Ben and Amber

Rebellion

2012-03-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

I'm going through a phase.

I am acting out. At least that's what those people tell me. You know, those people who act like they are my parents, but don't look anything like me? They say I am in my teenage years - sleeping in until 10am and testing my limits when they tell me to "COME".

I am having fun though.

I mean, that's what she (you know, the one that thinks she is my mom) gets for letting me have uninterrupted play for 4 days with my friend Bode while she and the one who thinks he's my dad jetted off to Vegas. Then they just bring me home and leave me alone for 3 hours while they go to church?? Well, I showed her. Yep, I took this shoe right out of her closet and ate it.

This did not make her happy, but after she whined for a few hours about how those were her very favorite pair she got over it. I have her wrapped around my finger again although she keeps shutting that closet door.

I was getting hot again. My coat is so thick. Finally, they took me in to get a hair cut and she thought it would be "cute" to cut a mohawk into my hair. You know, because I am a rebel and I have awesome hair. They keep telling me how cute I look. They keep flashing that camera in my face.

They better watch out, I know where their shoes live. And since she thinks I am so smart I might just learn to open that closet door.

I promise, I am still a sweet pup. I will lose the 'tude soon, but I might keep the hair - don't I look cool?

Love,

Oliver

Valedictorian

2012-03-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

For the last 6 weeks we have been in diligent puppy learning. If we are honest we have been in puppy learning for a while now, but we decided to take Oliver to the professionals.

Turns out he REALLY is the smartest dog ever. Basically Oliver taught the class, well he could have at least.

Ruth was our trainer, she was wonderful and really has a great love for dogs. She tried to trick Oliver into bad behavior so she could try to correct him, but he wouldn't have it.

Oliver met a sweet new friend, Bear. He is a St. Bernard that is just a few months old. He gained 20 pounds in our 6 weeks of class!

Oliver was an ideal student. He sat quietly and took in all of the information from Ruth while his puppy friends eagerly barked at one another.

After six weeks of practicing sit, stay, lay down, roll over, catch, come don't pull and be awesome it was time to graduate! We actually already knew most of these, but we appreciated the extra knowledge. Ruth gave us a certificate after we aced our final.

And we got to do our graduation walk and lots of pictures!

So proud of our little graduate, now off to puppy college for him! We should have a scholarship somewhere?!?

Instagram a day

2012-03-02T17:28:00.001-08:00

Instagram is my newest obsession. Forget Facebook and all the words, let's just see the pictures! :)

Since the only pictures I really ever take are of Oliver, I am going to do this photo a day challenge.
You should to.
Or at least you should follow mine.
It's sure to be intense.
Right.

All you have to do is take a picture of what you see above on the corresponding day and upload it to your Instagram account. Easy.
What? You don't have an Instagram account?
Get one, Immediately. Download the app, on your phone, before you read on.

If you have an account let me know, I can't wait to see your March pictures!

When in Vegas

2012-02-24T15:44:00.000-08:00

We never underestimate the value of a weekend away. ESPECIALLY when you live in the rainest city ever. Don't get me wrong, I actually love a cuddle-up-rainy-day. But I love even more a sunglasses-warm-sun-day. That's just what we got.

It was an EARLY flight. It seems when I book flights I like to choose the earlier the better. Four months ahead of schedule it seems like a great idea! The day before... well, that's the day I wonder what I was thinking.

The weather was beautiful and we stayed with Mr. Trump himself. Well, that's a lie - we didn't stay WITH him, but we did stay at his hotel and I must say the T.V. in the mirror's MADE.MY.WEEKEND. Mark my words I will have one of those one day, sans basketball, in my bathroom. Imagine all the fun you would have getting ready for the day!

You should also know I am now completely obsessed with this Goldfish penny slot machine. Obsessed. This is why you shouldn't gamble. Learn from me. It soon becomes all you think about and you miss that little penny stealer. I am not actually the kind of person who would ever sit down at a slot machine. If I WERE to gamble (which happens almost never because my love of shopping way out trumps my love for handing my money to a casino) I would be more of a craps or poker girl. I am pretty sure my parents taught me to play poker when I was 5. It's a valuable skill that I like to whip out and beat everyone with when it's least expected. It happens too, and I love it. Back to the Goldfish, my mom actually taught me to play this game when I was in Utah. (See, she likes to arm me with valuable information) And I put those skills to work here. I won $80 - so thank you very much Mom!

We didn't really have plans for our trip. We did get to see Ben's soccer friends on Sunday. Tyson and Tabby live close to Vegas and Morgan and Hugh happened to be in town for a soccer tournament. It was so fun to see them all together. Since I wasn't around for the glory college days, I love to hear them walk down memory lane. They have so much fun together! I wish I would have taken a picture. Next time.

We also saw a Cirque Du Soleil Show, Mystere. It was amazing and the pure strength that those people have in UNREAL. I will never complain about 50 pushups again - I mean no one is asking ME to hold a 160 pound man in the air for 15 minutes. I tried to take a picture, but a sweet lady threatened to kick me out. Note to self.

Ben found the motherland of all amazing taco stands. He is a real street food kind of guy. As we walked by a taco stand of sorts on the far end of the strip, the smell of the tacos called to him, and he had to stop! We waited in line for 45 minutes at 10:30 pm to get 2 tacos. They were everything he had dreamed of and more. It was cute.

I wore pink pants, my finger healed very nicely even with the filth around me, and we saw a man crawl into a box in the street. People are strange - especially in Vegas. (no offense). We drank lots of coke, went to bed WAY too late and wore sunglasses so our tender eyes didn't fry. It was fantastic.

I am not sure if you are aware of this craziness, but I am obsessed with sea creatures. In particular Sharks. In fact, they are my second favorite animal. Falling closely behind elephants. It's strange because I am terrified to be IN the ocean, but not because of the fish (uh hum, and mammals) but because I am certain the ocean is planning to drown me and my less than expert swimming skills. Regardless, I have this strange obsession with sharks. It only made sense to head to Mandalay Bay and check out their Shark Reef Aquarium. We touched sting rays and saw crazy jelly fish (did I ever tell you when Ben and I were almost stung by a jelly fish on our honeymoon?) and we saw TONS of sharks! They were everywhere. It was amazing. We could have stayed there all day.

Alas, after much fun and sun it was time to say goodbye. I have a love/hate relationship with that crazy city and although it was wonderful to be away it is certainly nice to be home.

Obsessed Much

2012-02-17T15:14:00.001-08:00

We are, it's true. Cutest dog ever.

Goodbye old Friend

2012-02-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

In the summer of 2009 I bought a car. It was the 6th car I had owned in my life. It was my second Mazda. It was brand spanking new and I loved it.

On August 6, 2009 I wrote on my blog:
Dear New Car,

I love you. I love you in indescribable and pathetic ways. I am so glad I bought you. Your navigation has really come in handy and your sunroof has made driving so enjoyable. Thank you for bringing love into my life!

XO,
Obsessed with my new car

My feelings never changed, but my life did. You see... I am a smaller person. Coming in at a comfortable 5'3'' I can basically fit anywhere I need to, and no, my feet don't hit the floor if I scoot all the way back on our couch. I deal.
Benjamin however, well he is quite the opposite. He is 6'3'' and I am pretty sure his feet hit the floor no matter where he sits (even at counters).

Ben was never super comfortable in my car, although he took VERY good care of it. It sat low and let's be honest, a little car isn't the most roomy ride for a tall man. But he dealt and kept the complaining to a minimum. Except of course when we drove on the freeway and we couldn't hear each other cause the road noise in those small cars isn't ideal. It was then when we looked at each other and thought (cause we couldn't talk), MAN we need a bigger car.

Then we got a pup. He fit in the little Mazda perfectly for a few months. I would help him in the back and we would cruise all over town together. He loved it. Eventually he was tall enough to see out the window and soon discovered the joy of the wind blowing in his face. But inevitably even he outgrew the little car.

It had to happen. As much as I loved my little car, we needed room, we needed a backseat that wasn't full of our adorable puppy and we decided it was time to get rid of my little car friend.

We started looking in May of 2010. We looked at everything and by everything, I mean everything. If there is one place I hate it's car dealerships, but we went looking at SUV after SUV. We fell into a groove. I wouldn't say a word to the sales man, because they usually creep me out, and Ben would do all the talking and shoot me the "YEAH, Uh huh" look every once and a while. (No offense to car salesmen really, but you know what I mean.)

We gave up and started and gave up again. It seemed that we would always "want" a new car, but never really get one. We put the Mazda on craigslist. No one called.

Finally, I took a trip to Utah to see my family. As I sat at my parents computer one day I wondered what car prices were here. "Wouldn't that be crazy" I thought to myself, "If I found the perfect car and drove it home instead of flying?" I pulled up good old KSL, browsed and instantaneously let out a "HOLY CRAP!" Car prices seemed lower, I called Ben and the search was on.

I fit car searching in between friends and family. I drove cars to Ashley and Casey's and had Casey do a proper "man" inspection while Ashley and I decided if the car "looked" like me. I drove, we thought and finally BOUGHT! Craziness, I know - but this is just how we roll.

I drove our newly acquired Honda Pilot back to Washington. Now we had three cars. Unfortunately, the Mazda really had to go this time. We kept our ad on craigslist and added an adorable vinyl FOR SALE sticker to the windows.

We waited one week and one man called. Ben took the car to him, they talked and he bought. Ben came home told me it was sealed by a handshake and in two days the car would be his. I was happy, grateful that we didn't have to pay for this extra car, but sad that my favorite little car would be gone for good. I drove it as much as I could. I opened the sunroof and blared the Bose stereo. I used the navigation when I knew where I was going and I sat and sat and almost wanted to refuse to give it up.

But I didn't. He took the car and now we are 2 drivers and 2 cars. I love the Pilot, but I will miss my Mazda. Goodbye old friend. You're next owner is one lucky person!

My Valentine

2012-02-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

I love love. More than that, I love my sweet husband who reminds me every single day how much he loves me. Oh how grateful I am for him.

Wishing you much love, and lots of chocolate, today and always.
Happy Valentines Day!

Stitched

2012-02-12T23:01:00.000-08:00

This may or may not gross you out. Read at your own risk. (It really isn't gross though)

It was a beautiful Wednesday afternoon. Actually, it was rainy and grey, but that isn't really part of the story. I stood in our kitchen looking at a sink full of dishes and wondered how two people dirty so many dishes. They needed to be cleaned. I turned on Ellen, my favorite show to watch while cleaning house or cooking, and unloaded and loaded our mess. The only things left were 3 kitchen knives.

Now I need to stop right there and tell you about knives in our home. Knives are a dime a dozen around these parts. Do not meet Ben in a dark alley because he has an exorbitant amount of pocket knives that are very sharp and dangerous. We also have a good amount of very sharp kitchen knives. Kitchen knives that I love. I love them so much that I like to pretend I am on Iron Chef America while I cook. It's like there is a timer above my head and I need to cut my vegetables as fast as I can in order to get my meals cooked and plated in time. No, but seriously I hate wasted time and I am a klutz.
So this is how it goes in our house...
Amber picks up a knife.
Ben: "Amber be very careful"
Amber: {Rolls her eyes} "Yes, thank you"
Ben: "Seriously, slow down those knives are very sharp"
Amber: "Not sharp enough, can you sharpen this?"
Ben: "No, you'll cut yourself"
Amber: "I will be VERY careful if you sharpen it."
Ben walks over and sharpens the knife.
Amber takes the knife and begins to cut, one minute passes.
Amber: "Whoops" Grabs paper towel and wraps it around finger.

Every. Time.
Needless to say I cut myself with knives, scissors, vegetable peelers, cheese graters, anything with a sharp edge probably at least once a week. I got band aides in my stocking. Enough said.
Back to the dishes.

There sat the 3 kitchen knives waiting to be cleaned. We hand wash the knives for a reason that I am not really sure of. So they don't rust, I think. I should find out.
I chose my most favorite, very sharpest, knife first. There I stood running a sudsy sponge over the sharp knife. Fast, remember, I don't like to waste time.
The next thing I know the knife that I am supposed to be cleaning is cutting through my sponge and finger!
"Ouch!!", I yell {To Oliver cause he was the only one home} "That REALLY hurt!"
Normally it doesn't hurt, honestly it's usually a nick or small cut.
I grab a paper towel, wrap it around my finger and continue washing knives.

After drying the knives I remove my, now wet, paper towel to asses the damage. Too much blood. I grab a dry paper towel, wrap my finger and take Oliver on a walk.

Ben was home by the time we walked back. He took one look at my blood soaked paper towel and said, "Did you cut yourself again?" "It's no big deal," I reply as he wrapped it up in the Christmas bandaids so I could start dinner.

After dinner I decided to really asses the damage. It had finally stopped bleeding enough to see the cut well. I took one look and asked Ben if he thought it was stitch worthy. Assuming of course that he would say no and just wrap it real good. He said the opposite. Rather he went on about how it was really deep and might have a hard time healing there. I took a picture (naturally) and sent it to my most knowledgeable friends. Michelle (nurse) and Matt (paramedic/fire fighter) hoping one of them would be off work and able to share their expertise. Almost immediately they both responded telling me to stitch that baby up.

Suddenly I realized they might all be right. I mean I could see the little fat cells stored in these sausage fingers when I looked inside. Gross.

I looked at Ben, "WHAT do we do???" I had never ever in my life needed late night hospital care, let alone stitches! We looked up the nearest Urgent Care, they closed at 8pm, it was 7:43. We jumped in the car, threw Oliver in the back, and raced to Urgent Care. We were there at 7:57. Record time.

Faster than I knew possible, they had me soaking my finger, filling out papers and asking me when my last tetanus shot was. I soaked, signed and looked at the lady like she was crazy. "College, maybe?" She decided I needed a tetanus right away.

The doctor explained that he would put 3 shots in my finger to dumb the area. I quickly learned that shots in your finger hurt WAY worse than cutting your finger with a kitchen knife. But the nurse distracted me with more questions while Ben did his best to crack jokes and make small talk.

My finger quickly turned numb and cold. I swear it was more swollen and purple than I had ever seen it and I wondered if this strange reaction was really better than a band aide?

Finally, it was time to stitch. Ben held my hand and my attention while the doctor took a crazy hook and plastic thread through my finger. I felt a few tugs, but no pain. Before I knew it - he was done! I looked over and saw...

Holy mama swollen finger!! {my mom literally thought this picture was of Ben's hand}
I was surprised when I looked at it. I was surprised that my finger was so swollen, I was surprised the stitches were black and I was surprised that they were tied individually. May I remind you that I have never had stitches before, nor do I think I have ever seen stitches on anyone else. I guess I thought I would look over and see clear thread and a beautiful seam along the cut flesh. But what do I know. He wrapped and splinted my swollen pointer and told me I would soon be good as new.

Before we left the awesome nurses brought in a sticker that made my day! Remember that tetanus shot? Well that baby STILL hurts! 4 days later. A ladybug sticker was well deserved!

We walked out at 8:38. I appreciated the "no wasted time" service. I had to wear the splint for 24 hours. Typing was very hard and using a pen has been almost impossible, but there hasn't been much pain and I am healing beautifully. We are uncertain when I am actually supposed to go back to have them removed. I remember the doctor saying 7 days. Ben remembers 4 days. I decided to settle the score and take them out myself!

I didn't know I was serious until I was inspecting them tonight and decided the far left stitch didn't have any pain when I moved it so it may be time to come out. I sniped and pulled and before I even knew what was happening the stitch was out laying on the desk next to my finger.

One down, two to go!

The moral of the story: Have your very sweet, thorough and careful husband wash the knives!

Hair Cut

2012-01-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

The first thing you should know is Oliver got a haircut. We LOVED his shaggy long puppy hair. LOVED it. But he was hot and miserable. Watching your panting dog lay on the wood floor next to the nearest door, all the time, makes you feel a little bad. Ben went out of town and begged me to cut Oliver while he was gone. My answer was basically that there was no way I was ready to lose the puppy O. Well, he left and I knew it needed to happen. Oliver and I scheduled hair appointments on the same day. We might as well both get pampered in the process!

I tried to get ONE LAST SHOT before we walked into the groomer. When I stopped to take the picture Ollie laid right down on the floor. See, hot.

We have this groomer, LeAnn, I LOVE her. She has done all of Ollie's puppy trims and cleanings. She is awesome and best of all Oliver loves her too. She already knew my hesitancy about cutting his hair so she made sure I had enough "long" puppy pictures and described everything she would do. She really is fantastic. She makes me want to be a dog groomer. As I left the room my eyes filled with tears, which I immediately tried to I push back. This is typical anytime I leave him actually. Still. I know, I am crazy. At least I have enough control these days not to walk through an airport bawling. Thank goodness.

A few hours later LeAnn called to say he was done. When I walked in the room Oliver ran toward me and the tears started again. He looked all grown up and so adorable! I loved it, and better than that he LOVES it. Sans hair, this little guy is skinny and ALL legs! He has beautiful hair that seriously looks like a mix between suede and carpet.

He is really soft and very cuddly. He loves to be right next to us all. the. time. Which I love.

Hairy Oliver would sit with us for a minute and then find somewhere cooler to lay. Trim Oliver has now decided that our bed is his bed, which he has never done before, so we constructed a wonderful bed next to ours for him. We are all learning.

When we finally picked Ben up at the airport from a long week away he claimed to not be THAT surprised. He said he knew I would decide to take the leap. I guess I am too predictable, but we are all glad I did.

{side note: I LOVE this picture.}

Wasted on Thighs

2012-01-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

How much of your life is wasted complaining or wishing you could change something completely insignificant about yourself?

I'll be honest, about 2 hours was wasted yesterday complaining to my sweet husband, who was about to tape my mouth shut so he didn't have to listen to one more word, about how ridiculously big my thighs are.

Thighs. Seriously?

In case you didn't know the Northwest is in complete disarray. Snow + days and days and days of rain = houses flooding, roads are rivers and my dog refuses to go outside. Yet, I complain about thighs.

I know it is ridiculous and when I actually hear {or see} every word that escapes my tongue {or fingertips} I want to immediately pull it back and accept that there are bigger things to worry about, better places to direct my energy.

Yet, it sits there in the back of my mind. Those thighs.

Kelley, Amber, Shannon in Australia. We are thinking about starting a synchronized swimming team.

See here is the thing. I try to be healthy. Try. We all know I am a sucker for sugar and all things peanut butter. I could talk about eating a jar of straight peanut butter all day. But talk is cheap and the actual gorging of these foods is rare. I take my vitamins, double up my water, drink way less soda than ever before and serve healthy cooking in our house.

I was given these thighs. They come from a long line of strong legged people on my mom's side. Maybe they were log rollers {I don'y even know if that's a thing} or the people to carried all the food and children through villages. Maybe. I have always known they weren't tiny. I mean by no stretch of the mind have I EVER been chicken legged. They come fairly toned. My mom, bless her heart, doesn't exercise and can still flex her her quads and calves with the best of them. She loves it.

Now let me tell you a little secret. I am an all or nothing kind of gal. I don't want to start my laundry if I can't get everything piled in the laundry room done. I can't stand decorating one room knowing there is a whole house that needs the same treatment. I won't start a book unless I know there is time for reading and I hate working out unless there is serious sweat dripping from my face and my muscles are burning. It's ~~a blessing~~ ~~curse~~ ~~blessing~~...me.

How does this all relate back to my giant thighs, you ask? Let's talk more about working out.
Pretend that thighs were measured on a scale from 1 - 10.
You see when I do nothing, my thighs shrink from 9 to 6.
But when I am working out they jump from 6 - 10 in a matter of DAYS! Days I tell you. In the last week, I have GAINED a half inch on each thigh.

Catch 22, right? Work out, keep the flab down and the heart healthy and my pants get tighter around my legs. One half inch in a pair of skinny jeans is basically ripping the seam, my friends! Or, don't work out, feel lazy and fit into pants.... lose-lose.

So now I said it and I leave it here. I have wasted another 30 mins of life and I am done.
Thank you genetics for giving me strong legs. Thank you legs for carrying me mile after mile and allowing me to jump and squat and jump and lunge and growing stronger so you can sustain more. You're really only protecting us and we are a force to be reckon with when squatting heavy weight. Plus, maybe one day we will carry many children through villages. Or at least up and down stairs.

Now I love myself again and I need new pants.

It's Tricky

2012-01-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

"To rock around, to rock around on time that's right it's tricky." If you don't know that RUN DMC's, Tricky, is basically the best song ever then you need to go back to 1987 and try again.

Mr. Oliver loves to show off his tricks. Mostly because he is very smart and knows he will get about a bazillion treats when he does what we say. I love it. I wish I could give everyone dog treats to do what I say.

And just in case you forgot how adorable and talented he was when he was a very young pup you may watch this. TO.DIE.FOR.

You can't tell me you don't want to kiss that puppy face.

It's tricky, tricky, tricky.
Seriously I could listen to this song all day.

@ 6 Months

2012-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Time,

You are my enemy. You make life feel like life is just a blink of an eye. It hurts my heart.

Amber

Oliver is 6 months old! How did that happen already?! This little pup couldn't be cuter if he tried and he is the best dog companion anyone could ever ask for. He makes this non-dog lover a total dog lover. He makes me want to have 10 more little pups. But I won't, because that would be crazy and get me some sort of hefty fine and a stinky house. So just know that I would.

Here are some things you should know about this cute ~~little~~ big ball of fur at 6 months.

He is 55.2 pounds. The vet thinks he will grow another inch or two and gain another 20lbs (or so) of muscle. In another month he will be able to run longer distances once he has more muscle and his long bones are fully grown.

He loves the park. He loves to fetch the ball and is getting pretty good at bringing it back (when he feels like it). He loves even more to chase us up and down the grassy area. Before we know it he is running by back and forth and in circles by himself. He is getting better, but he isn't completely coordinated yet. He still trips over his long legs and finds himself tripping over thin air. A lot like me actually.

Doggie play-dates are the best! Oliver is a bit of a softy. He is a timid, shy dog. He doesn't love the dog ritual of sniffing bums and doesn't understand why dogs do it. It takes him a second to warm up to most dogs (Bodie is the exception), but once he does he LOVES to play!

Oliver is a secret mess maker. He looks sweet and innocent when you are with him, but when he gets hyper he is a bit like the Tasmanian devil. I typically leave two blankets folded in the guest room on the floor.

I have recently discovered that if I leave the door open the blankets will soon look like this:

I can't even get mad at this because it's so funny to me. He just likes to make sure they are good and messed up and then he leaves the room. I guess they need to be moved to the closet.

Under all that fluff he is SUPER curly. It's been fun to watch him go from straight hair to curly fluff. Sad, sad will be the day (all too soon) when the fluff will be gone and only curls will be left. The downside to all the fluff is how HOT is ALWAYS is. It's still adorable though.

Oliver is a ham for the camera. He has basically given in to my obsessive picture taking, I knew he would come around. His little puppy self used to bark when I would point the camera at him.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

But now he secretly loves it, or at least just puts up with it. I just click and click and click and he

sits like a pro.

Most recently Oliver has found a love for sticking his head out the window while in the car. Thankfully he LOVES the car and the sound of keys have him running to the door to make sure you don't leave alone. He used to need help into the back seat, he used to just curl up and fall asleep. Now he jumps into the car all alone and stares out the window watching the world go by.

We are usually nice enough to roll the window down so he can feel the wind in his hair. Even when it's 30 degrees. Even when it's raining. We deserve some kind of award because I am basically cold all.the.time. and now the winter air is soaring through the car. Don't worry, the leather is covered and most importantly, he LOVES it. My favorite is when he sticks his head out for a while, when he comes back in his face hair is all fluffed. That's a good blow out!

Ben is out of town for the week, the saddest part of this whole week is watching Oliver lay by the door at 4 o'clock waiting for him to come home. He does it everyday, but to no avail. He is my sweet dog during the day, but has always looked forward to Ben coming home cause he knows it's party time. He WE are so excited to see him on Friday!

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T13:36:00.000-08:00

Goodbye 2011, we were happy to have you and will cherish your memories.

our Christmas highlights

2011-12-30T22:26:00.000-08:00

What a blessed Christmas we had. We tried to soak up every second we had off work and enjoy the time together with family and friends. Here are our highlights.

New Pajamas - because no Christmas is complete without them!

Santa visited and we opened lots of presents.

Oliver got a new harness so now he can be a real running dog. One of us is really excited.

And of course Santa didn't forget Oliver's love for bones.

Ben got tricked into thinking he was opening Sorel boots.... instead he opened the box and found a blanket! HA!

FINALLY he opened his last box to find his shiny new boots. Tricky Amber.

Ben trusted Amber with his heavy duty knife. Good thing Santa put a big box of band-aides in my stocking! (If you don't know, I am basically the clumsiest person on the planet and find a way to cut myself about every day.)

Amber was surprised and more than excited to find a CAMEO under the tree! Watch out world, the crafting is officially on!

Grandma and Grandpa North sent Oliver some angry bird squeaky toys. At first I thought they were really cute. Now I think they may have been playing some sort of joke on us. These may be the MOST squeaky toys on the planet. And he loves them.

We spent lots of time laughing with family.

And playing games and with fancy new toys.

And when we were all tuckered out we relaxed with family by the tree.

Only to find ourselves wishing it wasn't over so soon.

And begging for more time off work to do it again.

Because if there is one thing we know for sure, it's that spending time together is our favorite time of all!

Christmas greetings

2011-12-24T10:23:00.000-08:00

We wish you a Merry Christmas.

Remembering Christ and giving much love to those around.

We hope your holiday is filled with warmth and twinkling lights.

And wonderful family and friends.

And more comfort and joy than you can dream of.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

2011 Ornaments

2011-12-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

We barely made it! 6 days before Christmas we\ picked out our 2011 Christmas ornaments.

This isn't a tradition that I had as a child. We had lots of ornaments that we made when we were very young, but as we grew our tree was mostly filled with beautiful gold ornaments and fragile glass balls. I wasn't a sentimental ornament kind of gal. My husband however, is quite the opposite. When we married he brought along bags filled with ornaments collected all through his life. To be completely honest, I wasn't sure how I would deal with this. I was torn between beautiful sparkly snowflakes and Micheal Jordan dunking a basketball.

Last year the sentiment of buying an ornament got the best of me and we bought a few signifying our honeymoon and first Christmas together, but since we never fully unpacked in that house we didn't have any other sentimental ornaments to choose from. I wasn't sure what I would do this year.
We decided on two trees. One small beautiful Amber-tree that I could decorate however I please and one larger family tree that we could decorate and reminisce on memories and the significance of the ornaments being placed there. It worked perfectly and I loved pulling out all of Ben's old ornaments and seeing how excited he got to see each one.

I decided our little family probably needed ornaments this year as well. Especially with the addition of the pup, we needed to mark this time of our lives in stone, ornament-style.

After we picked out the ornaments we opened them to show Mr. O what he would get to put on the tree this year. He loved it, I even got a little doggy kiss and then he tried to eat it.

Since Ben has been Mr. Fix It/ Builder of everything Amber can dream up this year he got a Merry Fix-mas measuring tape. You should see this guy and his real measuring tape. I am pretty sure he measures and re-measures 15 times. He likes to be right-on and he is great at dividing crazy fraction type numbers to know exactly where a nail needs to be. Most of the time I just stand in awe holding the level for him.

Amber got a little mini Christmas hat. Can you see my love for accessorizing coming through with this one. I love the little hat! All I need is to attach it to a headband and I could rock it royal wedding style. (wait... did I just think of a really good idea?)

I love that it's now our second year of Christmas traditions that we get to enjoy together. Christmas time is so much fun!

Time for a tree

2011-12-05T18:29:00.001-08:00

I knew there were people who decorated real Christmas trees in their home. They talked about the smell of fresh pine. The fun of picking out the tree and the different shapes and sizes they came in. I knew there were those people, but I have never been one. I have driven by the lots full of trees, the signs promising the best price, but I was never intrigued.

My sweet husband though, he is a lover of real trees. He loves the smell, the process of putting it up and I knew Christmas wouldn't be complete without it.

Ben's friend told him about told him about a tree farm that was holding a funraiser for a dog shelter. They were taking donations and finding new homes for sweet pups in need. This event got the best of the new dog lover in me and we loaded up and headed to Sandy to check out the trees.

We have had the pleasure of having Bodie (Ben's parents pup) in our home for the last couple weeks as they finish the move to their new house. We have loved having him and it is heaven for Oliver! He loves having a built in friend for wrestling and playing. The dogs couldn't wait to choose a tree and meet some new friends, but Ben insisted that I find them scarves so they wouln't get cold. (I kid, I take blame for all craziness)

They were not interested in looking at me for a picture!

Everyone at the farm was really nice! They had hundreds of trees to choose from and lots of dogs for adoption. We didn't adopt one.

We did walk however, through lots and lots of trees to choose the perfect one. We even had our own personal tree assistant. Tyler.

Tyler didn't work there, nor did he know anyone who did, but he had much tree expertise and followed us around trying to sell us every tree! He was hilarious. Thanks Tyler!

It didn't take us too long to pick out the perfect tree for our home. This was one of the EASIEST decisions we have ever made.

We cut it down and hauled it to the truck to take it home and add it to our holiday decor.

We had such a great time, and the pups were a hit! They LOVE to socialize. I even think I can jump on board with choosing a tree each year. (Truth be told, we now have two trees up - one real and one fake.)

Thank goodness for Ben knowing how to care for a real tree!! He knew to cut the end and shake it out before it came in the house. He even knew the best way to bring it in without getting pine needles everywhere and to tie it down just in case a crazy dog accidentally ran into it. What would I do without him?

Doesn't it fit great. Now we better get to decorating!

Happy tree shopping!

The many faces

2011-12-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

You must wonder what my "little" pup looks like these days.

Little, he is not. He is is growing like the weeds grow in the bark dust in our back yard. Remind us to lay a cover under the bark dust next summer. The weeds overwhelm me.

He is 23 weeks which equals 5 months. I need to stop counting his age in weeks. It's confusing and makes me sound like I am counting months of pregnancy. Which I am not. He is 44lbs. He has quadrupled in size.

Oliver has such a funny personality. Really seriously when we chose that little pup we chose him because we had already fallen in love with his docile, go with the flow, personality. He was the only pup who wouldn't give us the time of day. I was sure he hated us when I put him down and he walked straight to the corner to sleep. But we chose him anyway and we are so happy we did. I know he doesn't hate us now. In fact he is one of our biggest fans, we are his also, so it all works out.

I take an overload of pictures and I am so glad. Some are terrible cell phone pictures, but as I look back and look at our big pup now and want to hold him close and cry because he is so grown up.

You need to see the many faces of Mr. Oliver.

Oliver's first day as a Walunas

Still not really sure what is going on. I will stay under this chair. Maybe they won't notice me.

Flying Dog!

Listen Lady, I am holding your CD case hostage. If you don't stop taking pictures of me, it's a gonner.

I can RUN! More like pounce... why is this grass so long?

True relaxation... under a desk - with cords.

I've barely made it in the house and you're already taking pictures?

Big yawn.

I'm a real man's man.

I'm just talking on the video phone. I mean, what's not to love?

No I won't smile. I won't even look at you. Let me in please.

Maybe if I sleep on the rocks they won't make me go in the water.

I CANNOT believe they forced me in the water. I could have drown.

Trying to eat here!!

I can help you tape the wall for paint. I promise, I won't eat the tape... again.

This is humiliating.

I would really like to bite your tail off.

Yes, I am in fact a fluffy monster.

I want to COME!!! Help me up, please.

LET ME GOOOOO!!!

Look Piper, I am sitting. Now you are supposed to share.

You just wait, you are going down. I am about to shake this water ALL OVER YOU!

Do they make a Dog cuter? I don't think so.

I like going to the vet. They think I am so cute and give me treats. I will just lay here and wait.

I may be 4 times bigger, but I still love laying on my back.

When she wakes up she will roll over and see me on the pillow next to her. She will think I am so cute!

Decorating for Christmas is exhausting!

You really should tell the groomer that next time they wash me NOT to fluff me out and this bandanna is RIDICULOUS!

"We're the two best friends that anyone could have"

Thankful first meeting

2011-11-30T13:53:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was fan-tab-ulous!

The food was awesome, the company was fantastic and at the end of the day, when I put my feet up, I thought to myself "cooking all day was fun and totally worth it". We had such a good time at the Walunas-North thankful party. My mom, Bethany and I even topped the whole day off with a Target trip at 12am. Worth it for movies? Probably not. Worth it for the experience? Maybe so.

I wish I would have gotten more pictures, once people started showing up go-mode set in and I forgot about the camera. I need to be better. I was so happy that my parents made the trip to join us though, my mom is certainly a handy woman to have in the kitchen!

(Please note in this picture WHO never sees the sun! I look like a vampire compared to these tan Utahns.)

Oliver fell in love with them, just as I knew he would.
He plopped down right at my dad's feet and didn't leave his side. It was kind of cute to watch him snuggle right up there and keep my dad's feet warm.

Of course my mom gave him loves and he brought her toys to tell her thank-you.

They had such a fun first meeting! Of course, he is the perfect grand-dog, if I do say so myself!

Thank you to the Walunas-North gang for such a great Thanksgiving!!

The giving of thanks

2011-11-23T11:26:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite Holidays. It's a pretty spot on tie with Easter.

I love the fall-ness of the holiday. The cool crisp air. The leaves, the sweaters and jackets and scarves. Yes, even the rain is a nice touch. Plus, I can always use an extra push to actually voice what I am thankful for. An excuse to eat doesn't hurt either.

As a kid, our family always gathered together with my dear Grandparents and my Mom's brothers and sisters and their families. We have a small(ish) family and there were only 5 of us cousins who lived close enough to come. We would rotate houses, help cook (ie. snack while someone else is cooking) and every year we looked forward to spending the whole day together. This will be my 2nd Thanksgiving away from the annual tradition, but lucky for me my parents decided to join us in Washington this year!

I bet they can't wait to meet their new grand-dog. My, how he has already grown. I know Mr. O can't wait to be kissed and loved by them. He is a sucker for attention.

I am so excited to cook at our house and have a big combined Walunas-North thankful party!
The shopping is done and the turkey is thawing. I really can't wait. It's sad when traditions change, but I am grateful for the addition of new ones. Although we will miss those too far to travel, we are so very grateful for the time we have to spend together with family!

Wishing you a happy, safe and warm Thanksgiving. We hope it's lick your chops good!!

Photos c/o the amazing Bethany Davenport.
Thank you Bethany, we sure love you!

Halloween 1980?

2011-10-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

We rocked this Halloween like it was 1980. We weren't even alive in 1980, but trust me - with pink spandex, pink leg warmers and pink hair - we sure played the punk rockin part!

Halloween is really fun when you have a puppy to dress up. Mr. O loved going to the door to see the kids and hand out candy. I think he was a tad bit confused why the doorbell kept ringing, but when we headed toward the door he was happy to tag along.

Poor Oliver felt so picked on when his hair was sprayed pink. For some reason pointing an aerosol can at a puppies head is tad bit intimidating.

He wanted far away from me and my evil can. Ben made him feel better and gave him lots of treats.

Tell me how much you love this pink spandex paired with cut off jorts. It's a good thing we actually live in 2011 and not 1980.

Deneal and Tim threw an AMAZING Halloween party! It was decked out with all things scary! Plus, their woodpecker and hunter costumes were awesome!

Shannon, Dan and Piper were straight out of the Peter Pan movie, only with a cuter Tinker Bell!

Oliver loved to be right in the middle of the party. I was surprised how much of a social dog he is. I expected that he would fall asleep in the corner. Instead he wanted to say hello to everyone and show off his cute punk rocker costume.

Happy Halloween!!
Hopefully you filled up on lots of sugar and treats - you KNOW we did!!

Lucia Falls

2011-10-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

A little adventure is in our bones and we need to take advantage of every dry day we have left.

We went to Lucia Falls on Sunday to check out the Salmon jumping. It was a short drive from our house and such a fun afternoon activity.

The falls weren't as big as I thought they would be, but I think that was a good thing. The fish are trying to swim UP the falls and let me tell you - not very many appeared to make it. It seemed like a hopeless task for them. I didn't get any pictures of fish actually jumping. I am not that good.

I didn't exactly know what "spawning" was when we got there. I turned to Ben and said, "They are trying to get UP the waterfall? WHY???" He explained that it was so they could lay their eggs because that is where they where they were born so they go back there to "spawn". They live mostly live in salt water, but travel to their fresh water birth location. He also added that this is the last part of the Salmon's life and they die after they lay the eggs. Interesting.

There were rock hills that faced the falls directly. We decided to climb up on them to sit and watch the fish. I wasn't sure what Oliver would think about climbing up rocks since he is still hesitant to jump out of the car.

HE LOVED CLIMBING ON THE ROCKS!

He was in dog heaven and wanted to be at the VERY top so he could see everything.

After all our hiking around on the rocks and our mile run/walk through the forest he was a little tuckered out. He loves to sit like this on our laps. This little guy loves attention. I wonder how he ever got that way!?!

Spawn on my little Salmon friends, and good luck!

One

2011-10-24T14:55:00.001-07:00

I remember the day we were married like it was yesterday. I remember trying to hide behind a temple worker as I walked into the temple because my hair wasn't quite perfect yet and I didn't know he would be sitting RIGHT THERE! I remember the look in his eyes when we were married and the way he held my hand as we imagined our future. I remember I tried to fight the tears through the whole ceremony and finally just let them flow. I remember his face as I walked out in my wedding dress. I remember how full my heart felt, how happy I was to be surrounded by family and friends. I can't believe that day was a whole year ago.

I remember the first day I "met" Ben which wasn't really meeting because I pretended not to care although I was dying to find something interesting to say to this cute hunky man I had only laid eyes on about 15 minutes prior. Can I tell you the story, again?

Thanks.

There I sat with my girlfriends in an LDS sacrament meeting in a young single adults ward. The meeting was coming to an end and a man walked to the front of the chapel to offer a closing prayer. He spoke in a deep voice and as he said Amen I looked up and wondered who he was. I had attended this ward for 6 months and had never seen him before. I turned to Liz and Deneal, "who is THAT?" I asked. "Ben Walunas", Liz responded. "He is the ward mission leader and leads the Gospel Essentials Sunday School class." "I would really like to meet him", I said. "Well let's go to that Sunday School class then", said Deneal and she gathered her stuff and began to walk away.

Well okay!

We walked into Gospel Essentials. It was a small class and everyone looked at us strangley. We sat together on the front row. Liz, me, Deneal, BEN. Deneal turned to Ben, "Hi, I am Deneal. This is my friend Amber and this is Liz." Ben turned and greeted us with a smile and a handshake. "It's really nice to meet you", he said. In exchange I said, "hi". I did not crack smile and made about 1 second eye contact before turning my focus.

That was it. That was our first meeting.

"What is your problem???", Deneal said as we headed toward our last meeting. "I DON'T KNOW!", I responded. "I didn't know what to say, I froze!" It wasn't like me. I wasn't cute or charming. I couldn't think of anything to say, not anything. For the first time, I was nervous to talk to a guy.

For a couple weeks we tried again. The three of us would go into Sunday School and listen. I never said a word to him. I didn't dare.

Finally I saw him at an after church social. I told my friends, "Today is the day. Today I will talk to him." I stood at the side of the room with Kelley and Hillary. We talked and laughed. Finally they told me to just walk over and talk to him. I couldn't. What would I say? I would have nothing after, "Hi I'm Amber." So I stood there, socializing with everyone, but Ben. Finally I got some guts. "I am going to do it", I said. I looked around and to my surprise he was gone. Oh no!! I was devastated, I had missed my chance and would have to wait a whole week to try again.

We left, and I drove home. As I parked my car I dug my phone, that had been set to silent for church, out from the bottom of my purse. It read "1 missed call". I didn't recognize the number and called to listen to the voice mail. "Hi Amber, this is Ben Walunas", I heard. "I am not sure if you know who I am, but I am wondering if I could take you out this week." If there was more I didn't heard it because the screeching of excitement that left my lips filled the space of my parked car. I called my friends, we all screeched in excitement. Then I called him back {coolly} and accepted.

Now that man that I didn't dare say more than one word to is my husband of one year. It happened just the way it should have and I wouldn't take back the couple last years for anything. We created a story and we continue that story every single day day.

ONE YEAR DOWN!

Monster Dog

2011-10-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

If you're sick of me talking about my dog then please come over to my house and help me finish decorating so I can talk about that.

Until then, I will talk about Oliver, aka Monster Dog.

This guy is huge. I asked him yesterday to please stop growing. He was going to try.
I left for a while. A week actually. I wondered how ginorm he would be when I got home. A week does a lot in puppy years. He will be 16 weeks = 3 1/2 months this Sunday. He is 28lbs and growing like a weed.
When I picked him up I threw out my back. J/K, but I made a grunt like I was weight lifting or something. Cause it was hard work.

Then I wondered what the 5 foot girl looked like holding the giant dog. Ben seems to do it with such ease. I knew I didn't look as graceful. This picture proves that.

Now let us all let out a sad sigh that our ~~children~~ dogs are growing up and remember when they were little....

I'm glad I am a crazy picture taker because it's hard to even remember him that itty bitty.

Remember what I said about ease. Ben just holds him like it's no big deal. Someday I will be that strong.

Some things we should remember about Oliver:

When Ben leaves to work he will lift Oliver up onto our bed and we will sleep until it's time to work. Sometimes when he is ready to get up he will paw my face, but most of the time I have to drag him out of bed and bribe him with the promise of a yummy breakfast. {puppy chow - yum}
Oliver loves going for walks and is learning to run. He can run a mile straight. I think he will be a fun running companion.
He loves riding in the car. When he hears keys jingle he will jump up and stand right at your feet letting you know he is ready to go. This breaks my heart when he can't actually go with us. I usually will take him along on my errand running even though he can't go in any stores and then make a stop at Petsmart to check out the new toys so he can get out of the car. I love Petsmart because I don't feel like a weirdo taking my dog with me.
Oliver used to sleep about 80% of the day with about an hour dedicated to being crazy wild dog and 2 walks around the block somewhere in between. Now he sleeps only about 50% of the day with about two hours dedicated to crazy wild dog and 2 one mile walks.
I worry that Oliver gets bored during the day. This is usually cured by me jumping up and down like a crazy person until he joins me. Then he gets tired and lays down. Problem solved.
Oliver loves when Ben comes home. LOVES IT! He runs to the door full speed ahead so happy to see him. It's adorable.

Playing Dress-up

2011-10-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

You know me, I love to dress up. As a little girl I would walk around in my Mom's heels and dream of the days when we would be able to share shoes. I am still dreaming of that day actually. My mom has awesome shoes and we still can't share. I don't think my feet have grown since 5th grade. Now, I just buy my own.

So tell me, what holiday can we take advantage of dressing up EVERYONE in our entire family? Halloween! And yes, family includes dogs.

Last week we took Oliver for his third round of shots. He is a total champion. He struts around the place like he owns it while everyone ooohhs and ahhs over his adorable well behaved self. He loves it.

He climbs up {we actually lift his hefty 28 lbs} onto the table and he lays there while the vet pokes and I feed him cookies. It's a blast.

After the shots the cute receptionist asked us if we were going to dress Oliver up for Halloween. "Of course," I replied while at the exact same time Ben replied, "Not a chance."

We don't agree on everything. It's more fun that way. She told us we better get our costume fast, they were running out and directed us where to find them.

We found the funniest costumes I have ever seen! Unicorns, lady bugs, football players and chickens to name a few. We had to try on the chicken. I couldn't resist. As always, Oliver hung in like a champ. {I think he liked it and would really like to wear it for Halloween}. Isn't he an adorable chicken?!

Ben wasn't on board with getting the chicken costume. Oliver and I begged, but he said no. So we moved on. When we got home I had a great idea! A couple of years ago I wanted to be a bumble bee for Halloween. It was the day before Halloween and when I went to the costume store the only one left {that wasn't $100} was a child's costume. PERFECT, I thought. I ended up being a last minute Mini Mouse that year and I never actually ended up wearing this costume, but I knew it was around somewhere. I searched and searched. And....

Found it!
He seriously just hangs out, costume and all, like it's no big deal.
Ben didn't love the tutu, and I agreed that it was a little much. But still, cutest bumble bee ever! The jury is still out on what he will actually be for Halloween.

I must say - Dressing up is still as fun today as it was when I was a kid!

Ah Crap!

2011-10-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

If I were a professional blogger, I would be fired for lack of posts. This is not to say that I should not be hired as a professional blogger, in fact monitary gain is the number one way to bribe me. So you might have to pay me for new posts. I accept payment in clothes, shoes and of course money {and candy}. Just keep that in mind.

My lack of posts is mainly due to our time being spent beautifying our home. I might even feel done enough to show you soon. Ben is hoping all this madness is quickly over. I will tell you a secret, the madness is never really over. I come up with new ideas every day!

With that, maybe you should see what our options were for dinner the other night.

I was looking through the menu, happy as a bird while we were waiting for friends to join us. I was reading {aloud} the options to Ben. "Spring rolls, chicken satay, crap" {confused pause} "Do you want to try that one again?" Pipes in Ben - who I actually didn't think was listening. "No! Wait. No! That's really what it says!" {Insert hysterical laughing}

No thank you, I don't think I'll have that.

Ollie Update

2011-09-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

You need an Oliver update. Because I haven't told you about him for a couple days and I know you've been wondering. {right?}

Well - Last Sunday Oliver was 12 weeks old. I threw a party with balloons and everything. No - I didn't, but I did take a picture to see how much he has grown. He will be 3 months this coming Monday! Yes, I know 12 weeks should equal 3 months, but it doesn't. Don't ask me. Maybe I should have balloons then - the non-popping kind. Is that possible? He doesn't love loud noises. Also music really puzzles him, but he likes when I get up and dance around the room to the music. So I think music will grow on him.

Check out the size of this GIANT puppy.

Yes, those are puppy nose marks on the door.... woopsie.

Oliver has been a very spoiled puppy lately. Well not lately - his whole life actually. What do you expect from 2 childless adults - one of whom works at home? He gets a lot of attention.
Case in point {I know we have talked about this before, but it should be point and case. I prove my point and win the case... right?}

I let him on the couch.

We were having a little downtime and he looked sad on the floor all alone. So I pulled him up. Because I am a sucker and he is really cute. We still don't ALLOW him on the couch or on the bed, but those eyes got the best of me. He sat there for a while like he owned the town, or at least the house. It was adorable.

Plus he was so excited he was all about giving me a big fat kiss. I still have mixed feelings about dog kisses on my face.

We went running. He ran one block. I was so proud of him! He is used to walking 2 blocks and just running down the street home, so running the whole block was a huge step! I have no doubt he will be a good running dog! When we got home he laid on the cool floor just like this. He was basically saying, "Listen lady, I just ran an entire block for you and I am really hot and tired. Scratch my belly." And I did.

Oliver went to Oregon with us last Saturday for a training we had to attend. The meeting was 2 hours and we thought we would just park in the shade and leave him in the bed of the truck with some water and toys until we were done. {I know, this sounds totally insane looking back}. We toyed with the thought of putting his leash on him and tying it to the back of the truck, but then decided that if he decided to jump out - which we KNEW he wouldn't cause he won't even jump off the couch and still barks at the stairs - but just in case he did, we didn't want the chance of hanging himself. I went out to check on him about half way through and he was sleeping like a baby. I was relived. UNTIL - I walked out to the parking lot at the end of the meeting to get him out. I walked up to the truck and did a serious double take. There was a dog sitting next to the tire of the truck! Not just A dog OUR dog!! He had jumped out and there he was sitting in the parking lot. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? {No, I am not}. We should be fired. Of course at that point everything that possibly could have gone wrong was flooding my head. But it didn't, he was perfectly fine and happy to see me. I guess he just got hot.

Lastly, I know I have said a billion times that he is the smartest dog in the world - but seriously people. He can come, sit, shake with both paws and lay down!!! Lay down was really hard for us. That one has taken a week or so to master, but with a good brain and enough treats anything is possible.

Please enjoy the video we made for you. Have I mentioned that Oliver loves his picture taken?

Yeah - this is him barking at me because I think he wanted the camera off. I didn't know dogs were so opinionated.

Now to the video...

Don't you love how he just slides his bum down. So cute. Now that we have lay down mastered, I think we will work on stay. And then what.... high five?!

Dear M&M's,

2011-09-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you for making delicious treats, you truly make life sweeter. Now that I have flattered you I would like to make a constructive suggestion that I honestly cannot believe I am the first to come up with. This means that you should either A) hire me or B) reassess those who are the "creative brains" behind the special M&M candy for lack of creativity.

To the point. You know those special M&M spectacular giant Easter eggs that I am officially obsessed with and mention at LEAST once a week in common conversations because they seriously rock my world? YET - they are only available once a year which makes me one UN-happy camper.

Well here is the thing... there is absolutely no reason that they should be available only at Easter time when there is another Holiday that you could adequately capitalize on.

Halloween.

Everyone knows that Halloween begins candy eating season, yet the candy picks at Halloween time are boring and usual. Basically, candy companies take the mass produced candy and pack them in bite-size servings and sell them in Costco sized bags to hand out to little children as they perform tricks at our doors one night a year. The only thing different that comes out at the brink of fall are orange peeps {disgusting}, candy corn and all straight sugar little candy pieces and Reeses pumpkins. You can use this to your advantage.

I propose that you sell your glorious Easter Eggs not only once a year, but TWICE a year.

Here is the plan. September is the month they should hit the shelves. People will find themselves perusing the ever boring Halloween isles and BAM! Next to the fall colored milk chocolate M&Ms {gross - no offense} lies a green, purple and orange bag of M&M Peanut Butter Pumpkins!! I have already decided that the cute M&M's on the front can be wearing Halloween masks or they can be dressed in pumpkin costumes {you decide}. Inside the giant PB M&Ms will taste EXACTLY the same as the giant Easter Eggs, yet they will showcase Halloween colors in all their glory.

I have no doubt this will be a top seller. I can't be the only one hanging on to their last bag of Easter Egg M&M's with ONE egg inside - terrified to eat it in fear that I will never see the treat again. Even if I am the only one who is this crazy, I took an oath to buy enough bags every year to prove that the PB goodness is a best-seller. I promise you can count on me twice a year.

I know what you are thinking.... "Halloween is a time for packaged bite sized candies. Children don't eat anything un-packaged this time of year. " I say to you - This is not a candy for Children. Plus, it is a proven fact that Fall is the perfect time for home decorators to bring out their cute little pumpking and leaf shaped candy bowls perfect for PB Pumpkins. They would eat these up {pun intended}.

There is no excuse. This is a genius idea that only took me 4.2 seconds to dream up after walking down the awful Halloween candy isle. You really should hire me.

Sincerely,
Jonesing for good PB M&Ms

Freeze for a second

2011-09-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

Remember how it was basically yesterday that I posted about my excitement for the first day of September. It seemed to be the happiest day of my fall life. I had big plans for September and then I looked at the calendar {nay - the date icon at the bottom of my computer because I barely even remember how to use a paper calendar} and saw 9/23/2011. I realized that I missed my 11 month anniversary yesterday and half of September. Seriously - wasn't it just the 1st yesterday?

It seems the older I get the faster the time goes. I hear people say that all the time, but it's true. {So that must be why they say it all the time.} Like when I was 15 and I couldn't wait to be 16. My mom used to say, "Stop wishing away your life." I wanted so bad to be older. And then I was 16 and I wanted to be 18 and then I was 18 wanting to be 21. And then I was 26 wishing I was 21. Now I am 28 trying to stay right here, in 28, not a day older - not a day younger. It makes me sad and happy. Life keeps progressing and changing and although the changes are wonderful sometimes I want to stop, for just a second, and breathe it in.

Last night as we were getting ready to for bed I woke Oliver, who was so sweetly sleeping on the kitchen floor, to go out one last time. He was sleepy and not interested so I scooped the 20lbs up in my arms walked outside. He laid snuggled in my arms with his head on my shoulder and for just a second I wished I could freeze time. I wished I could take everything in my life and stuff it into pages of a beautiful hardback book to be placed on a shelf so I could someday carefully take it down and pour through every page, remembering and laughing with my heart full.

I guess that is what this blog is for.

Sending love and hugs to my sister as she recovers from a successful brain surgery, my in-laws as they work through selling their beautiful property and my brother as his baby grows in mama's tummy.

Now for some blurry yet awesome cell phone pictures.

Dog on bed is not a regular occurrence. This was a special treat.
How much do you love Ben's John Deere pillow? This reminds me
that I need to change it. That was also a special treat. :)

Those are his "toys" in the background - not trash.
We were talking to my mom on the video phone!

Blurry cell phone self-portrait fail. Out of the 1 million I took in
5 minutes this was the best, without the blurriness of course.

See - I told you the one above really was the best.

Alf

2011-09-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Remember the TV show Alf. You know! The one from the 90's with the furry alien that crash landed in some guys garage. My little brother, Nate, used to love that show. We would watch it as kids. Alf was really smart and kind of strange. That's really all I remember.

The point is, I found my own little Alf.

Plus, I would like to note that our furry alien is ~~equally as smart~~ smarter. Teetering on genius even. He can already "sit" like a pro and has recently added "shake" to bag of tricks. Yep, I said it...my dog is a 11 week old genius. I wonder what my kids will be like, we are setting the bar pretty high here.

Puppy growing pains

2011-09-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

My little dog is becoming a bigger dog. Ah man. I mean, I knew I was adopting a big dog into our little family, but he's becoming so grown up and independent. It's like when my Mom used to pick out my clothes and then one day I said, "No Mom, I can do it myself." And I did.

It hurts your heart.
This may or may not be a sign that I am going to hold my children captive in my arms, because that's what I would like to do to Mr. Oliver. I would like to hold him captive and not let him grow up.

Don't worry. It get's crazier.
On Thursday Ben and I had to make a weekend trip for work. Thursday through Sunday. No biggie right? Wrong.

On Monday I realized I was going to have to leave Oliver behind. On Tuesday I pushed it to the back of my mind and pretended it wasn't happening. On Wednesday I held him captive in my arms. On Thursday I rushed around the house trying to get everyone's stuff ready, pretending he was coming with us. By late Thursday morning Ed was at our house ready to take Ben and I to the airport and Oliver home to the farm de Walunas to play for the weekend. We loaded up the car and I fought back tears all the way to the airport. When we pulled out our suitcases ready to say our goodbyes, I lost it. Like big alligator tears filling my eyes and rolling down my cheeks, lost it. {may I just insert here... what in the world? Do you know me? I am NOT like this.} I hugged Ed, told my sweet Oliver to be good and we walked away. I cried for 3 hours. Checking in our bags - crying. Walking through security - crying. Buying a Diet Coke at Wendy's because Ben said it would heal my heart - crying. Boarding - crying. Trying to sleep on the flight - crying. Don't worry - I didn't draw TOO much attention, I wasn't hysterically crying. Just little tears rolling down my cheeks.

I basically spent the whole plane ride wondering what was wrong with me. I am really not a crier. Poor Ben felt helpless and probably thought his wife had lost her mind. I think he has actually seen my cry once - on our wedding - happy tears. This was foreign.

I knew Oliver was going to be fine. I knew Ed, Jody and Aunt Sue are much better dog owners that I. He was in excellent hands and had 5 acres, Bodie and all the grandkids to play with.

I determined the problem was that he is growing and changing so much every day that even in just 4 days I was going to miss it. We were going to come back and he was going to be all grown up.
Either that, or I really have lost my mind.

The only solution is to talk about all the little things that this sweet puppy does, so when he is all grown up I will still remember.

...Currently his toy of choice is either Frank the Bee - His Pee Wee pillow pet - or an old water bottle. It's true, he has a billion toys that I haul around everywhere we go and he will choose the water bottle cause he likes the crinkling sound.

...When Oliver first came to our home we would throw his ball and he would look at us and wonder where it went. In just a few short weeks he now knows exactly where his ball is and will stalk it down. It's the cutest thing. He will sneak up and pounce on it. It makes me laugh every time.

...The stairs were a little intimidating to Ollie at first. He wouldn't go up or down. We had to carry him. This worked well for me because while I was working during the day there was no chance he would wander downstairs. It took a couple weeks, but now he is master of the stairs - although he has learned not to go without us. Before he braves the steep stairs he will bark at them. Showing them who's boss. Then he will scoot is way down. Sometimes he misses a stair, loses his balance, or turns around to make sure you know how well he is doing and falls. I will miss his puppy clumsiness.

...Oliver used to only go outside if you would go with him. We had to show him how to jump out of the door and we would stay outside until he was done playing. The day he decided he was okay playing outside alone I called Ben at work and said, "He is outside, ALONE! He doesn't need us anymore." He is so good at entertaining himself. He will somersault all over the lawn chasing toys, his tail or just the air. He doesn't stay alone for long though. As soon as he is done he will sit nicely at the back door waiting for someone to rescue him.

...Mr. Oliver will lay at my feet every night as I make dinner. I hope he will always do this.

...He has a few favorite sleeping spots. On the bathroom tile, under my desk, on the air conditioning vent and on our clothes {we're not PERFECT! Sometimes we have clothes on the floor and suitcases that need to be unpacked.}

We just can't believe how much he is changing and growing in just a few short weeks. SLOW DOWN Oliver! I will now officially reign in the craziness.

twenty8

2011-09-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

Yowzers.

It's only been a couple days, but I must say that twenty-eight is great! {plus I have suddenly become a poet}. Here is the thing about birthdays, well my birthday in particular, 95% of the time the "celebrating weekend" falls on Labor Day weekend. This was the bane of my existence as a teenager. You see, I grew up in a camping family. And by camping family I mean that grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, family-friends and all the dogs - would pack up every weekend possible during the summer and go camping. We would go to 12-mile, just past Mayfield, Utah - every time. We would find a spot on the mountain, circle the motor-homes, fifth wheels, and trailers and spend a weekend basking in the sun, riding four wheelers, fishing, hiking, paint-balling, playing games, and spending time with our family. Sounds fabulous, right? It really was.

Labor Day, however, was the mother of all camping trips. The last camping trip of the year before hunting season. The last hoo-rah before fall came. It was like a family commandment that we had to camp on Labor Day and come hell or high water {or a birthday} we were camping. Starting at about age 10 I would complain every year {my poor parents}. I didn't want to go camping on my birthday, I wanted a party with friends and party-hats not dirt and four wheelers. Crazy.

My parents, well my entire family really, would make it special every year. My mom would bring a cake and candles along with us. She would always let me bring along friends. She would haul gifts to the mountain and make a big celebration out of the day, just for me, because she knew how important it was. Everyone would eat cake sing happy birthday around the campfire and I was always reminded how loved I was. Yet, every year we would go through it again. {kids, oh the drama!}

As I have gotten older I have really cherished those birthday camping trips. I look back and remember that it was on those trips that I learned to cast a fishing line and gut a fish. It was on those trips that I learned to ride a four wheeler up the steepest of mountains and learned that helmets really do save lives. It was on those trips where family became friends, where we bonded over games and stories. I have so many happy memories from camping, some sad ones and a few that if I told - you would say, "ah yes - that sounds just like Amber."

I remember, like it was yesterday, being on a Labor Day camping trip and walking to the trailer with my dad. We were talking about how I hoped one day I would be home on my birthday and he said, "Amber one day you are going to realize that family is the most important thing you have." He was right.

So, this year when Ben asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday I said, "I want to go camping with my little family." My how the tables have turned.

The week leading up to my birthday Ben had a few sweet surprises up his sleeve.
Of course, first we got our sweet little addition to our family. When we drove out to look at little Oliver we weren't going to make a decision, but somehow this little bundle of fur stole our hearts and I am so glad he did.

He worked every night for a week painting and refinishing my latest "find" that I recently added to our "It would be so fun re-do this" list. He looked at me on Monday night and said, "I want to get that desk finished for your birthday. I am going to work on it."

It's a gorgeous writing table that is now sitting in our entry way. I am in love with it and my sweet hubs did the chevron pattern PERFECTLY. We might possibly have a tutorial on how to do this later. We'll see.

After Ben came home from work on Thursday I walked out to the back porch and found all my favorite treats and some beautiful roses waiting for me!

{Do you see Ben and Oliver playing in the background?}

Apparently Oliver loves roses too! At least the taste of them....

Finally on Saturday we packed up the truck to go camping! Before we left Ben asked if I would go get the mail. I told him we don't need the mail, we can get it when we get home. He asked again to PLEASE go get the mail. Ok.... fine.
When I pulled the mail out there was a little tiny package hidden under a magazine. It only look half a second for me recognize the adorable Antropologie gift card package. I ran in the house and said, "Is this for me???" IT WAS!! I'll be honest, if there would have been an Anthro on the way to our campsite I would have stopped right then!

What a happy birthday week and what a fabulous, thoughtful husband I have. I sure love him.
Finally, we were ready to get our camp on.

We had a blast camping! It was beautiful weather and just the relaxing break we needed.

As soon as we set up camp Oliver found his favorite spot. He fell asleep in this spot multiple times a day and would dig to the cold ground to cool off from the 90 degree weather.

First birthday picture of the day!

We hiked down to Wind River and Oliver had his first swim! He isn't huge on baths or sprinklers yet so Ben and I were both surprised to see him splashing around.

He found some warm rocks to dry off on and work on his tan.

In case you didn't know, Ben has a super hip and also very useful fanny pack. No, they aren't in, but this is hiking not Disneyland so we can go with it!

Our series of self portraits/ goofy pictures. It's a must.

Ben made birthday dinner over the fire and our very own cups!! Man, that Leatherman really came in handy!We had a very romantic camping birthday toast. Perfect.

This may have been the best lemon cake that we have EVER eaten. A&J's in Stevenson Washington really does it right.

We can't forget a family photo before we head home!

Here's to a fabulous 28th birthday and many more to come!

September

2011-09-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hooray for SEPTEMBER!!

It's my favorite month all year! And not because my favorite holiday, ahem - my birthday, is in this very amazing month. No, because September means FALL and fall is the SEASON of all seasons. I love when the air gets crisp and cool. I love when the leaves begin to turn and don't even get me started on the gorgeous colors. But do you know what I love the most.... FALL clothing!

It seems at the end of every August and even the first week or so of September I am completely over sandals and shorts and ready for the jackets and boots. I dream of layers and scarves, blazers and long sleeves, leggings, boots and all the wonderful collar combinations. Yes, I said collar... take note big collars are big fabulous statements in my book. I get giddy just thinking about all the possibilities.

Now let's take a sneak peek into the fall fashion I can't stand to live without. {so dramatic, I know}

Fabulous coats. It's true, I have a slight obsession with coats. {slight = huge}. I have been known to make the coat my "outfit" and with coats like these, how can you not?

Via Anthropologie

Via Pinterest

Lace. Have you seen it all over?. I love it. So feminine and pretty, yet so comfortable and classy.

Via The Loft

Via Anthropologie

Boots. Nothing can beat a good boot. They go with everything - pants, leggings, skirts AND dresses. What else could you possibly ask for?

Via Zappos

Via Nordstrom

And everything else... denim shirts, leggings, full a-line skirts, gorgeous blouses, textured tights, pumps and nothing is complete without the perfect dress.

Via Pinterest

Via Emerson Made

Via Macys

Via ModCloth

I think I might need a 4th job.... Ah, I love September!

As a side note, I kind of cheated and wore boots and tights on the last day of August! {Gasp} I couldn't help myself... it was grey and chilly most the day and I was itching to break them out. It was perfect until I was playing in the grass with Oliver and got my dress wet and dirty. I now know the meaning of 'play clothes' although I played in dresses as a little girl, so I guess some things will never change!

Happy September!

T.T.T. - Ollie Style

2011-08-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

Come on, you knew I couldn't have this week's Three Tangent Tuesday without gushing about the new little man. Don't worry, this hasn't turned into Oliver's blog. I promise it won't be Mr. Ollie pants 24-7, but he is so stinking cute that I can't help but want to gush about him. Is this how mother's feel about their children?

1.Cupcakes. Oliver likes cupcakes as much as we do! Even if they are plastic and squeeky, cupcakes are cupcakes and to fit in this family you have to like them.

Speaking of cupcakes, I made these snickerdoodle cupcakes once and never even ate one!! I have to imagine that they were TDF {to die for} delicious. I have been dreaming about them for a week now, it might be time to whip up another batch. {YES, that IS a cookie on top of the cupcake! ahhh.}

photo via bakerella

2.Petsmart. Mr. Oliver had his first trip to Petsmart yesterday and his first ride in the truck! He warmed up to the truck real nicely and found the perfect spot snuggled right next to Ben.

We had a very successful trip and Mr. Oliver had all the girls swooning over him. Literally, all the sweet girls at the Petsmart Vet office were giving him treats, taking pictures and loving on him. This guy has the life! We picked up an ADORABLE houndstooth collar {we settled on this after I tried to choose the Burberry knock-off and was reminded that we don't have a designer dog}. It looks so cute on him!

3.Playing.Slowly but surely this little docile puppy is turning more and more into a playful puppy. He now has all sorts of toys so he can get his "chew" on. Last night after 3 walks, a trip to Petsmart, running around out back and a trip to the Davenports we were doing our last ditch attempt to wear out this little man before bed. While we were playing with toys and Ben had the video camera on his phone at the PERFECT time and - well - I guess Oliver isn't a big fan of video cameras. This seriously makes me die laughing every time!

Let me just preface this video by saying that I am not an evil dog owner. The video begins with him gnawing on the couch. Enough said.

Ah, we love this little guy.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Mr. Oliver

2011-08-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

I need to introduce you to the newest member of our family. This little guy has been with us for only one short day and already has our hearts wrapped around his little paw.

Meet Mr. Oliver.

Mr. Oliver Walunas is a standard poodle, just 8 weeks old such a sweet, smart little puppy. We planned to meet the breeder to "look" at her puppies. She had a litter of 9 and they were ready to find homes. We drove to a farm in Stevenson, WA where we met Oliver and his 6 sisters and 1 brother {one had already been taken} and his mom and dad. They were all beautiful. They were all beautiful and excited to see us. Everyone but Oliver, that is. Ollie had found a favorite spot next to the house and some trees where he could hide his face and get some shade. He stayed there. While his sisters and brothers paraded around showing us their best tricks and coolest toys Ollie lay in the shade ignoring everyone around him. We played with the others, but continued asking about the sweet boy in the corner. We finally walked over and picked him up to check out his white tummy and sweet demeanor. Ben sat him on the ground and told me to call him. I called and he walked in the opposite direction. A walk that would remind you of Eyor saying, "it doesn't matter". While I worried that he didn't like us quite yet we were certain this was the little man we wanted to join our family. "He'll warm up" Ben said.

And he did.

As we drove away we snapped our first family photo. He wasn't sure if he should smile yet.

He soon became comfortable on my lap

And fell right to sleep.

We took him to dinner at the the farm de Walunas hoping he would feel right at home. He was a hit with the family! He got more scratches and loves than one puppy could ever dream of.

He was in dog heaven - all the attention put him right to sleep.

I couldn't decided if the llama's thought he was dinner or a new friend, but they followed Mr. Oliver up and down the fence-line checking out this new addition.

After dinner we drove home ready to set up Mr. Oliver's new bed and give him a bath. {He had a serious farm smell.} We weren't 5 miles down the freeway before he threw up everything he ate that day. Maybe a little too much car ride for one day! We handled it like dog parent pros though. We pulled over, cleaned the yuckiness and went on with our car ride home. After making his stomach feel better he was ready to play... Not in the car Ollie.

He is adjusting to his new home perfectly. He is such a cuddle bug. He will climb right onto our laps and snuggle his face. {That will be fun when he is 50 lbs!!}. We successfully traumatized with a bath, but he now smells so fresh and so clean clean. He only whined a couple times throughout the night and we went outside to "do some business". He hasn't had any accidents in the house, yet, and when he successfully gets his business done outside he will come right to you wagging his tail because he knows he is going to get praise for being so smart.

His favorite place to stand is RIGHT NEXT to or in between your feet and I have already stomped him a couple times, forgetting this cute boy is right there. We are all learning.

He is adjusting to working from home like a pro and falls asleep right under my desk. It melts my heart.

Ben sure loves this little guy and even came home from work at lunch today to see us him!! Oliver follows Ben around like a little shadow. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. They are sure to be best buds.

We are so exited to have him with us! And his hypo-allergenic-non-shedding hair is a definite plus to having this hairy monster around. As we were heading to bed last night Ben said, "This is a great start to your birthday week!" I would have to concur, a great start indeed!
Welcome to the family Mr. Oliver!

For Real - Friday, Friday!

2011-08-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

For Real... We were married 10 months this week - on 8/22 to be exact. It was a spectacular day. Yes, I like to celebrate every milestone in our lives. I know, 10 months isn't much yet it feels like we have been living this life forever, but not. It's weird to think about. There are a couple things I know though - best decision of my life and I wouldn't trade the love and goofiness of that sweet man for anything in this world. Not anything.

For Real.... I am feeling completely torn between beautifying my house and beautifying myself. I mean, it shouldn't have to be one or the other, but I get so ~~obsessed~~ caught up in one that I forget about the other. Currently I am decorating and re-decorating our house in my head. There are pain samples ALL OVER and I change my mind every second. Once I get it right in my head it will move into real life. Ugh, my brain hurts from thinking about it and my shopping for self is severely lacking. Like, I can't even remember where to shop - while the husband is doing handstands in the background I am wondering if I have seriously gone nuts.

For Real... I decided today was the day to start running again. I had the best of intentions of running one million miles and then feeling super proud of myself after. One million may be an exaggeration, but I was hoping for 6 or 8 and then be super surprised because I was sure I would look down at the red numbers on the treadmill and see a big fat number 10! It didn't happen. Not even close. I looked down and saw 1 and 1.12 and 1.14 and 1.67 and thought - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! It happens. I know that not all days are days where you feel like you could run across the country. Literally. Especially when you are coming back from an injury and you haven't run for an entire Summer. An ENTIRE Summer! I should have lowered my expectations so I wouldn't be so deflated and I should have lowered my goal because I know better {and I teach better}. It would be plain stupid to try to run 10 miles out of the gate. Even still, it's sad to remember when...

For Real... Pinterest. Do you know about it? Thanks to sweet Jessi, now I know. Basically, it's a website where you can virtually "pin" pictures that inspire you. Home decor, clothes, shoes, quotes - just stuff you need to remember for your life! I know, I am the last one to the party, but it is SO MUCH FUN. If you don't have an account you need one. And if you do have an account, you can follow me and see all the beautiful ideas that I am stealing from other people. :) I know, I just made your dreams come true.

For Real... It's FRIDAY, FRIDAY! Everyone's looking forward to the weekend, weekend! I started singing the Friday song from bed this morning at 6am as Ben headed for the door to leave for work. I woke up so excited that it's almost the weekend, weekend! I have already decided it is going to be FANTASTIC!

Happy Weekend everyone... for real!

The Family de Walunas

2011-08-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have Erik, Sylvia and their beautiful kids here with us for the last month. You remember, their cute girls welcomed me home from Utah with a sign. Well while everyone was together we decided we needed a family picture. We had our dear friend and talented photographer, Bethany come to the farm de Walunas to take some pictures. I would like to show you some of my faves... which is a lot because I really like Bethany and I like pictures. And going through pictures, and looking at them over and over and over. Anyway...

Picture overload? I couldn't help myself! There are still many more that I haven't even shown you. Taking pictures is so much fun I want to go out and do it again! The best part about getting married (besides the marriage part) is taking A LOT of pictures and I felt like we were just barely engaged all over again! Thank you Bethany, we love them. Thank you family for being so beautiful. Now, if only I could talk my mom into getting pictures done with my side of the family too...

Be smart.

2011-08-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

And then she said she lost the love of her life, and my heart broke.
Now the tan/sun lover/hypochondriac/self diagnose-r in me is terrified.
I may have to revisit the bump on my eye. Just keeping it real.
Be smart.

Trust me, it's FUNNY!

2011-08-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

We took a little road-trip. A quick jaunt from Utah to Idaho to meet with a very successful man who gave us very successful secrets. We had a great 12 hours in Idaho, including sleeping time, and the story begins with us headed back to Salt Lake to catch a plane to Oregon (well one of us).

Let me set the stage. It is 7am. I am driving (because I am the best driver), Mike is sleeping in the backseat (dead asleep) and Ben is sleeping in the passenger seat (also dead asleep). We have no radio, no CD's, the only sound is the occasional snore. Boring.

Finally, the bore is getting to me and I grab my iPod and headphones and put them in thinking I will rock out to music while the others catch some Z's. Let me tell you about me and my iPod. I listen to it for 2 reasons. The first reason is to workout with loud, obnoxious, fast working out music. The second reason is to go to sleep; in planes, hotel rooms or foreign places where I need to block out noise. There is something with those headphones in my ears that makes me either run like crazy or fall right asleep. As soon as I put the headphones in the later started happening and I was instantly very tired. Might I remind you that I am driving and the only one awake.

Enter Hot Tamales. I don't care if it's 7am in the morning I value my life enough that sugar at 7am to keep me awake is worth it. (Sugar at 7am is always worth it actually).

So I am eating Hot Tamales, ~~chugging~~ sipping on a Diet Coke (yes, 7am) and listening to my iPod with one ear. My tactics aren't working though, all I can think about is how heavy my eyelids are and how much sleep I haven't gotten for the last few weeks.

Then the greatest idea ever pops into my head. An idea that will no doubt keep me awake and entertain me at the same time. PICTURES.

So I grab my camera and snap the "must-haves" (REMEMBER - the car is dead silent). The barely audible click of my point and shoot is the only sound around.

Must have #1. My Hot Tamales because even though they don't keep me awake, I keep eating them.

Must have #2. Ben sleeping. Because pictures of people sleeping, especially in cars, is really funny to me.

Must have #3. Mike sleeping. He is tricking you with the sunglasses, I promise you, he is asleep.

Must have #4. Another of myself. Because I am awesome and have perfected the art of self portrait car photos.

Note bright red tongue from high consumption of Hot Tamales.

And then a spectacular idea comes to me. Must have #5 should be a picture of Ben and myself. Dual shot if you will. This may be harder than a self portrait, but car picture challenges are always accepted.

First Attempt: Fail. Who left the zoom on? WHY is the zoom even on? Too many questions for a person driving.

Second Attempt: Fail. Come on Amber - you can do better than that!

May I insert here that after every shot I was turning the camera around and looking at the photo I had just taken. Come on, we all do it.

Third Attempt: I take the picture and turn the camera around hoping to find that my third attempt worked like a charm. I stare at the screen for a second and then let out the HIGHEST pitched SCREAM I have ever heard leave my two lips. Mike jumps out of his seat just about shooting through the roof in terror. Ben is doubled over, laughing uncontrollably.

When I turned the camera around after my third attempt I saw this:

After I gather myself, I look at Ben and a look back at the camera and my uncontrollable laughing begins. Like crying, almost wetting my pants, not able to speak - uncontrollable laughing. For a good 5 minutes we laughed so hard neither Ben or I could talk. Leaving poor, startled awake, Mike wondering what exactly is going on?

Finally - when I could speak I said to Ben, " I THOUGHT you were asleep!!" He replied, "I was until I heard all the clicking from your camera!" "Ben, that picture scared me to death!!" "Well Amber, I was teaching you a lesson. It's not safe to take pictures while you drive."

Lesson learned.

Home

2011-08-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Handsome husband and flowers met me at the airport.
Beautiful family welcomed me home with lots of hugs, a sign and all smiles.
Best homecoming ever.

Thumbs Up

2011-08-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

I miss this guy.
Even if he does give a very enthusiastic thumbs up in every photo op.
I kinda secretly like it.
10 days apart feels like a ~~million~~ billion years.
{you may now gag from my cheesiness. I would too.}

This picture is what we like to call Memorial Day in the Northwest, circa 2011.
Sweatshirts with just a little glimmer of sun. I can't decide if I miss that too.

Thanks for the picture Bethany, it made my day!

T.T.T... Dead or Alive?

2011-08-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Alive. Crazy busy, but alive.
Prepare yourself for a bore-city three tangent tuesday. Here is the thing, I am on my twelfth day in Utah and not sure when I will be heading back to the NW. I have done some fun things and even taken some fun pictures, but OF COURSE I forgot my camera cord and even though I have tried to work out every option in my brain to send the pictures from my camera to my computer, it seems there just isn't a way. Which brings me to my first bore-city tangent.

1. Technology. Awesome, it's changing lives people. But seriously when I am without it for 15 seconds I have a panic attack. I don't understand why I can't just send pictures from my camera to the world wide web. I mean, obviously I understand WHY, but how is it that my camera doesn't have some sort of wireless capability that will can automatically upload my pictures without hassling with a cord. I guess this would mean I would have to have some sort of data plan associated with my camera that would probably put me in the poor-house. I wish I would have done my usual and just taken cell phone pictures because honestly, a blog post is not a blog post without pictures.

2. Funny Story. I suggest the next time you check back you wear a diaper {assuming I have my camera cord by then}. I have the funniest story EVER. I honestly almost wet my pants driving down the road I was laughing so hard. True. But I can't tell the story without the picture and I can't get you the picture based on the poor nonexistent wireless technology of my camera. Brace yourself, you will laugh for days. I am still laughing.

3. Hair. All in favor of me chopping my hair off say "I". I can't decide. I have worked hard to get it to the sad awkward length that it is. But if we are all being honest with each other, I had a lot more volume {huge hair} when it was short. And I like when my hair has volume {is huge} because it makes me feel like my head isn't smaller than my body. Which, in 'real life' my head is probably proportionate to my body, but in 'Amber life' my head is crazy small and my body is crazy big and my hair needs to bigger to compensate. Yep. Anyway I am getting the itch to chop it so you need to help me decide. Let's make a list of pros and cons. It's the best way to make any decision.

Keep growing:

Pro:

I can pull it back which is super awesome since it turns out I am hair lazy 98% of the time.
I can swish it back and forth and say, "look how long my hair is Ben!" he responds to this by telling me how beautiful it is.
I can't think of anything else except that me and my vitamins have worked tirelessly to get where we are today.

Con:

It's flat and stringy. In hair terms that means fine and super breakable.
It's flat. {twice cause it's important}
It doesn't curl as good as it once did. Maybe because it's close to one thousand degrees in Utah and even hair feels too exhausted to be cute.

Cut it off:

Pro:

My hair feels thicker when it's short.
It dries super fast and I use less shampoo.
It has volume.
Short hair is so cute!

Con:

No more mr. ponytail and awesome huge flowers trying to dress up said ponytail.
It's a little annoying to have sweaty short hair sticking to your neck when you work out.
It always has to be done. I don't get away with pulling it up and walking out the door. This is most annoying on vacation.

Now you tell me what to do, please. Also I would like to thank technology and facebook for the pictures above. See.... technology saves lives {and also blogs} people.

Happy Tuesday! :-)

Sweet Bliss

2011-07-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Bliss is... 98 cents for a box of candy and trying to make a decision between millions of sweet sugary choices while holding a snowcone. Two sugar addicts have never been so perfectly matched.

Bliss is... A 6am flight and a whole row all to myself. No peanuts for me please, I'll be sleeping.

We {heart} Sara B

2011-07-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

There are a few concerts that I refuse to miss when they come to town. Miss Sara Bareilles is one. This woman is so talented with her incredible voice and the wide array of instruments she has mastered I am in awe every time I see her. Plus anyone who can run around the stage in heels while playing the piano AND dancing always gets an A+ in my book. Make that an A {double} +. She does not dissapoint.

We were crazy excited for this concert. Basically the second we heard she was coming to town we had tickets. That was February.

2nd year veterans. No we aren't throwing you the peace sign, although we do hope for world peace. We are proud to be 2-years-in-a-row veterans to the one and only Sara Bareilles concert. Last year we had to stand in line in what felt like 90 degree weather to get a good seat! We were very grateful for assigned seating this year!

1st timers. I am pretty sure Jesyca and Deneal now love Sara as much as Michelle and I do. I mean, she was wearing this dress... it is impossible not to love her.

And I will tell you this much, as soon as I use my powerful shopping magic to find this dress 3 inches longer it will be on it's way to my house! SERIOUSLY, I AM DYING OVER IT!

Now some amazingness, just for you. Come on, join us next year!

Fedora

2011-07-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

I didn't know if the purchase of a fedora would be a good one for me. I always have good hat intentions, but the execution sometimes falls short. But as the hat sat across the little boutique from me it was love at first sight. Basically want to wear this hat every day of my life. There is something super awesome about not having to do your hair, but still looking like you gave just a little effort.

Ah the bliss of summer, and summer hats and sun. I am in summer love. (even if it did rain all weekend)

No good, very bad day

2011-07-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not my day. Somehow I let a series of stupid events a few words with a women I don't even know completely knock the wind out of my sails. It was horrible, I felt horrible and overwhelmed and completely inadequate. Defeated. I felt completely defeated. My day started out great, no worries in sight. I was even on time for all Sunday activities which is a HUGE rarity for me. Once they were all over, I was just flowing through the day like no big deal, and then BAM. It was like I hit a brick wall and broke my nose {and messed up my hair and tore my skirt, for a little dramatic effect}. I tried to brush it off, but I somehow it sat with me the rest of the day draining everything out of my glass half full attitude.

My only saving grace {well, my two saving graces} were my sweet husband who let me tell the story over, and over, and OVER again trying to figure out what I did so wrong to avoid my feeling being smashed to pieces ever again. And the wonderful people at Hershey's who knew my love for crunchy peanut butter and MUST have known that sometime soon I would need that crunchy peanut butter accompanied by chocolate to make my day all better.

Introducing the Reese's CRUNCHY peanut butter cup...

*These solve problems people.

Also, I should probably just say it again for those who don't know, I am gifted at finding new candy. The checker at Walgreens {aka candy buying central} and I had a good long discussion Saturday night about the new candy that has been released this summer. We decided we are going to join forces to keep it around. That my friends, involves buying A LOT of candy to show our love. I bought 6 and it's a good thing I had some left to heal my wounded spirit on Sunday.

Truth be told this new treat could stand to have a few MORE peanuts in the cup for a more concentrated crunch, but I really think Hershey's is on to something here.

*I should also note for anyone taking me seriously that I didn't truly drown my sad feelings in peanut butter and chocolate. The peanut butter and chocolate were just a sweet treat after I remembered that I was doing the best I could and as long as I am doing my best I really don't give two hoots about what other people think!

T.T.T. Summer Lovin

2011-07-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Wednesday? Who knows, those much loved Monday holidays throw me off. Well, whatever day it is, I feel it's still necessary to share with you a bit of randomness in our much loved Three Tangent Tuesday.

1. Frogs. This weekend was beautiful and sunny. On Saturday I propped myself up on one of our lawn chairs perfectly aligned with the sun and laid down to catch up on my Vitamin D. Ben took one look at the grass and decided it was time to be mowed. I laid in the sun drifting to sleep with the growl of the lawn mower behind me. All of a sudden the mower stops and I hear, "Amber! Look." I laid there for a second processing. Then he said, "Amber, A FROG!" I jumped out of my chair, "Where??" And there its was, an itty bitty little baby frog who I chased around and snatched up!

THEN a slightly bigger frog came hopping by and Ben picked him up! What is going on here?? TWO frogs in my backyard?! I love this even more than squirrels in the backyard.

To save them from the mower {and also because I was secretly obsessed and really wanted to play with them} we put them in a cup. Saving frogs one plastic cup at a time.

They wanted out really bad. I was a little nervous they were suffocating so I tilt the cup to give them air every couple seconds.

Ben's big frog, who he named "choot em" was so grateful for the air that he decided to pose for the camera!

I was in high heaven with these frogs. But, once the mower stopped I let them hop away and I haven't seen them since. Maybe once they see their custom built frog pool in my backyard they will come back.

2. Snow cone. Yes, please. Just the other day Ben and I were talking with Bethany about how we wished so badly there were somewhere to get a snow cone around these parts. Low and behold, only a couple days later, Bethany had found a place only a few blocks from her house! Ben and I had to give it a try.

I got blue raspberry with lemon and vanilla. Ben got pineapple and coconut - also known as pina colada. They were TO. DIE. FOR. The best part of a hot sticky day is eating ice covered in sugar!

Ben kept saying, "Holy cow, this is SO good!"

They certainly hit the spot and now it will take every ounce of energy I have not to stop by the sno shack every day. Plus, I got a blue tongue! Awesome.

3. Kale. I got these flowers yesterday and I am loving them. I bought stalks of kale to put with the pink peonies and I think it looks so cool! KALE! I begged for Kale in my bridal bouquet. I was dead set on it and we couldn't get the kind of kale I wanted during the time of year we got married. I loved my bridal bouquet regardless- but doesn't this lettuce-y/flower looking vegetable knock your socks off?

L.O.V.E

Don't tell the Dr.

2011-07-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

I have officially one-up'd the handstand done against the bed only to get ~~catapulted~~ bounced off. Super fun and {found here}.

Well mr. handstand, meet the mini bed flip. I was sitting on the bed. The husband was brushing his teeth, exhausted and ready to call it a night. I, on the other hand, had a sudden burst of energy. Maybe it was the luxurious, creamy, sugar filled ice cream from earlier that evening {we will talk about that later} or maybe it was because I missed my calling in life to be an Olympic gymnast. Whatever the reason, I decided to see if I could do a flip on the bed and this is now my new favorite trick giving the handstand a serious run for his money.

If you try this at home remember to tuck your head, summer-salting like you are a kid of an adult size really hurts the neck. Also, if you are seeing a doctor twice a week for your messed up back, probably don't tell her. Also, I found that whining to your husband about your aching back after doing mini flips on the bed for a half hour doesn't get you very far. Ha, note to self.

{Plus, I know I bedroom is seriously lacking decor. I just need some time to be inspired!}

Sunglasses

2011-06-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Every time Ben and I travel somewhere sunny we forget our sunglasses. I think in my head, "remember the sunglasses" and inevitably we end up walking out the door sans glasses. EVERY. TIME. This is why I don't pay more than $20 for a pair! We now have sunglasses from Lake Tahoe, Utah, San Diego, Hawaii, Newport Beach, and most recently, San Jose.

They're souvenirs. And heaven forbid our weak Northwest-hardly-see-the-sun-eyes get exposed to anything brighter than a cloudy day. Honestly, the second we walked into the sun I thought my eyes were burning inside my head! {so dramatic, I know}

Since I was in picture taking mode while in the car I had to snap a few of my favorite car shots.

This is called: I am so scared of your driving + we have no idea where we are going + California drivers are crazy nuts + I like to show off my double chin.

This is called: Ben don't you think I am funny when I take pictures in the rental car while you drive in circles + Oh, wait, am I supposed to be giving you driving directions right now?

This is called: Amber stop taking pictures and look at your phone and tell me where to go + why does everyone keep honking at me + I am not as good at looking scared as Amber, I need to work on my dramatic effect.

This is called: Check out my ultra long hair that I always pull up because my long hair has no volume + It's too hot to have hair on my neck + hair picture on the first try! + Practice makes perfect and I am not even car sick. Boom!

This is called: Well at least we have sunglasses so our eyes won't start on fire + hurry up the light is about to turn green and you still haven't given me directions + They lived happily ever after saving their eyeballs..... Until Ben's glasses broke 24 hours later.
How are the $9.99 As Seen On TV HD sunglasses not durable? Ha, weird. At least they got a photo shoot.

Betrothed

2011-06-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

One year ago changed my life. Changed Ben's life. Seriously rocked our worlds.

June 19, 2010. It was this day when my sweet boyfriend flew to Utah to be at the finish line of a long Relay Race. "How sweet", I thought, "for him to fly all this way just to surprise me."

And with the best surprise of my entire life, he did certainly surprised me. You can read the whole story here.

Look at those happy smiles and my cheesy medal {oh man}! It's hard to believe this day was a whole year ago!

What a crazy busy -wedding planning -marriage happening -house buying -amazing fun year it has been! I liked being engaged and love much more being married to the most patient, loving man I could have ever dreamed up. One lucky girl, right here.

Daddy-O

2011-06-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Wishing these very special men and all the wonderful men in our lives a very Happy Father's Day.

To the man who taught me to joke and look at the lighter side of life. Who taught me to expect the best from people and urged me to be myself. To the man who reminded me I was beautiful and talented and to never settle for second best. To the man who reminded me that family is the most important thing we have. Who taught me to never give up and to fight even when no one else is. To the man who taught me to throw a punch, catch a ball, bait a fish hook, shoot a gun and skin a deer. To the man as stubborn as I who loves chocolate almost more than I do. You're a wonderful Father and an exceptional friend. Happy Father's Day.

To the man who taught the value of hard work. Who taught that no amount of rain or snow could stop cars from being clean or work from being done. To the man who taught his family to love one another and expected the best out of each. To the man who wants walnuts in everything, who says thank you for the smallest act of kindness and would cross a river to help any one of God's children. To the man who loves to meet new people and is eager to share his experiences of life. To a wonderful man who teaches, loves and shares. Happy Father's Day.

Green

2011-06-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

I swear I am not going to post pictures of my breakfast smoothies every day, but I couldn't resist this bright green one! WAA-BAM!

3 large handfuls of spinach, 2 tablespoons greek yogurt, half cup almond milk, one handful frozen strawberries, about 6 slices of frozen peaches.

Don't let the color deter you, this was like summer in a cup and I sucked it down in record time! I may or may not have a little bit of a brain freeze as I type. It was so strawberry-y and sweet with no unnatural sweeteners. AMAZING!
Maybe I should be the next Food Network star and have a smoothie making show.... what do you say Bobby Flay? I think I am on to something.

Breakfast

2011-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling with breakfast. I don't like most breakfast meats, I could eat 15 bowls of cereal and never be satisfied and get annoyed with all the extra calories and no nutritional value of many breakfast foods.

I was hesitant to jump on the smoothie bandwagon mostly because I prefer to eat my food. The chewing means a lot to me, I guess. I was worried I would sip an essentially healthy smoothie and then pour a big bowl of captain crunch to make sure I got my "chew" in.

Anyway, I decided I never let a good bandwagon pass me by... and since I can't really work out I need to put my focus on good nutrition, so I caved. Plus, I am really tired of eating salads to get my greens in - I needed a new solution.

After walking around the gym this morning watching all the healthy people work out I was exhausted! I came home hungry and ready to try out this smoothie craze. I put 2 tbsp greek yogurt, 4 handfuls of spinach, a handful of cherries, a handful of strawberries, half a cup of almond milk and a couple teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa into the blender... and.... WAAALA!

A protien -veggie filled-sweet-satisfying smoothie!

It made a ton! I put the extra in the freezer for a quick snack and didn't finish the cup I poured because it really was filling. Maybe the chew doesn't mean so much to me after all. Super yum.

T.T.T - Tuesday already?

2011-06-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning by my sweet husband kissing me goodbye and wondered, what day is it? Tuesday, hum. This last week has all seemed like a flurry of boxes and beautiful sun, the days seem to blend together. No complaints here, though. We had a wonderful first week in our new home, we have been able to get a good start on unpacking and getting settled and we had fabulous first house guests {Linny and Jared} who I wish could stay longer.

So now I would like to give you a flurry of our life in the last week in 3 tangents for Tuesday. Reader beware: this Tuesday post is a bit long.... I can't help it, had a lot to say!

1.Moving. Exactly one week ago today we rented one ginormous Uhaul to move everything we own to our new home.

We invited over friends and family for lunch and snuck the move of our house in the fun somewhere. We found lots of goodies hiding around the house. One in particular... Ben's swimming goggles. Matt couldn't resist giving them a try.

We {they} spent the whole day lifting and using those strong muscles to get us all moved into our new house. {Goggles and everything!}

Ben made sure to wear his lifting belt. We don't need any more hurt backs in this house! We couldn't help poking a little fun at his wrestler-esk fashion accessory, but he says it really did help - so win-win for everyone!

Finally we moved in the big stuff, the little stuff and all the hangers of clothes in between. By 9 pm Ben and I were in our new house, surrounded by boxes. {Yes I am wearing my robe over my clothes... I like to keep it classy in the Walunas home.}

And so excited to spend our first night in our new house!!

I wish I would have been better at getting pictures of everyone who helped us out! Sometimes the picture lover in me is very forgetful. Even still - a huge, ginormous, mosterous thank you to everyone who helped us out - especially Greg, Dan, Bethany, Mandy, Matt, Emily and Sweet Baby K. Love to all!

2.Unboxed. You must want to see at least one picture of our unboxed house. Hopefully someday we will be able to unpack the garage, but in the last week we have at least been able to put our rooms together enough to be able to live. Most importantly we have food in the pantry and the master closet organized and holding our clothes quite nicely. We are not anywhere near done, but we are comfortably living and starting to feel right at home.

The light blocking blinds for our bedroom still have another week to arrive. We knew waking up at 4am with the sun would lead to a miserable life.... so we bit the bullet and hung up a sheet. I told you we are classy.

3. Quitting. So you might know my back is hurt again. Stinking back. I say this not to complain or talk about the pain, because that is neither here nor there. However, you may have also known that I was supposed to run the Wasatch Back Relay next weekend. I couple days before I was supposed to leave I was himming and hawing about how I would be fine understanding that I had made a commitment. I don't like to back out of commitments, I do not like to quit and typically no amount of pain is going to stop me. Fast forward to the move and Ben watching me like a hawk making sure that nothing I touched was heavy. Even still, wincing every time I had to bend or twist and walking like a hunch back for a good minute after I would stand up from sitting for a period of time. Then going to lunch with Bethany and using every ounce of strength I had to bend my body, to get in the car, without showing signs of mind numbing pain on my face. Then watching her sweet kids playing on toys in the mall and finally realizing, I cannot be a mom like this. I ~~want~~ need to be able to bend over and pick up a child - someday - AND be able to run enjoyable miles. I may have been a little emotional that afternoon, but the gravity of what 22 miles was going to do to my already aching body was getting to me.

I contacted my team - who I have run this race with for 4 years. I admitted to the pain and the severity of how I felt it would affect me. They were so understanding and supportive. Telling me not to worry and they would find someone to fill my spot. I knew they would be understanding, we are friends after all, but they were more than that - they were insistent that I be smart and safe with my body. Something that I think athletes forget. I think as an athlete you are used to pushing through pain for greater results. You believe a there is no gain without pain. This is true. There is pain of muscles being worked so hard that they are changing and growing. There is pain of lungs fighting for more air forcing your body to adapt. There is pain after hard work reminding you that you worked and pushed and are better for it. It's a good pain. And then their is pain that makes you shut the door and burst into tears. Pain that stops you from picking a simple piece of trash off the floor and wishing so badly you could bend down and put your pants on. That's bad pain. Pain not worth pushing though.

I haven't always known the difference. I don't like admitting to the bad pain, feeling like admitting the pain is weak. So instead I say things like, "No I am fine!" and "It doesn't hurt that bad" Last year at this time I pushed through the above mentioned 22 miles with bad pain. I blocked it out telling myself I that the pain was temporary and I was doing good for my body, for the team. It took 5 months and thousands of dollars to get that pain to go away only for it to come back. I made it worse and now I will fix it and come back better than ever. I guess the first step is admitting, right?

I will miss these guys like crazy and I wish them luck and lots of good pain!

Happy Tuesday everyone! It is Tuesday, right?

Featured

2011-06-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

We moved in! Only, of course, with the much needed and even more appreciated help of Mandy, Dan, Greg, Matt, Emily and little baby K. They were strong and awesome and lifted heavy furniture and boxes that made my muscles hurt for them. Thank you, thank you!!

While I would love to do a better move in post... I first, and some {ben and I} may say more importantly, need to get some window coverings for our master bedroom. I swear that sun comes up at 3am!

While you wait in anticipation for a picture of Matt moving a dresser while wearing swimming goggles you may enjoy our wedding feauture on Sleepy Ridge's blog. {I told you we were famous, remember}

I love talking about our wedding, so it makes my heart happy when other people like to talk about it to! :)

Enjoy!

T.T.T - Moving Day!

2011-06-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Today is wonderful Tuesday. This Tuesday we won't be going to a Tuesday movie or enjoying a quiet evening at home. This Tuesday is MOVING DAY!

1. We signed our lives away. Seriously - I had to sign Amber L DeGeorge Walunas {just like that} about 40 bagillion times. I can barely say that, let alone sign it! We made it through and we now officially have keys! Yahoo!

2. I like to write notes on the boxes. That way we are all very clear about the contents.

I wish I would have taken a picture of a box we moved yesterday, Ben wrote

"Super Fragile". I agree, sometimes "Fragile" just isn't enough.

3. It's almost time for a victory dance. Almost.

Changes

2011-06-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

As we move closer to our happy move-in day I wanted to be sure I took the chance to compile a few of the pictures of the changes we have made. That way the mister and I will better remember all the fun we've had with buying our first house!

We feel so lucky to be able to even have the opportunity to make this big step. I would be lying if I said we haven't gone through the whole gamut of emotions, sometimes all in one day. There has been some nervousness and fear of getting our hopes too high. Some frustration and threats of walking into 'the mans' office as a human hurricane and knocking over everything in sight {j/k I didn't really threaten that, but they should have been warned that I can be terribly picky}. Someday when we look back I think the only part we will actually remember is the excitement and happy anticipation. We truly have loved seeing this little idea turn into a reality.

When we asked for the backsplash and all the flooring to be replaced we got to go to the design center and make all the new choices. Well, if we're honest - I went to the design center and texted Ben pictures of everything in sight while he did the responsible thing and worked. He's a brave man letting me make the decisions all alone!

As soon as all the decisions were made we watched as they quickly got to work. I had a few nights where I would lie awake with a pit in my stomach hoping that the flooring would go well with the cabinets and that the carpet wasn't too dark. I debated a putting in a white verses a wood stained mantel probably 20 times {honestly}and don't want to even think about choosing another appliance. Alas, the time has come - we've done a walk through, we've seen the completed work and I can honest to goodness say I am very pleased with the outcome.

Never fear, the grout has now been cleaned up and the baseboards successfully installed in the picture above - and - there is now a functioning sink in the picture below. We don't actually expect you to wash your hands in a hole.

Now it's time to wrap this baby up and sign some papers to make it official! I can't wait to move in and start decorating! If you know me {then you know my mind never turns off} and you won't be surprised that I have already started drawing up the decoration plans I have for this house. Ben is really excited. :-) The fun never ends!

Three Tangent Tuesday (even though it feels like Monday)

2011-05-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

I love Monday holidays. I love Tuesdays that feel like Mondays. I love short work weeks. Even though it feels like Monday, don't worry, I didn't forget our Three Tangents for Tuesday! Bring on the craziness.

1. Being tan is awesome because you don't have to wear makeup. Tan foreheads are my favorite. It's weird, but true. The problem is you never really get tan enough in Oregon/Washington. Now that we've almost wrapped up the house in the NW maybe we should work on a vacation house in Hawaii, right mister?

2. This is what the inside of our current house looks like right now. There is not much room to walk upstairs unless you have awesome maze skills. Basically if we plan on sleep walking we better wear a helmet because we will no doubt run into a box or a vacuum or a bags of clothes piled somewhere.

Don't you hate it when you pack something you didn't think you would need, but all of a sudden can't live without? Yesterday I packed my tape measure - you know the soft one you use for sewing and measuring your waist. I picked it up and thought to myself, "there is no way I am going to need this for the next couple weeks". Oh boy was I wrong. It just so happened that I found a skirt at 12am, while the mister was sleeping, that was to die for! BUT I needed my waist measurement. I unpiled the boxes that were stacked right outside our bedroom and tried to quietly untape and open each one I thought it was in. After about 15 mins I decided I was being too noisy and eventually gave up. Super cute skirt bummer.

3. We're moving. Obviously you know that because it's basically all I talk about. But did you know it's NEXT week!! It's really crazy. We haven't known what day for sure because the title papers aren't {enter something I don't understand here} and we haven't done the builder walk through yet. But I am sick of saying "oh I dunno, some time the first week of June." So I've decided we are moving next Tuesday and come hell or high water we are moving our stuff in and we WILL occupy that house before I go out of town on Friday. The other day we went to the house to look at the new mantle and carpet. Ben stood in the living room asking how we should position the couch and I had my, "Holy Crap this is really happening" moment. A house people, it's happening.

Happy Tuesday-Monday to you!

Sixth sense

2011-05-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

I have a sixth sense. Basically I can find awesome candy anywhere we go. It's a gift.
The latest find is something I had never even imagined, but exactly what you need in your life.

COCONUT TWIX!

I literally made a scene when I saw the spread of new, limited time, candy bars. I immediately walked over and grabbed a handful to take home with us. My candy partner in crime, Ben, was equally excited but reminded me that we may not need the entire display of candy bars. Although my "what if I never see it again!" panic was setting in, he is usually right so I settled on a couple.

When we got it home we waited a few minutes {see we're not entirely insane}before breaking into the new find. I was a little nervous to give it a try - not wanting it to ruin the goodness potential that it obviously has. I wondered if it would just be coconut flavor hidden somewhere or would there be an added strip of coconut. And if there was an added strip would it be flaky coconut goodness like the coconut kisses or would it be boring wanna-be coconut like the M&Ms. After explaining my fear to Ben he insisted that maybe I should just open the package so we could give it a try.

It was delightful. No flakes, no wanna-be coconut, just coconut flavored caramel. {Which I could have found out if I would have actually read the package instead of debating the options for 10 mins.} The cookie and yummy milk chocolate remain untouched and just as satisfying as you would expect a Twix to be. The caramel has an added coconut flavor which isn't over-powering or too subtle. It was melt in your mouth awe-some. Thumbs up to Mars for the fun summer time treat. Now, I should probably go back and get more...

Bow-tied Husband

2011-05-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

Ben looked very dapper at church in his bow tie. I just had to snap a few pictures. A few pictures actually equals so many pictures that my phone died while still in church. Whoops.

He's so handsome.

Kitchen: Before and (almost) After

2011-05-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the lack of the "three tangent tuesday" post yesterday. I just wasn't really feeling myself. I have been completely exhausted for a few days now and my stomach has been super nauseous. I know what you're thinking... trust me, you're wrong. Sticks don't lie.

I am feeling much better today although I still don't have the brain power to think up three whitty things that I am dying for the world to know. I would, however, like to show you the transformation that is the kitchen we have purchased.

Before:

I am not sure why the cabinets look so dark here. I blame it on the lighting, or the wonderful sun, or the flash - definitely one of those.

Enter Amber and Ben: "Um, I basically hate that backsplash with every bone in my body. We will buy this house if you promise to rip it out as quickly as possible, let us pick out tile for a new one and allow me to keep the granite to make a cutting board (correction: a lot of cutting boards)."

Deal.

They had it ripped out in record time.

Enter the sweet men from Russia who spent many days doing beautiful tile work in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room. They agreed that the previous backsplash was awful and seemed more than happy to send it on it's way.

(almost)After:

I really wish I could give you an after picture that is beautifully decorated, but we don't move in for a few more weeks. Please don't mind brown the paper hanging from the wall where our new gas range will live. I'm not sure what the story is there. It must be in effort to not get grout everywhere, let's just call it art.

Doesn't the tile look great though? I am seriously in L-O-V-E. You are cordially invited to see it in person when we move in. Not now though, there are nails all over the floor - it's a danger zone.

Ponytail road trip

2011-05-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

The other day I wore my hair in a ponytail. Let's be honest, that happens way too often given my new longer length and the sheer laziness I have with washing and drying my hair every day. That same day Ben and I took a little road trip to Lake Oswego. While Ben was being responsible and driving, I was playing with my new long pony realizing how much hair was there! I immediately decided I MUST take a picture, while in route, to prove to myself the longness! It took pictures with my cell phone the entire 30 minute trip. It was really hard to get one that showed the entire ponytail. I really need to work on my road trip self portrait skills. Watching my struggles and occasional mentions of needing to puke Ben asked a few times, "Can I just take the picture for you?" I responded with my usual, "No, I don't need help." Needless to say I got really car sick and was on the verge of puking for the rest of the night. All that just for the perfect picture, or a lot of imperfect pictures.
You're welcome.

When I got sick of trying to get a picture of the back of my head I moved on to better things. Below Ben asked, "Now what are you doing?" I responded.... "I have to document this ponytail road trip and I am showing that I am scared of your driving!!" {I really am not though, I actually hate driving so I love when Ben drives.}

And then the awesome ones...

The sky was pretty on the way home. Of course I had to take a picture of that too.

So there to have it, the ponytail road trip pictures from Washington to Oregon. My hair is long though, right?!

T.T.T. - Wait, am I crazy?

2011-05-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

It's time for Three Tangent Tuesday!
Today I would like to give you a glimpse into just a little bit of our day to day. Somehow when all three came together I had to ask myself, Wait - am I crazy?

1. An important member of the team is missing here...

I know, who cares about a stupid flower. I know I am being crazy about this. I can see it - that's the first step, right? I was trying to explain to Ben last night how sick I STILL am over this flower and seriously wanted to cry. I may or may not have had tears running down my face, but that was mostly from laughing because he wouldn't stop making fun of my delusional grief. I know it's silly, I know there are bigger problems in the world, but I seriously loved that flower. We decided I can grieve for 2 more days and then I have to get over it {if that is even possible}. I have searched, with no luck, for an identical replacement. With some good suggestions from friends {thank you}, I have decided I will make the new flower. I haven't found a pattern or tutorial that I absolutely love, so I guess I am on my own. {If you have a flower you make or a pattern you love, let me know!} Stay tuned....

2. Our house is being worked on!! We are making quite a habit of popping over to check on the changes that are happening. I am sure the workers really appreciate our thorough review. We are SO excited about the changes that are being made and the dream that is becoming a reality.

Yep, you caught me - sometimes I put on zero makeup and tie a sock around my head and leave the house. It's the joys of working from home, people!
More importantly, they are tiling a new backsplash for us! It's obviously not done, but looking good! The previous backsplash was the same granite from the countertop just continued 18" up the wall. I do appreciate the value of granite slabs and felt like a crazy person asking for it to be removed. However, the continuous granite backsplash reminded me of something you would find in the home of a 60 year old male bachelor. It said, "pass me a glass of burbon and dim the lights". We needed a backsplash more suited for Teal Kitchen Aides and the smell of baking cookies.

3. Toy Story. Ben and I watched Toy Story 3 the other day. I know everyone loves these movies. I, too, think they have adorable characters and an entertaining story line. That being said, these movies are a childhood nightmare come true for me. I am not even kidding.
When I was young I used to get so worried that my toys, food, clothes, etc. FELT bad when I wouldn't choose them. I used to make sure I would eat my food evenly and included even the toys that I really didn't like so no one was left out. I always felt bad when I had to choose just a couple of anything not wanting to hurt the feelings of the ones left behind. I mostly grew out of it, I still feel bad if I accidentally leave one of something behind - I try to make sure I at least leave a pair.

So the other day, after watching the 3rd movie, I went grocery shopping. I stood in the produce section picking out fresh carrot sticks. I do this every week. But this time, I grabbed a carrot that looked good at first, but as I lifted it I noticed a little bit of carrot leaves leaves left hanging on the top, now all slimy and wet from being watered by the grocery store sprinklers. I immediately set it down thinking, "gross, I can't put that in my bag!" Then came the visions of the sad left behind toys of Toy Story and I felt awful for picking the carrot up and immediately discarding it. So I did what any crazy person would do, I picked up the slimy stemmed carrot, ripped off the slimy leaves {sorry those are still not going in my bag} and put the carrot in with the others making everyone feel better.

Craziness confirmed - Happy Tuesday to everyone!

Sad and Broken Hearted

2011-05-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

Basically my heart is broken and there is nothing anyone can ever do to fix it.

Two years ago I bought a gorgeous yellow flower from Anthropologie. It was before the time that everyone and their dog were wearing flowers. I like to say I started that trend {joke}. It was huge and said, "look at me, I'm a huge yellow flower!". It was amazing and beautiful. I cherished it and wore it A LOT. I loved it. It was my absolute most favorite accessory ever. Ever. Ever. If I was stranded on a dessert island and got to bring 3 things, my yellow flower would have been one.

So WHY, you ask, would I be dumb enough to attach it to my cute pink purse and walk around using it as a purse accessory??? It's obviously going to fall off and be lost forever!

I.DO.NOT.KNOW.

I guess I wanted it to be with me always. I didn't think it would really fall off!

I am not smart all the time and now my flower is gone.

I am seriously sick about it.

I called Anthropologie {headquarters, not the measly Portland store} and asked if they could PLEASE send me one, they have to have an extra hanging around somewhere. They were very apologetic and said they only have navy blue. But navy blue can't heal my heart, I already have grey and pink.

I NEED YELLOW!

I checked Google, and Craigslist, and eBay. I did search after search on every shopping site I have ever known willing to pay big bucks to replace the missing piece of my heart.

So there you have it. My broken depressed heart on my sleeve. My yellow flower missing for the world to take advantage of and my stomach sick over the love that can't be replaced.

I can't promise I will get over this.

Three {no} FOUR Tangent Tuesday

2011-05-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Three Tangent Tuesday - today you get the special treat of an extra tangent! You know Tuesday is my third favorite day of the week, so I am feeling extra generous today!

1. Remember my squirrel Marv who had to be captured and moved into the wild because he was nesting in the attic? {Read here if you don't}. Well, today as I was making lunch I saw our new squirrel, Ted, enjoying a peanut while sitting in basket attached to the backyard tree. "Hmmm" I thought to myself, "I bet he would like a treat." I looked around the kitchen and spotted some left over cookies! I broke one into pieces and walked onto the porch and placed the cookie on the edge of the deck. He watched me the whole way. I went back into the house eager for him to take the cookie and hide it with the other goodies around our yard. I watched through the window, and watched, and watched and watched. Nothing happened! HE refused my cookie AND the piece of cupcake Ben added to the pile when he got home. I can't believe it! I also can't believe the biggest drama of my life is surrounded by the squirrels in my backyard. This is where I should insert that I work from home and sometimes get a little desperate for friends. :-)

2. I must share with you our Monday night dinner because I was very proud of the display. We had Cobb Salad and all the toppings too choose for our own personal salads were laid out on a serving tray in these cute little lines. They were quickly destroyed, but not before I snapped a picture proud of my straight food lines.

3. I am officially 5 days without candy! Gushers, fro-yo and a couple bites of ice cream don't count. We are talking straight up candy here people. This is a big feat for me. No joke, I went from having one or 2 M&Ms once a day to convincing myself that entire meals of M&M's, gummy bears, hot tamales and sweedish fish had real nutritional value. I was consuming wwwaaayyyy too much candy. So much, in fact, that the last 5 days have been a welcomed break. I haven't wanted any. I ate so much I really think I got burned out of the sweet goodness and the last fews days have been nice. Totally weird for me! Am I giving up candy forever? Ha, yeah right, now THAT would be INSANE. But I am going to let my body de-tox itself from a serious overload of sugar and give the poor candy bowl a break!

You can't even see the candy hidden at the bottom of the bowl!
Or the candy treasures I have hidden secretly around the house. Uh hum.... what problem?

4. I am dying over this Giraffe head from Anthro. Am I seriously lusting after it and will find a way to incorporate it into the decor of our new home. Random, maybe. Awesome, absolutely.

So there you have it, FOUR tangents, you're welcome.

A little gushing

2011-05-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

The other day Ben and I were reminiscing about our childhoods. More specifically, our favorite childhood treats we couldn't have lived without.

I started talking about the time summer that Shannon and I decided to open a movie theater in my parents basement. There is nothing better than watching a movie with your friends. We turned the movie watching experience up a notch and charged those young friends admission to watch a fantastic selection of Disney movies. We were in second, maybe third, grade. Even as kids we knew a good movie theater couldn't survive without yummy goodies. So, we did what any good entrepreneur would do and sold my family's food. All the yummy snacks and eight year old pines after, we sold. Needless to say, when my mom found out about our new business {of many} she insisted that we embrace the overhead and restock our inventory with our earnings instead of her pantry. She took us shopping. I remember standing in the isle at the grocery store - looking at a yellow box of gushers high above my head, mouth watering, asking her to reach the box for me wishing I could sneak a few tastes for myself {which I am sure I did}.

Gushers are like fruit snacks. The center of each gusher is a thick sweetened liquid surrounded by a chewy gelatinous sugar covering. When one bites into the snack, the liquid inside gushes out, hence the name of the snack.

Ben and I agreed... Gushers are our number one favorite childhood snack food!

When Mother's Day rolled in imagine my surprise when that sweet Ben surprised me with none other than the reminiscent snack that had our mouths watering only days before!

Don't mind my creep-tasticly excited face and strange left hand!

Tonight we broke open the box and let the record show that even at age 27 Gushers do not disappoint. The yummy liquid center with the chewy outershell was fantastic. Mandy and Paul told us Costco carries mega sized boxes of Gushers. We should probably steer clear of Costco for a while. I tend to make strange decisions in that mega sized superstore - I would, for sure, walk out with 2 huge boxes.

Mothers.

2011-05-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

How grateful we are for the wonderful mothers in our lives.
How willing they are to bless us with their support and unwavering love.

A Mother has such a power to influence good in this world.
She has the power to teach those around her to be better, stronger, more loving and kind.
She has the power to heal wounds with only a kiss and a band-aid to make it "all better".
She has the power to heal hearts with a promise that no matter what, she will stand by your side, she will never leave.

She has that smile that her children look for, even when they're all grown, that says, "I believe in you".
She is the absolute example of sacrifice, of service, of how to treat your fellow man.

What an overwhelming and important responsibility a mother has, but that is why she is your {and my} mother. She can, and will, take on that responsibility. She knows the reward of influencing a child's life for good far outweighs the importance of a spotless shirt or a quiet house. She knows the value of being a good, positive example and she, no doubt, will show you through her actions. Because times are crazy and she wonders to herself how it could possibly get worse, it's then when she surprises even herself - because she smiles and teaches her children to keep pushing on - fighting for good.

Ben and I have both been blessed with amazing mothers. As well as, amazing grandmothers, friends, sisters, aunts and cousins who show, and teach us, every day the amazing power they have to influence lives for good.

Celebrating all of you and wishing you a very wonderful Mother's Day!