One of my faves...

(The sound quality ain't so grand on this one, so turn the volume up a little) God bless the 70's, the Finnish, and short shorts with tube socks.

So UH-MAZING!!

Look out Seattle....

...Here we come!! I was feeling giddy today and I gave in and bought Levi and me plane tickets to Seattle and tickets for the Red Sox/Mariner game on Memorial Day! 

The only vacation we've been on together has been family trips to Utah and our family trips to Red Fish Lake. I thought it would be fun to go somewhere alone and enjoy a city together. We've also never flown anywhere together, so that will be really fun!

My wedding day

As you can see, I was so stoked! Bruce looked so handsome in his suit and I was proud to have him walk me down the aisle and give me away. 

1. What month & year were you married? 

July 8, 2005  

2. How did he ask you? Ha! To make a long story short, there was no 'down on the knees' moment. Basically my sister Heather was joking around and asked us if we were going to get married and Levi shrugged and said, "yeah, I think we're planning on it." A few minutes later my mom called my cell and screamed, "Are you engaged?!?" Word travels fast in this family. Levi didn't even have to buy a ring, the lucky prat.  

3. Where did you honeymoon? 

There was no honeymoon. I had to work two days later so we spent the first night at a nice hotel and opened all our cards and presents. It was so much fun! 

4. Can you still fit in your dress?

Hell no! That's what 22 pounds gained since your wedding day will get you!  

5. What was the worst gift you got? Someone re-gifted a fondue set to us. The best part was that they had clearly opened it, put it together, possibly used it, and then decided they didn't want it and shoved it back in the box & then wrapped it for us. I'd rather they just got us a card! 

6. What flavor was your wedding cake? 

It was vanilla flavored with raspberry filling, but it fell apart at the end of the reception! Ha!!  

7. Were you a bridezilla? 

Our wedding was very inexpensive and it was actually a lot of fun to plan, so even though I was stressed I don't think I was a 'Zilla. Heather was a lifesaver and did all the tedious things like making the invitations. That was beyond helpful and I still don't know if I could fully repay her for what she did.  

8. Whats one thing you would change about your wedding? 

I would have had a few formal pictures taken. I love our snapshots though, especially the one of my whole family where not a single person is looking at the camera. Every person is doing their own thing and it's hilarious!  

9. Do you still look at your wedding pics? All the time! It was a very happy time and I love thinking about that day.  

10. What colors did you use? Red, Black and White  

11. Where did you tie the knot? Here: 12. Whats one funny thing that happened that day?

Levi's dad immediately changed out of his suit into a t-shirt, shorts and sandals BEFORE WE HAD DONE THE PICTURES! He was so miffed that he had to put his suit back on and he protested by leaving his dirty sandals on. It's funny now, but I didn't find it that funny then.  

13. How many showers did you have? 

One. My amazing family had one for me at my sister Laurie's house in Utah. It was so fun and the best present I got was a book filled with handwritten 'words of wisdom' about marriage written by all my married relatives. There were the usual ones like, "Don't go to bed angry" and very funny ones like "Argue naked. It's harder to be so serious when you're both nude." 

14. Did you cry? 

I got a little choked up right after we said our vows and walked down the aisle, but other than that, not really.

15. Did you give any wedding favors away? 

Not that I remember...  

16. Who caught the flowers and garter? 

There was no garter, but I'm pretty sure my niece caught the bouquet. My aunt Nancy made me a gorgeous bouquet so I remember being super worried that something would happen to it. Nothing did and I still have it on display at the house (the flowers were fake, of course. Real flowers wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes in the 101 degree heat)  

17. Who was your officiant or minister? 

My sister's bishop, Bishop Hansen. He was more nervous than Levi and me!  

18. How much was your wedding dress, undergarments and all? 

Well, the dress I had made for me was a DISASTER so at the last minute we rented a dress from these nice ladies that rent wedding dresses out of their home. Luckily I have an amazing family that paid for the dress rental. Thanks guys!! I owe you big time!  

19. Was there dancing? 

If there was, I didn't notice. I think it was too dang hot for dancing.  

20. Where was the reception? 

At the same location as the ceremony. It was fantastic.  

21. Would go back and do it over again? 

Absolutely!!  

22. How long did you have to plan your wedding?  

We got engaged in April and were married in July. Short, short engagement. I recommend it.  

23. What kind of car were you in when you drove away? 

We rode our cruiser bikes away. Our friends and family tied pop cans to our back tires and we rode away like that in our tux and wedding dress. It was awesome!  

24. How many in your wedding party? 

We only had a best man, and he was an old English Bulldog. It was much cheaper that way and then I didn't have to make my friends wear an ugly bridesmaid dress.  

25. Did you do anything different in your wedding or reception? 

We had a bagpiper, which was AMAZING. Also instead of a band or DJ we just had a stereo and played everything from swing music to Social Distortion. It was so much better that way. We were super casual about everything and it was great because people could wear whatever they wanted, they didn't have to wear certain colors, we didn't have a set schedule, the food was buffet style so people could grab whatever they wanted and we had these big old-style tin basins that we filled with ice and soda. I think I drank about 12 cans of Pepsi that day because it was so hot!  

26. Did you save the top layer of your cake for your 1 year anniversary? 

As I mentioned before, it fell apart :) It was so funny!  

27. If so, did you eat it? Was it still good?

I'm sure it would have been great!  

28. What was the grand total spent on your wedding? 

That's nobody's business! I can tell you that without Heather, Laurie and my mom's help I would have lost my mind and would die an old spinster.  

29. Who traveled the farthest to attend your wedding? 

Levi's uncle Jorge came up from Texas and I had lots of family, including several aunts and uncles, come up from Utah. It was fantastic.  

30. Do you regret having anyone in your bridal party? Nope! I didn't have one and that's the way to do it, in my humble opinion :)

My new shirt.

Here's a new shirt I bought for myself on Ebay:

I even found one for Laurie and all her girls:

CUTE!!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they also sell a shirt that says "Love me, Ortiz me?" Ha ha! Go Big Papi!

I will not be conquered by a hot dog!

The Final Score:

Target Hot Dog: 0

Me: 1

It was a close call though and I had a revelation: choking to death on a hot dog in my local Target is NOT the way I want to go, thank you very much.

Date Night!

Levi and I went on a date tonight! We went to Quiznos (clearly the most romantic sandwich shop) and then to see Taxi to the Dark Side, which is an amazing, compelling documentary that won the Academy Award for best documentary this year. I highly recommend it. 

Just before we left I took that snapshot of Levi because I thought he looked so cute in his sweater vest, which he promptly covered up with a heavy zip-up jacket. Men.

Levi took the picture of me holding up one of the two amazing frames I bought at Ikea. I'm so excited to hang them up! We're going to pick a cool, funky fabric to be the background and then place pictures on top of the fabric, since obviously we don't have any photos that large! 

End of Day 2.

Today the yard work was a little bit easier and I enjoyed myself a wee bit more than the first day :) We made one ONE TRIP to Home Depot, which is a miracle, and we got more top soil (again, not nearly enough but that's ok for now) some pretty, annual flowers, a new hose, a watering can, miracle grow, bricks, etc. etc. Lola went along for the ride again and had a blast. 

Now we need to lay the sod and plant some more flowers and other plants. I can see the end! We're almost there! I'll post more pictures when we tackle the remaining projects.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Wilson and Eliza stopped by yesterday and gave us two BEAUTIFUL paintings! Eliza painted a portrait of Lola and Willsy painted a volcano. They are both so dang smart!

End of Day 1

Due to the rain, we've had to quit our first day of yard work a little earlier than we would have liked. I think we made some good progress though, so it wasn't a total waste. In 7 hours time we've done the following:

• 1 trip to Elmer's for 2 big orders of German Pancakes. Gotta start the day out right!
• 2 trips to Home Depot. The first trip was for tools and the second was for more tools and topsoil, which we totally underestimated how much we'd actually need. Guess another trip will be necessary tomorrow! (Levi did get a cool wheelbarrow out of the deal and I almost peed my pants laughing when I heard that he pronounces the word "Wheel-barra")
• 1.5 trips to the dump. I say 1.5 because we drove all the way up there in Levi's dad's '55 Chevy truck only to find out that they don't take debit cards. We had to drive to the nearest grocery store, which isn't close, and buy some soda so we could get cash back. In the meantime I had Lola sitting on my lap, hitting my ear with slobber while she stuck her head out the window.
• Pulled massive amount of weeds and chopped several giant roots from one of the backyard's trees. We still need to cut down the tree that's dead but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
• Laid 15 bags of topsoil and evened out about half the yard. 
• Argued plenty about who knew less about yard work. I'm pretty sure it's a tie. I'll be shocked if we actually still have sod and flowers this time next year!

Actually I've had a lot of fun today and I feel more like a home owner than ever. I can't wait to do more this weekend and hopefully the sod and flowers can be done within the next month. My mom and Bruce will be here the second weekend in May so as long as it's done by then I'm happy. 

I'm going to take a shower now, I'm so itchy from all the dirt that made it into my shirt and bra!

Unnecessary shopping, yard work, etc.

This weekend I decided to have some fun and spent a lot more than I probably should have on CDs, but I was JUSTIFIED, I tell you, because I had a 40% off coupon! How could I afford not to buy those CDs! I'm very excited about all of them and I feel like they'll be good spring/summer albums. Am I the only one that has summer music and winter music? I always listen to more classical and instrumental music in the winter...probably to be more melodramatic with my winter depression. Who doesn't like to put on sad music and feel sorry for themselves every once in a while? Anyway, on Saturday I bought Led Zeppelin's Mothership, which is a re-mastered greatest hits and it is AMAZING! I'd love to see them live but I don't feel like paying $300/ticket. I also bought a Kate Nash album (kinda Amy Winehouse-y) and Goldfrapp's newest album. Oh yeah, I also bought an album by a string quartet that covers famous bands. They cover everything from Guns 'n Roses to New Order and Depeche Mode. Crazy huh? I bought the Muse cover album and it's gorgeous.  Let's see, what else? I found used DVD copies of I ♥ Huckabees and Everything is Illuminated so I picked those up too. I'm disappointed in myself for spending close to $75 on stuff I didn't need, but I figure in one year I won't remember that I was strapped for cash and will just be glad I have all these wonderful CDs and DVDs.

Yesterday Heather and the kids and I went to Costco and I bought a snuggly, soft bathrobe that's bright baby blue. Probably one of the unsexiest things in the world, but I don't care. I have many, many memories of my mom doing chores around the house, Diet Coke in hand, while wearing a ratty, but comfortable, bathrobe. I believe she now has a nice robe & if not I'll have to pick her one up at Costco :) Levi has already expressed his distaste for the robe, stating, "It smells funny." Well, it's not for him now is it! The robe stays. 

Levi and I are starting our backyard tomorrow. We never have a day off together so we both took tomorrow off from work and hopefully the sun will be shining while we're outside all day. We need to pull serious weeds, chop down a tree that's dead, rototill it, buy dirt and level the whole yard and then finally lay the sod. Tomorrow we'll probably only get the weeding and the chopping-of-the-tree done. The goal is to have it all done by mid-May. Lola (the dog) will be very happy to have some grass to roll around on. Today I looked out our window and she was laying in the dirt on her back soaking in the sun. It made me sad to think how uncomfortable that must be!

Levi & I both had our annual reviews at our jobs and we both got small raises so that is something exciting (and hopefully I won't use the raises as a way to justify spending more on unnecessary things, ha ha!) Actually, I do need to start looking for a decent swimming suit since all swimming suits will be completely gone before freakin' Memorial Day. Why do they put them out in stores in January!? Nobody likes to try on swimming suits when they're all pale and bloated from winter. It's totally unfair. Does anybody know a good website to find a pair of longer board shorts for me? If so, let me know. 

Well, I'm going to take a nap before I go to work today. I have to close the store tonight and then open it at 6am tomorrow. 3.5 hours of sleep. Blegh. I hate closing then opening (or "CLOpen" as we call it.) Wish me luck!

What punctuation mark are you??

I was really hoping I was the asterisk, but I'll settle for this :)

Which punctuation mark are you?? I want to hear what everyone else is.

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Sick. Blegh!

There has been a nasty fever spreading around Boise these last couple of weeks and Levi and I were it's latest victims. Heather also had this fever last week and pretty much everybody at my work currently has it. Today my abs hurt from coughing so much (yesterday I coughed so hard that I peed my pants a little bit. So embarrassing!!) and my nose is raw from rubbing it and blowing it into rough, cheap toilet paper! I've been a big baby throughout this sickness and Levi was much tougher than I was. He rarely gets sick and when he does he's pretty good about not walking around the house moaning like I do. 

I guess he doesn't have The Man Cold! Click here for the Man Cold video

I called my work today to see if we had enough managers there to cover for me so I could come in later and get some sleep before I had to be there but we don't and I have to work the full 8.5 hours. Oh well, I guess I'd feel gross whether I was at work or home so I might as well keep myself busy at work.

Cheers to Theraflu strips during the day and liquid Nyquil at night!

How could I forget this??

I've published a few posts about the craziness at B&N and I completely forgot my favorite story!! I was at work one aftenoon and I got a call from a bookseller saying there was someone at the customer service desk that wanted to turn in an application. I walked up there and my jaw dropped. There was a kid, probably in his early twenties, wearing black baggy pants, no shoes and a button down shirt that was totally open with no shirt underneath. He had two cigarettes, one behind each ear (classy) but the most disturbing part was that his chest was all bloody from carving it with a safety pin or something. He was all giggly and out-of-it when he handed me the application and I know I looked all bewildered, like I was on candid camera or something. I kindly thanked him for the application and took it into the back room to look at it with the other managers. There's a spot on the application where it asks if you've been known by any other name (maiden name, etc.) and if so to write down that name. This fine young gentleman check the box that indicated that he has been known by another name and in the spot where he could write that name he wrote "Duct Taped Goat."

Hmmmmmm.

All the other managers had a great time laughing about my face as I was talking to him and whenever one of them needs a laugh we just remind them of the mysterious Duct Taped Goat.

Boise to Utah to Boise

I just got back last night from a fun, quick little trip down to Utah to see my family and I had such a blast! I left right after work on Thursday and drove as fast as I could without going to jail. I was actually really tired and was afraid I'd nod off around Burley, ID so I got out there and walked around for a little bit, trying to get the blood flowing again. After that it was smooth sailing and I reached my mom's house about 10:00pm. The next day I was able to meet up with my sister Laurie while she was doing the running club at Bonneville elementary. It's so cute to watch all those kids run around and around the track to get their popsicle sticks. Laurie does such a good job with it and I'm proud of her for starting that club in Utah. 

After that we went to the mall and ate *YUM* Chick-Fil-A. I would KILL to get a Chick-Fil-A in Boise. Their chicken sandwiches cannot be beat. We shopped for a little bit and then we went back to her house to wait for the twins to get out of preschool. I swear Kate and Sydney are the two funniest people on this earth. I picked up Sydney and hugged her and the first thing she said was, "I'm gonna get a kitty!" She cracks me up!

On Saturday we went to Ikea so I could stock up on more crap. I love that place so much and I can't believe how much stuff you can actually buy without going broke! Unfortunately now we have to put all the stuff together and that will involve much sweating and swearing. 

On Sunday I visited my grandparents and talked with them for a couple of hours. They are so amazing and I am so lucky to have grown up with them in my life. Levi loves them too and I enjoy talking and listening to them so much. I left after visiting with them and drove home while listening to the audio book of World War Z. It's a book about what the world would be like after a zombie-apocalypse...basically a book that's right up my alley! I found myself getting super creeped-out at times because it was dark and I was driving alone. Next time I'm going to take a cheerful, lighthearted audio book!

Anyways, I'm back now and I'm so excited to listen to the bagpipers downtown tonight. I love St. Patrick's day but I'm bummed that it's so cold because the last couple of years we have all been able to ride our bikes downtown and enjoy the springtime weather. Maybe next year...

Overall it was a fantastic trip to Utah and I already miss my mom and Bruce so much. It was good seeing everybody and I can't wait for our family reunion at Redfish Lake this summer!

"And that's all I need!"

I just finished listening to the audio book of Born Standing Up, the new autobiography of Steve Martin. It was so fun listening to him tell stories of his stand-up days and it made me in the mood to rent The Jerk. Levi & I rented it last night and I always forget how freakin' funny that movie is!! Here's the quintessential scene (which is frequently quoted between my mom and me)

All in a Day's Work Part II

Today I had a fantastic conversation with a lady, who was probably in her early sixties that went like this:

Me: (Observing this lady looking for something in the sports section) "Can I help you?"

Lady: "Yes, where are your books on running?" 

(I show her where they are and ask her if she wants a particular book)

Lady: "Yeah, it's a book about running with the words 'Holy Cost' in the title."

Me: "Holy cost?"

Lady: "Yeah, you know about the camps in Germany where people died."

Me: (Trying not to laugh) "Do you mean 'holocaust'?"

(At this point one of my co-workers standing near me had to walk away because he was busting up laughing.)

Lady: "Yeah that's it! Holocaust. It's a book about running in the holy cost."

(I loved how she reverted right back to 'Holy Cost' after I explained what the correct word was. In my mind I'm thinking there is NO WAY she wants a book about physical fitness in concentration camps, but she insisted that's what the book was.)

I looked up the words 'running' and 'holocaust' in our computer system and came up with the book Running Through Fire: How I Survived the Holocaust. I tell the customer the name of the book.

Lady: "Yes that's it. It's about the sport of running isn't it?"

Me: "No. It's about a woman that poses as a gentile woman to avoid being sent to a death camp."

Lady: "So there's nothing about running or marathons in it?"

Me: (Thumping sound of me banging my head against the desk)

Sigh......

All in a Day's Work

Let me first start by saying that I love my job. I work in an amazing bookstore & I love my co-workers and co-managers. Ok, now that's out of the way so I can joke about all the bat-$#!& crazy customers we deal with on a daily basis.

Recently we made a Get-To-Know-You survey for all the employees to fill out. The last question was "What's the craziest thing a customer has asked you?" Here were some of the responses:

• "Where's your manuals for machine guns?"
• "Have you found God? Because if you haven't you're damned to hell."
• "Would you mind if didn't buy this book but instead used your copier to copy some pages out of it?" (For the record, we mind.)
• "Where is that Hal Holbrook book that all the kids love?" (This was said by an elderly lady that kept insisting that Hal Holbrook was all the rage. It was found out after 10 exasperating minutes that she meant Harry Potter, not the 83 year old actor with prominent eyebrows.)

Here are some bits of craziness that I've experience firsthand:

• "Will my newborn enjoy your story time?" (Huh??)
• "Don't you realize that because you guys sell witchcraft books in the Teen section you're responsible for killing Heath Ledger?" (This customer was insisting that the Twilight series was witchcraft. As for what that had to do with Heath Ledger, I'll never know. 
• "I'm looking for a book. I don't know what it's called or who the author is, but it's about a guy and a girl." (Sadly, this request, or a variation of it, happens at least once a day.)
• "Have you read this?" holding up a copy of The Secret or A New Earth or any other Oprah book club pick. The answer is and always will be NO. I have not read that New Age-y, positive vibe-y, crap nor will I ever read anything like it. Don't get me or any other bookseller at my store started on our dislike for the Oprah Bookclub.

And here is one of my favorite conversations that I've had with a customer:

Customer: "Are you a manager?"

Me: "Yes I am, how can I help you?"

Customer: "Why can't I leave my kids in the kids department while I shop around?"

Me: "How old are your kids?"

Customer: "They're 2 and 4 years old."

Me: "We always ask that parents stay with their children in the event the child gets hurt or scared. Also, we don't always have a bookseller present in the children's department and they are not responsible for any of the children in there."

Customer: "I'm still not getting why I can't leave them there."

 **We went back and forth for this for a long time. At that point I knew I had to break it down in clear words for her:

Me: "Ma'am, there are a lot of bad people in this world that could hurt kids. We want parents to stay with their kids so the kids are 

not kidnapped or killed."

Customer: "But I get so bored over there!"

This is where I threw my hands in the air and told her she could do 

whatever she wanted.

Ha!! You have to love it!

I am the world's biggest sap...

I SWORE I wouldn't get another dog after our last dog passed away last Thanksgiving. I've loved not smelling dog poop or having to buy dog food but this was all before I met a certain 4 year old Basset Hound at the Humane Society today.

I go up there often to walk the dogs and pet all the kitties and this trip was no different. I took Eliza and her friend Katie and everything was just like normal until I walked into Kennel D and saw the cutest droopy eared dog in the whole world. 

We took her out to the dog runs and I was hoping she would be hyper or bark a lot or anything that could justify me not wanting to get her but she was nothing short of perfect! She LOVES kids and was so happy to be around Eliza and Katie. She hasn't even barked once! Levi came from work to meet us there and he fell in love with her too.

We called Levi's stepmom who used to have a Basset Hound and she let us know that they're great pets and there aren't really any red flags with the breed.

Long story short: We are now the owners of a 4 year old Basset Hound that we named Lola. Zane thought we should name her Wilma but she already looks dorky enough without having a dorky name!

Here are some pictures, I'll post better ones later

This will cheer anybody up

GET READY FOR THE CUTEST PIC YOU WILL EVER SEE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.............

........ARE YOU READY??????

Have you ever seen anything so sweet? Look how happy Bruce is with his apple!

Birthdays and goodbyes

Today is Levi's 28th birthday! I can't believe he's pushing the dirty thirty and I also can't believe that he wasn't even 25 when I met him! He was totally spoiled this year by both families and we're so grateful for everything. I bought Levi and me the 9-time movie pass to the Flicks theater. They play the best independent movies and buying the passes saves a lot of dough in the long run. Avery & her boyfriend Chris bought Levi a gift card to George's Bicycles (which is probably being spent as I write!) Laurie gave him a cool coffee mug that says 'El Guapo' on it :) Brad & Julie bought him a nice 6 foot ladder, his mom Maria helped Levi pay for his new bike and other things and my mom got him a gift card to Home Depot. Awesome!! Heather's present to him might have been my favorite though. She took my favorite picture of us, which is also the one at the very top of this page where we're on our bikes riding away, and blew it up and framed it in a gorgeous mat and frame. Well done Heather!! It's going to be hung on the wall above the fireplace. 

Also my mom was able to come up this weekend with my niece Carlie Paige and we had such a great time. She's still recovering from her knee surgery but is no less the spitfire that we know and love. She is such an amazing person and I love spending as much time as possible with her. We can't wait to see her again when she and Bruce come up this spring. I'm going to try to make a trip to Utah in either March or April. Anyway, today we had to say goodbye to my mom and Carlie, which always sucks. I HATE when she leaves Boise but I have to remember that there are a bunch of grandkids in Utah that need her just as much as we do up here :)

Love you mom!

Oh yeah, tonight was the Oscars and I was very happy with Daniel Day Lewis' win for There Will Be Blood, which was INSANELY good, as well as No Country for Old Men's win for best picture.

BTW, the pictures I posted on this blog were not from this weekend. The one of my mom and me was from Christmas Eve at Temple Square and the one of Levi is from Thanksgiving. I just really love that picture!

I'm a Zombie!!

If you are reading this you need to take this quiz and then post what monster you are in the comment section. I can't wait to see what everyone is!

You Are a Zombie

You're a pretty apathetic person, and you often feel like you're sleep walking through life. You don't necessarily have a case of the "blues", but you do have a case of the "blahs." It's hard for you to snap out of your boring every day routine. You're a bit burned out. The only thing you crave is the company of others. But you're not too nice to the people who do hang around you. Your greatest power: Your lack of a normal conscience Your greatest weakness: Your lack of most emotions You play well with: Aliens

What Kind of Monster Are You?