This Day in The Present

Today is Saturday and also the last one before school starts. And many exciting and random things have happened today. Therefore, I shall blog about it.

We had two new couples move into apartments in our stairwell. That is cool and means new friends. Especially cuz neither couple has kids, therefore we can easily identify with them. It is weird when you are chatting along, and the lady says, "Oh, well, I have to go. Junior did a huge one!" Nasty. So. New friends here in our stairwell. We made snickerdoodles and took them to our new neighbors. The guy who lives right over us opened his door and Andrew and I both thought we knew him from somewhere. We asked and asked, but we couldn't figure it out. Later and when we were away from him, we realized that he was our class president from our Preparing for Eternal Marriage class from last semester! It was exciting. Well, he got married so the class worked. Our other neighbors, Dave and Emily, are cool. Emily is way crazy and hyper. I like her.

A few weeks ago, I made some cookies. Melanie wouldn't come play games with us unless we had cookies. She came and siad, "What kind of cookies are those?!?!" I said, "Applesauce." She said, "Gross," and informed us that Applesauce Cookies hardly count as real cookies. Anyway... We went to Lake Powell and then bummed around in Kaysville and Salt Lake for a while. Then we returned to Logan and the cookies were rock-like. Very tooth breaking. Even when you had soaked them in milk. So, this afternoon we decided to go feed the ducks at First Dam and boy were they happy to have such yummy cookies! The fish liked the sinking crumbs, too. The cookies were a little hard to break, but we did it. We saw some really big fish, and Andrew wished we could go fishing. HOWEVER, that would be called chumming which is ILLEGAL except at Lake Powell.

Speaking of fish, (this story happened a few days ago)... We were fishing and used shiny lures. They were pretty. I liked reeling in my line because then I could see the shiny thing in the sunshine. It was so lovely. If I were a fish, I would bite one of those. And one did! Andrew caught a fish, and it was the first fish I had ever seen him catch. How exciting.

Another adventure from today features Butch: a very cute, pit-bull/lab mix who belongs to my friend Tasha (aka Tash-slice or Tashy). He is black, muscular, and has a pit bull face. I took Butch on a walk and his sniffer was sniffing something very fragrant and I couldn't pull him away to finish our walk. Then, later, we pulled up and I saw him sticking his little pit-bull head through the curtains so he could look outside. He is a silly dog. Speaking of Butch, I better go let him out for his last pee of the night soon.

Andrew and I are now watching Hawaii Five-O. It makes me want to sing: "Du du du du du duuuuuuuuuu, du du du du duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." and so on. Andrew and I both danced around when the theme song was going on. Some scumbag man just poisoned his wife, put her in a barrel, and pushed her off his yacht. I hope that McGarret can solve this mystery! Perhaps I will learn how to hula. Andrew gave me a grass skirt and coconut shells when we got engaged, right after he got back from Hawaii. Visit youtube and watch the theme song and sing along with it. I guarantee it will get stuck in your head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepyGm9Me6w

Now he is doing the dishes. He is amazing. That is all. School starts on Monday. Woot woot. That is all for real.

Crash Course in Potty Training

Today, Andrew and I are babysitting Lucy. She is in the middle of potty training. I like Lucy, and she is cute. But bathing her, and potty training her, and doing her hair, and getting her dressed (all done while she is screaming, squealing, crying, or her saying, "Don't do this to me...") makes me never want children. Potty training is especially ridiculous. That is why I am having a crash course in it. If she pees or poops in the potty, she gets an Oreo. I wish I had an Oreo for every time I went in the potty. I wish I had an Oreo for every time Lucy peed/pooped in her Pull-Up. Maybe it is a good thing that I don't or I would be way fat. Her princess Pull-Ups are magical. If the Pull-Up gets wet, these cute purple hearts on the front disappear. It makes checking for accidents very easy. Each time she does it, I plop her on the toilet (sometimes she is screaming and if she does happen to pee in the potty, I know I would get peed on. Or the ceiling would. That would be a mess. I always try to have a little pact with her that when she feels like she has to pee, she needs to tell me. It hasn't worked yet.

Andrew just sits there and laughs at my struggles. Then, after I get her a fresh Pull-Up and clothes on again, Andrew comes in and tickles her. She loves Andrew. And glares at me.

Then, she looks so darn cute and happy when I'm not asking her if she needs to sit on the potty, that it makes me like children and especially Lucy again. It is a problem. Or not. Cuz it is good to like cute little girls.

My Mom says I am being very patient. That is good cuz I'm not super patient. Another bright side to this potty training fest is that I have figured out which side of the Pull-Up is the front.

Why Blog?

Why do I blog? I just enjoy it. I like writing. Did you know that I have written in my journal every single night since January 1, 2001? I have a lot of journals.

However. I have very little of consequence to blog about. Then, only Melanie comments on my blog. I love my sister, but her comments usually consist of: "Sarah, you idiot. Your blog was funny." So I guess my blog is only good for humor.

Some people have deep and philosophical blogs. Some people have informative blogs. Some people have funny blogs that are also good for updates. Some people use their blogs as more of a forum to talk about ideas and such. Some people use their blogs more like Twitter and update it every single day to tell me silly things. Some people use their blogs like photo albums. It is interesting to see how people use their blogs differently.

I blog about once a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But that is the average.

What is the point of my blog? I think I do a little of the photo album/weekly humor column approach. I can't remember why I got a blog, and I have been blogging for about a year. I remember! I was bored at KSL and I decided to try a blog. Oh the pleasures of having an idle job.

Anyway... The point of my blog: Mostly, I just write about things that happen to me and things that I am thinking about. I like to talk about things I'm working on, things that Andrew and I did, and so on. I don't think it is a stellar and way unique blog, but it is mine and I am proud of it.

By the way, I am tired of studying for the GRE. I keep taking practice tests and I keep doing worse. I think that this could be a sign to stop taking practice tests and just focus on vocabulary and trying to think mathematically again. Well, we are going to Lake Powell, so I'll have some time to chill and prep myself. I am going to learn how to SLALOM! That won't help me get into graduate school. Maybe it will cuz I won't go insane!

Have fun reading my blog, and have a lovely August afternoon. Which reminds me, everytime I write "August" I think of Augustus Caesar. Here is my first and perhaps only plug for Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra is so steamy and way funny. If I could act, I would want to be Cleopatra. This relates to Augustus because he was called Octavian before defeating Antony and becoming the First Citizen. He is in that play as a foil to Antony - he is more logical and younger. Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy, but I found it humurous. I guess that just goes to show that the interpretation of Shakespeare is up to the reader.

PS: I don't like Shakespeare. He is hard.

Oh I Do Love Checklists

Oh I do love checklists...

So says Bowler Hat Guy from Meet the Robinsons. I say it too.

I am checking off many things off of my checklist. Mostly, I am working on changing my name. Here is where I need to change my name.

• Social Security card - check
  
• Driver's License - check
  
• Temple Recommend - I don't think you need to change it, but they did it for me even before our sealing! - check
  
• Bank Account - check just barely!
  
• Church Programs - I thought my new last name would be easier, but apparently it isn't. Perhaps over time they'll learn how to spell it right.
  
• School Records- working on it
• Voicemail - every voicemail I get starts out like this: "Sarah! You haven't changed your last name yet!" - to do
  
• Email - haven't even started
  
• My Mind - not even close - I still introduce myself by my maiden name, but I'm getting better at remembering what my married name is.

Well, I think I am doing pretty well at changing my name. What a pain in the butt. Andrew just can't understand my suffering.

Speaking of suffering... At summer camp I just had a group of 18 3rd-4th graders. Can you say "Hell"? Usually, I don't use such naughty words, but truly, that is what it was. To top it off, I am sick with a cold. Thank goodness that camp is over! They just wanted to have a war the whole week, and I pretty much let them cuz I didn't want to deal with all 18 of them. The team names were hilarious: Greenland and Bounty Hunters. I laughed. Some classic lines from my campers included:

"Sarah, he's hitting me with a stick."

"I don't like bugs." (Me: "Then why did you come to the Creeping Critters summer camp?") "I don't runember."

"Remember how you said our boundaries were X Y Z?" (Me: "Yes.") "Well can I please go to Q?" (Me: "Uh, what do you think?") "Yes?" (Me: "Try again. No.")

"I accidentally fell in the river." (Me: "I saw that when you jumped in.")

"Sarah, can we eat our snack?"

"YOU LIKE SCHOOL?!?! That's weird."

(Me: "Give me your sandwich.") "No!" (Me: "Then don't take other kids' lunches.") "I didn't!" (Me: "Really?") "It was an accident."

"We took the grasshoppers legs off so that the praying mantis can eat it!"
"Oh my gosh! The spider bit the praying mantis!"
"Now the praying mantis is pinching the spider!"
"The praying mantis is paralyzed from the spider's poison!"
"Sarah! The only one who lived is the grasshopper!"
(Me: "Why did you rip off the grasshopper's legs? Do you want me to rip your legs off?"

So, from these quotes you can see how I respond to small children. Sarcasm. You probably wonder how I could be so unfeeling and teasing to these kids. You try watching 18 kids run through a river bottom hitting each other with grass (that's the only thing I let them hit each other with) while you can't breathe.

Andrew said we won't have 18 kids and I am happy.

Fishing Adventures

Hello again! Today I am off to Camp Loll, a scout camp in Wyoming. We are going cuz it is my brother Matt's birthday, and I am excited. He works on the waterfront so he is way tan. I'm not excited for the swim check so that we can go sailing, cuz I hear that the lake is FREEZING! It is, afterall, in the Tetons. But I'll suck it up and do it cuz I have never been sailing and I would like to go. Andrew doesn't know what we are going to do all day (and is a little upset about it) because we aren't going fishing. Welcome to my family camping trips! He can't believe we would go out into the wilderness and not fish. Well, I can't believe that his family would go everywhere to fish! But I do like fishing. I have caught two fish. I have one picture of one of the fish, and the other hasn't been downloaded from Andrew's camera.

I caught that fish all by myself! Andrew's plan was to cast it, catch it, and I would reel it in, but I caught it all by my lonesome. Except for getting it off the hook, he did that. That one is a brown trout and I caught it in the Logan River at the start of June, right after we got back from our honeymoon.

The other fish I caught was at Tony Grove Lake, and was a rainbow trout. Once again, I caught it on accident and I finished my book! (Lake fishing means you chuck your line out and read your book for 15 minutes and then cast it again.) We ate that one, and I actually liked it! My newlywed goal of learning to like fish is working. Andrew was very pleased with how well our Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine (aka a George Foreman Grill) worked. So that was awesome.

Speaking of fishing adventures, I named my Rapala Ralph. It is a good name for a Rapala. I can cheer it on while I am fishing cuz I know his name. This is a Rapala:

A Rapala is very cool. You wouldn't think that trout would go for them, cuz they are about 2" long, but those fish are little piggies. A Rapala immitates a wounded little fish, and so the bigger fish says, "Oh boy, an easy and big snack!" and then BAM! The fish has a hook in his mouth! It is, according to Andrew, very effective. I was fishing a few weeks ago and poor Ralph got stuck in a tree... 15 feel above the water... and Andrew couldn't get him out... and he questioned my casting skills. Yes, they suck. From how I cast, you can tell that any fish I catch is truly a miracle. Yet, I still have never seen Andrew catch a fish, but apparently he can, especially when he is fly fishing. The point of this story is that I had to get a new Rapala. Her name is Ralphanda. I think that she is one dang sexy Rapala.

If you want to get Andrew a nice present, give him some money and tell him that he must use the money to buy some Rapalas. He will be the happiest man in the world, and when he told me that, I realized how easy my gift shopping for him will be. :)

A Post

Andrew's aunt, Karen, told me yesterday that I should post to my blog more often. So here I go.

Things are going well-ish. I'm studying for the GRE and let me tell you it is wonderful. The most wonderful thing about it is reviewing Math, especially Percentages. I just love Math. *please note the sarcasm* I used to be good at Math, back in the day when I was in BC Calculus as a Junior at Dear Old Davis High School. I just don't think mathematically anymore, and that becomes frustrating when I try to review for this test which makes sure you can think logically. I get really frustrated when I struggle so much at math, but I think the worst thing is knowing that I used to know how to do all this math.

Andrew is being really great about the whole thing. He patiently helps me explain what I know about the problem, and then helps me and guides my math through the problem - the whole time I'm just sobbing because I'm so frustrated. I really love that man. That's why I married him.

Anyway... Hopefully things with the GRE will go well. I'm not super worried about it, but I do want to do well. I need to do well so that I can get into a graduate program. Thanks to our honeymoon, I decided to not become a teacher anymore. I'm going to graduate next May in History and then I'll start the graduate program here at USU and focus on Museum Studies. I really want to work in a museum! Then when I'm done with all that, we'll see where life has plopped me and my hubby. He actually suggested it! I think I'm a really lucky girl and I am so grateful that Andrew has my dreams and interest at heart.

I take the GRE in exactly one month from today, so wish me luck!

Honeymooners!

I promise, there is nothing rated X on this post. We just had some cute pictures from our super fun vacation! It was our first family vacation, aka our honeymoon. We drove from SLC to Las Vegas and then to Anaheim. Our hotel in Anaheim was right across the street from the Disneyland entrance! It was so fun.

Las Vegas

Here are pretty much the only two things I like about Las Vegas. Andrew and the Bellagio fountains.

I tried to upload a video, but it didn't work. I still just absolutely love these fountains.

We visited the Strip, and now we never have to do it again! Neither of us like Vegas anymore. We are by the Eiffel Tower in this picture.

I'm pretending to be a statue at the Venetian. I think I do a pretty darn good job! The hardest thing about being a statue is that I have to hold still and I can't talk. Marble doesn't do either of those.

At Caesar's Palace, we asked this well-meaning lady to tak our picture by Caesar. I think she missed the point that we wanted his head in the picture too!

The Night We Reached Our Destination

We found this neat colored light fountains by the Disneyland Hotels. We liked them a lot.

I wonder how many people driving and/or walking past this road sign notice what is actually says. Andrew and I thought it was hilarious!

The honeymooners by the F in CaliFornia Adventure. Generally, I would get my picture by the B or the S, but I changed my last name and have to stand by a new initial, so there I am.

DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!

Andrew was so excited to go to Disneyland! Can't you tell by his face? There were these cute little fellows (like 1 1/2 years old) who were dancing because they were so excited. I think that inside, Andrew was dancing like the little guys. He hadn't been in 12 years. Poor guy. I love Disneyland, even though I went to DisneyWorld last summer, and Disneyland just 3 1/2 years ago. I just love that place.

At Disneyland, even the fowers on the shrubberies are shaped like Mickey Mouse. (this was actually the only flower group like this that we saw, but it was Freaking Amazing)

Here we are on the teacups! I usually don't like this ride, but even though we were spinning a lot, it wasn't so bad. Mostly cuz I looked at Andrew the whole time, so I didn't see the world spinning around making me want to hurl. Do you like our hats? Me too. They are so cool and everyone congratulated us all the time.

I'm only tall enough to ride the rides with my ears on.

We just went on Splash Mountain and we were WET! Andrew sat in front and mercifully saved me from getting wet and colder than I already was. We like that ride.

Here we are on the Finding Nemo Adventure ride. I was cold and wet and my feet really hurt and the wind was blowing and it was cool instead of warm in California and I had just had a nice cup of hot chocolate and spilled on my shirt. I like to drink hot chocolate before I go to bed. I fell asleep on this mellow but cool ride. But we still got a sweet picture in the window thing!

California Adventure

We rode California Screamin' 6 times. 3 of those times were in the very back. It was amazing.

My stud muffin in his hottie sunglasses. The pin says "Just Married" on it.

Me doing who-knows-what in one of the lines. Do you like my special honeymoon sunglasses?

Mater, Sarah, Andrew, and Lightning McQueen. If you want your picture with them, they are parked across from the Soarin' Over California ride. We were in line when the line guard had to measure a little girl. She was way distracted and didn't want to be measured. Then, her grandmas, said, "Come on, let's go!" but she saw the cars and screamed: "LIGHTNING MCQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" Andrew and I laughed way way hard.

Day 3 of Our 3 Day Park Hopper Pass, in Which We Patroned Both Parks

Disneyland was really crowded this day. We didn't like that one little bit. The lines were really long and our feet already hurt. Standing in line with sore feet doesn't help anything. We weren't used to standing in long lines cuz the other two days weren't very crowded. We were not too happy about that. To make matters worse, I think it was California high school senior day. Kids in high school are SO obnoxious. They added to our misery. But we tried to try to stay positive (yes, those two tries are on purpose).

:D

That evening, we laughed about it, and the things that went badly are actually really funny. Here is our list of crappy things, straight from my journal:

1. very very crowded all day = super long lines
   
2. expensive food


3. churro shop's money drawer got stuck and we just wanted our churro


4. the pineapple whip was yummy, but I tried to scoop some and the top half fell off and we discovered that it was hollow - we felt ripped off


5. we wanted to get our last name done in Disney character letters, but you can't do Mickey and friends, and/or Pooh, so we didn't get one


6. really sore feet


7. waiting 3 hours for our fastpass times
   

The traditional Disneyland entrance picture.

We decided to do something that neither of us had ever done, which was ride on the steamboat! The steamboat is named the Mark Twain, and I love that author so very much! He is so satirically hilarious. But aren't boats girl names? Oh well, the irony I guess. It was a nice ride around the old Tom Sawyer Island. Did you know that the island isn't Tom Sawyer Island anymore? It is a Pirate Island. Lame. This just goes to show that people aren't appreciative of great literature anymore, only about highly romanticized pirates. A pirate's life actually sucked, no matter what they show in Disney movies. I guess stupid high schoolers who go to Disneyland don't like Tom Sawyer cuz they don't know who he is cuz they didn't pay attention in school and therefore are super obnoxious.

The "steam"boat is actually powered by gasoline. See the little thing? It is green and by the huge wheels. I want to ride one in the Mississippi River, but I guess a little loop in Disneyland will have to do.

The steamboat ride was really fun and actually cheered us up a bit!

The Drive Back to Logan

We saw some interesting things on I-15 on the way home from our honeymoon.

First, a sweet turquose truck! It is one of my wedding colors! I have never in all my life seen a truck of that color.

So there we were, driving along I-15, minding our own business through the wastelands Arizona, tired of being bored from driving through Nevada. Suddenly, Andrew froke out. A semi was heading straight towards us! Then we realized it was being hauled behind another semi. We had to get closer for a better look.

This is a 1967(?) Shelby Cobra. Andrew was drooling over it. I think it is a little bit ugly, but he insists that it is amazing. It is a small car with a huge engine, so apparently you can go really fast. I just don't get men and their obsession with cars.