2010... so far

Wow---its almost been an entire month of the new year and no posts yet---this is exactly why I don't make new year's resolutions--they never get met. Alright, so where do I start? I will start with day 1.

1/1/10
I had my own mini celebration during the day on New Year's eve--I got to leave work a little bit early, got my car back with a new tire, and got my stitches out from getting my moles removed (and thank goodness all three moles were benign--what a relief!) We celebrated the New Year's eve with Neil and Charity playing games and then lighting fireworks at midnight. The rest of New Year's day, Ian and I spent together---not at work (which was a wonderful break) and then later on celebrated with family, food, and fun. At my parent's we ate salmon and french onion soup (yummy!). Dinner was amazing thanks to my mom! We also played games with Laura and Gavin one last time before they headed back to CA.

1/2/10-1/3/10
Weekends are always nice....not sure what went on that weekend, but I am sure it was good stuff! It probably consisted of figuring out things for our house, shoveling snow off our steps and driveway, meeting new people at church, etc...

1/4/10-1/5/10
I spent two days at work, both of which were EXTREMELY busy, crazy, and somewhat chaotic (which has now turned into our usual) but I knew as soon as I left work on Tuesday, I would be somewhat "free" the rest of the week.

1/6/10-1/8/10
I spent these days traveling to, being in, and traveling from Warsaw, Indiana! What's there you might ask---well it's famous for being THE Orthopedic Capital of the World. Our corporate plant and offices are there, and they had a nice meeting for office/operations managers. I actually had a lot of fun out there, going to nice dinners, meeting people I work with (who up to that point I had only talked to on the phone), hanging out until all hours of the night with the other distributorships managers, seeing the manufacturing side of the business (it's pretty crazy stuff!) feeling right at home with the HUGE snowstorm they had, feeling proud of myself for traveling all by myself and not getting lost (except for once---thanks to the GPS) and of course learning some new things and gaining great insight to better our business' day to day tasks.

1/9/10
My 25th birthday! That's right---I am now a quarter of a century old. Ian took me shopping to all my favorite stores (which was a nice gift within itself---as he is not very fond of any of them) and bought me some nice presents that I chose out. He also took me to lunch to the Macaroni Grill---I had been CRAVING their penne rustica. We spent the rest of the day together relaxing---I couldn't have asked for more!

1/10/10
We pretty much woke up late, went to church (at the beginning of the year we switched to the 1:00 schedule which is not our most favorite) and then to my parent's for my birthday dinner----we all loved the french onion soup we had on New Year's so much that my mom made it again, along with some really good chicken and salad! Oh yeah, and my favorite birthday cake! We then went to Ian's parents for some cake(s) *Judy made me two this year! Yum* and some good times with friends.

1/11-1/16
This week school started again. Ian is finishing up his last semester! We are both VERY excited about that! And I am taking my last class available at SLCC---which has some pros and cons. This week was also very busy as Ian's been working for TNT again, and my work is just INSANE! On Friday of this week, I decided to have a get together with my old group of friends at our house. Everybody was able to come! It was really fun to see them all again and to catch up! I decided we need to get together more often---I miss them!

1/17/10
Ian and I both got new callings in our ward---can you guess what they are? Yep---Ian is in the Young Men's, serving as secretary and I am a primary teacher---teaching the cute little sunbeams! I lOVE primary!

1/18/10-1/24/10
Snow, work, the Bachelor, school, taco Tuesday, Biggest Loser, snow, work, dentist visit (first one in YEARS-but SHOCKINGLY NO CAVITIES!!!) visiting and home teaching, work, school, more work, and more school. Oh yeah, and we FINALLY got a washing machine and dryer on Friday. Ian found an AMAZING deal. And Saturday (last night) we went to the Jazz game, thanks to my boss Brett. And guess what---the Jazz actually won! Yes, they played the Nets, but still--they WON! Ian and I have never been to a game that the Jazz have won---so we decided to celebrate by stopping at McDonald's and taking advantage of the free big macs McDonald's gives with your ticket when the Jazz win.

Well, that is our new year so far folks....thanks for tuning in. Hope you are all having a wonderful 2010! (does anyone else still find it so wierd to type/write that?)

4 years!!!

I Love You
Ki cat threw up.
The snake got ill.
Our bank account
Was almost nil. (or so it seemed)

The laundry’s
Stacked up in a (HUGE) pile,
And I can hardly ride

with you a mile (in the car that is :)).

Although our life
Might look like blight,
I get to be
With you (almost)every night.

It may be (sort of) tough,
That much is true,
But still I LOVE
My life with you.

Happy Anniversary Bay!

We've had 4 FABULOUS years together and I hope for MANY MANY MORE!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's been fun this year to decorate my own house for Christmas! Although, it made me realize how many decorations I really don't have! In the apartment, two or three things filled it---but now with space....it's a little bit different!
I finally convinced Ian to get a FAKE tree this year, which I was very happy about! I wanted a tall one because of our have vaulted ceilings, so we went with this 9 footer. One of the things I LOVE MOST about the tree is that it is pre-lit!
I didn't realize didn't realize how much work decorating trees are until I got married and had my own to do.
I guess each year I set my expectations beyond my abilities, so every year when the tree is finished and looks stupid and not how I was hoping, I get this feeling of disappointment inside and can't wait to take it down. Isn't that horrible?
This year, my tree didn't turn out exactly how I anticipated it would, but it came pretty close I guess and will do.
What I dream of doing one day is to go buy a Festival of Trees tree--- pre-decorated, you know it will look good because you've seen it, all the work is done, and it'd be beautiful----maybe one day!
Okay, I will stop with this rambling pessimistic talk! :)
Hope you all are getting ready for Christmas....only 13 days left!!!!

Ki---the cat

Doesn't he look so cute and innocent.
Well, don't be fooled. He is cute but NOT so innocent lately.
Ki has always been a good cat and we never had problems with him doing naughty things....until we left to Virginia.
Ki has an eating disorder..he eats and eats and doesn't know when to stop. Because he thinks he is STARVING all the time (he was an abandoned cat so that might contribute to his problem) Ian and I have had to control his food for him.
While in Virginia, we were having Ian's dad and my family take turns feeding him. Well, one day Ted(Ian's dad) went up to feed him and found the food bucket with the LID off...and the cat had helped himself to ALL the food he could eat. This happened two other times while we were gone! So the food got put away and the problem was solved....or so one might think.
When Ian and I got home, we were amazed at how fat the cat got in one week! Normally the bucket of food lasts 2-3 weeks, but he ate an ENTIRE bucket in a week!
We decided he would have to go on a small diet and not eat so much.
This made him MAD and he was NOT happy with us at all.
One day I came home from work and he had jumped up two shelves into our pantry, ripped open two bags to get to his kitty treats, and left a huge pile of plastic mess all over the kitchen floor.
Another day he did the same thing again, but instead of the pantry he got into our suitcases to get some treats Ian's aunt had given us to give to him.
Then he decided to pee on Ian's clothes---I think he was trying to mark his territory and could smell Ian's grandmas cat on his shirt. Nevertheless, Ian was MAD!
The cat also decided to scratch up my BRAND NEW LEATHER COUCHES!!! I swear I almost killed the stupid thing!
I think (thank goodness!) he is almost done with this phase of being angry and doing bad things, because he hasn't done anything for the past week and a half (I will keep my fingers crossed)----maybe because we put him outside when we are gone so he can't do anything. Also he is off his diet now and getting fed like he used to which makes him a much a happier cat!

Life is still crazy!

VIRGINIA
We were settling into our new house, and getting things in order, but at the last minute (kind of) decided to leave to Virginia to see Ian's family. We spent a week out there, and REALLY enjoyed the time we got to spend with almost all of the family, eating lots of home cooked meals, the time off from school and work, some shopping, and the nice 75 degree weather (at least for a few of the days we were there).

Playing a good game of soccer in Grandma's yard with the cousins. We won!

Grandma holding "angel" kitty. This cat is a very special cat to the family. He stayed right with Grandpa and would not leave his side when he was sick and when he passed away this spring.

Ian pulling faces (and being retarded:)) while eating the best hot dogs! They are from "Minute Market"-a small gas station in town.

Ian and Colin with Smokey the cat.

Working in Grandma's yard in the nice weather.

Me proud of the tobacco plant I pulled up.

Katie the dog. Grandpa LOVED his dog so much! And I am sure she misses him! She is expecting and will have puppies this winter.

Grandma, Ian and the cat.

Some of the Farris side of the family at a dinner/get together with everyone.

Ian and Colin with Grandma Farris.

Ian and Colin with Grandma and cousins MaryAnn, Beth, and Tara.

Ian and I with Grandma Scruggs. She took such good care of us while we were there!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN
Yesterday Ian turned 28---man he is getting OLD! We celebrated his birthday by going to McDonald's (Ian's choice) and taking advantage one last time of the 99 cent Big Mac special they had going on this month every Wednesday for the grand opening of another McDonald's in Draper. We also enjoyed his birthday cake---a mint oreo ice cream cake made by Judy(Ian's mom)

This cake is pretty much amazing!

HE'S LEAVING US IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK!
This picture was taken a few weeks ago for Colin. He is leaving here in a week to go on a mission to LA Spanish speaking! We are very excited for him! But things will definitely be different with him gone. We wish him our best!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
And today, we woke up to start off the Thanksgiving holiday with the traditional Human Race 5K in Draper. There was a HUGE turn out this year, which is great because the money raised goes to the church's Humanitarian Aid. They raised over $50,000.
I love running this race for two reasons 1-because it is fun and 2- because I can justify eating A LOT of food, which is what I did. Ian's parents had us over for the big Thanksgiving meal. It was yummy! Now we are going to look through the ads to see what deals there are for Black Friday tomorrow....another "tradition." And no work....YEAH!

My friend Jocelyn and I finally did an "official" run together. We had lots of fun!

Goodbye Apartment, Hello House

Ian and I are officially proud homeowners of this:
Last Wednesday we met to "close" or "sign away the next 30 years of our lives," and on Friday, the house became ours. We spent a lot of time over the weekend moving, and Ian finished up Monday.

We have mixed emotions, but overall are VERY excited for this new adventure. It's also nice to know that now our money is going towards something (yes, even if most of it is just going towards the interest for the first few years!) that will be beneficial to us.

What we'll miss:
*paying cheap rent
*paying REALLY cheap utilities
*living within walking distance of our friends
*the people in our ward
*our callings in the ward
*a 10 minute shorter commute to work(every minute in the car adds up---its not how I prefer to spend my time, but that's okay!)
*living SO close to many shopping areas

What we will NOT miss:
*scraping car windows in the winter (it snowed last night, and it was SOOOO nice to have a clean car pulling out of the driveway!)
*having to get onto or across 7th east (no matter what time of day---traffic was crappy!)
*sharing walls (although I think that played a part in our cheap utilities!)

*listening to obnoxious loud music(thanks to our neighbors)

Here we are pretty "homeless" looking, getting ready to sleep our first night at the new place.

I wish the house would magically clean itself, and that everything in it could put itself away in an organized manner! That would sure be nice!

I cringe when I think about this mess and the work it requires.

The snake gets his very own room---he is spoiled!

We aren't quite sure how we are going to fill the space. As you can see, it's definitely a change from our apartment! We'll now have plenty of room for any of you who ever want to come and visit!
Ki (the cat) found a new friend. You can see her glowing eyes if you look closely. He would NOT leave this door, and wanted to go out SO bad, but I wouldn't let him. We don't need any kittens around here!

WORST blogger ever!

That's me. I have officially given myself the title of WORST blogger ever! It's now been OVER a month, and no updates on the blog. I do have a list of excuses as to why this has happened.

They include, but are not limited to homework (yes school started for both myself and Ian), teaching Ian accounting (Because I like accounting A LOT, and Ian decided to take this class online,I have taken it upon myself to be his "real life" teacher, so he can understand it), working a lot (I do enjoy earning money to spend!), spending quality time with family (Katie, Chris and their boys came to visit for a few weeks, hence many get togethers), trying to go running to stay in somewhat of good shape (thanks to my new running partner and friend Jocelyn who makes me stay motivated!), making sure Ian doesn't fall from trees (Ian has been helping a few friends tear down/out some unwanted trees in their yards), preparing primary lessons(I still teach the 4 turning five year olds, and recently our ward split so I also now teach the 5 turning 6 year olds...they are so cute and fun!) shopping (everybody needs a new fall wardrobe....or at least a shirt or so), getting ready for enrichment night activities (we had another quarterly activity, which turned out nicely), not having the internet handy(don't feel like paying $30+ a month...yes, we are cheap!), going out of town(my work sent me to BOISE IDAHO to do some much needed inventory control---I know you are all VERY jealous!), being excited about new babies in the family(my sister Laura had her second baby, a boy named Dallas, he is SOOO cute, and my oldest sister Bethann will be having her third baby in a couple of weeks (or less)I was also excited to meet Ryan, my sister Katie's baby boy, who is so cute!) , crafting (it's been awhile since I have done a craft, but thankfully my sister invited me to her ward's super Saturday, where I made some fun wood decorations, a FHE board, and a couple of necklaces!) being supportive to my "quitter" husband (this is NOT how I view Ian, just so you know. Ian has been training to run the WASATCH 100 (yes, they run 100 miles) but due to health issues, Ian had to stop and drop out of the race after 53 miles! I still think that he still accomplished an AMAZING thing, and I was thankful to be able to pace him/walk with him, during his last 13.5ish miles) partying a lot(it seems like we've gone to quite a few birthday celebrations this month---good time of year to be born I guess) eating lots of good food with friends (Ken and Cheryl have invited us over and out to eat. We ALWAYS enjoy food!) taking care of our "baby"(the cat), being spiritually fed(I LOVE General Conference!)..etc. etc. etc.

So, in case you were wondering, that is pretty much what I/we have been up to this past month plus a week.