'm surprised Eoin stopped talking long enough for me to take this picture, he's a chatty little man.

The second day in Ireland we went to Kinsale to meet up with some of the family. This is the view from the upper part of the town overlooking the harbor. It was beautiful.

This is actually in the harbor at Kinsale. We looked at the boats and the homes listed for $2 million Euros.

The is the whole crew in Kinsale. Ben wanted to show that the street was narrow since you would in fact have two way traffic driving to the left of these parked cars.

This was a pretty view and to prove that yes, it does rain a lot in order to make it green here.

We visited Blarney castle the third day with my uncle Ted. This is just as we were walking up to the Castle.

Better shot of Blarney Castle with its pretty flowers.

Ben's comtemplative reading of the sign at Blarney castle. Right next to him is the entrance to the dungeon.

This is my Uncle Ted, in his natural element, camera in hand. He's the family photographer and who took most of the pictures where Ben and I are both in them.

I made it to the top of Blarney Castle! I survived the winding narrow staircase. Ben kissed the blarney stone at the top, but I'll have to post that picture later since he does show a little skin while leaning back and giving the rock a smooch.

the inside of the Castle at one point there were wooden floors between the levels but they decayed at least a couple centuries ago.

I don't remember where this waterfall was but it was gorgeous, Ben was so proud he made it over the rocks to stand in front.

This is my retired semi-pro soccer player Uncle, Cormac. And his sons, my cousins Shane and Bryan. This day happened to be Bryans birthday so he was excited that our visit got him out of school for the day.

I wanted to prove that most things really are green in Ireland, including the rocks.

Mucross house is very old. And awesome. I come here every time I visit Ireland and I remembered a lot from the last time I took the tour. It made me sound smart but I guess I was really just cheating from hearing the answers last time. This is Ben, me, and Shane in front of the house. Just as a tidbit of useless information, the rich nobles slept sitting up, and in order to take a bath the servants had to carry the boiling water up three levels from the kitchen to the bathroom, talk about an annoying job. Oh yeah, this was also the day of our three year wedding anniversary. CRAZY! I can't believe I've been married that long.

This is me at the garden at Mucross house. You can't see it in this picture but they do in fact have black tulips growing here.

The boys, ben included. Ben, Bryan, and Shane. This was their favorite part of Mucross house.

So the noble family that owned Cahir Castle in Ireland built this house (the Swiss Cottage) to make it look like a peasants cottage but it was wicked expensive. The really cool thing about this house though is it was nature themed and designed to look like it grew up from the ground. You can't take pictures inside but each room has a different theme thats nature related. Funny thing though is while it has two bedrooms the family that built it never once spent the night here, it was purely used for summer entertaining. I'd like to have a house just for summer entertaining.

The aforementioned Cahir Castle. Ben went up the little steps on the bottom right of the picture. There was no railing. I did not attempt to do this.

My aunt Paula and I manning the cannon at Cahir castle. We had a blast exploring before we visited the Swiss Cottage.

This was on a beach in West Cork. Paula, Frank, Eoin and Jack took us to see the ocean. We did not go in, it was rather windy and cold. The sand was actually blowing in patterns. It was a tons of fun though hanging out with Paula and the kids. We even explored the tide pools.

This is Ben with a Guinness. He wanted me to take the picture. Its Frank's Guinness. What a nerd. I love him. This concludes the short recap of my Ireland trip. More pictures may be forthcoming.

IRELAND

2009-05-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

I leave for Ireland in less than 12 hours so my next post should have so very pretty pictures! Now I just have to pack...

Yesterday

2009-04-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Mommy's birthday. It was sad. I miss her.

More Pictures...

2009-03-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures that I forgot to add that obviously are necessary to add to the Vegas adventure trip:
This is Paris. Obviously a necessary photo when visiting Vegas.

This is the Castle I stayed in. It was like being inside the Disney logo. I stayed in the tower to the right of this picture up on the 26 floor, across the street from the roller coaster on top of New York New York.

This is my favorite Vegas picture. I call it Ceaser Benjamin. I love my hubby.

I'm a Slacker

2009-03-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

So I've been to Vegas, I'm now an associate financial rep, my dog now sits, lays down, and comes on command, and I've starting doing the Carmen Electra Strip Tease work out videos and I have not blogged about any of it. I know how sad that must make you not to know the intricate workings of my life. Just kidding, I'm sure you're just as busy as I am and don't care whether I update my blog, but here goes:

Ben and I went to Vegas the last week in February to see my Dad who was there for an IT conference. We stayed at the Excalibur and my Dad stayed at the Bellagio. This is the view out our hotel window.

This was one of Ben's favorite things about Vegas, you can rent nice cars. The cars are on the side of the road in parking lots with numbers on them to call to rent them for an evening. Ben had to get a picture of me with the yellow Lamborghini.

We also took a little day trip to Hoover dam. This is my Daddy and I looking out on the Nevada side of the Dam over to Arizona side.

While at the dam I also made some friends due to the fact I had a bag of goldfish crackers the little critters loved them. What you don't see in the picture is the other 100 chipmunks in this little guys family standing about 5 feet behind him. By the end I had about 10 chipmunks fighting over each cracker I dropped.
Now this, was just creepy. They have people in Vegas whose job is to stand around and look like statues and then move and look at you when you walk past. This guys was one of these statues. There was also a white Greek looking while marble statue in the Venetian that moved. And a futurist one that looked like Mr. Freeze in front of Ceasers Places. People painted like statues...Weird.

If you can see the picture on the right it's for the Cirque du Solei show KA. THIS. SHOW. IS. AMAZING! My Daddy bought us tickets to go see this show one of the nights we were here. It's at the MGM Grand and the stage was specially built just for this show. There are a total of four stages that can all moved forward backward, tilt up and down, and go to a 90 degree angle to the floor, all while actors are on them, dancing, fights, and jumping. You watch people fun up and down the stage while is straight up and down and watch people fall 70 of 80 feet into a pit of the stage and all you can think is "I hope there's a net down there." Also they cover the stage with sand then tip that off into the pit below too. How they do it I just don't know, but it is well worth seeing.
This is us on the drive home. I was a little bit bored. We had fun though, a 5 hour drive is quite the opportunity for bonding. As long as you're not a grumpy traveler.

This was a stop we made on our way home from the Vegas. The Las Vegas Temple in all its glory. It is quite the beautiful building and a nice contrast to the strip. We stopped and did an endowment session around 12 and that temple is gorgeous inside.

To continue the temple seeing we also stopped at the St. George Temple just so we could say we've been there. This concludes the Vegas info. We had fun. I have more pictures but they're on my phone so I need to figure out how to get them from there to here.

In other news I am in fact an associate financial rep now and that does in fact mean I do nothing differently except now I can sign off on insurance applications if I want too. Still its a much cooler title and I'm excited about that, its so much more distinguished to be called an Associate Financial Representative than just an Agent Assistant.

On a more interesting note, I've been sick recently so exercise has not been at the top of my list. I couldn't sleep, or breathe, because I had a bacterial infection for a two weeks and now all that remains is a lingering cough. In an attempt to get back into shape I've been doing workout videos with Jackie. So far we've done Carmen Electra's strip tease bedroom edition and a pilates video. Who know what the future will hold. Of the two though I must say I enjoy the Carmen Electra video more. Besides I'm learning all kinds of valuable information : ).

Boston dog is also doing well and once I can get pictures off my phone onto my computer those will also be forthcoming. That's all for now!

I PASSED MY TEST!!!!!

2009-02-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Some of you may know that I have been studying for my Utah Life, Health, and Accident Insurance Test. I've been studying on and off for the last several months, but I kept putting off scheduling an actual time to take my test. I finally set the time and spent the week before doing nothing but eating, sleeping, working, and studying. I felt like I was in college again and not in a good way. Studying is not something I wanted to be stuck doing again. It didn't help at all that many of the people I talked to at my work who had taken the test had not passed the first time. I freaked out a little bit.

This past Thursday was the day of truth. I woke up to get in some last minute studying, ate a balanced breakfast, grabbed the textbook I'd come to despise, and drove my newly working again car to the Lindon testing center. I got my test and headed into the testing room to my assigned computer cube and started my test. I flew through as fast a I could all the while watching the question number on the right of my screen and mentally counting how many I had left until 100 and I could be done with it. At the beginning of the test there is a message about how 5 or so questions will be test questions that will not count against me but are just to see if the question should be used in future tests. I'm getting close to question 100 and I'm getting excited to be done. Then I get to questions 110, then 115, then 120. At this point I'm getting a little nervous. At 130 I got up from my computer terminal and went to the test proctor to ask if she knew how many questions were suppose to be on the test because I thought there were only 100 questions and I was on question 130. She tried not to laugh at me as she looked up my test and told me there were in fact 150 questions. I felt slightly embarrassed as I walked back to my computer and continued to take my test. And then, the moment of truth. I submitted my answers and waited for the results. It took me a few seconds to realize I actually passed. I passed by 4 percent but I passed. I. Was. Psyched.

I almost started jumping up and down right there in the testing room. Luckily I managed to control myself until I left the building, but I lost it in the parking lot. There was a victory dance and I was so excited on the drive in to work that I almost didn't notice my car overheating. My prayers of thanks turned to prayers of please let me get to work before my engine explodes. I'm proud to say I am in fact still alive and my engine did in fact not explode, but it did get as hot as the temperature gauge can measure and scare me quite a bit. My car remains in the garage for the time being and its back to car pooling with Ben.

Now back to the good news, everyone at work was so excited I passed my test. It was made better by my automatic raise that came with passing the test and that I got reimbursed for every single cent I spent on the test and test preparation. Becca, the receptionist, also said not that I had passed my insurance test all I need to do is take two fast track exams and I could be contracted as an associate financial representative.

On Friday I took my FastTrack exams and passed both with flying colors, on Monday I'll fill out my paperwork and my title will change from Administrative Assistant to Associate Financial Representative. Lets just say I'll now be equals with a certain someone at work and it cracks me up to no end. Life is good. Except for my car. But life's still good.

Boston...

2009-01-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

So a few things have happened since the last time I blogged, including Christmas and a new edition to the family! Right after Christmas Ben and I got an adorable Decker Line Rat Terrier. His name is Boston and his two month birthday is today.
This is the day we went to visit the puppies and pick which one we wanted to take home. At the time they were only 4 weeks old or so meaning we couldn't take him home for a few weeks yet. The little guy on the right is our puppy Boston.

This is a more recent picture. He was amazed by the sound the camera made when I took his picture. This was take 12 or so after he whipped his head around every time he heard the noise and made the picture blurry. He's a happy little pup and it's rather difficult to get him to sit still long enough to take a good picture.

Ben caught the little guy in one of his resting times after he ran around and tired himself out. Since my boot is behind him you can see he's not very big at the moment. He weighs about 10 lbs, but we'll see how long that lasts he eats twice his weight. We are very happy to have him as a part of our family.

In other news, Ben flew home for Christmas and surprised his family which was great for him because he was the only kid who was not going to be there this year. He showed up at his sister's house where they were having the family gathering and he said his mom cried. He had called Joy before he showed up and she guessed that he had come home for Christmas but promised not to ruin the surprise. Ben and I had our own little Christmas a few days before and opened presents.

On to more recent happenings. Ben and I were in a ward in Lehi with more than 600 people, until this past Sunday when they gave away part of our ward to another smaller ward in our Stake. I'm not sure how big our ward is going to be now. We made it through the ward split still in the same ward and now for the fun news......Ben and I got callings. We are primary teachers to one of the three Sunbeam classes in our Ward. I get to meet our kids tomorrow and I can't wait! This will be my third or fourth time being in Primary/nursey since Ben and I have been married. Ben had a theory about this and is convinced that I will continue to get callings in Primary until we have kids because obviously we need some encourangment; we've been married for almost three years, thats so long in Mormon time to not have kids yet. We'll see what happens.

100 Things I Have or Have not done in my life.

2008-12-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

OK so I was reading my friend Krystal's blog today and came across this list. Feel free to copy this idea off of me as well. It is quite fun.Rules: Bold anything in this list you have ever done. Thats it!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run ( I have on the Wii but I don't think that counts)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had Chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met Someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own

54 of 100 isn't bad. I still have some things to do.

My Life of Late

2008-11-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

So I haven't actually typed much of whats been going on in my life lately. Ben and I had a nice thanksgiving at home just the two of us and the cats. I cooked everything from scratch so we had a turkey, cranberry sauce made from fresh cranberries, apple, orange juice, orange and a little sugar. It was delicious. I also made mash potatoes using a recipe from the owner of the Chef's Table a fine dining restaurant in the Provo/Orem area. Also on the menu was homemade gravy and some rolls that were left over from someone else's attempt to made homemade rolls. They weren't quite fluffy but we still enjoyed them. Also I am proud to say Ben and I have officially gotten into the Christmas spirit and decorated our Christmas tree yesterday after Ben finished working his 3:30 am to noon shift at Kohl's on black Friday. Today we managed to complete all our Christmas shopping with the exception of presents for my brother, as he has yet to tell me what he wants, and a few presents for Ben and me. So all in all life is good.

My kitties waiting their turn for a bath.

Preparation for our thanksgiving feast.

Ben's contribution was following my instructions to chop the fruit for the Cranberry sauce.

Our Thanksgiving spread, from left to right, Gravy, mashed potatoes, Turkey, cranberry sauce, and our plates is the bread. And out of the picture is the pumpkin pie and ice cream Ben ran out and got because you can't have thanksgiving without pie.

Beatty cat wanted some too and he didn't believe me that I didn't have anything.

Our Christmas tree in all its glory.

Beatty cat got used to the new decorations quite quickly. He was displaced for his favorite spot under the trees once we had presents under there.

Happy Holidays everyone. Or if its not too offensive MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Random Photos

2008-11-19T08:11:00.001-08:00

I took these and they make me smile so I thought I would share them with you.

Halloween...a little late

2008-11-10T21:02:00.001-08:00

So I had a lot of fun this Halloween. I was a devil but Ben kept telling people I was Sarah Palin and he was both Obama and McCain. Actually most people thought Ben was suppose to be both McCain and Obama, but in fact it was just a politician...since they're two faced.
I have to admit, I really enjoyed dressing up for Halloween. I was the only one in my office that dressed up and every one kept asking me if I saw The Office the day before. I only figured that out a few days ago when someone explained that Pam was the only one that dressed up in her office. Normally I watch the Office the next day because we record it on the DVR but for whatever reason the day before Halloween none of the shows we normally watch got recorded...sad. So I have yet to see the Halloween Office episode.

Here we see two lovely sisters. Krystal is Julia Roberts from pretty woman, minus the hooker thing. Mary is a Fairy which is in fact Krystal's Halloween costume from a yesteryear.

Aren't we sexy in our halloween get up? I thought so. To quote Cher: "Thats why we're friends because we both know what its like to have people jealous of us" : )
Speaking of people being jealous, I got hit on at a Halloween party with Ben standing right next to me. Ben didn't say anything he just waiting to see how dumb the guy would feel when he realized he was hitting on a married woman.

And of course more pictures of me and my guapo hubby.

Solo shot... I hope you enjoyed my Halloween pictures as much as I did!

The People I work with...

2008-10-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

These are the people I work with....cool huh?

Best Birthday Present to Ben EVER!

2008-10-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

So for Ben's birthday I got him tickets to the Rock Band Live Tour which includes: Panic at the Disco! Dashboard Confessional, The Plain White T's, and the Cab.

We show up to the show psyched of course and first thing I run into a girl I went to college with and learn she now works for some of the local radio stations. Ben jokes about how I run into someone I know everywhere we go and we chat for a little bit with this girl and her husband. She asked if we were there for the meet and greet and we told her we were just there for the show. Our conversation ended shortly after that and Ben and I got in the normal line. About five minutes later my friend's husband comes over to tell us some of the people who won access to the meet and greet from the radio station didn't show up and asked if we wanted to go to the meet and greet for Panic at the Disco. Like I would say no to that?

So we got some amazingly sparkly wrist bands and filled into the lower reaches of the E-center and got the security talk about what we could and could not do in the bands presence (You can't give them food, because of a freaky fan who baked her hair into cookies, you can't hug them because who knows what you'll do with your hands, and you can't ask them to sign any articles of clothing you're wearing.) We were then told we could talk to the guys, have them sign one item, and then we could get a picture with them well.....
BEN AND ME WITH FREAKING PANIC AT THE DISCO!!!!!

So we got our tickets signed by the guys and got our picture taken (which only took three tries since Ben's phone didn't want to take the picture), and then went on and enjoyed the show. All and all this is the most enjoyable birthday present I've ever given to Ben. Yea for Ben's birthday.

The show was great and we were in the general admission section which means we squeezed quite intimately with hundreds of people to get as close as possible to the stage so we could watch the musicians sweat. IT WAS AWESOME!

Happy Birthday Ben...

2008-10-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

So Ben's birthday was actually last month....on the 22nd, and I made him a cake but I forgot to post a picture so here it is....a month late. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.
Devil's food cake with homemade peanut butter frosting and chocolate chips. Jackie, Eric, and I all sang Happy Birthday as we surprised him, and I almost dropped the cake. It was priceless. I also got Benji some tickets to a show in Salt lake that happens to be taking place this week on Thursday. It also happens to be during Ben's fall break so he doesn't have to miss class to go. How serendipitous is that?

Beatty Cat

2008-10-13T17:58:00.001-07:00

My cats are survivors. Batman has outlived his brother, moved with us three times, and as of yet has not gone missing, been eaten or even been sick. Beatty Cat has gone missing twice and both times just when we thought he was gone for good he shows up; a little skinny but never to much the worse for wear. Both of the cats traveled back to New Hampshire with Ben and I this summer but on the way back to Utah in August Beatty cat became lost in Ohio. We stopped to visit my second Mom, Chris and her husband. As we were about to leave Beatty jumped out of the car and when we tried to grab him he got scared and ran... and ran....and ran until he was in the woods and we couldn't find him. So looked all day and stayed an extra day but we couldn't stay any longer than that. Chris and Scott put up flyers and kept looking. One of their neighbors saw my cat and recognized him from the flyer. They tried to catch him and were feeding him in the process. Eventually they succeeded and returned Beatty to Chris's house. Chris then sent him back to us via Delta airlines. So now he's home and we're soooooo grateful to have our little buddy home.I wish I could do that with my tongue.

My little adventurer...I'm so glad he's home!

The last month....

2008-10-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

So I've been so bad at updating my blog of late but I have some good news... well it's been good news for a while. I lost my cat on my trip from New Hampshire to Utah and my cat was left in Ohio after he ran into the woods. Well.... HE'S HOME!!!!!!! My Beatty cat arrived home back on Oct. 2 and our family has been reunited.

Ben, Beatty, Me & Batman.

It's past my bedtime so I'm going to sleep now, but I'll update more tomorrow.

A little late but...my wedding pictures

2008-09-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

So I've actually been married for almost 2.5 years but I was looking at other people's wedding pictures and it made me want to post my favorite pictures from when I got married. So here they are....My Dress, it took me forever to find but I loved it!

My sexy husband carrying me and my dress that weighed 20 pounds. He's so buff.

Our closeup...

Gotta have the under the veil shot.

Kissing my hand on a temple bench.

The flowers at the Temple.

My handsome papa bear.
One of my favorites....the east coast is so pretty.
My temple!
My cake that looked like presents. My mom froze the top and on our one year anniversary my mom brought it with her in her purse when she flew to visit us.
My studly brother, the ladies can't resist.
My moms. My mama bear and my mother-in-law.

Thanks for looking at my pictures!

Friends

2008-09-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my friends...
My awesome sister-in-law joy who welcomed me into the blanchette clan before I ever knew I was going to be a part of it.My new sister-in-law Nikki, because I love her and she's super sweet not to mentioned beautiful!My friends who I could not have made it through college without: Krystal and Christina. We met in the dorms and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.Yet another reason why I couldn't have made it through with out them....who else would have dressed up like this just for fun with me?
And then there's my Comms friends... the lovely Alicia...And of course Jacquelyn what would I do it without her? My partner in crime at the Daily Universe, my roommate, and my co-worker.

Thank you to all my friends. I love you all. You're awesome!

Back in Utah

2008-08-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

So it's back to life as usual. Ben and I made it back to Utah with one less cat and one speeding ticket. We stopped in Ohio on our trip back so Ben could see where I grew up. As we went to leave my mom's friend's house my skittish cat Beatty made a break for it and jumped out of the car. We tried to chase him back toward the car but he bolted for the woods and we haven't seen him since. We looked for him the entire day and put out cat food, his litterbox, anything that might smell familiar but to no avail. My mom's friend said she'll call if anyone sees him, but so far no luck. I miss my kitty cat.
In other news: Ben started school yesterday and I started my new job as a administrative assistant to a Financial Representative at an Insurance and Investment Firm. I wasn't aware you had to get fingerprinting down to work in a securities industry. The policeman who did my fingerprinting seemed confused about my cheerfulness with the whole process, for me it was a novelty. I'm so excited to have a job again, even if I'm terrified about how much I have to learn. I was bored out of my mind in August because where I was working had no jobs for me the entire month so I sat at home and cleaned, not exactly my ideal way to spend time. Sorry for the short post I'll try update soon.

Twilight

2008-08-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm obsessed with the Twilight series and a friend of mine had it as a theme on her blog so I couldn't resist. Also if you're as excited about the Twilight movie that comes out in December you've probably seen all the teasers and trailers. I got a kick out of this awesome spoof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dompotjTeIA

Progression

2008-08-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

So I was reviewing the many photos from my college years and I noticed my style changed some...
Freshman Year:

Sophomore year:

Junior Year:

And Senior Year:

I know I'm weird. Hope you enjoyed my pictures.

Family Fun with the Clan

2008-08-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

My return journey to Utah is now less than a week away and the goodbyes to family and friends on the east coast has already commenced. Last night Ben's Family had their barbeque complete with Hamburgers, Hot dogs, olives and cream cheese, humpty-dumpty bbq chips, blueberry upside-down cake, and a friendly Wii competition. I'm still stuffed and exhausted. We began with Mario kart for the Wii in which Ben defended his title with Princess Peach as his racer. Next we moved on to Wii Bowling to see what the women could do. Joy won the first game and the second winner was...watch the clip and see.

After an enjoyable evening of screaming and good food Ben and I returned home exhausted but happy.

In other news I'm in the process of working on a free-lance article for Ancestry Magazine where I completed an internship earlier this year. Also I'm interviewing for a client services position with a Financial Services Company where my friend Jackie also works. I've had two intense interveiws and I have a third upon my return to Utah. I also now have a place to live when I arrive in Utah as the new house in Lehi is done and Jackie and Eric started moving in yesterday.

Last week Ben and I had the opportunity to go to a Too Late the Hero show (our Friend's Band) and then this past weekend Ben and I hung out with Jared (the lead singer of Too Late the Hero) and his girlfriend in Old Orchard Beach. For your viewing pleasure I'll show you what Ben and Jared did for fun:

And also to show you how slow and kind of boring my life was this week, I got all excited about Friday dinner. We go out to dinner every Friday with my Dad (and granddad if we can get him to come), so I curled my hair see...

I hope your life is more exciting than mine. Have an awesome day!

Life in General

2008-07-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

I've been a little slack in writing in my blog so here's the update. I just returned from a family vacation to Florida where I attended a family reunion for my great grandfather's branch of the family tree. My Grandfather who happens to be 92 years old was given the award for oldest member of the family attending and I received the award for traveling the farthest to come to the family reunion.

After two days of talking to some people I knew and others I'm pretty sure I've never seen in my entire life, my husband, my papa bear, my brother, and myself embarked on a journey down the suwanne river in a houseboat and got pictures, of alligators (6 on the whole trip), fish, birds, and most of all of each other.

Next we picked up my grandfather from my dad's cousin's house and moved on the a gated community and and condo on the beach (Palm Coast) and enjoyed swimming in a pool and the ocean until Ben swore he saw a shark that turned out to be a dolphin but freaked me out all the same. We had a very relaxing trip and I even got a little bit of a tan, a miracle unto itself.

Currently I'm in the state of New Hampshire for a little less than a month working temp jobs and waiting until Ben's Internship is over and its time for his return to school. On our return to Utah we will be living in Lehi and both looking for jobs. Joy joy. Our two crazy cats will also be returning with us, driving for four days with cats crying in your ear is an adventure unto itself. Thats all I really have to say for now. Enjoy your day!

Christmas Visit from Dad

2007-12-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today is Sunday. Sunday means Church. Church means reflection.

Christmas was this past week and it was a good day. My Dad was in town for a few days and we got to spend some real daddy daughter time together. I have to admit that it didn’t really feel like Christmas though because my Mom wasn’t there and my brother wasn’t there. This was my first Christmas without a real sense of family. It was just my husband, my Dad and me. I understand why everyone says the mother is the center of the family; it seemed so empty without her. She was the one to keep up on what was going on in everyone’s life, giving love or service, and listening when that’s what you needed. My Dad doesn’t know what to do without her; we each just take it one day at a time. Now that the sad parts are out of the way I'll move onto the happy parts.

While my Dad was here, on Saturday we got to drive up to Logan to visit a friend, the Bishop from years ago in our Cincinnati ward. My Dad served as one of his counselors. We drove up and spent about an hour at his house just talking and catching up with him. While driving we also got to talk and reminisce about good memories with the family. On Friday my Dad and husband got to take a tour of my work and meet my co-workers which was great because my Dad works in a similar field and he got to ask all kinds of questions about how my work does things, I was so proud. On Sunday the family went to church and got to hear from the foremost authority on Joseph Smith. My Dad and I also took a drive down to Spanish fork and trying to find a house of someone my Dad knew from college. We didn’t find it but we did find the Hari Chrishna temple. We stopped and took pictures and had some unexpected fun. My Dad wanted some pictures to put on dating sites. My poor Dad can’t believe he’s 57 and has to start dating again. After our driving adventure we made dinner and took it to my husband at work and spent his break talking. On Monday we spent all day driving around trying to find a restaurant that would be open that evening (Christmas Eve). My husband works in retail and had to work until 6:30 that day so we needed a reservation for 7:30. After about ten restaurants we found it, Macaroni Grill was open until 9pm. We made our reservation and headed home to do laundry quite the rousing Christmas Eve activity. Our dinner was delicious and made even better by the fact I didn’t have to make it, thank you Macaroni Grill for all you do. I awoke Christmas morning to find Santa had left me a fuzzy purple bathrobe on the bedroom door. My Christmas tree was glowing with white lights and presents were spilling out from beneath it. Our little family wished each other a Merry Christmas as we videotaped each other opening presents. I think the highlight may have been my Dad receiving a hula girl air freshener from Santa. He hung it around his neck and told everyone that called he had a hula girl hanging on him all day. We also got the call from my Mom’s family in Ireland to wish us a Happy Christmas and tell us about their Christmas festivities and wished we were there. Later some friends of ours stopped by with their new baby to eat Christmas dessert and play videogames on our Nintendo Wii. It was quite the Christmas.

The next day I had to go back to work unfortunately but Dad and Ben joined me for lunch and we went and ate Thai, it was delicious as always. Later my Dad took one of our digital cameras and drove up to Park City to take some pictures and get a ski Utah sweatshirt. He made it home safely the next day. It was quite the pleasant visit.

Hope your Christmas was a good one.

-D

This was actually written Dec. 11, I just forgot to post it...

2007-12-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

I miss talking to people who are active members of a different church than I am. I used to work in a call center and talk to my friend that was a baptist who was veryh active in him church. We would talk about religion and what each of us believed personally and in our respective churches. Out here in Utah I'm mostly surrounded by people of the same religion as me so I don't get a chance to share what I believe with others because they believe the same thing. I think I prefer being in an area where my faith isn't the predominat one, that way I don't take it for granted. Don't get my wrong I go to a school that is run by my church so obviously I still get a regular dose of religion but its not the same.

I'm actually staying in Utah for Christmas this year. This is for two reasons, one is work constraints; my job and my husband's job both require us to work almost all the way up until Christmas as well as the day after Christmas. Reason two is my Dad is coming here because Christmas in New Hampshire just wouldn't be the same without my mom.

It's weird I'll be walking on campus and all of a sudden start to call my mom's cell phone number to ask her how to make a certain food or if she's read a certain book and then I'll realize shes not going to pick up the phone. Its like I forget she's gone, just for a second. Or I'll be listening to a song and I'll have tears in my eyes for no reason. Of course I don't feel like she's really gone. I'm not sure what you believe in but in my church we believe that even after death, our loved ones continue to do missionary work in the next life and are still serving our Heavenly Father they just have the benefit of knowing him a little better than we do in this life. Either way I'm sure my Mom is still doing good in the next life. She was an awesome person always serving others, taking someone dinner when they're sick, or staying with a lady from my church who was in a wheelchair so the woman's son could go to scout camp or just hang out with kids his age for a few hours. She taught sunday school for the kids at my church ages 8 to 12 and I have to admit she had a whole lot more patience than me. I taught her class for a few weeks and was about ready to pull out my hair, but she just loved people. Especially little kids. She wanted to be a grandma more than anything. She didn't get that chance since it's just my brother and me in our family and my brother isn't married and I wasn't planning on having kids until I could afford to have kids which probably won't be for a few years yet.

That’s my thoughts for the moment. Have a good day.

Campus Devotional

2007-11-13T11:25:00.001-08:00

Today I had the opportunity to hear Pres. Thomas Monson of the First Presidency of the Mormon Church speak at my university. He had four main actions he encouraged us to take: glance backward, look heavenward, reach outward, and press onward. The glance backward refers to that fact that with Thanksgiving coming up we should all be thankful for the love of family, the opportunities we have realized and a multiplicity of things we have to be thankful for in our lives. Next we should be looking heavenward in asking for the blessing of our Heavenly Father and invite him into each of our lives. His third thought was that we can't do it alone. We can't get through life on our own and we can't get through each day without the help of others, we need to learn how to ask for help and reach out to others. Lastly he told us not to give up hope but to press onward in our trials, our journeys and our goals.

Overall I really enjoyed the speech he gave. President Monson is a funny man and he described how he met his wife and the first time he met her parents. It reminded me of the first time I met my husband's parents, like President Monson, I met my in-laws on my first day with my spouse. When I walked in the door his parents already knew who I was and who my parents were. My husband actually tricked me into a first date with him. We saw each other at a church institute for young single adults but we didn't met until a New Year's Eve party a few days later. My husband asked if he could drive my car when he knew it was packed in the driveway with no way of moving so he said I should come to his work the next day. So I did then after he drove my car he asked if I wanted to get something to eat, then wanted to show me some pictures from his mission so we went to his parents house. Craziness.

Well that's all for now. Have a lovely day.

My productive day

2007-11-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

Today I finally did something I have been procrastinating for two months. I actually applied for internships. I spent my day in between classes making copies, writing cover letters and putting together portfolios for each of the five internships that caught my interest. I need an internship so I can actually graduate from college this April. I'm done with classes in December but I can't graduate until I do an internship approved by my school.

Before I submitted that applications I asked Kaylene, the editorial advisor at my school's paper, to be one of my references. She said I should apply to be an editor for my last semester. I would love to do that but I already committed to work at my current job next semester. My dilemma is that the job I have currently pays more and being a young married college student I need all the money I can get to pay rent and groceries. In the long run the editor position would help me more in my career path though. I guess I'll have to discuss it with my husband and friends and decide what to do.

In the mean time, I was excited to find I had already received a response from one of the magazines I applied to for an internship. The editor emailed me to say she'll be in touch and that they start interviews at the end of November and the beginning of December.

My night was also productive in that I started my Christmas shopping. Technically I started my shopping in Ireland two weeks ago when I bought presents for all my nieces and nephews. Tonight my shopping was for presents for my husband. Still on my lists are presents for my brother and Dad as well as my in-laws. It's not even Thanksgiving yet and I'm already thinking about Christmas, time has been going rather quickly.

Its been almost two months since my Mom died and I still don't know how to feel from day to day. Some days I'm fine and some days something as small as a song can make me stop or cry. Today that song was Pink's "Who Knew." Some of the lyrics say, "You took my hand,You showed me how, You promised me you'd be around...If someone said three years from now, You'd be long gone, I'd stand up and punch them up, Cause they're all wrong, I know better, Cause you said forever, And ever, Who knew?" "I'll keep you locked in my head,Until we meet again, Until we meet again, And I won't forget you my friend." I was driving to my husband's work to pick him up when I heard this song and I couldn't help tearing up. I'll think I'm okay and then something will happen that will show me I'm not. I just got back from Ireland on November 4. My mom was born and raised in Ireland and her family still lives there. They are Catholic and so they planned a memorial mass for her on November 3 so my Dad and I flew out on Halloween and came back the 4th. It was a whirlwind trip but it was a good one. The memorial gave me some sense of closure and I learned things I never knew about my mom's life. My Dad spoke of meeting her in Saudi Arabia and how he knew right away that someday she was going to be his wife. At the time there was a minor inconvenience in that fact that she was dating one of his friends at the time but at he said "I knew one day he would screw up and she would be mine, and he did and she was." They were engaged six months later while on an African safari in Kenya and married a year later on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. A few years later they moved to Texas and my brother and I were born. This was the first time my parents realized that something was wrong and at first my mom was diagnosed with post-pardon depression. Later they found out that wasn't it but she had a good team of doctors that got her on medication that allowed her to remain stable for 17 years. My mom never wanted anyone to know so my brother and I were never told until last year when a doctor misdiagnosed her and put her on the wrong medication. After she found out I was engaged she asked to switch her medication since a side effect was weight gain and she wanted to lose weight so she could look good in the wedding pictures. The summer I got married I my husband and I lived with my parents. Throughout the summer my mom slowly got worse as the level of medication in her blood got lower and lower. She was aggressive, she was spending thousands of dollars, and was talking fast and threatening to kick out my husband and me on a regular basis. After a particularly bad situation my Dad had to have my Mom forcibly committed to the hospital for a month while they got her back on the right medication. This past June was the last time I saw my mom. My parents came out to visit my husband and I and my mom brought the top of my wedding cake so my husband and I could celebrate our one year wedding anniversary by eating the our wedding cake. A few months later I could tell when I talked to my mom on the phone that she was depressed. I called her on a Monday to ask about a recipe I always loved that she made and on Wednesday I received a phone call my Dad telling me to call him back as soon as I got the message. I couldn't get a hold of him so I called my brother, he told me that Mom had passed away. Her funeral was the next Monday and so many people shared all the ways my mom had served them through acts of kindness and love. I was a mess but slowly I started to think of the happy times and dwell less on the sadness of her absence. I was fine until the topic of suicide in the media was discussed in my Media Effects Class. My teacher said she could never commit suicide because she couldn't face Heavenly Father and the consequences like going to Hell. I got up and walked out of the class. I couldn't stay there and listen to it. Now that I've reviewed all the sad points of my life in the last few months I think its time to go to bed.

Why I created a Blog

2007-11-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

Today I was sitting in a class and my teacher asked anyone who had a blog to raise their hand. Only one person raised her hand. I thought that was odd considering I know quite a few people who have blogs, maybe they just didn't want to admit it and then have to explain their blog to the teacher, or even worse have him go looking to read their blogs. In our class discussion my teacher also mentioned that a solider in Iraq created a blog to tell his family everything that was going on since it was easier than emailing everyone. I have family in Ireland who I can't call because I lack an international phone plan. This leaves email as really my only route of communication. I thought a blog might be a good alternative to the occasional email. Thats my personal motivation. A discussion of the power of bloggers also piqued my interest. We discussed how bloggers are affecting traditional journalism. There were the bloggers that realized the story Dan Rather presented at CBS news about President Bush not completing his service in the National guard was wrong. The story was based on some documents from a superior officer saying the service had not been completed. Bloggers showed thorough the type used in the documents did not exist at they time they were supposedly written and thus the documents could not be authentic. As a result of this CBS and Dan Rather had to apologize to the public and later Dan Rather resigned from CBS news. This showed that bloggers do have power. I do have a third motivation for my desire for a blog. I'm about to graduate with a degree in journalism, and I thought it might be helpful to know my way around a blog and possibly use it as a place to post clips that I can show to employers when applying for jobs. So there it is, my motivation for joining the blogging crowd.