Raindrops on Roses, Etc.

I'm simply remembering my favorite things today:

--falling leaves, in all their rust, gold and ruby splendor

--brisk breezes, the kind that lifts your hair off your scalp and lets you see your breath

 

--clean sheets. I love the feeling of clean sheets. If it wasn't nearly impossible to find california king size sheets, I'd change them every day.

--good movies. There's really nothing quite as good as snuggling in with the hubby and a snack for a good movie. (You can always tell when I like a movie these days because I have to eat something to stay awake!)

--finishing a project. That "there-I'm-done-and-it-looks-fabulous" feeling is something I crave. Ever heard of an adrenaline junkie? I'm an accomplishment junkie. What a rush!

--turning the last page in a book. I love reading and lately I've been re-reading a lot of my old favorites and catching up on my "to read" list. There are so many good books out there!

--long walks. Kimber and I go on a walk/hike almost every day and she loves it, which of course makes me enjoy it more, and the best is when Jefferson can come, too! So fun, especially with all the changing leaves and the mountains so close.

The Sticky Sequel

Remember the episode where I accidentally went up to the wrong car and it had sticky notes with cute sayings all over the window?

Well today Jefferson and I met the owners of the other Passat. We were walking out to our car (to go to Mcdonald's and steal the free wifi, I know, so ghetto, right?) when another couple saw Kimber who was following behind us and they oohed and aahed over her, then followed us to the parking lot.

When they turned to their Passat, Jefferson and I looked at each other and Jefferson said, "So you're the guys with the other Passat."

"Yeah," said the guy.

"Hey, didn't you have sticky notes all over your window the other morning?" asked Love.

"Yeah, we did, but we don't know who they're from," said the girl. "We thought that maybe there'd been a mix-up and the owners of the other Passat (aka-Jefferson and I) had accidentally put them on our car instead!"

"That's what we thought!" I said, explaining how at first I'd thought it was my car, then when I realized it wasn't, well, you know what happened.

Turns out, someone had left random notes on their car. So either she has a stalker, or I have a stalker who got the cars mixed up, or someone is just really mixed up and put stickies to their sweetie on the wrong car all together!

Mush!

Jefferson and I recently moved to Provo, UT, to a little apartment complex near the base of Y-Mountain. I was so excited about that simple fact because, during that month when Jefferson was in Asia, I decided to hike Y-mountain at least once a week. Now that I live less than a mile from the trailhead, I want to hike it even more often, and with Kimber, too. My goal is to be able to hike without stopping all the way up, and my dream is to one day be able to run it...but we'll see.

After having officially moved in, I decided it was time to take the puppy up the mountain. Since she was not a fan of her leash at the beginning, I brought a handful of treats and the trek began. That little stinker of a girl! I practiaclly dragged her to the trailhead. We only made it up to the third switchback (there are eleven) and then I dragged her back down and back to our apartment.

It didn't help that every time I would yank on her leash to get her moving, she would make this dramatic and nasty cough sound, like I was strangling her. People hiking along must've thought I was the worst pet owner ever!

Needless to say, I was a little skeptical about trying that hike again, but yesterday, after a weekend full of peanut M&Ms and lounging about, I was beginning to feel guilty, so I leashed Kimber up and we set out...again.

This time, however, Kimber had been stuck inside all day. She's gotton bigger (maybe twice the size she was when we first brought her home) and so the kitchen/entry area has subsequently shrunk, too. She was more than willing to go on a nice long walk, and I was thinking, Gee, this'll be great! I'll hike her til she's tired and then she'll sleep through the night! Wonderful!

Yeah...that's not what happened. Remember how last time, I dragged Kimber up the mountainside? Well this time, she dragged me. She was so curious, sniffing everything, and boy! did she want to see what was at the top of that mountain. We took breaks at each turn, and maybe once or twice in the middle of some of the really long switchbacks, but there was plenty of shade and the air was cool.

Go anywhere with Kimber and you're instantly a celebrity: random people come up to you, ask what breed she is, want to pet her, compliment you on her; the only thing they don't do is ask you for your autograph! This hike was no different and Kimber loved all the attention.

About halfway up, another gentleman was coming down, and he saw how Kimber pulled on her leash, nearly pulling me along with her, and he said, "Just say 'mush', right?" Right. :)

We finally made it to the top, and we took a short break, loving the wind and the view (I mean, the view from our apartment is gorgeous, but there's always something so breath-taking about mountains, isn't there?)

On the way back down, Kimber wanted to run so bad. I was tempted to let her off her leash, but decided instead to run a little ways. Turns out it was really hard on my knees, so I just let her pull on her leash.

At one point, a big group of people were passing us along the trail, and Kimber decided it was the perfect time to use the potty, right in the middle of the trail. Cute Kimber. Cute.

We made it home just before dark, me a dripping puddle, and Kimber was ready to play. What?!? I just hiked your stinky pants up a mountain and now you want to play? What is wrong with you, dog? She just had to be content to lounge at my feet until daddy (Jefferson) got home and would rough-house with her.

Update

I was reading back through my archives and realized that I never posted how we actually got the booth into the house, or for that matter, much about Kimber after that first day.

The Booth: After dragging previous neighbors to our home on several occasions and trying to jam that useless piece of &@#$ through the door, then down the stairs, then back up the stairs, then through the door one more time, putting several scrapes and dents in the walls along the way, Jefferson finally decided to listen to his sweet wifey and cut the &!@% thing in half. We borrowed a jigsaw from my dad, and went to town on that thing! We cut it just enough that we could fold it in half, but not through the cushioning. It still took some wedging, but by some miracle, we managed to get it past the door and into the living room!  All those involved broke out into the Hallelujah chorus, okay, not really, but we were thinking it!

Kimber is such a blessing, if a little stinker at times, in our lives. We absolutely love her to pieces. Not only is she such a good girl, but she is so smart, too! Already, she knows to sit, and she's started to love her leash, putting together that leash and outside are correlated! She loves when Grammy Angie (Jefferson's mom) gives her pig-skin bones, and she adores Mandy, Jefferson's parents' dog. They had such a fun time in Montana, running around, and going on walks together.

One thing, though, because Kimber is so smart, she figured out how to climb over the baby gate that separated the kitchen from the living room, and she soon decided that the living room was her poopy spot. Bad news bears. I had to go and buy another gate and we put them one over the other, which is great for keeping the puppy in her spot, but it's a hindrance when the only walkway to the living room is baracaded so high that I can't get over it either. But that first day of double high baracade, Jefferson came home from work and Kimber had dragged her bed and all her toys and stacked them right up against the gates, like she was trying to build a ladder, or something!

She's growing so fast, too! Already, she can drink from the toilet (yeah, not my favorite watering hole. I didn't buy her a cute water bowl for nothing, but apparently, the toilet water tastes better for some reason.) and my eight year old brother, Stephen, is petrified of her. Okay, lets think that one through: Kimber-30lbs vs Stephen-130lbs and somehow Kimber wins. How does that work?

Occasionally, she still has messes, but she's started to sleep through the night, until about six am, which is when we need to wake up anyway. When she does have a mess, as soon as you say, "hey", she gives you this look like, oh crap! I've been caught! and then she bolts for the nearest hiding spot. Well, in our 600 sq ft apartment, there aren't many, so she's outta luck and is dragged back to the spot of her oopsies. She's caught on rather quickly.

But we love playing with her. She loves her rope and has become quite good and tug-o-wars. Her ball is fun, but she hasn't quite mastered the concept of fetch, yet. And her Elephant has lost his squeaker, but she loves to have Elephant Wars with Jefferson. She really is such a joy in our lives. We love her to pieces!

Heads Held High, Touch the Sky

You know that old Disney movie, the Rescuers? Well, whenever I hear an announcement about Relief Society, I think of that the song they would sing about the Rescue Aid Society, only I subsitute Relief Society in there instead:

R-E-L-I-E-F, Re-e-lief So-ci-e-ty! Heads held high, touch the sky, you mean everything to me!

This past week, I got an email saying that my new Relief Society (cue song) was having a get-a-way over-nighter at Heber Valley Camp! I talked to Jefferson about it and he thought it was a good idea for me to go and meet some of the women in our ward.

I rode up with a neighbor, who was also leaving a little later due to work, and we chatted the whole way there. We got there just in time for dinner. I stood in line and grabbed some of the delicious dutch oven shredded meat and corn, then found a spot at a nearby table. I met several ladies, and when I left the table for a moment, they all began to ask my carpool buddy how old I was.

Now this is something I've never understood. Is it my face? My voice? Something about me just looks/acts young and people usually think I'm seventeen to nineteen years old. Come on! I've been married a year already!

I had to own up in front of all these older women that yes, I am only twenty, and yes, I've been married a year already. Thank you very much. We had a sweet devotional on hope, with the guest speaker being Sister Shirley Tong, Utah's Mother of the Year for 2010. She gave such a sweet talk on hope and loving and learning how to lean on the Lord in all things. What an inspiration!

The next day, after a long night on a wooden board of a bed (literally) we made little foam sun-visors. After trying to be a good sport (some women thought the visors were lame, and to be honest, they were...kinda, but I was determined to participate in everything) and making a visor, I was told how, when I wore the visor, I looked just like a baby with a bonnet. Thanks...I think?

After the visor fiasco, we went to the Challenge Course. The main feature was a large swing, and since the average age of my new Relief Society is at least fifty, this was perfect for all involved. Everyone took one turn on the swing and then it was time for lunch: chicken wraps and fruit. Yum!

After lunch came a sweet testimony meeting. I have moved into such a wonderful ward! Aside from a few pokes at my age, everyone was so sweet, and I love my RS President, Debbie. She sang Mary Poppins songs with me! It was meant to be, I tell ya!

After frantically cleaning to be outta there by two-thirty, we all piled into our respective cars and headed home. What a fun weekend with just the girls! I can't wait to get to know these women so much better!

Awwwwkward

Last night, I just happened to park by a car that looks exactly like mine. I even remember saying to myself, "Now remember where you parked so that tomorrow morning you don't look like an idiot when you're standing in front of the other car trying to unlock it before you realize it's not your car."

This morning, I went outside and walked up to "my" car. There were sticky notes all over the driver's side window that had cute messages on them like, "Don't worry, be happy," and "All you need is love."

Cute! Jefferson went out of his way to put happy thoughts on my window before he went to work this morning, I thought as I was delicately peeling the sticky notes off the window.

Then I hit the unlock button on my keychain and the car next door unlocked. Oh smash. This is not my car. Crap. I glanced over each shoulder, hoping no one had witnessed my stupidity, and then hurriedly slapped all the sticky notes on the door again, in no particular order....so I'm really hoping there wasn't a particular order to begin with (Like it would really suck if they were positioned so that on the other side of the door it would read, "Darling, I Love You," and after I'd gotten ahold of it it said, "You Ruined My Life" even though those two sentences contain different letters and therefore that specific scenario would be impossible, you get the idea.).

I jumped in my car (I mean, seriously, Jefferson and I just got home from a road trip to Montana. If I had just glanced through the door of the other car, I wouldn't have made a mistake at all: they're car was pristine, with nice leather seats and vacuumed carpet. Ours looks like a hurricane full of rabid squirrels blew through it.) and raced to work.

On the way to work I got to wondering: What if Jefferson had made the same mistake I made? What if those really were his sticky notes to me and he just put them on the wrong car? Well, whosever car it is will get a nice stalker-like surprise in that case, and Love and I will get a good laugh.

When I got to work, I asked Jefferson if he had left sticky notes for me on a car. "No," he said, "but I know what you're talking about. Those stickies were there when I left for work and I thought the car was ours, too. I was thinking, 'Whose leaving love notes for my wife?' and then I realized it wasn't even our car."

Well thanks for passing that along, darling dearest heart of mine, I thought. Yeah, I'm still not sure if the giver of the stickies wasn't watching from some secluded spot to see the reaction of his sweetie...I sure hope not.

Road Trip!

Jefferson and I have only had one vacation this summer. You might be thinking, "So?" but last year we had four: our honeymoon, trip to Montana, trip to Missouri, and camping. What with Jefferson being gone for the entire month of June, we were only able to go on an anniversary vacation.

Well, then we decided to follow Jefferson's parents to Montana to visit Grammy and Grandpa Harvey. We couldn't afford to take a week off work, so we decided on Labor Day weekend. Jess, Jefferson's sister, came with us because she had class and so couldn't leave with everyone else.

Jefferson drove the whole way there. We arrived at three am and crashed well into Saturday. Then, while Jefferson and the Gang (including Megan) went pot-gut shooting, the Ladies, Angie, Grammy, Jess, and I, went shopping. With not much money, I was more of a fasion advisor, though Angie and Grammy did both get me a few things (perfume, recipe cards, lipgloss, and Christmas ornaments).

Speaking of Christmas ornaments, Jefferson's family has this tradition where every year each child gets a new Christmas ornament. When we got married, Jefferson brought his box of ornaments with him. I love the idea of theming the ornaments for each child, too (Megan has every cat and kitten ornament you can imagine, and Jefferson's are mostly Santa Claus in different situations). Our first summer in Montana, Angie gave us the cutest Mickey and Minnie Mouse ornament.


We were spending our first Christmas in Roatan, Honduras, so the plane was perfect!

 This year, I saw another adorable Mickey and Minnie ornament and, when I wasn't looking, Angie got it for us!

I love how Minnie is kissing Mickey's face off!
 I do that all the time to Jefferson!

Grammy also gave us two ornaments as well:

This one has a little button and when you push it,
everything comes alive and it starts dancing to the tune of
 Santa Claus is Coming to Town.



The true meaning of Christmas. So precious.

 Now all I have to do is finish my Christmas Tree Quilt so that I'll have somewhere to hang all these pretties this year!


It'll look something like this when it's all finished,
with button holes to thread lights through and buttons on it
to hang the ornaments on!

Anywho, on Sunday, we stayed close to home base, having a nice home-cooked meal and just enjoying each other's company. Then Jefferson and I went on a walk with Kimber.

She was so good in the car all the way there and back. I just held her in my lap and she slept for the most part, which was great until we got there and she was ready to play at three am. Sirry doggie!

It was so cute, though, because while we were walking on this gravel trail, Kimber stepped on a rock funny and let out a loud yelp, then rolled on her back and put her hurt paw to her forhead as if to say, "Oh no! I'm wounded! Puppy down! Puppy down!" After a good belly rub and a treat, she was more than willing to keep walking.

Monday, instead of joining the Gang and going on the annual fishing trip, I went with the Ladies to the mall again. We went to the Estee Lauder Counter and, with a purchase of over thirty dollars you got a free gift. Grammy bought Jess and I both lipsticks and glosses and then we got our free gift. We went to Fuddruckers for lunch, which was delicious, if not too filling. Jess and I were both bulging out of our pants and feeling almost ill from all the food.

Then, after rejoining everyone else, we went to a nearby Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Jess and I hardly ate anything, but it was fun to sit with everyone and be a part of the atmosphere.

We said goodbye's Monday night and then, at 4:30 am on this morning, we headed home. What a whirlwind trip!