Losing Weight...

Yes, I am a fickle friend.

I realize that you've all given up on me/us because you all gave me grief for not ever posting anything new and I tried to be better but only got one post in. So, now I really do have to get down to business and start blogging again. The really etertaining thing is that it seems like half of my blog posts are about writing more blog posts! :0)

To be totally honest with you guys I haven't been very motivated to write any posts because I feel like I have to dig deep to find anything worth writing about. This is a confession because I'm admitting how discouraging I feel our life is lately. If I had a more positive outlook on our lives right now I would probably be sharing every detail of my daughter's life like most great mom's do. But considering that I haven't felt like I could put myself in that category then it really doesn't matter. And therein lies my problem...I am a good mom/decent mom and I realize that so don't feel like I'm really depressed but there have been a lot of things in my life lately that have been wearing on me and making me feel less and less like I have anything blog-worthy. Now that that's out you're probably all gonna worry about me. But don't, at least not a lot--everyone likes to be worried about a little!

So I guess the best I can do at this point is vent...

Let me start off by saying that I have no idea how you full-time working mom's last for as long as you do. Kudos to all of you because I'm definitely not your caliber!! I find that I'm becoming more and more impressed with women like that who seem to have it all together all the time--working, wife-ing, mom-ing...crazy impressive! I feel like I can only be so good one role at a time. Maybe I feel like a phenomenal employee one day (or maybe it could last a whole week), but then I get home and everything else has fallen through the cracks and my baby's eating three day old raisins off the floor that the broom never swept (cause it does sweep all by itself or why else would we always be leaving stuff on the floor, eh?). Or maybe I cleaned the whole entire house, fed the baby incredible food and got her to bed on time. The next day I get to work and have nothing left to give! I've heard that balance is the key and the concept seems clear enough but application is a lot trickier than it sounds. Sometimes I think that in order to balance my life out I'm gonna have to look like one of those crazy guys from cirque du soleil who balance their entire weight on a toothpick. Besides I've never had that great of coordination :0)

I feel that my lack of fervor for life is wearing on those around me and turning me into a person I don't wanna be. Who wants to be around someone like Eeyore the donkey who is always grey and has a lack-lustre outlook on life? Really, at heart I AM a happy-go-lucky type of person but anyone who only met me recently would probably have a hard time beleiving that. I find myself wondering "What happened to that old me?" The one in that photo from a couple years ago looking like I had the world on a string around my finger instead of the one taken recently where I look like I'm carrying the world on my back. Seriously guys, how do I go about emptying the weights that I feel like I'm having to bear lately??

Truly it's a little hard for me to vent like this because I don't want to weigh anyone else down or have you end up beleiving that I AM a depressed person who only ever complains (I feel like that's what I'm doing a lot lately). But I suppose everyone feels like this every once in a while and I'm hoping you can help me turn that frown upside down and feel blog-worthy again :0)

The end...finally right?

*Rachel*

P.S.

Yes, I am a cheater. Some of you have been asking why my April posts are just barely showing up on my blog. Well, to answer your question, it's because I cheat. There's an option when posting where you can change the date and time of your post...so there you go! Roughly translated, I am a slacker but I make it look like I'm not : ) So, basically, I didn't announce anything about my baby on my blog until June sometime but I wanted it to look like I was on top of things. The information is still all accurate though, I really did have my first appointment in the beginning of April and all that. I know, I'm silly, but I also figure that if I ever slurp my blog (send it to a publisher and get it turned into a hardcover book like shutterfly) then it will all be in chronological order according to how it occurred in my life. That's when my blog serves as more of a journal than anything else. Hence, you have to pay attention to my blog cause you never know when you'll find a new post! : )
Mystery solved!

Stay Classy Edward!

Okay, my husband wants to go see Twilight tonight because I finally got him to read (well, listen to) the book and he actually kinda liked it. But because I'm planning on going with him to see the movie again I've kinda had Twilight on the brain and I saw Robert Pattinson in the Yahoo news this morning when I checked my email at work today and I gotta say that I'm still not in love with him like I should be with Edward. When I saw the movie the first time I thought "well, he kinda grows on you...especially in that one scene when he's being so casual and smiles all cutely at Bella..." and... (I'm sure you can imagine how the rest of that train of thought went considering that I am a girl ; )

But, as I was looking at more photos of him again, I still look and my automatic first impression is "There is no way he's Edward!!!" I am sorry to all those who cast him but---No Cigar!!! I just don't agree with him in the role of Edward Cullen. For one thing I think that Robert is only really adorable when he smiles. Don't get me wrong, I think he can be plenty steamy (yes I did youtube videos of him when I first heard that he was the actor cast as Edward) but I just think he's not very attractive when he's being serious. His serious face is not that hott and that is just wrong because Edward is serious all the time and still looks like he's chiseled out of marble with the face of a fierce angel. Sorry, but I am pathetically among the crowd desperately in love (the fictional, sappy, girlie, fake kind of love of course) with Edward and can't stand that they did him wrong in the movie.

The other thing about Pattinson that I really have an issue with is a matter of interpretation about Edward's actual character, but I just assumed he would be more classy. More dapper or old fashioned in a sense--kind of like a slightly updated newsie (Christian Bale still holds a special place in my heart for that one). For one thing, I accidentally misread his character when I first read the books and thought for some reason that he had darker hair and so of course it's hard for me to change my first idea of his looks. But, in my head he seemed like more of a Tom Cruise (far & away version of course) than a sloppy kid. I know I'm wrong with the hair color but I still think that Edward holds onto his old fashioned tendencies a little more than they showed in the movie--he was born in the early 1900's for heaven sakes!!! I don't know about anyone else but I just think that he of all people would hold onto a little bit more of the old fashioned looks.

But the reason why he was on yahoo news was his lovely new haircut. Personally I think he looks more like Edward's character than he did with his tangly wild hair but lots of people are freaking out apparently. He got in trouble with all the movie directors and such because he obviously has to have similar type hair for New Moon when they start filming in March. I read an interview he did a while ago when he told the interviewer that he didn't get why everyone in America thought his hair was such a big deal. He told her that he wanted to cut it off but I never thought he'd actually follow through with that threat. I think it's quite funny actually! Here's a snapshot:

Anyway, that's my rant on Edward and the reason behind it along with some photos for your entertainment. Over and out!

An Update!

Okay guys, here it is, an update! You've all been asking for one for a while so I finally am doing it. Happy? Well, I'm doing it but I have no idea what to write about except for the fact that I almost just spelled write "right" so that pretty much shows how my life is going right now. I'm busy and I'm losing my mind. I think that my college education is already slowly slipping away and it's only been four or five months. At work we have been sold out and completely booked with Christmas parties so I've worked a little extra and things have been more stressful than ever with the staff. Not to mention that I've still had to prep a primary lesson and go to my own Christmas parties. By the time this week alone is over John and I will have gone to 4 Christmas parties--both our work parties and two of our friends' parties. And, three of them are white elephants which means that I will have been to WalMart at least once every night this week as well buying stinkin white elephant junk and last minute food/party items. Not to mention the extra house key I had to go get cut because I can't find my house keys. That keyring also has my office keys on it meaning that when I got to work today I didn't have a way into my office!!!! CRAZINESS!!! But I am very pleased with the way things are going with Scentsy. I am loving the product myself and it seems like everyone else does too. I'm also excited by the prospect of having a little extra fun stuff on the side (not that I need more to do) and an excuse to party with my friends. I've had my first two parties this month and I'm really looking forward to January because I'll be having a couple more parties. John started working at Kohl's too because he wanted a way to make extra money for the holidays too. But he works there after his other jobs which means that he doesn't get home until about 12:30 at night and I haven't been able to go to bed before he gets home. I am enjoying his discount though. We are both really looking forward to the holidays though--so much so that John's already given me most of my presents--but we are both very excited to see family and especially for James' wedding. This is a long post and you probably won't read it anyway because there aren't any pictures but oh well, at least I gave the people what they wanted.

Graduation!!

I finally graduated from BYU-Idaho after what seemed like forever. In reality it didn't take me too much longer than average to finish my degree. I earned a bachelors of arts in communications with a minor in French. I am glad it's all over with but am not quite sure what to do with myself...well, technically I could be unpacking but who wants to do that. Here are some photos of my graduation which was on July 18th 2008.

That's me by the pretty little Y-of-I made out of carnations.

That's me giving my valedictorian speech. : )

Really pretty flowers in front of the podium...

"Look Jay-chel Grampa's taking a picture!"
Me, my siblings, and my nephew

The ones who got me there!

Me, my hubby, and my sweet mother-in-law.

Me with one of my favorite teachers.

Most of the AVM Girlies!

Like mother like daughter.

Without him I wouldn't have made it either
Although I gotta admit he was a distraction occasionally : )

Everyone but Kyle made it over for the big event.

Buffalo Wing Thing

I've decided that one of my new favorite foods is the Buffalo Wing Thing pizza from Craigo's. It's kind of a funny story too because I was in a group for school and I told one of the group members that "I could have a hot and steamy love affair with that pizza." He laughed--who wouldn't :)--and told me that was ironic because he invented that pizza. Apparently at Craigo's they let their employees be creative with pizza toppings and sauces and such. So this is my shout out to James Rognon (not that he'll ever see this) the father, and creator of the most savory/delicious/scrum-diddly-umptious pizza I've ever had in my life! Ok, so that was a little over dramatic but I really do love that pizza!! I'll explain food-critic style:

The buffalo wing thing pizza is a brilliant combination of two classic American foods--spicy buffalo wings and pizza. The thick Craigo's crust is a perfect palette for this masterpiece which begins with a healthy slathering of barbecue sauce. This savory sauce is joined by deliciously melted mozzarella and warm tomatoes. Finally the creation is topped with the piece de resistance: the buffalo wing. This sweet and spicy combination sends the taste buds into a delighted frenzy urging for more, and before long an addiction is born bringing the cravings and withdrawal pangs along with it.

I know, being a food critic could have been my calling in life except I hate fish. Oh well, I'll have to stick with blogging about amazing foods.

Now that you know about my love affair with the buffalo wing thing pizza it is plain to see why I took my family to Craigo's for dinner the night of graduation and here, of course, are the photos to prove it:Aren't we so cute?!

Just chattin it up!

Ah, look at all those tasty Pepsi products.

num, num, num, num delicioso!

Notice how there aren't any more pictures after the food came...

The Joy of Animation

Today I decided that I really like it a lot when inanimate objects have personalities. May seem creepy so call me crazy, but when a sponge can walk and knives are watching a slasher film I am highly entertained. This is very Gilmore Girls of me I know but I find that life is much more interesting when you can interact with all of you kitchen appliances--"Well hello Mr. Toaster, how are you today?...Oh, no that's fine I have crumby days every so often too."
I found this clip that is one of my new favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM7flaAWJ_c

This may be one reason why I really like claymation--especially from the eighties. Better Off Dead for example has a classic claymation scene you should check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyxBh3C5kvo
(if you wanna see the whole movie because you thought that clip was so amazing and you're in the mood for a great 80's flick, don't worry I can loan it to you sometime)
And of course you can't talk about claymation without reminiscing about the great California Raisins. This one's a classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOQO5lq6bNk&feature=related
And of course, you've got your celebrity appearances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HEyGY--IIw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PNPw5ozU0U&feature=related

Photo Junkie!

Lately I've been taking a lot of photos and editing them in photoshop mostly because of my class requirements. But now I'm addicted! I am going to be editing for life and I'm pretty sure that I'll get the shakes if I go too long without photography. So, here are some cool websites I've found that have fed my addiction: www.brusheezy.com; www.dafont.com; and www.deviantart.com
They're pretty sweet!