Nate the Great

Friday night Paul and I went on a date with a guy I work with. His name is Nathan. You can call him Nathan or Nate, but he prefers Nate the Great. He's an amazing kid. He's the son of the owner of Wood Co. He's 31 years old, has one of the biggest hearts in the world, and an amazing sense of humor. He is also autistic and has been through a lot of tough things in his life, but it doesn't hold him back. He's totally independent. He gets around on his own using trax, he is very involved in Special Needs groups, he has 2 jobs, and he loves and cares about everyone he meets. He's a total sweetheart.

We had a super fun night. We went to Nate's favorite restaurant, Eat-a-Burger. (Eat-a-burger was closing down the next day and Nate really wanted to go there one last time.)Then we went bowling, which was so much fun. Paul won both games, and Nate and I each came in second once, so he decided that overall he and I tied for second place but that we were all good bowlers.After bowling we went back to Eat-a-Burger for shakes. That was Nates last minute plan, just in case we were still hungry after bowling.
They were letting people sign the walls because they were closing down. Nate told me exactly what to write and then we got a picture of it. He was so excited about it. We had some really good talks and I learned a lot about Nate that night. I really appreciated the time we had with him and I look forward to doing it again sometime.

January CatchUp

This has been a crazy month! It's gone by fast and kinda slow. We went to California and moved to Sugarhouse. And a lot of other little things... Here were a couple fun times in the middle of all the packing, cleaning, moving. Oh and remind me to never move in the winter again. I don't know why I keep doing that.

Kristin, who lives in Vegas came so SLC for a couple days. She brought her "friend" that she's dating exclusively, or not dating, or something, and me and Diz wanted to meet him. We all met for dinner at the gateway. It was tons of fun. Always is. These 2 girls are the best roommates I ever had. I miss those days sometimes. We're glad our men hung in there with us for a couple hours and let us talk and laugh and catch up.Sheila, a lady I work with (and love) invited us to go shooting/4 wheeling/dutch oven cooking/freezing with them a couple weeks ago. There ended up being about 8 trucks, 5 four-wheelers, 6 dogs, 3 pots of chili, 100 hot dogs, 2 firepits, 25 rednecks, 20 guns, and a satalite dish. Good times!

Not the way we typically spend our winter weekend afternoons, but really fun!

Moving Day slash Week(s)

Paul and I moved. (Not to California)...(Yet)...

We moved to Sugarhouse. We had no plans of moving. We were all happy and settled in the Avenues. But then, back in December just before Christmas my boss told me about this cute little 3 bedroom house that his mom owns. The couple living there at the time were moving and my boss was looking for new renters. They like to rent it to people they know, and if they do know the people they lower the rent. In this area, this house could easily rent for at least a $1000, but because we're "family" we get it for $750. So 50 bucks less than the Aves apartment, a yard, washer and dryer, storage shed, closer to work for both of us, a cool landlord, no lease, no deposit, and quite a bit more space. Oh and no high heels on the tile floor above us at midnight. Nothing above us or below us actually. It was easy to decide. About the lease, my boss actually said Paul can move whenever he wants, but I'll be tied in for 10 years. He's really not in to the whole California plan. He's even jokingly offered to start building wooded caskets at our store to try and entice Paul. I like that my boss likes us. His wife and son work there too and they really are like family.

Anyway, for about 2 weeks we've been taking small loads over almost everyday. They gave us January for free which has been really nice. By Friday night I felt like we were so close to being done, but there was so much little stuff laying around. What I thought we could do in about 4 car/truck loads on Saturday ended up being 12 loads and 2 DI runs. And then cleaning the old place. Needless to say, I'm beat! I questioned a couple times if it was really worth it. But I'm sitting in our new house (surrounded by boxes), and I love it! We're all moved out of the old place, FINALLY. It was spotless from top to bottom and we left the keys on the kitchen counter. It felt so good. I did have a little sad goodbye moment. It really is a great little place.

I'm writing all this to say that I've had a couple fun days in the middle of all the moving, and as soon and I find my camera cord I'll post some pictures of dinner with old roommates and shooting with rednecks. I'll also eventually get this house put together and take some pictures. I need to schedule a party or something here. I work well if I have a deadline.

remember this?

I came across this post while I was working on my 2010 predictions. I didn't remember doing it last year, but since I did lets see how well I did...

• I won't get regular oil changes. I'll just do it when my car needs to be vacuumed. SUCCESS! My car was pretty happy when I married Paul though, he cares more about stuff like that.
  
• I won't go the the gym if I don't feel like it. Fortunately, I'm one of the people who has made it a daily habit, and almost look forward to that time, but if my body needs a break, I'll take it and be fine with it. SUCCESS! I really did well at not going, especially after I got married and started working more. Kinda makes me sad really.
  
• I won't run a marathon, and I'll probably give up 1/8 marathons too (5Ks). I hate running. And I always will. SUCCESS! None of the above. I did however watch and cheer for the Biggest Loser contestants on TV when they had to run a marathon, so it's kinda like I ran one too.
  
• I won't give up reality TV or my DVR. SUCCESS! And I'm happy to say that calling to schedule cable and DVR hook up at our new place was one of the first things Paul did...and when we got married, it was one of the things he wanted to eliminate in our budget.
  
• I won't wear make-up everyday. SUCCESS! I wish I could really get away with the look, but I can't. I still tried a lot though.
  
• I won't forget how blessed I am to have Paul. SUCCESS! He's the best.
  
• I won't give up sugar. Kindof Success... I gave it up for 2 months, and felt great. I need to give it up again. I wish I hated candy.
  
• I won't stop texting in the car...I know, mom. I'll try to just do it when I'm at stop lights. SUCCESS! I did and do however text a lot less than I used to. My old phone was easier to hold while driving, so its cut way back since I swithched from the Pearl to the Storm.
  
• I won't clean the bathrooms and mop the floors once a week. SUCCESS! This is also something that Paul has taken over, and I love it!

Not bad. Good for me.

It's really only Wednesday???

You knows those weeks when:

You buy a broken book shelf.

You're paycheck gets deposited into a dude's account that you don't know and the bank takes their sweet time to fix it.

You have a cold.

You lose all you phone contacts in your cell.

2 employees announce they are pregnant and another one asks you for less hours.

Your husband takes your keys to work.

You're chinese food gets delivered with no forks. They ALWAYS put forks in the bag, but when you order it to your new house that is forkless, they forget.

You're computer starts faking a crash.

You run out of diet coke.

And you and your spouse keep passing cold germs to each other.

Oh and one of Jake's girls cheats on him with a Bachelor staffer.

Yeah, it's been one of those weeks. Wow.

I'm just thankful that IKEA is lowering even more prices on January 16th and that Kate Gosselin has long hair again. I can go on living.

California positives

-Mild climate. (Warmer than Utah, which I love.)
-There's El Pollo Loco on about every corner.
-The beach. I love the beach.
-There's a (free) gym a couple steps (literally) from our front door.
-Disneyland is so close. And I heard a rumor yesterday that we might have annual passes.
-We don't have to pay rent, which means we can pay down debt and have a little fun.
-It's really not too far from Utah.
-Paul's family is there.
-The Circle of Orange. I love walking around down there.
-It's a fun place to visit year round. So hopefully we'll have visitors year round.
-I like fresh new places, and that's what our apartment is.
-Water doesn't come up from the kitchen sink when the washing machine is on.
-We have a dishwasher.
-Our new place is bigger, and free-er. Did I mention that?
-We don't have to pay for Garrett's health insurance. That'll save us $300 a month.
-Paul's office is closer to home, MUCH closer.
-We have some good friends out there.
-The best chiropractor I've ever been to is there.
-My in-laws have a pool and hot tub.

And the things I'll miss...

-My family.
-My extended family.
-The Wood Co.
-Our friends.
-Our church.
-Hobby Lobby.
-Knowing my way around. (Thank you Paul for the GPS for Christmas. He knows me so well.)
-Our doctors.
-Our spinal touch therapist.
-I might eventually miss the seasons, but this time of year I'm looking forward to getting away.

I started this list on December 15th. It didn't take me a month to think of positive things, I just kinda forgot about it, but I figured I should finish before I leave on Sunday.

'09 facts and '10 predictions

I was reading my '09 predictions last night and they were pretty lame. I think I was all in love and giddy so I didn't say much of anything substantial. I still am in love, by the way. So here's how I did.

This is what I thought might happen each month in '09 and then what actually happened in '09.

January- We go to California. We talk about Mha...... Paul starts a new job. I start looking for a second or new job.

February- I finally finish laser treatments. I go to the Celine Dion concert. I start a new job.

March- I get engaged...ish... I don't go on my 4th Mexico rediscovery vacation.

April- Grandpa turns 90 and I convince the fam to have a big party! I love Grandpas, especially mine.

May- I simplify and de-junk my apartment.

June- I move. I get married.

July- I buy the new TV that I thought I'd buy a year ago.

August- Paul and I go on a sunny vacation to celebrate how well I did at staying out of the sun for a year.

September- I get baby hungry.

October- I bust out the ol' Winnie the Pooh for another year, and I try to find Tigger for Paul.

November- I get baby hungry...did I mention that?...

December- We talk about moving...

This is what actually happened...

January: I went to California with by boyfriend, Paul, and came home from California with my fiance, Paul.

February: Went dress shopping, wedding planned, had the parents meet the parents, went to Celine Dion.

March: Paul moved into my apartment and I moved in with my parents. Us each having our own apartments this close to being married didn't make sense, so we consolidated and saved some money.

April: Had am incredible, huge, fun, awesome 90th birthday party for my cute grandpa.

May: I stopped working for the most part, and had a lot of free wedding planning time. Went on a relaxing business trip to St. George with Paul. My Uncle Randy died.

June: I got married to be best friend in the whole world. Had a fabulous 2 weeks of wedding/celebrating/honeymooning/California reception/family time/awesomeness. June was a good month.

July: Almost moved. Didn't. Looked hard for a new job. Still no new TV. Really gonna shoot for 2010.

August: Got a new job. Love it.

September: Downgraded from a big awesome expensive truck, to a little not so awesome completely paid for truck.

October: Was not Winnie the pooh for halloween. I did, however pull it out and thought about it. And I also looked for a Tigger costume for Paul, at downtown disney in california. If anyone had it they should, but didn't. So we were just us for halloween.

November: I did get baby hungry, but it comes and goes rather quickly. Went hunting in Texas and killed a deer.

December: Had our first Christmas together in our cute little festive apartment. Then went to California to ring in the new year. Paul and I both got raises.

Welcome 2010, here's what I think might happen...

January: Less rent, more square footage.

February: I turn 30. I'm feeling about 100% on that one.

March: We buy a new TV!!!

April: We buy cute Wood Co stuff with our extra pay checks. I love 5 friday months when I get payed on 3 of em.

May: Paul and I start ballroom dance classes.

June: Happy One Year to us. We go on a fun little anniversary trip.

July: I hear the biological clock a little louder than usual, and we start to talk about trying to grow a human in my righteous womb. We talk about the future and about moving to California.

August: We spend a lot of times in the mountains, camping, fishing, shooting guns, boating, etc.

September: I start writing a book.

October: We move...again...

November: We start "trying" to get pregnant.

December: We have a Merry Christmas. And we win a contest and get a free trip to the Bahamas or somewhere warm and beautiful.

Project 365: THE END

I called my first 365 post "Week 1" and I guess it was just "Week 1/2" because last week was "Week 52" and it shoulda been "Week 51 1/2". So, "THE END" it is.

I really can't believe I actually did this. One picture a day for an entire year. What am I going to do now??

Well, here you go:

December 28
Getting ready to go to California. This is about half of the stuff that we need to fit in our Jetta... plus us... This could be interesting.December 29
On the road. The White's aren't expecting us until tomorrow night so we're going to surprise them tonight. Paul dropped his glasses in the car and this happened, and because sometimes I'm suddenly 5, I thought it was really funny.December 30

Paul's mom gave me felting tools for Christmas. It is so cool! I practiced on this shirt. I'm still kind of a beginner, but give me a while and I'm going to have the coolest scarves and hats.December 31

I kept having this awful fear all day that I was going to forget to take a picture today. I was going to wait until just before midnight and get a grand news years eve celebration picture, but lets be honest, I've been known to (on several different years) fall asleep before midnight on new years eve. So earlier this evening Paul's aunt, cousins and their 4 kids came over for dinner. I thought this was so cute. He's trying to temp me with his cute dad skills.Happy New Year, everyone.

I guess now I'll have to start real blogging again...