Pickett Line

Last quilt of 2011

2012-01-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

This is the last quilt I made last year for my friend Christina. She had a little boy at the end of November. I'm in love with the polka dots on the back. The coolest fabric though is aliens and a little boy on the front fabric. It was fun to pick it all out and I was really lucky to find the back fabric which matched up perfectly.

I didn't take any pictures at the Quilt show, I think because I was so in awe of all the marvelous quilts I just totally forgot about it. The shopping was fun too. I found a pattern for my next quilt, some fat quarters for another quilt and a jelly roll for yet another. I think so far this year I have 5 quilts ready to go. Whew! It's gonna be a busy year!

First Quilt of 2012

2012-01-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here's the first of my goals for this year. It was a pretty easy quilt that I found on pinterest. It was for my friend Jen who is having a baby next month. I love, love, love the stripes. Those along with the polka dots are so cute! I wanted to post the one I made for Christina too but the pics are on my phone and I didn't download them yet. So here's this one instead. Karen, Lindsey and I are going to the quilt show in Ontario this weekend and I'm so excited to see all the awesome quilts and get some good ideas.

Before and After

2012-01-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Here are pics of me and Lindsey before and after the 5K. Don't we look skinny!?!? It was a lot of fun, but I'm not ready to run anytime soon. That wiped me out for a while.

1 year post op

2012-01-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

It's been exactly one year since I had my bariatric surgery. I can't believe how fast the year went. Seems like yesterday I was being wheeled into the operating room. Well here are the results: I'm down to 214 as of this morning. Since surgery that's 82 pounds and that makes a total of 104 pounds lost since I started this journey. I still can't believe how different I look and feel. I'm so happy I chose to do this. I was so unhappy with my weight in the past and now I finally feel that I have it mostly under control. I still have more to lose (like another 40 pounds would be fabulous), but I'm ok with it now. It'd be great to get under 200. So that's my next goal. It might be a while though before that happens because in about 7 months I'll be having a baby. Yep, you heard it here first. I'm due August 2. So I'm 11 weeks as of yesterday. I wasn't going to say much until 12 weeks, but it's almost here and it's slowly being leaked to the public. I'm not ready to blast it yet on facebook so only my faithful readers here will get the inside scoop. I'm exhausted, tired and even more tired than I was with Elise. I can't keep hardly anything down and the toilet is my new best friend. Luckily I have a great doctor who has been willing to help me with medications and they seem to be working a little bit. So anyway, there's the inside 411 for you all. Happy Friday :) Oh, and I'll have some pics to post soon of my newest quilt and one that I finished a few months ago that I haven't put up here. I'm excited to be done with quilt 1 of the 12 to do this year :) And I joined a virtual quilting bee and am very excited to be in one this year. It'll really help my skills. Ok, this is long enough now.

Welcome 2012

2012-01-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not in the mood to work, so I was blog stalking again on some quilting sites. Found some really great ones I want to do. Maybe this year, but maybe not. I still have my goal of 12 in 2012. I need to start and finish one this weekend, since I have a baby shower next weekend and I'll hopefully be bringing it there. It amazes me how people find the time to do so much quilting. I guess I'll just have to make the time. That means late nights since that's pretty much the only time I have to myself. I could get up earlier, but who wants to do that? Not me!
Anyway, I don't have any resolutions this year. Got my weight under better control, so I don't need to focus on that. I should do some more exercising as after my first 5K I haven't even stepped foot into my running gear. Oh well. Guess that's a resolution. I'm just not feeling up to it. There's lots of things I need to change about myself internally but I'm not really sure there are resolutions for me to make to do that. Hmmm... guess I'll have to do some thinking about it. I should make a resolution to take more pictures and post them here. I know a few of you would like that. So I guess that's it. Nothing else I can think of. It's already feeling like a long year ahead. I hope that's not the case. Maybe I'm just tired and need more sleep. Oh, that's a good resolution, more sleep. Not sure it's gonna happen, but I'll try. What are your resolutions?

Blog stalking - 12 in 2012

2011-11-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

So I was eating my lunch at my desk and blog stalking some quilt blogs and found a great idea. This lady did an 11 in 2011 theme and set aside 11 projects to complete in 2011. I wanna do the same thing but for quilts, like 12 quilts for 2012. Sounds ambitious, but if I can do one a month then that would totally work! Anyone feel like joining me? It doesn't have to be quilts, it can be what ever you want to get done in 2012.

In other news this past weekend I finally hit my goal...216, which means I'm officially over my 100 pound goal, and by 2 pounds. Well sadly it was short lived as it jumped back up but today was at 219 so I don't feel that bad. I hate that it bounces so much. Guess if I only weighed once a week it wouldn't, but since I weigh everyday that might be why. I know you shouldn't weigh every day but I promised myself I would never let it get out of hand again and the only way for me to do that is to keep it in the front of my mind at all times.

Ok, so I'm going to start thinking of my 12 in 2012 now so I can get a jump on it. Tell me what you wanna do too!

Weight loss update

2011-10-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I've posted about the weight loss. It's has slowed quite a bit, but I'm hoping it will be picking up again because I'm training for a 5K. Plus I wanted to post when I lost 100 pounds total and I'm still 2 pounds away and have been hovering around being 2-5 pounds away for a while now. So as of this morning I was 220 and 218 will be my 100 pound mark. I started training for the 5K with Lindsey and we are on our 3rd week. I'm glad I'm not as sore as I was the first 2 weeks. My goal is to jog the whole thing with no walking. I have only 6 more weeks to train, but it should be fine. I'm doing the couch to 5K program and then once it's over I think I'm going to start training for a 10K in the spring. That should be fun. I really enjoy running. It's a great stress reliever and I fall asleep so much faster now. My body is exhausted and I really like that. So I'm hoping that all this running/walking will help me drop another 20 pounds. It'll be great to get down past 200 and back in the 100's. I haven't been there since college and I'm hoping to get there and stay there a while, meaning forever!

In other news, I have another quilt idea but haven't started it yet. It should go pretty fast as it's just charm squares. I'm excited to get at it again, but have been so busy with the running and church stuff these days. And with the holidays fast approaching I may not get as much done as I'd like. Oh well, that's what New Years Resolutions are for. I think I've done pretty good with the weight loss resolution this year :) Yay!

Photo Test and Quilts

2011-10-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

So this is my photo test. I downloaded these from my phone into iphoto and then had to put them on flickr and add them here. Now I'm not sure how to size them or move them around quite yet. Guess I'll be spending some time doing that. Well at least for now you can see all the quilts. The black and white one I made for my boss. He loves everything black and he really liked it. It's the first one I finished and I think it turned out pretty good. I love the border. It's chinese characters and since he's Chinese it worked out great.

This one I made for Elise. I started it a really long time ago but couldn't ever figure out how to finish it. Then I got some ideas online and I think it turned out great.

This one I made for Emme. The colors are so cute. I got the idea from Crazy Mom Quilts on one of her tutorials. I gave it to her last night after our ward showcase and she loves it. That makes me happy. At first I wanted to keep all of them, but I'm glad to know people really enjoy them. Now to start another one!! Oh the possibilities. And if anyone has any ideas for presenting my pics better please let me know :)

Jared got a job!!

2011-10-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

It's true. Jared got a job just a week after being unemployed. I'm pretty sure I know how it all worked out too. He was laid off on Friday, Sept. 23. The next day he and Erik went to help a lady in our ward who was moving. Well they were the only ones that showed up. The ward council discussed it the next day on Sunday during their meeting and we found out the bishop wasn't too happy about no one else showing up.
Later that week Jared was able to go on a few interviews and one of them said by Friday to let them know if wanted the job or not. So he took that one (I know it wasn't his first choice but hey it's a job!). He started on Tuesday this week and that means he was only out of work for a week and one day! Almost unheard of these days. We truly have been blessed.
So how are the 2 connected you may ask? I emailed the bishop late last week and thanked him for helping us with the job hunt and prayers and said I was so happy no one else showed up for the move because we literally needed ALL the blessings. He said he was glad it worked out for us and was grateful to the Pickett's and all we do. I was really happy to hear that.

In other news, at work we volunteered at the Coastal Clean Up Day in Malibu a few weeks ago. It was a fun morning and this pic turned out so cute! There were a few others, but I'm already frustrated with adding pictures in here. I was thinking today if I dump pics from my iphone into my iphoto stuff on my computer at home it may work better. I'm going to try that because I know I owe you all pics of my quilts and of me :) Wish me luck! This is me, Elise, Alison and Alix.

Feeling a little better

2011-09-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I'm feeling a little better about the job loss situation. Jared has been on the hunt for the past 3 days and thankfully it's not very busy at work so I can help him look. He went on an interview Monday for a taxi job driver job. It's a lot of ups and downs so I'm not feeling really great about that one. Then yesterday Alison found one on CalJobs and he went on an interview yesterday for a teaching job in Chatsworth. They really liked him and they know a lot of the same people from another school Jared used to work at. They said they'd call him for a 2nd interview later this week. Then this morning he called an old co-worker to ask if he could use her as a reference and she said they are hiring right now Resource Teachers which is exactly what he was doing before and is in an interview right now! Please pray that something pans out for us. The other one wants to open a school in Lancaster and asked if he could commute there. I told him to say yes because $40K is better than unemployment. I'll update as soon as I find out if we are employed again!

Down in the dumps

2011-09-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well on Friday morning I thought it was going to turn out to be a great weekend. I had box seats lined up for The Sound of Music Sing-a-long at the Hollywood Bowl. I left work early, amongst much teasing about singing at the bowl on Saturday. I was in a good mood. Ready to go home a little early and either do some quilting or nap before having to pick up Elise from daycare. As I was pulling into the driveway I got a phone call from Jared asking where I was. I told him I just pulled up at home. He said, oh good, you aren't out buying a car are you? We really need to get a him a new one and I had been looking and found a few really good deals. I said no and he said good because I just got laid off. I was dumbstruck. I couldn't believe I just heard what I heard. He went on about this or that, but it was like a ton of bricks hitting me square on the shoulders. I felt the burden immediately. I called Barb and started crying and sat in my car. I knew there was no way now I was going to sew or nap so I went to pick up Elise. When Jared got home he explained what had happened. The company he worked for wanted to basically get rid of everyone who previously worked for the old director and get their family members in to do all the jobs. Well since they were short staffed Jared had to do a lot of things he wouldn't normally do. They gave this as one of the excuses for him being terminated. They said he was doing too much. I was shocked. Who ever complains of people doing too much? What idiots! Anyway, I could go on for days about what a terrible company it was but Jared is relieved to not have to work there anymore. So he's on the hunt for something else now. At first I really wanted him to continue with teaching, but now I see it's not going to be good for him. I want him to really find his niche and I'm not sure where that is going to be right now. He has a lunch interview right now with a guy he met on Saturday to drive a taxi cab. It sounded right up his ally, but I don't think the pay is as lucrative as this guy is saying it is. Everything I've read today says it's about $10 an hour after all the costs. So if it's that low I'd rather him just be an aide. Well I guess we'll see what the Lord has in store for us. Hopefully it will be better that before, but you just never know. I need to learn how to sell stuff on ebay. Any hints let me know. The Sound of Music was great, but the stress of the news was a like a big rain cloud hanging above my head. Hopefully it rains quickly and the sun and rainbows come out soon.

Irritated

2011-09-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

No wonder I never add pics to my blog. It's so irritating trying to get them on here. I have pics on my iphone I sent to my email address so that I could get them on here. Sorry folks, it ain't working. So no pics from me. If anyone has ideas that would make it oh so much easier please let me know. I can't stand flikr so don't suggest that one. Sorry, not in the best of moods today. Want to crawl back in my bed and not get out.

A little of this and that

2011-09-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

I'm avoiding doing my work today, so I thought I'd post for a minute. I was recently looking at some quilting blogs and I really need to get some pics up. The problem is I work in the basement so I have no phone service when I actually think about posting. So I need to send my pics to my email and that way I can open it at work and then save it on my blog.

So right now I'm working on finishing up a quilt for Emme. She was asking when I was going to make her one and I was in the process of putting a pink one together with no one in mind. So I'm glad she spoke up. It was the Ragged Square Quilt from Crazy Mom Quilts blog. It was so fast and so easy that I'll probably have to do a few more. I already basted but I had one more idea for the back this morning so I might have to unpin and re-pin the entire thing. Good thing that it's not that big.

I have so many ideas in my head of things I want to get done. I wish I could take some time off work and work on them. It's hard when you have a very active toddler running around to get anything done.

Onto something else. The weight loss is at a standstill right now. I've been hovering around 225 for a few weeks. I think we I start training for the 5K it will begin to speed up. I'm excited and nervous to train. My body says I can do it, but it's my mind that plays evil tricks on me. I need to find some good running music. Any suggestions would be great!

Alison and I headed to the beach yesterday to chill. It was so nice to be kid and husband free and just to lay out and do nothing. I caught up on some magazines, ate some junk (not good) and got a little burned on my legs. The water was freezing so I didn't venture out past my ankles, but at least I touched the water. I wish I could run/walk there every day. It would be total motivation to keep running because of the beautiful scene.

Well that's my life in a nutshell. I'm dying to get some quilting done. Hopefully I'll have a little time this weekend to work on it. Oh I didn't even mention my anniversary and b-day. Jared and I went to dinner at Kabuki for some sushi. He surprised me (totally!) with a strand of real pearls and said he had been saving to buy them for me. I was shocked and very happy! They are beautiful, something I look forward to wearing forever. I got him passes to play paintball with Erik which he was happy about. Then for my b-day I cleaned in the morning, the Ganiere's came over for home teaching and picking fruit, went to lunch at Subway, Jared took the kids shopping while I was home alone to pin my quilt and take a nap, then we headed to the Burr's for a BBQ. It was great. I just relaxed, at my baked beans and had ice cream cake. Barb got me a gift card to Joann's, Jared got me one too and a gift card to Bath and Body Works. Alison also got me a g.c. to Walmart and I ended up using to buy my little Angry Birds collection for my desk at work. I need to take a pic of those too and post. Boy I am totally behind with the pics! Shame on me!!!

2 years ago yesterday

2011-08-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

Two years ago yesterday I had vision correction (aka Lasik). I can't believe it's been 2 years, but one of the very best decisions I've made. I love my crystal clear vision. I love not having to put my contacts in or wear my glasses. I love that I don't have to buy any solutions or even think of taking anything out right before I pass out in my bed. Oh so nice!!

Wow, with this post it's like I'm a whole new person. I really like this new person more than the one I used to be. I was fatter and four eyes. But it's a new time and a new me. I need to post pics and I'm sorry I haven't lately. I also need to post pics of my quilts that are done and the ones I'm planning on starting. I'm a slacker, you can punch me now. I'll do it soon, I promise or I owe you all cookies or banana bread, or something equally as yummy!

2 more accomplishments

2011-07-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

So this week I accomplished 2 things. The first is that I've made it into the 220's. Yep, as of this morning I'm down to 227 (reminds me of the T.V. show). So I'm very happy about that, considering I was stuck in the 230's for what seemed like an eternity. The countdown so far is 91 since my highest, last July and 69 since surgery. Wow! Ca.ray.zy!!

My other accomplishment was finishing my first quilt last night! Yippppeee! Thank you to Lindsey for the encouragement. I want to make more, but I realize I'm no where near where I want to be, so I may take a quilting class to understand it a little better and my next one can look all the more cute. I'll post pics of the quilt and of me soon :)

Goals

2011-07-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been thinking a lot about goals for myself. All the weight loss has triggered me thinking about things I want to accomplish. The first have to do with fitness. I want to run a 5K by the end of the year and Lindsey has invited me to run with her in December. I can't wait! I think it's going to be tons of fun. Then following that accomplishment I want to run a 10K, a half marathon and a full marathon. I know it's going to be a lot of work to do that, but I'm willing to do it so I can say I accomplished my goals. I don't have a timeframe, just sometime in my life I want to do it. Yesterday I was talking with my doctor about it and she was really happy with my goals. She told me something that was very inspirational and which I will probably thinking about while I'm running. She said if you can run 3 miles then you can run 26 miles. It's all mental.

So the other goal is also related to fitness and one which I just thought about this morning. I was talking with Barbara about the Yosemite debacle and we discussed going with our families while the scouts were there for scout camp. She told me she had talked to Heidi about the Half Dome hike and she mentioned she wanted to do it, but didn't have anyone to do it with. Well Heidi, if you are reading this, we're going to hike Half Dome next year! I really want to do it and make it all the way. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but I'm willing and I really want to accomplish it.

In high school my class went their for the senior class trip. I didn't even bother signing up because I knew I was so out of shape I couldn't make it. But I'm determined now more than ever to get in shape and get some goals accomplished.

Anyway, there's my ramblings about goals. What are yours? (Oh and one more, I'm going to finish that darn quilt by Wednesday even if I have to stay up for 3 days straight, so there's another one!)

4th of July

2011-07-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this post because if I post of Facebook I'll get a bunch of lame responses and that's not what I'm in the mood for. I know only a handful of people read this blog and I just had to write this morning so I can get it off my chest and get to work.

4th of July has long since been my all time favorite holiday (Halloween a very close second). I love everything about it. I love the music, I love the bbq's, I love the fireworks, I love summer, I love sandals, I love shorts, I love summer fruit. I think you get the idea. What more could you ask for? So I have made no effort to try and hide my love of the 4th. I even have Flag-tees from Old Navy dating back every year since 1999 (one day I'll be making a quilt with them).

So let me just say how disappointed I am with yesterday. There was no pancake breakfast-sucks, spent most of the day in front of the tv wishing I was swimming-sucks, actually had a great bbq-awesome, Jared pissy about having to stop playing video games to go to the bbq-sucks, missed the fireworks show-major sucks, had to watch it on tv-sucks, listened to the neighbors blow off illegal fireworks till 2 in the morning-sucks. So as you can gather the only great thing about the day was the bbq, of which I couldn't stuff my face because of surgery.

My plan for next year...pay for a good show, or find one of the smallest towns ever that has a show and go, like Kingman, AZ. We had such a great time last year because it was a small town, no crowds and a really cute 20 minute firework show. Just the kind of fun I like. Those are really the moments I wish that I lived in a small town. Anyway, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I'll be more prepared next time and ready to hang out with people who really want to see fireworks instead of fart around all day long and do nothing to celebrate our nations birth. Hope yours was better than mine.

Week 24 and a 5K. I'm all about the numbers!

2011-06-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

So today is 24 weeks since surgery. I've tapered off a bit and are currently hovering between 231 and 233. I need to change up my workouts and am looking for a treadmill. We have the elliptical but I just don't like it. I may have to use it though while I save money for the treadmill. But all the same I'm enjoying this new me :) Something great happened at Walmart last Saturday. We were at the front of the store and Elise had to go peepee. It was at the back of the store so we ran from the front to the back. I didn't have to stop and I wasn't even breathing heavy. I was kinda in shock. I'm glad my body is working better. I even got some great test results back from the lab about cholesterol and fasting blood sugar. My blood pressure also has been down and I'm hoping this next visit with the doctor they will be able to take me all the way off it. Fingers crossed!

This morning we did a 5K at work. I was anxious as I've never done one, but then got to thinking back a few years ago Michelle and I used to walk at the Rose Bowl almost everyday and that's basically the same distance as a 5K. I jogged it once the whole way and never did it again. Today was great though. I walked the whole thing, but I'm feeling great. My legs were a little sore at first, but they are fine now. I'm ready to start training for the running of a 5K. I can already tell this is going to be a good, addicting behavior and hobby for me. I've always aspired to be a runner, but never really knew what the heck I was doing. I just saw a book today on the proper techniques that I might have to buy and read. So all you runners out there... if you are looking to coach or train just give me a call :)

In other news Jared hit the big 4-0 this week. We went to dinner with the Burr's to Kabuki for some sushi on Saturday night. It was so much fun. We had a great time celebrating. He's been a good sport too about me teasing him. I know I'll get there soon enough, but I'm not worried :) 40 is the new 30, right? For his birthday I bought the numismatic a set of gold plated state and territory coins. He got it yesterday (the mail was slow) and he loved it. His eyes lit up!

Erik is off to South Dakota for a few more weeks. I hope he's having a great time with his mom and enjoying the great outdoors. He said they would be going camping and fishing. That sounds like so much fun! I love fishing.

Elise is as fun as ever. She is so cute. We have a few plants that are on the verge of dying and we watered them and she said to the little one "you gonna be ok." So cute!! She's also trying my patience at bedtime. Since she gets a nap at daycare she wants to stay up later and later. Some nights it's nearly 10pm before she goes to bed. I can't blame her. I like staying up too.

So that's the update for the past few weeks. I should add some pics, but I'll have to next time.

A year of miracles

2011-06-06T11:24:00.001-07:00

So the weight loss is steadily creeping down. This morning I weighed in at 232. As of last Thursday I was 20 weeks out since surgery. So that's a total of 86 since my highest almost a year ago and 64 since surgery. Yay! The miracle though is that over the weekend I bought a size 18 pair of shorts and actually fit into them. I can't believe I've made it back into the teens!!! This is truly a miracle indeed! I honestly can't remember the last time I was wearing a size 18 but I assume it was about 10 years ago. I had been on Weight Watchers and when I started was at 248 and got down to 223, so I would assume that was the last time. I think that was in 2003 or 4 so maybe not quite 10 years ago.

I'm feeling great. I love my new look and love that people have noticed that I'm shrinking :) My next goals are to get a decent treadmill so I can start running because I want to do a 5K and eventually a 10K and I'm working my way down to the blessed 199 mark. It would be great to say goodbye to 200 forever :) Well I'm on my way to get some new tires for my bike so I can start doing that again. Oh I need to have Jared teach me how to roller blade. I've never done that and it's something I've always wanted to learn. Wish me luck!

Picture this....

2011-05-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

More fun Elise and mommy pics to upload - Dad and Erik don't like being in pics. Hopefully I can figure it out so it works correctly. Enjoy! (I'm sure I'll cut it off again).

Easter Sunday. Aren't we cute?

She just had to jump on the tricycle.

In front of the Princess Castle with cousin Isabelle.

Riding horses on the carousel.

Cousin Isabelle and Elise trying to pull out the sword.

Birthday girl got balloons and a crown from her teacher.

Yummy birthday cake made by mommy!!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful little princess!!

It's taken weeks...

2011-05-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

to finally get past my 242 month long pause. I'm down to 239. Yay! With my goal of 169 I only have 70 more pounds to go. That sounds like a lot but it's better than saying 150 more pounds to go. I'm feeling great, especially after going to Disneyland yesterday and not feeling self conscious about riding rides and not fitting (except for the Rockets, those things are tight!). I also didn't feel like the fattest person there so that was really nice. Anyway, I forgot to bring my camera to work so I could download the pics, but hopefully tomorrow and I'll post some cute ones of Elise enjoying herself at The Happiest Place on Earth.

Blessed

2011-05-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

I don't have any weight related things to talk about now (been at 242 for almost a month!) and I don't have any wonderful mother's day experiences (just the same as pretty much every other day). So instead I wanted to write about how truly blessed I feel. I am so blessed to have such a great family. We have our ups and downs and our little craziness, but we don't have any serious issues. Erik is a typical teenager with typical teen problems/attitudes, but overall is a really good kid and that makes me really happy. He isn't into drugs or girls, but spends most of his time either reading or playing video games. I know video games aren't great, but like I said, no drinking, drugs or girls, so I'll take that.

Elise is a blessing too (at least most days). She's bright and funny and even though drives me so crazy sometimes she is totally in love with me and me with her. I love to watch how she gets so excited over the smallest things. I love that she wants to play outside and ride her tricycle for hours. I love that she's not addicted to food (well maybe candy) and can stop eating when she's full, a lesson I have come to learn only after surgery. I love that she wants me to put her to bed every night and read to her and wash her hair in the bath tub. I love that she sings little songs. She is so adorable and I feel so blessed to be her mommy.

And Jared is a blessing too, even if I complain constantly about him. He fixed my brakes the other day just because they were rattling a bit. He went and bought the manual for my car and looked up how to fix it. I love that he doesn't care that I want to go hang out with my friends for a movie or dinner and watch the kids because he knows I need a break and when I get back I'm usually a lot nicer to him. I'm am so very happy and grateful he has a job. It may not be one that he likes and I know he won't stay there for the rest of his career, but at least he has a paycheck and we can afford to live in our house and pay our bills.

I feel so blessed to have a job. Not just one that I work at everyday, but one that I like to do and feel that I'm pretty good at doing. I may not enjoy the people everyday and I don't like waking up early, but I feel blessed to have a job that is in my book challenging, and simple and I actually get paid a pretty decent amount for doing.

I think most of all I feel really blessed to hear other peoples problems and know that they aren't mine. That sounds kinda funny writing, but over that past few months I've heard of some pretty bad problems with people and I feel so blessed that it's not me. I guess the Lord knows what I can handle and I'm not sure I could handle those other problems. I do my fair share of complaining about my own problems, but in contrast I also do my fair share of researching and getting to work to fix whatever problems I do have instead of just spouting about it and wishing my life were different.

So there you have it, my life is blessed. Sorry you can't have it (although you may not want it). Just like I don't want yours. Now that really did sound terrible, but hey at least I'm honest, right? But most of all very, very, very blessed.

12 weeks out and a new to me car!

2011-04-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

So this past Thursday was 12 weeks since my surgery. I'm down to 248 which is just 2 pounds shy of a total of 50. I can hardly believe it's only been 3 months and I've already lost almost 50 pounds. I'm hoping that by my birthday in September I'll be down another 50 and be under 200 and then by about Christmas at my goal weight of 169.

In other news I bought a car yesterday. I'm still in shock over that one too. It's a funny story how it happened. I went earlier in the week to get the van smogged because the registration was due yesterday. It didn't pass and the guy said a lot of work needed to be done. Well the transmission has been a pain in my side for a while, since last summer, and I wasn't about to put another dime into it. Jared and I have talked about getting a car for about a month now and we found a few that we liked. So there was one online I really wanted to see, but by the time we cleaned out the van and looked online again it was gone. Then I found another one and when we pulled up to the dealership they said they sold it 10 minutes before we got there. So we went to another place and found a few we liked but they were all around 100,000 miles for $10,000. Well I wanted to get something with a little better mileage so I kept looking. On Friday morning I was telling my co-worker about my frustration because I found one online that morning and called the dealership only for them to tell me that it had been sold last week yet put on craigslist the day before. I was so upset over the whole process that I jokingly told him there were no deals to be had online and wanted to prove it to him. So I went to craigslist and typed in toyota. I found one that looked decent and said that if I called the dealership I bet it wouldn't be there. So I picked up the phone and the guy said he wasn't sure and he would call me back in 5 minutes. I told my co-worker yeah right this guy ain't calling me back. But sure enough 2 minutes later he did and said it was still there and asked when I'd be down. I left work immediately because I didn't want to get left behind on another deal. So I drove to LONG BEACH, about 45 minutes from work. I test drove it and fell in love. I was texting Jared the whole time, but I knew I didn't want to hem and haw about it so we started the financing immediately and I was out of there in 2 hours driving away in my new to me car. (By the way about 2 minutes after I signed all of the papers Jared walked in the door. He hadn't even seen it before the deal was done!)

So it's a 2001 Toyota Highlander with black exterior and gray interior. It's super clean and it only had 71,000 miles on it. I'm shocked because it's 10 years old. I hoping it's going to last me another 10 years :) All total with taxes and title and all that junk it was about $11,000 with my monthly payment about $220. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I just really, really, really hope that Jared doesn't crash this one, but I have a feeling he won't because I'll be driving it most of the time. And soon enough we'll have to get another one for Jared and I'll be nice and let him decide what he wants this time, hehe. I'll have to put up some pics soon.

10 weeks and another goal met!

2011-03-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Today is 10 weeks post surgery. I'm down to 252 which was one of my goals! I couldn't believe it this morning when I looked at the scale. The last time I weighed 252 was when I went to my 6 week check up after I had Elise. That was the lowest I had been in years. So next up will hopefully be just a short time away at 248 - the weight I was when I first joined Weight Watchers more than 8 years ago. I bought some pants last Friday because they were on clearance for $20 each. I bought size 24 and they were snug. I figured they would last me a while, but I'm thinking now they aren't going to last me long. They are already baggy and I need a belt for them. Happy to be heading downward, but I guess I'll have to buy super snug next time :) Yay!

Almost 10 weeks

2011-03-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

This week will be 10 weeks since surgery. This morning I hit 256 so that's 40 pounds since surgery. I'm still in shock over it after my 2 week stint at 264. I'm happy that it's creeping down. Since my highest I've lost 62. And once again, in shock. But very happy with the results. I know it will slow down at some point, but I'm hoping that won't be for at least another year. I was talking with some friends about it on Saturday and I'm so happy I did it. I think at first I wasn't so sure, but I can see that this really is going to help in getting me healthy. Ok, back to the grind at work.

Family Photos

2011-03-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't added pictures of the family in ages and since Natalie showed me how easy it was I thought I would add a few.

This is the only decent picture from Christmas morning.

Jared on a scout campout in Big Bear.

New Years Eve Excitement (it's sparking cider just in case you were wondering).

BBQ with Grandma and Grandpa Pickett

Erik with his sister Rosie at her birthday party in January

Boy Scout hike to the Hollywood sign.

Erik's birthday party in February. Great weekend to be outside.

Elise and friends picking oranges from the trees in our backyard.

So there was the past few months in a nutshell. Now that I know how much easier it is to add pics I'm going to try to do it more often. Plus my baby Elise is adorable and you all should get to see her cute smiling face more often (am I a biased mommy or what!?).

Pics.... I know, I know, finally

2011-03-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

So I'm finally out of my stalled funk and down this morning to 260! Hip Hip Hooray! I was thinking about some past milestones that I want to hit again. First is 252, the weight I was at my 6 week checkup after having Elise. Then 248, when I first started Weight Watchers about 8 years ago. Then 223, the weight I was when I quit Weight Watchers 6 months later. Then finally 199, just to be under 200. Then 175, to be the weight I was as a freshman in college. Then my goal of 169. That's the plan. Wish me luck. And now the moment you've all been waiting for..... PICTURES!!!
So the before pics are the day of surgery (my scale at home was 298, but at the hospital it was 296 so I use that one) and the rest are from last night, today marking 8 weeks out! Wish I could do a side by side, but I'm technically challenged.

Stalled

2011-03-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

So for the past week I've been stalled at 264. Not sure why or how, but I've decided to make a few changes. I was skipping the protein drinks and eating bars instead. The shakes make me want to barf so I just stopped drinking them. They are horrible and disgusting, but today I decided to just drink the darn things and if I barf then I barf and hopefully that's a few more pounds down the drain. I know it's gross. Sorry. So for now I'm going to eat/drink all the protein I can and try to get all my water in too. I'm walking everyday for 30 minutes and that doesn't seem to be helping either. So I decided that it's time to step on that elliptical that the in-law's gave us and go for at least 5 minutes every day and work my way up to 20. Hopefully this ends the dreaded stall.

Then vs. Now

2011-02-25T12:51:00.000-08:00

So it's been 6 weeks since surgery (I know, I know, pics coming soon, very very soon...I promise!). And so far I'm down 32 pounds. But the thing I wanted to share was how much I've changed. At work this week we went out for a team building lunch to an Italian restaurant. I didn't even touch the "fresh baked bread" and olive oil even though I was tempted for a few moments. I ordered chicken with vegetables and it came with pasta. I ate half a piece of chicken, a few bites of the veggies and I was done. In the past I would have had a few pieces of bread and finished the whole plate and then had a food coma the rest of the afternoon.

The same thing happened today when I went out on my lunch break. I had to go to the bookstore and then I had previously decided to go to Jack in the Box for a Chicken Fajita Pita. I ate all of the chicken and a few bites of the pita and I was stuffed. Back in the old days I would have eaten that, plus an order of fries and a soft drink. I couldn't be more pleased with my progress.

I've also had a realization that I can't stand those horrible protein shakes so I eat the bars instead. They have more fat and calories but at least they are staying down and it takes me the whole afternoon to only eat half.

Switching gears, I wanted to say how much I love 2 shows on TV right now. GLEE is hilarious. I loved the "Comeback" episode and was laughing like crazy. The music wasn't all that great, but the writing is amazing. One of the funniest scenes is when Santana is talking about how big Sam's mouth is. Too funny! And the whole Justin Bieber thing was cracking me up. The other show I love is Parenthood. The family dynamics are amazing and the characters feel like they aren't scripted at all. I think they must do some ad libbing there because it just runs so smoothly. Anyway, my $.02. Pics coming shortly!!!

Oh and I forgot one thing. I didn't buy any Girl Scout cookies this year and normally I buy about 10 boxes (not only because they are good, but because I was a GS for so many many years I know how it feels to not sell any). So my co-worker had an extra box. I bought it and it's been sitting unopened in my desk drawer for the whole week. And it's Thin Mints! Talk about progress :)

4 week update

2011-02-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

So I had surgery 4 weeks ago today. This morning I weighed in at 271. So that makes 25 pounds lost in the last 4 weeks and 47 pounds total since my highest ever. I can't believe that it's actually working. I had a stall there for a while and I've been in the 270's for a few weeks so I just kept thinking 'why did I do this again?' So now I only have 102 pounds to go. Wow that still seems like a ton, but at least it's not 150 pounds like it was last summer.

I found a new protein shake that is a little lighter than the one I had been drinking so it's helped me get a little more protein in. Plus I can get it at GNC and they have a bunch of different flavors so that will help take away the awful taste of chocolate I've had for the past month.

In other cool exciting news I get to take the online Jeopardy test tonight. I know I'm gonna suck, but it will still be fun to see if I can make it to the next round. I really want to go to the Wheel of Fortune tryouts on Sunday but I have no one to go with me, so I guess I'll have to wait until next time :(

I promise I will take some pics of me and post my before and after. I don't think I have any from last summer, but I have the day of surgery and I'll take some from today and see if there is any differences. I really should start taking my measurements too just to see if those are changing. I assume they are because most of my pants don't fit well these days. Guess I'll just have to go shopping :)

3 week update

2011-02-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Well I have to go back to work tomorrow so I thought I would update how I've been doing 3 weeks after surgery. I'm down to 275. It was stuck for a while at 283 and then 279, but more moving around helped it go down a few notches. I'm actually glad to get going back to work so that I can walk 2 times a day and not be lazy about it. I downloaded some new music to my ipod and I'm ready for some good walking. That should really get the weight moving. I tried a little peanut butter today. It was good, but I couldn't even finish the tablespoon I got for myself. I ate about half of it before I was full. I'm glad to finally be moving on to other foods. In a few weeks I won't have to eat pureed and I can move onto solids. I really should post some pics. I think my face looks different but I don't see much change in my body. Maybe everyone one else sees it and for sure tomorrow at work I'll be getting some feedback.

Off and on

2011-01-18T21:05:00.001-08:00

So it's been sooo long since I've written on my blog. I think I was mostly annoyed by how long it was taking to upload my photos. Natalie showed me how to do it fast from flicker but since my account is with shutterfly then it still takes forever.

Anyway, on to new adventures. The kids are doing great. Erik is in 9th grade now and is finally getting used to seminary and high school. Elise is almost 3 (I still can't believe that!) and is so funny these days. She cracks me up most days and sometimes drives me crazy. I love that she is talking more and more and is so expressive. Jared is still working at 2 schools in downtown and not really loving it but it helps pay the bills. Speaking of bills in November we moved to a new place. I was a little skeptical at first of the sketchy neighborhood, but the house is perfect for us (a rental). It has 4 bedrooms and more importantly 2 bathrooms. We also have an enclosed porch that is now the game room and a pretty large storage/washer room. I love having my own room back now that Elise is in her own room. It was fun to do a little painting, but I've been slow to put up decorations except for in the living room. Cleaning hasn't been on my top list of things recently either. If I could just muster up the strength to find a place for everything it would be so much easier.

So last week I had surgery for weight loss. I had the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Basically they cut out 3/4 of your stomach and that's it. No reworking of any intestine thank goodness. The surgeon was very pleased and so was I. The pain was so much more tolerable then when I had my gallbladder out a few months ago. I couldn't believe how painful that was! So I've been recovering for a few days now and wanted to share some of my progress. It's been a rough couple of days food wise. I feel like I'm in mourning over losing a friend. I guess I never realized how dependent I really was on food to make me feel better or entertain me or just about for everything. Plus it's amazing really how many food commercials there are!

At the beginning of my journey last summer when I first started taking classes about having the surgery I was 318 pounds, the biggest I've ever been. During the 3 month class I lost 14 pounds and then by the time I went to see the surgeon I was at 301. He was happy with my progress and they scheduled surgery for January 13. One week before I had another appointment with my surgeon and I weighed in at 305 (the holidays and pre-surgery got the best of me). He wanted me to lose a few more pounds before surgery. I would so nervous they would reschedule that I was pretty good that week and when I came to weigh in right before the surgery I was 296. Since then (last Thursday) I've lost 13 more pounds and am now down to 283. I can't believe how fast it's coming off, but I'm sure I'm losing a lot of muscle in there too. So that's a total of 35 pounds since last summer. My goal is to be around 169 or so. That's a good weight for me.

Today I started on some new foods (I've been drinking this horrible protein drink for the last 3 days). I tried cream of wheat strained. Not so yummy. And then I tried the cream of celery soup strained and that was delicious. Next came some yummy light yogurt. But the shocker was light soy milk. It tasted like a milkshake. Such a nice change from the yuck of Isopure. So I'll be on protein shakes and the like for the next 10 days and then get to graduate to some pureed foods. I was really shocked though how full I was from 1/2 cup of strained soup and 1/2 cup yogurt. It was like Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily since there's not a whole lot to digest it doesn't take very long to empty out of my teeny tiny stomach. In time I'll get to enjoy some of my favorites again (at a much smaller portion of course), but for now I'll just stick to torturing myself by watching the food channel network. There have really only been 2 strong cravings over the last few days, a bite of a big crusty bread sandwich and a bite of spaghetti. Mmmm, one day.

I really should post of pics of my progress. Maybe when I'm not so mad about how slow they take to upload. I'm going to try and write in here a little more about it too, just to help ease the food funeral. Oh I almost forgot. When I had my lasik done I remember the first few days were horrible. I kept thinking why did I do this to myself. Then at about 3 months things were almost crystal clear. Nowadays I tell everyone it has been worth every single penny I spent on it. I hope this surgery is similar. In fact, I know it is.

20/20

2010-04-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

It's been 8 months since I had vision correction and my doc confirmed I now have 20/20 vision. It's so awesome to be able to see without contacts or glasses. I haven't had any problems since the surgery. A little dryness in the beginning, but nothing now. It's so nice to be able to see in the middle of the night and to wake up without having to scramble for my glasses and then fumble with putting my contacts it. I highly recommend it. I know a good doc :)

Finally!

2010-03-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I have taken a lot of pictures. But they haven't ended up on my blog because most of them turned out horrible. Luckily I have a friend from high school who is willing to teach me how to use my camera. Then maybe I'll post some better pics. Using the blog is also annoying and so not easy to work with. Anyway, here are a few pics.

Elise goofing around after church.

Christmas Day and all the loot.

Myles and Elise. Aren't they just so cute!!
Look at her play to the camera. What a nut!

October Pics

2009-11-02T10:18:00.001-08:00

My computer was having issues, but it looks like it's working now. These are pics from the month of October. Mainly they are from the Fall Festival at Pierce College and from the Halloween party at church. I got the idea of crayons from a magazine and it turned out pretty good. I think the pics of Elise are great in the pumpkin patch and at the festival. Enjoy!

The Sound of Music in the Hollywood Hills

2009-09-28T15:49:00.001-07:00

I second what Lindsey said. Just read her post. We went together :) Good times!

Diagnosis

2009-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I decided that I needed to talk to a professional because I was constantly angry with Jared. I went and talked to someone and they recommended that I see the psychiatrist. The next day I talked to the doctor and she diagnosed me with Post Partum Depression. It was quite amazing that I didn't recognize the signs until the meeting with the doctor. Plus it's been a while since I had given birth, but some of the signs were very apparent. Most of them included anger and intolerance, most of which comes on very quickly. I can see it now in my family and in my previous calling at church as Primary President and also in my job. I have started taking some medication and also will be going to therapy.

I was talking with my sister-in-law the other night I mentioned it to her and she said there was an article about it in the Ensign recently. I looked it up online and read it last night. It was a great article and something about which I know very little about but plan on education myself. Thank goodness for people who have gone through this before and have been willing to share their stories. I figured I'd share mine too as it may help someone else and it will help me for sure. So if you know any resources that would help me out, I'd be more than willing to listen. My doctor said that if it doesn't get treated and I were to get pregnant again there could be even more of the signs and worsening of the disease if I don't take care of this now. So for now, no babies until I get this under control.

Seeing better already

2009-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Sept. 4 I went back to the doctor's office to have the protective contacts removed. I was really worried about it because I had read a few other blogs and everyone mentioned that it was going to be very blurry when you get the contacts off. But actually it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. My eyes were tired that day from a little bit of driving getting Erik's school stuff in order, but really not bad at all.

Saturday the 5th I woke up with the clearest vision I think I've ever had. It was a great birthday present. Then I put my drops in and it went a little hazy. But overall it's been a very speedy recovery. I owe it to the blessing my dad and Jared gave me the night before I went for the surgery. My vision is really so much better than I was thinking it would be at this point and I've only had that dry eye feeling once. I try to keep them hydrated, but really don't use my drops much. I was talking to some girlfriends about it last night and concluded that it was definitely worth all of it. And hopefully as the weeks progress it will get even better!

Vision correction

2009-09-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

I've had glasses since I was 12 and contacts since age 19. 10 years ago I looked into having vision correction surgery, but couldn't afford it then. A few weeks ago I saw an ad in the Penny Saver for LASIK. Last week I went to 2 consultations and decided that I finally need to have this done. My vision is terrible and can't see anything without my glasses or contacts. I went to both consultations and decided to go with TLC and Dr. Berg. I felt very comfortable in their office and was happy with their price and interest free financing. So I decided quite hurridly to just go for it. So I made my appointment for Friday, August 28. The day before I was terrified. I knew in my head that tons of people have this surgery every day and that it was probably a lot less painful than going to visit the dentist. The thing is that I know what to expect at the dentist, this not so much.

Day of Surgery (Friday):

It was scheduled for 11:45 and the minutes were going by so slow. Finally it was my turn. I had to have another eye exam and the office wasn't nearly as busy as it was days before. The nurse put numbing drops in my eyes and a hair net on my head. Then it was my turn. Yikes. Was I really doing this? It was so fast. But I was anxious to "see" the results. My surgery was not LASIK. Unfortuntely for me, the only thin part of my body is my cornea, not what you want for LASIK. So I had to have PRK. It's similar except that instead of a flap being created and the laser shooting into your eye, the doctor scrapes some the cornea off and then the laser hits it and you can see just as well, if not better than LASIK. The only problem is the recovery time is very lengthy compared to LASIK. With LASIK you can see immediately and have almost no recovery time. With PRK it's not the same. It takes a long time for the cells to regenerate and that makes for some hazy vision.

So I walked into the surgery room and laid down. After a few minutes the doctor was ready. They told me to close my eyes. There was a bright light on my right side. They covered my left eye and I opened my right eye. The doctor used something to open my eye very wide and clamp it open (luckily I didn't see it happening). Then there was lots of liquid and a ring. The doctor put alcohol on my eye and then wiped it off and started scraping. I didn't see any of this until the DVD they later game me. All I saw was a red light mostly blurry and sometimes clear. Then there was a clicking noise (the laser) and the slight smell of burning. That was weird because I never read anything about the smell. Then it was pretty much over and the same thing happened on the left side. The only part which was uncomfortable was putting the clamp things on. It didn't hurt, but just uncomfortable. They also added a protective contact lens which would be removed a week later.

Finally it was over and I got off the table. I could see but it was blurry, definitely not like before though. The doctor then put on some eye shields and they gave me some meds and directions and then Jared drove me home. I slept most of the day away, got up to eat dinner and then went back to bed. I couldn't believe how much I slept but they said it was good for my healing.

Day 2(Saturday):

The second day I had to go back to the doctor. He checked my vision and said I could see enough to get a driver's license in CA, which is scary because I didn't think it was all that great. That day was hard because I was with Elise all day and Jared and Erik were gone most of the day. I could barely keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. It was mostly due to the swelling of my eyelids. I took some medicine but couldn't take a lot because I could sleep while taking care of Elise.

Day 3 (Sunday):

Sunday came and I just couldn't take the pain. I thought that my eyes were going to go blind. I was in a lot of pain and was really regretting my decision by this time. Luckily everyone went to church and I was able to sleep most of the morning. I even called the emergency number the doctor gave me and left a message. It was crazy.

Day 4 (Monday):

Monday came and I was still in pain. My eyelids were still swollen and my vision didn't seem to be improving at all. The doctor's office called me back and said this was all normal and that it would be fine in a few days. I was skeptical, but still stuck with it. I mean, what other choice did I have? So I took the week off work because I couldn't see good enough to drive yet. I wasn't expecting to be off all week, but was glad I had some vacation time available.

Day 5 (Tuesday):

Surprisingly Tuesday got a little better. I was still in some pain, but my eyelids started to shrink. I could actually keep my eyes open longer and believed what the nurse said. So my hopes began to increase. Yay. Maybe this was actually going to make a huge difference in my life.

Day 6 (Wednesday):

I had Elise with me the whole day and forgot to call Lindsey to reschedule Erik's tutoring appointment. She came and we decided to hang out at the mall with the kiddos. I was thankful for the respite because I had been cooped up at home since Saturday! Oh it was nice to get out but with all the fires the air had been very smokey. But it was great to get out for a few hours. I was hopeful at that point that I would be ok. I even talked Jared into a little night driving to the store and back, about 5 blocks away. We went and I didn't get in an accident. It was a miracle. I could see without glasses or contact, albeit a little blurry still. By the way, the only thing that is almost perfectly clear is the TV. Wonder why that is!?

Day 7 (Thursday):

Today has been even better. I was able to drive Elise to daycare and run a few errands today. Erik and I went to the post office (almost got a parking ticket) and to lunch and once again didn't crash or run anyone over. My vision has been improving little by little. But I am worried about tomorrow. I get my contacts out tomorrow morning and I've heard that your vision can be bad for a while after that. I hope it isn't. At least I have the weekend to recover.

So this has been my adventure so far with vision correction. It's easy to say LASIK, but since I didn't have that I have to say vision correction. I would recommend this to anyone now (wasn't so convinced a few days ago). The doctor has said that in about 4-6 weeks I should be at 20/20 or better and just as good as a LASIK patient. I guess I'll keep a running commentary about how it's going. Maybe it can help someone else make this important decision too.

By the way, Happy 5th Anniversary to my hubbie. I can't believe it's already been 5 crazy years. So much we have gone through and so much more to come. And then my big 33 b-day is on Saturday. Oh what a weekend it's going to be. All I can ask for is to see it all live and in color with no glasses and contacts! YAY!!!

P.S. I have the DVD of the surgery in case anyone wants to watch it. Maybe I should just post it. It's pretty cool.

Zucchini Fries and a Cowgirl

2009-08-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

At work there is a Farmer's Market every Thursday. I decided to buy some zucchini and try my hand at frying them up. They turned out pretty good for a first timer. I'm much better at baking, but they were still gone within a few minutes. So I guess that means they weren't half bad.

Before Elise was born my friend Maria bought her a cowgirl outfit. I finally put it on her Saturday and realized that it is getting too small. It's such a cute outfit but I have no idea where she would wear it. She had it on when I went to the grocery store and the lady at the checkout had a cowboy hat on. I was like "oh, all she needs is a hat like yours!" Anyway, here are some pics of the outfit. (The carseat was in our living room because Jared took it out to haul some of the young men to a hike to the Hollywood Hills).

Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium

2009-08-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

Two posts in a matter of weeks! I amaze myself. Well anyway we went to Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium last night and had a blast. Erik went crazy with the camera and now I have over 100 pics. We ate dodger dogs, nachos, ice cream, garlic fries, and cotton candy! Yikes, but it was still fun even though I think they lost (we left early to get Elise to bed). So enjoy the pics in no particular order. Go DODGERS!!!

Yay, new pics and a blog. It's a miracle.

2009-07-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true. I'm finally getting around to posting something! It's a miracle. I got a new camera and have been trying it out. There are still a few things I need to work out, but for the most part it's really nice. I have some cute pictures from the beach, but they are on the other camera and I haven't downloaded those pics yet. So here's some ones from just goofing around at home.

This really shows me the true potentinal of the camera. Not such a cute pic of Elise, but the quality is really good.

Blowing bubbles with our bubble gun. Way better than blowing them with your own air. She and Erik were having a good old time.

This is where the red eye reduction button is driving me bonkers. More than half the pictures have turned out with closed and squinty eyes. I'm on a mission to find out how to turn the darn thing off! Our little one tooth wonder! Yes, 14 months old and still only 1 tooth!

Absolutely love this pic. She loves to hang out on the couch looking at the window, but she never rests her head on the back so I was lucky to get such a great shot. See... that camera is paying off already.

Well now that I'm getting more practice with it hopefully there will be some updates more regularly.

A single month

2009-05-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

I really have had things happen this month. I just didn't get around to posting them. I have some cute pictures of Elise eating lasagna and getting it EVERYWHERE! I'll have to take some time this weekend and finally download my pics. Yay, 2 more minutes left at work. I feel like this is a facebook entry. Short and sweet.

Baking Bread

2009-04-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

I'm totally lost when it comes to yeast breads, but I just found a website dedicated to bread making. It's www.breadnet.net. I think I'm going to try my hand at making bread again. The first time was a total disaster. I'm not so sure about the yeast and how it works (guess I should have paid more attention in chemistry class). I would love to try a new recipe out every weekend, but I'd better not set myself up for failure. I'll just take a look at the list and see what sounds good. I always have my bread machine as a back up :) Wish me luck!

Recipe Request

2009-03-20T15:07:00.001-07:00

At work we have a monthly meeting with breakfast type foods. This next month is my turn and I'm tired of the same old bagels and fruit. I want to make a great casserole. So I'm putting it out there for each of you to send me your best recipes for a great breakfast casserole.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you! I have no idea who this guy is but he loooked pretty festive so I thought I'd use him as my way of wish you a very happy day!

It's finally over (well mostly)

2009-03-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of myself. I just finished paying off all of the debt we owe (well besides student loans). I can't believe it has taken me 10 years to pay it all, but it's done. Now all we have to do is start saving, saving, saving!! I will never get into credit card debt again. We don't have any car payments, no credit cards, only those student loans (and mine should be paid off by the end of next year, Jared's on the other hand will be around for a very long time). Now if only we had money for a down payment on a house. Guess we'll just have to start plugging away doing that. Yay for me :)

Blogging for a year

2009-02-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

It was about this time last year that I started my blog. I remember because I added pictures from the Rose Parade and I have a few more this year too. It was a cloudy day but the flowers looked spectacular. There are some more pics of Erik on his way to D.C. and of course of Elise. Enjoy and don't forget to stop and smell the roses!! :)

Arizona

2009-02-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have posted in a while. I was waiting to download some pictures, but work has been so busy that I haven't had time. So I will just write instead. This past weekend I went to Arizona for Michelle's baby shower. It was so fun and great to see her. She is ready to pop any day now and I couldn't be more excited for them. I drove with some co-workers and we had a great time and Elise actually did pretty good most of the time.

While I was there I did some house hunting. Jared was surprised I didn't put an offer in but we talked about it last night and he told me to get the ball rolling. So I'm going to do my homework on this home buying stuff. There seems to be quite a lot of teaching jobs there and I really love the Queen Creek area. I'm so excited to start all of this. Jared hasn't wanted to do it, but I think he's finally breaking down and realizing that LA is just not the place for us and our family. He's scared to move because it's the only place he's ever lived, but I keep trying to tell him lots of people don't live in LA and love their lives. I'm sure he'll enjoy it :)

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of Christmas morning and a few days before when we were decorating the gingerbread houses. As you can see Erik was excited for his XBOX 360. And Elise was excited for her Vtech. All in all it was a great holiday and I look forward to many more fun Christmases.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

I know there aren't a lot of you that read my blog, but just wanted to wish you and your families a very happy and wonderful Christmas. May Santa bring you everything you ever wanted and more!!

Because It's Spring

2008-12-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to figure out why I love these little tags and question things. Maybe I just want people to know me. Maybe I'm more myself and more honest. Or maybe I'm just bored to death (which I shouldn't be considering I now have work on my desk, but it's Friday and I'm feeling lazy). So enjoy and use if you like :)

1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag friends who might enjoy doing this as well as the person you got the note from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? I Wiggle
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? Thou Art Gone Up On High
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Winter
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? A Child's Prayer
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? What Child Is This?
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? When We're Helping
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Midnight Sun
WHAT IS 2+2? March of the Witch Hunters
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? There Shall A Star from Jacob
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? The Holy Ghost
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Daddy's Homecoming
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Don't Go Away
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? I Think the World is Glorious
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Distant Bells
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? The Twelve Days of Christmas
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? Time to Get Ill
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Winter Wonderland
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? Knowing me, Knowing you
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Arise Shine, For Thy Light is Come
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? Tortured, Tangled Hearts
HOW WILL YOU DIE? Silent All These Years
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET? Jesus is our Loving Friend
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Unanswered Prayers
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? I Lived in Heaven
WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? A New Day Has Come
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? O Come All Ye Faithful
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU? Little Drummer Boy
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Whenever You Call
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? Beer Run
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? Because It's Spring

Ok, my favorites that made me laugh are How will you die (probably because it's so true) and does anyone like you... yes, the little drummer boy, of course!!! As you can tell I have a ton of Primary and Christmas songs.

Anyway, have fun. I'm not tagging anyone, just do it if you want or read it or don't.

Finally some pics from Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T15:02:00.001-08:00

Ok, I finally have pictures from Thanksgiving. Well the first one is just Elise in the bath.

All the yummy pies. Sorry you have to turn your head.

Myles looks really sleepy. It's all that yummy turkey :)

James enjoying a leg.

My plate after dinner. Yep, it's all gone. I fell asleep very shortly afterwards.

Sam showing me his egg and his smile.

The dinner table all fancy.

This is the RV we took to Arizona. It was so much better than the little van we rented a few years ago.

Can't remember if this was before or after dinner.

Anyway... it was fun and I want to go on vacation again soon, but oh well. Guess I'll just have to wait for April when we go see my family in Utah :)

Don't feel like working

2008-12-04T13:20:00.000-08:00

I have a little bit of work to do, but honestly don't feel like working. I'll get to it in about 5 mintues from now. I just wanted to say that Thanksgiving pictures are on the way (I need to find my adapter) and then you can all experience the joy that was Thanksgiving. No, honestly it was a really nice weekend. I'll tell you all about it when I post the pics.

The other thing I wanted to say is I love Christmas music. It's hard for me to hear it before Thanksgiving, but now I'm getting my fill. My co-worker mentioned that she had some random song stuck in her head this morning. I told her I had "Jingle Bells" in my head. She laughed. I really do love it. I tried to watch the lighting of the tree at Rockerfeller center last night, but Erik want to sing karaoke, so guess which one won? The karaoke of course. Thankfully there are a few Christmas songs there. We rocked it out though for nearly an hour and had such a fun time. I'm borrowing it fromMaria, but I might have to invest in one soon. Anyway, happy listening (my car radio is tuned to 103.5 constantly now! YAY!).

I really really love my husband

2008-11-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, so a few days ago I posted that I love Jared because he's such a great husband and father. But now I love him even more. I have been having car troubles for the past month. It sometimes would start and other times it wouldn't. So finally on Saturday night it died on him and he had to jump it 2 times while he was out. On Sunday morning it wouldn't start again and after church I also needed a jump. I was so fed up with the darn thing I told him he was going to get me a new battery last night. And so he did and it's changed and guess what?... it works perfect now!! I was so happy last night. It's one less thing I need to stress about. Anyway, just wanted to say my hubbie is the bestest ever!! Thank you dear! :)

I love my husband because...

2008-11-17T08:06:00.001-08:00

Ok, since I seem to be more and more irritated by my family I decided I would write the things I love about them in an effort to change my attitude. I did the same thing on my mission. When times got tough I wrote at least 5 things a day I was grateful for.

So...I love my husband, Jared, because he really makes a lot of effort to love and take care of me. I know he worries a lot about how I feel and what I think and I really appreciate that. He's such a good daddy to his son and our little girl. I feel very blessed to have found my very best friend in the entire world and that he finally agreed to go along with my scheme to get married a little more than 4 years ago. Here's to my hubbie... I couldn't have asked for anything better. Lyrics to a song by Kenneth Cope say, "It's like I've managed to choose what was chosen." I wish I could write out the whole song, it would make a lot more sense, but just know that I do love him and care about him and I need to appreciate him more and more!

Once again stolen from Brittney...she's just so cool!

2008-11-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have to admit I love filling these little things out. And since Brittney is so cool, I have to steal all of her fun ideas.

8 shows I like to watch:
1. Lost
2. Hereos
3. Oprah
4. House Hunters
5. Diners, Drive-in's & Dives
6. Ghost Whisperer
7. Supernatural
8. 'Til Death

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. Went to work
2. Played with Elise after work
3. Ate chicken for lunch
4. Watched The Amazing Race
5. Had corn dogs and fries for dinner
6. Gave Elise a bath
7. Changed a very nasty diaper
8. Went to bed too late (wow, my life is a bore!)

8 favorite places to eat:
1. The Cheesecake Factory
2. Fatburger
3. Panda Express
4. Souplantation
5. In N Out
6. Cafe Rio (only when I'm in Utah)
7. Coldstone (does an ice cream place count?)
8. Chipotle

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Thanksgiving in Arizona
2. First Christmas with Elise (not that she will know what it is yet)
3. Sending out my Christmas letter
4. Organizing the Primary closet
5. Going to Utah in the spring to see my brothers, their wives and all my cute nieces and soon to be nephew
6. Someday owning a home
7. More kids
8. When I finally get to STOP pumping!!

8 things on my wish list:
1. A home of my own
2. To be a stay at home mom
3. An 80 gb ipod classic
4. To finish all the books I have on my reading list right now (I think there are about 5 or 6)
5. To sleep in on the weekends
6. This court stuff with Erik's mom to be finished already
7. To go to the temple more
8. World peace (hehe)

8 people I tag:Because the majority of people I know won't respond-here's an open invitation to anyone else that wants to.

Halloween and other pics

2008-11-03T08:16:00.000-08:00

For Halloween Elise and I were both witches, well she's the "witch in training". I wasn't in the best of moods that night so I didn't end up taking a bunch of pics, but the next day I had some professional ones of her done and I will post those as soon as I get them. She was, of course, adored by the whole ward and had a fun time Trunk or Treating (being the mean mom I am, I didn't let her get any candy...maybe next year).
Her new favorite play thing we swapped with the Bunces. They got the glider and we got this for a few months. I love it. She's entertained for a few minutes at least. Look at the drool! Can we say TEETHING!!

This is how she has been sleeping lately. Her butt is up in the air and it's adorable. I got this shot just in time as she woke up a few minutes later.

Daddy and Elise taking a nap. Notice the Grumpy shirt. It's his favorite recently. My look at the double chins.

Here's Elise with her pony tails. I thought it was so cute, but sadly it only lasted a few minutes and then she somehow managed to get them out. Oh well.

Getting to know you.

2008-10-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

I found this on my sister-in-law's blog and thought it was fun. Hopefully after Halloween is over I will post some more pictures of my adorable little girl (no I'm not biased *wink*).
Have you ever:
1. Touched an iceberg-NO
2. Slept under the stars-YES
3. Watched a meteor shower-YES
4. Swam with dolphins-NO
5. Climbed a mountain-YES
6. Said "I love you" and meant it-YES
7. Bungee jumped-NO
8. Visited Paris-NO
9. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise-NO
10. Gone to a huge sports game-YES
11. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty-NO
12. Grown and eaten your own vegetables-NO
13. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope-YES
14. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment-YES, during the prayer with my entire student ward at Ricks. It was awful!
15. Had a pillow fight-YES
16. Taken a sick day when you're not ill-YES
17. Held a lamb-NO
18. Gone skinny dipping-YES
19. Ridden a roller coaster-YES
20. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking-YES
21. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment-YES
22. Loved your job 90% of the time-YES
23. Gone sky diving-NO
24. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant-NO
25. Ever worn a superhero costume-NO
26. Sung karaoke-YES
27. Lounged around in bed all day-YES
28. Kissed in the rain-YES
29. Played in the mud-YES
30. Gone to a drive-in theater-YES
31. Gone without food for 3 days-NO, but I need to
32. Got flowers for no reason-NO
33. Spoken more than one language fluently-NO
34. Bounced a check-YES
35. Called or written your Congress person-NO
36. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over-I wish, NO
37. Broken a bone-NO
38. Ridden a motorcycle-NO
39. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph-NO
40. Eaten sushi-YES
41. Had your picture in the newspaper-NO
42. Read The Bible cover to cover-NO
43. Gone back to school-YES
44. Changed your name-YES
45. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt-NO
46. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language-YES
47. Dyed your hair-YES
48. Rocked a baby to sleep-YES
49. Brought out the best in people-YES
50. Brought out the worst in people-YES
51. Worn a mood ring-YES
52. Ridden a horse-NO
53. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe.-YES
54. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play-YES
55. Been inside the pyramids-NO
56. Shot a basketball into a basket-YES
57. Played in a band-NO
58. Tutored someone-YES
59. Ridden a train-YES
60. Brought an old fad back into style- Do highwater pants count?
61. Eaten caviar-NO
62. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need-YES
63. Acted in a play or performed on a stage-YES
64. Asked for a raise-NO
65. Made a hole-in-one-NO
66. Gone deep sea fishing-NO
67. Gone roller skating-YES
68. Ran a marathon-NO
69. Learned to surf-NO
70. Invented something-NO
71. Flown first class-NO
72. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite-NO
73. Flown in a helicopter-NO
74. Visited Africa-NO
75. Sang a solo-Does a duet count?
76. Learned how to take a compliment-YES
77. Written a fan letter-NO
78. Spent the night in something haunted-NO
79. Ran away-ALMOST
80. Been a boss-YES, to my younger brother
81. Sat on a jury-YES
82. Lied about your weight-YES
83. Gone on a diet-YES
84. Written a poem-YES
85. Gotten food poisoning-YES
86. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission-YES
87. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks-YES
88. Gone to the opera-NO
89. Gotten a letter from someone famous-NO
90. Ridden in a limousine-YES
91. Had a revelatory dream-YES, I saw my daughter before she was born, while I was pregnant
92. Laughed till your side hurt-YES
93. Sent a message in a bottle-NO
94. Spent the night in a hostel-NO
95. Been a cashier-YES
96. Donated blood or plasma-YES
97. Built a camp fire-YES
98. Had hives-YES
99. Made a PowerPoint presentation-YES
100. Know CPR-YES
101. Ridden in or owned a convertible-YES
102. Found a long lost friend-YES

Finally a post

2008-10-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

So I have finally gotten around to adding some pictures and that means another post! I can't post without pictures because Elise is just too cute. These were taken a few days ago. Life is good. Hectic, but still good. I can't wait for about 1pm on Sunday... the Primary Program will finally be done! Yay!!

Playing on the computer with daddy.Hanging out at the Pumpkin Patch for FHE.
She's so cubby!
Elise and Myles at the Pumpkin Patch :)
Here's the princess on her 5 month birthday.

Happy girl!
Jared said I need to caption this one "It's time to change my diaper mom!"
Playing with daddy on the computer. She's almost got that sitting up thing.
Beautiful blue eyes. Thank goodness she got that from Jared. Isn't she just adorable!

End of the month

2008-09-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't get around to posting every Sunday...so deal with it. I have pictures finally from my birthday party. It was my mother-in-law's birthday the same day, so we went to Dave and Buster's for some dinner and game playing. I hope they had a good time. I know I did. I got the coolest ring (don't have a picture of it, but hopefully soon) and Patti won me a watch. Yay!

I'm still also having problems with my background. I should have just left it with pyzam, but the cutest blog on the blog has really cute backgrounds. I've tried every day at work to mess with it, but there seems to be something eterally flawed with it. Hopefully Lindsey can come over and help me with it. It's driving me crazy! Ok. Here's the pics...

The birthday girls... Judy and Teressa.
I love this little outfit on Elise. It's so cute!!

Fed Up

2008-09-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm so fed up with this blog right now. Any help would be appreciated. I thought I was pretty computer savvy, but apparently I'm not. So I tried to get a background from "the cutest blog on the block". I searched and searched and found a totally cute one and did exactly what they told me to do. It still didn't work and now I just have these stupid dots to show for it. I'm so mad! Why can't I figure this out. The stupid Layout section said I needed to save their new format before doing one of my own. I even did that and I'm still stuck. I guess my only hope is Pyzam. They have cute ones, but I like the other one better. Help!!

Ok...I just looked it over again and it seems to be working better. The only thing now is I have the background I want but it's intermeshed with the one I don't. Argh! I'm going to keep working on it.

Labor Day Beach Trip

2008-09-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

We spend Labor Day at the beach with David, Cyndi, Mikey and Myles. We had lots of fun and even saw a starfish. The sand was hot and the water was cold. I decided to put Elise's feet into the water and she screamed at the top of her lungs. I guess it was just a little too cold for her tiny feet. I'm sure she'll come to love it one day :)

My muscle man!!!
Mama's enjoying the sun!
Digging a hole to China.
Happy baby Myles :)
Hey boys and girls...it's Spongebob's best friend Patrick !!

My girly giggling.

Strike a pose.Mikey after a hard day of playing at the beach.

Yay for Disneyland :)

2008-08-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well this past week we had lots of fun. We went to Disneyland and finally used our passes this year. We'll have to go a few more times to make it worth the purchase price. But I'm pretty sure we can handle going. We also had fun at the dentist's office. Yay for clean teeth! Now we just have to find an orthodontist for Erik. He'll have to have 3 of his front teeth moved. Ugh. I remember those awful days of braces. I know he's not going to like them. But the results are great. Well here's a few pictures from our adventures at Disneyland. We went into a store and the lady at the counter was admiring Elise. She asked how old Elise was and Jared told her 3 months. The lady asked if it was her first visit to Disneyland. Jared said yes and she gave us a little pin for her first visit. We also rode the new Toy Story Mania ride. It was a blast and I highly recommend going on it. It's worth the 45 minute wait :) And you get to wear 3-D glasses too!

Go Dodgers!

2008-08-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well this week was a lot of fun. On Monday we went to the Science Center and saw the Body Worlds exhibit. I think the 2 coolest exhibits for me were the embryos and the huge giraffe! If you have the chance you should definitely go and see the exhibit. Then on Tuesday we had the Barnett kids over and we went to the OC Fair. It was fun too, but once again I forgot my camera. We didn't end up staying very late, but enjoyed lots of good food, includind deep friend pop tarts. YUMMY!! Then on Thursday night we went to the Dodger game with our ward/stake/all the Mormons in LA. It was fun and once again, gotta love the food (yay for Dodger dogs). Hmm.... seems like this whole post is about food. I must be hungry or something. Well here are some pics of us at the game. I luckily remembered my camera this time.

Me, Elise and Erik. It was a little cold. Next to us were the Bunces. Look at all those empty seats!

Zoey wanted to hang out with Jared. He let her wear his hat and she put her tiara on it. Too cute!

No Sunday Post

2008-07-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, I feel bad for not posting yesterday. We didn't have much to talk about since I was late for posting last week about our trip to AZ. There's nothing much to write about. We went to the California Science Center today, but I forgot my camera at home (I should really just leave it in my purse). And hopefully tomorrow we can go to the OC Fair. Maybe then next Sunday I'll have some pics to finally post. If anyone wants some Amish Friendship bread starter I will have some in a few days. Let me know! It's so yummy :)

Mini vacation

2008-07-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well we spent a long weekend in Arizona for the past few days (and I didn't update on Sunday). We went so that my friend Michelle could see Elise. We had a great time there and were able to do quite a bit. First we hung out in Michelle's pool and played. Next we went to the Hall of Fame for Firefighters in Mesa (I think). And lastly we went to a Ghost town and gold mine in Apache Junction. It was a lot of fun. We also saw lots of houses, most of which are quite affordable right now and are considering a move out to Queen Creek, depending on Jared's teaching opportunities. Anyway, here are some pics from the trip.

Of course I have to post a few pics of my beautiful baby getting kisses from Daddy!

I'm going to submit this one to the Beautiful Baby contest on KBIG 104.3. Isn't she just so cute!!!

We accidently came upon the General Patton Museum on the way to Arizona. Jared was thrilled to be there. We just missed it being open by about 45 mintues (thank goodness!)

Here's a picture of Mikey and Jared at the Firefighters Museum. Lots of fun!

Jared at the outhouse in the ghost town. He was enjoying this way too much!Cyndi, Mikey and Myles on the train around the ghost town.The beautiful Superstition Mountains in back of the ghost town. What a great shot!

Our week

2008-07-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

This week was uneventful. We just stayed home and played most of the week and got ready for our yard sale which was yesterday. We didn't make a ton of money, but the main reason for having it was to get rid of all the junk. Now mind you, we still have junk, just a little bit less. The only pictures of Elise I have this week are of her bath and nap times. But they are still cute because she's so cute!

Here's Elise in the bath. Daddy helped :)

All cleaned up!

Daddy playing with Elise after her bath.

This is what nap time looks like. Oh the joys of sleep, something Jared and I miss but oh well.

Thanks to Brittney

2008-07-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

Yay for Brittney! She taught me how to add music to my blog. If you guys don' t like it... too bad. I love it. Now I need to learn all the other cool things to do on here like she has on hers.

Resolution, even though it's no where near New Years

2008-07-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

I decided over the weekend that I need to update at least once a week in here, seeing as many of you have asked to see pictures of Elise. So since she was born on a Sunday, it's my goal to get them out at least every Sunday. I finally have my camera back and am ready to roll. I know it's Monday, but here are a few pics we took today. She is smiling a lot more and I'm enjoying every mintue of it!

I know they aren't very creative, but hopefully in the coming weeks we'll have some fun ones to show off.

This is how she stares at the tv while I'm changing her diaper.

Tried to get a smile but she turned too fast.

Yay! A smile finally :)

And a little half smile.

It's like she wants to talk, but just can't get the words out yet.

She's finally here!

2008-06-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's taken me forever it seems to get this posted, but our little angel is finally here!

The stats:
name - Elise Joanne Pickett
birthday - Sunday, May 18, 6:47pm
weight - 7 lbs 5 ozs
height - 20 inches

Mom, Dad and Baby Elise right after "coming out of the chute" as Jared would say. She really didn't come out of any shute, they just opened me up and pulled her out.

Daddy and Elise at the hospital napping. Aren't they so cute!

This was Elise's blessing day, only one week after she was born! All the Pickett's were in town and I don't think any of the Alonzo's knew about it. It was a hectic week to say the least.

Here she is napping once again. She's quite the sleeper, but I guess that's what newborns do. Notice the saying on her shirt - Daddy's little princess and it couldn't be more true!

I will post some more pictures later, but this is a good start for me for now. Enjoy!

Baby Showers

2008-05-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in forever and I have 3 showers to add to the blog. The first was my work shower and it was so much fun! We had some great games (poopy candy diapers, guess what the baby food is, and what will the baby look like). And we had tons of great food and lots of people hanging out. The second was with some friends of mine from long ago, my home ward. They were great! It was so nice to see them. I can't believe I've known most of them for almost 20 years! And the last one was my current ward friends. Everyone is so generous in their well wishes and gifts. I couldn't ask for a better group of friends. Thanks to everyone for the showers and gifts and good food and lots of laughs. Now if I could only figure out the blog thing and actually make updates.

Jackie hosting the games with Jared, Ron, Sandra, Chai and lots of others all hanging out having a great time.

This was Tracy Glenn's renditition of what the baby will look like. I think Jared liked this one the most because the head was so small.

This was by Maria and Bill. Love the chest hair!

This was the winner by Linda, Portia and Maggie. She had the cutest hair and even a binki. The only drawback was the hairy chin.

This was by Gunther and Diane. I love the sticker "Little girl to love"!

Jake and Michelle drove in all the way from Phoenix to be there. Love you guys!

Here's the cake. YUMMY!

And another cake. Christy made it from scratch! It was so good...chocolate, white and cherry chip.

Christina was the host along with her mom and Christy for my long time friends from South Pasadena.

Here's the girls from Van Nuys...Lindsey (holding Myles), Krista, Laura and Kady with Tessa. Thanks you all for the parties. They were so much fun!

How to prepare for becoming a parent

2008-03-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

HOW TO PREPARE FOR BECOMING A PARENT (Gee, I can't wait!)

Lesson 1
Go to the grocery store.
Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
Go home.
Pick up the paper.
Read it for the last time.
Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their:
Methods of discipline.
Lack of patience.
Appallingly low tolerance levels.
Allowing their children to run wild.
Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it, because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.
Lesson 3
To discover how the nights will feel...
Walk around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or s ome other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
At 10PM, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
Set the alarm for 3AM.
As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink.
Go to bed at 2:45AM.
Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
Sing songs in the dark until 4AM.
Get up. Make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years.
Look cheerful.
Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
Then rub them on the clean walls.
Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?
Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.
Lesson 6
Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a jar of paint, turn it into an alligator.
Now take the tube from a roll of toilet paper. Using only Scotch tape and a piece of aluminum foil, turn it into an attractive Christmas candle.
Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty packet of Cocoa Puffs.
Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.
Lesson 7
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.
Leave it there.
Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat.
Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.
There. Perfect.
Lesson 8
Get ready to go out.
Wait outside the bathroom for half an hour.
Go out the front door.
Come in again. Go out.
Come back i n.
Go out again.
Walk down the front path.
Walk back up it.
Walk down it again.
Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
Stop, inspect minutely, and ask at least 6 questions about every
cigarette butt, piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way.
Retrace your steps.
Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbors come out and stare at you.
Give up and go back into the house.
You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.
Lesson 9
Repeat everything at least (if not more than) five times.
Lesson 10
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full- grown goat is excellent).
If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight.
Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.
Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.
Lesson 11
Hollow out a melon.
Make a small hole in the side.
Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month old baby.
Lesson 12
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street, Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV for at least five years.
Lesson 13
Move to the tropics. Find or make a compost pile. Dig down about halfwayand stick your nose in it. Do this 3-5 times a day for at least two years.
Lesson 14
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying "mommy" repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each "mommy"; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.
Lesson 15
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the "mommy" tape made from Lesson 14 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

(Author Unknown, but they must have had kids...)

Too funny!

2008-03-26T15:10:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of me and Jared. We are going to be using these for a game at my work baby shower this weekend. It's going to be a ton of fun and I hope the game is fun too. I guess the premise is that you cut out features from the mom and dad and make a new photo of what the baby will look like. I can't wait to see the results!

In other news I think this baby is a vegetarian. I can't stand meat (although yesterday had a craving for a Big Mac, yuck!. I had it, but don't need to have another one for quite some time now). I think this baby really likes a few things though...oranges and cucumber sushi rolls - once again, no meat, just cucumber, seaweed and rice. Yummy! I should have taken a picture of how yummy they looked. I can eat a whole bunch of those if given the chance.

Jared still can't decide on a name for Baby Pickett. Maybe that's what we should name her, Baby! Like in the movie Dirty Dancing. If we could just decide on a first and middle name and then a backup that would be terrific. What if I post them and you all decide? If I already did this forgive me. I have pregnancy brain :) Ok here's the list:

Annelise

Elise

Carleigh

Camille

Charlotte

Suzanne

Leah

Finally...

2008-03-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm not as retarded as I thought I was with this whole blogging thing. I've finally worked out most of the bugs and will be posting way more often and adding in my pics, especially when Baby Pickett arrives (yes, we still don't have a name for her yet...any suggestions are welcome!). But now that I'm getting the hang of this hopefully it will be much easier to update.

Everything's coming up Roses!

2008-03-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

I'm catching up on some old pics we took a few months ago. Here we are at the Rose Parade after party looking at the beautiful floats. Erik wasn't too excited to be there, but we made the most of it and had a good time. The floats are always so beautiful. It's great to live this close to Pasadena and be able to see them up close and personal every year.

Flashback to December

2008-03-03T10:04:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we decided it would be fun to visit Yosemite. We saw lots of fun things and had a great time. The only problem was that Jared decided to go and slip on some ice and ended up breakin his ankle on the first day we were there. But we still had a good time and it's almost done healing up. We can't wait to go again and be able to play a little harder next time.

It's obvious...

2008-01-31T13:05:00.000-08:00

that I'm not really good at keeping up with this blog. I think when I get some pictures uploaded from my camera then I'll be more willing to share this blog (and actually update it) with my friends and family.

First of the Year

2008-01-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the first of the year and my goal for 2008 was to create and keep up a blog. Now I've just got to figure out how to customize this. Hope you all have a great year! Yay 2008!