Home, Where My Love Lies Waiting Silently For Me

Okay, I doubt either of my loves (my big love [Allen] and my little love [Benjamin], but not 'Big Love' in the HBO way; just for distinguishing purposes . . . I have a talent for over-complicating things!) are silent, and I hope they aren't waiting up for me, since I'm at work until 1am and I got here late to begin with. We are home, finally. It was a long trip. It was fun, and very expensive, and the aftermath (laundry, putting things away, etc.) still has to be dealt with, but it's good to be home, too. There is something to be said for routines and being able to find some time within a given framework; I haven't had much of that recently. The Family Reunion was nice, up until we had to move campsites, and everyone started getting sick and decided to pack up a day early. We were all at the end of our rapidly-fraying ropes and that just pushed us over the edge. I was very grateful to be in a hotel room that night, though. The EconoLodge in Fresno isn't much to speak of, but to the weary traveler, it was paradise. It just might be the best $50 I spent on the entire trip. I'll try to get some pictures up later so it's not just a mess of words. I'm sure you could be enlightened by visiting my sister's blog (Becca and her Peeps). Allen started puking Monday morning and Benji is still having that nasty diarrhea. Good times. I thought I might get to drive, since Allen wasn't feeling well, but it lasted about 15 minutes. It was okay, though; I read to him for most of the drive across Nevada, and it made the time go by fairly quickly. He actually enjoyed "Twilight" and when I finished (just past Wendover), he wanted to get out the second book to continue. He'll have to read the rest on his own; I'm trying to re-read them all again before #4 comes out this weekend. Yay! Something to look forward to that won't cost an arm AND a leg!

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Today was the search for In-N-Out Burger. We must have passed 10 of them today, but for some reason or another, we couldn't get to one until 6:(freaking)30 p.m. We didn't leave Pismo Beach until 10:30 a.m., then we thought we'd get lunch there, but couldn't find the In-N-Out in San Luis Obispo. We went to Hearst Castle, which was cool, but we didn't want to eat there either, so we waited, then got stuck on the PCH, then we cut over to the 101, but couldn't find the one in Salinas either. Eventually we went to the one in Gilroy. It was good; I don't know if it was worth all of the crabbiness. All I had had to eat today was Peanut M&M's and Diet Coke (all I really needed was some Law & Order to go with it, but alas . . .) until we got there. It was seriously Crabby's Crab Shack in the poor Isuzu. For those of you who may be wondering, yes, we did get a laptop. I brought it home the day before we left on vacation. Allen wasn't too happy (as I expected), but he has been loving it. If I hadn't just done it, we would never have gotten it. It really is fabulous, and it's more than what I wanted. It's an HP Pavillion dv2000, special edition. It is brown with cool swirly decor; 14" screen (just right), webcam, light scribe, nvidia graphics card, and something ridiculous like 4GB & 350GB. I love it. Today has been a lot of driving; I was hoping to do more than just Hearst Castle, but I think I underestimated how much travel time it would take. I didn't know how windy and slow the PCH was. We finally made it to the hotel around 9:30 p.m. It was a Priceline special, and it's ridiculously nice. This is definitely the sweetest deal we have gotten this whole trip. Even the shampoo and soap smell incredible. We were woefully underdressed when we checked in (Benji had peed all over Allen during the Hearst Castle tour and he had puked all over me 30 seconds after I changed him!), but it's nice to be here. I'm going to take a nice shower and get some sleep so we can do more driving tomorrow. I'm hoping to at least get a decent picture of the Golden Gate Bridge to prove we were here, and to stop by a Bare Escentuals store before we head to Sequoia for the Family Reunion. Vacation is fun and all, but it will be nice to stay in one place for a couple of days; even if we will be in a tent. :o)

Alligator Lizards In The Air

We drove on the Ventura Highway today, so I decided that should be the title of today's entry. We went to lunch at Canter's Deli today, and it was very good. I was impressed with the cheese fries, and I actually liked the pickles. I got an avocado and tomato sandwich. It wasn't particularly memorable, but it was good. We then went to the La Brea Tar Pits, which was cool, but you can tell that the museum hasn't been updated in at least 20 years. It's too bad there isn't more research money for the excavation. I wanted to go to Madame Tusseaud's Wax Museum, but Allen wasn't too keen about spending time in Hollywood. I got to see the walk of fame (from the car). We went to the Griffeth Observatory (which was closed); that was cool too. A little disappointing, but a pretty good day. We went to dinner with Allen's awesome friend Dom. We drove clear up to the valley to go to some hole-in-the-wall sushi restaurant (which was also closed). So we ended up going to a little Italian restaurant which was fabulous. It was very good food and good conversation. So we are back at the Vagabond, and although Benji peed all over me after his bath, it was a good day. Tomorrow will be busy, so stay tuned.

I've Got A Long Way To Run

We are in the Vagabond Inn in Bell Gardens, near L.A. How was I supposed to know this was a shady part of town? Allen asked me to make the hotel reservations, so I did. I guess I could have spent more time reading reviews; I was concerned about star levels and price. Our room is okay, but the toilet paper is stretchy and awful, and no one would even consider stealing the towels. We stayed with Steve & Mary on Saturday night and went to see a community theater production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." It wasn't the best production I have seen, and some of the interpretations were interesting (Joseph didn't exactly run away from Potiphar's wife . . .), but it was pretty good, and I think we'll have to purchase the soundtrack out here so Allen can hear what it was supposed to sound like. David babysat for us; I think the poor young man was traumatized by our baby; I guess Benji got himself so worked up that David couldn't calm him down, and he cried for a couple of hours! That's very uncharacteristic for him. Everyone did survive, and Mary thinks it was a good learning experience for David. I hope it wasn't too demoralizing! Yesterday we visited Allen's mother, who is kind to a fault. She won't turn anyone or anything away; besides Grandma and Wendy (her daughter), she has two friends, at least 3 birds, 5 cats, one dog, and two iguanas in her house. She is truly one of the nicest people I have ever met, but she's totally spunky too. I hope I can be as unselfish as she is someday. Today we are going to the La Brea Tar Pits and to Pink's for lunch, then we'll try some sushi for dinner. Should be interesting, to say the least!

California, Rest In Peace

We made it. We left yesterday (a bit later than anticipated) and drove to Mesquite, where we stayed in the luxurious Virgin River Casino Hotel. It wasn't too bad; at least the a/c was already on full blast, the room was clean and we were safe. Benji slept in one of the beds and Allen and I slept in the other. We left around 10am, but that put us too late for the breakfast buffets we had planned for. We drove into Vegas and ate lunch at the Paris buffet. It was okay, but it was a "Champagne Brunch," which cost $25/person! Totally not worth it! The food was decent, and I guess you have to serve what people want to eat; I was hoping for something a little more authentic (I don't remember seeing hashbrowns in France; maybe that was just me), and the cheese selection was definitely lacking. Plus, we had to wait in line for 30 minutes just to get in! We are now in RRRRRancho Cucamonga, and the baby is crying. Gotta go.

"This One Goes Out To The One I Love"

I'd like to play Casey Kasem for a little bit. There are certain songs that just remind me of people, and I'd like to dedicate a few of them. You can find most of them on my playlist below. "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas goes out to Dr. Merrill, a vascular surgeon I work with, and to my friend Tami, one of the nicest people I have ever met. Every time I hear it, I think of my first BKA (Below Knee Amputation) I scrubbed with them. It was pretty cool. "The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe actually came out my freshman year at the U. Susan, that one's for you. "Brick" by Ben Folds Five also reminds me of you as well; I think we listened to it on our way back from Park City one time. I remember strange things, eh? "You're My Better Half" by Keith Urban will always remind me of my little trip to Mesa, AZ to visit my friend Joyce in 2005. "Stayin' Alive" also reminds me of how I met Joyce, in an acting class at the U. During a break, we went out to her car and jammed to the Bee Gees. We were late coming back, but I will always be grateful we became friends that night. Wherever you are, Joyce, I miss you! "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake just makes me smile, because I'll always picture my friend Julie from Primary Children's, bopping along and singing it to herself. "Bye, Bye, Bye" by N*Sync goes out to my old roommate Ilona. It was the theme of our Vegas trip in 2000. That was fun. "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher goes out to my sister Rebecca because of her pregnancy-induced freak-out when her Cher CD was vetoed. Beck also gets "The Flame" by Cheap Trick and "We Belong" by Pat Benetar. It may be an unfortunate connection, but it's a permanent one. "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Trace Adkins will forever remind me of my sister Sarah (although it really should be Savannah . . .) because it was her Savannah's ringer for such a long time, and she was ALWAYS CALLING!! ;o) Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" reminds me of Butch too, because she says it reminds her of me! The Soundtrack from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" reminds me of my sister Rachael: it's all about the French Horns. "Life Is A Highway" by Tom Cochran will remind me of Rachael's college days. I was so socially inept that I totally lived through her. "Time of Your Life" by Green Day reminds me of my brother Dave and the good old days of Woodly Bog. Same for "Glycerine" by Bush. "Zombie" by the Cranberries goes out to one of my high school crushes, Brian S. Some orchestra members would eat lunch in the orchestra room, and one day Brian and some friends put in this CD, cranked it up and turned off the lights. It was really cool, but I don't think the school administrators were too happy about that. "Bless The Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts should be Allen's and my song (although I sincerely doubt Allen would admit to even hearing it before). The first time I heard it was when we were engaged, and it just made me cry. Speaking of crying, I totally cried tonight on my way home from work when I heard "My Immortal" by Evanescence. That one goes out to John. "Cecelia" by Simon & Garfunkel belongs to my favorite HUC, Cid. I'd sing it to her almost every day I worked with her. She didn't really appreciate it, but she was a good sport about it. "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure goes out to my old roommie Shelly, who actually thought Robert Smith was hot and named her child Elise. I love it. I'm currently singing "Come On, Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners to (surprise!) my friend Eileen in the O.R. "Together Forever" by Rick Astley is for ma cousine Loya, a.k.a. "Flame." Thank you, darling, for introducing us kids to the wonderful world of Rick Astley. As a side story, in the last area of my mission, we were invited to a wedding reception for our Branch President's daughter. They held it at the chapel in Nancy (France), and they had a cool fireside-type deal before the fete. There was quite the dancing party, and "Together Forever" came on. We could ONLY listen to church music, and ONLY on P-days, so I plugged my ears and sang "I Am A Child Of God" to myself so I wouldn't be tempted to dance to it! "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt goes out to H.S. The title pretty much says it all. It's okay, though; I still like the song, and we are both happy now. "Love Is A Battlefield" by Pat Benetar is for Peggy. When we were mission companions, we had an investigator who lived in a building with someone named "Benetar." We're pretty sure our friend Pat was slumming it in BXL! "Sussudio" by Phil Collins is for Dad. That was a total road trip album! "Return To Pooh Corner" by Kenny Loggins is for Mom. It's a very sweet and motherly Q-92 song. I love it. "No One Needs To Know" by Shania Twain goes out to Shannah Leigh. It's on the soundtrack for the movie "Twister" (which we affectionately referred to as the "Sexy Truck Movie"). That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there are more, but some of them just remind me of trips or places and not of specific people. I hope you all know how important you are to me and how much I have learned from you! I love you all!

"Could You Take My Picture?"

I got some new photos of the little man. The ones of him are pretty good, but I don't like the family one. So we'll try again in a couple of months or so, when he can sit up on his own and when I have my sister Sarah there to make sure I don't look like an idiot.

It's lots of Benjis in pots!



I love this little picture:



Naked babies!



He's ready to go on vacation, too!



I really like this one, but his little shirt blends into the background. A little disappointing.



This one is my favorite; she took it while I was in the restroom.



These aren't very high-quality versions; I'll put the higher-resolution ones in my Picasa album. Enjoy!

Memories

This looked like fun. Participate if you like. Ignore it if you prefer. 1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! 2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Give A Little Respect To Me

It's 9am, and I'm not babysitting. Normally that would be very nice, but they didn't tell me they didn't need me. We have an understanding that I will watch our neighbor's two-year-old on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from about 7am to 10am. In exchange, they will watch Benjamin from about 10am to 1pm on the days I have to work at 11am. It works pretty well most of the time, and I really can't beat the convenience of dropping of my baby on the way out the door. I think I put up with rather a lot to have that convenience, but this week has been a bit ridiculous. I didn't watch her on Monday, and I was fine with that, since they had just gotten back from vacation Saturday night. They could have let me know, but I let it slide. Tuesday I had to work at 11, and she didn't get back from wherever she was until 10:25 (I try to leave around 10:15 because it's a 25 minute drive, then I have to find parking and walk about 10 minutes to get to the hospital tower, then I have to clock in and change into my scrubs and be READY TO WORK by 11). So I was late on Tuesday. Wednesday, I slept in guilt-free and it was great (I didn't have to work that day). Thursday I babysat normally (they brought her downstairs around 7:10), although she didn't get back until 10:20 that day either, and I had to work at 11 again. Today, however, I didn't. The thing is, I have to be up and ready by 7am (whether I get home from work at 1:45 a.m. or not) to be ready for them. Then I have to wait for them to knock on the door, and I can only do so much during that time with my own baby and with the house, etc. I'm hearing her upstairs now, but I'm not listening for the knock anymore. I think I need to tell her that if she's not downstairs by 8am, I'm not watching her that day. Is that fair? She chooses to sleep in, but I don't get that choice. I have asked her to change our times from 9am-noon, especially when I work my "fun shift" (5pm-1am). She said no, so I'm really trying to make the best of it and be productive in the mornings. But I think it's really disrespectful! My time, especially my alone time with Benjamin, is very valuable to me. She's probably not thinking about the consequences her actions have on my day, and she probably just 'forgot to set her alarm,' or something like that. Do I need to be more understanding, or am I letting her walk all over me? It's frustrating. I really want to change my schedule. Currently, it's crap and it takes a freaking algorithm to understand it. I REALLY want to go back to 12-hour shifts. Yeah, those days are gone, but you get 4 days off per week. If I could go back to the 11am to 11pm shifts, I would be very happy. It would require more babysitting, but Lexy has said she's willing to help and I could probably enlist Peggy once a week or so . . . and it's only for about 3 hours during the overlap of Allen's and my shifts (about 10am-1pm). I kinda feel stuck right now, though, because of our agreement with the neighbors. Personally, I want to move again. Our apartment is okay, but it's not a GREAT deal, and we have tons of ants and spiders, no a/c, the world's smallest shower, the world's slowest dishwasher (it takes 3 hours to run, whether it's on the light cycle or heavy wash!), and I'm ready to have our own house. I'm sure we can't afford a mortgage right now, but it's frustrating to be paying someone else's mortgage and only getting frustration out of it.

"What Would You Give To Get Away?"

Well, we are coming up on vacation time. Soon. For those of you who don't know, we are driving to California for my family reunion. Unfortunately, with all the camping and baby gear, flying just isn't really in the cards. The whole thing has been in the works for so long that I'm a little freaked out we aren't more ready! We still need to lock down the itinerary, get some hotel reservations, buy some sunscreen and an airbed, etc. We did reserve a rental car (thank heavens!), but I don't know if everything will fit! We'd like to camp on Pismo Beach, but we're planning on sending the camping gear in the U-Haul with Dave. I should really make a better list of what exactly needs to be packed so we can figure the whole thing out. At least we'll have air conditioning and some trunk space to work with; if we were to take our Intrigue, we'd have to deal with all the tools and crap that goes along with Allen's car wherever it may roam. I'm trying to get hold of people to visit while we are on our way, like my friend Shelly in St. George, Allen's friend Dom in L.A., etc. I want this to be well organized; I learned from my study abroad in France that it is definitely better to have plans and to know exactly where you'll be staying. Sure, I found a hotel room for one near Montmartre armed only with my rental car, but I'm sure there was some divine intervention in getting me there! I have a general outline, which is subject to change depending on who we get to see when. I do want to visit the Bare Minerals store (can I just say that not all mineral makeup is created equally? Just say no to mineral makeup from China!) and do the Hollywood touristy thing and hit a beach or two before the camping. Allen isn't too excited about all that, seeing as he lived there for 30 years, but I haven't ever seen the Walk of Fame! I may have seen the Hollywood sign through the smog, but never close enough for a photograph. Allen is also worried about wildfires, because I want to drive up the PCH, and it may be closed. :o( Boo. We'll just have to see about that one. I really want to take a laptop with us. Unfortunately, we don't own one yet. I have wanted one for a long time, but those unnecessary expenses keep getting pushed back. I did look at the Used Computer Warehouse, and their cheapest notebooks were $299 and only had 256 MB and a 56K modem. Uh, I don't think so--I'm way too spoiled for that. I really want an HP with LightScribe and an Blu-Ray DVD Drive. We'll see. It would be extremely helpful for the trip, to check traffic and fire conditions and e-mails and driving directions, etc. Should I just do it? I'm thinking so! Eeek! I should have done during the last Black Friday sale!

"Nobody Said It Was Easy; No One Ever Said It Would Be This Hard"

You may have noticed that I have "gone green." The blog is the only place I have done this. Now that recycling and conservation are all the rage, the whole thing just irritates me. I should be happy that many people are taking better care of the planet, and maybe I'm bitter that Bountiful City doesn't have recycling (hello!?), but that's where I'm at.

I'm taking a cue from Rachael and I think I'll include a bit about my husband here, so you can get to know him. He really is a great guy.




1- What is your husband's name? Allen

2- Who said I love you first? He did!

3- Who is taller? We are exactly the same height, so if I wear shoes with any sort of heel, I am.

4- Who is smarter? I think I'm smarter book-wise, but he understands computers and mechanics and politics and a lot of other things in a way I never will.

5- Who is more sensitive? Probably me, but only because he's a guy and his brain doesn't work that way.

6- Who does the laundry? Usually me.

7- Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does.

8- Who pays the bills? He does the big stuff (rent, cars, etc.); I do my credit card payments, student loans and Sprint. We WILL get out of debt someday!

9- Who cooks more? He does. He's a fantastic cook, but he will put up with my Mary-Creation Casseroles.

10- What meals do you cook together? We don't really do any. I try to stay out of the kitchen when he's cooking. I found out early on that Allen has very strong opinions on how things are to be done (including the way I cook), so I have asked him to stay out of the kitchen when I'm cooking to avoid contention.

11- Who is more stubborn? I'd say that he is. He has VERY strong opinions and is not easily swayed. :o)

12-Who is the first to admit they are wrong? He's good about apologizing, but honestly, we fight so infrequently that neither of us really have to admit we're wrong.

13- Who is more clean? Probably me, although neither of us can claim the whole "next to godliness" thing.

14- Who has more siblings? Me. I have 3 sisters and 2 brothers; he has one sister.

15- Who wears the pants in the relationship? He does. He's a guy. Sometimes I have to remind him that he should be wearing the pants, but he's pretty good about it.

16- What do you like to do together? We like to go out to dinner and watch movies, although there are definitely ulterior motives behind the former and we usually fall asleep during the latter.

17- Who eats more sweets? I do. We have very different tastes in food--he likes beets, sauerkraut, malted flavor (like Whoppers and nasty Robin's Eggs), Black Licorice, olives, and a lot of other stuff I can't even stomach.

18- Guilty Pleasures? We hardly see each other enough to have any guilty pleasures lately!

19- How did you meet? On ldssingles.com. I think we had both been on there for over a year; Allen was actually engaged to a girl he had met on there before he met me. She's one of the reasons why he moved to SLC from Los Angeles, but she ended up being a little bit "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs." So we e-mailed for a few weeks and finally decided to meet. We then found out that we were living less than a mile away from each other! I invited him to my Singles Branch, so we met on Sunday, May 1st, 2005 and were basically inseparable after that.

20- Who asked who out first? If you count church as our first date, I did, although he was first to ask (via e-mail) when we could meet.

21- Who kissed who first? Allen kissed me.

22- Who proposed? I don't really remember. It wasn't a formal thing (no rings or bended knees); we just talked about it and it made sense and we both felt good about it, so we did it!

23- Best features? His beautiful eyes, his steadiness, his cooking ability, his kindness

24- What is his best quality? His ability to fix anything (even my sadness)!




Thank you, honey! I love you so much!