Happy Day of Birth Athena!

I cannot BELIEVE my niece Athena is fourteen years old!! It seems like only a couple of years ago that we rushed down to UVRMC to see the brand new member of our family. Scott and Stephanie were so proud they were practically beaming.
Athena you are such a joy to have in our lives and we miss you ever single day. Have a very, very happy birthday!!!
Love Uncle Levi and Aunt Carly

Forget Dopey and Doc, I'm Grumpy!

Normally I, along with most of the blogging world, use my blog to report on all the fun/good things going on in my life. Today I'm just too grumpy for that. I decided I'd write down all the things that are bugging me at this very moment and hopefully it will be a therapy of sorts.
1. I have a horrible toothache. Toothaches are the worst because you CAN'T ignore them! I made an appointment with the dentist for Thursday morning, but I think by the time it comes around I'll have already yanked the tooth out myself. I have Oragel to put on the gums and the tooth but it just ends up making my tongue numb and then I start drooling. Attractive huh?
2. My house is so messy. It doesn't matter if we've just cleaned it, somehow it becomes a complete pig sty within 2 days of a good cleaning. Grrr!
3. I'm so sick of looking at mothers who clearly don't enjoy motherhood. All day at my work I see people who have procreated and look and act as if they can't stand their offspring and that their children are just one big inconvenience to them. It drives me up the wall.
4. People that come up to me at work while I'm pushing a big cart of books, wearing a nametag and wearing a walkie talkie-type device and ask, "Do you work here?" Yeah, I'm just a customer that likes to push giant carts of books and move tables around. What was their first clue that I worked there? Drives me crazy!
5. My hair. I absolutely detest being a brunette and I went to Aveda today to see how much a color correction session would be and was told it would be $75...PER HOUR!! My hair normally takes 3 hours to take any sort of color and/or bleach. I absolutely can't afford how much they're charging and I'll have to go somewhere else, though they are the absolute best when it comes to color correction. Oh well. Live and learn. Next time I'll remember this and I won't even come close to darkening my hair.
6. There is an odd smell in my car and I can't find it. Playing "Find The Smell" is always a risky, but even after sniffing around like a Bloodhound I couldn't find the source. Hopefully nothing died in there!
7. Paying student loans. Shouldn't I only have to pay if I actually graduated?? I feel like I'll be paying them off for the rest of my life and I only went to UVSC for a couple of years! I have absolutely nothing to show for it :(

Anyways, I do actually feel a little bit better now. Sorry if this post is a buzzkill, I just had to get it off my chest!

P.S. Anyone who says Clomid doesn't make you hormonally insane is a LIAR! Just ask my poor, sweet husband.

Funny stuff.

So ever since Mel Gibson had his little meltdown (you know, the one where he blamed the Jews for all the wars in the world, as well as calling a cop "SugarT**s") I haven't had much use for him. I thought his career was over....UNTIL NOW!!
I have to admit that this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while:
(as always, push pause on my music player on the right of the page to hear the audio)

Privacy....meh.

I don't especially like having a private blog because, for some reason, I don't feel the need to update it as frequently. I'm thinking about going back to public in a few weeks. We'll see.
This week was both Levi and Eliza's birthdays! On Tuesday we celebrated with the in-laws at Famous Dave's BBQ, which, if you haven't tried it already, is amazing. He scored some great gifts and it was fun hanging out with everyone that night. I need to start planning Levi's dirty 30 birthday party he'll be having next year. On Thursday we went over to Heather's house to have cupcakes and ice cream for Eliza. I can't believe she's 10!! Where has the time gone? While we were there, Heather gave Levi his present from her, my mom and Laurie and we are so excited! They signed us up for 6 weeks of dance lessons to learn everything from the Cha Cha to the Waltz. We're way excited to find out just how uncoordinated we really are :)
Oh yeah, I almost forgot that I have another bookstore story for Nancy. A lady came in the other day that wanted a book that she thought would be in our computer section. She said it was a book that described how hackers can plant a demon in a computer that can be transmitted to your computer. Demons. Hmmmm. Sorry to say we hadn't heard of that particular book. LOL!
Well anyways, hopefully I'll be motivated to update this a little more. I also need to add pictures of Levi's birthday. Sevy and Avery, can you send me the pictures that you took that night? Thanks so much!

Utah Trip

I'm the first to admit that I am horrible at taking pictures whenever we go on vacation, but this may have been the worst. We had such an amazing trip and we hardly took ANY pictures! I didn't get a single one of my mom, my aunts, my grandma, Carl, my nephew Ryan and niece Carlie. Next time I'm down there I'll just walk around with the camera around my neck.
Anyways, our trip was a blast. We got into town late Thursday night and immediately crashed at my mom's. On Friday we went over to Laurie's house and talked her into going to Chadders with us and three of her daughters. (The twins didn't have school that day and Rachel was home because she broke her wrist the night before, which she was NOT happy about. If there is one child that should not have to hold their arm in a tight sling for more than a week it's Rachel. Poor girlie.) So, if you haven't been to Chadders and you live even close to Utah County you need to get on it!! It's a complete knock-off of In-N-Out Burger and it's fantastic. Simple menu, skinny fries, shakes to DIE for. Yummmmmm.
We spent the rest of Friday driving around my old stomping ground and doing a little bit of shopping. My best friend Carl just got home from Iraq (his fifth tour!) and we were able to meet up with him on Friday night at my mom's house where we all watched a movie. Carl is such a scream and it was so good seeing him again! I missed him so much and it's always good to know that he's back in the states.
Saturday was Valentine's Day and I was lucky enough to tag along with my mom and her sisters to Mimi's Cafe. It was a blast and the food was delicious. It was fun catching up with all my aunts. I seriously have the best family.
Saturday was also, of course, Ikea day! We seriously cannot go to Utah without making a visit to Ikea. Carlie and Rachel piled in the car with my mom and Levi and we had a great time. This trip we practiced great self-restraint and walked out with a lint roller, a rug, some organizing baskets and a couple of throw blankets, making our grand total around $28. Gotta love Ikea!!
Also on Saturday we got to visit my brother Scott, his wife Stephanie and their family. My nieces are so big now! What is happening?! It seems like only yesterday that I was baby sitting Athena and Cassidy and now they're teenagers! (They also happen to be the nicest teenagers you'll EVER meet.) Little Whitney is such a doll and any chance we get to hang out with her and her sisters is a delight. Love you guys!
Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We ate a great pot roast (thanks mom!) and watched A New Leaf with my grandparents. That is one of my all-time favorite movies and I haven't seen my grandpa laugh that hard ever. He was crying and stomping his feet, as was my grandma! After dessert we packed up and said our goodbyes. I HATE LEAVING MY MOM and it's even harder when I had to say goodbye to my grandparents :(
The silver lining of having to say goodbye meant that we could go to our friend Melissa's house (Melissa was heather's missionary companion in Canada) where she showered us with baby stuff that she's done using. We scored a bassinet, a swing, a Johnny Jump-Up, clothes, and many, many other wonderful things. I have NO idea how it all fit in the car, I'm just glad it did. Thank you so much Melissa!! It was a blast seeing you, Eric and the little ones. You have no idea how much we appreciate this stuff and it will be so nice having it when we have a little one.
Well, it was a great visit and I'm still not over my homesickness that I always get when we visit Utah. Thanks everyone for a fantastic visit!!
Here are the 13, yes only 13, pictures we took the entire visit :(

Huh?

Today I stopped by a gas station that is just a block from our house to grab a snack. I walk in, grabbed my bag of puffy Cheetos and go to the register where two employees are talking, one a 20-something male and the other a 20-something female. They were on the topic of this last Friday the 13th and the guy asked me if my 13th was a good day. I said the day was fine and asked them how theirs was. The girl proceeds to say, "Mine was great, except for when my husband threw the gas can at my head."
Come again????
She must have seen my shocked face because she quickly said, "At least it wasn't a full gas can, you know?"
I looked from her face to the guy's face and he looked completely unsurprised. Maybe she tells him stories like this all the time and he's tuned it out. Who knows.

Sometimes the world can be wonderful, yet strange and sad at the same time.

Awesome sister

My sister Heather is amazing. As I have mentioned in a previous blog she pretty much rocks. One more example of her awesomeness is the quilt she made Levi and me when we bought our house. The colors in it are exactly the colors of our walls and furniture throughout the house. The picture doesn't do it justice, but the purples next to the yellows in the quilt are unbelievably beautiful. We have a wall in our house that looks like it was made to have this quilt hung on it and now that it's up there I will never, ever take it down. The coolest part of the quilt can't be seen in a picture, but she she sewed our names into the quilt and they run the entire length of it. Amazing huh!?

Love you Heather!

***oh yeah, thank you for your email addresses, there are still a lots of yours that I need. Once you posted them in the comment section I deleted the comment so your email address wasn't out there in the general internet public :) I'm becoming ultra cautious and I'll privatize the blog within a couple of weeks.***

I hate to do this....

I think I'm going to have to make my blog private. I really hate the thought of doing that, but it's time to take that measure. Please send me your email address (you can either post it in the comments or send it to carlyjgates@yahoo.com) so I can add you.
This sucks and hopefully I won't have to be private forever, just for the time being.
Thanks!

I've crossed over to the dark side.

This week has been a fun week. I dyed my hair a dark, reddish-brown on Friday and I'm still getting used to it. Heather really likes it, which makes me feel good. It is very hard to get used to and I still freak myself out when I walk past a mirror. I think that once I'm accustomed to it I'll grow to love it. We'll see.
Levi's sister Sevy came home from Sweden this week. It's awesome having her home and I can't believe a whole year has gone by since she left. We met up with her and Avery and Levi's parents to see Slumdog Millionaire again. If you haven't seen it already...GET ON IT! It's the best movie out there.
Work has been crazy busy and every day I come home totally pooped. Levi's work has also been picking up, which is such a blessing, considering how much they've slowed down since the economy took a dump. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he stays busy.
Other than that, it's been a fairly uneventful week. I'll post again if/when something exciting happens. :)

Happy Birthday Ry-Guy!!!

My little soy boy nephew Ryan is 13 today!! It seems like just a few days ago that he was putting chocolate chips on his head and calling them his, "Ha-Hat!" and throwing his arms in the air above his head to show us what a "Big Boy" he was. When he was a little boy he would also let you know that his birthday was on "Feathermerry 4th." We used to make him say it all the time.
Anyways Ryan, I hope you know how much we love you and we're so proud of the young man you're becoming. Love you!

More LOLs

When talking about Superbowl commercials, I can't BELIEVE I forgot the best one EVER!!



And here's the sequel, just as funny!

Super Sunday

What an exciting Superbowl! It's nice when I don't necessarily care about either team and can just sit back and enjoy the game. Here are a couple of ads that I thought were great:

As funny as these were, nothing can take the place of my all-time favorite Superbowl commercial:

Happy Birthday Laurie!

Your present is in the mail as we speak, so here's something else that you can have today (and by "have" I mean "look at"):


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVE

XOXO
SHIRTLESS HUGH JACKMAN

Cuties!

Normally I'm opposed to the idea of the paparazzi, especially when there are kids involved. I can't imagine my niece and nephew having flashbulbs go off in their face as they walk to school and, even though the parents did choose a lifestyle that involves being in the public's eye, I think kids should be off limits.
That said, I'm going to backtrack and say, "Thank heavens for the paparazzi!" If not for them I wouldn't have been able to see the Brangelina twins, who are the most adorable things I've ever seen in my entire life!!!
Aaaghh! I want to bite their cheeks! So friggin' cute. As if I needed one more thing to make me more babyhungry :)

(Laurie, apparently Sydney's version of Justin's mustache is VERY en vogue right now. Even Brad Pitt is rockin' it!) Click here to see Sydney's portrait of my brother-in-law Justin

My week in pictures

Overall, I had a pretty great week. Here it is in pictures:

Working on a tip from cousin Nora, we were able to get discounted airline tickets on this...

...to go here...

...to see them play:


This week, I also got to say these 2 words a lot:

It was my niece Carlie, my brother Scott and in a couple of days, my sister Laurie's birthday. Yay!
At work I have been a...

and I enjoyed my day off today and I did a lot of this...

Also this week, Levi found a great deal on pants and got 2 pairs for $9.99 each at:

I'll never understand why guys clothes are so much cheaper and ALWAYS on sale at places like that. It's totally unfair.
In closing, the only real downer about this week was the crappy weather.
Can't wait to get rid of this...

and get some of this...

Opinions needed!

About every 3 months I get to a point where I want to do something totally different with my hair. Last time I went to the salon I came home with bangs and darker blonde hair. I love the bangs (it's actually easier to do your hair with bangs and I don't use as much makeup since I don't have to put any on my forehead. Score!) but I can't decide what color to do. Last time I went darker it was a disaster, but only because the color I wanted wouldn't work with my stripped, bleached hair.
I'm thinking of going super-dark but I can't decide!
Here's what it would look like:
(This is Diablo Cody, the writer of Juno and I think she's adorable)

What should I do?? I need to make my appointment for next week because my roots are getting out of hand. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

Answers

Time for the movie quote answers. Between Heather, Laurie and Scott there were only a few that remained unanswered.
Here you go:

1. Juno
2. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
3. Fargo
4. Goodfellas
5. Christmas Story
6. The Departed
7. Death at a Funeral
8. Fever Pitch
9. Chocolat
10. Dumb & Dumber
11. Amelie
12. Better Off Dead
13. Anchorman
14. Breakfast Club
15. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
16. The Bourne Identity
17. The Bourne Identity
18. What's Up Doc
19. Shaun of the Dead
20. Sixteen Candles
21. The Godfather
22. Caddyshack
23. The Lord of the Rings (Fellowship)
24. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
25. Gladiator (and Pineapple Express, coincidentally)
26. Dodgeball
27. Toy Story
28. Casino Royale
29. Raising Arizona
30. The Goonies

Movie quiz time again!

My brother Scott is the master of movie quotes. He recently put up 30 quotes on his family's blog and I was able to get 20 of them, which I think is pretty darn good! He threw down the challenge and now I'm determined to come up with 30 equally hard quotes.
Anybody can play, just list your answers in my comments and NO CHEATING!

1. "My mom uses color safe bleach."
2. "It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."
3. "So, I'm tendin' bar there at Ecklund and Swedlin's last Tuesday, and this little guy's drinkin' and he says, "So where can a guy find some action? I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake." And I says, "What kinda action?" and he says, "Woman action, what do I look like?" And I says, "Well, what do I look like, I don't arrange that kinda thing," and he says, "I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake," and I says, "Well, this ain't that kinda place."
4. "Just... ya know... you're funny."
"Funny like a clown?"
5. "I can't put my arms down!"
6. "How's your mother?"
"Oh, she's on her way out."
"We all are. Act accordingly."
7. "Why are my hands so big??"
8. "Where do the Sox rank in terms of importance in your life?"
"I say the Red Sox... sex... and breathing."
9. "I see a cranky old woman too tired to play games."
10. "If I know Mary as well as I think I do, she'll invite us right in for tea and strumpets."
11. "You mean she would rather imagine herself relating to an absent person than build relationships with those around her? "
(hint, number 11 was spoken in French)
12. "This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?"
13. "I'm gonna punch you in the ovary, that's what I'm gonna do. A straight shot. Right to the babymaker."
14. "Answer the question Claire!"
15. "He'll keep calling me, he'll keep calling me until I come over. He'll make me feel guilty. This is ridiculous, ok I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go."
16. "How could I forget about you? You're the only person I know."
17. (same movie as #16) "I work alone like you. We always work alone."
18. "How would you like to swallow one sandwich d'knuckles?"
19. "We'll take the car. Go to Mum's. Kill Phil, grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?"
20. "The girl freaked. She had a hissy. She thinks you're the cats meow!"
21. "Mikey, why don't you tell that nice girl you love her? I love you with all-a my heart, if I don't see-a you again soon, I'm-a gonna die."
22. "Gambling is illegal at Bushwood sir, and I never slice."
23. "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."
24. "Your aim's as bad as your cooking sweetheart... and that's saying something."
25. "What we do in life echoes in eternity."
26. "Here at Globo Gym, we understand that "Ugliness" and "Fatness" are genetic disorders, much like baldness or necrophilia, and it's only your fault if you don't hate yourself enough to do something about it."
27. "What if Andy gets another dinosaur? A mean one? I don't think I can take that kind of rejection."
28. "It doesn't bother you? Killing all those people?"
"Well I wouldn't be very good at my job if it did."
29. " Biology and the prejudices of others conspired to keep us childless."
30. "Do you remember the time we were going to get your teeth fixed and we spent all of the money on Francis's toupee?"

It's got me thinking...

We just got back from seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which, if you haven't seen it already, is AMAZING and I highly recommend it. In the movie, the character of Benjamin Button kept a diary of his entire life and it's from this diary that his story unfolds. One of the central themes of the movie, at least in my opinion, was the theme of life and death and how the two cross each other's path. Maybe it was the thought of mortality combined with the scenes unfolding from his journal, but I realized that without writing anything down, nobody will have a record of my memories. I know this sounds obvious, but I never really thought about it until tonight. People will be able to speak about how they knew me as a person, but nobody will be able to explain my memories unless I record them.

So, this has all been a long-winded way of saying that starting tonight (yes, TONIGHT!) I will be writing in my journal every night before I go to bed. Even if it's just a list of the things I did that day, it's better than the nothing I've been doing. I can't believe all the great events that have happened that I've never recorded. I'm sad that there are probably lots of funny stories and strong emotions and memories that I just never bothered writing down and now they are lost. I just can't let that happen anymore.
I never make New Year's resolutions, but this may be the first one that I am going to do everything in my power to meet. I hope that this time next year I'll have a journal filled with stories and memories and I can rid myself of this anxiety :)

PS: If you need more incentive to see this wonderful movie, look no further than this picture. Me-Yow!!

Rachel being Rachel

Anybody who knows my seven year old niece Rachel knows she is one of the funniest human beings out there. Not only is she funny, she's also fiercely loyal and at the same time caring and sensitive. She fell in love with Levi when she first met him and for years she said that he was her boyfriend. Rachel was born a teenager. She may have at one point been an infant, but none of us remember it. As far back as I can remember she was cracking jokes and hanging out with all the adults. Anytime I need a good laugh I just call Laurie and have her put Rachel on the phone.
With that preface, this picture she drew me is all the more funny. As many of you know, my mom and everyone in Laurie & Justin's family are die-hard Yankees fans, while we here in Boise are Red Sox fans (yes, the two families CAN coexist!) This has always been a sore spot for Rachel and whenever we see her we like to tease her and ask her if she wants to wear my Red Sox hat or if she wants to put up our Red Sox flag. She huffs and puffs and tells us, in so many words, that the Red Sox suck. But, like I stated earlier, Rachel is a sweetheart and has a heart of gold. When she heard I had a miscarriage she took to her paper and crayons and made me a nice note. The message is sweet, (it was written in a light color so it's hard to see, but it says "I am so so so so sorry you had a miscarriage.") but the anti-Red Sox, pro-Yankees drawings all over the note are what makes this note special. This is a classic case of Rachel being Rachel.