Lindsey and Tanner

Tidbits

2012-01-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a recap of my life through the holidays and last couple months:

My brother got married to the most WONDERFUL girl that we just love!

I got some TOMS. 2 pair actually. These beauties and a pair of brown herringbone. Love them!

The DOZENS and DOZENS of rolls my mom and I made for my brother's reception.

Thanksgiving at my great aunts. Eat lots of food. Play volleyball. Repeat. (Intermingled with random things like stacking 3 people on top of each other...)

Made gingerbread houses per our annual tradition. Our pretty much rocked this year!

* * *

I've also been really busy with church, eating healthier, loving my nephews, work, and being a good wife!

Against my consent

2012-01-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

You know that saying "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"?

That Eleanor Roosevelt was a pretty brilliant woman. And yet I am confident that she never took her car to the mechanics...

Those blasted mechanics don't seem to care one bit about my consent!

My car (Stella) has been leaking and leaving oil in my driveway (at least it sure looked like oil to ME).

A couple nights ago--after a warning light appeared on my dashboard--in the dark of the night, with a flashlight, I went out to check the oil in my car and is was LOW LOW LOW. I asked my husband to pick up some oil on his way home and put it in. He obligingly did so. (Over the summer my car basically ran out of oil and I was paranoid that it had happened again.) Much to my pleasure the oil he added caused the 'Maint Req" light on my dashboard to turn off. I thought I was finally starting to gain a little mechanical knowledge.

Well... I took my car in for an oil change after work today. That puddle that I just KNEW was oil in my driveway... fluid I was SURE was oil... Was actually transmission fluid... That plus the fact that I misread the oil stick (I don't even know what that thing is called. Why did I think I knew anything about cars?) made for a car with TOO MUCH oil.

Too much oil + broken transmission + mechanics looking at me like I didn't know a thing + not my consent = me feeling inferior.

Tom time

2011-11-15T19:44:00.000-08:00

It's Toms time. I've been thinking about it for a loooooong time and I'm gonna get them.

I'm just not sure which pair to get. Help me out?

Choice #1 Brown herringbone

Choice #2 Classic and natural

Choice #3 Go with almost everything in my wardrobe (and look at the animals inside!) ...yet kind of boring

Choice #4 My favorite color, but not as versatile.

Choice #5 I feel like this is a boring choice, but I really love the grey.

There are some other super fun choices, but I think my first pair needs to be a solid instead of patterned.

What do you think? Which pair gets your vote?

Time

2011-10-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

After listening to Ian S. Arden talk about using time wisely and hearing the bishop in my ward talk about staying busy with good things I have been thinking about what I spend my time on.

To say that I have been slacking when it comes to exercising would be a gross understatement... I did okay over the summer, but when I went back to work when school started I had less time. I kept thinking that after I got in a good routine and settled into this school year I'd have more time.

Guess what... That never happened! In fact the opposite happened--I got a fairly time intensive calling and had less time than before. Yet despite that I still managed time to watch TV.

I have decided that I need to cut out most of my TV watching. This past week I have watched substantially less than I am used to. This week is October break and I thought this would be the perfect time to start down the road to being fit again. 3 weeks ago I started doing yoga with a friend but that was only once a week. Yesterday I power walked to my brother's house (He lives 2 miles from me) and today I rode to my parents' house and back (14 miles). Last night I also decided to stop eating deep fried foods and sweets until Thanksgiving. I'll need a slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Time to get healthy!

And you know what? I feel pretty great!

AZ beauty

2011-10-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

I watched this a couple days ago on a friend's blog. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but it keeps sneaking back into my mind. Take a look. Enjoy!

"Landscapes: Volume 2 is the second of a three part series (probably). Every frame of this video is a raw still from a Canon 5D2 DSLR and processed with Adobe software. In Volume 2 I again show off my beautiful home state of Arizona and I also made several trips to Utah. This video has some iconic landmarks that we have seen before. I felt that showing them again with motion controlled HDR and/or night timelapse would be a new way to see old landmarks."

New friends

2011-09-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Tanner came home with these little guys. They're only about 3 weeks old and less than 3 inches long. They've been fun to have around.

We're still trying to decide what to name them. Suggestions?

greatest accomplishment ever!

2011-08-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

To say that it's hard to surprise my husband is an understatement. He takes great pride in this. I on the other hand hate it.

He can always guess what gifts are, what I'm thinking, where I am taking him. Last Christmas I got him a keyboard and had it shipped to my parents' house. He saw it under their tree twice before Christmas and I am quite certain he knew what it was. I told him that if he guessed what it was (and was right) that I was going to send it back...

In the 4 years we've been together (minus last week) I think that only time I managed to surprise him was with the engraving on the inside of his wedding ring.

That being said... Tanner's birthday was last week. He turned the big 2-5.

We had been meaning to re-roof our house and decided to start it last weekend (take off Friday and start putting on Saturday). Tanner's birthday fell on that Friday. Tanner isn't much for birthdays: actually he doesn't care for his at ALL. I have been trying to change that...

About a week and a half before his birthday I decided that a surprise party was in order. Considering his feelings about birthdays and how difficult it is to surprise him I was a little anxious. We got up early to start taking the roof off. I met him for lunch at Rigatoni's. It was a pretty regular, boring birthday. After work his dad and brother came over again to do a little more on the roof. I went and borrowed my dad's truck to go get some shingles and tar paper from Home Depot.

The party was scheduled for 8:00 at the swimming pool. I know that if I just asked him to go swimming he would resist. So I got my brother in on the plan. He called Tanner and said that they were over swimming with my parents and wanted to give him a present before they headed home (they live a good 25 minutes from us). My brother asked if Tanner was available to stop by to get the gift. He said he could do that. When he talked to me about it I told him I had my dad's truck with me and it would be great if we could swap cars back at the same time.

I ran into trouble at Home Depot (that story to follow in another post) and 8:00 came and went. We were behind schedule and Tanner was just going to go to the pool to get his 'present' from my brother without me. I convinced him that I would be home very shortly from the store and would like to go with him to return my dad's truck. We got to the pool around 8:30. We pulled into the parking lot and there were cars everywhere (apparently there was an event going on [the pool shares a parking lot with a church building]) That actually turned out to be a great thing because he didn't recognize any cars.

I had texted my mom on the way over to the pool so she could get everyone ready for the surprise. We walked in and everyone jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE!" At first Tanner just looked around confused. Then he saw all my family, his family, and friends and it sunk in. He was actually surprised! It was a miracle. He was surprised!!!

We didn't get pictured of the actual surprise part. In fact, I didn't even have my camera. I did, however, get a few poor quality pictures on my phone:

Taking candles out of the cake. I love how closely our 2 nephews in the background are watching!

Me eating some cotton candy.

One of our nephews munching away. We had cake, nachos, watermelon, and cotton candy.

Happy birthday to Tanner and happy surprising to me!

Ceramincs

2011-08-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Tanner and I thought it's be fun to take a ceramics class. So this summer we have been makin' pots on the wheel.

My brother, Tanner's sister, and Tanner's brother are in the class with us as well and it has been a LOT of fun! We go to class Monday evenings and then we get to go to one 'open studio' a week for free. A couple weeks ago I ran into a friend at open studio. It was fun to make fancy things and catch up with her.

I can't throw very big pots yet, but I have improved over the course of the class. Here is the only picture I have remembered to take. The 3 front pieces are mine.

Tanner and I are now thinking about buying a wheel for our house. What do you think? Is that a worthwhile investment?

New little guy

2011-08-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law had this sweet little guy 3 weeks ago.

Curtis Ron Burnham: 7lbs 15 oz 21 1/2 in long

My parents were out of town getting my brother from his mission so I was babysitting my youngest two siblings. we got to go see the new addition in the hospital.

Have I ever mentioned that newborns are one of my favorite things in the world?! Well they are. In fact I held this guy for more than an hour last night and loved every second. So tiny (mini ears, fingers, lips, ears, toes, everything! I love it!), so sweet and so squishy! I love how they just curl right up and fit so nicely in my arms. All in all I love having this new guy as part of the family!

Sailing

2011-07-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last month we headed to San Diego with my mom's side of the family for our annual family reunion. My mom rented a sailboat for us to ride. Good times were had. The weather was windy and chilly and we watched as catamaran after catamaran tipped over around us. We thought they were all so incompetent until we realized that they were doing some kind of training and were tipping over on purpose...

Also, I am fairly certain my brother was born to be a sailor.

Coming soon

2011-06-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

This guy is coming home from his mission in about 3 weeks!

Quarter Century

2011-06-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

I had my birthday and now I'm a quarter century old! The big 2-5!

For my birthday this year my dad (who is a pilot) flew us up to Heber to stay at their cabin Friday night.

We got to the cabin just after 6 and fell asleep by 6:30. I thought we'd take a little nap then go to dinner. Turns out we were so tired that we slept ALL night! I didn't get up till 7:30 the next morning.

The next day we went to lunch at Casa Ramos. Tanner ordered the Mexican pizza which turned out to be enough food for 3.

I ordered a burrito which was also way more food than I could eat! But it was tasty.

While we were out and about we went to the local Heber thrift store. We stumbled across these fantastic jump suits! A deal we simply could not pass up.

We headed back to the cabin and napped (because we obviously hadn't slept enough the night before) and relaxed all afternoon. My dad came and got us around six that night and flew back home. It wasn't a very long getaway, but it was so nice and so relaxing.

The next night we went to Sunday dinner at my in-laws. My sister-in-law Tabitha made me two delicious cakes. They sang to me, we ate, and enjoyed each others company. here are some pictures from that evening. (Thanks Lisa for the pictures!)

All in all my birthday was a success! Tanner also bought me a beach cruiser bike that is so much fun!

So here's to being 25!

Check

2011-05-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a glimpse into my week:

Renew teaching certificate. Check

Get a flat tire on the freeway.     Check

New catalytic converter in my car.     Check

Fail emissions.     Check

Pass Emissions.     Check

Take care of a very sick hubby.     Check

Avoid working out.     Check

Have the bug man spray my house.     Check

Go to a class on Saturday. Check

Have 2 of my kids ditch class in the morning to go to QT.     Check

Boy in my class write "have s*x with (name of a girl in my class)" on a little piece of paper.     Check

Get my teaching contract for next year.     Check.

Get car registration renewed. Check

Take the final for my online class.     Check

Keep a mostly positive attitude.     Check

Reunion

2011-05-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

I high school I had 3 best girl friends. We did EVERYTHING together. We went on adventures, we were crazy, we had SO much fun! (and I found out later we were pretty closed off to the idea of letting anyone else in... I think we were just so content that that thought never crossed our minds. But that's beside the point.)

(This picture is about 5 years old. We didn't take a picture last night. Also, don't mind my hunchback... I was just trying to get in the picture better or something silly.)

Well, last night the 4 of us got together for dinner. We caught up on each others lives, got caught up on other people's lives, and reminisced. We even went on a small adventure. It was a lot of fun.

It also reminded me of how unsocial I am these days. And I feel like I should want to change that..

Anyways, it was a LOT of fun and briefly made me miss my high school days. Good memories!

Garden Update

2011-05-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break I planted a garden. This is what it looked like.

Now, a month and a half later it looks like this:

CRAZY, right?!

We have a bell pepper growing.

About 50 tomatoes!

And yesterday I picked a zucchini!!! It was the first harvest.

We also have pea plants (no peas yet), carrots, chives, onions, TONS of blossoms: 30 on the cucumber, 2 on the watermelon, lots on the pepper plants, and lots more on the squash. I have about 10 mini zucchini growing, 3 yellow squash and more basil than I can use. I'm loving it!

Easter Easter Easter!

2011-04-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

This year we went to my mom's house to color Easter eggs. It was fun to get to spend time with my family and get creative. My nephews came and it was a big party!

It's adorable how much my nephews love their grandpa!

Here's my favorite egg this year.

Another one I did. Sappy, I know...

My oldest Nephew had so much fun choosing what colors he was going to do.

My youngest nephew wanted to do what everyone else was doing. I thought this was extra cute because he's such a wiggly worm it was amazing that he sat there so still :)

And here's my sweet sis-in-law with nephew #3 (on this side) on the way! I LOVE newborns, so I'm excited for him to get here in July.

After coloring Easter eggs we hid plastic eggs outside for the little guys to find. His basket is empty because as soon as he found an egg he would open it, eat it, and leave the shell on the grass.

I helped Brigham count how many eggs he had found. 33! That's the highest he's ever counted and I got to help (that's the teacher in me, getting excited about helping a little person count)

My twin brothers live together and I figured they wouldn't get an Easter basket, so last night I made them a basket when I made mine and Tanner's. I dropped them off on their door step last night. i hope they got them and nobody stole them!

Posting all these pictures made me think of the Easter when Tanner and I were dating. We colored eggs with my roommate Tessa and our friend Josh.

And here we are this year. Do we look like we've changed much?

Risky dinner

2011-04-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

I have done my best to stay away from this restaurant during the course of my life due to the fact that I am always afraid I am going to accidentally say a swear word...

But this past week I was in the mood for a burger and suggested Red Robin. Tanner doesn't care for Red Robin to this was his alternative suggestion.

My favorite past was that they have a little bar that you get your burger toppings from. They had the good kind of pickles. The kind like they have at Krazy Sub: in spears AND slices! Mmmm!

I got the buffalo burger on a wheat bun. It was pretty good, but next time I'm going for the regular beef burger.

Tanner's favorite part is that they have cheese sauce.

Overall, it was good and we'll go back.

Stagnant

2011-04-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like you're not really moving anywhere? Just stuck in the same 'ol place. That's how I'm feeling lately. I feel like my life is more routine than I care for. I go to work, work out a few times a week, try and cook dinner, clean up the house a little, go to bed, repeat...

I probably need to set some better goals or something. I have been trying to develop my artistic skills, but I just want to be amazing. Without having to practice. Of course.

I would love to do some projects around the house, but my ambitions are larger than my funds. Another one of life's ironies I guess.

How am I going to solve this? How am I going to shake this feeling? I'll probably go to bed without washing my face or taking out my contacts...

Drawing project 2

2011-04-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

I have been reading "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain".

One of the activities is to draw things upside down. The book has this picture upside down. When you draw things upside down it forces your drain to look at lines instead of parts.

Here's mine. I took a picture of it on my laptop so it's backwards, but you get the idea.

Love this weather and these people!

2011-04-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

After Sunday dinner a few weeks ago we headed outdoors to enjoy the weather. We started out playing "Duck, Duck, Goose". My nephew LOVED it! He got silly and started saying different animal names instead of 'duck'. My little sister apparently thought it was really funny.

We then moved on to "Red Light Green Light". My brother took a spill. I'll tell you... these children's games are difficult!

It ended with people doing wheelbarrows.

Too bad this perfect weather doesn't last long...

Artist

2011-04-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to be an artist. I can scrapbook alright, and color in a coloring book, and my 2nd graders think I'm a great artist (but let's be honest... they thought my 4 legged duck was great...). I try not to be a jealous person; I try to just be happy for others. Yet when I see someone who can draw or paint I feel a twinge of jealously start in my stomach...

Well, it's on my list of life goals to learn to paint. It's on there twice actually. So when I was at Joanne's with my mom and sister on Saturday and they spotted a painting kit on sale, naturally I had to get it. And on that same shelf there was a drawing kit as well. I was nervous to try anything because I know it was going to be so bad... But after watching lots of YouTube videos I decided to give it my first try...

So I made my first attempt tonight. It's not amazing (and you shouldn't look at it too long), but I feel like it was good for my first attempt. Take a (quick) look.

I drew it from looking at a picture of Jennifer Garner. ( I feel somewhat less proud of myself when I put the two right next to each other. Oh well.)

Garden

2011-03-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

In our backyard we have 4 planter boxes. Three of them hold fruit trees that are giving us tangelos, navel oranges, grapefruit, and lemons. (One of the trees is actually a 'fruit cocktail tree' 75% of the tree grows grapefruit and the other 25% grows lemons! On the same tree! Crazy and amazing, right?!) Anyways... in the other box there was a dead tree stump. I thought that would be the perfect place to plant my garden.

I told my 16 year-old brother (who loves machetes and the like) that if he would come take the stump out I would pay him with the sugary things and treats from my house. It was a good deal for both of us :)

Step one:

Burn the grass. (More for my brother's enjoyment than anything else)

Step 2:

Use a pick and shovel like crazy.

Step 3:

Pull out the stump.

Step 4:

Add lots of wonderful soil, mulch, and manure/nutrients.

Step 5:

Buy plants and seeds.

Step 6:

Set everything out where you want it.

Step 7:

Plant the seeds and sprouts and ....

Tada!

We have basil, cilantro, zuccini, crooked neck squash, butternut squash, yellow pear tomatoes, heat resistant tomatoes, better boy tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers (red, orange and green), watermelon, strawberries, banana peppers, purple onions, carrots, snow peas and chives. I am so excited for everything to be ready to eat :)

My best cousin's wedding

2011-03-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

My cousin Lisa and I are 5 days apart. When we were little my mom would make us matching clothes. and we'd get pictures together. Last week Lisa got married.

Here we are all grown up :) She looked gorgeous in her wedding dress. I'm so happy for her!

The luncheon after the wedding was at Tia Rosa's. We had the most amazing tostadas! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!!!

* * *

On another note, I finished lining the curtains in the living room

Also, my nephew is a technological genius! He can navigate his way around my Ipod and is actually really good at the game Cut the Rope.

And coming soon... My garden! (this is my 'super-pre' picture)

Daddy Daughter

2011-03-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was the daddy daughter camp out for my parents' ward. My mom and sister mentioned it and I thought it would be fun! My dad and sister had things early Saturday morning, so we just went for Friday night. We left at 4 and got there just before 5. My mom had prepared foil dinners for us so right when we got there my dad got some charcoal going. He set up a table and chairs and we all pulled out books and enjoyed the nice weather. When dinner came off the coals it was delicious! We went and sat around the fire for a few hours and enjoyed the company. It started getting too cold for my liking and I made sure I stayed real close to the fire. They had planned some "Minute to Win It" games and and it was fun watching the girls play. We headed home around 9 and I had a nice chat with my dad on the way home. It was a nice little adventure.

100

2011-03-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

Happy 100th post. Took me long enough!

* * *

And this is SO random... Do you remember these things?

I have NO IDEA why, but they popped into my head today. These things were all the rage when I was in 6th grade. Kids walked around with them hooked to their belt loops. Some of the really cool kids even had 3, 4 or 5 of 'em clipped onto their belt loops. I myself had a silver Nano Baby. And yes, it was amazing. Oh, good times!

Stake president

2011-02-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

Meet my dad. He is honestly one of the best men I have even met (if not THE best). He is kind, considerate, funny, supportive, driven, a handy man, a fabulous husband to my mom, a pilot, organized, fabulous with his grand kids, spiritual, and fun to be around. I love him so much. He is a good example of how to lead a balanced life. I look up to him in so many ways.

We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Today he was just called to be the stake president for his stake. He is going to to an amazing job! I hope everyone knows how lucky they are to have him as a leader. He's been a strong leader in my family and I know he will be a strong leader in the stake. Love you dad!

Bridal shower, a hair experiment and locked in keys

2011-02-19T18:04:00.000-08:00

Whenever I see someone with big loose curls in their hair I swoon. You see, my hair is naturally curly, which I LOVE. I like that it's easy and versatile and that I can flatiron it when I want. I have just have yet to master big loose curls. I almost have to straighten my hair then re-curl it. And for a long time that just seemed ridiculous... and like a lot of work... But today I tried it! I know ot wasn't the smartest thing to try it on a rainy day, but oh well. It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but I think it turned out well. And I think it will be even better when it gets a little longer.

Today was also my twin cousin's bridal shower. Our birthdays are only a few days apart and we're both tall. And that, you see qualifies us as twin cousins.

The shower was a lot of fun and it was fun to see family that I don't see often. Since it was raining fairly hard when I got to the shower, I thought that I'd turn off the car, put everything away in my purse and use my umbrella to go around to the passenger door and get by big gift and purse. Well, habits are hard to break and I am in the habit of opening the car door, getting out, locking the doors with my hand, then shutting the door. I did this as normal and walked to the passenger door with my umbrella. I didn't even realize that I had locked the door until I got to the other door and tried to lock it. I was so frustrated! My gift, key, phone, and everything was in there. Luckily I have Tanner's phone number memorized, I have a kind aunt who let me use her phone, and a sweet husband who was kind enough to leave what he was doing to bring me the spare key.

Hair party

2011-02-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

I color my mom's hair. last Saturday I was doing her hair and had picked up some color so she could do mine as well. When I was in beauty school, and the two years that followed, I hilighted my hair. After those 3 years I went back to my natural color and have had it all natural for the last 4 years. I recently got a little restless and have been thinking about doing something subtle. Nothing drastic, just something to give me a little change. I just had my mom put in a little bit of color 2 shades lighter and 2 shades darker.

Well, while my mom and I were doing each others hair my little sister wanted in on the action. I said what the heck, so I out some hilights in her hair while we were at it. It was a regular hair party!

(my mom only has 1 foil in at this point b/c she was already done. We just decided to put in one more bit of dark)

And here's the after! Just a slight change. I am loving it!

Life changing!

2011-02-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

Step one: Insert crock pot liner

Step two: Put ingredients in the liner

Step Three: Enjoy dinner!

Step four: Empty food contents

Step five: Tie the liner and throw away

(note that I did not empty the contents... That's because I tried to make chicken noodle soup, but I put the egg noodles in at the beginning. They essentially turned to mush. Nasty mush. It was bad. So I threw it out.)

Step six: quickly wipe out the crock pot and enjoy an easy clean up.

Calligraphy

2011-01-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Years is coming up.

It's got me thinking about the time I spent in China.

When on a short vacation I went to a park. There were dozens of Chinese men doing calligraphy with water: using mops, bottles, and paintbrushes.

This man could write with both hands at the same time. It was amazing!

I love thinking back to the time I spent in China. I learned SO much! I learned about the world, myself, and what I wanted to do with my future. I met great people and kids. Happy [early] Chinese New Years!

Box

2011-01-19T17:56:00.000-08:00

We got a new (to us) car! It's a Scion XB 2005 with 57,000 miles. I'm not really a fan of how these cars look, but WOW!!! They are so spacious! When I am inside I don't care what the outside looks like! I am a solid 6'2'' and 4' of my body is legs... so I am usually uncomfortable in a car. Usually. But not in our new box. Oh no! If I scoot the front seats ALL THE WAY back and sit in the back seat I still have 4 inches in front of my knees! That may not mean a lot to some of you, but for those of you who face this same problem you know what I mean. I love it! It's also going to be a good baby car (no, this is not an announcement...) because the doors provide lots of space and it'll be easy to get a baby in without bending down super far.

Tanner is also loving that on the cold mornings he doesn't have to ride his motorcycle to work.

So even though I don't love how this car looks (is IS growing on me though) I love how spacious it is.

A Birthday!

2011-01-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

My nephew Sterling turned 1 this past week. This last year has gone by fast!

Sterling is a lot of fun. He is much more relaxed and chill than his older brother Brigham. He is sweet, loves to play with anything his older brother is touching, and hasn't seen the value of learning to walk yet.

Since it was his 1st birthday he got his own little cake for himself. He dug.right.in! He made such

a mess and it was SO FUN to watch.

Resolutions

2011-01-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

I am the kind of girl that likes to do lists and goals. Having said that, I did terrible with last year's goals: 50%. But that's okay. I have higher hopes for this year!! Here are my resolutions for this year:

1. Read the scriptures daily (I have been slacking)

2. pray each morning and night (also slacking)

3. Get pregnant (was on my list last year, but didn't happen)

4. Cook 4 times a week (we have been eating out too much; time to be healthier and more frugal)

5. Learn 3 new song on the piano

6. Pay off all our debt (student loans and credit cards)

7. Buy a new (to us) car

8. Blog once a week

9. Take more pictures

Well, I made these goals last Sunday and since then I have read scriptures 6/7 days, said my prayers everyday, cooked 4 times, blogged twice, and bought a new car! Things are right on track :)

Lately

2011-01-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

It's been too ling since I have written and so I thought I's play catch up!

My husband sent me roses "just because". I love that! I know they are just flowers, but they make me feel so loved. I just like knowing that Tanner is thinking about me and wants me to know it <3

I got a new laptop! You may remember that our house was broken into and my laptop and ipod were stolen. I am happy to report that I got a new one of each. My new laptop's name is Gigi (or G.G. for Gregron's Ghost) I am really loving it except that it's made of metal and glass and gets quite cold.

Tanner got these wretched shoes on his mission and wore them WAY LONGER than he should have. I hated those things and he finally let me buy him a new pair and throw these old ones away!!! Horray!

We have a family tradition of making gingerbread houses (that's where my mom and dad's story begins!) each year. Here is the one Tanner and I made this year. One of my favorite parts is that I gave the gingerbread people frosting hair.

Our mortgage company (lender, actually, but it's all the same to me) rented a theatre and invites us to see the movie Tangled for free! We even got to bring 8 other people as well. Santa was there so we got a picture to be festive. I loved the movie by the way.

My sister-in-law made me pajama pants out of this amazing red and white fabric. I love them! I also got some pretty sweet Christmas presents (I made a list of what I wanted and Tanner got me everything on the list!) i got an ipod dock, beautiful red Crock pot, boots, 5 shirts, Anne of Green Gables (1 and 2) on DVD, a lace skirt,

I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 weeks off from work! They were much needed and to be honest I didn't do a whole lot. I slept in, kept the house nice and tidy, cooked more, read, relaxed, hung out with my family, helped my brother and sister-in-law move, worked one day at the fabric store, and enjoyed having no commitments. But now it's back to work and parent teacher conferences next week.

Just before Christmas break I straightened my hair on day and when a student saw me in the morning he said "Mrs. Layton!!!? Is that really you?" haha.

We are also teaching sunday school at church. We taught 15/16 year olds for 4 weeks, then they rearranged for the new year and we are teaching 12/13 year olds. It's been fun having a church calling with Tanner; we have always had separate callings.

Molasses

2010-12-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

I went to Fry's to get some molasses to make gingerbread. I walked down the 2 aisles I thought I would most likely find it, but had no success.

So I went and found a worker who I thought would point me in the right direction. I found someone and this is how it went:

Me: Hi. I need help finding the molasses. Can you tell we what aisle it's on?

Worker 1: Yeah... I think it's with the honey or the syrup. Let me see. (Turns to another worker) Can you help this lady find the molasses?

Worker 2: (to worker 1, not even acknowledging me) Okay. Yeah, I think it's over in pharmacy.

(At this point I thought it would probably just be faster to go look again and find it myself, so I turned and started walking to the aisle I had already checked. 15 seconds later I heard footsteps--worker 2 was following me. I looked in the aisle with the honey and had no luck so I started towards the syrup aisle.)

Worker 2: I thought the molasses was over in pharmacy. I mean what is molasses? Isn't that the stuff you give kids when they're sick to shut them up?

Me: No...

Worker 2: Oh right. It's what you take to have an abortion.

Me: Uhh, no. I don't think so. But here it is. Thanks

Really? The things people think...

catch up

2010-11-06T10:40:00.001-07:00

Yes. I have been a lousy blogger. No. I don't promise to get better, because let's face it--that is nothing more than an empty promise at this point.

Thinks have been moving along ever here in my life. Maybe not moving along exactly how I would choose... but they have been moving along.

Tanner and I had our 2 year anniversary. We didn't do anything big, but it was nice. We went to dinner, a movie, and out for frozen yougurt afterwards. It's crazy how time flies! We've been married for 2 years and together for 3. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. 3 years seems like less time than it used to. I could go on and on about how wonderful Tanner is and how much I love him, but I won't. Just know that I am so happy to have him in my life and to be his wife <3

We are settling into our new house. I have been painting and decorating and making it feel like mine. I like owning a house. It helps me feel accomplished and independent. The bad news is that 4 weeks ago some b@*%(#7 broke into our house. We didn't take a whole lot: Gregron (my laptop of 4 years) and ny brand new ipod touch. I have been trying to be greatful that he didn't take more, yet I can't seem to get past the fact that someone felt like it was okay to walk into my house, and take my things. He did, however, leave his ID card on our bed, spit in our garbage can, and leave a beer can. I thought with all that evidence the cops could have caught him by now, but they haven't.

In my younger years I wrote this list of things I wanted to do with my life:

                 1) go to beauty school
                 2) graduate high school
                 3) spend a semester abroad
                 4) go to college
                 5) get married
                 6) start a family
                 7) own a car
                 8) teach for a year of two

The good news is it's 7/8 of the way done. The bad news is that I feel like I don't have as much direction as I have in the past. My mom told me that I just need to focus on the kids of mother and wife I want to be and set goals for those things. But that's tricky for me. Those kinds of goals don't seem as measurable to me and I like to see results that are solid, black and white, yes or no.    So here is to my next phase of life; one with different kinds of goals.

Going on 2 years

2010-09-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

In less than a month Tanner and I will celebrate our 2 year anniversary!

Any ideas of a semi close and inexpensive place for us to go? I was thinking maybe Sedona?

Our new house

2010-09-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Tanner and I bought our first house! It's about a 10 minute drive from where we both grew up and where our parents still live. We are excited to have our very own place! It needs a little bit of work, but we are so happy to have it! :)

Here I am on our closing day. (Side story: I signed all the closing paperwork 'L Layton' which is how I sigh basically everything. Well... This is not my whole name and was not acceptable. The next day I had to re-sign ALL the paperwork 'Lindsey B Layton'. So if you sign on a house, learn from my dumb mistake and sign your FULL name)

Here are some pictures--a few 'before and afters'. I'll do my best to post more pictures as we do more.

Here is the front. The double glass doors are weird, but we have curtains from the inside. We are in the process of painting the trim red. We are also going to do a white picket fence in the front and put a path up to the door.

Here is the front. Those tacky bricks are going... don't worry.

One of our favorite parts of this house is the fabulous storage.

This is a closet in the hallway. In the hall way there is also a broom closet and built in cupboards.

Here's a pantry in the kitchen.

Inside.

And outside.

Here is the master bathroom.

Before...

And after.

Here are some before and after pictures of the kitchen.

After living in a house without a dishwasher for 2 years I vowed that my next home would have a dishwasher. This house didn't have a dishwasher, so my wonderful husband and father-in-law put one in. Yesterday they took one of the cabinets they took out and cut it down to fill the 10 inch space by the dishwasher. They did an AMAZING job. I'll post when it gets installed.

Here's the before and after of the other side of the kitchen.

This is one of the decorations above the cupboards. I had a hard time finding something red I liked for this jar, but love the way these little apples look!

Here's the living room.

Before 2 walls were white and one wall was tan. We painted 3 walls tan and one wall red. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I am just in LOVE with red these days!

Before

After

Here is Tanner hanging out. Don't mind the mess. That mirror I got at a thrift store for $8 and I painted it black.

In the master bedroom there is a double walk in closet! I'm in love!

We are loving it and look forward to making improvements.

** A couple people asked about my license getting suspended. I got a photo radar ticket for running a red light turning left at Country Club and University July of 2009. I sort of avoided it for 8 months. I finally paid the ticket in January, but didn't get signed up for traffic school. They sent me a paper in June saying my license was suspended until I went to traffic survival school. I can only get one ticket in the next year without getting in trouble... So I've been driving EXTRA carefully lately.**

This is for McKenzie

2010-07-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

and for Brad my brother, and

to those who haven't given up on me as a blogger. Thank you!

I am having trouble putting writing between the pictures, so let me just give a brief overview of what I have been up to. I successfully completed my first year of teaching (hooray!), I got to have a summer vacation that was paid, I went to my parents' cabin, went to Disneyland, stayed on the beach for family reunion #1, spent a few days in the mountains with the young women in my ward, got my license suspended, spent the 4th of July in Manti Utah for family reunion #2, bought my very own atlas, wore a flower pin that one of my students made for me, fell in love with chocolate soy milk that's individually packaged, went to the Landmark resturant for my birthday (1st time there and I loved it!), went to the Manti temple, played in the last-day-of-school-teachers-versus-6th-graders-softball-game, packed up everything in my classroom so I could move rooms, hung out with my family, slept in almost every day of this summer, went to my cabin again for family reunion #3, and an gearing up for family reunion #4. We are also buying a house!

Here's what I have been up to lately.

New addition to my family...

2010-02-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

We call him Willy Wii. And we love him.

Gulash

2009-12-19T04:23:00.001-08:00

I have been told that gulash is a Hungarian stew that has a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Just a big mix I guess. For some reason that's how I feel right now. I don't feel like stew, I just feel like a little bit of this and that...

I have been super busy with school recently. I always heard that the first year of teaching was "SO MUCH WORK!" but for some reason thought that that wasn't going to apply to me... Haha!! Yes. Teaching IS a lot of work. SO much work. But I am loving it and learning SO MUCH! Those little second graders take a lot of energy, but they are also so full of love.

Yesterday as the last day of school this year. We had a little holiday party and made 'gingerbread houses' out of graham crackers. It was a ton of fun that every single students thoroughly enjoyed it. It is always fun to see my kids enjoy something so much :o)

My favorite holiday is coming up! I simply love this time of the year!!! I am trying to enjoy every bit of Christmas I can. It's probably weird, but I also don't like when Christmas gets so close, because I know that soon it'll be gone and I'll have to wait 10 months until the NEXT holiday season. Silly, right? I have yo remind myself to enjoy what's here while it's here.

Last night I was SO TIRED! I went to sleep to take a little nap at 6:30 and just slept all night. Well, until 4:30 this morning that is... And here I am, WIDE awake at 5:20 typing a blog. :o)

I always look forward to my breaks from school, but once they're here I don't know what to do with my time... I need to start some projects. Or buckle down and do my report cards...

The day after Christmas I am going up to my parents' cabin for 5 days. I love it up there in the mountains. Except when I get cold. I hate being cold.

I'm off to clean my house.

Enjoy your holiday season!!!

My voice....

2009-12-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

...is gone.

I guess it got jealous of my hair...

Yesterday at 10:00 am my voice started going. Here I am the following night totally voiceless. If I talk normally just air comes out. If I scream it comes out just below my normal voice level, but all crackly and scratchy. If I whisper it sounds like a whisper. The strangest part is that I feel fine--there's no pain. not yet at least...

Today at school I had to whisper directions to one student and have that student loudly tell the rest of the class. I am taking tomorrow off to rest my poor larynx. (The first time I've called for a sub. I'm slightly nervous seeing that I'm quite attached to my class. The good news is the sub is my mother-in-law, so they're in good hands).

My hair...

2009-11-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

...is gone.

I cut it short this morning. I cut about 7 inches off.

Here, I'll show you:

Before.

After!

I'm still getting used to it, but I think I'm really going to like it!

Phone photos

2009-11-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

I recently transfered the pictures from my phone onto Gregron. I went through them on my phone. Here are a few gems I found:

This was on the door of the laundry room at an apartment complex. so.so.funny!

This is Mark Twain, the rabbit who lived in our yard for a week.

Homemade cream puffs! Sooo good!

Paxy and Alberta. Loved these couches. Anyone who knew 5 East hillside knew how great these couches

were.

My and my grandmas :o

They CHANGED the sign. They changed it to make it incorrect. Silly.

The most AMAZING chocolate-and-peanut-butter-covered rice crispy treat. It came from a cute little fudge shop in Maryland.

Great deal!

2009-11-16T16:55:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone just wanted to let you know that my brother Brad who is a photographer is available to do family pictures. Now is the perfect time to update your family picture. Not only is the weather great, you can use the your new picture for your Christmas card. For $100 you get a photo-shoot up to an hour and a CD with the full resolution images that you can take anywhere to be printed or post online. Here are some samples of his work. Brad also does weddings, so if you or anyone you know is getting married let him know. You can see more on his website at www.bradburnhamphotography.com. You can contact him at burnhambrad@gmail.com or give him a call at (480) 241-9409.

Second Graders

2009-10-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

I've learned a LOT about second graders these past four weeks. For example:

* The make a whole lot of pee. Honestly. They have to go every hour. And they don't even drink that much... I just don't get it.

* The world is their playground. ANYTHING can be a toy or distraction. This includes (but is not limited to) their feet while they are walking, the pencil they are using, or the person sitting beside them.

* It's extremely difficult to walk in a straight line.

* They can be so silly! They say the most unexpected things (good or bad).

* They have an amazing capacity to love.

Good news!

2009-09-04T11:01:00.001-07:00

Nothing says "new school year" like a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.

I got a job!!! After a lot of stress, time, worrying, and interviews, I got a job!!! Yes, I'm starting a month into the school year, but better late than never, right?

I am going to be a 2nd grade teacher down at Emerson Elementary; the very school I attended years ago. It's going to be an adventure and I know I'm going to learn a WHOLE LOT!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

2009-08-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

My little sister Annie turned 12 on Wednesday. She's never been to Disneyland, so that was her birthday present. It was just going to be her and my mom, but last minute I snuck my way in on the action! (The one perk of not being employed is that you can abandon your life for a few days and that's totally okay).

We had SO MUCH FUN! Annie loved every second, and it was so fun to watch her so thoroughly enjoy it :o)

Here was my FAVORITE part of the trip. We were on splash mountain: Annie in the front, my mom second, and me third. We were having a blast when we came to the drop at the end. Right as we started going over the edge my mom looks at the drop. In a terribly frightened and alarmed voice she says, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Each work got louder and more frighted. Annie and I could.not.stop.laughing!

It's a Small World.

I let Annie drive... bad news!

Yeah, I could totally be Zerg.

Annie and Alice are supposedly the same age...

A classic first time picture :o)

I think I'd have that look on my face too if there was a robot attack!

Big Thunder Mountain! I love that ride!!!

We're that strong! Well, Annie is... I just look helpless.

We walked my mom into the round. She had to take a little power nap!

Happy birthday Annie!!!! I am so luck to have you as a sister. I love you! Thanks for the great memories!

Farwell Vermin!

2009-08-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

We've been having some bug issues the last couple months. Tanner has been a really great bug killer {which makes me love him even more}, but it was time to do more than that... We got our house sprayed--inside and out--today. Hallelujah! Good bye all you nasty, sick, dirty bugs.

Poor Broken Beast!

2009-08-20T13:39:00.001-07:00

This is Stella.

I believe you've already met.

Well, she's broken... She won't start. I put in a new battery (it was still under warranty--thankfully!) and she still won't start. That means it's the alternater or the starter. I don't really know what either of those things are--when someone says either of those two words, all I hear is "money".

Poor broken beast...

How much longer...

2009-08-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

School has started. I am a certified, ASU graduated, Summa Cum Laude, fun loving, children loving teacher. But I'm not REALLY a teacher, see. I don't have a teaching job.

I have been praying that things would work out. All along I have felt like things would be okay, but... my hope is starting fade... I am trying to stay positive, but it gets harder with every passing day...

I went to college, did well, and what did I come out with...? Nothing but thousands of dollars in student loans.

High School Musical (4)

2009-08-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sure all of you (or at least most of you) know about these movies.

Well, the other night I saw this SNL skit. HILARIOUS! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :o)

Not Again...

2009-08-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

About a year and a half ago I got a cold sore. Since then I've had about 4 reoccurances. They are one of the worst things in this world. Count yourself lucky if you've never been tainted with one.

Yesterday I started getting another one. I put some medicine on it, but it kept getting bigger: at a RECORD speed! As that first one was growing a second started on the other side of my mouth. They were so painful--they hurt even more than all my previous coldsores. I tried everything I could think and they just kept hurting and growing. I even started to get a sore inside my lip. it was the worst! I just wanted to die, or cut my lips off--anything but feel that blasted pain.

THEN, the most amazing this happened...

I woke up. And my mouth is fine! It's a miracle. What a blessing. I have been happy all day knowing that my mouth is fine!

BurnhamBags

2009-08-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Do you remember a few months ago when I made this gem?

Well... After I made that purse and my mom made some for a church activity we decided to make a bunch to sell.

Here are a few of the purses we came up with:

Go HERE to check 'em out.

Enjoy :o)

And if you want to skip out on Etsy, pick it up right from me, and save on shipping just let me know!

Answer: A theif in the night.

2009-07-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

If you couldn't tell my my title, we're playing a little game of Jeopardy.

Answer: A thief in the night.

Question: Who broke into my car.

On Sunday my driver side window broke and is now stuck rolled down. A dirty rotten thief saw that last night and decided to take advantage.

What so I have to say about this? In his face!!! I didn't have anything of value in there. All he got was 2 dollars and a little bit of change. He was kind enough to leave my bobble pig and earphones behind.

But still. I have knowing there are people like that in the world. People who think it's fine to take anything they want.

How do you sleep at night?

2009-07-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

Back in high school I had this best friend.

We did everything together. I had half of our classes together, we would mingle during passing period. We saw each other all the time and were fully caught up on each others lives.

Despite that, we felt a need to have a notebook to pass back and forth: write notes, record our time apart, quote movies, and the like.

One time Camille wrote me a note in said book. At the end of her note she wrote,
"Tell me, how do you sleep at night?"

I thought that was a silly question, but answered anyways--thoroughly. I went on and on about relaxing my body, clearing my mind, all kind of nonsense. I even wrote that I never had a problem sleeping at all; I always fell right asleep--it never took me longer than 2 or 3 minutes.

I gave the notebook back, and the next time I saw Camille I was met with laughter. Turns out that wasn't a real question (of course it wasn't) it was was a quote from You've Got Mail.

This clip actually.

* * *

Turns out I'm not fortunate enough to sleep that easily anymore. 2-3 minutes to fall asleep? No, not anymore. I don't lie awake for hours on end, but it takes a while longer now. Last night, it took me 45 minutes to fall asleep.

Maybe I should get some of those UltraDorm pills they talked about on You've Got Mail...

MIA!

2009-07-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

I know this picture isn't my best, but it's all I could find.

Why is my tongue so reddish orange? Because I was just finishing my 12th Popsicle; but that's beside the point. This post isn't about my tongue, the time I ate 12 Popsicles, or my random trip to California with people I barely knew... This is about something dear to me that's gone missing.

Do you see the sweater in the picture?
I loved that thing.
No, I didn't always wear the hood like that [in fact, I think that may have been one of the only times I did.]

Look at the bottom right corner. Look how long that sleeve is!
Some of you may think that's no big deal... But here's the thing: I'm 74 inches tall.
Do you know how hard it is to find long sleeves when you're that tall?!
[you probably don't know unless you're close to that enormous height...]

Anyways, that sweater was incredible.
I think that sweater was crafted just for me.
And now, it's gone.
Gone, gone, gone.

When I was young and I would lose something my mom would always ask,
"Where's the last place you remember seeing _____."
So I did that. I asked myself that question.
And you know the last place I saw that glorious sweater?
On my honeymoon.

...gone...
And my life will never be the same.

We call him Connie

2009-07-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

I come from a family of 7 children. I LOVE my family and we get along SO well. See, here we are. Can't you just tell that we love each other?

I am the VERY middle child. My brother just younger than me is Connie (the tall one to the left of Tanner in the picture above. Third from the left...) His name isn't really Connie, but since he used to be such a con and ignore my parents' requests to go to bed, staying up hours past his bedtime he earned the nickname Connie. I don't think I've even called him Austin these last 3 years.

Connie is fantastic! He is a great brother and fabulous friend. He's funny, kind, and a friend to all.

Well, a couple months ago Connie turned 19 and got called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Here he is opening his mission call. He was called to serve in Omaha Nebraska for the next two years. He left this last Wednesday (July 1st).

This is him as a newly set apart missionary. I am SO proud of my little brother. I know he is going to make an amazing missionary!!!

I have also started a blog for him. I'll be posting letters and pictures he sends home. So if you know and/or love my brother feel free to stop by this blog to see what's going on with him and his mission.

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String

2009-06-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

I've heard it said many a times that a grateful person is a happy person. Well, I fell like I need a little more cheer right now, so I pulled out a journal from a few years ago that contains my "Favorite Things" list. I thought I's share and hopefully brighten your day a little too :o)

long jeans

road trips

hot chocolate

warm spots on the carpet from the sunshine
popsicles
ferris wheels
going on adventures
crispy corn dogs
cool pool on a summer day
my husband
my family
listening to music
Christmas lights (and anything Christmas for that matter)
going for long drives
the smell of rain
the sound of rain on a tin roof
my cabin
snow angels
China
skydiving
Chinese children
trying new things
stepping on CRUNCHY leaves
the smell of drywall mud
the beach
driving fast
comfy pajamas
breakfast in bed
Italian
the piano
rocking chairs
twinkle lights
good, solid friendships
the Grinch
soft blankets
smell of cedar wood
ant farms
firm toothbrushes
warm, heavy quilts
big, soft towels
traveling
Mexican food
mistletoe
being crafty
scrapbooking
scarves (scarfs?)
teaching
glasses
success
new dollar bills
super green grass
barbecues
soft carpet
pine trees
hair
flip-flops
purses
trampolines
computers (esp Gregron)
letters
clouds
cartoon movies (esp Disney)
pillows
books
Tetris
scriptures
bikes
wood floors
air conditioning
seeing my breath on a cold morning
tulips
daffodils
textures
fireworks
'pitter patter'
rice cakes
cuddling

What about you? What are some of your favorite things?

The last month

2009-06-15T23:17:00.001-07:00

**Warning: This post may be a little unorganized and hodgepodge-ish**

Well, this last month has been a good one. It seems like a lot has happened. Let me share.

My birthday came and went. I'm 23 now! Well, it just so happened that my birthday was the last day of school (I was working in the class I student taught in). My mentor teacher bought me this great cake and we had a little class party :o)

Some of the students made me this marvelous sign.

Tanner and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday. It's been some time since we're gone out to dinner so it was such a nice treat!

My real diploma came in the mail.

For my mother-in-law's birthday my father-in-law let her shave his beard! He's had it for about 15 years, so it was a BIG deal!

On our family reunion we went to Sea World. Yes, we saw Shamu, yes that is now what he lives for.

We go to San Diego every year for my family reunion. This year I was in a room on the third floor. Here's the view from my little balcony! Beautiful!

Me on the beach, sporting my new hat. :o) I have always wanted a cute hat, however I don't really look good in hats... I decided that in order to fulfill my 'hat dream' I needed to get one someday, and this one looked better that other styles. And the beach always makes pictures nice...

We also had the chance to go to the San Diego temple. It was incredible, absolutely stunning!

I went to a music night {yes, my parents were there. The music night was dedicated to my grandmother [my mom's mom] who passed away. So the owner invited my whole family, seeing how the piano used to be in our family...} Anyways, we were able to talk my parents into singing this silly two part song: Bad Man's Blunder. It was a crack up!

New addition

2009-05-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

In my last post I said "There's a new addition to [my] family! Any guesses as to what it might be? I'll give you a hint: it's NOT a baby/child/fetus/anythinglikethat"

I got some pretty good guesses! My favorites:

* A robot named Monte for Gregron to have a friend
* Are you pregnant with a full-grown man?
* Jude Law

Gregron did not get a robot friend, sorry to say. He still has only human friends...

And thankfully I am not pregnant with a full grown man! I hear being pregnant with a small fetus is uncomfortable; I can only imagine how horrible it would be to be pregnant with a full grown man!

It's not Jude Law. Sadly I cannot afford celebrities...

* * *

In the end Camille won. She nailed it right on the nose. I got a Bosch mixer!!!

I love it! I LOVE love LOVE it!!!

There it is in it's new home. I'm quite pleased that it's been getting along with the other kitchen appliances/gear. I don't know why I was worried about that... The blender and toaster have always been more than kind.

I decided to break it in by making a pizza. The dough recipe I used this time used honey instead of sugar. It was a different texture than I am used to, but it turned out pretty good! And yes, I did put zucchini on my half. Yes, it was good.

If you know me at all then you know I have this inner need to name inanimate objects: my laptop, my car, things like that. Well, I want to name this new addition to my family. I haven't had any FABULOUS ideas. I haven't even decided if it should be male or female. I need help! And ideas for a good name for my mixer?

Copy Cat

2009-05-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a copy cat. Lauren does this thing on her blog where she posts "Things Lauren is Happy About".

This post is:
Things Lindsey is Happy About!
(Thanks Lauren)

1) I'm a college graduate!

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from ASU! I now hold a bachelors degree. I also got my teaching certificate last week, so I am a real teacher now. It feels G.R.E.A.T. for anyone who is now in school, hang in there.

This picture made possible by my brother Bra d.

On the way to graduation. That face is because I am NOT looking forward to putting on the ugly hat.

With Tanner, the ugly hat, and my empty diploma case (they mail the REAL diploma later).

Seriously though, those graduation caps are attrocious! I mean we're graduating from college--this has required a good amount of time, energy, work and money--doesn't that deserve better?! I mean they should give us the cutest hat ever invented, not that ugly piece of junk. I don't think anyone looks good in those (well, except Afton at high school graduation)

Camille, thanks for being my graduation buddy and sitting next to me!

Thanks family for being so supportive and making the sacrifices to be there (especially you Brandon!). And thanks for dinner at Chevy's afterwards.

2) My little brother Connie (his real name is Austin) got his mission call!

He's going to Omaha, Nebraska and leaves July 1st.

This is just me, my sis-in-law, and my nephew Brig. Love him.

3) Lisa, one of my former roomates, got married!!!

This is the old roomies at the cheesecake factory after her bachelorette party.

Here she is at her reception. She was beautiful! And VERY skinny! I think my bones alone make me fatter than that!

4) My brother is cute and took Brig on a lawnmower wide. I love this picture.

5) Tanner and I made collages!

Here's the one I made for Tanner. My favorite part=the picture of bottles of mayonaise. He told me that just seeing the pictures of the mayo made him feel gross. Haha.

Here's the one he made for me. It's really funny. My favorite part='recycling: rest in peace'.
That's funny because it's true. I really don't recycle. I'm the opposite of green (what does that make me? Red? And I'm totally fine with that).

6) my birthday is this Thursday. And guess what the universe decided to give me... The season premier to So You Think You Can Dance!!!!!!! Thank you universe!

7) There's a new addition to our family! Any guesses as to what it might be? I'll give you a hint: it's NOT a baby/child/fetus/anythinglikethat.

...Lately...

2009-04-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

Just a little hodgepodge of what's been on my mind.

1) I passed the AEPA! That's the big, long, awful test you have to pass to teach in the state of Arizona. I found out last night that I passes both sections I took! Horray!

2) I found this incredible picture on my Gregron (my Computer)! Yes, these were to help show which bathroom was which.

3) I made this purse. I'm loving it!

And yes, I did donate blood. I save lives.

4) I have been sleeping alone at night. No, Tanner and I did not get in a fight. Tanner has been working nights (10 to 6) staying over at a friend's grandparent's house helping the grandpa who is up most of the night. I just try to get to bed before he leaves and I wake up just as he's getting home--that way it almost feels like he's never even gone. I don't like being all alone at night. Someone could break in and kill me (or worse) and I'd have no one to hear my screams...

5)Tanner and I went to dinner at Famous Daves. It's always like pulling teeth to get him to take a picture...

I REALLY wanted to get a picture of us with the Famous Daves pig, but Tanner put his foot down there. We volunteered to take the picture but for my life he wouldn't be IN the picture with me. Sad.

6) I cut my friend Rhonda's hair. Here's the before:

And after:

7) I'll be a college graduate in 2 1/2 weeks!

End

She's mine! All mine...

2009-04-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

Meet Stella.

She's mine. I own her. She's basically my slave.

I took a loan out 5 years ago, and now it's paid off!!! That's 163 dollars every month that I don't have to pay towards Stella. As a celebration I cleaned her real good: inside and out. I don't think she's been this clean since I bought her. (And I think if she knew she'd get treatment like this she would have paid herself off a long time ago...)

Freedom feels so good!

And next month I'll know what freedom from school feels like.

Only 4 more weeks till graduation!!!!

Hmm...

2009-03-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know...it's been a while.

Yes, I feel bad every time i think about my poor abandoned blog.

Yes, I will write you a blog right NOW!

I've had lots of things I've been meaning to write ab

out. Here:

1) My house was BAD--I mean ugly, sick, and smelly. But don't worry, it's better now. I have some before and after pictures though just so you can see.

One wall in the living room.

Then

Now

The corner of the living room

Then

Now

Outside

Then

... Coming soon! I don't have a "now" picture yet and it's too dark to take one right now...

Now

My kitchen!

I don't have any before pictures, but I'm sure you et the point of what it USED to look like.

More of the kitchen. I made that little rag thing. Inspired by Adell (Camille's sister).

Kitchen again.

Okay, here's the bathroom before.

And here it is.

What's that? You like my little curtain? Thanks! I actually made it myself!

2) I went to the races out at Manzanita Speedway.

There's the track. The cars are so fast and my camera is SO SLOW so this picture isn't nearly what it could be, but that white blur on the track is actually a car!

Here's my coworker Doris and her man Jimmy. We went with them and it was a BLAST!

Here I am with Tanner. He didn't want to have to take a picture.

3) As I just mentioned, Tanner hates taking pictures.

Last Sunday while playing Settlers I wanted to take a picture.

This is what I got.

I reverted to bribery.

Then finally, with the help of my brother Brandon (and his natural talent of being hilarious) I got a decent picture.

4) The other night I lost a filling!

I was flossing and it just came right out. Shoddy workmanship...

I was upset! As you can see...

5) I bought some flowers a while back.

I have a good assortment of colors and they make me feel so fancy!

That's it for the most part. Well, that and I'm more than half way done student teaching! I graduate in about a month and a half! Crazy...

I went to the zoo today

2009-02-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

Today at school [I'm currently student teaching] I went to the zoo. We didn't go to the Phoenix Zoo, but the World Wildlife Zoo. It took almost an hour to get there--it's way out in Litchfield park, I mean who even goes out there? To be honest, it's a sad city the zoo aside.

My mentor teacher and I took 4 of the most rambunctious boys in the class so that none of the parents had to. They were actually pretty well behaved all things considered.

Even though I was a chapparone and my primary obligation was watching after 4 boys, I enjoyed it. I saw really cool animals up close, rode a cable car over the whole park, and got to feed a manta ray!

I didn't take this picture, but I did get to see a white tiger like this--it was probably his cousin or brother...

All in all it was a good trip. I even used a Camelback for the first time. I was 100% hydrated all day long!

3 Months Ago I Went on a Honeymoon

2009-01-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

It's true. I got married--which you already know--and proceeded to go on a honeymoon. Let me show you.

*** Once again i had more pictures I wanted to add, but the stolen internet here at my house is a bit faulty...***

We spent our first night in Scottsdale in a fancy pants hotel. When we checked in I was still in my dress and Tanner was still in his tux. When they realized we had just got hitched, they upgraded our room!

Here we are on our first full day married!

And Tanner with a huge plate of nachos. He was SO EXCITED when he saw how big the plate was!

I had a couple pictures from Disneyland I was going to post, but i guess I'll have to wait until the internet is more cooperative.

Sorry it took so long!

2008-12-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it's been a while. Sorry.

I am now a married woman. That there is me and my husband.

I figure it's HIGH time I update this blog of mine. So here are some wedding pictures.

{in a strange order. For some reason my computer is being difficult and it's easier to just post them out of order.}

Tanner went to get the garter, but pulled out a dinosaur {Stegron} instead.

Stegron is a plastic dinosaur that my friend Seffen and I pass back and forth as a joke. Steffen is on his mission, so I didn't see this coming AT ALL.

As you can see, I was laughing so hard.

Thanks to everyone who made that happen :o)

Cutting that cake. {That my sister-in-law made. I love how it turned out!}

Me and two of my BEST friends: Chelsie and Camille

The formerly mentioned best friends decorated for me and it turned out like a dream!

All of it was just so fun and fallish.

One more shot of the beauty...

Here's all my family--immediate as well as extended. And a few friends as well.

I usually despise kissing pictures, but I just love this one!

Me and all the girls.

Boy acting tough and me in obvious disgust...

The nieces and nephews.

Outside the temple right after we got married!

The first picture of us married-fresh out of the temple. And check Tanner's stance; he looks like he's ready to conquer the world!

Nice...

My parents have a picture JUST like this from back when they got married. My brother and photographer {that's one person, not two} decided we needed to get one just like it :o)

No comment.

Man, my husband is a hottie!

One of my favorites.

... A sweet little moment...

My handsome husband again.

That's me!

And me again with my nice bouquet.

A up-close shot of the back of my dress.

And we left through a tunnel of sparklers!

It was a dream come true! I dare say the best day of my life {despite how cliche that is, it truly was...} Thanks a MILLION to everyone who made it happen. All the help I got from so many people really means a lot to me.

The End

** Photography compliments of my brother**

A cankle and a sort of post

2008-11-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

I opened my blog with the intention of posting wedding pictures. But as soon as I did I realized that my external hardrive--which is holding all those pictures--is currently at my parents' house...

So I decided to give you a sort-of post instead.

I have a *cankle right now. It's terrible! I feel like an elephant.

It's not as bruised, or swollen as it was a few days ago...

...but still, nobody wants a cankle!

* * *

But on a better note, I have most of a kitchen!
Last night Tanner and I opened the gifts from our reception and got to start putting stuff away in the kitchen. It was quite fun!

Below, you can see my very nice toaster, canisters, and spice rack! {And very bright window...}

~Wedding pictures coming soon~

* Can-kle: noun. A sight common among the morbidly obese. The point at which one is so obese that there is no thinning of the leg between the calf and the ankle, which creates a sense of fusion between the two. Consequently "Cankle" comes from the fusion of CAlf and aNKLE.

Little Update

2008-10-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

I saw my brother Brad on campus today and he told me I needed to update my blog. I decided to comply. Sorry i've been a slacker lately. I've been meaning to post-I just haven't transfered pictures from my camera to Gregron {my computer} yet.

Well, I'm getting married in three days. I'm holding up surprisingly well!

This is how I look today:

I have a little bit of a zit on my forehead, but I'm not wearing any foundation right now, so I'm not too worried.

I have some exciting things to blog about {details to follow}:

*My AMAZING bridal shower! Camille and Chelsie did an incredible job and I had SO MUCH FUN!

*The house where Tanner and I will be living, that my family and I have been fixing up!

*The bridal pictures my brother took of me on Sunday.

*The pictures we're taking tomorrow.

The End

Not Much Time!

2008-10-11T00:58:00.001-07:00

I'm getting married in

....13 days...

That's not very long at all!!!!

{less than two weeks actually}

That means on Monday I can say,

"I'm getting married next week."

C.r.a.z.y.

Apparantly I Love Myself...

2008-09-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

I never considered myself a vain person... until recently, I guess.

A little while ago I was looking through my pictures and I realized something: I have a lot of pictures of myself!

Granted, Photo Booth on the Mac it quite fun to use. But really... is that any excuse?

* * *

This is excessive to say the least:

Now some of the pictures DID have purposes. That and the fact that these things didn't just come about over night--they've had a little while to accumulate--were my only sources of solace.

What has become of me?! This is terrible! I don't want to be a bad, conceited person. Maybe I need to become a nun...

Oh So Long Ago!

2008-09-28T22:10:00.001-07:00

This is what I looked like a couple decades ago:

Pretty cute, right? I think so. My hair still has some red to it, and it still has that curl. In this picture I look a little bit shy. I don't remember being shy... Maybe I didn't like my photographer. Regardless, I don't consider myself shy anymore. It's a little bit hard to tell in the picture, but my eyes are blue, and that hasn't changed. I don't wear that shirt anymore-much to my dismay. but if I knew where that shirt was and if I could fit into it, I would totally wear it. I think it's pretty sweet.

* * *

Here's my sweet little Tanner 20 years ago.

So dang cute! There's no denying that! His hair doesn't look anything like that anymore... Tanner does still have green eyes. I don't think he has his two-year-old shirt either. He does, however, still make that face at times. It's his "I-told-you-so-I-think-I'm-so-funny-and-you-know-that-was-clever-of-me" face. It doesn't come around too terribly often, but when it does it makes me laugh.

* * *

Well, about four years after those pictures were taken, Tanner and I crossed paths.

Right here in Mrs. Hansen's first grade class. See if you can pick us out...

I'm all the way in the top left corner. Tanner is on the 3rd row down {2nd row up} 2nd person from the right {not counting the teacher of course}. He's standing right next to Jake Randall. I do believe this is where Tanner and I first met. Of course we don't remember that... But sometimes we act like we do, and we tell people that we hated each other...

* * *

Skip ahead a few more summers and Tanner and I crossed paths yet again. Good 'ol summer swim team! I'm wearing red {I don't know who I though I was... wearing that thing}. Tanner is in the next row down-bear chested. {He's 2nd from the left if that wasn't enough info for you}.

{This picture is great! Look closely and I'm sure you'll see other people you know}.

* * *

Oh, good times... And the rest is history, really. Of course I'm convinced that these two things are the main contributors to us getting married.

These Are a Few of my Favorite Things!

2008-09-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

In no particular order...

1) Bobby Pins: These are probably the best things ever made! I honestly so not know what I would do without them. My curly locks would have a hard time indeed without bobby pins. Miracle workers!

2) Family: I’m not going to lie. I think I have one of the best families there ever was. My oldest brother, he gave me an amazing nephew who is simply adorable! My twin brothers are so much fun, and some of my best friends. My parents are wise—so wise! And I am so glad I was raised by them and have had the chance to look up to them.

3) Friends: Oh, I’ve got some good one of these! Camille and I have been friends for YEARS {nearing 9 1/2 years now}. Chelsie and I started our friendship about 4 years ago. Derrick and I go back probably 5 years. I could name others as well: Afton, Steffen, all my old roommates, my family, my fiancé, and more… I have been quite blessed! I am surrounded my many people who love me and I consider myself so very lucky.

4) Tanner: Every single day I am thankful that I have him in my life! He really is one of my favorite things! Yesterday he said that his main goal is to make he happy—to make me smile and laugh. How splendid :o) He is SO good to me and means the world to me.

5) Good Jeans: You see, every body is different, and thus needs a different pair of pants. Life doesn't work like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants... It's just not like that. Chelsie and I tried that once and it just doesn't work. With the long legs I have, good jeans are hard to come by. Now my definition of good may be different than yours. One qualifier of a good pair of jeans is the length. I love a L O N G pair of pants. Now if I find a long pair of pants that also happens to have a little bit of stretch to them, have beautiful designs on the pockets, and makes my back side look good… Wow! That definitely makes it onto my list of favorite things!

6) Fireworks: These are magical to me! And it seems like they never love any of their mystique or magic at all to me. I believe I could watch fireworks every day of my life and not tire of them. This is part of the reason I love the 4th of July so much.

7) Christmas: “It’s the most wonderful time of the Year!!!” Yup, they had it right! I cannot put into words, my love of the holiday season! I love it all: the feel, the smell, lights, hot chocolate, decorations, presents {giving and receiving}, Christmas trees, how much happier everyone seems, wrapping paper, music and everything else. It just makes me so very merry! Sometimes I feel like I live from Christmas season to Christmas season!

8) Popsicles: So tasty! I have always loved popsicles. I think that one reason that love has deepened is due to my intolerance of lactose. Most popsicles are free of dairy and that is just one more reason they are so delightsome. One of may favorites are Otter Pops {in fact I once ate 50 in 3 hours…} And I think that right now my very favorite is the watermelon popsicle {real watermelon with real seeds!} that you can get at ‘Fior de Mitchocan’ the little Mexican store on Horne. Tasty, tasty, tasty!

9) Lists: These keep my life organized and help me make sense of things. They’re also just fun.

10) Lip Gloss: I collect this stuff. I adore this stuff! Camille and I enjoy getting lip glosses from all the different places we go. We know every type of lip gloss applicator. A few years ago Camille and I got together and counted how many lip glosses each of us had. I believe she had around 130 and I had 120.

One of my fears...

2008-09-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to fear much--and I take pride in that. No need to call me conceited. I've been afraid of things in my life, I just strive to get over those fears.

There are some things I don't like: cottage cheese, hot dogs, being sweaty, feeling tired, and people scratching their stomachs for long amounts of times. And I really dislike cockroaches. But I'm not afraid of these things.

There are however a couple things I really truly DO fear.

1) Elevators. But that's due to an extremely vivid nightmare I had many years ago.

{That however, is not the point of this blog... so I'll move on}

2) My EVEN BIGGER FEAR, and probably my greatest fear to date, is that my face will become my enemy the week of October 24th {that's when I'm getting married for those of you don't know}.

I fear that the day I get married my poor face will look something this:

Terrible, right?

Or, even WORSE, I fear that I might get another one of these attrocious devils.

I just want to be beautiful the day I get married... Is that too much to ask?

Photo Shoot

2008-09-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

My brother bRAD, who you may know personally, or through reading about him recently on a poplar blog--he's a photographer. He's not just any 'ol photographer though, he's amazing! If you don't believe me... well go see for yourself.

This past Monday, My fiance {Tanner} and I got engagement pictures taken. [One more thing of the list and that much closer to October 24th, yay!]

Let me know what you think. Here are some of the fruits of our labor:

Picture One

Picture Two

Picture Three

Picture Four

Picture Five

Picture Six

Picture Seven

Picture Eight
{bRAD told us to be Bella and Jacob from Twilight... Haha}

So there you have it! Let me know what you think, and which picture you would use if you were Tanner or myself!

No Bed of Roses...

2008-08-14T01:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met with the florist.

I don't know if you've ever tried to say the word 'florist' over the phone, but it's a tricky word to communicate. As I was talking to Tanner I tried to tell him that I was being a good Fiance and planning wedding things.

"I'm going to meet with the florist this evening"

"The flourish?"

"What? No, flourist."

"Floorist? What floor needs to be done?"

"Flourist... I'm meeting with the florist!"

"You have a meeting in the forest?! Why?"

"Tanner, flowers. The lady who works with flowers. She arranges flowers: she puts together bouquets and makes boutonnieres... The Florist."

"OH...! you're going to meet with the florist! I get it..."

* * *

flo·rist (flôr′ist): A person who sells and arranges plants and cut flowers.

I didn't go into the woods, flourish, or get new carpet... I met with the flower lady yesterday. All things considered it went quite well. The lady doing them is really fun--a good friend of my mom's. I'm not having any flowers in my centerpieces, so really all she's doing is making my bouquet and about 25 boutonnieres and corsages.

My colors are fall colors: shades of reds and oranges, a little golden yellow, brown. Here's how my bouquet is going to look.*

*Picture found by Tanner Layton. {That's right everyone, he found this amazing creation for me!}

What I DON'T want to be when I grow up...

2008-08-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

The other night I asked three 12 year-old girls what they wanted to be when they grew up. Their answers were all quite surprising and excessively ambitious:

"An architect." The first girl answered so matter-of-factly, it was as if she was created for that profession.

The second girl replied, "A vetrinarian is my first choice. If not that, then... No, just a vet, I don't have a second choice."

"I'm going to be a Marine Biologist." The third girl stated. {I wonder if I even knew what that was when I was her age...}

By the time I was five I knew that I wanted to go to Beauty School and ''be a bootishan'' {as the 5 year-old Lindsey would freely tell anybody}. But I knew that I would accomplish that by the time I was 18, and that following high school I needed to go to college. What kind of college degree I would pursue, however, was an absolute mystery to me. I was nothing like these three 12 year-olds...

After graduation, I spent a semester in China, teaching small Chinese children. Luckily, I fell in love with teaching, and decided that was my calling in life--now that's what my college degree will be {elementary education, not Chinese children...}

So, for the last several years, I've known just what I have wanted to do vocationally. And that's been nice. Real nice.

* * *

I would consider myself a fairly well rounded person {as far as likes and desires are concerned, not body size!} I have thought that if I hadn't harkened to the call of teaching, then there are other things I might have enjoyed. Well, recently I discovered what I would not want to do.

I would never want to be a wedding planner.

No, I don't hate weddings. No, I don't hate that I'm getting married {Don't worry Tanner! I'm SUPER EXCITED actually. Don't misunderstand this}. No, I don't hate planning--in fact, I quite like organizing things and making everything fit and work nicely. Sure, I would love to spend other peoples' money. Yes, I like beautiful things; more than I ought to probably.

At one point I even thought that my best friend and I should start an Amazing Event Planning Buisness. We both like all those things I said: beautiful things, spending other's money, making things come together, and success. But alas, that never happened.

I guess that I'm just not loving planning my wedding. It's a LOT of work, takes a LOT of time, requires a person to make a LOT of decisions {and we all know that I'm a bad decision maker}, occupies a LOT of mental energy, and yields a LOT of stress. Don't get me wrong, I know that in the end it's going to be amazing {hopefully...} and my reception will be beautiful {hopefully...}, there's just a lot of 'to dos' between now and then.

It's kind of like this:

Have you even had a paper, or a huge project due in a class. And you know it's coming up, and you know you need to do it, and you know that when you get it done it's going to feel SO GOOD? Yet, despite all this you don't want to do it. More than anything you just want it to be the minute, or hour, of day after the project is due... You would give anything for that time to be past, because you know that then you would have already done all that work and you would be free. You know that feeling? You know what I'm talking about?

That's how I feel a little bit. I know that every one always says "Enjoy being engaged! You only get that once..." Well, to all those people I say, "Thank you for that advice, but I've already enjoyed over three months of it." Part of me wishes that today were October 23rd, because then everything would be done...