Fank you all!

What a great Christmas we had this year! We were spoiled by having both my mom in town as well as Levi's mom. We were completely overwhelmed with great gifts and every minute that we got to spend with family was so much fun.
Some of my favorite moments:
♥ Opening the big box from Levi which contained a big garden gnome. Needless to say I was stoked! I love garden gnomes and I've been wanting a bigger one for the yard. Also, he got me a Ward Hooper print of the Sawtooth Mountains. Ward Hooper is an artist that does retro-style paintings of famous Idaho and Boise landmarks. I'm so excited about my print! Here's his website. I love the Boise prints. Thanks Levi!
♥ Going to The Ram with Maria, Levi and Avery. Their steak is to DIE for. Too bad Maria wasn't feeling well and couldn't enjoy the food :(
♥ My wonderful mom filling Levi and my christmas stockings. Nobody stuffs a stocking like my mom! I got the traditional peanuts, Reeses's minatures and a chocolate orange. You're the best mom!
♥ Spending Christmas Eve night with my fabulous in-laws at my F-I-L's house. We opened all our gifts to each other that night and Levi and I made out like bandits.
♥ Watching Mamma Mia with my mom. I didn't realize I know every lyric to every Abba song thanks to my mom blasting their music whenever we did Saturday morning cleaning while I was growing up.
♥ Hanging out at Heather's house and watching the kids go ga-ga over all their great gifts. Their kids are so grateful and enjoyed all their presents. Heather's house always provides such a warm, relaxing feeling. I love going over there, especially at the holidays.

Well, hopefully I can get my camera working again and I can take pictures of the garden gnome and other fun things. I love you all and can't wait for next Christmas (although, if I could avoid working during that time I will!)

Great movie!

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you going out to see Slumdog Millionaire. It is such an amazing movie, is visually stunning and one of the best romance stories I've seen in a long, long time. I have absolutely no idea why it's rated 'R' and, like the film critic Eric Snider says, it should have been rated PG-13.
See it if you ever get the chance! It's your destiny :) LOL!

Why didn't anybody tell me....

....that MAKING Christmas presents is just as expensive, if not more expensive, than just buying the dang things! Now all my immediate family is going to end up with crumby gifts that I spent too much time and money trying to make special.
I should have done what I've done every year and just bought everybody books. What was I thinking??
Don't mind me, I'm just having my mid-December meltdown. I get to have one every year (working retail during the holidays entitles me to it.)

Haircuts and Happy Pups

So I'm branching out with my hair. Not only do I now have bangs, but I also had some darker streaks put in. I feel so adventurous (note the sarcasm)


Also, I uploaded this video of our dog Morty and his "happy dance." This is what he does whenever we say, "Morty, do you want to go for a walk?" Watch his front feet, they're as nimble as Michael Jackson. (Sorry there is no sound and the lighting is horrible. It's just from my digital camera)

Even the Grinch would cry at this

This little girl is an angel!

ATTENTION!!

I need favorite colors from the following people:

Scott
Stephanie
Mom
Athena
Whitney

Please either call me or comment on this posting with your color. It's for Christmas, so I'm kinda on a deadline :)

Thanks!
Carly

Post 91

I hope everybody out there had a fantastic Thanksgiving...I know I sure did!! Here are just some random thoughts that I have going on right now (I'm going to use bullet points because I LURVE bullet points:))

*First, Thanksgiving this year was a blast. We went to Levi's Aunt Terry's house for the big Gates Thanksgiving. We go there on the even years and the odd years are spent with my side of the family. The food was beyond delicious and it was so fun catching up with the family. I am so blessed to have great in-laws and any chance I have to see Aunt June is a great occasion. After dinner we went to Heather's house for AMAZING pie. Heather made five or six of the most beautiful pies you've ever seen. They were not so pretty after we attacked them with full force. Thanks Heather, you always make Thanksgiving special!

*After pie, we met up with Levi's family again to see the new James Bond movie, which I did not like at all. I consider myself a movie snob and I can keep up with some of the most convoluted plots, but this one went entirely over my head. Who is the good guys? Who is bad? Was Vesper a bad person?? I'll never know. Daniel Craig was, of course, very yummy to look but it didn't make up for the whole movie. Another plus was the girl who played Strawberry Fields was very cute. She should have been the main bond girl. Red heads deserve much more screen time :)

*Today I woke up early to go buy a new cell phone because mine is a piece of crap that dies after talking on it for less than 10 minutes. I had received a text message from my cell phone provider saying camera phones were going to be on sale for $19.99 on Friday only. I got there about 9 a.m. (the store opened at 8am) and found a line of over 200 people wrapping around the block. I was in flip flops for crying out loud and there is no way I could have waited that long for something that may have ran out by the time I made it to the front of the line. I'll try again later today, but I've nearly lost all hope of getting a new, affordable phone. Sigh.

*The new dog is fantastic. Morty is such a sweetheart and the cats are finally warming up to him. When he's laying down, Oliver will walk up to him all snobby-like and sniff him and then walk away like he was not happy with what he smelled. Our animals crack me up. They make me so happy and I'm very lucky to have a husband that enjoys their company as much, if not more, than me.
(P.S. Yesterday an English Pointer won Best in Show at the National Dog Show! The winner looks JUST like Morty! Looks like we got him just in time :)


*I have to work tonight, which I'm not looking forward to because I know the store is going to be trashed. I'll definitely be wearing my comfortable shoes tonight. If I can make one public plea it is this: If you go to a bookstore, please do not take 30 books off the shelves if you have no intention of buying more than two. You can look at the book right there and put it back in it's proper place and you have saved a poor bookseller from having to find it's home at midnight tonight. Also, there is no reason to get a stack of magazines either. Take one or two and then get one or two more when you're done reading the first two and have put them back in their place. Sorry to sound like the book gestapo, but it really is the hardest aspect of my job. I'm sure my aunt Nancy can vouch for me, since she's worked in a library for years and years LOL!

*I am in a book rut right now. We are going to be reading The Historian for my book club and I think it looks great, so hopefully this will snap me out of my slump. Any good suggestions other than this book?

Well, I hope you all had a great Turkey Day and I hope you will all have a great holiday season!
Love,
Carly

Meet Morty!!

I am such a sucker for humane society pooches! Our Basset Hound Lola passed away in early October and the house hasn't been the same. Levi misses going for the walks and I miss the company. We went to the humane society and found this sweet guy and couldn't pass him up. He is a five year old English Pointer and is VERY smart. He already knows a bunch of commands and he seems eager to learn more.
The card on his kennel said his name was "Cider" but we hated that name, and since dogs don't seem that attached to names anyway, we went with "Morty."
Isn't he adorable?? (Sorry about the devil eyes. My digital camera makes dogs and cats have that weird eye glare. Morty actually has lovely green eyes.)

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas Questions

TAKE THIS SURVEY!

Take this survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both! I love wrapping presents but gift bags can be so adorable.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Real! My mom never had a fake tree in her house and neither will I. They're worth all the hassle.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually around December 5th, which I always remember because it's Carl & Michelle's bday!

4. When do you take the tree down?
December 26th. It makes me sad to see it up any longer than that.

5. Do you like egg nog?
NOOOO!! Levi loves it. It gives me the willies.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Probably when I got my Samantha American Girl doll. That was pretty special.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
I have a beautiful 3 piece one from my amazing Grandma.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My in-laws are kinda tricky. Sorry guys, but you know you are!

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Levi. He's happy with just about anything.

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received?
Is there such a thing as a bad Christmas gift?

11. Mail or email Christmas card?
Mail! I need something tangible!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Oh man, I guess it's between A Christmas Story, Elf and Christmas Vacation

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Unfortunately I'm not as good as Heather, who starts shopping for the next Christmas as early as April. I think I work best under pressure, at least that's what I tell myself.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Only a gag gift that my sister and I had going for a few years. We may have to start something like that again.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Red and green Peanut M&Ms, turkey and of course those chocolate oranges. Yum!!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
I like the cleanness of the clear lights. I'm not a huge fan of colored lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Silent Night, What Child Is This?, O Holy Night. Hands down.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Both! Last year we were able to do Xmas day in Utah and then drove back to Boise and had Xmas evening with Levi's family.

19. Can you name Santas reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Donner....which one am I missing??

20. Do you have an Angel on top or a star?
I'd have to go look through my decorations, but I think it was a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
I've adopted both traditions. In my family we always just did the one on Xmas eve & the rest on Xmas day but Levi's family opens all of them on Xmas eve so they'll have Xmas day to hang around and do family stuff. I like doing both.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Working retail!!

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Great movie

This is one of the few examples where the movie is much, much better than the book.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was not a bad book, but because it was only about 100 pages it didn't capture the emotion and other details as much as I would have wanted.
The movie is absolutely powerful. It's heart wrenching and stunning. I recommend it to every person out there, even though it involves such a tough subject. I highly, highly recommend it.

Money, it's a gas.

Sooooo, Levi and I have much less money than we did any other holiday season, and I know that we're not alone. This year has been brutal on so many of you out there and I feel strongly that we shouldn't feel pressured into spending a lot of money on each other this year. I know every year we say we're not going to spend a lot of money and then we all do because we buy each other a lot of knick knacks and they all add up. This year is extremely tight and I really think we should stick with Heather's plan of just making each other's gifts or not giving anything and just sending a nice card.
Last year Levi and I didn't buy a tree or do stockings or anything because we were in the midst of buying a house and I was surprised at the lack of stress we felt all through December. I'm not saying that anybody else should give up getting a tree, since all of you have children that enjoy those kinds of things, but I think we all just need to be as frugal as possible and give gifts from the heart that cost little or no money at all.
I hope you all know how much Levi and I love you and how we would give you the world, if we only could. Let's all focus on the free aspects of Christmas this year and not get caught in the holiday madness. For me, Christmas has always been about family. Visiting family, sending cards, going over to Heather's house to watch the kids open presents, going to my in-laws and sitting in a circle in the living room and opening all those thoughtful gifts, etc. I know that this year will be no different--it will just not cost as much money.
***Scott, Laurie and Heather, I need you to email me or comment on here and let me know all of your kid's favorite colors. I'm making gifts this year and their favorite colors will be important. Please let me know ASAP! THANKS!!***

Anyways, enough about that. I thought I would update you on our lives, since I seem to rarely do that (mostly because nothing exciting ever happens--or at least I don't see it as exciting LOL) Levi is still working away at the detail shop. They've slowed down considerably since car sales have all but stopped. I'm hoping with the lower gas prices that people start buying again so he can get even busier. Things at my work are good. It's definitely not as busy there, but it's been kind of nice. I feel like I can get a lot more done and I'm enjoying spending more one-on-one time with my coworkers.
The baby-making process is still a go. We thought we would stop trying due to money circumstances, but we figured out that we need to trust our feelings and continue trying. I will be starting Clomid in a couple of days and hopefully that will help out. Speaking of pharmaceuticals (because aren't we always speaking of them?) I am officially an Allen with the 3 A's: Asthma, Acne and A.D.D. I officially started taking Ritalin yesterday and I can honestly say that I already feel the difference. I feel more focused and less anxious about doing projects that I normally wouldn't want to do. Here's to modern medicine and all of it's wonders :)
Our cats are doing great, with the exception of one of them throwing up in random places. We think this is because I've been doing some craft projects inside the house and have been spraying clear spray paint in the bathroom, which then circulates throughout the rest of the house. The fumes have probably got to their little lungs and I've decided to only use the spray in the garage from now on. Poor little guys. I feel like a horrible owner.
I'm still loving Boise, even in it's ugly season (November to March). Not having the mountains around us is always a little hard, but then I take a walk or drive through downtown Boise and realize just how much I love this city. I can't imagine living anywhere else and I've been so blessed to be able to move here and have Heather always within five miles. I absolutely love my family here (I have my two great sisters-in-law, Sevy's moving back to Boise from Sweden in February!!) and Brad and Julie (my father-in-law and step-mother-in-law) are wonderful. I can't believe that I've been here 4.5 years and I can't believe it's been almost 4 years since I met Levi. I love having all the relatives come up here to visit and I hope everyone who reads this knows they are welcome to come here anytime....we even have a guest room!

Love you all!
Carly

Ewww!

I just wanted it on the record that my husband, whom I truly do adore, consumed a sandwich tonight. Not that big of a deal, just a turkey, cheese and mayonnaise sandwich. The problem? The mayo was expired. How expired you ask? Try SEVEN MONTHS!! Not only that, but he DIDN'T notice!! I went in the kitchen after he had already eaten and saw the mayo and said, "I though I threw this out, I think it's super expired." I saw a look of concern in Levi's eyes and that's when I knew he had eaten some of it. Despite that concern, he insisted that it tasted, "just fine."
The best part? He started to put the mayo BACK INTO THE FRIDGE!!

Don't worry, I snatched the offending mayo out of his hand and threw it away. Could there be anything grosser than expired mayo? The thing is made of eggs and oil for crying out loud! I can't wait to hear him moaning and groaning tonight. Gotta love the man.

Gross, gross, gross.

Glasses!

Levi & I are both in the market for new glasses. I have night blindness that is only getting worse with age and he has been wearing the exact same pair since the week before we got married (almost 3.5 years ago). I can get a prescription that is strong enough for the night blindness, but not so strong that I can't wear the glasses during the day. In fact it will probably help with my depth perception issues that are becoming worse and worse.
We've both found some great pairs and here's pics of the ones we are going to order (Levi had to have pictures of him taken since his sight is so bad he can't see what they look like on his face. Poor, blind Levi)



I love Levi's face in the picture below!


Here's the first pair that I liked:

Side view of that same pair


I also really liked this pair:


But I ultimately am going with this pair. I'm so excited!


**Also, I've learned that if you need motivation to go on a diet, just have someone take close-up pictures of your face. I almost threw up when I saw how big I've let my face get. Day one of diet starts tomorrow!**

3 more days...

...until I get to see my mom and Laurie! Oh, and 3 more days until I get to see more of this:



MOM AND LAURIE, PLEASE SAY WE CAN GO SEE THE NEW BOND WHILE YOU'RE HERE! OTHERWISE, I'LL BE GOING ALONE :)

Awwww!

I dare you to find anything cuter than this! Cute overload!!

@ Yahoo! Video

Watch your butt Martha Stewart!

I recently bought The Big A#@ Book of Crafts, which is an amazing craft book that has more modern design ideas and appeals to people like me that don't have a crafty bone in their body.
Being both impulsive and a little crazy, I decided that I wanted my first craft to be a homemade tree that has old book pages as its leaves. The book made it seem simple enough, it just didn't say that it would take 30 man hours to do!!
I guess I'm exaggerating, it probably took about 9 hours to do (which was a welcome distraction to my obsessive election-day- coverage-watching on MSNBC. I started watching too early--like at 2:30pm--and by the time the polls actually closed I was going nuts!) The whole project came in under $11 and, though it isn't EXACTLY how I thought it would turn out, I'm pleased with the results. (Please forgive the pot's messiness, I forgot to wipe off the plaster of Paris that got all over it.)

LOL!!

First of all, did you all vote?? I hope so!! I always swell with pride when I turn in my ballot and I hear the words, "Carly Gates has voted." Wow. I love election day, if only to see the processes put in place by our founding fathers carried out.

No matter who you vote for, I'm sure you'll find this video hillarious. Enjoy!!

McCain vs. Obama dance off

Ryan's Visit!

This weekend we were lucky enough to have my 12 year old nephew Ryan visit us and it couldn't have been any more fun. Wilson and Eliza were stoked to see their cousin and Levi and I were glad to have the company in our house. Ry flew up on Friday and left yesterday afternoon. We were actually able to fit quite a bit into a couple of days, including going to Elmer's for breakfast (and feasting on their huge German pancake) go trick-or-treating, go to BSU to show Ryan the blue turf, take a trip to the Discovery Center with all the kids (which always rocks!), go to Red Robin, visit Barnes & Noble, and spend lots of time hanging out at Heather's house. If you don't know Ryan, he is the coolest, nicest 12 year old boy in the world. I had so much fun with him and all of us in Boise can't wait to have him up here again!

Lucky 7s

Heather, Laurie, Scott and Stephanie: I have now tagged you and you MUST do this survey (pretty please?) Everyone else, I'd love to see your answers on your page too!

7 THINGS I LIKE
1. Buying a brand new book. I get a total high when I pick out a new book and take it home with me. It's a darn good thing I get a discount at B&N!
2. Laying on the couch with Levi. I absolutely adore lounging around with him and watching our favorite tv shows and movies.
3. Being close with my family. Having amazing siblings and 10 hilarious nieces and nephews is a blast.
4. Driving to Utah. I actually love the 5.5 hour drive down there, it's the coming home part that sucks. I usually cry from Orem to Brigham City.
5. Anything to do with summer: baseball season, 4th of July, swimming, Redfish Lake, ice cream, the smell of cut grass, reading in the sun, etc. I HATE WINTER!
6. Crossword puzzles: I am my mother's daughter.
7. BT Cake. Just about everybody reading this blog will know what that is and can understand the greatness of it.

7 THINGS THAT SCARE ME
1. The thought of infertility.
2. Clowns. Really, does anybody actually LIKE clowns or find them funny??
3. Fish. Everything except maybe goldfish give me a huge case of the heebie jeebies.
4. Alligators. This goes back to a recurring dream I had when I was five years old. I can't even go into the reptile house at the Hogle Zoo. I get goosebumps even thinking about it.
5. The current economy.
6. Lots of scary movies, though this will never stop me from enjoying them (not the gross gory ones, but the suspenseful, well-made ones.) How come I'm the only one in the family that loves a good scary movie?
7. Any creature that is creepy or crawly. I just got shivers thinking about it.

7 THINGS I HATE
1. Papercuts.
2. Running late for something, which is funny because I'm always late. You'd think I wouldn't hate it since I do it so much. Hmmm.
3. When people use words like "Unthaw" or "Irregardless". They aren't words! You don't "unthaw" meat. You thaw it. And irregardless doesn't mean anything. You can use the words "regardless" or "irrelevant" but combining the two doesn't make a word!
4. When my neck goes out, especially when I can feel it start, like when I'm blowdrying my hair, and I can't do anything to make it stop.
5. The smell of cat poop. Yes, my cats are indoor cats but there has got to be some sort of magic litter that masks the scent.
6. When drivers have a green arrow to turn left and there is 100 feet in between the cars as they make the turn. C'mon! We're only going to have the green arrow for 30 seconds! Execute!
7. Self Improvement books written by people that are bigger messes than you or I could ever hope to be.

7 THINGS IN MY ROOM
1. This bed from Ikea (yay for Ikea and a wonderful big brother willing to deliver it! Love you Scott!)
2. This rug from Urban Outfitters.
3. Books and magazines and a few more books
4. Several semi-empty cans of Mountain Dew and Diet Pepsi
5. A cool picture of Jesus that my mom framed and gave us.
6. Two alarm clocks. Both set anywhere from five to ten minutes ahead. I'm not sure why we do that, it obviously doesn't work.
7. Two fat, lazy cats.

7 THINGS ABOUT ME
1. I am married to my best friend. If you haven't met Levi, he's the best kind of company to be around. He's funny, smart and always has a good story to tell.
2. I am very close with my family. I have been so blessed with amazing grandparents, parents, siblings, in-laws, cousins, etc. All my fellow managers that I work with are amazed at how much I talk about my family.
3. I am completely hooked on icanhascheezburger.comThere is something insanely funny about pictures of cats with misspelled captions.
4. I am a total movie geek. I think imdb.com is pretty darn awesome.
5. I really want to get my mom onto Deal or No Deal. Please let me know if you know how I can sign her up.
6. I think a pint of Ben & Jerrys, pajamas, Netflix defines the perfect date.
7. Naps=heaven. I've never understood people who say they don't like naps. That's just crazy talk!

7 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1. Have babies
2. Complete one goal that I've been putting off (write a short story, learn how to cook, learn another language, etc.)
3. Finish my wedding day scrapbook LOL!
4. Take Levi to Lake Powell and get him to enjoy being in water.
5. Go to NYC with my Mom. We've been planning it for a while, and hopefully it will happen within the next two years.
6. Read Crime and Punishment.
7. Complete the Fuddruckers Challenge.

7 THINGS I CAN DO
1. Have entire conversations just using movie quotes.
2. Do crossword puzzles in the bathtub: Again, I am my mother's daughter.
3. Talk politics.
4. Polish off a one pound bag of Peanut M&Ms in less than 24 hours. And I wonder how I gained all this weight??
5. Scare people. I love hiding behind doors and jumping out and I love Levi's reaction to this more than anything. Heather still has the top honors of scaring him the best though!
6. Make a mean pot of Pasta Roni. What can I say, it's a gift.
7. Cry over just about anything.

7 THINGS I CAN'T DO
1. Stay mad at somebody for extended periods of time.
2. Cook.
3. Clean.
4. Do anything domestic for that matter.
5. Run.
6. Give up caffeine, and yes I've tried and I've accepted that it just isn't going to happen.
7. Go more than one hour with getting extremely worried about something.

7 FAVORITE MOVIES
As I've said in previous blogs, I have no way to name my absolute faves, so I'll just name 7 that I really like.
1. What's Up Doc?
2. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
3. The Big Lebowski
4. Just about any Martin Scorsese movie
5. Caddyshack
6. Amelie
7. The Godfather

7 THINGS I SAY THE MOST
1. "No way!"
2. "Awesome!"
3. "Stoked"
4. "Wait, say it again?"
5. "Sorry"
6. "I'm so tired"
7. "Levi, let me sleep!" LOL!

Splurge

I don't know why I even try saving money. Every time I commit to really save money, no matter how tempting something is, I just cave in. This time it was for Marc Jacob's Daisy perfume. I do, however, want it on the record that I have been wanting this with all my heart for over one month now and it wasn't until just barely that I gave in and bought it. THAT is self restraint!
Anyways, if you haven't smelled this perfume you are missing out. Imagine what heaven would smell like if it were bottled up and packaged with cute flowers on top of the bottle. That is what Daisy smells like.

Can't wait for next season!

Well, the season is over for the Red Sox, but what a season! I can't wait for next year, and if I'm not pregnant, we'll be seeing them at Fenway next summer ;) I hope this doesn't mean that Wilson stops wearing his Beckett t-shirt; He looks so darn cute in that thing!






AND JUST AS A REMINDER....THIS IS HOW CLOSE I GOT TO JACOBY ELLSBURY THIS YEAR (AS WELL AS JASON VARITEK!):

Nice Visit

We were lucky enough to have my brother Scott and two of his girls, Cassidy and Whitney, come up for a little visit yesterday. Levi, Heather and I had bought some furniture at Ikea during our last visit to Utah and we didn't have enough room in our car to bring it back to Idaho, so Scott was our hero and brought it all up here in his truck. It was so wonderful seeing the girls and catching up with them. They are the most kind, polite girls and have a wicked sense of humor. Girls, I'm so sorry the cats kept you awake during the night...they tend to do that to everybody, including us! Scott, it was so fun having you in our home and we'll have to make a tradition out of this. I can't wait to have Athena and Stephanie up here as well :)
This morning we went to breakfast at Elmer's and I introduced the girls to the famous German Pancake. Yum Yum!! After that we went to Barnes and Noble and I loved hearing what books the girls liked. They are both so smart and you can tell that Scott and Stephanie place a huge emphasis on their education. You guys have three very smart daughters!
We were sad to see you leave today and I definitely hope to see you guys up here again someday soon.
Love you!!

Updates

Wow, I can't believe I went 11 days without a new entry. That's sad. What's even more sad is that I don't have a whole lot to write about.
We just got back yesterday from a weekend trip to Orem. Heather, Levi and I drove down on Friday morning and spent the weekend helping my mom get all of her stuff moved and decorated. It was so much fun and my mom has a new glow of happiness about her that we're all so grateful to see. Heather, Laurie and I joked about moving in with my mom and living as Golden Girls 2008. Ha ha!! We did so many fun things, my favorite being going out to Brick Oven with the ladies and watching Death at a Funeral with Laurie and Justin. If you haven't seen that movie, I highly recommend it!
While on vacation, I finally got my monthly womanly visit (I hadn't had one since mid August, which was why I had two bloodtests and took a million home pregnancy tests, all with negative results.) I guess my body just felt like skipping a month, which was upsetting to say the least, since we're trying to bring a screaming bundle of joy into this world. Next week I have an appointment with an OBGYN to make sure that everything is "working properly." LOL! Wish me luck :)
Last week I booked a flight for my nephew Ryan to come visit us for a weekend. You just can't believe how fast he's grown up! One day he's a little scrunchy poo-bear and now he's this 12 year old young man with a witty sense of humor. I can't wait to have him up here. Laurie made me promise I won't take him to The Dark Knight , even if he begs. Sorry Ry, I can't break a promise to my sister :)
I guess that's about all I have as an update. Sorry if this was a little boring, hopefully future posts will be more entertaining.

Thank you

For those of you who haven't heard, our dear dog Lola was hit by a car tonight and died minutes after the accident. It was a blessing that she went so quickly, but that doesn't mean it hurts us any less to lose her. Heather, thank you for rushing over and I hope that Eliza understands how sad I am that we can't go to See Spot Walk on Saturday. Well, enough about that...it just makes me too sad to even think about.

So....now for the giant elephant in the room:

Thank you so much to all the family in Utah that are helping my mom through this insanely difficult time in her life. Heather, Levi and I are absolutely dying to get down there and help out and we appreciate everybody in Utah chipping in and helping her get her feet on the ground. There is nobody in this world that has supported me and loved me the way my mom has and I'm so grateful for her opportunity to find peace and happiness. Please know that your helping and kindness is very appreciated.

Now, only two things are going to cheer me up tonight: Watching Joe Biden kick Palin's butt and re-watching the Red Sox beat the Angels. I think I'll attend to both now.




R.I.P. LOLA. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. WE WERE SO BLESSED TO HAVE YOU IN OUR LIVES. TRIPS TO HOME DEPOT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

DIY Demotivational posters!!

How excited am I?!?! I found a website that lets you create your own demotivational posters! The web address is www.diy.despair.com

Here are a couple that I did all by myself :)


(Actually, Levi kicks butt at barbecuing and I'm lucky to have him!)


(C'mon Laurie, you know you love it!)


(No, I don't know who this guy is. I got the pic off mulletsgalore.com)

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(I think I was a pretty cute baby!)

Hilarious!

I recently bought the comedy issue of Rolling Stone magazine and it talks about how humor has evolved to be more about awkwardness and subtlety than punchlines (as demonstrated in The Office or Arrested Development). The article talks about a website called garfieldminusgarfield.net. As the name of the website says, it's Garfield comics that have had Garfield removed to show how pathetic Jon is. Here's the message on the website:
"Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."

The funniest thing is that it's TRUE! Jon Arbuckle is totally awkward and angst filled! Check some of them out!

What an emo kid!

Exactly.

Book Survey!!

OK, I REALLY want other people to do this survey on their blog page. Heather, Laurie, Sevy, Michelle and Scott I'm looking at you! Don't let me be the only one that does this one!!

1. What book are you reading now?
I just finished Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and I'm just starting two by Tom Perrotta, Little Children (which was such a fantastic movie and I can't wait to read the book) and The Abstinence Teacher. I'm also reading The Monster of Florence for my bookclub but I'm really not liking it :(

2. What are your favorite books? (You can put specific books or genres or both.)
I'm not picky....ok I am, but I like just about all genres, except romance and sci-fi. My bookshelves are pretty random. Not a lot of rhyme or reason to them.

3. How did you learn to read?
My mom read to me every single night as early as I can remember. By the time I hit kindergarten I read fairly well. Thanks mom!!

4. What foreign languages do you read?
Unfortunately I can only read bits and pieces from some languages, but I hope to change that one day.

5. What 's the funniest book you ever read?
Wow, there are so many. The ones that laughed out loud the hardest at were Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (I was on a break at my old job and I was reading the scene where they're rushing to the airport and crash through the fence and I was laughing out loud like a lunatic! Everybody was staring at me!) Definitely anything by David Sedaris and parts of A Prayer for Owen Meany

6. What books have changed the way you look at the world?
Not to be cliche, but Catcher in the Rye was such an eye-opener for me. If we ever have a boy we'll probably name him Holden. Also, Female Chauvinist Pigs is a real wake-up call to the plague of our "girls-gone-wild-paris-hilton-society."

7. What books have you changed your mind about?
It took me until recently to warm up to Cormac McCarthy, but now I can't get enough of him.

8. What are some of the scariest books you've ever read?
I have a bunch of scary story collections (I absolutely love scaring myself through reading) and surprisingly enough the scariest stories are the ones written in the early 1900s. The descriptions are just so creepy. Also, the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a terrifying look at post-partum depression.

9. About how many books do you think you have you read in your life?Way too many to count.

10. About how many books do you own?
Same answer as above. The benefit/curse of working at a bookstore.

11. How many books per month do you usually borrow from the library? It used to be a lot, but now I just buy them. Bad habit.

12. Do you read in bed?
Yep. Can't go to sleep unless I do.

13. Do you ever read while walking or driving?
Driving?? No. I can read if someone else is driving. And if I read while I walk I WILL trip.

14. Where is the strangest place you've read a book?
I'm not sure. I'm sure when I was a kid I found some interesting places to get away and read. I always thought the kid in Neverending Story was so cool for sneaking away in school to read. Too bad that movie gives me serious heebie jeebies now. How did I ever enjoy it as a kid??

15. Do you listen to audio books?
When I can. I listened to A Clockwork Orange on audio when I drove to Utah and that was cool because the language in it is so unique and hearing it outloud was interesting.

16. Has anyone ever read aloud to you or you to them? Tell us more.
My wonderful mom. I can't remember a single time in my childhood that she didn't read to me. She was the best at it. She had the perfect tempo and didn't mind if I asked questions.

17. What book was the most difficult to read?
If it's too difficult, I'll usually just give up. I've started and stopped a thousand books in this lifetime.

18. Do you read every word of a book, or skip parts that don't hold your interest?
Both. If I'm really into it I'll read every single word, but if I just want to get the basic idea I can skim quickly through it.

19. What books do you keep intending to read but put off?
*sigh* The classics of course. Tolstoy, Bronte (both of them), Dostoevsky, etc. It's not that I don't want to read them, I just end up reading modern American fiction first.

20. Do you buy new or used books, paperbacks or hardbacks, leather or collector's items?
If I had the money I'd buy leather and collector's books, but I usually buy paperbacks and occasionally hardcovers. Someone I knew bought me a used copy of Still Life with Woodpecker and I thought that was so cool. Too bad the guy ended up being a tool.

21. How do you feel about writing in books, dog earing, etc.
I dog ear paperbacks, but if it's a hardcover I use the book jacket to mark my place. Writing in books can be scary because later I'll look at it and think, "Oh, I must have thought I was really smart to underline that sentence and write a quote from Kant in the margin." So embarrassing.

22. What is the worst book you remember reading?
The Host by Stephenie Meyer is atrocious. I honestly tried my hardest and got 30 pages in. Horrible book.

23. Do you lend your books?
Usually only to family members. They always treat the books with respect. I have a hard time loaning them out to anybody else. Probably because I've spent a small fortune on all of them.

24. What were your favorite books when you were a child?
Wow, too many to name! I loved The Boxcar Children and The Great Brain series. Beverly Cleary books were also my favorite. They still are as a matter of fact.

25. What books would you especially recommend to young people?
It depends on their interests. Harry Potter books are honestly amazing and any child that hasn't read them should start. So magical and fun. I didn't want to like them, but I finally gave in after the second book had come out and I've been hooked ever since.

26. Do you ever read the ending first?
Only if it's a book that I don't really want to read and I just want to see how it ends. Otherwise it takes a large amount of restraint not to peek.

27. Have you ever read a book more than once? If so, mention them and
why you read them more than once.
Too many to name. I re-read short story collections like The Best American Short Stories series because it's easy to forget short stories so re-reading them is like reading them for the first time.

28. What frequently recommended books have you been unable to finish?
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. I don't know what it is, but I can't finish that thing.

29. List some of your favorite authors.
Wow, here's just a few: Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, David Sedaris, Truman Capote, John Steinbeck, JD Salinger, Joyce Carol Oates, James Ellroy, Poe, Dennis Lehane, Cormac Mccarthy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Denis Johnson, Tim O'Brien, Ian McEwan. Just a few LOL!

30. You're stranded on a desert island and you can only have one book. What is it?
Probably a heavy classic so I can FINALLY get through it and pat myself on the back.

This will be a great movie!

I'm so excited! Christian the hugging lion's story is going to be made into a movie! Here's the article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26556641/

I love this story. Two guys from swinging 1969 Chelsea London raise a lion cub named Christan until he becomes too big and they have to introduce him into the wild. They met up with George Adamson (whom the movie Born Free was about) and he helps them let Christian go. After a year they go back to Africa with George and find Christian's lion pride. They were told he wouldn't recognize them and that he was now a wild lion that wouldn't be like the playful cub they had raised. As you can see in the video below that wasn't the case :)



Because Christian was the leader of his pride, the other lions also accepted the three men and didn't tear them to shreds!

New Haircut

I just hope I can actually do it myself! I hate when I get a haircut that only a trained stylist can do.

Lame, lame, lame.

Stupidity and ignorance has struck again. Yesterday somebody stole our Obama yard sign and then tried to destroy our mailbox, which is not directly in front of our house, but about thirty or forty feet away. They had to have looked at our house number and then found our mailbox.
I don't get it. Is this really the only way some people handle election season? Really?? I think I'm going to order a new sign and put it exactly where the old one was and put a note on it that says, "You are currently being recorded by a camera in one of our windows. If you do even touch this sign we will be reporting you to the police. If you don't like Obama and have the intelligence to carry on a conversation about politics, please feel free to talk to us. Otherwise, bugger off."
I don't care about the sign thing, (I can always order another one, the newer ones even have Biden's name on them) but I'm actually more worried about the mailbox thing. What if this idiot decides to go through my mail or steal my out-going mail? I wonder if I can contact the post office and let them know that I want my mail picked up and delivered at my house. I can get one of those mailboxes that you fix to your house near your front door. Hopefully the post office is understanding of the situation.
Anyways...I have to go to work now. I hope everybody is having a great day and has a wonderful weekend.
If you're in Utah, please check on my mom. She just had surgery and I'm sad I can't be there to take care of her. Love you mom!

What's in a name?

1. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Lester Mirl. Ha ha!

2. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Gatca I think that sounds like a spacey name.

3. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Black Kitty

4. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Jennings Roosevelt. I could see that for a guy soap opera name.

5. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Red Dew.

6. FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Caes. Huh?

7. GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Half Baked Chocolate Chip. I love it!

8. ROCK STAR NAME: (current pets name, current street name)
Lola Boise

9. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Innocent Chocolate. Perfect!!

10. B-MOVIE ACTOR NAME: (1st pet, 1st Car)
Biff Accent.

11. AMERICAN GLADIATOR NAME (model name of your current car)
Elantra. Oooohhh!

Now I want everyone else to do this and post it to their blog. C'mon, it's fun!

Ikea project done

I finally figured out what to do with those Ikea frames that I bought about six months ago (there's a picture of me holding one of them in an older post.) Well, we figured it out. I bought some great fabric from Joanne's (Ryan and Wilson's favorite place, ha ha!) and then printed off a couple of pictures at Fred Meyer. The whole project, not including the cost of the frames, was only $15. Not bad! Here's the final result:

My new obsession:

THIS SONG!! Amy MacDonald is the cutest thing to come out of Scotland. She has an extremely thick accent and I just love the folkiness of her music. Listening to her reminds me of The Cranberries and I don't know a single person that didn't love The Cranberries when they first came out.
Luckily we have her cd (which doesn't come out until 8.19.08) as an in-story play at Barnes & Noble so I get to listen to her all the time.
Check out her video to listen to her amazing voice!

Mad Men

Mad Men is our favorite show since debuting last summer. If you haven't been watching it, do yourself a favor and either borrow our season 1 DVDs or rent them ASAP. Season two is only three episodes in and AMC always shows repeats of episodes. The plot is simple: It's 1960 New York City and Madison Avenue advertising executives are seen as some of the most powerful men out there. Don Draper is the head honcho at his office and is well respected (and even worshiped) by those who work below him. Don isn't always faithful to his wife, as most of the men in the office aren't, and in this clip he realizes that he probably should be. He's meeting with the suits from Kodak, who have just come up with a wheel that let's you see slides. Don sells them on what they should name the product and makes a powerful presentation.

Ahhhhh.

This picture sums up my trip to Redfish Lake. I've never been that relaxed in my life.

An open letter to a small-minded idiot:

Dear Muddy-Handed Redneck,

Today is a huge day for me (I'm hosting the Breaking Dawn party at my work, which will probably bring in 800 people) and I'm already stressed out enough about that, plus other things going on in my world, and I walk out to my car and find that both my car and Levi's car have been the victim of your small-minded redneckness. You took it upon yourself to scatch up the two Obama stickers on my car and the one on Levi's car and then cover the stickers with mud. Seriously, who does that?? It is my earned constitutional right to put whatever sticker I want on my car and it is everybody else's right to have an opinion about it, but you DO NOT have the right to vandalize my property. This country was founded on the belief that every single citizen has the right to their own opinion, but we also founded laws that prevent harm to those citizen's property if someone disagrees.
Believe me, the stickers were completely harmless, just the regular campaign stickers. I have seen lots of antagonizing bumper stickers around town (things like 'Republicans for Voldemort', which I happen to think is kinda funny) but I've always prided myself in not displaying antagonizing things, knowing that I have friends and family that support different issues and candidates than I do. And that's ok! I like that I have friends and family on both sides, I like that not everybody is doing what I'm doing. That's what makes this country great! I'm just upset that our harmless campaign stickers were ruined. Should I be afraid to put up the yard sign that I ordered? I'm worried you or your other idiot comrades will try to burn it and end up burning down my house.
At least there are two good things that come out of this:
1. You, like the moron you are, had to walk around with muddy hands until you got home, which I assume is a classy single-wide trailer with the undeniable stench of Liggett cigarettes and old Macaroni and Cheese.
2. Almost every other car in Boise has an Obama sticker on it, so you've got a lot of ground to cover, not to mention a lot of mud to carry around, to make a dent.

In closing, you half-witted coward, next time you have an issue with my politics, come TALK with me, maybe even debate with me about what you believe. But do not EVER think you can vandalize my personal property again without facing legal consequences.

Yours truly,
Carly and Levi Gates.

He's still got it!

Glad to see that Chris Isaak's voice (and looks!) are still just as great as they were almost 20 years ago.

Random ramblings

I haven't posted in a bit because I didn't think that anything very important happened, but I suppose that's the point of blogs isn't it? To report the mundane to the people that care about you :)
Levi had his surgery last Wednesday and has been healing great. He has been getting around on crutches since the bike accident and has a doctor's appointment tomorrow to see when he'll be able to start putting some weight on that leg. I hope soon...I don't like doing ALL the chores! Luckily Heather and Zane and Levi's dad and stepmom have been helping us with our yard. Thanks guys!
Levi's mom Maria flew in from Texas last week and spent a few days before flying to Sweden to see Sevy and then she'll be back here next week before flying back home to Texas. I love having her here and it's so fun listening to her stories. You're the best Maria! While she was here we saw The Dark Knight and it was EPIC!! If you haven't seen it yet drop what you're doing and get to your nearest theater. It's a crime drama on par with The Godfather and anyone who knows me knows that I don't joke about The Godfather.
Last week I was offered a promotion with Barnes and Noble, but we'd have to move to Seattle for the position. I love Seattle so much, but with the housing market in the toilet there is no way we'd be able to sell our house, plus I don't know if I could ever move away from Heather and Zane and the kids. I hate it when they go out of town for five days so I don't know how I'd ever handle only seeing them a couple of times a year. I hope that by passing this chance up there will be a better opportunity down the road.
Speaking of Barnes & Noble, I've been giving them lots of my money this year with my book habit. Normally I read one to two books a month, if I'm lucky, but this summer I've been burning through them! Sitting by a pool while reading a good book is my idea of heaven. I can't get enough of it. I've blown through a couple of Dennis Lehane novels, the new David Sedaris book (which I highly recommend!) and about six others. Thank heavens for my discount!
Yesterday I lucked out and got a great bistro set for our front porch at JoAnns for 40% off! Woo hoo! Here's a picture of the darling thing:

Yes, that is a shattered vase on the chair. I thought it would be cute to put a vase with flowers on the table and today we had 30 mph winds. So much for that idea. The rocks on the ground are the rocks I put in the bottom of the vase to weigh it down. Stupid lightweight rocks :(

I'm so excited for our family trip to Redfish Lake! I know I don't post a lot of pictures on this blog, but hopefully I'll get a few nice snapshots while there. The place truly is breathtaking. Here's a picture I found on the interwebs of Redfish:


Lets see, what else is new....Oh yeah! I bought my first ever lawn sign for my presidential candidate! I feel so grown up! This will be the third election I've voted in, but the first time I've displayed any yard-signage. (Although, the previous two elections didn't give me a candidate to be jazzed about) Now you'll know which one my house is on Boise Avenue without having to look for the ketchup and mustard color scheme of our house (which will hopefully be repainted by next summer. Fingers crossed)
Well, I guess that's about all that's new, unless you count the untimely (*sarcasm*) death of Estelle Getty, Sophia from the Golden Girls. God bless you, Sophia Petrillo, and all your wisdom. Here's one of the best examples of why the Golden Girls rock:

Dorothy: Oh Ma, why did I ever marry that man?
Sophia: Because he knocked you up.
Dorothy: Why did I ever let that happen?
Sophia: Because he got you drunk.
Dorothy: Why am I having this conversation with you?!
Sophia: Beats the hell out of me!

Here's another gem: (push pause on my music player to hear the video)


RIP