My mom recently decided to start a blog about day-to-day farm life for anyone who is interested.
http://wifarmlife.blogspot.com/
It will probably be boring for all my farm-kid friends...but for some others who wonder what goes on on a dairy farm, it may be interesting. Hopefully my parents can find time to keep it updated frequently!
S.~
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Addendum:
I almost forgot to mention we got our first "real" Christmas tree this year! Merry Christmas everyone!
We also treated ourselves to a new TV for Christmas. The 26" LED LCD is a major upgrade from the basic Walmart TV I took along to college 10 years ago (and we were still using until last week). Merry Christmas to us! :)
We also treated ourselves to a new TV for Christmas. The 26" LED LCD is a major upgrade from the basic Walmart TV I took along to college 10 years ago (and we were still using until last week). Merry Christmas to us! :)
Dear Blog...
November was a fun month. We took a trip to WI to surprise my family for Thanksgiving. I have not been home for Thanksgiving since I moved to Utah 5 years ago, so my family really didn’t expect us to be there, giving us the perfect opportunity to surprise them. We purchased our plane tickets mid-September and managed to keep our secret safe all the way to Thanksgiving! I talk to my mom every day, so there was more than once that I almost slipped up myself and gave it all away. The closest call we came to our secret being blown was when my friend Larissa’s dad (who happens to be a federal milk inspector) made a routine visit to my parents’ farm and told my parents he thought Larissa was having dinner with me over Thanksgiving. My parents, who were totally in the dark, were convinced he was just confused and thinking of some other friend of Larissa. Lucky us!
We flew to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on the evening before Thanksgiving—luckily missing the blizzard on both ends of the trip. Thanksgiving day we picked up our rental car and drove the 4 hours to dinner at my Dad’s cousin’s house. This was the first actual holiday we have spent with my Dad’s side since getting married—so that was very fun—lots of food, chit-chat, and general relaxing to be had.
Friday night we went out with friends. Going out with friends has changed over the years. I spent most of dinner holding a 3-month-old, while a 3-year-old and 15-month-old did their best to squirm and flirt with all of those around us. Larissa’s children (20mos & 3mos) were with daddy for the night, or the children in the group would have nearly outnumbered the adults! Dinner was so much fun, but I wonder when we all grew up. After asking if I had any surprise news worth making a surprise trip for, my great friend Andy informed me he figured I was coming home to announce that we were expecting a baby. After informing him that this was not yet the case he said he was going to keep telling people I was pregnant anyway. :) Old friends are the best.
Saturday my mom’s side of the family got together for their 2nd Thanksgiving dinner! They had scheduled Thanksgiving dinner for the Sunday before the holiday, in order to make things easier on my aunt and cousins who work at a holiday store at the mall (as you can imagine it’s CRAZY there during Black Friday weekend). We couldn’t move the holiday without tipping off my parents that we were coming, so we decided to see if everyone would be willing to gather again the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Once we arrived and surprised my parents, it dawned on my mother that my grandmother had invited them to dinner Saturday not just because she was being nice, but because everyone was getting together again in honor of our visit! My family is the best!!
Jason said our visit was just the way a vacation should be: warmer weather (than Utah at least), lots of food, not too much running around, and plenty of friends and family to chat with.
In other exciting news, my parents will be spending Christmas in Utah this year!! I suggested they visit, partly as a diversion from our Thanksgiving trip, but never thought they would actually make it happen! Please pray for good travelling weather for them. They will be arriving on the 22nd and leaving on the 29th. My mom says in 34 years of marriage she can’t remember ever taking a trip like this for Christmas, where they won’t have to milk and feed cows. Luckily they have good help that’s willing to work for them even on Christmas, and my brother will be staying close to home in case anything unexpected should arise.
Thanks to my brother Jim who helped give my laptop a total life makeover (i.e. new hard drive and operating system) during our visit. Thanks to the Kahler’s, Spankowski’s, Larissa, KTP, and all the family who forced themselves to have a 2nd Thanksgiving dinner just to see us! Every time we visit I am reminded what amazing friends I have gathered through the years. If we missed you this time, perhaps we’ll see you next time…which looks like it will be late May. See you then!
S.~
We flew to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on the evening before Thanksgiving—luckily missing the blizzard on both ends of the trip. Thanksgiving day we picked up our rental car and drove the 4 hours to dinner at my Dad’s cousin’s house. This was the first actual holiday we have spent with my Dad’s side since getting married—so that was very fun—lots of food, chit-chat, and general relaxing to be had.
Friday night we went out with friends. Going out with friends has changed over the years. I spent most of dinner holding a 3-month-old, while a 3-year-old and 15-month-old did their best to squirm and flirt with all of those around us. Larissa’s children (20mos & 3mos) were with daddy for the night, or the children in the group would have nearly outnumbered the adults! Dinner was so much fun, but I wonder when we all grew up. After asking if I had any surprise news worth making a surprise trip for, my great friend Andy informed me he figured I was coming home to announce that we were expecting a baby. After informing him that this was not yet the case he said he was going to keep telling people I was pregnant anyway. :) Old friends are the best.
Saturday my mom’s side of the family got together for their 2nd Thanksgiving dinner! They had scheduled Thanksgiving dinner for the Sunday before the holiday, in order to make things easier on my aunt and cousins who work at a holiday store at the mall (as you can imagine it’s CRAZY there during Black Friday weekend). We couldn’t move the holiday without tipping off my parents that we were coming, so we decided to see if everyone would be willing to gather again the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Once we arrived and surprised my parents, it dawned on my mother that my grandmother had invited them to dinner Saturday not just because she was being nice, but because everyone was getting together again in honor of our visit! My family is the best!!
Jason said our visit was just the way a vacation should be: warmer weather (than Utah at least), lots of food, not too much running around, and plenty of friends and family to chat with.
In other exciting news, my parents will be spending Christmas in Utah this year!! I suggested they visit, partly as a diversion from our Thanksgiving trip, but never thought they would actually make it happen! Please pray for good travelling weather for them. They will be arriving on the 22nd and leaving on the 29th. My mom says in 34 years of marriage she can’t remember ever taking a trip like this for Christmas, where they won’t have to milk and feed cows. Luckily they have good help that’s willing to work for them even on Christmas, and my brother will be staying close to home in case anything unexpected should arise.
Thanks to my brother Jim who helped give my laptop a total life makeover (i.e. new hard drive and operating system) during our visit. Thanks to the Kahler’s, Spankowski’s, Larissa, KTP, and all the family who forced themselves to have a 2nd Thanksgiving dinner just to see us! Every time we visit I am reminded what amazing friends I have gathered through the years. If we missed you this time, perhaps we’ll see you next time…which looks like it will be late May. See you then!
S.~
Monday, December 13, 2010
Christmas Letter 2010 (written by Jason)
2010 was a fascinating and busy year, including everything from above average travelling to urban skunks and raccoons. We started the year with a visit to the frozen WI countryside in January—my first winter visit to the Midwest. The thermometer in our rental car had negative numbers and single digits showing on it most of the time. Although it was fun to visit and see the farm in a different season, I don’t think I would handle being that frozen all winter long.
In May I was able to visit Cambodia and Singapore as part of an international context trip to complete my MBA program. It was interesting to compare the history and trials of third world Cambodia with the very first world Singapore. While travelling through Cambodia I was amazed at the ingenuity that is inspired by great need, and realized how many things we take for granted here in the United States. The differences in culture and environment were incredible, not to mention the history that has occurred in that part of the world. I definitely have a goal of going back someday, if for no better reason than to show Steph around.
After returning from my world travelling adventure, my first summer of contract work for the Forest Service began in earnest. It was an ongoing learning experience throughout the summer for everyone helping get the project done. We rapidly discovered we were in charge of pattern searching some of the steepest and roughest parts of the forest still navigable on foot. Each of the three areas we covered had 3000 feet of elevation change end to end, and in the process of traversing these mountainsides I wore the rubber completely off the inside corners of a new pair of hiking boots. I also wore out a pair of leather gloves and multiple pairs of jeans simply walking around. We managed to cover over 4000 acres during the summer, with no major mishaps. Luckily my regular day job was willing to let me work reduced hours during their summer slow time, which gave me a very different schedule with 3 days in town and 2-3 days four hours away in the forest each week. Steph did not particularly enjoy this schedule with all of my time away; especially when busyness at her job and a temporary stint in a walking boot limited her from coming along.
Having this contract was an interesting educational experience, especially after spending several years in an MBA program learning about running and growing a business. I had the opportunity to bid on a new contract for 2011, and despite my best efforts to the contrary, I somehow won the dubious low bid honors again. Steph was highly disappointed with my successful bid, and I doubt I will be bidding as the primary person in charge again in the near future. The area I have for next year is slightly larger than this year, but considerably friendlier terrain to walk across. Having a lot of the learning curve from the first contract out of the way should help, and hopefully Steph will be able to enjoy some hiking with me this summer.
During July, Steph and I again visited Wisconsin. Steph’s brother flew out to accompany her in driving her previous car (which had been sold to her parents) back to Wisconsin, and I flew in a few days later. We joked that we had sent the car to spend the rest of its days “on a farm in the country”, and on our subsequent visit we noted it appeared be happily adjusted to its new home. The trip was planned to coincide with the DeBaets family reunion (Steph’s mom’s side), so we were able to visit with a lot of family during our otherwise short trip that we hadn’t seen since our wedding. We capped the weekend off by watching a really nice 4th of July fireworks show over a small pond in the neighboring town of LaValle. Having grown up watching fireworks and going to small-town festivals in Utah, I noted that this fireworks show was not the smallest I had attended, but perhaps the most intoxicated I had seen.
Later that same month I learned Steph had led a deprived life, having never attended an actual rodeo. Since it had been many years since I had attended a rodeo myself, we took advantage of the Days of ‘47 Rodeo in Salt Lake. This is a large event that coincides with the anniversary of Utah obtaining statehood, and is on the professional rodeo circuit. We watched the cowboys and cowgirls compete in many entertaining and physically demanding events, and were reminded why sometimes it is better to have a desk job.
We spent the better part of summer trying to decide what was snatching goldfish from our front yard pond. After trying out several ways to deter the intruders, including solar lights and a surveillance camera, we settled on the fact that we most likely had a raccoon that enjoyed late-night swims. This was highly frustrating, and partially due to Steph not wanting to risk decreasing the neighborhood cat population, we still haven’t come up with a great solution. Perhaps even more exciting was a wayward skunk we discovered trapped in one of our window wells one evening after work. After gingerly lowering in a plank for him to climb out on, we were relieved to find no trace of him the next morning. We never thought that living in the heart of Salt Lake City we’d have so many animal adventures!
All of our yard work was a pleasantly surprising success. The lawn Steph tilled and seeded last fall has come in great, and there were abundant comments from the neighbors about Steph’s flowerbeds. The heirloom tomato project for the garden provided more tomatoes than we knew what to do with, even after giving over half of our original 40+ seedlings to friends and family in the spring. Now with the weather cold, we are just finishing off the last of some of the other successful crops like carrots and parsnips. Winter has brought an interesting change as we remember all the projects we want to complete inside the house again. (Steph is remembering this list far faster than I would like, but it guarantees we won’t be bored ever.)
Steph spent more time at the dentist this year than she would have liked. She had a baby tooth with no adult tooth to replace it and decided now was as good of a time as any to have it replaced with a dental implant/crown. She spent the later part of the year racing her father to see who could get back to a full set of teeth first. I believe he won the race, but only by a matter of days. Dental work is expensive, but it is still absolutely incredible to think about what can be done to improve quality of life. (Eating is an important part of life quality if you ask me.)
Our final visit to Wisconsin for the year was an event to remember. We surprised Steph’s parents by showing up for Thanksgiving. This is the first time I have managed to get to Wisconsin three times in one year, and my first visit over an actual Thanksgiving holiday on Steph’s dad’s side. Most of the family knew we were coming, but the secret was kept from Bruce and Laura, with the desired surprise being evident when they were confronted by Steph grinning ear to ear at a relative’s house just before dinner was served. Everyone was able to compare teeth, eat wonderful food for several days straight, and we considered it a successful surprise trip. We discovered that Wisconsin was actually warmer than Utah this year over the holiday weekend, and it made for one of the few times we could enjoy the warm WI weather during a winter holiday. It was great catching up with everyone, and provided a much needed break.
We returned to single digit temperatures and over a foot of snow in Salt Lake, which was a dramatic difference from the 30’s and 40’s we had enjoyed on the farm. After some intense shoveling efforts, things are back to normal and Christmas preparations are under way. We have a real Christmas tree for the first time this year, and Kiki is enjoying playing with the ornaments anytime she can get away with it. We’re looking forward to Steph’s parents spending Christmas in Utah this year and getting a much needed holiday break from the cows and the farm.
We hope this note finds all of you happy and healthy. Best wishes for good things in 2011!
Jason & Stephanie Baxter
In May I was able to visit Cambodia and Singapore as part of an international context trip to complete my MBA program. It was interesting to compare the history and trials of third world Cambodia with the very first world Singapore. While travelling through Cambodia I was amazed at the ingenuity that is inspired by great need, and realized how many things we take for granted here in the United States. The differences in culture and environment were incredible, not to mention the history that has occurred in that part of the world. I definitely have a goal of going back someday, if for no better reason than to show Steph around.
After returning from my world travelling adventure, my first summer of contract work for the Forest Service began in earnest. It was an ongoing learning experience throughout the summer for everyone helping get the project done. We rapidly discovered we were in charge of pattern searching some of the steepest and roughest parts of the forest still navigable on foot. Each of the three areas we covered had 3000 feet of elevation change end to end, and in the process of traversing these mountainsides I wore the rubber completely off the inside corners of a new pair of hiking boots. I also wore out a pair of leather gloves and multiple pairs of jeans simply walking around. We managed to cover over 4000 acres during the summer, with no major mishaps. Luckily my regular day job was willing to let me work reduced hours during their summer slow time, which gave me a very different schedule with 3 days in town and 2-3 days four hours away in the forest each week. Steph did not particularly enjoy this schedule with all of my time away; especially when busyness at her job and a temporary stint in a walking boot limited her from coming along.
Having this contract was an interesting educational experience, especially after spending several years in an MBA program learning about running and growing a business. I had the opportunity to bid on a new contract for 2011, and despite my best efforts to the contrary, I somehow won the dubious low bid honors again. Steph was highly disappointed with my successful bid, and I doubt I will be bidding as the primary person in charge again in the near future. The area I have for next year is slightly larger than this year, but considerably friendlier terrain to walk across. Having a lot of the learning curve from the first contract out of the way should help, and hopefully Steph will be able to enjoy some hiking with me this summer.
During July, Steph and I again visited Wisconsin. Steph’s brother flew out to accompany her in driving her previous car (which had been sold to her parents) back to Wisconsin, and I flew in a few days later. We joked that we had sent the car to spend the rest of its days “on a farm in the country”, and on our subsequent visit we noted it appeared be happily adjusted to its new home. The trip was planned to coincide with the DeBaets family reunion (Steph’s mom’s side), so we were able to visit with a lot of family during our otherwise short trip that we hadn’t seen since our wedding. We capped the weekend off by watching a really nice 4th of July fireworks show over a small pond in the neighboring town of LaValle. Having grown up watching fireworks and going to small-town festivals in Utah, I noted that this fireworks show was not the smallest I had attended, but perhaps the most intoxicated I had seen.
Later that same month I learned Steph had led a deprived life, having never attended an actual rodeo. Since it had been many years since I had attended a rodeo myself, we took advantage of the Days of ‘47 Rodeo in Salt Lake. This is a large event that coincides with the anniversary of Utah obtaining statehood, and is on the professional rodeo circuit. We watched the cowboys and cowgirls compete in many entertaining and physically demanding events, and were reminded why sometimes it is better to have a desk job.
We spent the better part of summer trying to decide what was snatching goldfish from our front yard pond. After trying out several ways to deter the intruders, including solar lights and a surveillance camera, we settled on the fact that we most likely had a raccoon that enjoyed late-night swims. This was highly frustrating, and partially due to Steph not wanting to risk decreasing the neighborhood cat population, we still haven’t come up with a great solution. Perhaps even more exciting was a wayward skunk we discovered trapped in one of our window wells one evening after work. After gingerly lowering in a plank for him to climb out on, we were relieved to find no trace of him the next morning. We never thought that living in the heart of Salt Lake City we’d have so many animal adventures!
All of our yard work was a pleasantly surprising success. The lawn Steph tilled and seeded last fall has come in great, and there were abundant comments from the neighbors about Steph’s flowerbeds. The heirloom tomato project for the garden provided more tomatoes than we knew what to do with, even after giving over half of our original 40+ seedlings to friends and family in the spring. Now with the weather cold, we are just finishing off the last of some of the other successful crops like carrots and parsnips. Winter has brought an interesting change as we remember all the projects we want to complete inside the house again. (Steph is remembering this list far faster than I would like, but it guarantees we won’t be bored ever.)
Steph spent more time at the dentist this year than she would have liked. She had a baby tooth with no adult tooth to replace it and decided now was as good of a time as any to have it replaced with a dental implant/crown. She spent the later part of the year racing her father to see who could get back to a full set of teeth first. I believe he won the race, but only by a matter of days. Dental work is expensive, but it is still absolutely incredible to think about what can be done to improve quality of life. (Eating is an important part of life quality if you ask me.)
Our final visit to Wisconsin for the year was an event to remember. We surprised Steph’s parents by showing up for Thanksgiving. This is the first time I have managed to get to Wisconsin three times in one year, and my first visit over an actual Thanksgiving holiday on Steph’s dad’s side. Most of the family knew we were coming, but the secret was kept from Bruce and Laura, with the desired surprise being evident when they were confronted by Steph grinning ear to ear at a relative’s house just before dinner was served. Everyone was able to compare teeth, eat wonderful food for several days straight, and we considered it a successful surprise trip. We discovered that Wisconsin was actually warmer than Utah this year over the holiday weekend, and it made for one of the few times we could enjoy the warm WI weather during a winter holiday. It was great catching up with everyone, and provided a much needed break.
We returned to single digit temperatures and over a foot of snow in Salt Lake, which was a dramatic difference from the 30’s and 40’s we had enjoyed on the farm. After some intense shoveling efforts, things are back to normal and Christmas preparations are under way. We have a real Christmas tree for the first time this year, and Kiki is enjoying playing with the ornaments anytime she can get away with it. We’re looking forward to Steph’s parents spending Christmas in Utah this year and getting a much needed holiday break from the cows and the farm.
We hope this note finds all of you happy and healthy. Best wishes for good things in 2011!
Jason & Stephanie Baxter
Clarity
As many of you already know, work for me lately has been just that...work. The variation in my day to day job I loved when I started 5 years ago has slowly eroded until I've found myself sitting in front of my computer tracking data 8 hours a day--day in day out. It's not even so much the tracking data that's gotten to me, it's that all of my options for doing something "different" still involve staring at the same computer screen. All the computer time has taken a toll on my body. My neck and back have had somewhat ongoing issues and I've gotten grumpier, fatter, and more disillusioned with work over the course of the past year or two. I updated my resume recently, and realized the last time I felt this way (and thus updated my resume) was July of 2009. In my annual performance review this year my boss wrote that I am an "invaluable asset" to our lab. I didn't tell him at the time, but I couldn't feel more like a cog in a wheel.
Time to change something. Anything.
So I updated my resume, searched job postings, and even sat for an interview. I made lists, trying to weigh the positives and negatives of my current predicament, as well as my wishes for future employment. I analyzed what I could change about my current situation to make it better. I got permission from my husband (more than once) to quit my job, considered starting a family, and considered dropping out of school. If anything I was thorough.
So what did I decide? I decided that for a number of reasons I don't enjoy working in the lab anymore and made this clear to my boss. We've agreed that I need to reduce my hours this Spring to finish school...not just pretend to reduce my hours as I've previously tried. Once my thesis is finished, I'd really like to go back to training athletes and helping in the office...this made me the happiest before, and hopefully will once again--at least in the short term. I'm going to stop trying to guess what I'll be doing 5 years from now, and just work on 5 months from now. After all, if 5 years ago someone would have told me I'd end up in Utah married to a nice Mormon boy I would have laughed in their faces.
I don't know if this new direction will work in solving the frustration I've been dealing with lately, but I don't think it can hurt. Only time will tell. Thanks as always for all the support.
S.~
Time to change something. Anything.
So I updated my resume, searched job postings, and even sat for an interview. I made lists, trying to weigh the positives and negatives of my current predicament, as well as my wishes for future employment. I analyzed what I could change about my current situation to make it better. I got permission from my husband (more than once) to quit my job, considered starting a family, and considered dropping out of school. If anything I was thorough.
So what did I decide? I decided that for a number of reasons I don't enjoy working in the lab anymore and made this clear to my boss. We've agreed that I need to reduce my hours this Spring to finish school...not just pretend to reduce my hours as I've previously tried. Once my thesis is finished, I'd really like to go back to training athletes and helping in the office...this made me the happiest before, and hopefully will once again--at least in the short term. I'm going to stop trying to guess what I'll be doing 5 years from now, and just work on 5 months from now. After all, if 5 years ago someone would have told me I'd end up in Utah married to a nice Mormon boy I would have laughed in their faces.
I don't know if this new direction will work in solving the frustration I've been dealing with lately, but I don't think it can hurt. Only time will tell. Thanks as always for all the support.
S.~
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Ahead of the game
Some months you feel like you get ahead....others you don't. This month I feel like I got way WAY ahead! Fall decided to postpone winter slightly, and with Jason's help our yard is 98% ready for winter (as Jason knows 98% is an arbitrary number that only gets infinitely close to 100% as I discover more projects). After raking on 3 separate occasions most of the leaves are cleaned up, or at least cleaned up enough that I'm not motivated to rake again. The garden and flowerbeds are cleaned out, and the fish have been happily swimming in their winter home in the basement for at least a month. Yesterday we went over to Jason's aunt Katherine's house and dug out a patch of lily of the valley she wanted to rid herself of. They were grown in super-thick so there was plenty to dig out. We transplanted/spread the rhizomes out behind our pond where nothing else will grow--due to shade and two pine trees--in the hopes that next spring we'll have beautiful, fragrant lily of the valley and not such a miserable eye-sore.
I've also gotten a head-start on my Christmas cards and gifts this month. You may be rolling your eyes, but when you are trying to make stuff by hand it's good to get a really REALLY early head start. This year I'm hoping to learn from last year's mistakes, namely being hunched over my craft table the entire week before Christmas. As you may have already seen on my facebook page, Kiki continues to be oh-so-helpful.
That being said, I'm really excited for the holiday season again this year. I caught myself humming along to the Christmas music in a store the other day and was slightly irritated when I realized it was barely Halloween. Today I stopped by one of my favorite craft stores and found that they are clearancing Thanksgiving decorations already! Gah! We're not even there yet. Which brings us to holiday pet peeve #384...why is some of the Christmas stuff already marked 50% off?!! Just tell me the price you want me to buy it for instead of tricking me into thinking I'm getting a good deal. Do you really expect me to believe this is a great deal when it's still a good 6 weeks til Christmas? (Don't even get me started on Kohls...)
Work is still work. I'm still looking for options and waiting for updates. Some things in life move slower than you hope.
I started running. I'm not a runner. When I say "I'm not a runner" I mean it will take me upwards of a month to be able to run a continuous mile. A girl at work told me the other day she is "not a runner", and followed it up with "I ran a mile the other night, and signed up for a half marathon in the spring". She had a baby 3 months ago. I wanted to smack her. Let's emphasize I'm not a runner. The first couple of times out my lungs burned so bad I thought I'd have to crawl back to the house. The next couple trips out were better, but they couldn't have gotten much worse. Finally I had an occasion where I felt like my lungs were actually participating. I think I've developed upwards of 2 aerobic muscle fibers. Then the weather went bad and I headed to the gym where I was reminded of the crazy gym people. That's been going well. I feel like I'm getting better. It's amazing what 10 years will do to your fitness level...not to mention grad school and spending your summer with a bum wheel in a walking boot. So running is going well. Once I can run my first 10-minute mile I may start working on a second one, and with any luck maybe I can run a 5k in the spring. (1/2 marathon...psshhhh). (To all my runner-friends: I love you guys. I am envious....always have been, probably always will be.)
Today I earned bonus wife-points by completing a cooking extravaganza. Jason said I will get an honorable mention in his blog this month and I think I may hold him to that. It was one of those days you either needed to nap or bake. Once my nap concluded (shortly after my breakfast cereal was finished) I got started on the cooking and baking. If I was a little more motivated there would still be pumpkin chocolate chip cookies this evening...but my body says I'm about worn out with laundry yet to fold. It reminds me again that our upright freezer was one of the best purchases we've made since the wedding, having it stocked with lunches makes my insides happy.
Happy early Turkey-day. I hope you all have many things to be very thankful for this year.
I think those are my thoughts for the month.
Congrats to Jason and Ashley who welcomed Emma into the world today.
Happy birthday to ex-roomie Leah...who accidentally received a birthday card from me a month early, but remains my friend. :)
I look forward to seeing all of you soon. Maybe wander out to Utah sometime. The weather is looking promising for skiers this year, and we're just a short jump from some pretty big mountains. :) If you see my folks, ask them if they've bought their plane tickets to come visit at Christmas...I'm trying to convince them to make a holiday visit this year, Jason has said he'd pull out the crying card if need be.
Take Care!
S.~
I've also gotten a head-start on my Christmas cards and gifts this month. You may be rolling your eyes, but when you are trying to make stuff by hand it's good to get a really REALLY early head start. This year I'm hoping to learn from last year's mistakes, namely being hunched over my craft table the entire week before Christmas. As you may have already seen on my facebook page, Kiki continues to be oh-so-helpful.
That being said, I'm really excited for the holiday season again this year. I caught myself humming along to the Christmas music in a store the other day and was slightly irritated when I realized it was barely Halloween. Today I stopped by one of my favorite craft stores and found that they are clearancing Thanksgiving decorations already! Gah! We're not even there yet. Which brings us to holiday pet peeve #384...why is some of the Christmas stuff already marked 50% off?!! Just tell me the price you want me to buy it for instead of tricking me into thinking I'm getting a good deal. Do you really expect me to believe this is a great deal when it's still a good 6 weeks til Christmas? (Don't even get me started on Kohls...)
Work is still work. I'm still looking for options and waiting for updates. Some things in life move slower than you hope.
I started running. I'm not a runner. When I say "I'm not a runner" I mean it will take me upwards of a month to be able to run a continuous mile. A girl at work told me the other day she is "not a runner", and followed it up with "I ran a mile the other night, and signed up for a half marathon in the spring". She had a baby 3 months ago. I wanted to smack her. Let's emphasize I'm not a runner. The first couple of times out my lungs burned so bad I thought I'd have to crawl back to the house. The next couple trips out were better, but they couldn't have gotten much worse. Finally I had an occasion where I felt like my lungs were actually participating. I think I've developed upwards of 2 aerobic muscle fibers. Then the weather went bad and I headed to the gym where I was reminded of the crazy gym people. That's been going well. I feel like I'm getting better. It's amazing what 10 years will do to your fitness level...not to mention grad school and spending your summer with a bum wheel in a walking boot. So running is going well. Once I can run my first 10-minute mile I may start working on a second one, and with any luck maybe I can run a 5k in the spring. (1/2 marathon...psshhhh). (To all my runner-friends: I love you guys. I am envious....always have been, probably always will be.)
Today I earned bonus wife-points by completing a cooking extravaganza. Jason said I will get an honorable mention in his blog this month and I think I may hold him to that. It was one of those days you either needed to nap or bake. Once my nap concluded (shortly after my breakfast cereal was finished) I got started on the cooking and baking. If I was a little more motivated there would still be pumpkin chocolate chip cookies this evening...but my body says I'm about worn out with laundry yet to fold. It reminds me again that our upright freezer was one of the best purchases we've made since the wedding, having it stocked with lunches makes my insides happy.
Happy early Turkey-day. I hope you all have many things to be very thankful for this year.
I think those are my thoughts for the month.
Congrats to Jason and Ashley who welcomed Emma into the world today.
Happy birthday to ex-roomie Leah...who accidentally received a birthday card from me a month early, but remains my friend. :)
I look forward to seeing all of you soon. Maybe wander out to Utah sometime. The weather is looking promising for skiers this year, and we're just a short jump from some pretty big mountains. :) If you see my folks, ask them if they've bought their plane tickets to come visit at Christmas...I'm trying to convince them to make a holiday visit this year, Jason has said he'd pull out the crying card if need be.
Take Care!
S.~
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Some things you just can't post on the internet...
Happy Fall everyone!
As many of you who read my blog or talk to me frequently know, I haven't been too happy with my job lately. I have my annual review in a week or two, and I'm quite hopeful something will change very soon...however...there are just some things you can't post on the Internet. So inquire within, or stay tuned for next month's blog. :)
Last weekend I finally made the trip out to Vernal, UT with Jason to see where he's been going all these weekends to fulfill his hiking contract. It was borderline too cold to camp, so we got a hotel room and made a mini-date of the trip. It was fun to hang out and take a road trip with just the two of us again, which we did quite frequently while dating. Unfortunately this summer my work schedule and my booted foot didn't allow for too many outdoor adventures. Although the company was nice, the weather wasn't the greatest...overcast with occasional drizzle, breezy and 45 degrees...so I only managed a couple reasonably pretty pictures.
As many of you who read my blog or talk to me frequently know, I haven't been too happy with my job lately. I have my annual review in a week or two, and I'm quite hopeful something will change very soon...however...there are just some things you can't post on the Internet. So inquire within, or stay tuned for next month's blog. :)
Last weekend I finally made the trip out to Vernal, UT with Jason to see where he's been going all these weekends to fulfill his hiking contract. It was borderline too cold to camp, so we got a hotel room and made a mini-date of the trip. It was fun to hang out and take a road trip with just the two of us again, which we did quite frequently while dating. Unfortunately this summer my work schedule and my booted foot didn't allow for too many outdoor adventures. Although the company was nice, the weather wasn't the greatest...overcast with occasional drizzle, breezy and 45 degrees...so I only managed a couple reasonably pretty pictures.
We also witnessed a massive western cattle round-up. There were at least 7 cowboys on horses, 3 herding dogs, and a guy or two on ATVs. They had trailers with fresh horses so they could rotate them and not wear any of the animals out too badly. One guy we talked to by the side of the road who was somehow involved in the operation thought they were pushing 1500 cattle in groups of 2-300. There were some VERY happy dogs out working, and lots of frustrated cattle. I recently figured out how to make videos on here...which for some things will be very handy. Note the frustrated mooing in the next clip. ;)
VERY happy working dog. (Mike would be jealous)
This month I also finished off my dental implant process. I now have a shiny new tooth to replace the baby tooth that was giving up. It's a little different to clean around, but so far so good. I'm sure over time I won't even think about it anymore. If anyone is considering getting a dental implant done and has questions don't hesitate to ask. I thought it was an interesting process and had a really good experience. This is coming with someone who would prefer to be sedated to have her teeth cleaned. :)
Jason celebrated his 30th birthday on the 12th. It was really good, and very low key evening spent together after work...just as the two of us would prefer. Jason is still adjusting to working four 10's, which basically means he leaves the house shortly after 7am and returns shortly before 7pm. I've been trying to work four 9's so I can have a half-day Friday and we can spend a little more time together. I've also been trying to be better about making actual dinners after work so Jason doesn't end up fending for himself and not eating until 9pm. So far so good. This weekend is probably one of Jason's last caving/hiking adventures for the fall/winter. I'm looking forward to him being gone one weekend a month instead of three weekends per month. There's a list of house projects that's been set aside all summer while he was gone, so I'm hoping we'll be able to tackle those soon. (I only hope Jason is half as excited about these projects as I am).
Kiki had her 6 month vet checkup yesterday and everything was good. She's crashed out sleeping next to me on the futon as I write. Spending an afternoon at the vet is stressful for the poor dear, and I don't plan on seeing much of her awake any time today.
Congrats this month to Ben and Jackie, who may be getting married as I write this entry! Congrats to Uncle Harvey who recently celebrated his 80th birthday and to Leah who accidentally received her birthday card from me a month early...and was still a good sport. :) Kudos to Jesse who I've heard had a phenomenal marathon performance (won the race!?!...who does that?) :). I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for all my friends with new babies are getting enough sleep to function...keep posting the cute pictures...I love them!
I feel as though I missed some highlights this month, but I guess that's what next month is for.
Take Care Everyone!
S.~
ps. for anyone who hasn't stumbled across this link, I have another blog full of complete randomness. http://squeehawed.wordpress.com/ I think some of the recent posts are especially fun...and I figured out how to do videos. (Finally.)
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