the marvelous something

Just wanted to post a couple pics of my first "fantastic piece of mail" (see goal #7), and the marvelous something I made to put in it. You saw that I was sewing the "something" a couple posts ago. Here it is partially constructed...


It's an elephant! I also drew an autumn silhouette on the CD to make it more fun to receive. Whats more fun than an autumn silhouette, after all?


So our little friend the elephant was shipped out last Saturday to my mama, as a Happy Fall! gift. She sent me some really good care packages during college, so I figured I owe her quite a few. She was really happy, too, so it was pretty cute. She left me a voice mail, texted me, and called me on my lunch break.

If you are interested in being a future recipient of a marvelous something or a fantastic piece of mail (though I can't promise anything on the LEVEL of fantasticness) you should drop me an email with your address. You could receive a little package in the mail sometime...

Blogaholic

So, um, did you guys know that I blog for a living? Like, part of my job at work is literally to write and market for two blogs. TWO. And I'm not going to share those with you because... Basically because I don't want to. If you're that curious you can ask and I'll probably tell you and then feel embarrassed.

But the thing that makes me a "blogaholic" as it were, is that I write two blogs at work, write my own blog, and then read like a bajillion other blogs. Most of them are written by people I don't know. But they're just so darn interesting.

Does this seem healthy?

(No. No it doesn't.)

But don't worry. I can seriously quit any time I want.

What I Do When Steve is Gone at Basketball

1. Do the dishes because I feel bad that I haven't in a few days
   
2. Check facebook, see there's nothing new, and maybe post a wall comment to someone
3. Read a bajillion blogs, including blogs that I have already read like two or three times today
4. Write on my blog, but nothing too exciting
5. Put laundry in the washer and then forget it until a long time after its washed
6. Worry if Steve locked the door when he left (he did)
7. Worry that the blender of doom will turn on again
8. Read up on all the RSS feeds in my Google feed reader
9. Get tempted to check the site hit readings of the blogs I write for work (yes, I blog at work) but resist because I'm supposed to be relaxing
   
10. Turn on a lot of lights because that obviously protects me when I'm home alone
11. Get bored
12. Watch girlie movies that Steve won't watch with me unless its my birthday
13. Watch TV shows on nbc.com
    
14. Listen to music that I don't really even like because I need to have noise so I don't think that every creak is someone breaking in to the apartment
15. Finally stop being lethargic, and get off the computer and do something I actually want to do something I want to like maybe scrapbook or something
16. Also possibly eat a brownie. More likely than not.
    

Goal Update (Busy Weekend!)

So. Long time, no blog.

We had a pretty eventful weekend. It started with me taking Friday off. I needed a day to recharge, and luckily, I still have some paid vacation days left. It was, I think, a very good idea. I'm feeling much better, physically and emotionally.

I got up at 8:30 (sleeping in for me since I'm usually at work before 8), got a bunch of house stuff done (some cleaning, some finances, etc.), and then I got to sew! I'm working on a cute little something to send off in an attempt to fulfill goal #7. Send some fantastic mail.


The cute little something (its finished but I don't want to ruin the surprise) will be mailed off to its new home accompanied by a mix tape (CD). Because I do believe nothing says "I love you!" quite like a mix tape. Or CD. Or whatever. I am feeling pretty excited about goal #7, so some (or maybe all) of you will get a turn to receive a marvelous something (and a mix tape, if you're lucky). I am a firm believer in the power of mail to make a day infinitely better.

Saturday we got up early, listened to the first session of General Conference while my pop-overs baked, and then munched them down with some bacon. Delicious. Then we changed out of our PJs and started in on goal #11. Recover the couches!


Though its probably hard to figure out why we're not SO fond of this early nineties fabric, we tore it ALL off on Saturday and started recovering it with a cream chenille.

Excitement:

When we pulled off the old fabric, there were a LOT of staples that came off with it. We were trying to wrangle them all, but alas, we stupidly barefoot newbies didn't get them all under control. And of course I stepped right on one, squarely in the middle of my heel, and screamed. Loudly. It looked like I had a vampire bite in my heel and it hurt "like the Dickens" as Steve puts it.

No photos of that. Too graphic.

a very true love

We lost our little Maggie dog tonight, after 11 wonderful years. I feel like my heart will break, I love and miss her so much. I don't know that I can say anything to sum up who she was, so I will have to say simply that she was happy even when she was sick and hurting, and always loving. She has one the biggest hearts I have ever encountered. Love to you, Mags. See you again someday.

Fall Fall Fall

Haven't posted in a while... Things are busy at the Walton residence... Hmm...

I'm ready for fall:

• cozy sweaters and soft soft warm scarves
  
• cold weather and sometimes rain and lightning
  
• pumpkin decorations
• little kid trick-or-treaters
• scary movies
• back to school supplies in every aisle at Target
• hot cocoa and PJs with Steven
  
• winter on its way

THIRTY FOUR!!!

I'm at work so I can't call everybody in the world, but...

Steve got a
34
on his MCAT!!!!

(that's really good!!!)

One Year

That was us one year ago. Or a little over a year ago, now. A year ago we were on our honeymoon, exploring San Luis Obispo and eating fried zucchini at this quirky little restaurant with a waiter who sounded like Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove.

We've had our bumps in the road, but I feel like everything we have been through is worth it. Being with him is the best thing in my world--he gives me a reason to get up and go to work every day, and hope for a beautiful future. It's nice to know we have an eternity to come--we face things better together than we ever could have alone.


Hey baby? Thanks.

Listography

Hello.

So I just found out about this, which is a website where you can document your life with lists. Like an autobiography. With lists. A listography. It is also a book.

I found the website boring (just not aesthetically pleasing, really) but I like the idea. I am going to add it to my goals. Goal number ten. And here comes my first list.

Things I Need to Stop Doing

• Eating so very much chocolate
• Chewing on the inside of my lip
• Procrastinating about renters insurance, returning phone calls, exercising, and organizing the pile of bills that is currently sitting beside my left elbow (maybe this should be a list)
  
• Whining
• Freaking out about life every single Sunday morning (except last week... one down!)
• Buying things that I really really want but never never use (or use only once ever)
• Slouching
• Sitting cross-legged all the time, including in my office chair at work
• Leaving clean laundry on the floor instead of folding it
• Sulking
• Leaving hairpins on the coffee table, and in various other locations

Was that interesting?

Like Hiro on Heroes

"You know who's a real hero? Hiro from 'Heroes.' That's a real hero." - Dwight, The Office



Hi. So, Steve and I accidentally rented disk one of Heroes because there was nothing else interesting at Blockbuster, and guess what? We are addicted to it like a yuppie to Starbucks. (No offense).

We got disk two in the mail today and have already watched three out of the four episodes. I can almost guarantee that we'll swap it out tomorrow for disk three.

Least Favorite: The blonde chick who makes us fast forward scenes because she runs a... ahem... questionable website. Awkward.

VERY VERY Favorite: Hiro, from Heroes, who really is a true Hero. I hope he doesn't get "cool" as the show goes forward. I love him for who he is.

In response to Peter's concern...

Peter commented with immense concern over my bookcase organizing system, by color. You can read the comment on that post, which I think is two entries down. There he writes that organizing by color is "barbaric" and wonders how on earth I can find any books at all and ever.

Peter, calm yourself. Let me quiet your fears by explaining.

I am a Literature major, therefore I love books. I have purchased hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of books in my lifetime. If I were to keep them all around, my whole apartment would be a library. So I only keep books around that I like, and since I've read them a couple times, I tend to know the colors of them, and usually search for them by color because who on earth has time to organize alphabetically?

For example, a sampling of my books, and, without looking, their colors:

• The Undomestic Goddess - Yellow
• Calico Palace - White
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Blue
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Green
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Orangish
  
• The Holy Temple - White
• The Five Love Languages - Purple
• Dictionary - one Red, one Blue
• Harry Potter books in French - Black
• The Secret Garden - Green

Is everyone feeling a little more peaceful about my decision? ;-)

The Big Scary List

So I was looking through my computer for a cute/interesting photo to post for y'all, and stumbled across the "Wedding" folder on my C: drive. (Which I have named, like the cute little geek that I am, but I think that is another story altogether.)

In said folder was a document intriguingly titled "The Big Scary List." Our 1 year anniversary is coming up, and I thought that it was appropriate to check it out. Kind of a "What I Was Doing Last Year at This Time." So I scanned it, briefly, and concluded yet again that planning a wedding is the most stressful thing ever. I much prefer the being married part.

Seriously. The list is two pages long, two columns, single spaced, size ten font. I had to close it immediately as it made me feel an ulcer coming on. Thank goodness that's over. I want to give you an excerpt, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to handle opening that list. Possibly not ever again.

There are actually several photos of me in wedding garb. Enjoy this one for now. (I am totally wearing blue shorts under my "wedding dress").

Colorbatize Your Bookshelf

There is a whole flickr group dedicated to arranging bookshelves by color. I saw it done on some random indie-creative blog, and I thought it looked really cool. Better, at least, than the random mish-mosh of non-organization that I had going before. So I did it to ours:

Looks kind of cool...

What Makes Me WANT to Cry in the Fetal Position

Hi. Here is something you can make fun of me for at the next waffle night or whatever:

So yesterday I'm sitting at the computer, scouring the internet for ways to refashion clothes, because that's what I'm about right now. Steve is at the grocery store, and its dark out, but I'm fine. Not scared. I'm used to this routine.

Then, out of nowhere, this earsplitting shrieky-grindy noise--like a vacuum cleaner with a grudge--starts screaming from the kitchen. Throwing my chair back from the computer, I jump up into the air and just stand, petrified, staring at the kitchen. The blender is on.

BY ITSELF. OF ITS OWN DESIRE. THE BLENDER TURNED ON.

It doesn't stop, either, and my brain isn't really functioning, I am just freaking out in total panic mode with so much adrenaline running through me that I can barely move. So how to I handle this?

I scream back at it.

...and that doesn't work. So then I run into the kitchen, almost crying, and sort of bat at the thing so I can reach past it to pull the plug out (if it had kept going I would have probably passed out) and all I'm thinking is

IT'S SET ON LIQUIFY. IT WANTS TO LIQUIFY ME. ITS A GHOST THAT WANTS TO LIQUIFY ME.

Once its unplugged I run out into the hall, fumbling for my phone on the way, and shut the door firmly behind me. I dial Steve's number. No answer. I dial about ten more times, and send two text messages. No answer.

For a second I'm wondering if something happened to him, and turning on the blender is his way of sending me a message (because the blender is Steve's thing, not mine), but then I call again and finally he answers and I'm all almost crying and freaking out and refusing to go back in the apartment.

Finally he calms me down enough to go back in (luckily no other appliances have turned on) and he tells me he'll be home soon, and once I've situated myself in front of Jeopardy with some frozen cookie dough and a spoon we decide its safe to hang up.

I'm still not so keen on that blender. Okay?

Better Laundry Rooms and Gardens

I usually spend my lunch break either talking to Steve, or, if he is too busy, reading a book or a magazine. Usually a magazine lately, because they have more pictures and require less brain power.

My magazines of choice lately are Better Homes & Gardens (used to be pretty frumpy, but I really like it now) and Simple Scrapbooks. They're both pretty fun and creative.

The only problem with working, of course, is that you don't get to do whatever you want. And I want to reorganize our apartment, and decorate it. So I spend lunchtime drooling over photos of organized laundry rooms and really adorable living rooms with a tasteful number of starfish.

Yesterday I came home and surprise! Better Homes & Gardens had arrived. I read it on the couch while Steve unwound from work with a video game, and came across this picture of a cute, organized laundry space.


Steve and I do not like to do laundry, so I thought maybe livening up and organizing our laundry closet would make it a little more bearable. They said to organize AND add cheery photos/color, so I put up two pillowcases my mom made for me when I started college--she put my dogs on them. We don't really have a space for the pillows around the house, but they look very cheery and they friendly-up our laundry room:

Its at least a step in the right direction. I made myself a little clothesline, too. Oh, I felt so very creative and organized. It still looks like a laundry closet, but at least now its not so depressing.

Steve Has a Blog!

Feeling pressured by how everybody else in the world has a blog (I think this is probably my 10th... really...), Steve started his very first blog last night. You can check it out here:

http://greenwaterfishbowl.blogspot.com/

Hooray! Blogging!

I <3 <3 <3 Fried Zucchini

I made my fried zucchini last night!!! It was so yummy! I dip them in Ranch dressing... Divine.

The recipe is as follows (found on Cooks.com):


FRIED ZUCCHINI

3-4 lg. zucchini
3 c. flavored bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 c. grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Oil - vegetable for frying
2 eggs
1/8 c. milk

Wash (do not peel) zucchini. Slice in circles or lengthwise approximately 1/4 inch thick. Beat eggs and milk together in bowl. Dip zucchini in egg mixture, add crushed garlic, cheese, salt, and pepper to bread crumbs in large bowl. After egg mixture dip zucchini in bread crumb mixture coating both sides well. In large frying pan, place oil and fry zucchini until golden brown. Lay on paper towels to absorb oil.

Recipe for Deliciousness (Fried Zucchini) + Goal Update

I love the internet. So much free information, and so easy to find. So I guess I also love google.

Driving home after an EXTREMELY LONG day during which I was increasingly tired and grumpy, I had a sudden urge to sit on the couch and eat fried zucchini, which is one of my all time favorite comfort foods.

We just happen to have one in the fridge, so I googled a recipe and came up with one from Cooks.com (which I think is also the place I found out how to make chocolate waffle syrup).

Goal Update

Since Krystle is adorable and has started her own goal list, I thought I'd give you an update on my own progress.

First of all, there are two new list items:

8. Read 22 books (one for each year I've been alive... I swiped this idea from a friend)
9. Learn to play piano

I have been doing pretty good at my blogging goal (6) and have made more of an effort to take a camera with me so I can practice taking photos (1). I'm working on making some neat envelopes (7) in which to send mail. The other goals... not so much. Except that I am practicing my sewing. Hooray!

Also, I think I have read about 4 books already. I will try to think of which ones.

Games

It has been a busy, crazy, exhausting week. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did, and I have to say I am happy to be able to start a new week. Hooray for the weekend.

My brother Tyler came down to visit Friday night, so we hung out with him at Balboa Park and chatted at home until he hopped on the train Saturday afternoon. Then I went to the temple, which was lovely, and Steve did the shopping (sooo sweet of him, he has pretty much taken over the groceries now), and we invited the Sorenson's over. We (ok, Steve) cooked them hamburgers--including grilled pineapple for the burgers, which is DELICIOUS--and they brought over some games so we played after dinner.

The Sorenson's always have really cool, unique games (like Allana!!!), so they have become our source for finding new ones. Last night we played a game called "BANG!" which is Italian, but they have also introduced us to Carcasonne (we've already bought this one, plus an expansion for it), St. Petersburg, and Bonanza, which I think are German. They are here (except I couldn't find Bonanza... I might have spelled it wrong):

Steve and I woke up late this morning and then just lazed around reading books. It was supremely nice. Now its time for church, and then of course Waffle Night. :-)

MmmmmCAT

Steve had his MCAT today. I can't believe it is finally over, after 5 months of studying, worrying, preparing, it's DONE! YAY!

I dropped him off before work today, and picked him up at my lunch break to drop him at home. He was exhausted but felt okay about it, so that was nice. I wanted to eat lunch with him, but today also happened to be the day that I had to cope with my first big disaster at work. So needless to say it was an exhausting day for the Waltons.

I'm home now (after a brief stop at UTC to buy Steve some celebratory See's Candies), and he's playing a video game. I think he'll have to play a couple full days worth of those to make up for all the brain power he expended today.

It's over... HOORAY!!!!