Cass and Jared

Review...

2011-02-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hello there! It seems as though I'm not very good at keeping up with this posting business, and I tend to post the happenings of almost a year in one blurb... Oh well! I have a little spare time today, so here is an update of the last little while!

Jared and I had a wonderful summer, spending time with family and enjoying the sun. We were able to go on a fun vacation to California just the two of us. We took it easy, enjoying good food and driving around the beautiful area of Monterey. Although it wasn't as warm as we thought it would be, we still had a wonderful time.

We had new Olsen family pictures done in the fall. Aren't we a pretty bunch? I fiddled with the one of Jared and I on Picnik. It's a fun website that lets you edit your pictures online, and it's easy!

My little sis got married in October. We had so much fun planning her adorable wedding, and it was one of the best days of the year.

Our Holidays were a blast, starting with Halloween. Jared and I decided to be characters from the show "Glee." I'm sure you can guess who we are...

We balanced Thanksgiving and Christmas between the families, and enjoyed every minute of those days. We had time off of work and took advantage of getting rest and taking it easy.

Jared got a promotion at work, passed the PHR exam, and he'll be finishing up school in just a couple of weeks. WooHoo! He volunteers for a local chapter of SHRM (an HR professionals association), and I have recently given him the nick name of "LinkedIn master" (LinkedIn is his new best buddy).

Things are good with me- between work, young womens, family, and everything else that can fill in the cracks, I'm keeping busy.

We have a lot to look forward to this year- a couple of fun trips are in the works. Florida and Hawaii, here we come! I can't wait to tell you all about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (yes, I'm a nerd). Expelliarmus!

Until next time...

Goodbye old friend

2010-04-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jared and I said goodbye to our trusty old Honda. It was a good car, toting me to work and school, playing my favorite music all the way and giving me great gas mileage. We had some hard times (when it was stolen, some bumps, some bruises), but mostly my memories are very fond. I will miss you, green car!

Here is the new addition. We are still getting to know each other, but we seem to be getting along very well...

Birthdays and Valentines

2010-02-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was so fun! Not only was it Jared's 25th birthday and Valentines day (or Valentimes day as some of us like to say it...), we had a new little addition born into our family. Jared's sister Brandy and her husband Dave welcomed baby Cooper into the world on Friday. He is such a cute little boy! We are so glad he is here and that he and Brandy are doing so well.

We celebrated Jared's birthday by going to a movie, opening presents, washing the car (the car that hadn't been washed in a year...), going out to dinner with the fam, and visiting baby Cooper in the hospital. Jared didn't mind sharing his birthday celebration with Cooper this year, I think he's quite a proud uncle. I got Jared a kettlebell for his birthday, and I'm already sore from trying to use it! Whew, what a workout!

Valentines day was a nice day, we went to church and then spent a relaxing evening at home. We made steaks for our very first time, and they turned out great! Thanks mom for the recipe!

Until next time, ta ta for now!

It's been 6 months- How about another post?

2010-01-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a good 6 or 7 months since my last post. I don't know what happened! I kept on thinking about posting, but never got around to it. Now here it is, half a year later, and I'm trying to figure out what I should write about. I guess I'll just try to sum up the events of the last few months in a list. I like lists.

- Jared and I went to Chicago this summer. We had so much fun wandering around the Windy City. We shopped on the Miracle Mile, ate Chicago dogs and deep dish pizza, and saw the Sears Tower and other famous landmarks. Thanks Rob and Tammy for letting us tag along!

-Jared started school at the University of Phoenix. He is loving it, and is getting great grades. He is so smart! This February, he'll already be 1/3 of the way through his MBA program. Woohoo! (I had to take this first day of school picture and embarrass Jared in front of our neighbors...)

-We went to Las Vegas with the Olsen family in September for a little get away. We enjoyed a few relaxing days of shopping, shows, and HEAT! We got to visit the Hoover Dam, which was pretty impressive.

-Jared and I were John and Kate for Halloween. Our costumes looked great if I do say so myself.

-I made my first pecan pies for Thanksgiving. They looked so wonderful, but I am very ashamed to say that they were gross. I don't know what went wrong. Sorry family, I'll try again someday!

-We had new family pictures taken with the Olsen's. Picture day was one of the chilliest days of the year, and we were outside with no coats on. Needless to say, it was a very short photography session! What do you think of Jared's long curly hair?

-We celebrated our 2nd Christmas in our townhouse. Wow, time sure does fly. We replaced our really small tree with a normal sized tree, and it looked great!

-We spent some quality time with our families and friends. We sure do love them!

Hopefully it won't be another 6 months until you hear from me again!

a bowl of cherries and a bit of style

2009-06-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

I found out today that I like cherries. I always thought I didn't, but a co-worker brought in a bag of cherries from her very own cherry tree today, and they looked delectable! So shiny and red and plump... I couldn't resist trying one. After I did, I realized that I have been missing out on quite a wonderful and delicious fruit. The only downfall is the pit that you have to avoid breaking your teeth on and eventually spit out.

One more thing. My sister-in-law Brandy has launched an extremely cute etsy shop called Just Our Style. The shop has handmade items made by Brandy, Sarah, Tammy, and eventually myself (I'm still working on posting a painting or two...). So, if you have the time, check out http://www.justourstyle.etsy.com/. I think you'll find something that you might not be able to live without! (P.S. All of the handmade cards by Brandy are on sale until June 21st!)

Oh Happy Day

2009-05-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Jared is officially done with school! I should've mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't... (I'm sorry Jared). His graduation and our anniversary were on the same day, so we went out to celebrate both events that night. I am so proud of him and his accomplishment! Here is a picture of one of the cards he got for this special occasion... I thought it was pretty fun.

Now on to the next big adventure!

Two Whole Years

2009-05-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, on May 8th, 2007, Jared and I were married. I can't believe it's been two years, but at the same time, I can't remember my life before being Jared's wife!

Here are some highlights from our wedding day...

We were married in the Salt Lake Temple

Our wedding colors were pink and brown

The wedding luncheon was at the Memorial House in Memory Grove

We had a great photographer

Our reception was at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village

My bouquet was a combination of roses, tulips, peonies, and renuculas

My mom made my wedding cake

My wedding dress had a white sash that was switched to brown for the reception

One of my best friends flew in from Florida, and my sister in law and nieces came from Washington

We had a candy buffet with all sorts of fun pink and brown candies

The weather was beautiful

My hair actually stayed curly the whole day

We saw so many family members and friends

We flew to Cancun the next day and spent a week there for our honeymoon

It was the best day ever!

The Best Birthday Ever!

2009-05-03T16:39:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday was my birthday. It was a delightful day. Children were excited to tell me happy birthday and sing me songs all day long at work, we went to dinner with my favorite people (the Olsen and Wilcox families), and had them over afterward to hang out and open gifts. The day was great, and Jared gave me the best present ever. He got a new job! When he told me I cried, laughed, and breathed a sigh of relief. We consider ourselves so blessed to have this new opportunity.

We know that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and heard our prayers. We are so grateful for all of the support and prayers on our behalf, and can't thank those around us enough for giving us kind words and advice through these few weeks.

Jared will be working in the HR department at a company called DWG and associates. He already has great experience in this field, and he enjoys this type of work very much. I know that he'll do a fantastic job with this new company, because he is such a hard worker, a great learner, and he's pretty smart too. I'm pretty lucky to have him!

The gang at the Olive Garden. We had a great time!

It's all about who you know, right?

2009-04-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hi there friends and family. This week Jared and I had a big change. Megaplex Theatres and other Larry H. Miller companies had to let go of 50 employees, and unfortunately, Jared's position was one of many that were dissolved.

Although we are very sad and shocked, (I guess no more free movies, dang it) we are very hopeful and excited for any new opportunities that could come our way. We know that most jobs are found by networking and talking with people you know- so if any of you out there happen to hear of anything Jared might be good at, just let us know! We'll be so happy to hear from you.

And the winner is....!

2009-03-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

My GIANT purse. This week I went to our Relief Society birthday party. We had a yummy dinner, a lovely short program, and a fun game involving our purses. The game had all of the women in the ward frantically digging through their bags looking for requested items- normal or random. Some of the items included... Pantyhose, a needle and thread, a DVD, an airline ticket, etc. My purse won the biggest prize of all though, drum roll please.....

It is the heaviest (weighing in at 7 pounds) of all the purses of the night. HOW in the world did I let it get this way? It's not even a diaper bag- it only holds junk for me!

I won a candy bar though. Yay! That makes my sore arms and hunched back seem worth it...

Have you met my husband?

2009-02-28T19:30:00.000-08:00

Jared's been tagged by Eva and Peggy! This will be fun because most (mmm, I guess all) of the posts are done by me, even though the blog is called "Cass and Jared." Here's some fun information about my cute husband- these answers are from his own mouth, typed by my fingers.

Here are the rules:

(1) post rules on your blog

(2) answer the six “8” items

(3) tag others and let each person know by leaving them a comment.

So, here goes:

8 Things on My Wish List

1. To be done with school forever!

2. To go on a trip with Cass to Monterey CA.

3. To be on the Amazing Race.

4. To weigh 175 pounds.

5. To be on the beach with Cassidy in Cancun.

6. To see all of the summer blockbuster movies NOW!

7. To have a regular work-out routine.

8. To get a raise at work on Monday.

8 favorite TV shows

1. The Office

2. 30 Rock

3. Lost

4. Heroes

5. Life

6. The Biggest Loser

7. The Amazing Race

8. The Soup

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to

1. To be done with school at the University of Utah. (Only two months left!)
2. To start school at the University of Phoenix.

3. Paying off my car.

4. Being a dad (in a few years, of course).

5. Moving up the corporate ladder.

6. Going back to Salinas California.

7. This summer.

8. Getting grass in the front yard of our home.

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Olive Garden

2. Macaroni Grill

3. Chili's

4. Tepanyaki

5. Subway

6. Cafe Rio

7. Red Robin

8. The Pie

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Went in the Utah Jazz locker room.

2. Sat in Deron Williams' locker chair and held his shoes.

3. Walked on the "catwalk" at the Energy Solutions Arena.

4. Gave a presentation about innovation.

5. Went to dinner with Cass.

6. Watched my sister Brandy on Studio Five

7. Kicked Blake's trash at "Red Steel."

8. Went to bed way too early for a Friday night.

8 People I Tag

Michael George Thatcher

Albert Einstein

Deron Williams

Joel McHale

Chuck Norris

Peter Griffin

Jason Bourne

Gigi

Here you go!

2009-02-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

I've had a few requests from some friends of mine to post the delicious Cafe Rio salad dressing I made a while ago, so here it is. It is a little thicker than the real thing, but it is as close as you're gonna get without buying it! I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Jane's ward cookbook.

Cafe Rio's creamy tomatillo dressing;

3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup buttermilk (or make with dry buttermilk mix)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package of dry ranch buttermilk dressing mix
1 cup fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)
5 stalks (1/2 bunch of green onions with ends)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, crushed
4 tsp sugar or other sweetener

Combine well in blender and refrigerate for one hour.

I kinda improvised with some of the ingredients and added more or less of the ingredients depending on what I had and what tasted good. It makes a lot, so plan on eating a salad for the next few days!

Also, we had a really fun valentines day and holiday weekend- Saturday was really laid back, and then we went to a fancy dinner at Cafe Madrid. To tell you the truth, it was a little too expensive and I didn't enjoy the food that much- but the atmosphere, service and company was great! The Amazing Race started on Sunday, and we went over to Brandy and Dave's to watch the first episode. Jared wants to be on that show so bad, and I think it would be so fun, but so stressful. I like to travel- but not like that! On Monday we helped Jared's parents paint their bedroom a new fresh color, and then we went to a movie...Then it was back to the daily grind! I sure do love my weekends and the chance it gives me to catch my breath before another week begins!

Happy Birthday Jared!

2009-02-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my darling husbands birthday. He is now an older and wiser 24 years old! The birthday festivities went as follows:

He got to go to lunch with a good friend. (This good friend was also Jared's first mission companion. They even work together and have too much fun together.)

After work we went to the Olive Garden with family and friends. (We love the company of these wonderful people!)

We had people come over to our house for birthday cake and games. (I think catch phrase is the best game to play with a group of people. We sure did make a lot of noise!)

Jared was a pretty lucky boy and got a few gifts- Gift cards and dress shirts were the theme of the night. (He also got a miniature lawn gnome, which was his favorite gift- thanks Thatcher.)

I sure do love Jared and think he's the best! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Week in Review

2009-01-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

I apologize for taking so much time off from the blogging world- time went so fast that I didn't realize I had been gone so long! Jared and I have had a fun week together...let me just give you a little update.

1. We spoke in church on Sunday, which always throws me for a loop. I get so nervous, and it takes me forever to prepare for it because I want so badly to say the right things. Jared, on the other hand, puts it together the morning of (and does a great job), and mocks me while I tell him I might throw up. (just kidding, he doesn't mock me, he just wonders why it makes me so scared.)

2.I had a lovely half a day off on Monday-which was really nice. I got a lot of work done in the short time I was there. You'd never believe how much work I can get done when I don't have adorable children telling me that they might throw up, that they forgot their lunch, or that there's a giant poop in the toilet that might not go down.

3. I made Jared and I a cafe rio salad for dinner the other night, and it was actually quite mouthwatering! I have a cookbook that has the recipes for the rice, beans and oh so delicious creamy dressing. I topped it off with some homemade guacamole and it was deliciouso!

4. I watched American Idol. I hate it when American Idol comes back on, because I love to watch it, but feel like it's a waste of my time. Especially when they have 2 hour episodes!

5.I drove home in some really thick fog/smog yesterday. It was actually really cool, because as I was driving down the freeway, all I could see were the taillights of those closest to me. I couldn't even see the huge green exit signs until they were right above me. It seemed as if they were appearing out of thin air!

6.We had some friends over last night for pizza and games, and it was a lot of fun. We played malarkey, scene it, and some old-school video games that made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe.

Now it's Saturday and a new week will be here and gone in no time. How does time go so fast?

The Other Room

2009-01-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

We have an extra bedroom in our house, and it doesn't have a purpose. We have our bedroom, the office, and the... other room. I've been thinking about what we could do to that room to make it look complete, and this weekend we finished it! I thought that if we bought a little chair it would maybe feel more like a den or reading room. So, yesterday morning, we got up early and drove up to the avenues to pick up a peach (yes, peach) chair. I found it on ksl.com, and it is quite perfect for what I wanted it for. After that, we went to a really neat store called second hand chic in Sugarhouse and bought some accent pillows. This store was so cute! All of the items in it were used, but the collection of items were so detailed and beautiful and cool. I loved it! Now we have a reading room, that doubles as an art room ( which makes me think I should really start another project). What do you think about my chair?

On a different and more random note, I have an extremely large bruise on my knee. I have no idea where it came from, and it's driving me nuts! You would think I would remember a blow that hard-hard enough to make my knee turn purple- but I don't! Don't you hate that?

Home Sweet Home!

2008-12-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, everyone, we are finally in our new home! We moved in last Friday, and we were able to get settled just in time for Christmas. We had a lot of help moving- and we are so grateful for all those who pitched in! Thank you so much Rob and Tammy, Mom and Dad, Brandy and Dave, Thatcher and Chris. We chose a pretty rotten day to move, but we just didn't want to postpone it... We were too excited to get in! It went pretty smoothly, but we did get the U-Haul stuck once. We love it here, and have been having so much fun putting things away, and decorating our walls. We can't thank Rob and Tammy enough for letting us invade their home while we were in between homes. They are so good to us and we love them so much. Here are some pictures of our new place...

We'll post more pictures when I get everything else put together.

Jared and I had such a nice Christmas. We spent a lot of time with our families, which is one of my favorite things. We had a progressive dinner with my dad's side of the family on the 23rd, which has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. I made a molded jello for the salad course of the meal, and let's just say that it didn't turn out right. I was so concerned that it wouldn't, and it actually looked alright when I took it out of the mold at my mom's house- whew- but within just a few minutes, it started to liquify before my very eyes. Sorry, no picture, I was too embarrassed to document...

On Christmas eve, we always go over to my parent's house and have pizza. For the past couple of years, we've been eating The Pie pizza, which is the best pizza in the world! After dinner we always read the Christmas story in the scriptures, and as a new event this year, we had a nativity. I thought it was so fun to see my nieces and nephews dressed up in robes and towels.

On Christmas morning, Jared and I opened our gifts from each other and then got ready to go to my grandma's house. We got there eventually, after digging ourselves out of very deep snow on our street. After breakfast at my grandma's house, we headed over to the Olsen home to open more gifts, eat some lunch, play some rock band, and visit with each other. We had a lovely time, and love spending time with Rob and Tammy and Brandy and Dave.

At the end of the night, we made our way home in terrible weather, and were really worried about making it home. No plows had been in our neighborhood that morning, and we had gotten stuck then- and it snowed almost all day long! When we got to our neighborhood, we realized that one street had been plowed, but the street in front of our house and behind our house had been missed. We decided to go for it, and ended up immobile just about 15 feet away from our garage. The next hour and a half was spent shoveling and digging, pushing and slipping. We would never had made it if some of our neighbors hadn't come to help. They were stuck as well, but knew there was no way they could get out of their predicament, so they came to our aid. Boy were we grateful! We made it in our garage, and we were both dripping wet and freezing cold. What a fun Christmas night! Plows finally made it today at 12:00pm- Which meant Jared got to stay home from work. We had a snow day!

Sorry for the length of this post, there was just so much for me to tell you about! I love Christmas, spending time with family and thinking about the Savior and his birth. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and we are so grateful for friends and family like you.

Movie Trivia

2008-12-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Jared has a pretty fun job. He gets to do something he's really interested in, and he gets to enjoy movies and food on a regular basis- what a lucky guy! These pictures are from some of Jared's orientation and training presentations. They are a pretty good way to entertain the new teenage employees during a long meeting. Can you identify any of the movies that these pictures are from? It's pretty hard without having the familiar faces of the actors in the image!

Graham Cracker Houses

2008-12-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we had our monthly family dinner, and afterwards the little ones got to decorate graham cracker houses. They had so much fun putting candy and chocolate on their houses and licking their fingers. I spent much of my time repairing the houses that I accidentally broke though-Sorry kids! I just have bad luck with fragile things sometimes.

I love experiencing the holidays with my nieces and nephews, because it reminds me of how exciting and magical this time can be. Look at how cute these houses came out!

What a Nice Weekend!

2008-11-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love Thanksgiving! We had such a nice holiday weekend, spending time with our families and with each other. On Thanksgiving day, we helped prepare a delicious meal, and watched a movie with the Olsen family. We visited my family later on in the day, and watched another movie. It was so nice to spend time with all of the people we love, and really think about the many blessings Jared and I have in our lives. I often feel overwhelmed when I think about the good things in my life and how lucky and blessed I am, and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for giving me these wonderful things to be joyful about.

The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxation, movies, family parties and a Jazz game. Twilight and Quantum of Solace were the movies of choice- and both were pretty good! The Jazz game was especially exciting, because we got tickets with special privileges to go eat dinner and snacks in the VIP room in the Energy Solutions Arena.

Also, we checked out our townhouse, and it is so close to being finished. We are still hoping to be in it the weekend before Christmas, which is only three weeks away! It is painted, and our tile looks so nice. Our cabinets should be in by the end of this week. It has been so much fun to watch our little plot of land grow a house! We really can't wait to start living there.

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend, and hope you have a wonderful Christmas season!

A good way to spend my time

2008-11-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

For the past few weekends, I've employed the help of my mom and sister to complete a project for the Festival of Trees. I've been going to the Festival of Trees for as many years as I can remember. It started with my mom. She decorated and donated a few trees when I was younger, and the Festival became a traditional mom and sister outing every year. I loved walking up and down the aisles, listening to Christmas music, smelling cinnamon and scones, and feeling the magic of this charity for Primary Children's Medical Center. When Jared and I were dating, I became involved on the small fry committee thanks to Tammy and Brandy, and the rest is history. While this year we are taking a little bit of a break, I've still been able to donate some of my time to the festival. My mom and I have made several double batches of suckers, we've decorated about 130 really cute plates to be sold at the small fry shop, and I'll be working a shift or two during festival week.

I love the Festival of Trees, and the spirit of giving and love it gives me. If you have the time, make sure you stop by the Southtowne Expo Center and see why so many people are hooked!

Last Christmas

2008-11-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to do this tag, because it coordinates with the season so well!

Rules: Go to your picture file and find your fourth picture in the fourth file. Post it, and comment about it.

This picture is from last Christmas. Jared and I were living in our condo, and we didn't have a lot of room for a big Christmas tree. We bought this really cute little tree, and it fit perfectly in our close quarters. We had such a fun first Christmas together, experiencing the season as husband and wife, and enjoying every minute of it. We are definitely looking forward to this upcoming Christmas, hoping that we'll be able to pull out our little tree and set it up in our new house before the 25th!

I tag- anyone who wants to be tagged!

2008-11-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

My sweet dog Sydney was put to sleep this week. I got her for my birthday in 1995, and my family fell in love. She was sweet, patient, loving, silly, and just a great dog. She will be missed so much, and we are all feeling an ache in our hearts with her absence. Bye Syd, we sure do love you.

7 Weird and Random Facts

2008-11-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks Brandy for tagging me! This one was fun to think about.

1. I bite my nails. Actually, I chew my nails and the finger around them. It's a bad habit, and I make myself bleed at least once a week. Gross, I know, but I just can't stop.

2. I am very much a homebody. I love to be at home, just hanging out with my family. I would rather be at home watching a movie than anything else.

3. I love the TV show America's Funniest Home Videos. There's just nothing funnier than watching people and animals faint, drool, and get kicked in the you know what. I laugh out loud every time I watch that show. Just thinking about it makes me giggle.

4. I love to wear pajamas. The second I get home from work or church, I head straight to the bedroom and remove all uncomfortable clothing. I cannot lounge at home in work clothes or jeans. I need huge t-shirts and pajama pants.

5. My hair grows unusually fast. I have been able to donate 13-15 inches of my own hair to locks of love twice in the past 7 years or so. That's even with some trimming in between!

6. I have a sweet tooth. I have to have some sort of chocolate every day- even if it means breaking open a bag of chocolate chips to munch on. When I was little I used to drink honey and eat sugar by the spoonful. I'm serious!

7. I have to watch the Today Show every day while getting ready for work. Even if I'm unable to see the TV, I like to have it on with the volume loud so I can hear it from wherever I happen to be. My morning just isn't complete without it!

Ta da! I tag Erika, Leesa, Lindsey, Brittany, Tessa, Meri (you can just e-mail me) and my mom. Have fun!

Another project?

2008-11-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

As you all know, our townhouse is getting closer and closer to being done, and we are so excited! We took a peek at it yesterday (sorry, I forgot my camera) and we have drywall and mud...The next step is texture for the walls and ceiling, and then paint! Our tentative date to close is on December 18th, and we think it will be right on time with the way they are working right now.

I've been really excited to decorate my new house. When we lived in our condo, I had it decorated just the way I wanted it. It was really small, so it didn't take a lot of work. Our townhouse will be a little bit bigger that our condo, and so while we've been waiting for it to be finished I've been finding projects to keep me busy and to help fill our new home. I think Jared is a little tired of it... Here are some things we've done. We inherited a nice old dining table from a good friend of ours, and I decided that it needed a little "sprucing." Little did I know that to prepare and paint a dining room table and four chairs entails a lot of work (and sore backs and thumbs)! There's sanding, priming, painting, painting, painting, and sealing. It was a few weeks worth of Saturday afternoons. I also had a great idea for a headboard in our bedroom (thanks to walking through a few model homes). We found some great looking closet doors at the DI, and we painted them so they look antique and crackled. We'll put them all together at the top of our bed on the wall. Some people say weird, but I say cool! There have been other projects, one involving an old window, and others involving frames and fabric. Jared's been a great sport, but he won't let me start on my last and most difficult project. Tell me if I'm crazy to want to try it. I want to buy an old chair at the DI or Savers... a sofa chair type chair, and reupholster it. Comfy sofa chairs are so expensive, but at the thrift store they are only 15 bucks! I could recover the chair with some discount fabric and it would be like a new chair, right? Have any of you out there tried something like this? Do you have any tips or advice? Can you help me convince my sweet husband that this would be a fun project? After all, we've had success with all of our other ones so far...

Here is a picture from one of our fun-filled Saturdays!

The Hospital....For Dolls

2008-11-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

It all started off as a quick errand with my nieces, sister and mom. Madison and Bailey have some dolls that they adore, but sadly, their hair has become frizzy and sparse. My sister Leesa found the one and only doll hospital left here in the valley, and we all went together to drop the dolls off to be fixed. Boy, were we a little surprised when we saw the "hospital!" It was on state street, and about 28th south. It was covered in vines, and looked like no one had lived there in years. As we walked up to the porch, the windows were covered in dust and dirt, and inside it was dark. Soon, someone came and opened the door for us, and we cautiously entered. To tell you the truth, it was fascinating to see the piles and piles of dolls filling every corner of the house. There were shelves filled with barbies and babies and wax dolls and glass dolls... I'm not kidding, I've never seen so many dolls! The really interesting thing is that my mom remembered bringing her very own dolls to this hospital when she was a little girl. (You know, everyone fixed their dolls back then!) Madison and Bailey were scared to leave their favorite toys there at the beginning, but after choosing some very pretty wigs and making friends with the doggies that scared us, they were okay. I'm excited to see how the dolls look in their new hair, and I'm really glad I experienced the doll hospital...even though it was pretty creepy!

A First For Everything...

2008-11-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

The other day while Jared was making his way from school to work, something happened. He was driving on Foothill Drive, when all of a sudden, a police car turned on his lights as he passed. Jared looked at his speedometer, and realized that he was exceeding the speed limit...Only a little bit though. Jared has never gotten a ticket before, (he's actually a good driver, even though I might say he scares me sometimes) so I giggled a little bit when I heard his message on my phone. He sounded so guilty, so embarrassed, so sad... It's okay Jared, there's a first for everything!

A Spooky Weekend

2008-10-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was filled with Halloween fun! The weather was perfect, and there was so much to do! On Friday night, I went to the annual Witches Night Out at Gardner Village with some of my favorite ladies. We had so much fun eating and chatting at the "Naborhood bakery," and cackling for coupons. It was pretty crowded, but it's always exciting to see so many witches(and sometimes warlocks) dressed in their finest spooky costumes. On Saturday night, Jared and I went to dinner with some friends of ours, Hillary and Tavnir, and then we saw the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D. We enjoyed our company, and thought the movie was great. I don't think I've ever seen that movie the whole way through! On Sunday night, we got together with the Olsen family to eat yummy chili (Thanks Brandy!) and carve our pumpkins. Dave's pumpkin definitely turned out the best. While carving, we watched The Burbs, (which is hilarious by the way) and had some good quality family time. Thanks for a great weekend everyone!

I'm it!

2008-10-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks Erika for tagging me! It's always fun to find out about other people, so here's a little about me.

Here are the rules:I have to answer the following questions with one word answers, then I must pass it on to seven others.
The questions are as follows:

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? downstairs
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? sweet
5. Your father? goofy
6. Your favorite thing? Jared
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? painting
11. Your fear? spiders
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
13. Where were you last night? here
14. What you're not? outgoing
15. One of your wish-list items? puppy
16. Where you grew up? West Valley
17. The last thing you did? sneeze
18. What are you wearing? pajamas
19. Your TV? off
20. Your pet? Sydney
21. Your computer? on
22. Your mood? happy
23. Missing someone? nope
24. Your car? parked
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Downeast
27. Your summer? over:(
28. Love someone? Yes!
29. Your favorite color? pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? recently
31. Last time you cried? forgot

I'll tag Leesa, Shannon, Mom, and Tammy.

Picture Day

2008-10-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was picture day at the school where I work. I love picture day! Seeing all of the little girls with bouncy curls and all of the little boys with gel in their hair makes me smile. I love watching parents straighten ties, comb hair and wipe the faces of their cute children. It went smoothly, just so you know, and we were on schedule most of the morning. As I participated in this picture day, it reminded me of the same day last year, which wasn't a very good day... Let me tell you about it. I woke up, and took special care to make myself look nice for the day, because I had to get my picture taken as well. I walked outside to drive to work and, looking at my regular parking spot, my car wasn't there. hmmmm... I thought maybe my husband had taken it to work, so I started looking for his car. It wasn't there. Then I started to panic! I called Jared, asking "Where is my car?!!, where is my car!!?"

Needless to say, my picture day last year was memorable, but not for good reasons. I did get to work and had my picture taken, and I could tell that my hard work in the morning to look especially nice was in vain. My eyes were still a little swollen from crying and I was still a little pale. Great news, my little green Honda found its way back to me, and with a few repairs was as good as new. I was so glad to have it back! Many thanks to those who carpooled Jared and I around while we were without it!

This picture was taken at the impound when we picked it up. Happy reunion! Those thieves stole my nice wheels though. Grrrr.

A Quick Update

2008-10-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

This week as we checked out our townhouse, there were a few new additions that we thought were notable. We have a front door and a back door, our tubs and showers have been installed, and they are working pretty hard on the electrical stuff. We are so happy with the progress that is happening, and just can't wait to move in! Hopefully next week we'll have windows!

Did you mean bowls?

2008-10-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Lately Jared and I have been paying visits to local yard sales, the DI, and Savers to find decor for our new house. I love going to these places because you can find little treasures that with a little work become really cool decorations. While we were wandering around the Savers in Midvale today, I stumbled across the plates and bowls...or, should I say bowels? I just had to take a picture and show you how much a bowel will cost you at the local thrift store. He he!

European Vacation

2008-10-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, the Olsen family went on a pretty awesome trip to Italy and Greece. We haven't been able to share our pictures with many people, so we thought that a post on our blog could help us tell a little bit about our vacation. We started out in Venice, and we spent a few days there. Venice is awesome, I loved that there were no cars. Even the FedEx delivery guy drives a motorboat! After Venice, we rented a car (Yes, we drove in Italy and it made my heart beat fast!) and drove down to Florence, where we saw the famous "David." After Florence we drove to Pisa, and spent a night there. Pisa was a quiet, charming city and the leaning tower was definitely leaning! I'm surprised it is still standing. Next, we went to Rome. Driving into Rome was quite an experience, and I was glad to say goodbye to the rental! Rome has so many things to see and places to go, and it was so fun and exciting to see such great history and art. We had such a great time in Italy, and even took a day trip to Pompeii. Enjoy the pictures, next time I'll tell you all about Greece. It sure was beautiful!

In the Movies

2008-10-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

Since Jared started working at Jordan Commons last January, we've definitely seen our fair share of movies. Going to a movie was a rare occurance before he worked there... We didn't want to spend all the money and risk being dissapointed. Now, we see movies all the time. We go to a movie at least once a week, maybe every other week. Why not when we don't have to pay for it? Here are some of our favorite flicks of the summer, because we saw so many!

The Dark Knight- This was Jared's favorite. He couldn't wait for it to come out, and he was not dissapointed!

Iron Man- Action packed, and also funny. Robert Downey Jr. did a super job!

Kung Fu Panda- For an animated film, we thought it was great. Very funny and very entertaining.

Get Smart- Much better than we thought it would be. We love Steve Carell, and he did a good job as a goofy James Bond wannabe.

Ghost Town- I know this movie isn't technically a "summer" movie, but we had to include it. It was so funny! The whole theatre was roaring during some parts, and I thought Jared was going to have a heart attack!

Wall-E- Pixar films are always enjoyable, and this one wasn't unlike the others...Cute, tender, silly, and the animation was incredible.

As for some of our least favorites...We weren't too fond of The Incredible Hulk or Indiana Jones. I loved the music in Mamma Mia, but the rest of it didn't thrill me. The parts where Pierce Brosnan sang cracked me up though!

What movies did you love this summer?

Under Construction

2008-09-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We told you that we would keep you updated on the progress of our townhouse, and we are excited to show these pictures, because it's starting to actually look like a house! Jared and I went to check it out yesterday, and they've been working really hard. It is completely framed, and we've got our roof on. It looks like our next step will be some plumbing. Here is a picture from a few weeks ago, followed by pictures from yesterday.

This Picture was taken on Labor Day. As you can see, we just had a cement slab at that point.

Look at that! They move pretty fast! Our front door is on the left. The windows on the bottom floor look into our living room, and the windows above are the master bedroom and bathroom. Our building will have 6 units in it, so we will have neighbors on both sides. They haven't sold yet, so if you're looking, we would love to have you as neighbors!

In this picture, you are standing in our living room. You can see the kitchen and dining room, garage, half bath and stairs from here.

This is in our master bedroom. I know it doesn't look like much now, but at the end of December, it will be our home sweet home!

Bodyworlds

2008-09-23T17:45:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, Jared and I went to the Bodyworlds exhibit at The Leonardo museum. For those of you who don't know what this Bodyworlds is, let me explain it to you... Bodyworlds is an exhibit that displays actual human bodies and body parts for all to see. The bodies and other such items are preserved by a process called plastination. Essentially, plastination is a process where the tissues of a body are filled with a plastic type material, and in turn, the bodies are preserved and last for a looooong time. Jared was kinda nervous to go, he was afraid it would make him queazy, but we were both surprised at how interesting it was-and not gross. The bodies actually look like plastic, so I had to remind myself a few times that they were actual humans. It was really neat to see how our bodies really look and work, and I found it to be a very exciting and fun outing. The exhibit lasts until January, and I highly recommend it!

My Day Off

2008-09-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

So, I had the day off today. It was a great day, I got my blood drawn (and I was brave!), I did the safety and emissions on my car, had lunch with Jared, and spent some time with my lovely sister, Shannon. I've been planning on starting a blog for a while, but I haven't really gotten around to it. Shannon decided to give me a little push and a tutorial on starting my very own blog today, and so here I start...

Jared and I have had an exciting summer. We went on a great vacation to Europe, spent a lot of time at family parties, sold our condo and bought a townhome. Our new home should be finished in December, and we are crossing our fingers that it will be done before Christmas. We'll keep you updated on the progress of our new nest, and let you know when we are finally there!