On the Edge of Chaos

Introducing New Blog

2011-01-31T10:03:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

I've created a new blog. I wanted to move to wordpress because I've heard it was so much better, so I've finally done it. The design is still underconstruction. This is a combination of my personal blog and my projects blog. I will most likely not be updating this blog any longer. Please check it out and start following me new blog! Feel free to send it to your friends!

http://www.charminglykristin.wordpress.com/

2010 Wrap Up

2011-01-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

Oh 2010, little did we know last January what you would have in store for us! It was an amazing year, full of change and new adventure.

January started off with a big snow in XNA! I miss those snow days now! We had two big events in January. We cheered on one of my favorite people and very best friends, Sarah Slocum, as she competed in the Miss America pageant!  We also celebrated Jason's 27th birthday.

Nothing major happened in February. Maddy got her first haircut (cannot believe how much she has grown up this year). Work was really hectic and fully of changes. I think it snowed in February too. I started planning a baby shower for my friend Maureen. Boring month apparently.

March was when the fun began. I was alerted at the end of February I would be going to China in a week. I would return ON the day of the baby shower I was hosting at my house! Oh joy. While I was in China, my sister GOT ENGAGED! WHAT?!?! Yeah, I missed the whole thing because no one could get ahold of me in China.  On the way home from China, I found out that Jason had been offered a promotion, IN Scottsdale (I'll never forget, I was on the tram at the Chicago airport).  At that point, we just had a lot to think about and work through to see if this was the right decision for us and we had a couple months to work it out. We also took a "spring break" (yeah I know we don't get one of those anymore, but...) with our great friends Craig and Lauren! They had just been dating since Christmas (now they are getting married!). We all loaded in the Charger (free gas...miss that for sure) and made the LONG drive to Pagosa Springs,CO. It came a big snow storm in Oklahoma and TX so we had to go very slow and got stuck in traffic alot due to accidents. That really slowed us down. Such a awesome trip with many memories! Whew, what a month.

April was a stressful month of BIG decisions. Do we move, do we stay? If we do move, what will I do? Ah. We also made a trip to LA to celebrate Stacy and Andrew's engagement and do some dress shopping. It happened to be the same weekend as our 1st Anniversary! It was great to celebrate a coming wedding and our first anniversary at the same time! Jason got me an amazing gift- he framed our house plans! It was pretty unbelievable timing considering our pending move. We loved every second of building our first little "dream home" and it was a really special experience for us as a couple. I miss our old house so much and it is really nice to be able to look at the plans and be reminded of that time in our lives. I got Jason a scrapbook of our first year of marriage and a canvas print of a picture I took on our honeymoon. My best friend from home, Courtney, got married on April 9! It was a lovely wedding and a wonderful weekend. At the end of April, we got busy cleaning and organizing our house to get it ready to go on the market. We were so nervous about it selling since the market had gone down so much. We also started looking for houses in Scottsdale.

May was a CRAZY month. I was on the road from May 7-28th with only a day or two at home. When I was home, Jason was in Scottsdale. I made a trip to China and got to go to Shanghai for the first time, which was incredible. I also went to D.C. and got to check out the West Wing, also incredible. Our house sold within 30 minutes of going on the market. Literally our realtor nailed the sign in the yard and posted the listing online, we got a call 10 minutes later that someone wanted to see the house, we hurried out so they could come see the house (we went to home depot to buy booties for people to wear when viewing the house), the people were still there when we got back so we got a chat a couple of minutes, and about 3 minutes later the realtor called and said they were putting in an offer for almost asking price! Unbelievable. we took the booties back. We had a funny mix-up with the closing date. It was probably around May 19 and I had emailed the girl buying our house to let her know she was welcome to come by any time if she needed any measurements or whatever. She did come by to show her boyfriend. When she was leaving I said something like, we'll be closing before you know it. And she said, yeah a week and half! And I said "WHAT?" it is June 28 right? She said, no May 28th. I said hmmm. Called the realtor. He confirmed it was May 28. AH we had just a few days to get our of our house and we hadn't even scheduled the movers year! And I was going to be in DC when the movers would be there! We got it all worked out but it was stressful. We continued our search for a new home in Scottsdale, to no avail. Oh, and I had three interviews for a job at Kutak. OH, and I made the Save the Dates for Stacy's wedding.

In June we officially announced our move. Jason started work at the beginning of June and moved into a hotel there. I, being kicked out of my house, moved into a corporate apartment in Rogers to work one more month. Jason came in on the weekends or I went there. We looked for a house every chance we had. May and June were really difficult for us as this was the most we had been apart since jr. high. At the very end of June, I made the move out to Scottsdale, taking up residence in the Xona resort with Jason.

July was pretty amazing, despite the 116 degree temperatures. After all the stress of the last couple of months, I decided to take a month off before starting my new job. I'm glad I did because there were so many things to get done to make us Arizona residents. I spent a TON of time looking for houses. Nearly every morning I went out with the realtor to look at a property. There were a lot of ups and downs in the house hunt. It wasn't until the end of July that we finally got a contract on a home. I also spent alot of time at the 4 pools at the resort and enjoyed my free breakfast at the restaurant every morning. We also had to get Jason a new car since he lost his company car (they don't do those at the home office unfortunately). We shopped and shopped and shopped. He hated every second of it (he just can't take the car salesmen) so he finally just told me to go get something. Let's just say, that will never happen again. We did our best to learn the way around our new big city and fell in love with Scottsdale in the process. I believe we went to LA at least once in July to see Stacy and Andrew.

In August I started my new job! I made a work trip back to NWA. We closed on our house (Jason was on a work trip, so technically I closed on the house) and moved in. We saw about 6 scorpions in the house that month, including on my very first trip to the house the day we closed. My parents came for a night on the way to LA for Stacy's wedding shower. We celebrated my birthday in LA with cupckaes from Sprinkles (love).   We started working on the house with painting, adding cabinetry in the garage, and a backyard renovation. I got to enjoy the pool a couple of times.

All I remember about September is my sister's amazing bachelorette party in LA. I spent all my free time making stuff for the party. That is also when Maddy hurt her leg. We thought she was going to need surgery (and she still may down the road) but she has recovered so far. I'm sure there was more to the month, but I don't recall.

October was the Wedding Month! Spent lots of time making stuff for the wedding. The wedding was incredible. We continued working on the house. We had our first Halloween in the new house and had tons of trick or treaters.

November was all about Thanksgiving. We continued working on the house. Stacy and Andrew made their first trip to see us in Scottsdale for Thanksgiving. We had a great holiday. Things toward the end of the year really slowed down for us, which was a nice change from the previous 6 months of chaos.

December was the month of the illness and Christmas. The girls were very mischievous and tore up 4 pairs of shoes and other things. We put all our Christmas decor right after Thanksgiving (it is currently still up). Jason's parents came to visit and we took them to Sedona. It was such a fun trip. My mom had a test/procedure done and ended up getting very sick. That same day the girls had their annual shots and Miley had a bad allergic reaction that night (she looked like Hitch- all swollen and red) so we made a trip to the emergency vet. After the stress of the day with Mom and then Miley getting sick, it was NOT a good day. Less than a week later and the day we were leaving for Christmas in AR, Jason got home to find that the girls got into a medicine bag under my cabinet. There were pills all over the floor. They (mostly Maddy) ate a lot of nausea pills and we weren't sure what else they actually ate. Jason immediately took them to the vet. The vet induced vomiting and then gave reverse meds. The poor girls were SO sick from all the meds. We missed our flight and didn't know if we would be able to go home at all. I stayed up all night with the girls because they felt so bad they couldn't even sleep. At 8 am the next morning, the girls had made a full recovery and were running and playing. We started looking for a new flight and found one on Allegiant to XNA. We booked it and had to head straight to the airport. Jason's aunt picked us up when we got in at 9 pm and drove us home to Sheridan. It was a crazy 24 hours. We had a great Christmas with all our family.

And that sums up our year. It was a fantastic year and we cannot wait to see what 2011 will bring (besides me getting another year closer to 30, ew).

Happy New Year to you all!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

The life changes continued this year as we celebrated Thanksgiving in Scottsdale with Stacy, Andrew, and our friend Howard. This marked the first Thanksgiving that I was no in Sheridan with my parents. Stacy and I both missed being home, but we had a wonderful time creating our own traditions.

I did a lot of decorating around the house to give it a warm, fall feeling. I will be posting photos of my decor on my other blog so check it out. http://www.kristinskraftkorner.blogspot.com/

I decided that I wanted to cook a full dinner for our little family. I felt pretty comfortable with the idea...until I went to the grocery store to buy all the ingredients. I got a little overwhelmed with the overflow of groceries in the basket. I feared I had taken on more than I could handle. But, that didn't slow me down long. Instead of panicking, I got organized and devised a cooking plan. I started preparing on Sunday (yes that's right...4 DAYS before Thanksgiving) with preparing the pie crusts. Then did a little more of the prep work Monday and Tuesday after work. On Wednesday I started assembling dishes, like the strawberry salad (or Strawberry Delight as it has been renamed by Howie). Thursday morning I got up at 8 to start the day. I made coffee, OJ, and orange rolls for breakfast before heading to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for the dishes Stacy was preparing (she didn't want to bring them all the way from LA). Stacy made two appetizers (spinach balls and artichoke bruschetta) and some pumpkin bars. They were all DELISH. Jason made an appetizer too. Every year his favorite Thanksgiving dish is his uncle Ross's cheeseball. So this year, he made his own. It calls for dried beef and he very thoughtfully left that out. It was excellent! Stacy and I got back from the grocery store about 10 am, we donned our matching green aprons, and got straight to work. We didn't sit down until dinner at 7:30! I guess I should mention, the boys never left the playstation during that time. They were such a big help....NOT. We had a blast, but were completely exhausted by dinner. If we can say so ourselves, we did a fantastic job. We faced a few challenges, mostly due to incomplete recipes, but we continued on (re-making a couple of dishes that didn't turn out on the first try) to success. As we found out, cooking a Thanksgiving dinner is a true test of perseverance. I think my lesson learned was to do even more on Wednesday so we can enjoy Thursday.

We did not make it out early for Black Friday shopping this year. I LOVE Black Friday shopping. It is exhilarating and I love the rush of excited people. But, after all that cooking and staying up late, we were beat. I woke up and all I could think about was missing out on shopping, so I got dressed and got ready to head out for a couple hours. Stacy spotted me and then she wanted to go. So we both made it over to Fashion Square Mall for about an hour of shopping (we both picked up some sweaters) before going to the ASU game. Howie has a box for the ASU games and was kind enough to invite us to join him. It was really fun and we had a beautiful view of the mountains from his box. Stacy loved the band, but hated the booming canon when the team scored. She hasn't been to many football games so she isn't very familiar with the fanfare. After the game we drug the boys to the mall for a little more shopping and then dinner at Modern Steak. It was delicious and for some reason they thought it was Andrew and Stacy's anniversary, so they brought us a lovely dessert that no one wanted.

Stacy and Andrew were going to leave on Saturday, but Stacy and I pouted enough that Andrew decided to stay. We played some games during the day. My favorite was the water war that broke out between Andrew, Jason, and myself. Andrew ran a block up the street trying to avoid the water in his face only to be ambushed by Jason hiding behind a cactus. Later that night we went to one of Howie's restaurants for dinner and then back here for more games.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend that I am truly thankful for. Jason and I love spending time with Stacy and Andrew. I told Stacy while we were cooking that I was so glad that Jason and Andrew get along so well. It would be really hard if we had married men who were total opposites of each other. Instead, they are two peas in a pod and it makes me so happy to see them having fun together (even if that means neglecting their hardworking wives in the kitchen). I've said this before, but by far the best thing about living in Scottsdale (and there are A LOT of wonderful things about this place) is being so close to my sister! This is the closest we've lived since 4th grade and it has been a dream come true. Somehow, despite the physical distance between us, we've managed to stay very close. I'm so blessed to have her for a sister!!! Now...if we could only get them to move to Scottsdale....

Here are some pictures from our big weekend.

Stacy getting started

Twinkies

Boys pretending to be cooking

Stacy showing off her green bean casserole and sweet potato fluff

A high-five for a job well done

Finally eating

Girlies

First canon boom...Stacy not happy

Headed in to the game

Outside the box

Stacy cheered for the Bruins since she is a UCLA grad

Family Photo

Dinner at Modern Steak

Photo shoot with Howie's dogs- Bernie and LJ

Food pics...Jason's Cheese Ball

Spinach Balls

Pumpkin bars (you can see Andrew in front of Madden on the tv in the background)

Artichoke Bruschetta

Stacy working on the Apple pie lattice topping

Finitio!

Chocolate Pie

Marshmallow Fluff and Green Bean Casserole

Rolls fresh out of the oven

Strawberry Delight

All the food

The Turkey courtesy of Honey Baked Ham- only thing I purchased

Dressing (one is vegetarian)

Rolls again

asparagus Casserole

Backyard Renovation

2010-11-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

We've had so much going on the last month...a recurring theme for our life as of late. I may never get caught up!

First, I've started a new blog for all my creative projects. Check it out. http://www.kristinskornerkrafts.blogspot.com/.

We've been doing lots of stuff around our house to make it feel like our home. The first project we took on was the backyard renovation. It is a 3 week process. I took pictures as it progressed. We added a built in bbq island, a firepit and seat wall, a pool equipment wall, and grassy areas for the little girls. Here are some before, during, and after photos!

Before

In process

Finished!

Catching Up

2010-09-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Oh WOW! I have so much to share and so little time!! I can't believe my last post was so long ago. It has been a BUSY two months to say the least. Jason has traveled for work, I have traveled for work, we moved into our house, my parents visited, we've been to LA three times, we've painted the house, I've thrown a shower for Stacy, I've crafted and created, and so much more! Whew I'm tired just reflecting. I don't see things slowing down one bit until after the big event on October 15!

OMG just three weeks from Friday until my big sissy gets MARRIED! I can't believe it. My "matron of honor" (Stacy loves saying that because it makes me sound so old) dress is on its way to my house as we speak! I cannot wait to see it again! It is beautiful, fun, unique, youthful, classy and elegant all at the same time (or at least I think so). I've got lots to make for the wedding this weekend. Jason is going to be in Dallas for our friend Mark's bachelor party, so I'll have no excuse for not getting lots accomplished. I will try to get my pictures and thoughts together for a good long post!

My New Work Blog

2010-08-25T15:52:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone-

Wanted to share my new blog with you! It is basically based on my experiences at work, trade news updates, and a little humor thrown in. It will probably be pretty boring to most of you, but you never know who might be interested or know someone interested! Feel free to add to the list of blogs you read and maybe it will eventually reach people who need my help!

http://thelaceyact.blogspot.com/

Self Reflection

2010-08-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in a hotel room, alone, thinking of how many nights this year I've sat alone in a hotel room. I'm guessing it totals at least a month. Alot of alone time for people like me, people who over analyze themself, their friendships, their lives, is not a good thing. Most nights, I lay in bed and rethink my entire day. What I did, what I did wrong, what I should have done better. What stupid things I said, how awkward I acted in a conversation, how uncomfortable I felt at times. Sadly, I rarely think positive things about myself. I'm not quite sure how I ended up being this person who is so hard on herself and so uncomfortable and doubting of herself, her thoughts and her feelings. Just Saturday I was driving alone in my car and thought, you know what I really want...I want to know what I want. I want to be self-assured. I want to be able to make a decision and know it was right without ever looking back. I want to know what I want. I want to walk into a store and say "that's me." I want a persona. How can anyone else know me and believe in me, if I don't know myself. I'm tired of being wishy washy, of being unable to make decisions, of doubting the decisions I do make. I'm guessing that most of you are thinking that most people struggle with this, that it's natural, and it is something that changes as we go through life. And I'm sure you're right. But don't you ever just see that woman walking by when you are sitting on a bench people walking. The woman you spotted a mile away. The one that you can tell by the way she carries herself, the way she dresses, and the look on her face that says it all. That says, this is who I am, I know it, I'm proud of it, and I love myself for it. So confident with who they are. They aren't always the most beautiful, most talented, most intelligent, most anything really. They just....are themself and proud of it.

Coincidentally, I watched the movie Eat, Pray, Love tonight starring Julia Roberts. I must first say, she is simply stunning in this movie. The best I have ever seen her look (and she always looks amazing so that is saying a lot). It is a really thoughtful story and I believe everyone can relate to some part of Liz's (the main character) journey to "find herself." I have no doubt that this movie speaks to people in different ways and that the message each person takes away from it will be a bit different depending on the person's own life story. Where I relate to Liz the most is her losing her passion. I know exactly when and where I lost my passion. It was what I consider "my identity" in life was lost. Law school. The dream I had from childhood which was a huge disappointment. The biggest heartbreak of my life. It took the one thing I knew myself to be away from me. And with one foul swoop, my passion escaped me and I've yet to find it.

In one scene, Liz is in Italy with friends and they all discuss "their word" (the word the describes their life). She has "no word." I definitely related. The only word I feel that describes my life is chaos (hence the title of my blog). I feel especially so, as I sit here alone, in a hotel room for a week, after just one night in our new house. After my husband was gone for most of last week. And as I will return for one night before I head out again. I have no idea what lies ahead for the coming month. That, to me, is chaos. Of course, I may not be able to return to a settled life after living like this. A settled life will probably bore me to tears. So, I'm left unhappy traveling and unhappy sitting at home. What a conundrum. Ah life, isn't it fun?

Drug Store Brands

2010-08-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've been incredibly loyal to Lancome Definicils Waterproof Mascara in Black. I've been wearing it since about 8th grade when Mrs. Alexander first sold it to me. That is around 14 years. FOURTEEN YEARS with the same product. Now that's a loyal customer. That's the kind of customer every retailer wants! To this day, I still love the mascara, BUT I'm disappointed in Lancome. My mascara used to last at last 2-3 months. Over the last year, I've noticed I can barely get a month before it starts drying up. It is frustrating. It cost about $26 and that adds up to $312 a year for mascara! Just mascara! That doesn't take into account the numerous other beauty products I use.

So, I've decided to go on a hunt to switch some of my beauty products to drug store brands. I plan to review all the products I try. So far, I've tried three new products.

The first product I tried was a new face wash. It is Loreal Go Clean 360 I love the little scrubbie that comes with it. I feel like it cleans my pores out and exfoliates without being harsh and abrasive. The cleanser itself is a cream cleanser that foams when washing. It leaves my skin feeling clean. I haven't noticed a change in my skin. I was previously using Murad cleanser which cost $29, but lasts me about 8 months. I've just not noticed any difference in my skin using it versus my old Dove or Olay cleanser (can't remember which) but they stopped making my old one and I had a gift certificate.

Concealer was the next stop. I only tried concealer because I'm out. But, concealer is one of the most expensive things I buy per ounce and I use it up pretty quickly. I tried the new eye brightening concealer by Covergirl and Olay- Simply Ageless. It isn't bad, but it isn't great. It is a good weekend concealer. It is pretty thin and a little too pink for my taste. I like a relatively heavy concealer to really cover any darkness or redness under the eyes. If you like a really lightweight concealer, you would probably love this one. It doesn't soak into the creases like some concealers, so that is definitely a good thing.

The third new product was the Falsies waterproof mascara by Maybelline. I fell victim to the commercials that promise a false eyelash look with no gaps. Being a longtime user of one particular type of mascara, I thought it would be next to impossible to replace (I've tried lots of samples over the years and never found one I liked). Let me tell you, I hit the jackpot with this mascara! First try and I found a great replacement. The wand is kinda short and the brush is a little wide and curved. When I first pulled the wand out, I thought ew. But, it works great! It is so similar to my lancome and only cost around $6.00 with tax. That is a $20 savings a month and a $240 savings a year! WOAH! How awesome. I accidentally bought it in black brown, so I can't wait until I'm out and can get the black (I don't care for brown, but it is really dark so you can't really tell). Now, it doesn't look like false eyelashes, but it lengthens alot and thickens too. I use two coats and let the first dry about a minute before the 2nd coat. It does not smudge off at all! It looks almost as good at the end of the day as it did at the beginning. AND it is in a bright purple tube so it stands out among my cosmetics!

House and Work Update

2010-08-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Guess what?! We close on our house this week! YAY! Wednesday August 11, 2010! We are soooo excited. Unfortunately, Jason will be on his first business trip since starting his new job, so I'll be signing alone. The moving company will be bringing all of our stuff the next day so hopefully after the weekend we will be somewhat settled. I simply cannot wait.

My first week of work went well. I've met some really nice people and am looking forward to getting to know everyone. I didn't have too much to work on, but I've quickly come to the realization that I have a lot more to learn about private practice than I even realized. One great thing happened this week, I was hired by my first client to do a project! That is definitely awesome and hopefully more will follow soon. Boredom doesn't suit me well.

I took Jason to the office on Saturday so he could check it out. He was pretty impressed and that made me feel good. It definitely has the law firm look with lots of woodwork. I'll post some pictures someday soon.

1st Day at Kutak

2010-08-02T21:17:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day. I don't have alot to say about it. I have an office, which is a huge improvement over my previous work environment, but it isn't anything fancy. I spent the majority of the day going through computer software training, signing documents, and reading policies. So exciting right? That's about it. Maybe I'll have more to say tomorrow.

New Dos

2010-07-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

The whole Wood family got new "dos" this week! Jason and I got our first Scottsdale haircuts. I haven't seen his yet, so I don't know how it turned out. Miley and Maddy got their second cuts. They look adorable, as always! I went to a lady that I found on the internet. I read a ton of reviews from her customers and her blog and decided to go for it. I got a great cut that I am happy with, so that's good!

I got a sneak peak at my sister's engagement photos a few minutes ago! Let me tell you, my sister and soon to be brother-in-law are the most glamourous, beautiful couple! I can't wait til they have babies because they are going to be stunning children!

Well, I'm off to shower, pack and head to LA! YAY! I'll let you know how it goes!

Invites

2010-07-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Wanted to let you all know that the Save the Dates I made for my sister apparently went over really well with everyone! She said that they got lots of calls from people raving about them! How awesome is that?! So glad that they were a hit. I'll try to get a photo of it for the blog.

Jason and I are taking our first road trip to LA tomorrow. We are so excited! Hopefully it will only take 5 hours. If we leave here at 3 we will be there by 8! The girls are ready to make their Hollywood debut. Hopefully they won't tear anything up in Stacy's house! It sounds like we have a full weekend including cake tasting, bridesmaid dress shopping, checking out the wedding location, and more! She asked if we wanted to do the cake tasting with them and I was like DUH I love cake! Who would turn down that opportunity?? That was the best part of the wedding planning process for us! haha!!

Some random pictures from the past couple months

2010-07-28T16:20:00.003-07:00

Today's post is just pictures.

This is one of the many trail crossing signs in Scottsdale.
Here is my favorite street so far...Via de Ventura....lined with beautiful Mexican fan palms

The building where my new office is

More palm trees

This is from my last day at Walmart. My badge with one of the worst pictures ever.

The sign from Heather and Donna.

My pod decor. It was barbie themed.

106th Way- the street sign for our new house

The mountains from our driveway

Moutains from our street

Steet sign showing McDowell Mtn Ranch which is the community in Scottsdale where we will be living

Mountain views as you drive to our house

More mountain views on the drive to the house

Isn't this going to be glorious to look at every day on the way home from work!

Miley and Maddy on Miley's 2nd birthday

Just Miley. She has really changed this year.

Miley in her itsy bitsy, teenie weenie, pink polka dot bikini (that went back to WM)

The Weekend

2010-07-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

We had an uneventful weekend in Scottsdale. We did some shopping for furniture and clothes. I returned two skirts that I bought a couple of weeks ago that I decided didn't really fit. Jason got a new Penguin brand shirt. The best find was a Waterford bedding set that we've loved for a long time but would not spend the money on. Jason happened upon the beautiful linens for 70% OFF while he was waiting on me to go to the bathroom. What luck! We got all the pieces we needed (4 shams and the comforter) for half the original cost of the comforter alone! Now if we can just get moved into our new house and try it out on the bed. You can check it out here http://www.home-decorating-co.com/waterford-deirdre-bedding.html. We got it for way less than the prices listed! SCORE! We are such bargain shoppers.

Friday night we checked out another movie. This time we chose Inception. Wow what an amazing concept. If you like movies that are very complex and thoughtful, I highly recommend it.

We have such an awesome movie theater here in Scottsdale. It has a screen called the Cine Capri where the big blockbuster movies play. It is a HUGE theater that has the biggest screen in Arizona with over 200 speakers. The screen is framed by glamorous gold curtains. Right before the previews begin, the curtains close. Then a man in a tux comes out, welcomes everyone, and introduces the movie. People applaud and then the curtains open as exciting music plays and lights swirl around. It is just like the beginning of a Broadway show or something. I just LOVE it. I get soo excited. It truly makes you feel like going to the movie is a fancy special occasion.

I'm trying to find somewhere in the area to take sewing lessons. I've always wanted to learn how to sew. I know the basics from back when my mom taught me, but want really want to try again. I would love to be able to make curtains, bedding, pillows, etc.

The only crafty thing I've been able to do is design the invitation for Stacy's bachelorette/lingerie party. I love the concept I've come up with and have purchased the materials I need. Unfortunately, I don't have access to all my "equipment" (like cutting boards and glue) so I haven't been able to see if I can actually make the design in my head.

This is my last week of my "summer break." So sad. It's been pretty cloudy too (because it is monsoon season) so I haven't spent much time at the pool the past two weeks. I'm planning to remedy that this week if the weather will cooperate!

A New Thing to Love about AZ

2010-07-22T08:45:00.001-07:00

I found a new love in AZ....a designer shoe outlet! I found a pair of shoes I've been admiring at the Charles David store that were $175 for...drum roll....$65! Wowzers what a great deal! I don't think they are the exact same pair, but very similar (a tan leather strappy wedge- a perfect AZ summer/fall/spring shoe). I'm sure they are last year's version. Of course I was dying to wear them, so I wore them yesterday to the mall. What am I an amateur? I know better than to wear new shoes to the mall. Blisters. Ugh. But, they looked great and I got several compliments on the dress I had on. I've worn the dress several times and never gotten complimented, so I think it was the shoes that made the dress look better. Besides, I'm like 5'9" in these shoes because of the platform, which is awesome.

Of course, I just googled the shoe online to get a picture and saw it for $36.99. Really?! They didn't have my size but.... I've really gotta work on my online shopping skills. My friend Shannon told me that she was buying my Michaels Korrs watch on Amazon. She got it for $75 less than Jason paid for it at Dillards. Bummer. I didn't even know Amazon had watches. Apparently, they have tons of stuff for lower prices than the stores. I'm still old fashion when it comes to shopping. I like to touch it, hold it, try it on, visit it several times, hope for it to go on sale or that I get a coupon, then decide I really really NEED it. I also like the instant gratification of wearing my purchase as soon as I want vs. the delayed gratification of waiting on the shipment. But, for the savings, I'm gonna try to start doing more online shopping. Look at in the store, then try to find it cheaper online.

Today is the home inspection. Hopefully everything will go well! I'm going out for the whole thing and meeting with a closet designer ("Classy Closets") while I'm there. The master closet needs some help.

The Great Houdini and other stories

2010-07-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

We have a Houdini in the house. That's right, our little Maddy put on a few disappearing acts, along with other tricks. When we first moved into our bigger room here at the resort, I let her out on the porch with me. It is a massive porch and I thought she would enjoy looking around. Little did I know, their is an opening at the edge of our porch that leads to the porch of the room next door. This continues all the way down to the end of the building. I looked just as she squeezed under the opening. I immediately began yelling TREAT TREAT TREAT for her to come back. I could not see her through the opening. Jason ran outside to look at the balconies and found her ALL THE WAY AT THE END. She wasn't scared at all. Just moseying around sniffing. He got her attention and started running towards our room calling her name. She thought it was a game and followed (thank goodness). She finally came back home and no dogs have been on the balcony since.

Then last night, she somehow pushed open the bathroom door and got in the bathroom trash can. After getting in a big heap of trouble over that trick, I later noticed she was no longer laying by the couch. We started looking for her everywhere and she was no where to be found. Guess where we found her? In a cabinet in the kitchen. She had opened the cabinet, crawled in, and was licking food off the paper plate in the trash can!!!! WOW Maddy wow. Jason pulled her out of their with a tomato on her tail. Needless to say, she got in MASSIVE trouble. I just knew she would throw up last night, but she didn't. Now, a lot of people say dogs don't have memory, but let me tell you, my little Maddy definitely does. This morning after Jason left she headed straight for that cabinet again (she wouldn't dare do it if Jason had been home because she would have been too scared). OOO big trouble again. I've taken the trashcan out and put it on the counter. I guess we are going to have to childproof our lower cabinets because apparently Maddy has tremendous skills.

Maddy has quite the personality too. She is the boss of Miley most of the time (or so Miley allows her to think until it is something Miley cares enough about to put Maddy in her place) and the boss of me as well. She just refuses to mind me at all. I try my low voice, my scary voice, my sad voice, my disappointed voice, my frustrated voice, my mad voice...nothing gets through to her. Of course she minds Jason very well. I don't mind too bad because I get all the snuggles, but it can be frustrating because she really likes to scratch you with the toe nail she chews into a sharp point. Sometimes Miley will step in for me and punish Maddy. The other day Maddy was scratching and whining to get on the couch. Miley was tired of hearing it, stood up, stiff armed Maddy, then held her down and snapped at her. It worked because Maddy stopped.

For Miley's birthday last week, I got Miley a pink flamingo toy. We held Maddy when I gave it to Miley so Miley would know it was hers and give her some time to smell it over and play with it. As soon as we put Maddy down, she ran over and took it from Miley. I got them a new bed too (it is so precious and says "You had me at Ruff" (Maddie's nickname is Ruffie because she does a low, quiet "ruff" for barks alot). After I gave them the bad, Maddy took the flamingo and got on the bed. And just looked at Miley like "ha ha." Unfortunately, Miley's other two presents didn't work out so well. I got her a bikini (for the pool of course) but it was a weee bit too small. So was the new harness. So those went back to the store. Bummer birthday. I hate getting clothes that are too small for gifts.

She can be so funny sometimes too. She is still quite the puppy (she will be 1 at the end of August). Yesterday Jason was throwing the ball and the girls were chasing it. He hid around the corner and I told him when they were running back. When they got close, Jason jumped out and did a low bark at them. Maddy SCREAMED! It was HILARIOUS! She screamed like a human who just got scared would have. Miley threw the ball in the air. They ran opposite directions. They were both so startled. They came running right back to attack Daddy with kisses (as if they were laughing too). We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.

The carpet here is green with brown swirls. The brown swirls make "hangers" (poops that didn't quite make it on the paper) difficult to see. This has led to me stepping on 2 hangers barefoot. Fun fun. Yesterday Jason woke me up as he was getting ready to leave and said "you've got a friend." I said "What?" and he said "roll over." I did and there was a small hanger IN THE BED NEXT TO ME. Jason laughed and laughed.

Even with poop in my bed next to my head, I'm forever grateful to have these girls in my life. They are the "apples of my eye" and bring us tremendous joy. Dogs are a lot of work, frustrating at times, and quite expensive, but they are worth every bit of it.

Our New House!

2010-07-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

We finally bought a house! Signed the contract at 6:45 pm tonight. We are really excited. It is 2000 sq feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with office, family room, formal living/dining, and a pool! We love it. It is such a charming house with architectural details and plantation shutters! There is a grassy area too for the girls to run around. We are planning to update the back yard.

Outside front
Pool

Kitchen

Dining

Mountains

Kitchen upclose

Formal living area- see the shutters!

Nook

Pool

Den

Covered porch

Formal

Office

Waterfall into pool

Another Offer Out

2010-07-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we put in another offer. This will be the 3rd property we have offered on. The listing agent said he was getting calls on it every 10 minutes and was expecting two other offers, so the odds are not sounding great. I'll let you know how it goes.

I am actually doing something work related today for the first time since I left Walmart. I am going to a planning meeting for the Phoenix chapter of the Organization of Women in International Trade. It is a start-up chapter who is getting ready for their first official meeting. A contact from Walmart introduced me to a couple of board members and they invited me to this meeting. I'm excited to see what they have going on.

Tomorrow is a big day for us. It is Miley's 2nd birthday!!! I've got to work on her party today. Miley asked for a certain theme for her party, so I've got to see if I can find some partyware to go with her theme.

Tonight is Big Brother night! Wed, Thurs, and Sundays are my favorite nights in the summer because of Big Brother. It is weird this year because I know one of the contestants (not real well...just from pageants). She isn't doing very well so far, so hopefully she will turn it around soon. In fact, there is a "Saboteur" this year, which is a contestant whose task is to sabotage everyone. We think it could be her.

Tonight also marks the start of Miss Arkansas preliminary competition. I'm excited because they are streaming the pageant live on the internet this year! I wanted to be there SO bad to watch Sarah give up her crown, but the flights are so expensive. At least this way I can watch her live online! AND since it is 2 hours behind here, I won't have to stay up late watching the pageant like all those in AR. AND best of all, I have a MUTE on my computer, so I can mute all the stuff I don't want to hear!! haha!

Friends

2010-07-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

So many wonderful things are happening in my friends' lives! I am just filled with happiness knowing that they are happy and well.

Melissa had her baby girl, Landry, on July 1. I was hoping she would come on the 30th because that is Stacy's birthday. I could not sleep until I got word that she was here and all was well with both mom and baby! I simply cannot WAIT to meet this little angel. I am SO product of Melissa. She went as natural as she could until it was no longer safe. She was in labor for around 2 days. I can't even imagine! My "birth plan" will be give me drugs early and often! Haha!

Sarah got engaged on Saturday night to her boyfriend (and longtime friend of mine) Ryan! Jason and I are thrilled for them. We are really going to miss them while we are here in Scottsdale. I told her that they should move to Scottsdale too...in fact they can just move into the adjoining room in the hotel since we will probably still be here! She is going to be a gorgeous bride!

Stacy's wedding is quickly approaching! My parents and I are going to LA in August for her wedding shower! Yay! It will be good for her to have some fun wedding experiences because wedding planning has been a bit stressful I think (Shock and Awe from all those who have ever been involved with planning a wedding- haha). I'm trying to plan a trip out this month to go dress shopping. Jason and I may be adventurous and drive out!

It feels like everyone is having babies right now. A couple of years ago, all my friends and acquaintances were getting married. Now everytime I get on facebook someone is posting pictures of sonograms and babies. Good think I like baby pictures!

No luck with house. We were seriously considering putting an offer in on another property today only to find out someone beat us to it. FRUSTRATION ABOUNDS in the Wood family.

Well, Rachael Ray is on (my new favorite show now that I'm a stay at home wife) so I better quit blogging now.

Offers Schmoffers

2010-07-09T19:56:00.002-07:00

Ugh. This house buying business is sure frustrating. We put in an offer on Tuesday on another property. After 2 counteroffers we finally came to agreement on price. We could not agree on closing date. They wanted to wait 60 days. Obviously we did not due to our current living arrangements (that situation being not having our stuff, paying for storage, and living in temporary living for 2 months now). Well despite their changing myriad of reasons on why they needed to wait, we were not willing to it back that far. They opted out. SO, back to looking at houses again. I keep telling myself this is God's way of protecting us some how. But, our poor realtor. We've looked at 60-70 houses already.

Tonight I attempted to cook southern veggie sliders. We only have a couple pots and pans so I had to brown them in a wok. HA. They turned out great anyway and we've requested some more pots and pans.

My car arrived at 8 pm yesterday. Now this move feels real. Until now, we haven't had any of major possessions with us. It sure is great to have my car back though. I love it SO much. I don't know if I'll ever drive another type of car...unless it is a Bentley! HA!

Pictures from the West Wing

2010-07-07T08:32:00.004-07:00

These are a few pictures from my West Wing tour in May. Tomorrow...Shanghai.

Our group outside the White House.

The Presidential seal above the West Wing entry

The White House

I can't remember what this building is called, but it is next to the West Wing.

The press room.

Me in front of the podium in the press room.

Our group in front of the press room.

Outside the press room.

Life's a Vacation

2010-07-06T14:54:00.003-07:00

As I was floating in the pool on my new "Springfloat" raft admiring the surrounding palm trees and bright blue sky this weekend, I thought to myself "I really feel like I'm on vacation, but I'm not....this is just my life now!" I've been saying that I'm tricking myself about the move by telling myself that it was just an extended vacation, but I now realize, that it IS an extended vacation.

Scottsdale is, in its own way, simply beautiful. The sun rises early unveiling a bright, clear blue sky. As the sun finally sets late in the day (and I mean late like almost 9pm) the sky changes to vibrant oranges, reds, and pinks, which have a dramatic effect on the surrounding mountains. The night sky is filled with millions of stars. The city has very few streetlights so as not to dim the shiny stars.

The city itself is quite interesting. While it is one of the largest cities in the U.S., the "old west" still permeates the city. It is as if the cowboys, Indians, and Hispanics all collided here in this area because there are strong influences from all of their cultures. From street names, to architecture, to highway decorations, the city has not lost its heritage and I love that its character has remained mostly intact throughout the great expansion and modernization. Many of the large neighborhoods here end with the word "ranch" (like Scottsdale Ranch, Tatum Ranch, Gainey Ranch, etc). This is because just 10-20 years ago (depending on which area) these were actually ranches....like ranches with horses and corrals. It is difficult to picture the city that way, but nearly everyone we meet remembers those days. There is still lots of horse property around, with a few corrals right on major thoroughfares. The city is spattered with "Trail Xing" signs with a cowboy on a horse. Love it! I took a picture of one that I will post later.

I love the mix of cacti and palm trees. I found my favorite street (coincidentally very close to my new office) called Via de Ventura. It is lined with palm trees on both sides and down the middle (I took a picture of this too that I will post). It reminds me of Beverly Hills and my sister every time I drive past it.

As for the 4th, we spent our long weekend at the pool, working out, eating, shopping, and driving around. Nothing very exciting...just enjoyed being together and relaxing. We've been away from each other so much since the beginning of March that it is almost weird to be together so much! We saw the movie Knight and Day and loved it. Very entertaining.

Tan...Check

2010-07-03T20:36:00.002-07:00

After only a few hours (spread over 3 days) at the pool, I have acquired a nice tan (without burning might I add thanks to good sunscreen application). A tan here is an important thing. It signifies that you belong. It is easy to spot the visitors and newbies by their pasty white skin. Jason has been called out as a non local a couple of times already due to his pale state. A car guy even came up to ask where we were from because he had a bet with the other car guys that we weren't from here (even though we were driving a car with AZ plates). So, I am proud to say I now look like an Arizonan.

Yesterday we went househunting again. Checked out some of our favorites again. We think we have decided on one, but there are a couple new ones we want to see too. Nothing moving too quickly on that front unfortunately.

Last night we went to my new favorite restaurant Jalapeno Inferno. This is the 3rd time we've eaten there. It is mexican and soooo good! Especially the guacamole! After dinner we went to see Eclipse, the third twilight movie. It was great. Doesn't even compare to how amazing the book was, but it was fun nonetheless.

Today we went to the pool for a couple hours, made lunch, then went shopping for a bit, then made dinner. Pretty uneventful day.

Job...Check and Happy Birthday Stacy!

2010-06-30T21:41:00.004-07:00

What a terrific day! Today I accepted an offer, so I officially have a new job!!! I will be working at Kutak Rock LLP (www.kutakrock.com) as an attorney practicing in the area of International Trade. I am beyond excited for this fantastic opportunity to work for such a wonderful firm. Kutak is a national firm with over 400 lawyers working across the country. I will be working in their Scottsdale office.

Today is also my sister's birthday! I cannot believe she is 35. It seems like just yesterday we were kids doing somersaults in the backyard. Now we are both all grown up, married (or about to be) and living out west! She has accomplished so much in her first 35 years on Earth and will undoubtedly achieve even more success in the next 35! This year alone is going to be such an exciting year with her upcoming marriage to Andrew! I can't wait to see what all life has instore for the rest of her 35th year and am so glad I'll be close enough to see her whenever I want!
Happy Birthday Stacy!!!!

And still there is one more exciting thing...Melissa is having her baby! I don't know if it has been born yet, but I'm hoping so because that means Landry and Stacy will have the same birthday! How cool!! The last update I got was at 9pm my time (11 in AR) saying she was getting ready to push! I've been praying for Melissa and this baby girl for months now and will be rejoicing when I get the news that Landry is here and everyone is doing well! Bringing a new life into this world is a miracle on Earth! God is good!

Off to bed! Nighty night.

Picture of the new car

2010-06-30T13:53:00.002-07:00

This isn't the actual car, but this is exactly what it looks like....

Car...Check

2010-06-29T21:48:00.002-07:00

I bought Jason a car today! One thing off the list! Yay! It is a black Hyundai Santa Fe. Oddly enough, it is the same car as our rental (we really liked the rental and happened to find on). We wanted to get an SUV because we plan to take a lot of road trips exploring the surrounding areas! I did it all by myself, which I told Jason was good for me since I need to be able to function on my own. I had a really nice sales guy and since we had been looking for a month I was prepared.

I looked at a house today...again it was not for us. Ah the search continues. We are both SO ready to find something, but we don't want to settle on a house just because we are tired of looking.

We ate at a fabulous restaurant tonight to celebrate my car buying! It is called Bandera. We had a grilled artichoke (my FAVE appetizer), barbecued salmon, and a homemade oreo ice cream sandwich. Everything was amazing! Quite a special treat for me!!!!

There are SO many amazing restaurants in Scottsdale. I hope to try tons of them! The hard part will be not to find favorites and just go back to those over and over, which I tend to do. I am very much a creature of habit.

When Jason got home today he kept thinking the housekeeper had come while I was gone. I said, "no honey, this is what it is like when you have a wife that stays home."

111 Degrees!

2010-06-28T20:56:00.002-07:00

It was 111 degrees today. It was so hot that I almost got sick car shopping. I had to go home, eat some ice cream, and take a long nap to cool off. I will say though, that while it is definitely hot, it is much better than the AR weather last week with the high humidity.

I checked out a couple houses, but wasn't crazy about them for one reason or another. I'm checking out a few more tomorrow.

We tried out a new restaurant (new for us) tonight called Brio. It was beautifully decorated and delicious.

The girlies are doing well and seem to like the hotel. I am hoping to get them groomed this week because they need it desperately.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that weird not to be at work today. I just feel like I'm on vacation. I keep reaching for my work phone and then remember that I don't have one anymore. Then I feel lost. Hopefully I will have a new one soon.

Sweet Home Arizona

2010-06-27T20:08:00.002-07:00

Today we officially moved to the 5th largest city in the U.S. We caught a 7:30am Southwest flight out of Little Rock so that we could have a direct flight to Phoenix. This was Miley and Maddy's first time flying and they did SO good. I was so proud of them. In fact, their mother was much more stressed than they were. They cried a little here and there but we sat at the back of the plane and no one around us could even hear them.

We are settling into our temporary home- Xona Resort (www.xonaresort.com). We don't know how long we will be here, but it is nice for now. It has a den, full kitchen, bedroom, and 2 balconies. The resort is a little older and has 4 pools. The girls seem to like it so far.

We all took a long nap when we got in and then Jason and I went car shopping again. And again we were unsuccessful. I hate car shopping and Jason hates car shopping. Hopefully, we will find something soon.

I am going to check out some more houses tomorrow. At least looking at houses is fun. Our offer on the last house was rejected. The seller's have unreal expectations, so we will let them settle in a bit and try again if we don't find something else.

My last week at work was so emotional. I dearly miss my friends already. They are so wonderful and made me feel so special. I don't know how I will survive without them!

We got to see a lot of our family yesterday. My mom cooked an incredible meal with all my favorites (fried okra, mac-n-cheese, squash, and blackberry cobbler)! Yummo!

I have been asked to keep my blog updated daily during the transition, so I will try my best to do that. I plan to take some time off and relax for a couple weeks. Life has been so hectic since the beginning of March and I think I need a breather.

Still anxiously awaiting the arrival of Melissa's baby girl Landry! I am was really hoping she would come before I left. I simply cannot wait to see her. I know she will be the most beautiful baby girl ever born!!!!

Until tomorrow!

Choices

2010-06-22T19:15:00.002-07:00

They say life is a series of choices. I am reflecting on this concept as I face many tough decisions.

The choices start out simple. As a baby, we only must decide whether to sleep or cry. As a toddler, whether to drop the fork on the floor and whether to take the first step. As a young child the decisions become more challenging- what is your favorite color. It isn't until high school that we seemingly have to make the life altering choices- do you want to go to college and what college to attend. What no one really tells you is its all up hill after that. The decisions start compounding and are no longer independent. The choices start leading you down paths, some of which are dead ends others are one way.

So what happens when we make a wrong turn. What if all of our decisions were the wrong one? What if I'm not living the life I was born to live and with every decision I make I get further from that life? What if I was on the right path until we decided to move away from everything we've ever known? And now what happens that I have another person to think about and am making decisions jointly? What if we disagree and we compromise? Am I straying from my own destiny?

How, HOW do we know what the right decision is? Many people have their theories on life. It's luck, it's divine blessings, it's knowing the right people, or it's timing. I believe that it is a combination of all of those things, but right now, timing seems to be key. Only a few days after we made the decision that Jason would accept the promotion, several promotion opportunities became available for me. Had those surfaced just a couple of weeks earlier, my future could be vastly different....or maybe we still would have made the same decision. I think back at many of the decisions I've made in life and wonder if I made the right decision and where life would have taken me had I chose differently. I guess that is one of the great mysteries of life.

I realize that most of the time I think too much for my own good, and I know I can't dwell on these thoughts. We can only ensure we give adequate thought to our decisions and have faith that the choice is the right one. And hope that if it isn't, it will work itself out for the best.

Clearly, as I sit here in my apartment alone (with my girls) I have too much time to think. I have only four more days to live in Arkansas, the state where I have spent the last 28 years...my whole life. The place where the majority of my family and friends reside. The fact that I am leaving Sunday to MOVE has yet to hit me...that I know. I keep thinking about how I'll spend my days at the pool when I get there and that allows me to trick myself into thinking this is just a vacation. And maybe it is just that- an extended vacation.

Offers Offers

2010-06-17T19:48:00.002-07:00

Today was a day for offers I guess. It was a crazy day, but a good day!

We finally found a house we like enough to offer on! I haven't seen it, just photos. Jason got to check it out and just loved it. We got the offer drawn up, but since Jason is travelling home we couldn't get both signatures, so it won't be submitted until tomorrow. We are both excited, but not getting our hopes up. I watch HGTV....I know how these things can go :)

The other offer today was J O B offer! I still need to evaluate the offer and decide if this is the right opportunity for me, but it is such a stress relief. It is a "dream job" for me!

Things seem to be coming together so that is definitely comforting. I feel like I've holding my breath as the air leaked out of my swimmies, (sometimes very slowly and sometimes with a big gush) and I sunk to the bottom of the ocean. I finally feel like I'm resurfacing and can breathe again, but I'm keeping my nose plug on just in case my swimmies pop. Ha.

My last week of work is next week. I am SO sad. I've complained alot about my job over the past two years, but I've loved what I do and the people I work with. I'm going to miss them terribly. I cried at work twice last week, first when I had to tell the whole team that I was leaving and second when I had to start transitioning my work to another person. I NEVER realized how emotionally attached I am to my work. The past two years have been incredible. I have learned and experienced so much in such a short time. I will never forget where I came from and how grateful I am for those experiences.

To Scottsdale We Move

2010-06-02T19:22:00.002-07:00

Yes, that's right. Jason and I are moving to Scottsdale. Jason got a promotion and it was too good to refuse, so I am quitting my job at the end of the month and we are relocating to Scottsdale.

Things have been insane since Jason got the offer. Things are moving SO fast. Not to mention, I have hardly been home since mid-March. To say it was a madhouse would be an understatement. Sometimes I have to sit down and really convince myself this is happening because it doesn't seem real. I am sure it won't until I am living there for a few months.

It is a time filled with mixed emotions. Career wise I am happy and proud for my husband and I am sad for me. While I have my complaints about life at Walmart, I very much enjoy what I do. I really hope to continue working in international trade. I will keep you posted on jobs for me. Personally, we will miss our family and friends tremendously, but we know it will be good for us to expand our horizons and experience life outside of Arkansas. Plus, we will be much closer to my sister, which is BEYOND EXCITING! AND, everyone is welcome to come and visit any time!

Scottsdale is 1 hour from Sedona, 2 hours from snow skiing, 3 hours from the Grand Canyon, 3 hours to the beach, 4 hours from Vegas, and 5 hours from Stacy! You can't beat that! Not to mention we will have all pro sports including the CARDINALS, SUNS, and Diamondbacks. So that is awesome. We will have so much to do that we won't know what to do.

We have not found a house out there yet. Jason's company is buying our house so that made things much easier. We are really hoping to find something soon. Apartment living does not work with the girls. Too many noises to keep them disturbed! I had only one condition to moving and that was that we get a pool! I would not want a pool in AR, but it is worth it in AZ because you can use it almost year round. Besides when it is 115 degrees in August, I will be dying and the pool will cut down on complaints from me!!!

Blame China

2010-05-25T22:09:00.004-07:00

Well apparently the Chinese government caught wind that I was blogging from the country and blocked the blogspot website! So weird because last time I had no trouble. Thus, no blog posts from me last week in China.

It was a very good trip. Shanghai was sooo cool. However, I will say I only thought I knew what smog was before Shanghai. My goodness. I doubt they have seen the sun in quite some time. Very sad.

I got home around midnight on Saturday, had a few hours with Jason, then took him to the airport.

I leave for D.C. tomorrow. I am really excited about this trip since I have never been to D.C. before! It looks like we will have a little bit of time here and there to do some sightseeing. And we are touring the West Wing one night! Super cool.

After this trip I'll be home for a week then head to New York for a few days. I really hope to go to a broadway show. I haven't been to NY since I was 16 and I am going alone, so this should be quite interesting.

So much going on right now that I feel like I can't catch my breath. Sunday we were at Target and I saw a car with an Arkansas sticker. I pointed and said to Jason "look an Arkansas sticker!" He looked confused and said "so?" And then I realized that I was IN Arkansas.....

Live from Tokyo

2010-05-15T01:28:00.002-07:00

Hello All!

I am sitting in the Tokyo airport right watching the massive planes come and go. I should be working on a presentation or three, but I got bored and opted to surf the internet.

The long 13 hour flight to Tokyo was pretty good. Not my best, but not my worst. I couldn't sleep much so I watched a few movies and read some work stuff. I finally got to see Nine (a muscial movie) which I very much enjoyed. I love music and I love movies so musicals are the greatest thing ever for me (even the not so good ones). I wish they made more musicals today. I also watched Avatar again. I didn't think I would enjoy it very much if it wasn't in 3D, but I loved it.

We will be boarding in about 30 minutes for the last leg of the trip...a 5 hour flight Hong Kong (we being me and Bob). I really need to stay awake because it will be 10 pm when we land, even thought it will be 8 am at home. Fortunately, I have some little white pills to help me sleep if need be.

Not sure what we will do tomorrow. I've got some work to do, so I will probably take my computer somewhere by the harbor and work/watch the boats. There are SO many boats in the harbor, you can't even imagine. There is never a second where at least one boat is not passing by. It is so cool. If you ever get the chance to go to Hong Kong, you must go! You will love it. I feel so fortunate to have been able to explore the city in the last year.

Well, I better start my pre-boarding routine of packing up and going to the bathroom. Will blog from Hong Kong!

Mini Vacation

2010-05-11T07:55:00.002-07:00

On a mini vacation in Scottsdale right now. Jason had a meeting in town today so I opted to go along and enjoy the beautiful resort. I got up early and went for a run this morning. Got lots of things planned for the rest of the day.

We had a wonderful mother's day weekend in Sheridan. Stacy and Andrew came in too. We got to see all of our family (Jason's parents on Friday and my family on Saturday). It was great. The boys played lots of ping pong and wii while the girls cooked.

It's a Crazy Life...But it's my life

2010-04-27T16:23:00.002-07:00

I haven't gotten around to blogging lately. Things are CRAZY CRAZY right now. I can't divulge all of the details yet, so you'll just have to trust me (even though I feel like I'm always saying my life is crazy....I'm like the little boy who cried wolf!). This time even my poor babies are stressing out and have had to go on antibiotics.

Speaking of babies, my littlest baby Maddy is being spayed on Friday. Pray for her, then pray for me. This is difficult for me (and Jason) on so many levels. Primarily, any surgery brings back horrible memories of my dear Sophie and makes me just sick that Maddy is having to suffer through this. It also makes me sad because it means she is growing up, but of course she and Miley will ALWAYS be babies to me. I'll be staying home all weekend to care for her.

After this weekend, I'm going to be on the road a lot. I will be away from home from May 7-May 28 with only a few days at home. Jason and I are going to Sheridan May 7 and 8th for Mother's Day weekend. Stacy is coming in town so that is SUPER fun!! We are heading out to Scottsdale on May 9-12 for a quick break to the desert since Jason has to go out for meetings. I'll get back on Wed night then leave for a 8 day trip to China!! I'm very excited for this trip because I will be spending half of my time in SHANGHAI! This will be my first time in Shanghai and I'm soooo glad I will get to see a bit more of China! Anyway, I'll leave there on Saturday May 22nd and get home that night. Apparently Shanghai is a lot easier to travel home from- I've got a direct flight from Shanghai to Chicago which eliminates several long layovers that I usually am forced to endure. Then I turn around and leave on Wed 5/26 for DC! Yet another brand new experience! I've never been to DC and we are getting a tour of the West Wing!!! SO cool!

All of this fun travel means a lot of time away from home, a lot of packing, and a lot of airports (8 to be exact)!! Of course, it also means a lot of frequent flier miles for my Europe trip so it is definitely a pretty good trade off.

Colorado Pictures

2010-04-18T19:16:00.022-07:00

First Scrapbook

2010-04-15T21:38:00.013-07:00

I made my first scrapbook today! It is a chipboard album that spells the word LOVE. My friend Donna makes these and they are so cute, so I wanted to try one. It was a bit challenging, but after I got started the creativity started flowing.

1st Anniversary

2010-04-07T20:16:00.003-07:00

I have to tell you, my husband did a FANTASTIC job on my first anniversary gift. The traditional gift is paper and we both wanted to stick to the traditional gift. So, Jason framed our house plans for me and had a plaque added that says "Our First Home". This house is so special to house because not only is it our first home, but we designed and built it ourselves. We had such a wonderful time during the building process and now will always have the beautiful framed print to remind us of that experience. And...the house plans are paper. So he stayed within the parameters of the gift.

I got Jason 2 gifts. The main gift has not come in yet, so I'll update after he gets it. In addition to the MIA gift, I also made him a memory book online that highlights all of the big events from our first year of marriage. I was worried how it would turn out since I had never done an online scrapbook, but it turned out GREAT. I highly recommend trying it out if you haven't. It is a little time consuming, but nothing compared to making a scrapbook. I did it on Walmart.com and it was pretty inexpensive. It is a nice, hardbound book with a full color photo front. It was $25 for 24 pages I think. I added a couple of pages which put the grand total at $27.88. Definitely worth it.

To celebrate the anniversary of our big day, we watched our wedding video and ate the frozen piece of wedding cake. The cake is still as delicious as it was a year ago. It may not have looked to pretty due it being too moist to hold up, but man, it tasted amazing. I've got to get that recipe so I can make it in the future.

My parents have had my girls since last Friday and I am missing them terribly. Thankfully Sarah is bringing them up tomorrow! I'm just dying to get kisses from those little furballs! It just is not the same here without them!!!

Home for a bit

2010-04-06T18:04:00.002-07:00

We had a fabulous weekend in L.A.! It's been 2 years since I had been so I was way past due for a visit.

Stacy and I went dress shopping on Saturday with her friend Catherine! It was so much fun! Catherine and I have identical taste. Unfortunately our taste is completely opposite of my sister. We kept trying to talk her into lace, ruffles, rhinestones, bows, you name it. Stacy wants plain and simple. She looked fabulous in every dress she tried on, but was able to find a few favorites! I can't wait to see what she decides on!

While the girls were dress shopping, Jason and Andrew went out to the Dodger exhibition game. They sat in the box on the field and ate themselves into a food coma. Jason got a pretty nice sunburn as a souvenir. After the game they went to a movie set to visit a couple of Andrew's clients. Jason thought it was pretty awesome. He was amazed that they did 6 takes of guy walking on a plane.

We all met up at the potential wedding site in Malibu. It is sooooo amazing. It is on a low cliff overlooking the pacific ocean. It is perfect because you get the overlook from above but it is close enough to the water to hear the waves. There is also a beautiful hotel and club area for the reception.

We had delicious traditional italian food for dinner with Andrew's brother. It was a lot of fun. His brother was so sweet and called me his new sister. We took a really cute "family pic" that I will have to get from my sister. I'm SO excited to have new brothers. They are the best!!!

I also got to talk to Stacy's future mother in law. She was so sweet and asked all about me. She said she would come visit me soon. There is more to that story, but I can't share it at this time.

Sunday was our 1 year anniversary and Easter. It was a special day. The four of us and a few of Stacy's closest friends walked to brunch at the Farm. It was super yummy. We all hung out the rest of the day, the boys playing video games and the girls talking weddings (Stacy's friend is getting married to). For our anniversary dinner we ordered Chinese food! Very romantic! HA! We were all exhausted so it was perfect.

On Monday we rode to work with Andrew. You won't believe what happened on the way.....His client, Ricky Gervais, called! We practically got to talk to Ricky on the phone! I mean we heard him talk for around 20 mins. Pretty awesome!

I can't wait to go back for our next visit. We have all promised that we won't wait so long between visits any more!

I am hoping the travel is over for a little while, but I don't have high hopes. I realized that I haven't been in the same time zone for more than 5 days in a month (China, home, CO, home, LA, home). It is really taking a toll on me. There is SO much going on in our lives right now. It is exciting, but it is also stressful being so busy.

Blah Blah

2010-04-01T19:12:00.002-07:00

I don't really have anything to blog about. Being back to work after a week vacation is no fun. Work itself has been pretty mudane yet frustrating this week. I took donuts today to remind everyone the next phase of the Lacey act was going into effect, which always goes over well.

No one played any April Fools jokes on me. Bummer. I played a couple on my friends Donna and Heather. I got cursed with an "i hope you get pregnant" as my punishment for the joke. I guess I've made it pretty clear I don't want a baby any time soon if that's the worst they can wish on me! ha!

My friend Bob said I wrote something on my blog a while back complaining about a meeting with legal. I told him I never said such a thing because meetings with legal are the highlight of my week. I've gotta go back and see what I said now because I'm paranoid.

The highlight of the week is tomorrow because we are leaving for LA tomorrow night! I am going out to see my beautiful sister and celebrate her engagement!! We are going wedding dress shopping on Saturday and then going to see a potential wedding site in Malibu on Sunday.

Oh and it's our first wedding anniversary on Sunday! In some ways I can't believe it has been a year and in other ways it seems like it has been five. I feel so bad because Jason has been working on my gift for weeks and he already has it. Because of all my travels, I just started on his this week and since it is being made, he won't be getting it until next week. I feel terrible, but he doesn't seem to broken up about it.

I learned about a new computer program- Skype! My mom told me about it. I'm pretty sure most of the modern world has been aware of it for quite some time so I'm a bit behind. It lets you call computer to computer and video talk! It is so cool! It can be a bit embarrassing when someone calls and, for example, you are laying on the couch with a towel on your head. Lucky my mom and my aunt and uncle are the only contacts I have! It is free to download and free to call to your contacts- all you need is a webcam! I highly recommend this easy to use program!

Baby Shower and CO Update

2010-03-28T12:50:00.020-07:00

The pink "pom pom" tissue flowers I made because I couldn't find any to buy (thanks to Melissa Conaway and Martha Stewart)

The big flower we made on the chandelier

Signs I made to sit on the table (above) and wooden blocks I decorated and spelled out Zoey Claire (below)

The buffet decorated wtih teh Zoey Claire blocks and a small tissue pom poms (I had plates and napkins here)

The Rick's Bakery cake

Hurricanes filled with crystals and pink

Baby bottles filled with pink crystals and pink girlie books decorated the coffee table

Fruit and pink fruit dip

The table set with everything but the punch

Part of the party-goers and more pink pom poms over the window

The beautiful expectant mother, Maureen, with one of her gifts (a homemade baby book)

We got back from our snowboarding "trip" late Friday night. I had a wonderful week and am happy to report the only injuries I sustained were lots of bruises. No broken bones. Whew. I have decided that these "trips" are not "vacation" because it is a lot of work. I don't have any pictures of snowboarding because I forgot to bring my small camera. I bought a disposable to use on the mountain but will have to get that developed.

We stayed in a gorgeous house (it is our friend Craig's grandmother's house). It was a huge, 3 story, southwestern style home. It has tons of windows that look out over a big pond and a beautiful mountain range. It was just wonderful.

I saw more wildlife on this trip than ever before. We saw elks (more as roadkill than alive), coyotes, and a bald eagle. There are lots of porcupines in the area supposedly, but only Jason got to see one.

We snowboarded for 4 days. We did three days then a day off. We drove up to Durango on the day off. Durango is a cute, old west town. We walked around downtown, had lunch, did some shopping, visited a jelly/jam making shop, watched a movie, and then had a fabulous dinner. It was a nice and much needed break from the snowboarding.

Homeward Bound

2010-03-12T07:02:00.002-08:00

Sitting in the Dallas airport! Woo hoo! We landed here at 4 am and take off at 8:30. Rough. but, only 2 more hours until we take off to head home.

This has been the longest day of my life. Literally. I woke up Friday morning at 6 am. It is now 4 pm on Saturday in China but only 6 am here. So, I had 38 hour day yesterday. Trust me, we all looked like we had a 38 hour day. You know the old saying "if there were only more hours in the day"....well today I had that "luxury" and I'm definitely glad every day isn't this long.

I passed out on the long flight (my first leg of the trip) right after take off and slept for 8 solid hours. It was great! After that I watched a couple of films and then we were in LA.

We all took a shower in the lounge here. This was my first time to ever shower in the airport. I decided that since we had 4 hours here, I might as well make the best use of my time. Especially since I may not get to shower before the baby shower (and that would have been tragic for everyone). Unfortunately, I decided not to carry on my make up or a change of clothes. I'll remember that for next time.

We got out of meetings at 5pm Friday, checked out and ran over to do some quick shopping. We picked up a lot of stuff in an hour and got some decent prices. I even got a "custom made" necklace designed by my co-worked Maja. It's "Chanel by Maja."

This has been BY FAR my best trip over to China. It was also the shortest so maybe that is why. I didn't have any trouble with the time change and felt really good the whole week. I ate more than I usually do because I was finally able to fine some decent things. The downside of that is I didn't lose any weight and probably gained because of all the snickers. Definitely gotta get back to my workouts ASAP.

There are so so many exciting things going on in the next month! It is going to be crazy busy. We are leaving for vacation in Colorado next Friday! Can't wait! I'm getting a little nervous about the skiing part (realizing I haven't been in 9 years and I'm not as young and in shape as I was back then, and even then wasn't very good), but it will be nice to get away for a week. We've also got our FIRST wedding anniversary right around the corner and Courtney's wedding shortly after that! AND my sister is wedding planning so I'm sure there will be lots to do with that! SOOO excited!!!!!

A love hate relationship

2010-03-09T07:34:00.002-08:00

When I was showering tonight, several things I dislike about China (or at least Shezhen) crossed my mind. Then the list kept growing. I thought to myself "there has got to be something good about this place...think!" So that inspired me to make a list of things I love and hate about China.

Love
1. Bartering for good deals
2. Shopping
3. Eating snickers guilt free since I have nothing else
4. Good customer service in many placees
5. Workers smile and laugh alot (mostly laughing at us foreigners trying to order but...)
6. They clean the room twice a day and they do a very thorough job
7. The driving- it is CRAZY and cracks me up
8. That babies pee on the street out slits in their pants (pretty unusual)
9. Crossing the street- it is an adventure.
10. All the holidays

Hate
1. The putrid smell. It is a mix of rotting trash, rotting fish, rotting flesh, urine, feces, vomit, and body odor.
2. The filth. You never feel clean. Even after a shower.
3. The food. It is not vegetarian friendly to put it mildly.
4. The time change. You are tired when you don't want to be and wide awake when you should be sleepy.
5. Different electrical outlets. I have an adapter with 15 pieces and none of them seem to work for my hairdryer.
6. No good TV or cell service
7. Border crossing.
8. Clothes and shoes are all minute so when you look at things shop owners say "i have big size for you"
9. The beggars everywhere
10. Currency exchange rate

Day 2 down...almost

2010-03-08T02:35:00.003-08:00

Day 2 is almost over. It has been a long day. I woke up about 4:30 am when Miley and Maddy sent me an email about their day. I couldn't go back to sleep and I started getting more emails so I just woke up. First I called Jason to see if he heard about my sister. He tried to lie and say it must have been a joke, but he finally fessed up. He said Stacy had been trying to call me all day (my phone does not work here) so I gave her a call and got all the details. Andrew really out did himself. I can't wait to see them!

After the phone calls I headed to the gym for a workout. That was nice and gave me some extra energy for the long day. I showered, then breakfast, then over to the office for the day. Highlight of the day- we went to McDonalds for lunch and a young local girl came up to me and told me I was "so beautiful." How sweet!!

Quite a Surprise

2010-03-07T01:19:00.001-08:00

Well I awoke to buzzing emails this morning. Apparently I slept a little past what I had said I would. I was supposed to meet the boys at breakfast at 8:30 or 9. Apparently after much phone calling and emailing, they finally managed to wake me at 11:30! Way to go Ambien! I never heard the phone ring.

So as soon as I awoke, I scrambled to get ready and meet them for lunch. We went to a Korean BBQ place and I had grilled veggies that they grilled on coals in the middle of the table. It was decent, but not very filling. The most disconceting part was that they chained my purse to my chair. That doesn't really give you a warm, fuzzy feeling.

After that we went to the Neighborhood Market (Walmart grocery store just like in the U.S. except with a petting zoo, as I kindly refer to it). I bought some Snickers because I always crave snickers here. There is something very American and homey about snickers. Then we headed to "Lou Wu" the mecca for knock off shopping. We spent a couple hours here. I did not have anything in particular in mind to purchase. I did however find a pink Spyder ski jacket and some Ryder gloves for my trip next week. Paid $40 bucks for the jacket and $10 for the gloves. Pretty good deal. Those jackets are $400-500 back home.

When I got back home, I thought I should check my emails and how glad I am that I did. To what did my wondering eyes did appear but my dear sister Stacy in a big shiny new ring! I have no details yet but apparently she got ENGAGED!!!! I am beside myself! Cannot wait to hear the details and am hoping this was not a mean joke by my future brother in law because I will seriously kill him if it is.

We are going to go get some dinner at 6 and then settle in and do the work I missed out on this morning.

Until then...

Home Away from Home

2010-03-06T09:48:00.003-08:00

As I walked into the lobby of the Shangri La hotel, my senses were overwhelmed with the all too familiar smell of the Shangri La. All of those who have ever spent much time here know what I am talking about. In fact, they actually sell the scent in a bottle. It smells somewhat like a sweet floral incense. I was greeted by familiar words and faces...."Good evening Ms. Wood....glad to have you back." There is something very comforting about seeing those same faces and hearing those same canned phrases time and time again. They really try to make you feel at home in a land that is anything but like home.

It is raining in Hong Kong and Shenzhen tonight. We were starving when we arrived so I went with two of the men to McDonalds (where I ordered fries and a coke from pictures because it was all Mandarin). It is 1 am here so you can imagine what lurked around. Not danger necessarily, but lots of "ladies of the evening" (as I remember my mom calling them when I was a young girl and we passed several hookers on the way home from the Circus in Little Rock one time and I was oohing over there pretty feather boas). They only slightly harassed my male colleagues.

Of course I crashed on the flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong because it took off about 3 am my time. I always sleep on that flight and then am wide awake by the time I get to the hotel. I am about to take a long hot shower, which sounds amazing after 26 hours in the airport and 4 border crossings. After that, an ambien and a great night of sleep.

Tomorrow is Sunday here. We all are so backed up on work that we plan on working all day long. There is no sightseeing here anyway.

I think this is going to be a very good trip because one of the guys I'm traveling with has been here a ton of times. He knows so much more about things to do and places to eat. He has almsot 1 million frequent flier miles. Pretty impressive.

Well, I'm going to grab that hot shower now. Will update as I can.

Up in the Air- In Tokyo

2010-03-05T22:20:00.002-08:00

Leg 1 of the trip is down! I made it to Tokyo about 30 minutes ago. This flight was much better than last time because I avoided all food except Miso Soup. Last trip, I started feeling sick and that turned into a full blown panic attack. Now I just have to wait 4 hours before boarding the 5 hour flight to Hong Kong.

I several movies, my favorite of which was Up in the Air. I can relate to the lead character (my boyfriend George Clooney) especially now as I am traveling. I was just bragging last week about my airline status and how close I am to executive platinum.

I only slept about 2 hours and I'm not even tired even though it is after midnight my time.

Nothing too interesting or funny happened on the flight. I like the group I'm traveling with- 3 men. They have been really nice.

Well, I'll update soon.

So busy

2010-03-04T17:58:00.002-08:00

I've been crazy hectic chaotic busy the last week. I can't believe I'm leaving for China in the morning. I don't even have my suitcase out of the closet. Wow. I didn't even print off my flight details or select a seat. Dumb.

I'm taking my personal laptop with me this time which means I'll get to blog about all the crazy stuff that happens while I'm in China! This will be great to look back on! There won't be many blogs about the cool things I ate because...well I don't eat much over there. How about I write about how much weight I've lost from not eating! I hope I see monkeys on a rope again.

I was also informed I will be going back to China at the end of March beginning of April. Executive platinum here I come!

I've gotten alot done for the shower, but not near enough. I think I'll just skip sleeping tonight. Thankfully my husband is so helpful and is at Walmart right now getting some more shower items.

Well, that is all for now. I'm afraid to sit too long or I might pass out. I'll update as soon as I can. That will probably be from Tokyo!

The Simple Things

2010-03-02T17:28:00.002-08:00

I would like to start with a quote a friend of mine had on her blog that I just loved. It is from Kate Moss. "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." She is so right. There is nothing better than putting on your "skinny jeans" and knowing you look great. Sometimes it is so difficult to say no to the good stuff (like how I just ate 3 girl scout cookies...but they are tiny). I'm trying ti remind myself of this every time I think about eating something bad. Clearly I had a weak moment just now, but it actually works more often than not.

Anyway, to the point of this post. Someone told me I was a dork today. No not because of my new glasses (although I did get called four eyes by a jokster at work), but because of my "crafty" hobbies. While I readily admit that some of the things I enjoy (not just including crafts) would be characterized as "dorky", I think of it more as enjoying the simple things in life.

Allowing the simple things to make me smile is a choice. I could easily get caught up in the fast paced world in which I live and overlook life's simple pleasures. But, the way I look at things, I don't have time for that. As I have mentioned before, lately I have become very aware of my own mortality. All I have to do is take one look in the mirror to be reminded that life is not only all too short and flying by, but it is also limited in number....one. So, if my being happy by choosing to make my own Christmas cards to express my love and thought to those closest, squealing the glee because the deer are back or a bunny crossed the street, or laughing at stupid jokes makes me dork, then I'm ok with that.

In light of this discussion, I think I'll make a list of things that make me happy....

1. Puppy kisses

2. Fresh flowers

3. Candles burning

4. Clean sheets

5. Water with lemon

6. A good book (especially if Edward Cullen is involved)

7. Photographs

8. Sleeping in when it's rainy

9. Going to the movies

10. Hotel room robes

11. Spellcheck finding no errors

12. Saying "Thank You" when I leave a store

13. Making something delicious to eat

14. Checking the mail

15. Walks around the block with my girls

16. Animals, animals, animals

17. Singing to my favorite songs on my way home from work

18. Baby shoes and socks

19. Christmas trees

20. Making someone smile

Have a great day! I should be packing for China but....I'm going to go make something crafty instead :)

Pink Shower Blues

2010-02-28T18:17:00.002-08:00

"I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies Miss Scarlett."

The phrase that keeps running through my mind as I shop for baby stuff for the shower. I really know nothing about babies or the many things babies require. It always amazes people that I've never fed, changed, bathed, and barely held a baby. I was the baby and we have a small family, so I didn't have lots of young cousins or anything. All I can say is thank goodness Maureen is having a girl because there is one thing I definitely know and that is PINK! I love pink! I've been looking everywhere for a pink tablecloth and cannot find one! I've got a couple of more places before I give up and move to plan B. I've found some great ideas on the internet so I'm hoping to really put something nice and memorable together.

The Chaos Continues

2010-02-27T21:24:00.002-08:00

As if work hasn't been crazy enough lately, this Friday I was informed I would be leaving in a week for another trip to China....in 6 days. While I am thrilled with the opportunity, I prefer to have a bit more notice. It takes a lot of mental preparation for a trip like this. Not to mention I have a baby shower at my house four hours after I get back from the trip. Then I leave 6 days later for a week in Colorado. Then when I get back from CO, the next weekend is our 1st Anniversary and we are going away for the weekend. Then we have planned to go to the Arkansas Derby this year. Then the next weekend is my friend Courtney's wedding.

I'm not sure I am going to make it to the month of May.

Hair cut

2010-02-24T15:39:00.002-08:00

I finally got a hair cut today! I've been trying to get this done for six months and haven't found the time. I made an appointment two weeks ago and was bound and determined to go. Well as usual, I got called into a meeting 30 minutes before I was supposed to leave for my appointment. I was late for the meeting because I was coming back from a different building and then had to leave the meeting early! I felt awful because it was with my VP, but I had to do it. I'm glad I did because I got a super cute new hair cut.

My sister told me about the Seaworld incident and the trainer dying. What a tragedy. So many thoughts come to my mind when something like this happens- "this" being nature versus man. From time to time the two collide. I'm thinking of the Sigfried and Roy incident, elephant trainer deaths, and the famous movie bear that killed his trainer. While I feel deep sympathy for the families of those whose loved ones lost their lives, I also feel compassion for these poor creatures. Man takes these animals out of their natural habitat and treats them like circus clowns for their own financial gain. These creatures did choose this life. We cannot trump natural instincts. I will say that I love a zoo as much if not more than the next person, but I always feel guilty patronizing something I strongly disagree with. I adore animals and get tremendous happiness from observing them. I fear that this poor whale will be termed a "killer" and will soon be given the death penalty. Is this right? Should we kill a creature who we ripped from its own world and trapped in a small pen for its entire life? This whale is not evil nor is he a murderer. He does not have the mental capacity to will himself to overcome his natural instincts. He does not think about his actions. Many times we show more mercy to human beings who murder than we do animals, yet humans do know right from wrong. I pray that they will attempt to re-acclimate this whale to its natural habitat and give him the chance at a "normal" life. I hope that if he is put to death, people will stand up against the abomination. For some reason that Michael Jackson song from Free Willy just started playing in my head...... I don't consider myself an animal rights activist at all, but I do hate to see any animal suffer. I do believe animals are the most pure and innocent beings walking this Earth and they deserve much more respect than they receive. If that makes me crazy, then so be it.

Ok, off my soap box for now.

Made it!

2010-02-23T17:47:00.003-08:00

I made it through the day! It was a LONG day and I still have work to do, but it is mostly done. I left work at 5:40, so that was ahead of schedule. I decided I would rather work from home than at work.

Funny story. So I went on a tour of a local distribution center today with a group of 10 other women leaders as part of my mentoring circle. We had a regional vice president who gave us a very thorough tour. This RVP is a man and I would guess he is in his 60s. He told us that they have reduced the amount of inventory they hold from $90 billion to $38 billion. At one point he was demonstrating how some of the product they "hand pick" for stores. For example a box of 400 spatulas is divided up by hand to go to the stores because no stores needs 400 spatulas. Well, RVP picked up a box to show us what the label looked like and then he pulled out the product. Out of $38 million dollars worth of product in that DC, he somehow managed to pick up a box of...condoms!!! OH MY GOSH! As soon as he realized what it was, he fumbled to get it back in the box and ended up dropping them in the middle of the women gathered around! No one laughed or even acknowledged what had happened, but believe you me, I was dying laughing on the inside. Later one of the girls came up to me and asked if I saw what the product was and we just burst into laughter! What luck that poor guy had!! Highlight of the week.

Gotta get to work so ttyl!

A day in the life

2010-02-22T19:26:00.002-08:00

I thought this might be interesting to look at in a few months...or years. Below is my schedule for tomorrow. This is a typical day.

5:40a- Alarm goes off. Hit snooze. Push dogs out of my face.

5:45a- Alarm goes off again. Hit snooze....again. Dogs try for kisses again but settle for laying on my chest.

5:50a- Dogs attack me. I get up. Feed Maddy. Put on make-up, fix hair, get dressed.

6:20a- Give the girls and hubby goodbye kisses (girls get more than hubby who is still asleep).

6:20-7:00a- Drive to work. Listen to music-Favorite songs from Twilight, New Moon, Coldplay and Lady Antebellum.

7:00a- Grab a diet coke from the cafe on the way in to work. I wish I could start the day with coffee, but I just can't.

7:00-7:40a- Say good morning to team, log on to computer and start checking emails that came in from China overnight. Eat my breakfast- South Beach Diet Peanut Butter bar.

7:40a- Head to DC for tour.

8:00a-10:00a- DC tour with SVPs

10-11:00a- Department meeting. The new "high profile" projects I am working on will be announced. Thank goodness because it is awkward keeping things secret at work.

11-12:00p- Meeting with legal to prepare for meeting later in the day. That's right- a meeting to discuss what to meet about.

12:00-1:00p- Lunch. Who knows what that will be or if I get an hour. I usually like to get as far away from the office as possible and eat with my friend Heather.

1:00-2:00p- Meeting with SVP and legal on new hong kong sourcing group

2:00-3:00p- Meeting to discuss Co-Ap process (writing job descriptions for all positions in the department to be reviewed by HR to potentially increase everyone's pay). Dreading this. It will be a tedious process.

3:00-3:30p- Desk time. Time to do my "real" job. Check emails and respond to urgent emails. Answer questions from the team. Check voicemails. Return calls.

3:30-4:00p- Give strategy presentation to senior managers of other departments

4:00-5:00p- Desk time! Check emails and respond to urgent, finish presentation and make copies for tomorrow's Kick Off meeting (half day training for my team), and finish my self evaluation. Who am I kidding....this will not get done in an hour.

6-6:40p- Head home from work. Probably with laptop. Listen to music again or talk to Mom.

6:40-7:00p- Welcome home from dogs. Change clothes. Pick up the house because we have a house guest staying the night. Prepare for workout.

7-8:00p- P90X Week 3 Day 6 (kickboxing tomorrow) workout.

8:00-8:30p- Prepare and eat dinner. Luckily after a hard workout cereal and fruit usually suffices. Feed the dogs dinner.

8:30-8:45p- Shower.

8:45-10:30p- Read homework for Financial Peace class. I still have Wed night so I will probably put this off in lieu of talking to my company. Check work emails until bedtime. Watch tv shows. I'm 2 days behind already for the week (Sunday and Monday). That will be 3 by tomorrow since I don't foresee any time for catching up tonight. Play with the girls. Fold laundry. Empty dishwasher or start dishwasher. Thank heavens hubby helps with ...does most of....the chores.

10:30-11p- Bedtime. Crash. Wake up and do it all over again.

Whew. I can't even imagine what I would do with a kid in the mix.

All dressed up with somewhere to go

2010-02-21T18:49:00.002-08:00

On Saturday night Jason and I went to a charity ball for the Boys and Girls club of Benton County. It was a very nice event with lots of suppliers and some WM big wigs. Last year Lee Scott was there, so I was definitely hoping he would be there again, but no luck.

I love dressing up. I pulled out all my cocktail dresses and tried to decide on just the perfect one. Actually I tried to find a new one, but no luck there either. I ended up wearing my rehearsal dinner dress again. It was Jason's favorite. I was just glad it fit since it is a size 0.

Today I held the first Stampin Up Club meeting at my house. We made 5 cards, a box, and candy decor. It was nice to have an afternoon with friends! We talked about everything under the sun. I served homemade "mexico chiquito" cheese dip (I served this last time, but have made some major improvements to the recipe to avoid the hardening issue), apple slices, and red velvet cake. I realize this is quite an odd mix. I woke up with lofty goals for what I would prepare, but it was rainy and I didn't want to go to the store.

Oh, I started the financial peace class this past Thursday. I think it is going to be great. Everyone that has been through it already says that it is life changing. The first "baby step" is to put $1000 in the bank in a money market account as an emergency fund. Over the next 3 months we are supposed to increase the money in this account to cover 3-6 months living expenses. I was excited that I could easily check off the first step! The second step is to pay off all your debt (excluding your mortgage). The only debt I have is my car. I am going to use my bonus money to pay that off. Then I can focus on saving/investing!

As to my stress levels, I have not been very successful in lowering my stress enough to stop my eye twitch. I was able to stop it for one day, but the next day it was back and has persisted. I expect it will stay with me for a while because work is going to be really hectic the next couple of weeks. I've been assigned to two important projects that are going to monopolize my time and I still have my regular job to tend to.

Twins

2010-02-17T16:24:00.014-08:00

I know you are all anxiously awaiting the pictures of my precious angel Maddy's first hair cut! She looks so cute, but I still loved the long puppy hair. Jason summed it up when he called me and said "I dropped off Maddy but I picked up Miley." They look pretty much identical now, except Maddy is smaller. Check it out. Isn't she just adorable!?
BEFORE: (Forgive my appearance, I had just finished working out)

AFTER: It is like she grew up in 2 hours!

Here are some pics of "our" deer in the snow.

I just love animals. They make me so happy. I watched these deer walk around for thirty minutes before I got bored. I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would want to kill one of these sweet, beautiful creatures. I guess somehow it makes people feel significant and powerful. I won't share my thoughts as I tend to be in the minority (at least "around these parts").

The Untreatable Disease

2010-02-16T17:51:00.002-08:00

It's official. I'm stressed out. It's official because a doctor said so. I told him that although it was great nothing was really wrong with me really, that I would rather it have been something treatable. Something a pill would cure. How do you get rid of stress? Isn't that the million dollar question (along with how to prevent aging)? I asked for a doctor's note to take a week off work and he laughed at me. I didn't find it funny. Guess I'm going to start with a kickboxing workout followed by a bubble bath, a good book, and smothering myself in my stress relief lotion. In case you are wondering what the symptoms so you can diagnose yourself instead of wasting your time with a doctor, here ya go- headaches, stomach aches, fatigue, and eye twitches. For me, the eye twitching was the last straw. In the last three weeks I've managed to wink at just about everyone in the office. I'm sure I'm starting to freak some people out.

In other news, Maddy is getting her first hair cut tomorrow! I have such mixed feelings about this. She desperately needs it. She looks like a tiny mop. But it is SO cute and she is such a little girl that I can't imagine leaving her with strangers. I took lots of pictures tonight so I will post the before and after photos tomorrow.

In work news, there are lots of changes going on. The first week of February the company did some restructuring and a lot of people were displaced. The next week our director announced he was moving to a new department. I find these changes exciting. I love change. In fact, I thrive off of constant change. I despise being stagnant. However, it has been interesting to see how others have reacted to these changes. People are definitely posturing for advancement. Others are wrecked with worry over what the future holds. Some are completely clueless that this will impact them at all. I will keep you updated as this unfolds.

Valentine's Day was pretty uneventful, but nice. We didn't have any plans and mostly just relaxed around the house (in light of my stress overload). Jason surprised me with red roses of Sunday morning and made homemade donuts. He also got me a new watch and a new purse (I've been "visiting" the purse weekly for almost two months now). I love them both. I got Jason a watch also. We did not go see the movie "Valentine's Day".

Well, I've gotta go eat my "brinner" (breakfast for dinner) that my husband cooked for me (I was craving it and he cooked it for stress relief). What a sweetie.

Ta ta for now.

What long weekend?

2010-02-11T18:10:00.004-08:00

My sister texted me a few minutes ago asking what I would be doing over the "long weekend." I had no idea what she was referring to. Apparently there is a National holiday on Monday called President's day. My employer does not observe President's day. They only observes 5 holidays. So, although my employer is very much like the Government in many respects, this is one place the two entities are vastly different (hints I also do not get MLK day, Good Friday, etc.). Oh, and I have to work this Saturday too. It is almost like they want to RUB IT IN that we have to work when the rest of the world (including my husband) is enjoying a long holiday while we slave away for endless hours and little pay. Oops did I say that out loud? I sure hope everyone else enjoys there time off (Yes Dad, I know you don't get President's day off either, but you could if you wanted...you are your own boss).

I just caught Miley washing Maddy's face. She had Maddy pinned down on the floor licking her face clean. Sweet and gross all at the same time. What a joy my little girls are, even though they are far from perfect. They have been a bit naughty as of late. Miley has this horrible desire to pull up all the carpet in my house. Everywhere carpet meets tile or wood, she has pulled it up. So, as a true Arkansas, how do we solve the problem....Duck tape. We have strips of duck tape all around our house holding the carpet down so Miley doesn't continue to unravel it. Thank goodness they make other colors now besides silver. At least we have tan that blends in with the carpet....as much as duck tape can blend in with carpet. It is pretty embarrassing, but what else are we to do? There is not point in replacing the carpet yet since Maddy still likes to pee on the carpet from time to time. Oh Maddy. She is my little ragamuffin. She has never had a haircut! She is in desperate need of one but she is just too CUTE with her shaggy hair! I can't bear to cut it!

By the way, I'm still thinking the white car was a mistake. Now that I live in a snowglobe, the roads are always nasty. That means my car is always nasty. It needs a bath desperately. Maybe tomorrow.

Baby Crazy

2010-02-10T19:58:00.002-08:00

Yesterday my mother let me know that she and my dad were awaiting a new blog post. Therefore, I post. I don't really have any topics on my mind lately, however, there has been a lot of discussion about babies around me.

My friend from work, Maureen, is pregnant. She found out in July and I was sitting beside her holding her hand when she found out. It was a complete surprise to her, especially since she did not think she could have another child. She had gone to the doctor thinking she was sick and they called an hour later to let her know she was pregnant! It was one of the most special moments in my life to be sitting with a friend when she heard such wonderful news. Accordingly, there has been much talk of babies around the office. I have enjoyed hearing all about her experiences every day. I will be much more prepared for pregnancy now....

In March I am throwing her a baby shower at my house! I am SO excited. I have never even been to a baby shower, let alone thrown one, so this should be interesting. But, this shower will give me a good reason to do lots of things I love- crafts, cooking, decorating, and use my silver! I am working on the invitations now. They need to go out on Monday (I'm missing the month in advance deadline), so I will post a picture when I finish one.

One of my best friends, Melissa, is also pregnant. She finds out the gender TOMORROW! I cannot wait to find out!!! I'm hoping for a girl, but then again I hope everyone has a girl, so I'm a bit biased. It isn't that I don't like boys, I just don't know boys.

It really seems like everyone is having babies. Tons of girls from my sorority pledge class already have babies or are pregnant. It was just yesterday that I can remember feeling weird because they were all married or getting married and I still had 2 years of school left. I remember feeling such an intense pressure to be getting married too or else be behind. I guess I'll just always be behind. Que sera sera.

What I Learned from Baking a Cake

2010-02-01T09:57:00.023-08:00

Yesterday I decided I would finally make Jason the homemade birthday dinner I promised him...even if 10 days late. I decided on an Italian theme- Lasagna from scratch, Caesar salad, bread, and Italian Creme Cake from scratch. I can't remember the last time I had homemade lasagna!

After almost 4 solid hours of cooking, being covered head to toe in red sauce, flour, and butter, and a big, self-inflicted scratch on my face, 3 burned fingers, and a dishwasher full of dishes, the meal turned out amazing. However, it was not without incident (and the loss of a long time friend- the hand mixer who started smoking while "creaming" the icing). My mom always told me she only cooked because she loved us. I now understand why. You have to either love cooking or love your family to willingly undergo such work. Thank you Mom for all the countless hours you spent cooking delicious meals for us. I know it took a lot of effort, but I have so many wonderful memories of the dishes you used to make that I will carry with me always. I learned everything I know about cooking from my Mom.

While I was cooking yesterday, I realized I was getting a lot more than I bargained for in the learning category. I fully believe that in cooking, you learn by trying and every time you cook something, you get better. I never really correlated all of these experiences to life lessons, until yesterday. I thought you might enjoy hearing what I learned yesterday.

1. Not having the "right equipment" is no excuse- There are many kitchen gadgets that I still do not own. I kept thinking to myself- this would be so much better if I only had a.... (fill in a myriad of kitchen goodies like a really big pot). In fact, I considered not making the cake because of my lack of a stand mixer. I only have a small, cheap hand mixer that I've had for many years. But, I decided not to let that stop me from trying. Was it harder? Yes. Did it work as well? Maybe not. Did I accomplish the same end goal? Absolutely! So, the moral of the story is that just because you don't have the best of something, doesn't mean you can't get to the same outcome as those who do. (Note-Despite this lesson, I will be purchasing a stand mixer this week....)

2. Be resourceful...always- With 4 minutes left until my cake was done baking, I remembered, "oh I need the cooling racks!" I began a fast and furious hunt for the cooling racks. I was scooting around on the floor standing up on the countertops searching Hi and Lo (literally) for my cooling racks. I even managed to pry Jason away from the video game to help me. We did not find the cooling racks. I was about to cry. Whining about how my cakes would be ruined and I had wasted all this time, blah, blah. My brilliant husband, who didn't have my doomsday attitude, came up with a workable option- take the bottom rack out of the oven, prop it up on bowls, and wa-lah- cooling racks! While this wasn't the optimal solution, it worked almost perfectly! So, I learned, when Plan A fails don't give up! Think of another way to achieve the goal!

3. Stay Organized, even if disaster strikes, you can keep going- I started the sauce of the lasagna first. I grabbed one seasoning and added how much it called for then put it away. Then I went back to my recipe and pulled the next seasoning I needed and repeated the process. The sauce had so many different seasonings I got lost and couldn't remember which I put in. At one point I realized I put tsps instead of Tbsps of one ingredient. I had to go back and add more. Then after I got it simmering, I went to the fridge to pull out some cake ingredients and realized I had forgotten the Parmesan cheese! Oops! So, I decided before I started the cake mix I would organize. II tackled the project like a real cooking show. I got out every ingredient and measured how much I needed. I had all the ingredients in front of me on the cabinet so I couldn't forget to put any in (I have forgotten sugar in several pies once so I should have learned this lesson a while back but...some times it takes more than once). This really helped as I went through the recipe and as things didn't go well (like my mixer getting clogged and not having enough hands to mix, stir, and pour and having to call for back-up) I did not lose sight of the next ingredient I needed to add. It also helped as I juggled cooking more than 1 dish and had to stop and do something for the other dish mid-way through preparing another dish. I learned the importance of being organized for complex, multi-faceted projects.

4. Know when to call for back-up- I am one of those people who hate to ask for help. I want to feel independent. Sometimes when I have to ask for help, things don't feel as big of an accomplishment. But yesterday I learned, sometimes you DO need help and there is no shame in asking for it! And if you don't ask for it, you could fail. I learned all of this while making the cake mix. The recipe said to alternate mixing in milk and flour as you mix. Well, since I have a hand mixer that wasn't big enough for the bowl and the bowl was not deep enough, I was struggling just to mix what I already had in the bowl. I was using the mixer in one hand and a spoon in the other. I attempted to pour in some of the flour but accidentally raised the mixer up which sent a puff of flour all over the place. I hugged and tried again with the same result. So, against my will, I called for back-up. Jason manned the mixer as I slowly added the ingredients. The teamwork was a success. Had I gone it alone, I wouldn't have had enough mix to fill my 3 cake pans!

5. Impatience can be more painful than waiting- I cooked the cake during the two hours my lasagna sauce simmered. After I was finished with the cake, the next task was to layer the lasagna. I put the noodles on to boil a little later than hoped so they got done right before time to layer. I had planned to finish them early so they could cool. My options were to wait a little bit to finish the lasagna or to go ahead with the hot noodles. I, being a wee bit impatient, opted to go ahead and finish. I burned my fingers over and over as I attempted to separate the noodles. Had I waited 10 minutes, this would not have been an issue. Note to self- patience is not only a virtue, but a "painkiller".

6. Pace yourself and stick to the pace you set- You can't rush and end up with good food. As I mentioned earlier, I forgot to cook the lasagna noodles on time. I got distracted with the smoking mixer and just forgot to start them. So, this threw off my whole cooking plan, I was getting tired, and I was trying to do too many things at once. This lead to me not stirring the noodles, which were already crammed in a pot way too small. When I pulled the noodles out, some of them were burned to the bottom. Woops.

7. Don't be afraid to try- The last time I made cake in round pounds, the cake stuck to the pan and completely fell apart. I knew I needed to do something more than spray Pam, but I wasn't sure what to do. I tried to call my Mom, but she didn't answer. I thought "oh great, now what." I remembered seeing my mom grease pans and then flour them, but what I could not remember was whether she used this for cakes or just rolls, or perhaps both? I was slightly paralyzed by my fear of ruining my cakes. I thought through it. I knew what didn't work (Pam) and that I had to make a decision quickly or let my cakes ruin. I made a decision- grease and flour. I owned it and I wasn't afraid. I had thought it through and this option made the most sense. I went with it and it worked perfectly! Had I let my fear of failure overcome me, the cake mix would still be sitting in the bowl.

8. Yelling solves nothing- When I was running around the house looking for my cooling racks, I admittedly got a little out of control. I was yelling at myself, the dogs, and especially Jason. Whenever something goes missing, I blame him since he is the organizer of our house. While I was yelling at him, he chose to assess the situation, ask questions about what in the world cooling racks were, and think of an alternate solution. I could have done the same thing, but I was too worked up to think. I was bogged down in the fact that I have cooling racks that cannot be found and now my cakes were ruined. My yelling solved nothing. His calm, rational thinking, however, solved everything.

9. Perfection isn't everything,but prioritizing is- I am the epitome of perfectionist. I cannot stand for my name to be on something that I don't feel is as perfect as I can get it. This is one of the reasons baking a cake is so difficult for me. I am not good at icing cakes...at all. It took me almost 30 minutes just to ice my cake yesterday. And its not icing that will every be smooth because it has nuts in it. But I just kept going around and around finding places that weren't quite right. I never got it where I was satisfied, but my noodles were burning so I was forced to move on. I sacrificed doing a good job on one "project" (cooking the noodles) for the sake of making another project perfect. This is not usually a good move in the real world. It is important to prioritize which projects need to be perfect and which do not. Which projects need immediate attention and which can wait. What I should have done is stop icing the cake, go stir the noodles, then go back to the cake. That cake wasn't going anywhere, but my noodles were burning right then and there. I was just too obsessed to leave the cake. Next time I'll be more cognizant of prioritizing.

10. Don't snack on the icing until the cake is done. Sometimes you really do need every drop.

Talk Me Off the Ledge....Someone....

2010-01-27T17:13:00.003-08:00

Today was NOT a good day. The worst so far. I left in tears. Not sad tears, MAD tears. This is the 2nd time I have left work in mad tears. I get mad tears when things are out of my control. As most people close to me know, I generally enjoy what I'm presently doing for a living, just not necessarily where I work or some of the people I work for. Today they pushed me past my limit of tolerance...but I'll start from the beginning.

In a recent post, I noted that I am planning a European vacation for my 30th birthday. While I realize that is 2.5 years away, it still hit a sour note within me. Something about seeing it in writing was terrifying. Since then, I've been slightly obsessed with my age. Isn't it amazing how after you turn 23 the years just seem to pass in an instance. How do I slow down the clocks? And more importantly, how do I slow down my internal clock? Isn't that the million dollar question. I suppose I thought this nice little boutique full of facial products would have the secret (which explains the small fortune I spent a couple of weeks ago on creams full of promises to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, restore a youthful radiance, etc.). Hopefully the bottles promise won't be as empty as my wallet was when I left! I miss the days of not knowing what a wrinkle was, much less being worried about one.

Due to this recent shock of my ever impending old age, I have been hit with a "quarter life crisis". This is very similar to a mid-life crisis, except no sports cars involved. I keep thinking to myself "there's got to be more to life than this." This statement seems to be crossing my mind more and more as I go through life's mundane activities. Sitting at work. grocery shopping, cleaning, doing dishes, cooking dinner...you get the picture. Why didn't my elders do a better job of explaining just how much adult life sucks? Maybe its some cruel secret adults don't tell us as kids so they can enjoy watching us be miserable just as they were miserable? Surely not. It's not that it's terrible, it's just....monotonous. I'm not good with monotony. I realize (as my husband reads over my shoulder telling me not to be so negative) that this sounds negative. I'm not looking at it as a negative. I think being introspective, examining my feelings, and expressing those feelings is a good thing. It's like therapy. I love trying to determine the root of my feelings and figuring out how to deal with them. Now I'm just rambling. Anyway, I think I am not fulfilled with my job and that is driving the majority of these fillings.

So work. Well, there is no need to get into any details, but I will just say that I'm feeling a wee bit (ok a huge bit) unappreciated for what I've accomplished this year. There are not many worse feelings than knowing that you have dedicated a year of your life to something only to be belittled. Sigh.

The worst part of today was that I blew my diet. With my herbalife buddy Heather out of the office and my depression, I ate 3 real meals today. SIGH. Why I am not one of those people who STOP eating when they get upset? Oh well, back to shakes tomorrow. And I'm looking on the bright side because the weather is supposed to get bad which means long weekend ahead!

Miss America

2010-01-24T19:09:00.005-08:00

My dear friend (and bridesmaid) Sarah Slocum is in Las Vegas this week competing for Miss America. I am so excited, nervous, happy, and anxious! Sarah is just an amazing woman. I have known her for as long as I can remember- she lives 2 blocks up the street. I can remember the day she told me she thought she wanted to compete for Miss Arkansas. The two of us and our mothers drove to Miss Diamond Lakes and talked about the pageant world the entire time. I passed along every single piece of knowledge that I had. Not too long later, Sarah told me she was competing in her first preliminary- Miss Lake Dardenale. I went up to her house and helped her decide on wardrobe and she practiced her talent. I knew sitting in her living room that day that she was going to achieve great things. I have never in my life known anyone so focused and dedicated as Sarah. When she sets her sights on something, she WILL achieve it. She has the most vibrant personality. She is hilarious, smart, and witty. She possesses all the graciousness and humility of a true Southern lady. I am honored to be the friend of such an incredible woman. I will be praying for her and her sweet family this week as I know what a stressful time this is for them all.

Sarah- Sorry for all the old pictures...

"These are a few of my favorite things"

2010-01-23T06:46:00.004-08:00

I thought it would be cool to journal (I've never kept a real journal, I have started plenty but only wrote in the a couple of times) about some of my favorite things right now and some things about myself. Next year I will do the same thing and see how I've changed.

Favorite color: 1st- Gray. 2nd- Purple (to wear), Pink (anything other than to wear)

Favorite Band: Coldplay (my favorite song by them is Til Kingdom Come)

Current Favorite Song: Lady Antebellum- "Need You Know" (they performed this at the meeting last Saturday and it was awesome)

Favorite Restaurant: I don't have a favorite, but we have eaten at this new Mexican restaurant Mojitos for the past several Friday nights (except this past Friday night when we went out with Craig and Lauren because it was too packed). My favorite lunch restaurant is Copelands.

Favorite Recent Movie: Avatar!!!! Not something I would normally expect to like, but love it. It was so beautiful to watch. I am amazed by how creative some people are. Also The Blind Side was terrific.

Favorite TV show: I love love LOVE to watch tv! I have so many shows that I watch but my tops (in order) are Big Brother (not currently on but my all time favorite), Brothers and Sisters, How I Met your Mother, Modern Family, Glee, Accidentally on Purpose, Cougar Town, The Middle, Project Runway (although I have not started watching this season), So you Think You can Dance, Desperate Housewives, and (one I am ashamed to admit but got addicted a few weeks ago when a whole day marathon was on) The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Most of these are new shows I realize, but that is because alot of my other favorites have been cancelled in the last couple of years.

Car I'm Driving: I am driving my brand new white Infiniti G37. I absolutely love this car!! It is so fast! Jason is driving his company car- a silver Dodge charger. He should be getting a new one this summer (fingers crossed).

Things I am Most Looking Forward to: Watching my best friend Sarah in Miss America a week from today (SO SO sad I am not going), uploading videos to the blog via Jason's new ipod with camcorder, our ski trip in March with our friends (Craig, Lauren, Ryan and Sarah), the birth of my friend Maureen's baby, Zoe Claire Grimes, set for March 26, and our 1st Anniversary on April 4.

Things I am Planning For: European Vacation- Summer 2012 to celebrate my 30th birthday (ew that 30 hurts to see in writing)

Favorite things to do: Shop, go to the movies, read, decorate my house, throw parties (not something I get to do often), watch NFL games especially the Cardinals, play Tennis (I got a new racket for Christmas that I am ready to use), make up songs and dance to them to entertain my girls, be creative, cook, read blogs, wash my car, play video games with Jason., and sleep.

Things I am doing: I'm back on Herbalife (I feel so much better and more energized when I'm having the shakes twice a day, not to mention they are yummy and fat just falls off of me). I am finally working on wedding pictures. Yes, it is taking me a year to do them. I am slowly preparing to start a scrapbook of last year (so many things to put in it that it's overwhelming). I am starting a Dave Ramsey financial peace class next month. I am doing this through work and they are paying for it (shocking) and it lasts through May. I am actually really excited about it and am ready for it to start. As much as I hate managing my money, I hate knowing I am spending so much time working to make the money and then not putting any effort into managing it.

What's up at work: There are lots of changes going on in the company so I am anxious to see how that will impact me. It is self-eval time so I have to start working on that soon. I have a new mentor who is really awesome and really made me think about my personal development in ways I had never thought of. No plans to go overseas again right now. It's funny because when I'm in China and right after I get home I say that I never want to go back. But after a couple of months pass, I'm ready to go again!

Renaming the blog and jabber

2010-01-22T15:51:00.004-08:00

A few months ago my good friend Lawyer Bob shared an article with me about how our brains actually operate "On the Edge of Chaos". This has become my token phrase for the idiotic, random, and odd things I tend to think, say, and do. It's not my fault....it's my brain's fault. Not only do our brains really work this way, but they THRIVE this way. It explains so much since I am known for my completely off-the-wall/subject thoughts. Anyway, I thought that would be a good title for the blog...for now anyway. (See article here if you are interested: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20127015.000-our-complex-brains-thrive-on-the-edge-of-chaos.html)

Today I got an email from my mom with cute pictures of puppies and at the bottom it had a quote that I love so I thought I would share:

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNWAKENED".

Here's a couple of other quotes I love about dogs....

"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals"

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us" ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives." ~ Sue Murphy

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Aren't quotes just the greatest?! I have a few famous quotes myself...ok so just 2 I can think of.

"Hurt hurts, no matter how old you are."- I said this in high school when I was explaining to the doctor why his "you're a big girl" comfort was meaningless when he said I had to get a shot.

"Old birds gotta roost and young birds gotta fly."- I said this in the 4th grade trying to comfort my parents when we left my sister at college in OCU...quite insightful I was

And one of my most favorite quotes of all (and the justification for new shoe purchases...speaking of shoes, I have my eyes set on a pair of dark eggplant suede stilettos that I hope to buy tomorrow, but I digress):

"Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes really can change your life."

One Life to Live and Other Things I Ponder

2010-01-18T17:46:00.002-08:00

I don't know what it is, maybe it's just me feeling old now that I almost a year and a half into the "real world," but lately I have been pondering my own mortality. Not necessarily in a negative way (although I'm sure some may see it that way) but in what I see as a realistic way. The other day I was in the shower shaving my legs and began to wonder what would happen if we have a baby girl someday and I day before she is a teenager. Who will teach her all the things she needs to know like how to shave her legs, that she should moisturize her skin everyday, to wear sunscreen, how to curl her hair, etc. So then I thought, if I am ever blessed with a girl, I will write down all the things she needs to know in a journal and put it in the deposit box. That way I can make sure she learns as much as I can share. I also told Jason he would have to move to LA so Stacy could help raise her because I just can't see him having the period talk with our 13 year old daughter. haha!
Things that I used to think about and things that used to really worry me, don't seem to matter as much as they used to. No examples I can share. But I guess it has just really hit me that I only get one shot at life. A few short years to do all I want to do. That was a huge revelation, however, what did seem to really strike me was that Jason only has that one life as well. I can think of many things I have kept him from doing for my own selfish reasons. Because he loved me, he did what I wanted even though in many circumstances it wasn't necessarily what he wanted. I will call it immaturity, maybe it was pure selfishness, either way, I have a lot of regrets that sadden me deeply. There are so many many things that I want to do and want to experience and I hope that I am able to do them all. I also understand now that Jason also has those things and I hope that he is able to do them all, whatever they may be.

On another note, here's 10 things I've been thinking about during my 40 minute commute...
1. Will I live in Arkansas forever? Why was I born in Arkansas? Why did my parents never move somewhere awesome like NYC, Chicago, or LA? Would I like living in a big city? What would I do in a big city where opportunity abounds?
2. Why does Jason make more money than me? Will he always make more money than me? Will someday I feel inferior because of that?
3. Should I change my hair color? If I did, what color would it be?
4. Did I make a mistake getting a white car? I thought white would show less dirt but I can't seem to keep it clean for more than a couple of days.
5. Why do I have so many shoes when I only wear the same couple of pairs? This goes for clothes as well. I wear the same pants and shirts all the time. When I have 2 closets full of clothes. Why do I buy more shoes and clothes when I have all these clothes already?
6. Why did I sign up for the Financial Peace class at work. Do I really want to learn how to spend my money wisely? Am I ready for that commitment? What happens when my monthly spending envelope is empty and I'm forced to choose between more shoes I don't need and food...this may end up being a diet plan as well as a financial plan
7. Why am I so messy? Why is it SO hard for me to put something away after I use it? I don't like being messy. Why is Jason so OCD?
8. What am I passionate about? I hear people bring this up from time to time at work and am thankful I've never been asked because I don't really have an answer. I love my family and I love my girls, but that doesn't really count. I guess I'm passionate about animals. I cry when I see animals hurt on tv, even though I don't cry when people get hurt. I don't eat animals. Does that make me passionate about them? What is passion anyway and why do I need a passion?
9. Why do my dogs like me, and for that matter why do dogs like humans? Has anyone else every really thought about the fact that these furry animals love us but for seemingly no reason and wondered, how odd? What if skunks liked humans? Would we in turn like skunks? We had a skunk in our neighboorhood that I named flower. She was cute. I wonder how she's doing....
10. What happened to that poor little Shitzu that ran through our neighborhood lost. I chased her down the street then Jason drove me in the car to catch her but she ran into the woods. As much as I wanted to help her, I didn't want to run through the woods in my cashmere sweater and heels. Woods and cashmere do not go together. Have you ever seen a cashmere camping sleeping bag? Besides that there was no way she was going to come to me, poor thing was scared to death and running as fast as she could. So I went home and changed, then went to try to find her. I saw no trace of her. I have thought about her frequently, especially when it got so so cold (0 degrees). I hope she found her way home.

Bachelorette and Honeymoon

2010-01-12T17:41:00.037-08:00

Things were so busy around the wedding that I never posted pictures from my bachelorette party in Napa Valley and San Francisco. I also never posted pictures from our amazing honeymoon. I thought of this last week when I was home because it was 40 below zero outside and I was looking at the honeymoon pics wishing I was back on the beach in Mexico!

Beautiful Beach- where we spent most of our time!

The architecture of the hotel was gorgeous!

Pool- We loved how the lounge chairs were in the pool so you could stay cool! We hung out here when it got really hot in the afternoons.

Restaurant on the beach

Beach late in the afternoon

Hanging out at the pool on the last day :(

Posing with the natives at the Mayan ruins

The excursion of my choice- Mayan ruins

Amazing view from the cliffs at the ruins. The white break in the distance is the longest reef in the world (I think...)

Checking out the rocks down the beach

Attempting to play a giant game of chess

If you have ever played a game with me, you will appreciate this picture. I hate to lose.

This picture is from the great Kayak race that the pool boys talked me into. I was doing awesome....way out in front of the contender....and then came the turn at the other end of the pool and I ended up on the concrete. Pretty humiliating. Jason lost his race too.

Training to scuba dive. I didn't make it beyond the pool.

One night at dinner.

Jason's excursion of choice...golf. The resort had a pro golf course (or something like that). It was so pretty that I actually enjoyed driving him around in the golf cart!

Since it was our honeymoon, I thought it was pretty cool that this brown spot looked like a heart...anyone else see it??

Sunset view from our room. We had a hard time deciding between first and second floor....so glad we went with second! The views were stunning.

View from a restaurant.

Another beach view from the room

We took this picture when we first got to the resort and were checking everything out!

In the limo with my awesome sister! She planned the whole bachelorette party in Napa and it was the BEST!

My sister's attempt at creative photography.... my ring with the toast

This picture is from the castle winery. I don't remember what it was called. We didn't actually do any tastings here, just snuck in and took some pictures before we got kicked out... Soon after this picture was taken I was dared to chase a rooster around the gardens. I did it....
Casks

Shramsber's. The best champagne on Earth! It is the champagne served at the White House!

Ready for a nite on the town! What? Every bachelorette needs a crown and a sash!

Spa day at the underground spa! It was unbelievable!

Alcatraz! I can't wait to go back to San Fran and take a tour!! I've always wanted to do that. They even have a night tour which is supposed to be haunted! AWESOME

Golden Gate=incredible! We drove over it into San Fran and it was sooo cool! Then we got lost.

ZOLTAR!!! Any fans of BIG out there?? I was weirded out because I said "I hope he doesn't tell me I'm dying" and sure enough he told me I was dying. I made sure he was plugged in or that would have been super creepy.

Downtown San Fran!

Outside the Spa Terra where we were pampered and massaged!

At our first tasting- Beringers winery! It was really pretty!

The 2nd best cake in the world (2nd only to my wedding cake)....White cake with strawberry and blueberry and pudding filling. We still talk about that cake.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-07T12:07:00.018-08:00

It's been snowing in NWA off and on for the last couple of weeks! We went out on Sunday morning to let the girls play in the snow for the first time. Miley did NOT like the snow and held one foot up most of the time. Maddy LOVED the snow and ran around like a mad dog as fast as she could! Poor thing had frozen snow balls all over her when we got in, but we used the hair dryer to de-ice her!

I feel pretty good about getting through my first Christmas as a married adult. As mentioned previously, I started purchasing gifts in October and November so I was well ahead of the game in that sense. This allowed me to get the majority of my wrapping done in advance. This was quite possibly the first time in my life I didn't procrastinate and I highly recommend it.

I also finished up my handmade Christmas cards, including an adorable picture of my girls with Santa. It took me about 6 weeks to do the cards, but it was a lot of fun. Hopefully everyone enjoyed them! Here are a few pics of the cards I made!

I took a few days off work to enjoy some time with our families. Juggling the many family festivities was difficult again....hoping this gets easier. On the day before Christmas one of my best friends came to visit us- Melissa and her sweet husband Jeff. I was so excited to see them again and to catch up. Melissa is pregnant and I am thrilled!! This is going to be the most beautiful baby on Earth!

We spent Christmas Eve afternoon with Jason's mom's family. The weather on Christmas Eve was just terrible- it rained and rained, even flooded! We had a delicious lunch with tons of food and then did a dirty santa gift exchange. I took a really nice microplush snuggie. A guy got it and needless to say didn't seem to thrilled with the gift. Jason took a fun washer toss game which was popular since many of his family members enjoy tailgating. Jason ended up with a gigantic flashlight that is so bright we can probably see animals on the moon. I got a really pretty black beaded necklace. One funny story- Jason's cousin Amy just had her third baby- son Michael. Jason wanted to hold him so I gave him the baby. He sat down at the table with him and a few seconds later he told his mom that "she was either going to have to wipe his forehead or take the baby." I walked up and he was so nervous that he had sweat dripping down his brow!!! She took the baby and he had to go outside to cool down. It was so funny. Guess that means you shouldn't be expecting babies from us any time soon!!

We went to my house for Christmas Eve dinner with my parents, Stacy and Andrew, and Aunt Faye and Uncle Donald (my mom's sister). This was the first Christmas Eve in my memory to spend with my Aunt Faye and Uncle Donald. We had a yummy dinner, a Rick's bakery coconut cake, and fun family games! We spent the night at mom's house (out in the RV) and had Christmas morning with my family. Mom cooked an awesome brunch, complete the hashbrown casserole. Dad cooked William Sonoma christmas pancakes in shapes of snowmen, reindeers, and elves with the molds Andrew gave them. Although they were a bit tricky, the pancakes turned out great! We opened our stockings from Santa and then my grandmother came down to watch us open presents. I got lots of things I love, including my first (notice I said "first" because I hope to receive more in the future) piece of Tiffany & Co. jewelry, complete in a blue box with a white ribbon! It was an adorable bracelet from my sister! I will treasure it forever! I also got some new craft goodies too, including a paper embosser and a heat embosser! So excited to try them out. My grandmother got me a really nice new camera, which I may have opened a couple of weeks before Christmas! I just couldn't wait! I love to take pictures and was soo excited to finally have a nice camera! Jason got me a lot of new clothes from my favorite store (Banana Republic). I gave him a lot of clothes too, but his big surprise was a new Cobra driver (golf club)! He had no idea thanks to Sarah sneaking it home to Sheridan for me! We gave my parents and Jason's parents Kreuig coffee makers. I think they liked them alot!

Christmas Eve pajama tradition from Mom!

Andrew showing off his PJs too!

Jason showing off my wrapping with two pups in his lap!

Reading clues to look for his present. Maddy was a big help.

With his new golf club!

TIFFANY!

We went out to Jason's house for a little while Christmas day to see his family. We all got cute sweaters! They had to leave to go see other family members and we headed back to finish Christmas with my family. We went up to my grandparents house to see my grandfather since he was too sick to come down to our house. It was so good to see them both.

Stockings at Jason's house! I was so excited that I had my very own stocking!

Joan and Maddy

Bobby and Joan

First Christmas ornament from Joan- love it!

I got Jason a game he has been obsessed with for 2 years (Wits and Wagers) so we played that with the whole family. I have to admit, its a pretty fun (and educational) game!

We went shopping with my family the day after Christmas because Stacy and I had some things to return. Since Stacy doesn't have the same stores we do, we always have to go the day after Christmas. We both ended up getting some new shoes. We had lunch at Buffalo Grill and then Jason and I headed to his Dad's house for Christmas. It was good to see his Dad's family. I met his sister's fiance John for the first time (they are getting married in the Spring) and he is really great! We had dinner, opened lots of awesome presents (I got tennis racket and a sonicare toothbrush which I really really wanted), and then played the movie game we gave his Dad. It was pretty fun, but they definitely know a lot more about movies than we do!

All in all it was a great Christmas! Both of my babies had a great time and were completely worn out when we got back home Sunday night. They got lots of attention, toys, and treats. They got so many toys they don't know what to do with them all! I'm happy to report that Miley and Maddy are officially BFFs now. Whew! So glad Miley warmed up to her! Maddy is just so adorable and we are so happy that we brought her into our family!

A few pics of my precious girls and Christmas Decor

2009-12-08T16:37:00.028-08:00

Coffee table

Buffet in dining room

entry hall table

entry into dining

Gold/bronze tree in dining room (front bay window)

Kitchen decor from my Aunt Faye and Uncle Donald

Maddy (gingy) and Miley (soccer ball- Miley's favorite toy ever) stocking holders (and Maddy on the mantle thanks to Daddy)

(brind and groom :) )

Santa on the mantle from my grandparents (The Temples)

Other mantle decor

Precious

Red tree in living room

Maddy's first bath

Crazy October and November

2009-11-18T11:01:00.017-08:00

The last month and a half has been a little wild and crazy. Jason and I spent most of October apart. He had two business trips and I had a business trip to China. This trip was the longest yet- 12 days. That was a LONG time- two full weekends away. I spent the vast majority of my free time shopping! Got quite a bit of Christmas shopping done, so that was great. However, I missed my husband terribly and I think he missed me too. When I got home, I noticed he had done lots of work around the house (not that this is unusual for him), even organizing my scrapbook stuff! I'm so blessed!

Speaking of scrapbooking, I sent out my first round of greeting cards for Halloween. The cards I made last definitely turned out the best. I started working on Christmas tags and need to start my Christmas cards ASAP.

We DO have a bit of super exciting news.... Miley has a sister!!!! In early September, we found out that Miley's sister (real sister- same parents, next litter) had been born on Aug. 30! We immediately said we wanted to add her to our family. So the first weekend in November we welcomed Maddy to our home. She is so precious and looks just like Miley did when she was a baby. We still are not real sure how Miley feels about Maddy, but they are playing more and more every day. Last weekend we took them to get their picture taken with Santa and they were a big hit with the ladies at the doggy store.

Last weekend I took down the Fall decor and started putting up the Christmas stuff. We got a new tree this year that is taller and slimmer than last years tree. It is really beautiful and I can't wait to decorate it!

Stamps and Stuff

2009-10-10T19:25:00.002-07:00

For the past two weeks life has been back to "normal" for us. Of course that changes this week, so we really enjoyed having some quiet time at home together. We did the usual dinner and tv routine each night. Jason's flag football team lost their games both weeks :( It's been difficult to see them struggling so much this year, especially since they were champions the past two years in a row. I keep thinking they will turn it around, but I'm beginning to lose faith. Bad wife.

Last weekend we put out our fall/Halloween/thanksgiving decor. We realized we needed some updating so we made a fun trip to Hobby Lobby for new decor. For the first time ever, Jason was actually getting into the decorating. He was picking out stuff himself and only rolled his eyes a few times! He even started looking at the Christmas stuff, but got overwhelmed so we are holding off on that for now.

My Stamping Up! order came in on Thursday. I was SO excited (actually the first time I have looked forward to going to work since day 1) to get it home and play. Unfortunately we had really bad storms that night and we got in such a rush to get home and see if the tornado was ripping our home apart that I jumped in Jason's car and left the stamps in my car. Of course I just wanted to get home to Miley so it was ok. I finally got to play with them yesterday after work. I had to put the stamps which was slightly challenging. Then I made my first three cards on my own. I quickly learned that although this is a pretty simple craft, you must pay attention to what you are doing. On two occasions I laid the card in the open ink. Once I made a side fold card, but I fixed the inside as if it were a top side card. Quite frustrating, but lesson learned. Although Jason has been supportive of my new hobby, he has not been particularly excited about it. It's messy and I'm messy so the combo is not good (I stamped the table already). But yesterday he was helping me with my color choices and had some good ideas for things I could do. And of COURSE he had some ideas on how to clean my stamps and the rest of the mess I made. He complimented my cards (saying it was the cutest hideous card he had ever seen....I'm sure that was a joke....right?) which was much appreciated. I DESPERATELY need (ok maybe desperate is a little much but REALLY need) a paper cutter/slicer thingamajig. It will save a lot of time and make the cards look more professional. Hopefully HL will have a 40% off coupon next week and I can get one (I'm trying to keep this as economical as possible which is not easy when you don't have any tools to start with).

We went to our annual Razorback game today. It was nice. We didn't really care who won, so I just enjoyed some quality time with my hubby.

Anyway, next week life gets crazy again. Jason goes to Cincinnati Tues and gets back on Thursday. I leave for China the Friday morning and get back the following Tuesday. While I am in China Jason will be going to Pittsburgh and our friend Heather will keep Miley since we will both be gone. Hopefully we won't have any more travel for the year. I look forward to 8 full days out of the office, but unfortunately that means two full weekends away from home which is not fun at all. I need to start getting my books together for China. I usually read 3-4 books on the trip. I think I will take New Moon (2nd book in Twilight) and read it again since the movie is coming out next month. Can't wait!

Stampin Up! Party

2009-09-26T19:53:00.002-07:00

Today was the Stampin Up! party. I made "mexico chiquito" cheese dip, cucumber sandwiches, fruit dip with apples, grapes, and strawberries, and chocolate covered pretzel sticks. My major lesson today was don't cook the cheese dip until you are ready to eat it. I believe it was described as being like "peanut butter." Awesome. The rest of the food was good.
I made two Halloween cards today. I had so much fun and the project was SO easy! I can't wait to order some of my own stamping equipment! Be expecting lots of cute stamped crafts coming your way!
My friend Stephanie brought her 1 year old Olivia to the party today. I wasn't sure how Miley would react, but she just adored her and followed her all around the house. She was so sweet with the baby. She didn't jump up on her or anything. They enjoyed playing with each others toys very much.
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new pottery barn couches. One is supposed to arrive on Monday, but we haven't heard anything from PB yet. I'll post a pic when we get them.

Food Crazy

2009-09-23T19:33:00.002-07:00

Jason is afraid that you will think I'm obsessed with food and that all I think about is food due to my last two blogs. Well although I do spend too much time in the day thinking about food, I'm not obsessed. As I mentioned 2 posts ago, I've just been encouraged to cook by the movie Julie/Julia. I learned that there is something comforting about getting home from a stressful day at work and cooking an excellent meal that gives me a sense of accomplishment. So maybe everything at work goes wrong, but I can manage to do something right in the kitchen (despite all the mishaps) and provide my family with a delicious and healthy meal. It makes the day worthwhile. And just to follow up, all of the chocolate covered pretzels were eaten at food day. Success!

Nothing else exciting. Continuing to fight battles at work. Ate french toast for dinner. Playing ball with Miley now. Planning for the Stamping party on Saturday.

Boring.

Monday Monday

2009-09-21T19:56:00.002-07:00

Today was a good day....for a Monday. I had a pretty good day at work (topped off by a really good mid year evaluation). After that, my friend Heather cooked dinner for us. We took Miley up there so she could play with Heather's dog Molly. We had yummy perogies (not sure on spelling). Perogies are a Russian dish (Heather's a Russian) that is pasta stuffed with potatoes and cheese and sauteed in butter and onions. Vegetarian friendly with lots of starches, which so happens to be my favorite food group. I took my left over apple dumplings for dessert. Note- 2 day left over apple dumplings will not be a hit for dessert. Miley and Molly really enjoyed their dessert though...frosty paws doggy ice cream. Heather spoils the pups.

Tomorrow we have a "food day" at work so I made white chocolate covered pretzels. I decided I would try to "chocolate drizzle" them for looks. Drizzling is not my forte. It was more like "chocolate clumping" than drizzling. I simply must practice these "techniques" more often. Why is it that more often than not, food that looks pretty tastes terrible? Or maybe that's just my lack of artistic ability jealously talking.... Oh well. Hopefully this dish will go over better than my pasta salad. Now that's a funny story. Last food day (my birthday) I made pasta salad. My mom brought a sampling of this dish up the weekend before and she said it was really simple. So I tried it. Mistake #1- I bought fat free Italian dressing. Mistake #2- I made the biggest bowl of pasta you have ever seen. Mistake #3- I didn't check to be sure that someone else wasn't bringing pasta salad. And last, but not least....Mistake #4- I put a sign on the pasta salad (hoping that more people would it eat than the competing pasta salad) that said "Fat Free." Needless to say, Jason and I ate pasta salad for dinner for the rest of the week. Then gave the rest to the neighbors. Just kidding.

Well, I better get to bed. Long day tomorrow. Tuesdays are the worst and I have to present to the EVP tomorrow.

Long time no type

2009-09-20T12:55:00.003-07:00

View from the room at the Westin in Scottsdale. Gorgeous and I dont even like golf.

Cactus in Phoenix- i love cacti!

Grand Canyon

Sedona hike

Grand canyon

Phoenix overlook

Diamondback's Game

Sedona chapel- built into the side of the mountain

Dirty feet after our hike. Luckily there was a river to clean our feet.

Hiking in Sedona- he broke the rules and got off the path for this picture.

Sedona at the chapel

Sedona red rock territory

At the AZ Cards Stadium (first trip) ... Get it... "W" for Wood

Wow it's been awhile...again. I keep saying that I'm going to blog more often, but before I know it months have passed by without so much as a peep from me. Sorry about that. I really thought things would slow down, but they haven't at all.

Jason and I have been to Phoenix, AZ twice in the past month. Dial 's (Jason's employer) is located in Scottsdale. I have been fortunate enough to tag along on the past couple of work trips with him. On the first trip we did a lot of sightseeing. We explored all of Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs. Phoenix is all desert, giant cacti and 115 degrees whether and all. It is surrounded by mountains. I just love the scenery.

We then drove 1.5 hours to Pine, AZ and stayed in one of his co-workers weekend homes. It was crazy because within just a few miles from the desert was a place that looked just like the mountains of Colorado, complete with tall pine trees and cool whether (we actually needed a light jacket in the morning).

From Pine, we drove the scenic route through Flagstaff and up to the Grand Canyon. We saw the Cardinals training camp in Flagstaff and we also saw the highest peak in AZ (12,000 ft) where there is a snow skiing resort. This was Jason's first trip to the Grand Canyon (my 2nd) and he was afraid he would be disappointed. He will be the first to tell you, he was not disappointed. It was just as breathtaking as the first time I was there. We had a quite funny mishap with a squirrel stealing Jason's freshly made hot dog before he even took a bite, but otherwise everything went smoothly.

We drove from the Grand Canyon down to Sedona, AZ. If you have not been here, you simply MUST make a trip to this beautiful place. Words can't really describe it, but it is just beautiful. We wished we had more time to spend in the area. There are many parks around and a beautiful winding river that runs through the parks. We had a blast hiking around and taking in the gorgeous scenery.

On the next trip to Phoenix (last week) we attended our FIRST NFL football game!!! We watched the AZ Cardinals v. the 49ers! We had seats on the 4th row and it was awesome. Unfortunately the Cards lost. We spent a lot of time pre-game trying to pick out just the right game gear. I spent the rest of the trip relaxing by the pool and de-stressing at the spa.

This past Friday I took my first trip on a private jet. I, along with 7 other co-workers, flew to Norfolk, VA for the day. I was really nervous at the thought of taking this tiny plane anywhere, but my fears were quickly put to rest. The plane was very nice and the flight was so much smoother than any commercial flight I have been on. Not to mention, we arrived at 6 am and walked onto the plane. No removing my shoes or liquids. When we got to Norfolk, the rental van was waiting on the tarmac for us to get in to. It was awesome and yes, I am spoiled. Between the private plane and business class, I am definitely motivated to work hard and have these luxuries for life.

Speaking of travel, I am scheduled to head back to China the 3rd week of Oct. I plan to do as much Christmas shopping as possible while I am there.

Speaking of Christmas, I am pretty proud of myself as I have already started my Christmas lists. I realize this isn't the same as actually making purchases, but it is WAY ahead of schedule for me. I already know what I am getting for my parents and Jason's parents (which is usually difficult). I have a long list for Jason too. My biggest struggle is my sister and her boyfriend Andrew, but I think I have that figured out too! Woo!

Miley is doing great! She has a new trick of retrieving her soccer ball on command. We got her a new ball that you put food or treats in and she it is occupying her time at the moment. She is pushing it all over the house, literally, hoping for a piece of something special to fall out. Little does she seem to realize she could walk to her food bowl and get the same thing much easier! She is such a sweetheart.

My dear friend Sarah Slocum has been staying with us rather frequently when she is in the area for appearances. She is so beautiful, inside and out, and we just love having her around (even though she and her boyfriend Ryan beat us in a game of catchphrase....you know how much we hate to lose). I am so excited for Miss America. I need to get our trip booked ASAP. I'm so glad it is in Vegas- maybe my sister and Andrew will meet us out there. Who knows.

In newlywed news, things are terrific (most of the time). We still struggle on housework. He takes a more "proactive" approach to things like laundry and vacuuming. I take more of a "need be" approach. I think he does it too often, he thinks I'm lazy. To each his own. It is football season now, which in our house means Fantasy Football and Flag Football season. As usual, Jason is obsessed. The first flag football game is tonight at 5. Yay.

I watched the movie Julie/Julia (or whatever it is called) about Julia Childs in Phoenix. I just loved it! It definitely made me want to cook more often and I started by cooking homemade spaghetti sauce last night (and apple dumplings for dessert). I hate to toot my own horn, but it turned out rather fabulous, but not without a few minor obstacles. First, I dumped half an onion into the sauce then realized I was supposed to have sauteed the onions with butter before I put them in. Quite the dilemma. I didn't know if I should saute more onions and dump those in, try to get the onions out and saute them, or just add butter to the sauce. After a self-debate, I opted for sauteing the other half of the onion and adding it. Fortunately this minor mess up didn't impact the taste. The other incident happened when slicing the apples for the dumplings. I sliced my thumb open and bled on one apple. Julia says that if no one else sees it, it doesn't count. Overall, I had a lot of fun and Jason thoroughly enjoyed the treat. Up next, homemade caramel. I'm making caramel apples, truffles, and caramel dipped marshmallows drizzled with chocolate. I also want to try these apple cider donuts. When on the plane to VA, I read one of my co-workers Food Network magazines and saw tons of great recipes. I went right out and bought it for myself and am super excited to try these new recipes. I am also hosting a party this Saturday (a scrapbooking type party....don't ask) and am still deciding what all I will make for that. So far all I have is a special cheese dip (which I picked so I can finally use my fancy new crockpot).
Hope you are all well!

Congratulations Sarah Slocum!

2009-07-20T16:34:00.002-07:00

I wanted to let you all know that the closest thing I have to a little sister WON MISS ARKANSAS this past Saturday! I just watched her first interview and am sitting here crying! She is all grown up and just an incredible human being! She worked very hard for four long years to achieve her dreams! I cannot wait until January.... Vegas here we come!!!

Busy Busy

2009-07-12T18:46:00.002-07:00

I said I would be posting more, but somehow time got away from me! We have been so busy the last few weeks. Jason travelled to Scottsdale about a month ago for work. Then a week after that I went to China for 8 days for work. This is the second trip I've made to China in 7 months. It is so strange- I never thought I would get the chance to go to China in my lifetime, and now I've been twice! I was able to do a little sightseeing on this trip so that was cool!

I came home on the 4th of July and Jason surprised me with a grill! It is our first grill! He bought lots of groceries so that we could have a romantic cookout together. It was wonderful!! Miley was so happy that I was home that she has been glued to me.

Unfortunately, I got sick the day after I got back and am still trying to get over that. I only worked 2 days last week.

This week will be an exciting week for us. Wednesday is Miley's FIRST BIRTHDAY! I cannot believe that she is a year old already! We never celebrated Sophie's birthday the way we wanted to because it was New Years Day and we usually forgot because of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. SO, we are going ALL out for Miley's big day. We went shopping at three stores today for birthday presents! We even got some special birthday food. We were so excited about what we got that she already got to have some Frosty Paws (puppy ice cream) and she got to try on one of her new outfits! HA! We are too crazy about our pets!

This week is also Miss Arkansas week! Two of my dearest friends are competing (Sarah Slocum and Allison Waldrip) so I am very excited for them. It will be so fun to keep up with all the competition via the internet. Jason hates this time of year, but it's been such a big part of my life for so long (20+ years) that I just can't give it up!

Married life is still wonderful. Jason is truly the dream husband, so much so that I often find myself feeling inadequate as a wife. He is even sweeter and more thoughtful than he was when we were dating! I feel so blessed every single day to have him in my life.

Hope you are all doing well!

Newlyweds

2009-05-18T14:57:00.002-07:00

Well it has been quite a while since I actually posted on this thing! I had all these hopes of posting all the way up to the day of the wedding, but that just wasn't meant to be. Busy doesn't even describe the month of February and March. The wedding was absolutely wonderful and beautiful. I still do not have any pictures yet because the photographer was in a bad car accident and is behind due to her injuries. I cannot thank my family and friends enough for all that they did to make our wedding day special! I will post pics of the activities as soon as I have them (I didn't take a single picture myself!).

The honeymoon was amazing. We stayed at the Iberostar Grand in Playa Pariso Mexico. The resort was stunning. We had a wonderful time relaxing and eating. We had a few minor incidents, including a horrible trip back home, but it just made for more memories.

So far, married life has been WONDERFUL! We both tell each other all the time how much we love being married. Jason even said that he wished we had gotten married a long time ago! There could not be a better husband than mine! He brings me breakfast in bed, takes me on sunset walks, has picnics in the park, does laundry, cleans dishes, cooks dinner, does yardwork etc. You name it and he does it! The only drawback to a perfect husband is that he makes me feel kinda lazy! Of course, its not my fault he is a little OCD, right? :)

Sadly, the time came for Miley to get spayed. I struggled over the decision whether or not to have the procedure. I really didn't want to willingly put her through the pain and risk of surgery. However, I decided that in the long run, this was the best thing for her. It has been a rough few days for her, but I think she is starting to feel better now. I think she has been really scared of the pain she has felt and the fear resulted in shaking all over for hours. I have definitely seen some improvement today though. She was looking out the window earlier and doing some of her routine behaviors, so hopefully she is on her way to recovery.

We are really looking forward to the three day weekend ahead! We don't have any plans yet, but are excited to have some time together!! Hopefully it won't be raining all weekend.

Invitations

2009-02-18T18:56:00.003-08:00

I've got exciting news.....some of the invitations are in the mail! I still have quite a few that I should be printing now instead of blogging, but I need a break. I found 2 mistakes today from the ones I did yesterday and I'm just sick to my stomach over them (misspellings of names) but Jason keeps saying its not the end of the world. Regardless, it is a milestone. I told him this afternoon as I walked in to the post office that this was his last chance to change his mind. He said never. Getting invitations ready is a huge chore. I spent at least eight hours scouring the names and addresses to make sure they were perfect, and alas, still made mistakes. Bummer. I am really happy with how they turned out- classy, elegant, formal, and traditional! Jason and I are the only ones that have seen them yet so I am excited for some of our family to get theirs!
I am starting to get SO nervous that everything is not going to get done. Every day I think of something new that I haven't thought of previously that needs to be done. It's overwhelming. Planning a wedding, even with a wedding planner, is a full time job! I can't imagine what I would do without all this help!!! I am certain all the feelings I am having are completely normal, but that fact doesn't seem to relieve any of the stress. I guess you just don't think about all the little details until you are actually the bride!
Well, gotta go make some lists (that's about all I can seem to accomplish- writing the list of to dos)!

CLE

2009-02-07T07:36:00.002-08:00

I swore when I walked out of the law school for the last time that I would never come back. Alas, never say never comes true again. I am sitting in a "CLE" (continuing legal education) class. Lawyers in AR are required to do 12 hours every year. There was a free session at the law school this early Sat. morning so here I am. Since I'm not practicing law, nor am I a contractor (for some reason one of the session is on sustainable construction), I am not paying attention. It has been nice actually to have some free time to surf the net.

I sent a ton of requests for addresses in preparation for sending out wedding invites, which I hope get here a little sooner than the week before the wedding (which is a possibility because I was told it would only take 2 weeks a long time ago so I waited to order only to be told it could take up to 6 weeks! YIKES). I have been reading my friend Kara's blog alot. She just got married a couple of weeks ago. She blogged all the way up to the wedding day. It was really interesting to read her thoughts during that exciting, yet stressful time.

I wish that I could take off of work the whole week before the wedding and the whole week after the honeymoon. Getting married is something you only do once in your life (at least in theory and definitely for me) so I would love to have the time to really focus on what is happening in my life and savor the experience. I fear that due to work I am going to feel incredibly stressed and rushed. I keep telling Jason I am just going to quit after I get my bonus in late March. He just laughs and reminds me of that new car I want and that furniture we need.... Boo reality sucks.

I am getting really excited about the bachelorette weekend in Napa Valley! We are leaving on Feb. 26. Some of my closest friends will be joining me and I feel so blessed to have such great friends! My sister has been planning away for the weekend to make it wonderful. My only fear is that we won't have enough time to do everything we want!

I have started a new diet for the wedding and honeymoon. I stumbled into this smoothie place with a free coupon a couple of weeks ago and have become a shake and green tea drinker since then. It is more of a get healthy kick instead of a diet really. They actually offered me a part time job because I was explaining the benefits and how to make the shakes to another customer. I also brought them a new client- my friend Heather. She has already lost 2 lbs and has only been doing it a few days!! I have been a little under the weather this week and haven't made it to the gym nearly often enough. Guess I'll be making up for that this weekend! How fun!

Jason and I went bowling last night at Fast Lane's. It was great because I actually beat him in game 2! We were both doing really great in the first game (we think due to our Wii training) and then the lights went off for glow bowling. We are not good glow bowlers.

59 more days!

2009-01-26T18:16:00.004-08:00

I don't really have much to talk about today except that it is only 59 days til my wedding! I cannot believe it. It is kinda scary considering all the things I still have to do, but things are really coming together well. I have an amazing wedding planner extraordinaire....I mean AMAZING. I could not be doing this without her.
You know what I find odd about getting married- somehow, despite having been with my fiance for almost 13 years, I find myself nervous. I wonder if this will be a bigger change for him or for me. I think I am most nervous about changing my name. It is weird to think that soon I will no longer be Kristin Freeman, the name I've gone by my entire life. I am condemning my children to life at the end of the line by changing my name to "Wood." I hope they will forgive me. Kristin Wood is definitely going to take some getting used to. I don't really know what to do about that at work. I will have been there for over 6 months by the time the wedding rolls around. I've established myself and people in different departments across the company know my name. I keep thinking it will be very difficult for everyone to suddenly be Kristin Wood. As big of a company as it is, some people will just think they have sent an email to the wrong person. Or worse, won't be able to find me at all in the address book. So, I'm thinking I will do a slow transition. Start off with a different signature adding in my new last name "Kristin Freeman Wood", then move on to just Kristin Wood. Eventually I will change my email. I may have to leave the email as "Freeman-Wood" for a while so that when they type in Freeman they will still find me. I don't really know how any of this works. Wow...I told you I didn't have much to say....
I am just sitting here watching tv with my precious Miley while the ice covers the world around me. I am really hoping that we don't lose power. I have a fireplace, but am not 100% sure I can get it to turn on. Miley lost her first tooth today (at least the first one that I know of). I heard a crunch and looked down and saw her spit out a little tooth. I am keeping it for her Daddy to see. She is growing up so fast! She has an adorable Valentine's day bow in from her grooming this past weekend. She is such a sweetheart! We had our doubts at first that Miley would ever be a lap dog, but she has calmed down so much over the past few months. She still loves to play and especially LOVES to go out in the back yard, but she also loves to cuddle (which makes Mommy soooo happy).
Well, I guess I will eat some dinner and play a little Wii tennis! I've got to practice before Jason comes back home.

Engagement Photos!

2009-01-25T17:34:00.002-08:00

Today we got to view our engagement photos with our photographers! It was so fun to see how they turned out. Jason and I just laughed as we overanalyzed how we looked in each photo. Needless to say, we are both going on crash diets! haha! We did 2 different shoots to get the photos. The first time it was 8 degrees with a windchill of -4 degrees. We got a couple of pictures in before we realized there was no way we were going to be able to withstand the frigid air. So, we set another appointment for a day that forecasters predicted it would be 50 degrees. Well, it made it to around 38 and we went ahead with the shoot. It was really really cold, but we had a blast! We have the best photographers! It is a man and wife and they are just a hoot! We really were blessed to meet this special couple! I am so pleased with the pictures! They are a bit non-traditional, just like the two of us!
Check them out on the photographers blog if you want....
www.photosmemtalk.com

Me and The Governor

2009-01-18T06:14:00.002-08:00

Yesterday was a very very long day. It started with my monthly Saturday morning meeting. This was not any the typical meeting, as Lee Scott (one of the people in the world that I admire greatly) is retiring and it was his last meeting. So, lots of important, powerful people were there to say wonderful things in tribute to Mr. Scott. It was very inspiring to me to hear about what all this man has accomplished in his lifetime. He went from being poor as dirt to head of the largest company in the world! The Donald, President Clinton, Jack Welsh, etc. had taped videos for him and Gov. Beebe was there in person. Oddly enough, it was not the only time that day that Gov. Beebe and I would be in the same place!
After tearing up at the meeting, Jason and I went to order our invitations. He said I had 30 mins (because we have already looked at invitations for hours on end and he was ready for us to just make a decision), but it took about two hours. We went with something very traditional, elegant, simple, and classic. I feel very good about our decisions. Oh, we met with our WONDERFUL wedding planner last week and she is just amazing! We mostly did a lot of brainstorming and got some great ideas together! I am so excited to see what she has in store!
Anyway, after the invitation ordering, we drove to Sheridan for the Chamber of Commerce banquet. Jason's mother Joan received the "Teacher of the Year Award" for Sheridan Elementary School. Well, low and behold, Gov. Beebe was at the banquet. Joan and Bobby (who is a State Rep) were sitting at the head table with the Gov. Joan was telling the Governor that I was at the meeting that morning and so forth, so she called me over and I had a little chat with the Governor!! He hugged me like we were old friends and chatted with me like anyone else would have. I was very impressed at how personable and friendly he was, even if he is a democrat :) He even made some jokes towards me later about Wal-Mart! So, I decided I might as well join his staff since we seem to be running in the same crowd these days! HA!
Today Jason and I are going to the Little Rock Bridal Fair! Our photographer has a booth and is displaying 4 of our engagement photos! We haven't even seen any of them yet so we are pretty excited. We are also going to try to win one of the 2 free honeymoons being given away! Our travel agent is giving one away and said she would try to help us out on winning. She said everyone is allowed to enter as many times as they want, so I am taking baggies full of our entries!! Jason is being very positive and really thinks we are going to win! Our photographers said that their brides always end up winning the big prize at the fair and we are the only couple they have attending, so fingers crossed!!! Jason said I could get a new car if we won the trip!
Other than that, I have been busy busy planning the wedding. I am SO blessed to have a wedding planner who is taking care of the majority of the things that must be done because I have no idea how I would ever get it all done while working so much!
My amazing sister has set up my bachelorette weekend and I am SO excited! We are all going to Napa Valley, California for a long weekend. We have two beautiful condos there at a spa! We are also going to go to San Fransisco for some sightseeing too since that is where we are flying in and out of! It is going to be so wonderful!

WOW it has been a while!

2009-01-08T19:29:00.002-08:00

Yes, I realize I have not updated my blog since October. I'm a shame to the blogging community. I have been keeping up with everyone elses' blogs though.
I have been so busy since my last post. I have been trying to plan our wedding on April 4, 2009. As everyone says, it is stressful. All people involved have opinions and for some reason feel the need to openly express those opinions. While some I value deeply, others I wish would never have been given. Overall, it has been fun and really is just getting started. I just keep reminding myself this is the only wedding I will ever be having and this is something I have dreamed of doing for a very long time. I have many things that still need to be picked out. In fact, I pretty much only have a dress, a venue, and a planner/caterer/florist extraordinaire! I am sure everything will come together in the end.
In December I traveled to China for work. I could write a novel about my experience, but it is easier to sum it all up in one little word, ODD. China is a very very odd place. I traveled from northwest Arkansas to Chicago to Tokyo to Hong Kong. My most dreaded part of the trip, the 13 hour flight to Tokyo, ended up being the best part of the trip. We were in business class and that made it SO nice. It was very relaxing and that is when I began reading the Twilight series. I could go on and on about those books. I read 3 500+ page books in a week and I am madly in love with a vampire. I thought these sounded like the stupidest books I had ever heard of, but boy have I eaten my words on that. Anyway, Hong Kong was incredible. The cheapest car I saw there was a Mercedes. It is very beautiful, aside from the smog and smelly harbor. It is like NYC nestled between the ocean and a mountain. We spent a day there on the way in and a day there on the way out. The city we stayed at in China is called Shenzhen. It is a somewhat recently developed city so there are no neat historical Chinese things to see. It looks more like what I imagine downtown Detroit to look like, except with more buildings. It was incredibly smoggy, although everyone said it was better than it used to be. The stench of the city is almost unforgettable. I saw so many things there that I can't even begin to describe. I took tons of pictures, mostly of the odd meat I saw. I actually saw a whole crocodile (minus the gut) on ice at the Sam's Club. There was even a raw, skinned lamb hanging right at the front door of the Wal-Mart neighborhood market. Needless to say, my gag reflex got a workout. I was in Shenzhen for 5 days. I ate little to nothing and lost 6 lbs. Unfortunately I gained those back over Christmas.
I had a wonderful Christmas with my family. I took a few vacation days to go to Sheridan for the holiday. It stinks not having a month off for Christmas anymore (one of the few drawbacks to not being in school). My sister and her boyfriend Andrew came home too. This is the third Christmas Andrew has spent with the Freeman family. I think he is really starting to adjust now. Stacy got him a Wii, which we made him open three days before Christmas. We played the thing to death. Well, some people did. I didn't get to play much due to a little mishap. Somehow I got something in my eye on the 23 and apparently tried to literally claw my eye out because it was bugging me so bad. I ended up scratching my eyeball up and had to wear a patch all day Christmas eve. It was horrible. Even after I got the patch off, my eye was in bad shape. Needless to say, this hindered my Wii playing abilities. I still managed to win all the games of bowling though!
Well, I think that is enough for my first post in 3 months. Sorry if I rambled, I just had so much to talk about that it was hard to have direction. Probably should have outlined or something first....
Hope you are all doing well!

Going to the Chapel!!!

2008-10-29T20:22:00.008-07:00

If you haven't heard, and I'm sure most of you have, Jason and I are GETTING MARRIED!!!! We are soooo excited. He proposed last Tuesday after picking me up at 11 pm from the airport. I had been on my first business trip (Atlanta for training). First, he dropped me off on Sunday afternoon, then secretly drove to Sheridan to speak with my parents. He drove back to Fayetteville that night and I never knew! He picked me up at the airport Tuesday after a very very long day of training and traveling. I was exhausted. When we got back to his house, he punched the garage door opener and nothing happened. He punched again and again and still nothing. He said he didn't have his keys, so I got in the trunk, into my suitcase, into my purse and looked for keys. I didn't have any either! He said he was going to go walk around the house and check for an open window or the back door. I sat in the car and got all upset at the prospect of sleeping in the cold car (he also had the keys to my apartment in the house). Well a couple minutes later he came out of the front door saying he had crawled in through a window. I rejoiced and headed toward the house. As we got close to the door he said "oh no! I made you a welcome home sign and now you are coming in through the wrong door and it will be messed up!" I said not to worry, I would turn around and look at the front door after I got in the house. As soon as the door opened, I knew it was all a trick! I was greeted with a white path covered in rose petals and lined with candles. He had moved all of the furniture out of the living room and set up a table with lots of pictures of the two of us and even some pictures of Sophie. He had two dozen roses on the table too. He was super nervous. All he could get out was that he was really happy and really nervous. I could tell he had a speech prepared but in the heat of the moment couldn't get it out. So instead, he got down on one knee and pulled out Sophie's lion. Jason had said several times that he was going to put my ring on Sophie's collar and let me find it one day as my proposal. Since Sophie's death, her lion, which was her "baby", as been our "baby" because she reminds us so much of Sophie and smells like her too. I know it may sound silly to some of you, but as soon as I saw him grab that lion, I began to cry. He had the ring on Sophie's collar around the lion. It was so special and sentimental. I, of course, said yes! After that he told me he had a video camera set up in the corner so that it was all on film to cherish forever! So sweet! He even filmed himself setting it all up. It was a wonderful proposal- romantic, intimate, and thoughtful- just like my future husband! AH! It is still weird to say that. He bought me the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. It really is stunning. I tried to take photos, but they all turn out blurry! It is a kwiat rectangle, radiant cut with tiny diamonds along the band and on the setting!

We have started trying to plan the wedding. We are looking at April. We don't want to wait, but also want to have time to plan and not be too overwhelmed. I never realized how much went into the planning!!! Jason is being so wonderful and helpful already. I can't describe how it makes me feel to see him overjoyed that he is marrying me. In fact, he cried when I read this post to him :)I feel so blessed to be marrying the love of my life!

October is almost over!

2008-10-16T19:55:00.003-07:00

My friend Charity asked all her fellow bloggers what all they have been up to after updating us on her life. So, I told her I would respond via my blog!

What I've been up to:
-Getting used to working 10 hour days
-Waking up at 5:45 am to make a 40 minute drive to work
-Finding a new apartment in Bentonville to avoid the first two
-Spending time with Jason and Miley
-Decorating Jasons home for the fall
-Going to a pumpkin patch for the first time (soo fun)!
-Eating out WAY too much
-Becoming a lawyer
-Playing Clue
(Sorry life has been really boring lately aside from the swearing in)

What I'm looking forward to:
- Halloween work party...our team is doing Alice in Wonderland Theme
-Week long trip to China in December
-Miley learning what "no bite" means
-Miley finally getting to meet her grandparents and Chloe
-Thanksgiving and Christmas
-My sister coming home for Christmas
-Time change
-The gym at my new apartment
-Watching lots of NFL football

Things I'm excited about:
-FINALLY being a LAWYER!
-Mine and Jason's relationship being wonderful
-Miley being potty-trained
-Miley having all her shots in 3 weeks
-Paychecks
-The 12th anniversary of my first kiss ever on Halloween! Guess who it was with?! DUH

Things that I try not to think about:
-Work
-Gaining weight because I work too much
-That soon it will be dark when I go to work and leave work
-How fast Miley is growing
-The grey hair I found today
-My bad habits
-The work bus trip to Nashville in March (ugh how horrible)
-Obama winning the election
-Only 2 days christmas vacation

Miley updates and other news

2008-09-28T15:33:00.005-07:00

Just thought I would give an update on Miley and work since I haven't posted in a couple of weeks.
Miley is doing just excellent! She is 100% potty trained at this point which is a huge relief. She had her second shots and dewormings and was an angel for the vet. Not even a whimper or a squirm! She got the "cutest client of the day award" too! The only problem she is currently having is biting, but that is normal for puppies. She has so many mannerisms that Sophie also had. Sometimes it is like having Sophie here with us again. She definitely has her own personality. She is not scared of anything, completely opposite of Sophie. We have to watch her close if she is on furniture because she will jump off. Last week we got out the puppy stairs and put them up to the couch. It took Sophie and Chloe a LONG time to use them. Miley went right up the steps the first time and has been going up and down them ever since. Too cute!
In other news, my job is going ok. I'm still trying to learn exactly what I'm doing. We had a really fun "tailgate" party Friday where the cooked out for us outside the building and we decorated all our pods with sports stuff. Our team won the best decor and spirit award so now we get a free lunch with one of the execs in our building! I am going on my first trip in mid Oct to Atlanta for training.
Other than that, life is good. Jason is doing great and enjoying his new position. His new company car should be here this week so that is fun. Our best friends from college, Ali and Joe Sugg, are coming to visit next weekend and we could not be more excited to see them!

Introducing Miley Palyn Wood

2008-09-14T08:21:00.009-07:00

Well, we finally took the advice of many of our friends and got another puppy on Friday Sept. 12. We drove down to Cabot after work, got there about 9:30ish and met an adorable little 2.6lb. maltese girl. I was immediately taken with her when I saw the adorable pink bow around her neck and she started licking me on the face the second she was in my arms. We bought her from some wonderful people in Cabot, the Wrentz's. I randomly called them when I saw their ad in the Democrat that had pictures of the puppies and said they were paper trained. She said she didn't have any females, so I asked her if she would mind keeping my number and calling me the next time her dogs had a liter. She has 2 females and one male, so its about 8 months before another liter is born. Anyway, she called me back the next day and said the she did have a female available now because her friend could not come and get her from FL. She said she had googled me because my name sounded familiar and she came across this blog! When she saw my blog, she realized that she was a friend of a friend and had seen my sister compete at Miss Arkansas. As it turns out, their male came from the same place that Sophie did. So, we felt like it was almost fate and decided to go meet her. While we were at their home, she walked over and tee teed on the puppy pad, definitely a good sign.

She was really good on the long drive home to Fayetteville and slept most of the time. I was worried she might get carsick because lots of little puppies do, but she didn't so that was good. When we got back home she went on her puppy pad again! She slept through the night without any whining. She had a couple of accidents yesterday, but I'm certain she'll be fine once she gets her bearings. She is SO playful and SO quick. It is unbelievable how much she has learned in the few hours we've had her. She is very different from Sophie, except that she does like to sleep! We are going to the vet today to do a health check up so hopefully everything will go well.

The Wrentz's had named her "Palin" which I thought was really cute, but I had already decided I liked Miley. No, not after Miley Cyrus, I just think it is spunky and cute. So we went with Palin as her middle name.

She is still getting used to her little "room" we created for her in the bathroom. She has this massive bathroom with a whirlpool tub and chandelier to stay in, yet she doesn't like it. What girl wouldn't love that bathroom?! She's just gotta get used to being confined to one room when she is alone. She is too small to have full run of the house. Yesterday we left her to go look for her some essentials (puppy pads, a bad, toys, etc). We left her in the bathroom, which is fixed up super nice just for her. When we got back, I went in there and could not find her. I knew there was no way she could get out of the room. Suddently, I saw two little black eyes peeping at me from the laundry basket! She had used the step of the tub to crawl into the basket and probably couldn't get out after she was in it! Too funny!

We are very much still grieving for Sophie and miss her every single day. I wish she was here to see Miley, I would love to see them together!

Working Girl

2008-09-02T17:26:00.003-07:00

Today I officially became an "adult" as I started my first real job. For the first day and a half I have orientation with all the other "associates" who are beginning work at Walmart. I learned some interesting facts about my company, played some games, and of course, learned the "Walmart Cheer". Tomorrow I go to class in the morning to learn the rules then I report to my job that afternoon. I did get to meet up with my bosses for lunch today. I really really like them both. They are so laid back, lawyers, and one is even a vegetarian like me! I think we are going to get along wonderfully! I still don't know exactly what I'll be doing day to day, but I'm sure I will get that worked out soon enough.
As for last week, Destin was so much fun. It was exactly what I needed to relax after the hardest month of my life. We did all the fun things I wanted except for airbrushing. I must point out that I managed to BEAT Jason at BOTH putt putt and go-carts. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself. He probably let me win since it was my birthday weekend, but I'm still rubbing it in :) We had some AMAZING dinners each night. We ended up leaving on Sunday afternoon instead of Monday to avoid driving in the bad weather Gustav was brought in. We traveled right along side the many evacuees from New Orleans. It was just heart wrenching to think of what those poor people were going through.

How I spent my 26th Birthday

2008-08-26T02:57:00.008-07:00

Yesterday was a momentous day for me! First, I accepted a job offer and will start my first "real" job ever next week! Second, Jason and I headed for a week long vacation in Destin.

We spent the night in Sheridan Sun. night to cut off some of the time and to spend my parents 40th wedding anniversary with them. We went shopping, where I got a great deal on a BCBG dress at dillards- 70% off then another 20% off. Then we had dinner at Outback, one of my parents favorites. We we went home to and enjoyed a joint anniversary and bday cake from my favorite, Rick's Bakery. We went to bed and got up at 4:30 am to head to Destin. It took us til almost 530 to get out the door. The drive was not bad at all and we arrived about 3 pm. We expected it to rain on us most of the way thanks to Fay, but it only sprinkled a bit. It has however been raining and storming all night, which is why I am awake at 5 am. Anyway, as soon as we arrived at the condo, I took pictures of the place while Jason unpacked the car. Then we took a walk on the beach and checked out the premises of the condo. Its great and has a big pool that overlooks the beach, a workout room, shuffle board (one of our faves), free DVD rentals on site, gameroom, etc. It also happens to be across the main road from Silver Sands outlet mall. We scoped it out on the way to dinner and found lots of great stores to check out on a rainy day, tomorrow perhaps. We ate dinner at a really nice place called Marina Cafe. It overlooked part of the marina that was filled with boats and yachts. We had crab spring rolls, salad, olive bread, redfish, and banana beignet's! It was excellent, especially the redfish. It was an absolutely wonderful birthday. Jason said we get to celebrate, so this should be perfect! :) They didn't give me anything for free for my bday, so tomorrow I'll work on a free dessert! haha!

Self-Discovery

2008-08-20T13:26:00.002-07:00

A couple of my other friends made lists on their blogs of facts about themselves. I found this quite an interesting read. However, I wondered to myself, what in the world would I write about myself if I did this. Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I am currently on a journey of self-discovery in an effort to find out more about myself and what I want to do with my life. So, I thought that making such a list may be a good exercise in learning more about myself. Here it goes:
1. I was named after 2 people: "Kristin" was after my parents favorite character on their noon soap, and "Faye" is after my mother's sister Alice Faye.
2. I was a very busy kid taking all kinds of lessons from dance, to singing, to guitar, to piano.
3. I miss doing all of those things.
4. I really like crafty things like flower arranging, painting, refurbishing old furniture, etc. and wish I was better at it.
5. The only meats I eat are shrimp and a couple of fishes.
6. I really, really, really love to watch TV. I mean REALLY.
7. Sometimes I think Murphy's Law is the story of my life: "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."
8. I tend to be a bit pessimistic thanks to that.
9. I really love the color pink, but rarely wear it anymore.
10. I have always desperately wanted to have a little girl some day to smother in pink :)
11. I collected Barbies when I was a little girl and still collect Barbie christmas ornaments. I probably have over 100 ornaments.
12. I prefer movies that have a meaning, teach us a lesson, or make you think.
13. I have only had two pets in my entire life and they died on the same day, 4 years apart.
14. I absolutely LOVED being the mother of my sweet little Sophie.
15. I wear Sophie's dog tag around me neck every time I leave the house.
16. I am a habitual "overthinker" of everything, thus am rarely impulsive.
17. I prefer to go to bed about 10:30.
18. I am pretty black and white- either playing around like a kid or really serious.
19. I consider myself to be pretty laid back unless it comes to something that is very important to me.
20. When I was a little girl, more than anything (except having a baby girl) I wanted to sing on Broadway and practiced in my room all the time.
21. I am an awful procrastinator.
22. Because I procrastinate, I make lots of lists so I won't forget to do something at the last minute.
23. I had clear braces for a year.
24. I have an awful, nasty, horrible habit of biting my nails and picking at my cuticles til they bleed.
25. I cannot stand to see something bad happen to an animal in a movie- I will cry for an hour.
26. Sometimes I feel like I've learned the lesson "life's not fair, get over it" far too many times.
27. I am very close to my immediate family and they come first.
28. I am terrible at returning phone calls and am not proud of it.
29. I hate to fail.
30. I was a cheerleader for 5 years and regret that I wasted all that time.
31. My senior year in high school was by far the best year of my life so far.
32. I have floating knee caps.
33. I really love flowers, but cannot keep the ones I plant alive for more than a week.
34. Graduating from law school was a life long dream.
35. I found the love of my life when I was barely 14 and he was 13: 09-06-96.
36. I found the second love of my life in March of my senior year of college.
37. This year was the first year in 20 years that I did not attend the miss arkansas pageant.
38. I wear a lot of gray clothes.
39. I am stubborn about trying new foods and never think I will like it, but then I do.
40. I am pretty messy, but I cannot stand the house to be dirty. There is a difference between messy and dirty.
41. My worst vacation was when the family went to the DisneyWorld, the supposed "happiest place on earth" but it was far from happy for any of the four of us.
42. I am not a good swimmer.
43. I get really scared by things I hear on tv, i.e. theme park rides breaking and killing people, because I've never been one of those people who thought "it won't happen to me" instead I've always thought, that will happen to me.
44. I wish I was better at staying organized.
45. I made straight A's in college.
46. I think I'm a huge dork.
47. I have a lot of issues with insecurity.
48. I need to learn to stand up for myself more instead of shying away from confrontation.
49. I hate to shop for jeans.
50. The worst day of my life was 08-02-08 and I will never be the same.

Boredom

2008-08-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Being jobless has led to sheer boredom. I know that it probably sounds great to most people to get to sleep in as late as I want, lay around on the couch, shop, and just basically do whatever I feel like, but trust me, the fun in that only lasts for a couple of days. At this point, I actually miss studying for the bar because at least it was something to do (ok so that may be a bit of a stretch). It would be much better if I had Sophie because we could be doing all kinds of activities together that we always talked about doing when I had time, ie lunching at the park. I'm sure there are some chores I could be doing, like organizing stuff, but I'm not that motivated yet. I have been exercising twice a day just because it takes up time! I've been watching lots of movies though. I don't know if you've heard of Redbox, but its like a vending machine for movies and they only cost $1. I have rented several movies from Redbox in the last year and it has always worked perfectly. However, I've rented 4 in the last 3 days and 2 of them wouldn't work. Because it's a machine, I don't have anyone to complain to and get my money back. Ah, the drawbacks of convenience.

The weather up here has been kinda weird lately. The temps are very nice, around 80 degrees. However, the sun hasn't been out in a few days so that is a bit depressing. I don't really have any desire to be outside anymore now that Sophie is gone. I used to take her over to Jason's to play in his back yard or just to sit out on the porch in a chair with me. She loved watching the birds. It had gotten so hot that I didn't think it was good for her to be out much. I just don't have any desire to be enjoying this weather without her.

I'm getting super excited about my vacation! I'm so thankful that our trip wasn't this week since Florida is getting pummeled with a horrible tropical storm. The weather.com says that the weather next week should be sunny and in the mid 80s!

My birthday is in just 6 days. I'm going to be 26, just 4 years away from 30! Scary, very scary. This is the first time, at least that I can think of, that I will be on vacation during my birthday! I plan to spend the day laying on the beach and then going out to a fancy dinner and having a yummy dessert. The last two years I've celebrated my birthday with dinner, friends, and a Rick's Bakery cake. Rick's Bakery is a great bakery in Fayetteville that makes the tastiest cakes. My roomie Allison always goes and designs a special cake for me. Last year it was a peacock designed kind of in the shape of a 2 and a 5. It was so neat. In fact, I'm just gonna put a picture up so you can see. Allison always designs all our friends' cakes because she is so creative. I really think she should go into cake design! I'm horrible at it. I always get her cake and feel so bad because she designs these awesome cakes for everyone else, then her cake sucks because I apparently can't explain what I'm thinking well enough for the bakery to understand what I want.
Well, my soaps are starting so I better quit babbling and pay attention!

London Fog

2008-08-16T11:49:00.001-07:00

Jason just left to go to London for the week. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself while he is gone!! :( However, we are going on a trip to Florida the day he gets back to celebrate my birthday! He told me that I very much deserved a vacation because I had been working so hard the last 6 months in finishing law school and studying for the bar, and very soon, my whole life is going to change forever (or at least the next 20+ years) when I start working full time. I'm SO excited! I haven't been to Destin in YEARS. Both of our families used to vacation their every year, so we can't wait to go back and act like a couple of kids, i.e. playing paddle ball, building sandcastles, catching sandcrabs at night, putt-putt golfing, and riding go-carts! At least all the packing will keep me busy this week!

As I mentioned last time, I'm doing a detox diet for my liver. Last time I wrote, I wasn't very excited about it, but I am beginning to change my opinion. It is still really hard and I'll admit I've cheated more than I should, but I've still lost about 5 lbs in the first 5 days. Besides the weight loss, I've gotten over the hunger stage and am starting to feel alot more energized and healthier. So, my sister may turn out to have been right after all!

I'm posting a picture of the beautiful flowers that Jason's mother sent us when she heard about Sophie's death. She is such a sweet and thoughtful lady, and I am so blessed to have her in my life!

Interview Queen

2008-08-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

I have been actively searching for the "perfect" job since April. So far, I've had seven interviews and a few phone interviews. I'm really starting to get a handle on my answers, since everyone asks very similar questions. I had one thrilling 2 hour interview in which I was asked about 50 "tell me about a time when....." questions, which was horrendous. The one question I routinely struggle with is "what is your plan for then ext 10 years as far as your career goes?" Of course, since I can't seem to land my first job, I have NO IDEA how to plan for 1o years down the road. Give me a break. Needless to say at this point I've given up searching for the "perfect" job and am now just looking for some form of paycheck.
We've still been watching the Olympics nightly. I have to say, that I've found it is an odd thing to watch an Olympian make a mistake that costs them a medal. For a second I am so disappointed in them. I mean really, is this the best we've got who can't even withstand a little nerves and pressure? They train their whole lives for these games. Then again, it also breaks my heart for them because, as I just said, they have trained their whole life for that moment. I know all too well what it feels like to screw something up at the exact instance that it matters most. It also makes me realize that we really are all humans who make mistakes. Olympians are probably the closest thing we have to "superheroes" who have incredible strength and skill. Yet, even our "superheroes" falter. I know, I know, "overthinker."
Jason is getting ready to head to London on Saturday for work. He will be there for seven days. I think he only has one afternoon that he may have a chance to do a little sightseeing. Say a pray that he gets there and back safely!
My sister just got back from an amazing vacation to some town in Mexico. Today I received the most beautiful painted wooden plate and a matching bowl (think chip and dip serving pieces). She said she had it hand painted while she was on the beach!! I cannot wait to use it for a party! Unfortunately, my sister also talked me into this "detox" diet that cleans out your liver. It consists of drinking cranberry water, lemon water, flax oil, veggies, fruits, and protein. Notice, I left out the staple food group, Carbs! I can't have any carbs, caffeine sugar, salt....you know, all the good stuff. This is the first time I've ever tried to go without any carbs at all and it has definitely been a struggle. I cheated a few times at the beginning, but am starting to get the hang of it. Thank goodness it is only a two week "flush" of the liver. Oh, and I should mention the HORRENDOUS headache I had the first 3 days that is a direct result of cutting out caffeine and my brain suddenly getting all the blood it should be getting. Anyway, according to Stacy I should start feeling revitalized and energized soon. Most importantly, it is supposed to reduce cellulite, but I'm skeptical. I'll let you know how it turns out!