Smoke-Free Again!

In a delightful twist of events. . .

THE SMOKING BANK ROBBERS MOVED!!

They were loading up their car yesterday while I was loading mine up. And then there was a notice posted on their door indicating that everyone had to be out by 9:30 this morning, or else they would be removed from the premises. And there would be a lawyer there to remove them. Whoa! I guess the owner didn't like having smoking bank robber tenants either.

Of course, we're moving too. But the fantastic news is last night we had our windows open and there was no smoke! And tonight will be the same! And then we'll be in our house! I'm so glad that we can leave on a happy, smoke-free note.

Really?

Maybe it's because I'm not a dog person, but this seems a little over the top. Would anyone really buy this? Alex? ;)

One Word Answers

Woo hoo! My blog is loved! By Cheryl! There is a picture to go with this, but I can't seem to get it on my blog. Oh well.

So now I've got to answer all these questions with one word and one word only. Then I'm supposed to pass it on to 7 people. Here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? Downstairs

2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Red

4. Your mother? Sweet

5. Your father? Historian

6. Your favorite thing? Family

7. Your dream last night? Forgotten

8. Your dream/goal? Joy

9. The room you're in? Bedroom

10. Your hobby? Reading

11. Your fear? Loneliness

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home

13. Where were you last night? House

14. What you're not? Outgoing

15. One of your wish-list items? Cruise
16. Where you grew up? Utah

17. The last thing you did? Packed

18. What are you wearing? Pink!

19. Your TV? Addicting

20. Your pet? Ew.

21. Your computer? Friends

22. Your mood? Tired

23. Missing someone? No

24. Your car? Betty

25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes

26. Favorite store? Target

27. Your summer? Inferno

28. Love someone? Clarky

29. Your favorite color? White

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

Um, right, I don't really like to play favorites. If your blog is linked on the left, I love to read your blog. So do this tag, if you feel so inclined.

NOT a smoke-free environment

Why why why oh why do people smoke? I seriously don't get it. It's well documented that cigarettes cause health problems. There are all those commercials on TV, they teach about it in schools, and every cigarette commercial has a surgeon general's warning right on it. It's bad for you. And it's an expensive little habit. And besides that, it STINKS! Really bad! And if you are a smoker, you stink! Really bad! It yellows your teeth, your clothes all smell smoky and nasty, your apartment stinks. Gross.

Oh, excuse me, your apartment doesn't stink because you decide to smoke outside. So my apartment stinks. My mistake.

It's finally cool enough at night to open windows. This is one of my favorite things - it makes things feel fresh again. No more stale AC air! We get cool breezes! Except that we opened our windows at 9:30ish, only to find that smoky smell wafting in. And by the time you smell it, it's too late. It's in. If you close your windows, the smell is trapped inside. You leave them open, and you get more of it. It's just a nasty, rotten trick played on you by said cigarette smokers. Smoker neighbors: Dude. Just quit. You'll be happier, I'll be happier. I'll even buy you a patch! And gum! Just quit. It's for the best.

We did close our windows for a while, and lit a candle in hopes that the smell would lessen. It sort of worked. So now it's 11:30, and we opened the windows again. IT'S STILL SMOKY OUTSIDE. Excuse me, how long does it take to smoke? 2 hours?! How many of those things are you going through? Or is it 2 different neighbors? We live next to idiots.

Only 3 more nights here.

Pregnancy Tag

. . . because no formerly pregnant woman can resist sharing all the details. You can blame Dot for this one.

1- Where​ were you when you first​ found​ out you were pregnant?
Oh, in the bathroom at home.

2- Who was with you?
Well, Clark was in bed still, and soon after he was out of bed.

3- How did you find out that you were pregnant? ​
My period still hadn't come (it was a week late), and I was suspicious. But seriously, 2 years of trying with absolutely no success, and 1 month of not trying? What were the chances? So I took the test, somewhat nonchalantly.

4- What was your first​ react​ion to finding out you were pregnant?
"Um, really?" I was elated, and at the same time terrified. Cautiously optimistic. Oh, and worried. You know, because of the possibility of major health problems. (If this confuses you, go here for more details)

5- Your husband's react​on?​
About the same as mine. Though he was probably somewhat less worried, because he's not a worrywart like I am.

6- Who was the first​ person you told?​
Well, Clark, of course. And then Danielle. We went on a walk that morning, and I didn't really know what to do next, so she advised me to go to the doctor and get a blood test to confirm it.

7- Did you plan to get pregnant?
Yes. And then no. But we were still happy about it!

8- Was every​body happy​ for you?
Um, yes.

10- Did you go out and celeb​rate?​
You know, I honestly don't remember. We went out for my birthday a few days later, and a week later the puking began, so we didn't go anywhere.

11- Did you want to find out the sex?
Most definitely.

12- What was the sex?
If you don't know that, hello, welcome to my blog, check out the ticker at the very top. Girl.

13- Did anyone throw​ you a baby shower?​
Yes.

14- If yes, who?
My family, my friends in SLC, and my friends in St George. I felt very loved.

15- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going​ to put on your baby?
No, I liked everything I got.

16- How much weigh​t did you gain?​
Net weight gain: 30lbs. Clark likes to tell people that I gained 45lbs, which is true if you factor in the 15lb weight loss at the beginning. But pre-pregnancy weight to day before delivery is a difference of 30lbs.

17- Did you loose​ all of the weigh​t that you gained?​
Yes. Well, I may still have a pound or two, but close enough.

18- Did you get a lot of stretch marks​?​
Not a one. Don't hurt me please. Though I did have some on my thighs from getting fat (getting curves, puberty, whatever you want to call it.) That's a real self-esteem booster right there, let me tell you.

19- What did you crave​ the most?​
I wouldn't say I "craved" anything, I just went through food phases. There was the juice phase (that was also known as the "anything that tastes good coming up" phase). There was the ramen phase. There was the white chocolate raspberry yogurt phase. There was the frozen waffle with butter only phase. Frozen burritos. Cookie dough (w/ no eggs). Popcorn. I'd just get hooked on a food and eat it every day for a month. Oh, and my bread had to be from Great Harvest for the 1st and 2nd trimesters.

20- Did you crave​ anything crazy​?​
Not that I can think of. Ask Clark.

21- Who or what got on your nerve​s the most?​
I wasn't really moody when I was pregnant. Which is funny, because normally I'm rather emotional and I cry at the drop of a hat, but I think I can count the times I cried while pregnant on one hand. Well, other than the times I cried because I wanted to stop puking. But come on, anyone would do that.

22- Were you married at the time?
YES.

23- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?​
Um, I don't know, I guess you could say the whole thing was a complication waiting to happen. Luckily everything was fine, and I only had to be on bed rest for a few days near the end.

24- Where​ were you when you went into labor​?​
In the hospital, getting the induction drugs.

25- Did your water​ break​?​
No. Your water does have to break at some point, doesn't it? Or be broken? I don't remember that at all. I wasn't so much alert for a lot of the labor, trying to catch some Z's before the action. And trying not to puke.

26- Who drove​ you to the hospital?
Clark.

Where is # 27?

28- Did you go early​ or late?​
Late. 1 week over.

29- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth​?​
Just Clark. Oh, and the doctor and nurses.

30- Was it video​ taped​?​
No way.

31- Did you have any drugs​ for the pain?​
Absolutely. Any and all drugs for pain are accepted here.

32- Did you go natural or have a c-section?​
The natural push-it-out method.

33- What was your first​ react​ion after​ giving birth​?​
Tears of joy, happiness that we'd made it to the end, trying to see if she really had red hair (yeah, that washed out).

34- How big was the baby?​​
7 lbs 11 oz

35- Did your husband cry?
I don't think so. Ask him.

36- What did you name the baby?​
Julia Diane

37- Did the baby have any complications? ​
She wasn't breathing really well at first, so she spent an hour or so in the NICU. I remember getting bored in the labor/delivery room - I was in there for 45 minutes or so after the doctor had stitched me up, all by myself. Did they expect me to sleep after that adreneline rush? No way. I was HUNGRY!

38- How old is the baby today​?​
5 months.

39- When is the next one coming?​
Well, that's why we bought a 3 bedroom house. . . HAHA. No. Give us a couple years.

41- ​If you could​,​ would​ you do it all over again​?​
Absolutely. I hope I can!

OK, blah blah, I tag whoever wants to do it.

Weekly Quote 9/22/08

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

You all knew this quote pretty well. New quote up!

Something to watch

These videos are for all you Julia Junkies out there - you know who you are. . . (*cough* Kim *cough*). They are kind of long, and not all that exciting, but I sure think she's cute. When she rolls from her tummy to her back, she throws her arm out there to try and push herself over. I find myself thinking of an elephant ballerina: those chunky legs, her little arm over her head. Hilarious. Anyway, enjoy!

Heaven

Sometimes Julia has a hard time falling asleep. She's tired, so she gets cranky, which gets her all worked up, and then she'll never fall asleep, which makes her more tired, more cranky, etc. You all know about that cycle, I'm sure. Last night was one of those nights. I try to let her cry for a little while, and then I'll go in and try to calm her down without picking her up. Pat her back. Give her a binky. Roll her onto her side. And then I leave the room again. Last night we did this a fair number of times. At some point, her cries became somewhat frantic. And so, I decided it was time to pick her up and see if that wouldn't help calm her down.

I picked her up. She stopped crying. And she rested her little head on my shoulder. That little head that is always on the move, trying to see what is going on, was just resting on my shoulder. I held her for about 1 minute, and then I put her down. She fell right asleep.

That 1 minute? That, my friends, is what heaven feels like.

A Random Post For Celeste. . .

Dear Celeste,

Thank you so much for providing dinner for us the other day. It was delicious.

-Shannon ;)

Closed

Well, we did it. We closed on our house. It should be recorded today. And then the clock starts ticking - the sellers have 72 hours to get out. Then it's all ours.

There wasn't as much paperwork to sign as I anticipated. People always talk about how tedious it is, signing your name over and over again, and the stack is thicker than War and Peace, and it feels like it will never end. Not so, for us. I guess we don't have as much paperwork and some, since we only have 1 loan, and everything was pretty straightforward. We got to the title company just after 4, and we were in the car ready to go home at 4:50. That was including the time it took to take Julia out of her carseat so she would calm down (side note: Julia doesn't like strangers to talk to her while she is in her carseat. It freaks her out. And nothing will calm her down short of getting out of the carseat and being held by her mom or her dad. If she doesn't know you, please wait until she is in the arms of one of her parents. She does much better that way. And then you don't go away thinking that babies hate you.)

Also, we did our "final walkthrough" yesterday, right before closing. We didn't expect anything to be wrong, but we figured that we should walk through it one more time, just to make sure. And to get us excited. The sellers were there, cleaning and packing. In fact, the lady was shampooing the carpets, so now we know that we don't have to do that when we move in. And she was so kind as to tell us that she cleaned the shelf paper, so we can use it if we want, but we can replace it if we don't like it, it's our call. Thanks. Seeing as it's Our House. Funny lady. And her husband was telling us all about how to work the icemaker on the fridge, and that the peaches ripen late, and they have 1 tomato plant out there, and all about the neighbors. You can tell that they are attached to the house, and the neighborhood, even though they've only lived there a few years. Anyway, they seemed like really nice people, and very clean people, which makes me breathe a sigh of relief, because we won't have a massive clean-up waiting for us when we move in. Just the massive clean-up at our current apartment.

WE ARE HOME OWNERS! Now the economy needs to pick up again.

Julia Julia Julia

It's time for pictures (and videos) of Julia!

On our Grand Canyon Adventure, I sat Julia on the seat of the car while I was getting all the diapering necessities ready. She looked like such a big girl, that I just couldn't resist putting the seat belt on her.
And here are a couple of videos of her beautiful singing on our hike:





And I have some good news: I figured out how to take pictures that look like my kid! Remember how I was griping about my camera sucking it up, and how none of the pictures I took with it actually looked like Julia? Well, I just had to play with some different settings, that's all. The way to get a picture of her when she is moving around without a flash is to use the "sports" setting.

Now THAT is my kid!We were having some fun playing Peekaboo, so I decided to document it.

"And also, whoops! and also fries."

Whoever did advertising for McDonald's in the 80's was a genius. Every time I hear Fur Elise, I think of this commercial. As a side note, I never played Fur Elise during the 10 years I was taking piano lessons. To tell you the truth, I'm not really sad about that.

Grand Canyon

We had quite the little adventure this weekend. We went to Grand Canyon National Park! So, apparently there is no "the" in from of Grand Canyon, but that just sounds so weird to me. Can't teach this old dog new tricks, I guess. ANYWAY, back to the adventure. We've been talking about heading to the North Rim for a while now, but it's just never worked out. The original plan was to go last fall, but seeing as I was puking my brains out through the first snow, it never happened. And then in the spring we had a baby, and it's just never worked out. We realized that this past Saturday would pretty much be our only chance, what with the upcoming move (we close tomorrow, and move all the big stuff a week from Friday) and general conference, and winter approaching. So Clark made the sacrifice of missing the BYU game, and we went to Arizona for the day.

The North Rim is about 3 hours from St George, so we left at 7:30am, and got home at 9:00pm. A long day. But it was so worth it. So, you start out driving in your typical Southern Utah landscape - red rocks, desert-like, no trees. You know the scene. And it continues this way through the Indian Reservation (guess what they have on the reservation? A gas station! Guess what they don't have on the reservation? TAX!!), through Fredonia. And then, suddenly you are driving through trees, lots and lots of trees. And meadows. The weather is much cooler. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn we were in Yellowstone, all these tall skinny pines all around. This continues on through Jacob Lake, and on into the park boundaries. You drive all the way into the park, to the visitor's center, and you still just see trees all around. So we parked the car, got out, took a look around, and it still didn't feel like we were in Arizona, let alone at the Grand Canyon. So we walked over to Grand Canyon Lodge. At this point, we felt like asking someone, "Excuse me, where is the Grand Canyon?" And then, as you enter the lodge and walk down a few stairs, you are hit with an incredible view out the window. It's just right there! The whole day, we'd be driving or hiking through the trees, thinking, "The Grand Canyon is right over there. . ." It just felt like we were in the mountains, in a forest somewhere. Incredible!

Since we only had a few hours, we decided to do a few short "hikes" (they are really more like walks, but they offer killer views), and then one medium sized hike (about 2 hours round trip). We started off at Bright Angel Point, since that is right next to the Visitor's Center. Then we headed out to Point Imperial, and then down to Roosevelt Point, Cape Final (this was the longer hike), and Cape Royal. Cape Royal had the best views, in my opinion. You start out looking over the canyon, and you see Angels Window (a hole in the rock). And then you hike out on top of the window, which is just amazing. And I'm really glad we went on the Cape Final hike, it was so beautiful. There were a number of side trails to a view of the canyon all along the way. It was so incredible. I know that is the adjective of the hour, but that's what it was: incredible.

Julia was a good little trooper the whole time. There was a lot of driving, and a lot of in and out of the carseat, but she really didn't complain. In fact, she was talking up a storm and singing songs while we were hiking. I'll have to post video of that later. Very cute. Oh, and here is a milestone: Julia got her first sunburn. Crappy milestone, if you ask me. It turns out she needs a bigger hat, one that shades her cheeks and nose. Oops. But it wasn't too bad, and in fact I was trying to get a picture of it on Sunday afternoon, but I couldn't get it to show up on camera. So I'm not a terrible mother, just a sort of crummy one. But she didn't complain about it at all, and she was such a good girl all day.

And here's the best part: we actually took pictures!!! I was so proud of myself for remembering to pull the camera out. In fact, we got like 65 pictures of our little excursion, so we did pretty well. Don't worry, they aren't all in the slide show. After a while, all the pictures of the canyon start to look the same. My apologies in advance if you get bored. But there are some people shots, so at least for that!

Weekly Quote 9/15/08

"You're Miss Oklahoma, and you miss Oklahoma, I'll get you what you want."

From the lovely Guster song "Ramona." If you don't know it, go give it a listen. You won't regret it. New quote up!

Rice Cereal

So, we have big baby news this week: Julia ate rice cereal for the first time last Friday. She hasn't been sleeping as well through the night, so I decided to see if the rice cereal kept her fuller longer. (And her pediatrician said we could start her on rice cereal at 4-6 months). So we did it. Here she is, all ready to start:


And then we put some food in her mouth. And then it came back out:

But we persisted. We got a lot of this face:


We tried it again on Sunday night, with much the same result. And then we tried it again on Monday. It started out with the same face (and lots of puckering up to keep her mouth closed, which made me laugh, which made her laugh, causing her to open her mouth, and I'd dump the cereal in), and then for some reason she started gobbling it up. She slept so well Monday night! It didn't go as well on Tuesday, and last night it took her some time to warm up to it again, but I think we're making progress. I really don't mind too terribly much getting up with her once in the middle of the night, but it would be so much nicer if I didn't have to do that. Of course, I say I don't mind right now, in the middle of the day. I think it's a different story at 4:30am. Just ask Clark.

Here's a video of the first feeding:

Summer is NOT over (at least not here)

There have been a lot of posts throughout the blogosphere the past few weeks about the end of summer. "It's official, summer is over." "Fall is in the air, winter is just around the corner." "The leaves are changing." "I'm so sad to see the summer go." "This summer went too fast." Blah blah blah. This makes me want to reach through the interweb, grab these people by the shoulders and say, "The summer is not over yet for me, IT IS STILL 100° OUTSIDE, my AC is still running all day long, I open all the windows at night and it's still hot, and it's been this way since APRIL! You can have my summer weather if you want it, I'm ready for WINTER!"

Glorious winter, where you drink hot cocoa, and can go on walks at night (sure, it might be cold, but you just bundle up; if it's hot, you can't do anything but suffer), and you wear jackets and sweatshirts and coats and hats and scarves (I really can't even wear hats and scarves down here, it doesn't get that cold), and you can play in the snow, and there is Christmas! And the baking, oh, the baking. Yes, driving in the snow is frustrating, I'll admit. That is the drawback. But that is a small price to pay, if you ask me.

Ok, that being said, it is actually starting to cool down here (high of 90° today [95° tomorrow]), and I do love St George. And I've learned to deal with the summer, it's not that bad. I just feel about summer the way most people feel about winter. I count the days until it's over.

The Awesomeness

I am awesome, my friends. At least for the second half of today. The first half, not so awesome. We had a small accident here involving Julia and falling and me feeling like the most terrible parent in the world, but she is ok, and I think I've definitely learned from the experience: Julia is now a mover. Never leave her unattended where she can get in trouble. That means she's only allowed to be in her crib or on the floor downstairs without constant supervision. ("Constant vigilance!!") But like I said, she's ok, in fact she only cried for about a minute and then she calmed down.

But on to the awesomeness. This is what I did today (get ready for the ugly flower bullets [which appear even when I specifically want numbers, but whatever]):

1. Went to the post office because suddenly our mail key doesn't work. Turns out they had changed the lock on the wrong mail box, and so we got some new keys. They were very apologetic. And when I came home to check the mail, Julia got a new book! (as part of a book exchange)
2. Found a Hitchcock DVD at the library that I don't think we've seen before: "The Lady Vanishes." I do love a good Hitchcock movie.
   
3. Stopped at Smith's and got some Hunt's pasta sauce (75 cents per can! That's a good price!)
4. Called the IHC billing department about a bill I recently received. It was for some obstetrical care, and I don't mind paying it, but I had paid the OB monthly throughout the pregnancy so that I wouldn't have a huge bill after she was born. I wondered if it was some above and beyond charge. Turns out it wasn't, they just hadn't credited my account yet, and in fact we'll probably be getting a reimbursement check from them soon.
   
5. And then there is the biggest most awesome part of the day. I went to Albertsons. I bought 2 personal pizzas, 2 boxes of granola bars, 9 boxes of cereal, 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls, 4 six-packs of yogurt, 3 boxes of hamburger helper, 3 boxes of tuna helper, 5 boxes of toaster streudel, and 3 tubes of toothpaste. I spent $28.37. Not too shabby, if you ask me. My favorite part is looking at the "coupons tendered" part of the reciept (which includes savings from the store's sale and coupons from manufacturer: $90.08. Wowzer! Isn't that awesome? If you really want to know how I did it, ask me about it.

And there you have it. I guess most of that stuff isn't terribly exciting, but I was thrilled about my grocery shopping experience. And about not having to pay a doctor's bill. And about possibly getting money back from the doctor. WOOT!

Weekly Quote 9/8/08

"Where can you see lions? Only in Kenya!" Kenya, believe it!

New quote up!

"Robbers go away!"

If ever I hear a noise in the house and get all worried that there might be a robber or something, Clark says, "Robbers go away!" and I'm too busy laughing to be worried. Well, we might need to be a little more careful about where we say that now.

A couple of weeks ago, Clark came home from work early so we could go to our home inspection. As he pulled into the parking lot, he noticed that there were 2 cop cars, complete with cops, just hanging out. Waiting for something. We thought it was kind of weird, and then went on our merry way.

When we came back, they were still there waiting. So we began to wonder what was going on. Then I got a phone call from someone in the ward, to see if we were alright. "Um, yeah, everything is fine, why?" "Well, I visit teach Natalie (she lives across from us), and she mentioned that there were a whole bunch of cops right in front of your door this afternoon." What the. . . . This got me very curious. So checked the Spectrum (the local paper) online to see if there were any arrests in our area, and what they were for. They have an arrest section, and I couldn't find anything in there. So I went back to the front page. And then I saw it.

The Zion's Bank down on River Road had been robbed that afternoon. The robber went to a friend's house to drop off the money, and then came back to his house, where the cops were waiting. Yes, he lives in our complex. Yes, he was arrested.

Let's flash forward another few days. I was just coming back from a walk, and my next-door neighbor was just leaving to go to the store. He says, "I've got to take grandpa to the store. I mean grandma, not grandpa. Grandpa's in jail." That's right. We live NEXT DOOR to a bank robber. NEXT DOOR! Well, I guess we lived next door to the bank robber, because now he's in jail. But still. Tells you what kind of people live in this neighborhood.

Have I mentioned how excited we are to move?

Remember how we bought a house?

So, we're moving. In 3 weeks. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet.

Some people have been hoping that we'll post pictures of the house, or at least more details. Well, here's the deal. We don't really have pictures of the interior, seeing as we don't actually live there yet. And I'm not too keen on driving by and taking a picture of the exterior, because then I'll look like a stalker. So the only pictures we have available are on the realtor's website. Why don't I post that, you ask? Well, by posting that we are basically informing everyone on the interweb of where we live, and how much we are paying for our house. And while I don't mind my friends knowing where I live, I don't really want to invite the entire interweb over for a visit. Nor do I really feel comfortable sharing the sales price with everyone. And so, you haven't had any pictures of the house. Oh, also, it doesn't feel real yet. So I keep forgetting about it.

But I can give you some details! It's got 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and an open floor plan. We think we'll have room for Grandma's piano! There are plant shelves in the kitchen, and high ceilings in the living area. There is a backyard with some cement, some grass, and some dirt for a garden. I'm really excited about growing my own tomatoes and squash. Any tips on growing vegetables would be appreciated. We also have a peach tree in the backyard. On the side there is RV parking, which will hopefully someday be more garden or grass or something. It passed the home inspection with only a couple of minor issues (note to Megan: your boss is a really nice guy). The lot is 0.18 acres, and the house has 1350 square feet. And there is a front yard with some grass and some gravel (think xeriscaping [no, I didn't know how to spell that, I just looked it up]), and we have rosebushes! And a 2 car garage! The master bedroom has 2 closets, and access to the back yard. The dining area has a bay window, which I love. And the whole thing is in move-in condition, which makes a huge difference. We don't have to tack on the cost of new carpet or paint before we can live there. Some day we'll probably replace the kitchen floor, but that day is a ways off. It's loads better than the nasty kitchen floor we have now, so we'll take it. And most importantly, we're really excited about it. Even if we don't post about it.

Once we have the keys, I'll take pictures, I promise. We close 2 weeks from tomorrow. I guess we should work on getting some boxes.

Weekly Quote 9/1/08

"I know, can you believe it?"

This was from Homestar Runner. The Fluffy Puff Marshmallow commercial.

Sorry for the delayed post. New quote up!