It was a sad, depressing day

Ok, most of you know that I have 2 cats, Oscar and Moo, that I love very, very much. I don't have any kids, but the cats certainly occupy that place in my heart. Anyway, Moo is a year old and is not a typical cat. So sweet and loving, loves to be cuddled and held. Perfect little companion. I've noticed that in the past few days, Moo has been acting funny. Not social, lethargic, weight loss, etc. I decided to take him to the vet to see what was up. I only expected him to have a little bug or maybe an infection at worst, so I was not prepared for Moo's diagnosis. Apparently, Moo is thourght to havekidney failure, or CRF. How could this happen to my sweet little guy? The vet isn't 100% sure this is CRF, but I know that CRF is a terminal illness, and it's not known how long he will live. Could be months or years. So right now he's spending a few days at the vet for IV therapy. They're going to try and regulate some of his kidney levels so he'll feel a little better. There is no medication to cure this disease. Just diet suggestions, and occasional IV therapy, which can get very expensive. So please, please say a prayer for my little cat. I know not everyone is a cat person, but I am and I'm devastated to know that my Moo is very sick.

My Favorite Things: A love story- part 2

Color Me Mine. Seriously, I love this place. If I had $100 grand I would totally buy into the franchise and open one myself. If you have lived under a rock for the past few years, here's what CMM is: you pick out your own pre-made pottery and you can paint and decorate it, and then they fire it for you. A few days later you can pick it up. I am in love with this place. Such a calming atmosphere with cool music and cute ideas. I love being a crafty person, but I am also somewhat lazy, that CMM allows me to be extremely crafty (painting and decorating) and lazy (not having to make the pottery) at the same time. I love this place, and I try to go as often as my husband will let me. It can be a pricey hobby, but it's also supercool, and I feel the coolness definitely outweighs the price.

Sharks! Well, probably not sharks as a whole, since I don't have a death wish, but sharks in certain circumstances. Like on tv or in a movie. Or pictures and books. For some reason, I just love sharks. I especially love movies about sharks who eat people. Not to say I enjoy real stories about people getting eaten by real sharks- hello, that is a tragedy- but I enjoy the glamorized terror and whatnot sharks create. I know, I'm a freak. Watch me get eaten by a shark someday. I'm just so fascinated with them and the terrible reputation they have. I'd really like to go on a (caged) shark dive someday and see them up close. If anyone else wants to go with me, let me know and we can get this shindig arranged :)

My favorite things: A love story- part 1

The Twilight series. Such good books! I was a little skeptical when I first heard about them. I thought that reading a book about vampires would immediately put me in a "Dungeons and Dragons"- like category, but oh my, I was sooo wrong. These books are so well written and make any female fall completely in love with Edward Cullen. I tried to get Benjamin to read them, and he laughed at me. A lot.




Kelly Ripa. I think that she is absolutely adorable, and I'd love to know her. She has such a cool life- living in NYC, neato job, gorgeous husband and kids, and the cutest clothes ever! I don't know how much is just tv and how much is really her, but she seems to have the cutest personality too. Until I started working 9-5, I would tune into Live every morning to see what she was wearing and I would try to replicate it with my wardrobe. Rarely did my limited closet allow me to closely replicate her outfit, but it gave me more than a few ideas.


Ranunculuses... or ranunculi? Whatever they're supposed to be called, I love them. Such pretty, happy flowers. I have 2 bunches of fake ones that I got from Anthropologie... one in my kitchen, one in my office. I considered getting myself a little garden or at least a few flower pots and trying to grow them, but I realized 2 things:
1. It's almost October, which is when things start to die. Maybe in the spring?
2. I'm a plant killer. I forget to water them, prune them, or I just let my cats eat them.


My bed! In the almost 3 years that I've had my bed, I have not encountered another bed that is nearly as comfortable. I need to thank Benjamin for this one. Right before we got married, I sent him on the bed- finding mission. He went to Down East home and found a perfectly good California King pillow top mattress set that had gotten it's protective plastic torn on the way to a furniture store, thus negating any warranties and whatnot it had. This meant that it was dirt cheap. Best purchase ever!

Tag, I'm it!

1.) What I was doing 10 years ago: September 1997
I was in 7th grade at Northside Middle School. Awkward as the next 12 year old, I'm sure. Super angry that all my friends were in none of my classes. Cheerleading for the football team.

2.) Five Years Ago: September 2002
Senior in high school at Columbus North, having the time of my life. I loved my senior year! I was a football cheerleader, I was applying to BYU, and I was driving my cute red convertible.

3.) 1 Year Ago: September 2006
Benjamin and I were both going to school and working. I was working on campus at BYU and at New Haven. I was so excited to be finishing school.

4.) Yesterday:
Worked, worked, worked, and then went to Jamie Relei's bridal shower with Taylor.

5.) 5 Snacks I enjoy:
Diet Dr. Pepper, Smoothie Skittles, wheat thins, almonds, Creamies

6.) 5 Things I would do if I suddenly had $100 Million:
Oh dear... I'd probably buy a house or 2, buy a few cars (namely a Lexus RX 400h), set my family up for life, go back to school, and become a teacher. Or open a Color Me Mine. And definitely set up semi-annual trips to NYC for shopping. And open up an animal shelter for abused/neglected pets. Yes, I've thought about this dream a lot.

7.) 5 Locations I would run away to:
New York, London, Greece, Italy, or Indiana (I miss my fam)

8.) 5 Bad Habits I have:
Biting my nails, not returning phone calls, forgetting to put leftovers in the fridge, leaving all the lights on, eating unhealthy food

9.) 5 Things I like doing:
Cleaning, watching movies, working out, making cards, shopping for anything

10.) 5 TV Shows I like:
The Office, What Not to Wear, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Biggest Loser, The Hills

11.) 5 Things I hate doing:
Waking up early, flossing (nasty, I know), going to the post office, driving long distances, taking the litter box out

12.) 5 Biggest joys of the moment:
Living in a big new place, decorating my office, looking forward to The Office season 4, knowing that my mom, sister, and nephews are coming next month, sleeping in tomorrow

If you are reading this, I tag you! It doesn't take long, so take a few minutes and do one and let me know you filled it out.

Second Lunch

Now that I have been a working girl for... let's see... 7 whole weeks, I have discovered something that makes the workday just a little more enjoyable. "What is it?" you ask. Second lunch. You see, whenever I go out to lunch with co-workers (which is entirely too often... I work to make money, not to spend it on lunches out) I am sure to save the last half of my lunch to eat later. Around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, when hunger begins to return, it is time for second lunch. Whoever I lunched with and I go to the kitchen or meet in an office to finish up our lunches. It's a great little break and fills me up again, so I'm only wanting a little food at dinnertime, instead of making it the biggest meal of my day. As you can see, I'm easily amused, especially when food is involved.

The first cut is the deepest

So when I was younger, I fell deeply in love with a band. This was my first experience of loving music and becoming a 'superfan.' From the time I was 11 until the end of middle school, I loooooved the band Hanson. Yes, the brothers with the long hair. Anyway, I loved loved loved them even though I only had one other friend who openly loved them like me. Much, much later I had several friends tell me that they really loved Hanson too, but where too afraid to tell people for fear of getting teased. Lame-o. Anyway, the point of this brief history is that even though my love for Hanson faded post-middle school, I am loving them once again. Their new album- The Walk- is fabulous! Seriously, it's nothing like their Mmmbop stuff... it's quality music. And they've grown up, gotten married, and cut their hair. So don't be ashamed people, give Hanson a chance. If it helps, Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office) loves Hanson too.

Are these cute or what?

You know, for the next get-together or party I throw at my house, I think that I'll do cupcakes for the dessert of choice. Seriously, these babies are super easy to make, tons of fun to decorate, and you don't have to deal with cutting stuff and dishing it out. Cupcakes are my new favorite thing to bake. And for those of you who know me well, while I am not the best cook, I sure can bake!

There must be something in the water

Everyone is having babies! Not that there's anything wrong with that at all- no way- I'm so happy for all of my mommy friends. It's just strange for me to see my peers as parents. I think that a possible reason for this feeling is because I don't really see myself as a grown up yet... yes, I've been married for over 2 1/2 years and I'm a college grad, and those things both seem grown up, but when I stick myself in the middle of them... nah, I don't really feel like I belong. Maybe when I'm a mom I'll feel like a grown up. Until then, I'll salute my grown up friends who are mommies. ps- sorry that I've swiped this pictures from facebook or myspace :)

Meg & Hank

Thomas, Melissa & Macey

Taylor, Jordan& Peyton

Sarah & Andie

So you graduated from college... now what?

Around January of this year, that question was beginning to loom over me. For the past 17-ish years of my life, I had been a student. I was always content being a student and relished in the stage of life I was in each year. Every year of my childhood and young adulthood brought about new challenges and opportunities, all centered around my status as a student. The events within the life I came to know were part of a reassuring pattern that I enjoyed. For example: August through May was school time, and June through August was summer time. Study, study, study for 9 months, then the bliss of no deadlines, vacations, and laziness for the summer. However, in January the comfort I felt from my routine began to evaporate. I began to realize that I was at the very, very end of the routine that I had learned to live by. I couldn't just coast through the end of the school year, get a summer job, and then start back up again. No, I had to find myself a real job.

Oh geez... finding a real job was a nightmare. It was very difficult to get into "job finder mode," because it didn't seem real yet. It didn't seem real that my 17 years of educational routine was ending and now it was time to find a career-job. I promised Ben that beginning January 1, 2007 I would start the job search. And I did. I put my resume on monster.com.... and that was it. I didn't do much else concerning the job front (other than worry and worry) for a few months. Weeks came and went without much success. Who knew trying to find a job would be so hard? I figured I'd be snapped up by some employer quickly and easily (despite my oh-so-marketable MFHD major). No, no my friends... not so simple.

Long story short, I found myself a great job. I've been there about a month and a half and I love it. I'm a caseworker for the Department of Child and Family Services, and lemme tell you, it was not a cakewalk getting that job. Nooooo.... first, I couldn't even apply until I had graduated from school. Once graduated, I sent in my resume, a month later I was contacted to take a social worker assessment test. Upon passing the 70% minimum passing grade, I was sent a letter to schedule an interview in Salt Lake. After doing alright on that interview (where they only asked me 6 questions. 6!), I was called for another interview in Provo. I went to that interview, expecting a panel of 2 or 3 people to answer to. Nope, this interview had 12 people in the room. All looking at me. A little intimidating, huh? This time I only had to answer 4 questions. In and out in 5 minutes. Anyway, I finally got a call for a final interview, and then was offered the job. From beginning to end, this process was over 3 months long. Needless to say, I do not look forward to beginning the job search ever again.