All Good Things Must Come to an End

The last week of January was something I had been looking forward to for quite sometime. Now here I sit on February 1st, back at home and missing the 75 + degree weather of southern California. You see, Nate's parents gave all the kids and grandkids a sweet "SoCal" pass for Christmas and we spent a week in Newport Beach visiting all the tourist spots. (Disneyland, Seaworld, Universal Studios, and San Diego Zoo to be exact)

Even though "Expectant mothers should not ride" seemed to be the phrase of the trip, I'm such a Disney freak that just being there was still fun. We lived it up on the rides I was allowed on however, like Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Finding Nemo, and Soarin' over California - my favorite!! I also made a great stroller slash baby sitter while the others took their turns.

Our trip to L.A. and surrounding areas was a double bonus because it is also where Nate served his mission. (Arcadia, CA) So he played tour guide while we visited the old stomping grounds.

Today when we flew into Salt Lake the air was a crisp 34 degree wake up call. Now, back at home, he's busy cramming for a test tomorrow and I'm dreading going back to work. Ahh, real life.

So here's our little vacay recap...and keep in mind I'm feeling especially chubby these days, from my face to my feet. So please try to look past the pudge. (9 weeks to go!)

And of course, I couldn't end this post without a shout-out to the in-laws...Thanks again Darrell and Marianne!!! It took lots of work (and money) to get the trip all planned and put together, we appreciate it and had lots of fun!

~*Also, the private plan is still on, so anyone still wanting to get in let me know. The count down is on.*~

Capital "P" to the rivate

So, it's been on my mind for quite some time...I just kept thinking "when we have the baby"...but after hearing some people in a restaurant talk about blog stalking, I finally decided it was time. Don't get me wrong, I can blog stalk with the best of them, but for some reason it kinda scared me.

WE'RE GOING PRIVATE


So whether you're a family member, close friend, long-lost friend, or friend who peeks in from time to time; give me your email!!

I'll leave it open for a week or so (we'll be out of town) and when I get back I'll plan on getting it set.

Thanks!

"Today is such a special one..."

January 8th happens to be the day of birth - day for a couple of my most favorite people. So I just want to take a little time to wish them HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Kimi! Happy 23rd!!

Once upon a time in 3rd grade I met a girl with flowing brown hair and an impeccable sense of style. (Tweety Bird shirts were quite the rage) It took us a little while to realize we were best friends in the making, but sooner or later we figured it out.

I had lofty goals of digging out some sweet elementary pictures and possibly even sharing the Tweety Bird fashion, but those pics are in a far away land known as my dad's basement. In lieu of T Bird, here's a more recent photo of my good pal.


Since you're currently living across the country in Pittsburgh, and I won't be seeing you - I really hope you have a great day Kimberly!

And my other favorite person, who is sadly no longer with us, is none other than...

The King
My love affair with E.P. started 7 or so years back during a summer break when I watched "Elvis and Me" (Priscilla's take on her life with Elvis). For whatever reason I was hooked!

Two summers ago I got the birthday present of my then 21 year life, when Nate took me to Memphis. In case you're a bit Elvis-ignorant, Memphis is only the birthplace of rock-and-roll, The King's hometown, and his final resting place.



So Happy Birthday to Kimi and The King. I love you both. (I won't say which I love more...haha jk Kim!)

In honor of your big day Kimi, here's a special treat from me to you. It doesn't get much better than this. ;)

Catching Up

We've had a crazy December. It flew by so fast I can't believe it's already over! Here are some of our (photographed) happenings:

The 2nd Annual "Ugly Christmas Sweater" Party

My good friend Chelsea's wedding...she looked beautiful!

Christmas Day Blizzard! This is the view from my in-law's front porch. I didn't dare venture much farther.

Christmas Day '08 - We also got to talk to my brother who is on his mission in Chile. (they are in the middle of summer with 80 degree weather)

And a growing bump! As of tomorrow, the 29th, I'll be 26 weeks! See what I mean by time is flying by?!

A Tag and a Truth

Usually I'm somewhat reluctant to complete a tag. Probably due to the fact that I feel a rush of anxiety when the time comes to tag some of my friends. (HUH? You ask...)

Let me explain:
Once upon a time...in high school my friends and I would have some crazy sleepovers. We'd do the usual girl things. Toilet paper, sneak out, take goofy (great for blackmailing) pictures, make sugary foods at midnight (one of our specialties included cheesecake made with Sprite...naturally what you might use if you ran out of milk...?)

And then there were some not so usual nights.

It seemed like maybe twice a year we'd gather up after making it home by midnight, and for reasons unknown, we would nominate a friend, then everyone would take turns saying something that that FRIEND did that might bother them. (back-stabbed, didn't return calls, flirted too much, haha KIM.)

Yeah, we were a really close group of friends. Or maybe just a group of really mean friends...? (this is why teenage girls are always fighting I guess) Well, until just recently, I found out we weren't the only group of friends who did this. (So there is at least one other crazy group out there somewhere)

Anyways...in case you're still confused, I'll give you an example. When it was my turn for my friends to turn on me (I would brace myself for the worst) and 99.9% of the time they would tell me their biggest pet peeve about me was that I cared way too much about what others thought. Not necessarily that I cared too much about what others thought OF me, just that I care too much about what others were thinking.

Basically, I stress myself out for trivial reasons.

To this day, when I go to a store and I'm walking next to someone, say Nate, and we're walking towards another couple, I immediately see that there is not going to be enough room for the two couples to pass each other in the isle, so I will go out of my way to move in front of or behind Nate, to make sure the other people will have room to get by.

This may not sound like such a bad thing...to be thoughtful of others. The problem comes when I'm doing this for "every one and their dog". In the grocery isles, for the people coming out of the doors, for the people going into the doors, for the mom with 5 kids, etc. etc. etc. It can be quite overwhelming. And let's just say my friends and Nate, get sick of me always worrying.

The worst part is, and it hasn't been until recently, that I realize A LOT of other people rarely show the same kind of respect in return, if at all. That in turn tends to bother me that they are so unthoughtful, and you can see where the anxiety sets in. Silly? Crazy? O.C.D ish? Yes. But I can't help it.

So what does ALL this have to do with a measly Tag???

Well, I can answer the tag easily. But when it comes time to "tag" friends, the caring too much about others part sets in. If I feel like someone would be upset, angered, and mainly inconvenienced that I tagged them, I worry. Believe me, I realize how silly and downright crazy this all sounds. But some of you might have your own outlandish little ticks. Whether it is sanitizing your hands at the grocery store, color coordinating your clothes in your closet, or alphabetizing your cookbooks...this is my weakness.

However, due to extreme blog boring-ness, I will get over my psycho personality trait and complete the tag. And to avoid the anxiety, I won't be tagging anyone! HA.

Maybe divulging too much information when it's extremely unnecessary is something my friends forgot to tell me at the sleepovers...

On to the real reason of the post:

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Survivor!!

2. The Amazing Race

3. The Unit - a recent find Nate and I love

4. Friends (all 10 seasons on DVD will most likely be included in my emergency preparedness kit)

5. The Hills - everyone needs a guilty pleasure

6. Law and Order - SVU is my favorite but Criminal Intent is also great

7. Without a Trace - what can I say, I've been liking the police shows lately

8. Most anything HGTV but House Hunters is probably my favorite



8 Restaurants I Love:

1. Olive Garden

2. Costa Vida

3. Wingers

4. Callaway's

5. Chili's

6. Cheesecake Factory - a Virginia find

7. Panera - another Virgina find that is unfortunately too cool for Utah... sandwiches on yummy bread and extremely over-priced frozen lemonade, but I loved it.

8. Firehouse


8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Slept in way too late

2. Went to work

3. Tried not to loose my patience at work...Is a short temper a pregnancy thing? I'm just going to say it is.

4. Wandered around stores cause Nate has been living at the library due to finals.

5. Talked to Kimi on the phone while I wandered

6. Bought Baby Buttars some cute new pants for the 6 month stage

7. Watched Law and Order for I won't say how long (it was a marathon)

8. Blog stalked

Don't judge me on how unproductive I was. Not everyday is like that... :)



8 Things I Look Forward to:

1. April 6th, 2009!!

2. Learning how to be a mom

3. Watching Nate be a dad

4. Christmas! Duh.

5. Nate graduating in April

6. Going to Disneyland with the Buttars clan in January - even though I might be pouting a fair amount of time because I won't be able to go on all of my favorite rides.

7. Cade getting home...hahaha I know.

8. Living somewhere for more than 6 months



8 Wishes:

1. That I will indeed be able to live somewhere for more than 6 months

2. That Nate will get a good job in this scary economy!

3. That I will be a good mom

4. That our baby girl we be healthy

5. That I could magically loose my baby weight instantly when I'm done being prego

6. That my family was how "it used to be"

7. That I was in Hawaii right now...instead of my sister

8. That I didn't have to work tomorrow!!

And obviously I won't be tagging anyone. Hahaha!

A Fun Week?

1. Carrie Underwood in concert. Floor Tickets.

2. Twilight Premiere.
(If you're wondering what I thought, I think it was very true to the book (as true as it can be for a 2 hour movie), a few cheesy parts, but overall WONDERFUL.)


You do the math.

Taking Care of Business

This post is a miss mash of things.

FIRST - a quick and easy TAG my sister-in-law tagged me on:
RULES:
1. Go to your pictures
2. Go to your 4th folder and upload your 4th picture
3.Post
Aww, how sweet. Haha, this is one of our engagements taken at the bottom of Tony Grove.
Now I tag... Kimi, Traci, Nahomi, and Alisha. It's ok, it's easy!

SECOND- some very late Halloween pics.

My friend Stacey hosted an "Amazing Race" Halloween party. It was very entertaining and also very creative. She did such a good job making clues and tasks. Way to go Stace!I'm sad, this picture doesn't show my steal-of-a-deal eBay poodle skirt, but as you can tell we were a rockin' 50's couple. We even found Nate some sweet black "chucks" shoes.


The second party was a Murder Mystery party our friends Jon and Anna hosted. If you've never attended/participated in one, I highly recommend trying them! Everyone is given a character before the party, and you dress up like them. A few people really got into character while trying to discover who the murderer was. There were lots of secrets, bribes, and accusations flying around but it made for a very fun night!I was Elizabeth Rochester, wealthy daughter of the murdered millionaire. Nate was Neal Worthers, my father's personal driver (hence the white gloves and little cap) and also my boyfriend who dumped my sister to be with me. As the night went on we learned that the reason our parents didn't approve of our scandalous relationship was because we were half brother and sister! Haha, and (dun...dun...dun) Neal/Nate was in fact the murderer!!!

Last but not least...for anyone wondering...
YAY! :)