home sweet home?

Okay, so I do mean that, this is "home sweet home" but seriously, it's freaking cold, people! It seems the more I travel to warm climates, the more I wonder why I don't live in one.

So...we are back. Yes, it's true--10 glorious days later. We took the red-eye from Honolulu last night & are now enjoying (?) a day of lots of sleep and LOTS of homework (for me atleast).

I don't have enough energy to post about our amazing adventure, but I am sure I will soon, so keep your eye out for a new, lengthy, photo-filled post from me. In the mean time, I will post a teaser pic to get you all reved up and excited for what's to come.

I wonder if anyone is still reading this little blog of mine?

(Doesn't this just get you all reved up & excited for what is to come?!!?) No.

Buddies,

I have been off in la-la land for the past hour reading "Black heels to tractor wheels: A love story" written by the talented Pioneer Woman.

I am finally coming up for air & realizing I need to go do something productive, but first I had to share her with you. Her story has provided me with a nice, long, relaxing trip out of reality and into la-la land which, I have to admit, is where I always prefer to be.

And now I am thinking that someday I will write down the story of G & I, as boring as it may be..I don't want to loose the memories. Pionner woman is a talented writer, go read the tale of this L.A. city slicker turned country mom.

PS. Pioneer woman cooks, too!

No more girlfriends.

This week has not been my favorite. Let's just put it that way. I know that I have absolutely no right to complain, because I am heading off on a 10 day tropical getaway next week, but seriously, this week has sucked.

It all started Monday morning when a certain professor of mine decided to cancel class. Cancel class? Sounds great! Why would that make me mad? Well, friends--I am ALL for a canceled class. In fact, I would argue that no one enjoys a cancelled class like I do, however, I appreciate a warning before said class is cancelled. That's right, a little heads up. In other words, I do not appreciate getting up early, scraping piles of snow off my frozen car, almost getting in a wreck on 13th (slick, icy, snowstorm roads), wasting 20 minutes trying to find a place to park & finally resorting to a pay lot, walking across campus in a blizzard, up 3 flights of stairs and down the hall to find a friendly little note: "Class is Cancelled--Have a good one"

"Excuse me?!?!?! Have a good one? Alright, I'll just traipse back out into the Arctic & dig my car out off an igloo (again) waste another 40 minutes driving home (on a day that I, otherwise, would have avoided driving anywhere) and have a good one!"

Grrrrr.

That basically set the tone of my entire week & things have progressed accordingly.

So 4 crappy days later, here we are at Friday. I took these pictures (and yes, they are awful) of Jack & Toby laying on my lap (which is why they are so awful). Jacky has had a rough couple of days. Yesterday the poor little man was stripped of his man-hood when his heartless parents decided it was time for him, like his brother, to be neutered. As you can guess, he is very upset. Making matters worse for him, the doctor found a hernia on his belly, so Jack had to have 2 operations yesterday. All he wants to do is sleep, cry, shake and be held. As you noticed, Toby is also on my lap. I don't know if he is just wanting attention or feeling sympathy pains for little J, or what, but he has decided that he, too, is not feeling well and is also whining, shaking and needing to be held?

Ugh.

Like I said, I shouldn't be complaining. Next week, I am going to Hawaii & that basically gives me no right to complain about anything for at least a year. But still, poor little sperm-less men.

Wishful thinking...

My birthday is coming up and what I really want is a fabulous robe to lounge around the house in. I'm not talking a fuzzy, white, i-just-took-a-shower robe, I'm talking a cute, stylish, i-could-wear-this-all-day-and-not-feel-ugly robe, like the one Mandy Moore wore in "License to wed" (okay movie, amazing robe).

In the hunt for the robe of my dreams, I was delighted to stumble upon this beauty by Derek Rose. Love the length, love the kimono style, love the toile, HATE the price! $275.00 for a robe? Thanks, but no thanks! So...that brings me to you, dear blogger friend. I am hoping one of my buddies has a fabulous robe hanging in her closet & can tell me where she found it. I have looked everywhere & the only store that comes close to perfecting my vision is Anthro. They have some darling ones, but they are a little too short. I want one I can wear over my g's (too much info?) Anyways, let me know if you can steer me in the right direction...I am sure all of you fashionistas can!

Love, J.

Carmelitas

I have a request to post this delicious recipe for Carmelitas. I love making these because they are so easy, amazingly yummy & they stay great for days (arguably even better after a few days) so nothing gets wasted!

You will need:

1 jar Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch caramel fudge ice cream topping (try to get this specific kind, if you can, the consistency is much better than other caramel toppings)
12 oz. milk chocolate chips
2 c. flour
2 c. oats
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 sq. butter

Combine flour, oats, sugar, soda & salt in a bowl. Melt butter & pour over dry mixture. Mix with spoon. Pat 1/2 mixture in the bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake 17 minutes at 325'. Sprinkle layer of chocolate chips. Warm caramel in the microwave for 60 seconds, pour over chocolate chips. Top with remaining dry mix. Bake 17 min at 325'. Cool completely.

These are heavenly! Enjoy!

Goodbye puppies...hello dogs.

G & I took Jacky B. & Ober O. to the vet the other day for a check up & to see how much they have grown. It blew me away! My little gentlemen are all grown up...It breaks my heart. I miss their puppy days...them being itty bitty, too little to go up a step, falling over when they tried to run on the hardwood floor & their puppy breath.

Toby then. He weighed just over 2 lbs & had much darker hair.

Toby now. He weighs about 6.5 pounds and has gray hair.

Jack then. He weighed 2 lbs & had dark hair.

Jack now. He weighs 7 lbs 8 oz. & has redish gray hair!

Both Jacky and O have changed a lot since we got them. When we first got Jack he was very shy. He hid under our couch all the time & was afraid of everyone. I am now happy to say that you won't meet a friendlier dog. Jack loves everyone and is always jumping on people's laps to give them kisses (which is a bad thing, I realize!). He is, by far, the sweetest dog I have ever met...he is a little lover.


Toby was a crazy little man when we first got him. He was always into everything and loved to nip at things, chase things and rip things to shreds. He has mellowed out a lot and is now a little sweetie. He loves all little kids. Whenever our friends bring their babies to our house, he won't leave them alone. He gets down as low to the ground as possible and licks their fingers and toes. He is so gentle & cautious with babies, which shows how much he has grown up!


Jack & Toby really love G and I, but mostly they love each other. Our #1 reason for getting Jack after we got Toby was so Toby could always have a buddy, even when G & I weren't home. Luckily for us, it has worked out exactly as we planned. They love each other so so much. They refuse to sleep in separate kennels (and when I say refuse I mean, they will not go to bed and cry until we put them together) and if Jack is in our bedroom and T is in the hall, they stick their little paws under the door to try to touch each other. One time I had Jack with me in our family room & G had Toby in the bedroom, Jack stood at the very edge of the couch (so he could see T) and Toby stood at the very edge of the bed (so he could see J) and they refused to move. They stayed that way all night just staring at each other & wishing to be together. They are best friends.

This is a creepy picture of both of them, but it shows you their sizes.

T used to be much bigger than little J.

Now Jack is bigger than Toby.

And just a little side note: I realize that dressing dogs in clothes is pretty ridiculous, but YOU go ahead and put two tiny little puppies out in a freezing cold snowstorm to go to the bathroom & watch them shake and cry and then try not to put a sweater on them!

And this is just one of my favorite pictures of them. This is when we first put them in their life jackets before a trip to the lake. They were so mad...but look how adorable they are!

I realize this is a ridiculous post & I won't feel bad if no one reads it, but Toby turns 1 this February (which officially means he is no longer a puppy) and I just wanted to reflect on my little guys. I love my little family so much! Even if most people wouldn't consider us a family at all!

Just a few thoughts...

Since the news of President Hinckley death, I, like most of you, have been filled with mixed emotions. I am very sad to see my Prophet go, but overjoyed to know that he is with his sweetheart again.

I have been reading the book "Letters" which features letters written throughout Sister Hinckley's life to her children, grandchildren and her husband. I finished the book last night and the last letter was one that was written to Sister Hinkley from President Hinckley before she passed away. The letter took on a different meaning, given the circumstances, and it really filled me with joy to read it. It was a heartfelt letter in which the Prophet spoke about all the memories they had made together and what a wonderful companion she had been to him. He talked about how much he loved her and how grateful he was for her example. He also spoke about the time that one, or both of them would pass away, and how it filled his soul with joy and peace to know that they would be together forever and how he would look forward to being with her for eternity. I will never forget in his confrence address in 2004 when he said spoke of her and said, "Before I married her, she had been the girl of my dreams, to use the words of a song then popular. She was my dear companion for more than two-thirds of a century, my equal before the Lord, really my superior. And now in my old age, she has again become the girl of my dreams." He truly adored his wife and showed his love for her in so many ways. If any of you own the book, I would reccomend re-reading the last letter as it confirms what we all know. I am so happy to know that they are reunited and will never again be seperated.

I admire President & Sister Hinckley for being such a perfect example of what marriage is all about. They adored, respected and uplifted each other and theirs is a marriage to emulate. Reading the letter really touched me, especially at this time, and I just thought I would share it with you.

Rude.

Ugh. I just have to say that Anthropologie and I are currently in a fight.

I don't know who they hired to stalk me and find out EXACTLY what type of clothing I can't resist and exactly when I am going on a tropical vacation, but that must have been precisely what they did because now they have this.

And I am currently browsing through their "Packing List" and feeling like I need absolutely everything and knowing that I can afford absolutely nothing & It is just not creating good feelings between Anthro and I! Therefore, I will not be frequenting Anthro's site nearly as much in the next couple weeks and we will see if they learn their lesson and stop torturing people.

But, before I go cold turkey...If i had hundreds and hundreds of dollars burning a hole in my pocket and no one to make me feel ridiculous about the outrageous prices of these items, I would purchase this (which actually isn't too pricey) and this and this and maybe this.

That is if Anthropologie and I weren't in a fight...but, we totally are.

To give them the finger? Or not to give them the finger? That is the question.

G and I went tanning tonight to get ready for our trip to Hawaii that is quickly approaching and I just thought I would share our fun little topic of discussion with my few little blogger buddies!

I worked in a tanning salon in High School (I know, I know...pretty typical) and have always loved to tan, so I was so excited because I haven't been tanning in ages. It really helps rid you of your cold weather blues to put on a bathing suit, lay in a warm bed and listen to some Kalai.

So we walk into the salon and I choose my bed and my time as G (a new costumer) signs the waiver and fills out the standard questionnaire. I called the salon a week earlier to ask about packages and they had informed me that they now require your fingerprint each time you tan to make sure that it is, in fact, you who is tanning under your account. Being a former tanning employee, I understood this due to the fact that clients sometimes give the salon their credit card number, and just ask them to charge it whenever they come in. I informed G of this and he told me I must have misunderstood and there is no way it could be true.

Well, it was true.

Taped to the wall above the shiny fingerprint pad was a letter from Management explaining that they aren't actually taking your entire fingerprint, but just using 4 different points on your index finger to match print to print. Good idea? Or tanning salon conspiracy?

My "I don't want to be on the Internet" hubby couldn't believe they actually had this policy and thought that it was a bit invasive and was unwilling to give them his finger, but that's okay...I love him anyways and I support his little clutched fist.

I, being my carefree self, had no problem with this whatsoever and willingly stuck out my finger, grabbed my lotion and enjoyed my time in "the sun."

Like I said, G thought it was ridiculous, I thought it was fine.

Maybe he needs to relax?
Maybe I need to be more cautious?

Either way, I am now happily one shade darker than I was this afternoon and one step closer to a golden brown Hawaii appropriate tan.

The question is...What do you think?

Tagged...

I'm back.

I was tagged twice a couple of days ago, so I guess you all have endure hearing more about boring me. I would just like to take the opportunity to let Jennie know that she was also tagged by Funny Madre so I look forward to reading her questionnaire as well!

(I just thought I would throw a completely random photo in the mix to spice things up a bit!)

On this history of G & Me...

How long have you been together? Since January 2006
How long did you date? We were married 9 long months after we starting dating
How old is he? 28
Who eats more? This morning, G made Norwegian pancakes for breakfast...I ate 2, he ate 6. Enough said.
Who said "I love you" first? I would tell you that I said "I love you" first, he would tell you that he did. Either way, we were both very much ready to say it.
Who is taller? I am 5'5", G is 6' 2"
Who sings better? We both pretty much suck at singing, but I am not quite as tone-deaf as my man.
Who is smarter? This is a hard one. We are so opposite. I am very right-brained, so I did better in English, Literature, Art, etc...G is completely left brained, so he is a Math whizz. I did better than him in High school (woohoo!!), but I don't think I can compete with his 3.9 GPA in college. Plus he was an accounting major...Who am I kidding, G is a lot smarter than I am, but at least I got to pretend like that wasn't the obvious answer for a few minutes.
Who does the laundry? For the most part, I do the laundry, but he pitches in and does it every now and then and he will always help me fold, if I ask.
Who does the dishes? We both do them, depending on who is home when they need to be done.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Looking from the foot of the bed, I sleep on the right side.
Who pays the bills? G does, but I kind of wish I did. I enjoy paying bills. (physco much?)
Who mows the lawn? I am embarrassed to say that I have never mowed a lawn in my life. 4 brothers...what can I say?
Who cooks dinner? In the past, I have 98% of the time. But this semester I have evening classes a few times a week, so my hub will have to pick up the slack..which he will be happy to do. Tacos, tacos, ground beef, shepherds pie, tacos.
Who is more stubborn? We are both pretty stubborn, but G is more so.
Who kissed who first? G kissed me first...but that is a funny story...(another time).
Who asked who out? He asked me out about 5 times before I said yes. Don't get me wrong, I was totally obsessed with the guy, but I was, um, not exactly on the market.
Who proposed? G with the help of Jennie.
Who is more sensitive? Me by far.
Who has more friends? Ummm...at this point, we pretty much share our friends. But I guess if you were to divide them up, I probably have more close girlfriends. But G talks to and sees his friends a lot more than I see mine (besides the best bud).
Who has more siblings? G-2 brothers, Me-4 brothers.
Who wears the pants in the relationship? G wears the pants, but for the record, I let him.
Who are you tagging? Christy