Cancun!!!

Yay!! I’m finally writing a blog. I’ve been so busy with finals that I haven’t had time to write anything, nor have I had any motivation. Audrey, this is for you…now when are you going to update? I know finals are over, don’t kid yourself.
Zach and I went with some friends to Cancun for a week this last week. The each day on the trip one of us would say to the other couple “so, are you going to want to be our friends after this?” ha ha…we had soooo much fun. I’ll tell you EVERYTHING that happened but that means it’s going to be a looong blog. Dad says I can talk and I’m showing him it’s true.

The front of our hotel

The view from our balcony
When we got there we checked into our hotel and we were early for dinner so we decided to just walk around and acquaint ourselves with our new surroundings. There were Iguanas everywhere. They were huge too!

We walked to one of the big markets where they sell things and Preston, one of the people we went with, allowed me to believe that I could barter with anyone. He said that I could literally name my price and they would sell me whatever I wanted. Are you kidding me? Is it true? I’m here to tell you it’s not true. I wasn’t even shooting low on my prices because I was feeling bad for these people and they seriously kept laughing in my face. “You too low, you gotta let me make money. You are crazy, you don’t know what you’re buying here…this is real cotton…” Blah! I didn’t buy anything because I couldn’t even believe they laughed so hard. Rude. The next day we went on this boat tour where you take a speed boat through the “jungle”, maybe 16 miles they say, to this place where you go scuba diving. Let me tell you what an experience that was. I have always loved water. I love going to the lake and wake boarding and swimming and everything that comes with it. I lived not far from a beach for many years and to my knowledge I would always get in and have me a swim. Well, here we are in this gorgeous ocean about to scuba. Don’t you worry…I jump in the water and I’m pretty sure my scuba gear isn’t even on, therefore I have yet to put my head in the water. Yep, sure enough I see a shark. I start screaming, “Shark. Shark.” Zach grabs my arm and tells me to calm down. There aren’t any sharks. Ok so maybe I didn’t see a shark but I’m pretty sure at the time I thought I did. Then all of the sudden I realize there are tons of fish right next to me…uh duh…what did I think we were going scuba diving to see? Sunken ships? I started crying and really wanted to go back to the boat. After Zach calmed me down again I got brave and continued with the scuba experience. It really was an amazing experience and I’m so happy that I did it. I come home to find out from my mom that when we went to the beach I was scared of the ocean then too! Oops… The next day we went zip lining through this most incredible jungle I have ever seen. It consisted of 11 zip lines through the jungle 120 feet off the ground. I am deathly afraid of heights…I know, you’re thinking it seems I’m afraid of everything…it’s true, I am! I graciously let our guides know that I was freaking out and they took such good care of me! It was the most fun I’ve ever had. After we zip line they take you on a mountain biking trail. It was neat but the only thing I learned from that is I hate exercise and that’s why I’m getting fat. Now that’s not a very good life to live. I just have to figure out what to do about it. Most likely call the Mendenhall’s for help and learn to run or something! I’ve noticed Stacey and Ryan have gotten pretty good and I’m thinking there could someday be hope for me too! Anyway, the mountain bike trail took us to this sink hole or “cenote”. It was several hundred feet deep of natural water, no salt. It was amazing. There was a zip line that you could take in, but there was quite a drop. I never got in because it had snakes and…well…it had snakes! Later that night my amazing friends entered me into a singing competition. Don’t worry, I won. Yep it’s true. I know dad, I’ve been trying to tell you it’s my calling. I mean sure it wasn’t about who sung the best, it was about who knew the most songs, but is that really the point here? We did so many things this week scuba, zip line, boat tours, mountain bike, lay out, eat, swim, boogie board, almost get killed by the boogie board, bleed because of almost getting killed by the boogie board, convince myself a shark would find me if I’m bleeding in the ocean, run out of ocean, trip on rock, get stung by something that’s not right (that was Zach by the way) and it was such a good time to just get away from reality…work, school…um, well work and school! The locals in Cancun are so much fun to be around and they teach you so much. We asked so many questions and they were always gracious enough to educate us. I learned on this trip that I’m not graceful and I had many injuries not necessarily worth discussing. Know that I’m ok and we made it out alive. However, the plane ride home was horrifying and I’m embarrassed to say that I cried. So what you guys learned from this trip is that I’m a crybaby. You can also take with you that I have the most patient husband on earth who will get me through anything with so much love and attention I wouldn’t know what to do without him. It’s good to be home and eating good food again!

Some random snake we found at the mall named "Tiny"

Holiday Tag...Thanks Amy!

I just got so excited!! I’ve never been tagged before…ever! I’ve always wondered what it was like to do a tag.

Top 3 Vacations
1. Cancun – I assume…I’m going in 6 weeks so I will later confirm.
2. Georgia – since that is where my fabulous family resides.
3. Not a huge traveler so I’ll stick with the two for now!

Top 3 Favorite Flowers
1. Daisies – My wedding flower.
2. Lily's – Another wedding flower.
3. Birds of Paradise – Also part of my wedding.

Top 3 favorite comfort foods – I would like to preface this with it’s really rude to make someone pick their top 3 favorite comfort foods…
1. My mom’s fried chicken and fried potatoes.
2. My mom’s meatloaf – I’m not just making that up either.
3. My mom’s enchiladas.
4. My mother-in-law’s chicken with lemon chive sauce.
5. Bagel sandwiches.
6. Plain bagel extra toasted with garlic schmear.
7. Pickled cherry peppers.
8. My mom’s fried pork chops.
9. Lot’s of other food I’m sure my mom would fry for me
~This my friends is why I had to quit my skinny jeans!

Top 3 Places to Shop
1. Nordstrom – mostly for the Mac makeup…ADDICTION!
2. Gap
3. Yep, no more of a shopper than I am a traveler. We’ll call it good at two.

Top 3 Opinions About Halloween – I will try to keep the Halloween Grinch to a minimum.
1. Carving pumpkins is lame!
2. I don’t even get candy because I don’t have kids and the candy I do buy the kids come to my door and steal. AND when they come to the door I feel all awkward and wonder what I’m suppose to say. Ugh…I’m working on it I swear.
3. I do love to decorate my house for Halloween. I just don’t love the un-decorating. Hey, for the most part that was a non Halloween Grinch thing to say. I think I’ve made progress.

Top 3 Opinions About Thanksgiving
1. It helps me remember everything I am thankful for and reminds me to count my blessings.
2. It’s a day I usually get to spend with family and for that I am lucky.
3. I wish I could take naps because it does get a little lonely after dinner. Everyone wants to take a nap yet none of the men let me change the channel from football because they claim they are “just resting their eyes”. Whatever, I swear I will get a hold of the remote this year.

Top 3 Opinions About Christmas
1. It is seriously the most amazing time of year. The spirit in the air is fabulous!
2. I love Christmas music and started listening to it on Saturday right after I was sure Halloween was over. I would transfer straight to Thanksgiving or Kwanza music but most the songs I know that go with those Holidays are from Adam Sandler and aren’t always appropriate.
3. Snow makes me happy and especially on Christmas day!

Top 3 things I look forward to during the week
I have a pretty uneventful life as it stands right now. Work, school, school, I guess there is some work in there…and then there is school. Oh I do get to see Zach some. Wait, do I? Yeah, I think so. Okay so I look forward to seeing Zach.

Top 3 Events Happening This Week
1. My month end late night – probably coming Wednesday!2. I get to see Aida on Friday with my mother-in-law and cousin-in-law and I’m soooo excited. It’s tied for my favorite musical next to Mama Mia!
3. Stefanie’s house warming party – go us..it’s her birthday…Oh, well her house warming party I mean.

Now I am going to tag......Marcy Cheney, Stefanie Eberhard, Audrey Cheney, & Andrea Gray!

I am not a quitter...Well, I wasn't!

I want to make it clear that I am not a quitter. I’m not, I swear. Ever since 7th grade when I quit the swim team and shortly thereafter tried to quit the track team and my dad made it clear to me that quitting is not the answer I have not been a quitter. I do not intend to start now. There is the time that I quit the diet…and the gym…and the skinny jeans but those were just unreasonable requests and I do not feel that these quits count! I have been begging Zach forever now to carve pumpkins with me for Halloween. I think every year since we met. Then time passes and no pumpkins get carved. This year I bought the pumpkins and the carving kit and we were on our way. I was soooo excited. I cannot even begin to share my excitement. We picked our stencils and we were off. Um, well Zach was off. I did my first cut into the eyebrow – ugh, I was seriously so annoyed. I could not believe how boring this was. I cringe at the thought. In fact after this post I do not intend on ever discussing or participating in pumpkin carving again. I’m not kidding, try me. After my quick moment of despair happiness sunk in. I knew that Zach was dreading the night the entire day so I was sooooo excited to give him an easy out. After just seconds from the start I told him that I was bored and he was lucky because I wasn’t going to force him to carve pumpkins with me. Wow, a man I thought I knew so well blindsided me unexpectedly. I got the same speech from him that I got from my dad in 7th grade. “You need to finish what you start, blah blah blah.” Luckily I hadn’t carved my pumpkin an ear yet so I had someone…something to tune out the lame speech with me! I quit. He couldn’t make me carve that most retarded pumpkin. I have a life you know. After much guilt tripping I finally gave in and carved the stupid pumpkin. Oh I don’t know if anyone has ever mentioned this before but I’m incredibly stubborn. I was not about to carve the stupid stencil. That would take way too much time and precision. Instead I turned the lame pumpkin around and carved my own little 30 second face. I just finished my art class this summer I was at least cut out to free carve. And I did..I think I clocked me at just under 30 seconds. AND 30 minutes later Zach was finished with his. I must say he did an excellent job for someone who was dreading pumpkin carving. After all was said and done he said he would do it again next year. If anything good came from pumpkin carving it was just another agreement on how to raise our kids. We agreed that I’ll take them to theme parks and he can carve ridiculous pumpkins. I will never carve another pumpkin. Maybe I’ll paint one next time!

Here is the stupid stencil of what my pumpkin was supposed to look like.

This is me making an extremely good judgment call and overrulling my stencil.

Zach's perfect artwork...he really surprised me. I'm a proud wife.

Our perfect match!!

Welcome to Texas

I had to go to Houston, Texas a couple weeks go for a business trip. I was so excited because of course my other favorite people live there. I cannot tell you how long it’s been since I have seen my cousin Audrey. Actually I can, it was the Cheney reunion the summer of 07. So there you have it, it’s been too long. Audrey and I always got a long so good. When I spent the summers at my dads Audrey and I were stuck at the hip. She was the trouble maker and I was the peace maker. Wait, is that how it went? Audrey made the drive and picked me up from the airport when I arrived on Wednesday. We went back to her seriously darling house and before we did anything I took out my detective notebook (you know, the little handheld notebooks that fit within pocket protectors) and took notes on all her decorating ideas. Before you know it there won’t be a bit of difference between the two houses. Aud - your amaze me with your decorating. I have a feeling Jimmy helped!! Then Audrey made me a gourmet lunch; a hot pocket. Not something I have successfully cooked, therefore it was gourmet. After a while we went to Uncle Tom’s and Aunt Cindy’s. I was sooo excited to see them. I’ve always had a really special relationship with my Uncle Tom and will forever be grateful. It was so nice to visit with them both for such a long time. They called in dinner from this delicious Mexican restaurant. It just so happens that Mexican food is my favorite! They must have known. Before and after dinner I got to play with Audrey’s perfect little children Landon and Emma. We caught two tree frogs and by we I mean Aunt Cindy and Landon. That was right up my alley considering I’m addicted to frogs of all sorts. I had so much fun playing with them and I find myself now missing them. I’m so happy that I got to spend time with this side of my family. Since we moved and they moved shortly after we have had very little time to sit and chat. Thanks Audrey for driving me around the city, thanks Jimmy for giving up the wife for an evening to drive me around the city, and thanks Uncle Tom and Aunt Cindy for having me to your house for dinner. It was the best; you guys are all the best. I love you!!

Um, seriously, how cute is she? I can't even handle it!

Emma

Yep, again...amazing. Audrey, I cannot believe you created her. I guess with Jimmy's help I can believe it. Just kidding, it's no shock to me.

The family, minus Jimmy who is taking the picture. Thanks Jimmy!

My cute neices and Halloween = Disaster!

Around mid October Cori and Brandon invited us to go with them to take Launa and Teiha to a little kids spook alley thing that a woman from Cori’s work put together. I told Cori from the very beginning that it was a bad idea. I have never been around two kids that are so afraid of their own shadows…besides myself at age 5…through 22. Last year we went to dinner with them around Halloween and there was a Frankenstein in the restaurant and they freaked out. Teiha LITERALLY forced herself to fall asleep at the table because she was so scared to have to see him. He was the nicest Frankenstein ever too. So funny. So because of this experience I just knew that Launa and Teiha couldn’t handle a spook alley, even if it was for 2 year olds. Bless their hearts. So we get there are they are doing ok. We get to the front and there is this witch that told the girls that if they are scared they just yell “boo” and the scary people will leave them alone. We walked through the first 5 steps of the spook alley and came to another witch who basically wanted to tell them their future. She asked them to come closer and they started screaming from the top of their lungs…sweet Cori decided that was the funniest thing she has ever witnessed and couldn’t stop laughing, at her own kids. My heart broke and I just started yelling “boo”. We walked the remaining 45 steps saying, “boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo”. I was carrying Teiha because she would not let go of me and I think Zach had Launa…maybe Cori did. Anyway, the poor people working were probably incredibly bored for that 3 ½ minutes. They were forced to completely stop participating for the time being. When we were done we were laughing so hard. We asked Launa and Teiha if they had fun and I think because we were laughing so hard they thought they better say they did. So of course since it was so much fun we asked if they wanted to do it again and they were very quick to yell “no, but we did have fun.” Uh huh, sure ya did! The rest of the night Teiha kept asking if the scary witch was going to be where she could see her. I think for a week straight Teiha inquired about witches and other scary creatures. So sad and sooo funny all at the same time.

This is Teiha as a pretty witch... not sure where her hat landed.

This is Launa as a pretty witch; how cute is her little pose?

Me with both of them. They are seriously perfect!!!

U of U Game!

Oops…I have not posted in a loooong time. My bad. Not that anyone cares! Several weeks ago Zach’s fabulous sister Heidi and brother-in-law Jon along with their son Tyler and Jon's brother Todd so kindly invited us to share in their season tickets to the Utah game. It was a lot of fun. I quite enjoyed myself because Heidi is a people watcher as am I. We did a lot of talking and a little game watching. I learned that they have a lot of yummy treats there and if you go with a 4 year old you actually have better excuses to buy and eat those treats. Did I already mention they were yummy? But did I mention how yummy they were? Once the Utes had a fairly large lead I went with Heidi to take Tyler (our cute nephew) to see the fountain. There was a humungous beast employee …humungous is explaining the extent of her beastliness, not her size…she seriously unnecessarily yelled at Tyler not to put his hands in the water and made the little fella cry. Then there were like 5 other kids being much more dramatic in the fountain than Tyler was. She very much annoyed me, but such is life when you share a world with beasties! So I don’t have great pictures to accompany this post but I’ll share what I have…

Zach and I in our freshly purchased Utes gear!

My cute darling sister-in-law Heidi... I don't know why it looks like John is hiding, he loves getting his picture taken. Must have been a fluke.

Like I said before my brother-in-law loves getting his picture taken but something must have gone wrong with the camera...he'll be happy to see that I at least got a really amazing profile shot of him and really Todd too!

Thanks guys for the invite. We had fun!!!

Advice or suggestions from ANYONE!

I LOVE my house, seriously I do. I unfortunately was cursed with the non ability to have any taste or passion for design. I lie, I think I have the passion I just don’t have the taste. If someone shows me something that is well designed I have the ability to know for myself if I like the look or not. However, I cannot for the life of me come up with my own ideas. SO….I am soooo bored with my house. It’s nice, I believe it’s decorated tastefully, but it’s pretty barren. All I really want to do to change things up a bit is paint a wall or two. I have been thinking for weeks what wall/walls I should paint. Here is my plea to you. Will ANYONE who has good taste please come to my house and give me a few ideas? Do you charge for your service? I’m sure we can work something out!! If you are a blog stalker and you can help, please for the kindness of humanity help. If I don’t know you I only have to quickly complete a background check and then you’re welcome to my house…or not complete a background check, we’ll talk! Not only will I feel as though I accomplished something that many adults can do on their own but it’s a good excuse to do lunch with a friend, or make a new one [:)]! Do I sound pathetic? Good, I am! It should make you want to help me even more. It’s true, I’m begging. I do those kinds of things. Thanks in advance, I’m sure we’ll talk soon…hint, hint!!!

Three-Year Anniversary

Friday was me and Zach’s three year anniversary. I’m not sure if we are still considered “newlyweds” or not. Some say if you are married two years or more you are no longer newlyweds and some say you are if you are married 5 years or less. I’m not sure who write the rules but I’d like to speak to him/her. I’m curious what justifies a newlywed. I say we will always be newlyweds because we will always make sure it feels “new”. Wow, that was just really sweet of me. I knew it was in there. Anyway, we don’t have any tradition per se; we just like to go to a nice restaurant and whatever else. Since I have met Zach I’ve been known to be a story teller. Whatever, fine…some would say it started long before I met Zach. Anyway, he seriously believes anything I say. I would say over the last year he has started calling my bluff but I can get him to recant that pretty quick if I try hard enough. So a couple of days ago I asked Zach if he has done any anniversary shopping lately. He said something like, “why, you think it takes months or something?” I told him that with the budget we set for each other he might of wanted to start early (this is funny because we have never discussed anniversary gifts…we just do whatever). He thought I was being serious, like maybe we really gave each other a budget. I told him that we talked about it a while ago and we agreed to spend at least $300 on each other this year since it’s year three and I think it needs to be special. He believes me…does he seriously think that I really want $600 spent for our anniversary? I felt really bad because his face was something of shock and disbelief. I’m usually begging him not to get me anything because I honestly don’t understand the point behind it. Well anyway, I told him I was kidding because I was feeling bad. He did give me some fabulous roses and we went to dinner at Spencer Steak & Chops or something. It was so tasty!

My Education...

It’s no secret that I am in school right now trying to better my future…or not better my future. Why you ask would I possibly be risking “not bettering my future”? Well the longer I’m in school I’m starting to wonder how educational school has really been for me. Maybe it’s me and maybe I’m missing something from the syllabus’ but as far as I can recall there are some things I have yet to learn. Who knows, maybe this particular piece of information I’m yearning for doesn’t come until senior year. Since none of my college professors find it necessary to teach me I must come to you. Can anyone please explain to me the phrase…or word…or words…”believeyoume”? Is it “believe-you-me”, just plain “believe you me”, or “believe, you, me”? So that’s the first question, my next question is what does it mean? I caught myself at work the other day accidently using this word, words, or phrase. I was so irritated. I think if I had the option I would have left work early. I could not believe this had just come out of my mouth. That moment really solidified for me that sometimes I just don’t know what the H I’m talking about. Seriously, why would I even say that when I don’t know what it even means? I asked around and I’m pretty sure I used it in the correct context and yet no one could tell me what that context is. Are you serious? I wanted to throw up; I still want to throw up. Yesterday morning I went to my human anatomy class and asked my teacher to better educate me and he laughed like I was insane? Ok, sure…he teaches Anatomy and not English but aren’t they supposed to get their generals complete in school before they become teachers? How did he not at least learn this? ANY information and/or thoughts are heavily requested here. I’m seriously losing sleep…

Is minor addiction always a bad thing?

I ask this because I think I have developed a minor addiction. This has done nothing for me except boost my self esteem. Tel l me how that can be bad…(hey dad, if you are reading this try to remember that not everything that goes through your head needs to be said out loud). There are a few others this bit of advice might be useful for as well, you know who you are! We have this fun place in Salt Lake called Boondocks and let me tell you I have become addicted. I’m like a child again…and some would say “again” isn’t really appropriate to use here. Anyway, Zach and I go and race the racecars and my discovery is that I am really good at it. I told my mama that I would post a picture but even though I took my camera I was too busy kicking butts to take the picture. I’m not generally a competitive person but for some reason if you put me in these cars all bets are off. We went last Saturday with some friends and I got out in front and there was this car tailing me so bad that he kept hitting my back bumper. I kept hearing this little voice get so annoyed, but I wasn’t going to let up. Not for anyone. When I looked back I could see Zach and our friends dying of laughter but I didn’t know why. I couldn’t see the person that kept hitting me in the back because he was too close. Anyway when the race was over (and I won) Zach and our friends pulled up behind me and I asked them why they were laughing and they pointed to their left and there was this little boy just behind me seriously about to cry. Had I known I was competing with a 7 year old the race may have ended differently. You know, me in 2nd or something. Ok, it’s true, I’m a terrible person…had I known I was competing with a 7 year old I would have still stomped all over him but I might have been yelling sorry during the race instead of hysterical laughter. We all have our faults right? I don’t even see how that 7 year old was over 36 inches anyway. He should have stuck to his little kid track and left to big doggs to do their business!!!

Officially domesticated?

So I have some good updates on my former posts. Today Zach went to his “hip” doctor…not hip as in he’s way cool but hip as in the joint that connects your femur to your pelvis. His doctor said that he is in excellent condition. The weirdest thing happened though through his recovery. His scar tissue traveled from his thigh to his lower back…strange, but doctor Hawes said he will still be swollen for the next six months or so which means the scar tissue can still shrink. Dr. Hawes also said that the hip looks really good in the sense that Zach probably isn’t going to get the necrosis – something something. Something about his hip can still die from lack of blood from the injury and if it did he would have to have total hip replacement. Yeah, that’s it. Anyway, the X-Ray was looking good but just in case he has to go back in March for one last check-up. Keep your fingers crossed that everything continues to go well.
Next – I cooked dinner. It’s true that I occasionally cook but nothing too exciting. This time I cooked without a cook book and no input from my fellow peeps. I tried to call my mom to find out how to make her delicious fried chicken but she was too busy to answer my call so I had to go on…after a moment of tears. Yes, so I cooked fried chicken, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy, corn on the cob and for the hell of it I made onion rings (incredibly healthy) and a sweet potato haystack. Um, interesting mix it’s true. The verdict from Zach was…….DELICIOUS! It was actually kind of fun too. So now I’m wondering if I might not be so bad if I could just learn a thing or two. I do keep telling Zach that if he would buy me one of those things (I think they are actually people) that would come up and do all the prep for me to cook I would cook for him on a more regular basis. Something about those cost money and we aren’t rich. Here’s to hoping...

Memories...what would we do without those memories?

It's true, I was singing!

I saw this on other's blogs and I love it! I sure hope everyone can come up with a memory we have shared. Yes, yes I am begging.

Here are the directions:
1. Add a comment on my blog of a memory or two that you and I had together. It can be anything fun that you remember. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot or not at all, just put any memories you have.
2. Re-post these instructions on your blog. Try to keep it going on your blog with your friends!

Yay! Should be fun!

What a wonderful world...

That’s how my mom started her last blog post so I figured it was only appropriate to start mine that way as well. This last week I have been reminded that we really do live in a wonderful world but also a very unpredictable world. My mom and dad found out last week that my dad is in stage 4 kidney disease. There is no real answers as of yet how long his kidney’s have been progressing on a downward path. His doctor did say that he was not far from stage 5 which is kidney failure. As my mom mentioned he will be going through a battery of tests over the next several weeks and when he goes back August 25th to get the results of these tests he will likely be put on a transplant list. My dad was extremely sick when I was around 10 years old and because he is a fighter he made it through with real strength. During that time, even though I believe I was close with my dad I really missed out on a lot. My dad lived about 3 hours from us and we did not get to see him often. Honestly until I became older I didn’t understand how sick my dad really was or even how much I really missed out on. Here is why I believe our world is wonderful. I get to thank God every day that he gave me and my dad the opportunity to grow closer. Now my dad is EVERYTHING to me. He is seriously so amazing; it’s hard for me to consider that my dad has trials ahead because he has always been “invisible” in my eyes. In the sense that nothing can touch him…maybe that’s his superhero power! I thank God every day that I get to be with my dad this time during these next trials. My parents are so amazing…to them they just look at this as another bump in the road that dad will get through and as mom said “live life normal and plan to do the things they have always wanted to in their own way.” In my heart I too know that everything will be ok. My mother-in-law Diane donated one of her kidney’s to her sister Cathy over 20 years ago and God bless Cathy, that kidney helped her live more of an amazing life. Our trials could be so much worse and I remind myself that constantly. I really am so lucky to have such an incredible dad!!!

A Blog About Nothing…Or Something…

So I don’t generally like to talk about myself (it’s true, this point can be argued); I can’t help it this time because I’m super…yes super excited! I’m in school right now majoring in accounting and I’m working really hard. Zach keeps forgetting he’s married because he’s so lonely. Poor fella’…I did marry a patient one. Anyway, they have been giving me more and more responsibilities at work (I work in accounting as well) and finally it turned into an official promotion! I just became the Staff Accountant. I’m very excited because it’s just confirmation that what I have been working so hard towards is paying off. That is all…

Oh Cute!!!

Okay so I went to dinner last night with one of my favorite friends that I haven’t seen in sooooo long Lizz Pizza. She is having a minor quarter life crisis…we all have them. Maybe I had mine at 12 and it was called a 1/7 life crisis but I’m thinking it was the same thing. Unless that was me going through “the change”. Anyway, we decided to drive downtown and get our ears pierced. We have both had it done in the past but for one reason or another we took them out. We had a lot of fun just hanging out and now we have BFF piercings! Everyone is Lizz’s BFF! J/k. I love you Lizz and I’m glad I finally got some time with you!

This is us in the car after we did it!

This is a close-up (obviously).

Right or Wrong?

Okay so I think I need a little feedback. The whole growing up crap that I’m going through has really started to become overrated. Since I got married we bought a town house so that’s a responsibility I don’t particularly care for. You know the whole payment shiz and then there’s decorating and cleaning…and everything I’m no good at. As if that wasn’t enough. Zach thinks he has to go and mature beyond his young 27 years. Sometimes I call him dad because he acts so grown up. I’m not completely prepared for it. So my question is this…If you were at a restaurant where they have tables that they seat more than just your party and you were the last at the table and you happened to look at someone else’s bill is that a problem? I am by nature a fairly nosey person. Not in the sense that I care what others are doing so I can judge because I don’t. I really could care less what people do or how they live their lives…I’m just curious. I live vicariously through others through People Magazine and US Weekly. To my point I suppose. Tonight Zach and I went to Tepenyaki for my birthday and we sat next to this very nice couple. I could tell their big agenda was money. That’s all they talked about throughout the entire dinner. She spilled on his shirt (can’t tell ya how that happened) and she said, “oh babe, I just spilled on your Versace shirt.” Seriously? Seriously? Seriously? Was that so necessary? How about the standard classic, “oops, sorry about that!” When they left Zach and I were the only two left at the table…hell, I think we were the only two left in the restaurant. I couldn’t help myself. I can’t explain why but I was so curious if they were good tippers. I took a glance around and when no one was watching I opened the black book to see what kind of tip they left on their credit card receipt. Immediately Zach gave the little dad snap, “Sara, you don’t do that!” Oh really dad, don’t I? I just did. I asked him why that was wrong and he couldn’t really say. He said, “it just is.” So I have to ask my peeps…was that so wrong? I didn’t look at their names or bank info…just the tip. In case anyone was wondering they weren’t fabulous tippers….standard 20%. Thanks Versace shirt wearers for not making me feel cheap!

Happy 4th of July...Belated!

In “Sara fashion” I’m going to start making all of my blogs belated. It’s my goal. From now on I’m not posting any of my updates on time. Lucky for me, it’s called “Sara fashion” for a reason. The beauty of my goal is that I don’t even have to try. I absolutely HATE when people are late with things and for some reason I can’t seem to do anything on time. Hmmmm, I think they call people like me hypocrites. What to do…what to do. So I wanted to post about my 4th of July! By the way, happy belated 4th of July. We had so much fun. Zach, me, Cori, Brandon, Launa & Teiha all drove to Casper Wyoming for my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary! It also doubled as a family reunion. Usually when we do a family reunion on my mama’s side it’s on the 4th of July weekend. Anyway almost everyone that came stayed in the same hotel and it happened to be the hotel the party was at! It made everything very close and convenient. I haven’t seen this side of my family in 4 years! It was soooo good to see everyone. We always pick up right where we left off. I’m technically the “step” grandchild, cousin, niece on this side of my family and I love them more than they will ever know because they have never made me feel “step”. In fact I don’t think I have ever heard a single one of them ever mention that word! I can’t even think of a time in my parents’ marriage where “Marcy” – my mom – has ever introduced us as her step kids. And to me Marcy has never or will never be known to me as my step mom. I'm so lucky to have two moms! How amazing is that? We didn’t see fireworks this year but we did have a lot of fun. Jarod and I were BEST friends in high school and since I have moved back to Salt Lake we have naturally drifted apart. Only in the sense of how often we talk and small things like that. Oh, and I only get my butt smacked once a year now instead of 8 times a day! Don’t ask…or judge…please! We will always be incredibly close. Anyway, he and Lindsay flew up too and so it was fabulous spending time with them. It’s good to spend more and more time with Lindsay. I did learn this weekend that I wasn’t exactly welcoming to her when she became a part of the family. For that I feel really terrible. I didn’t realize how protective over Jarod I was. He picked a good one though; she keeps in right in line! I am so grateful for my GIGANTIC FAMILY from all over the place. I sure wish I got to see more of everyone. I love you guys so much!

Dad & Teiha. He is such an amazing grandpa! Though I don't know first hand because I don't have kids and for that I'm pretty sure I just got taken out of the will.

Grandma & Grandpa. Such a great example of what true love is.

Zach & me Dad & me All the kids minus Kyle (he sadly couldn't make it) The whole immediate family (minus Kyle)

My Husband is Incredible!!!

So Zach had his 8 week doctor’s appointment for his hip on Friday. The appointment went SO good! Dr. Hawes (Zach’s Hawesome Doctor…..ha ha ha ha I’m laughing at my own joke) told Zach the break couldn’t look better. He said he actually could no longer even see the break. There was one part of the pelvis that broke off when the femur came out of socket (well most the femur, the rest was sheered off by the pelvis) that he couldn’t fix because he couldn’t find the broken bone inside him and he wanted to limit the amount of metal that went in; anyway, he said that part actually filled itself in which isn’t very common. Go Zach! So Dr. Hawes told Zach to wean himself off crutches within the next week during physical therapy. When we got to the parking lot Zach tried to put full weight on his leg. He said it was hard because his leg felt like jell-o. Literally less than 2 hours later he called me at work saying he was walking normal with full weight and no crutches. He’s insane. He hasn’t touched the crutches since and I’ve never seen him happier….besides our wedding day when he was ecstatic….mmmmm hmmmm! The doctor told Zach he could play basket ball within 1-2 months but not at full speed. Zach is giving himself 3 months so he can just concentrate on working out to the fullest and going back, excuse me but, “balls to the wall”. Then I’m thinking he’ll make himself eligible for the 2009-2010 NBA draft! Ha – he can dream…we can dream! MONEY and a job he loves, who wouldn’t want that? Anyway, I just needed to brag a little. I’m so proud of his recovery and I think I did more complaining than he did!

I'm thinking this face is saying, "if you take one more picture of me I'm going to throw our computer through a window so you can't blog anymore!"

This is him at the physical therapist's office making his first appointment!

Yay for recovery!!!

Baby Steps...

It’s true, I can’t stop smiling. Who knew that a trip to the grocery store could be soooo much fun? As I once mentioned I am not a chef…heck I am not a cook…who am I kidding I can’t cook a bowl of cereal. Maybe that’s my first problem. I don’t think you are supposed to cook a bowl of cereal…are you? Just kidding; maybe I don’t give myself enough credit. Okay so I don’t cook and it’s probably something I’ll never pick up…or don’t intend to pick up anyway. I do however do a mean load of laundry, I can vacuum like a maniac, and I can even clean a toilet better than Mr. Clean himself. Anywhoo, since I don’t cook I’m not always sure what to buy at the grocery store. Zach has never liked grocery shopping but I think about 3 months into our marriage he learned if he didn’t come with me to help pick food out he probably wouldn’t eat. Bless his sweet sole. I love when he comes to the grocery store with me. He is such a big help. Ha ha, I make him sound like he’s 3. He really helps though because he gives me such great ideas. Well, I think I’ve told you all that 8 weeks ago Zach broke his hip. Life has pretty much been at a stand still because there isn’t a lot he can do right now. Onto the good news…He FINALLY came shopping with me again. I was so lucky because he was not really up for the embarrassment of…See Below:

Yes, that’s right – THE SCOOTER! Ha ha ha ha ha, he is so freaking cute. He just rode along with me on his little scooter. I should say on his man scooter. I mean this was no ordinary scooter; I can’t explain why but just trust me. Zach will kill me when he sees this post. The entire time we were there he was bright red with embarrassment. I honestly almost felt bad for asking (making) him come with me. He kept saying, “Sara people can’t even see a cast, they probably think I’m faking.” It was darling!

This is us just about to leave the store. I MADE him take pictures and he was dying. He was so embarrassed. In fact my excitement carried on the whole way home and his embarrassment continued as well. I danced and sang and danced and danced…and sang and danced! He finally said, “do you only do things like this to embarrass me?” Ha ha, good thing he knows he can’t get away from me now! I love him so much and I especially love his willingness AND patience to put up with my insanity!

Belated Father's Day!

So in Sara fashion I’m posting a touch late for Father’s Day! I just wanted to tell my dad and all the dad’s in my life happy father’s day. I want to start off by telling my father-in-law thanks for everything he has done. He has raised such a special man (by special, I don’t mean short bus) for me to marry. Randy is always so calm and quiet so when he talks our ears naturally perk up because if words are going to come out of his mouth they must be good. Randy and I bonded almost right away after meeting. He likes to hang out in his room and watch fishing and for some reason that just didn’t sit right with me. Why would he want to be alone when he could hang out with me? Looking back I realize now he didn’t want to be in his room but knew I was coming and ran….fast! Don’t worry I always tracked him and watched fishing with him. By year 2 I think he thought I knew so much about fishing he wanted to take me on his next journey. He also learned I knew very little, if not nothing; I just read a lot online before I got to his house. My dad, grandpa, & brother have always called me Mae and once Randy found out my middle name I don’t think he ever stopped. Now in turn I call him Allen (his middle name). Randy, I just wanted to say thanks for welcoming me into you family with such wide open arms.

Onto my grandpa’s. I have the best grandpa’s a girl could ask for. I remember when I was little my Grandpa Cheney always let me sit on his lap and he would let me sit there for days if I wanted to. He has the loudest most contagious laugh that we grandkids couldn’t help laugh when we heard him. My parents split when I was very young and grandpa always made sure every chance he got to make sure I was doing okay. He’s always been excepting of my life and I appreciate him for that. My grandpa Morrell also has a special place in my heart. We lived with him for a brief period in my childhood (don’t worry, thanks to that I got the lead in my 2nd grade musical. My career just skyrocketed at that point. Well up until the end of 2nd grade anyway.) and he always did what he could to make us feel like it was our home. Then there is my grandpa Quick. What a man. My dad and mama were married when I was very little but still old enough to know that I wasn’t born into his family. If I didn’t know any better though I’d think we were blood. He also has called me Mae since as far back as I can remember and I know that’s a special bond we have. I don’t feel he has ever treated me any different than his other grandchildren and for that I am so very thankful. I love my grandpa’s so much and I hope they all know that.

Last but not least…another saying I use but I hate. My fabulous father. I have always heard that a girl looks for someone that reminds her of her dad to be her future husband. In my case this was just not true, but that’s only because I already had the spot filled. My dad and I are absolutely identical in personality. No matter what the occasion is if my dad and I are together for too long we are bound to have some silly argument at some point in time. They usually only last 2-5 minutes but they are there and they are tense. I was just talking to Zach about this 2 nights ago. Zach has gotten to spend a lot of time with my dad for the most part but it’s usually for some occasion so there are a lot of other people around. It hasn’t given my dad and Zach the quality time that I think is important they have. We went to GA for Spring Break this year and spent several days with them without a bunch of other company. When we left Zach’s exact words to me were “I had no idea you were the spitting image of your dad, you are identical in personality.” Of course he threw the word “personality” in because we don’t really look a like. Dad gave me all the good looks! Ha ha. I’m kidding, no I’m not…well, yes I am. To finish his quote he said, “no wonder you fight, you're constantly fighting for attention.” That hit the nail on the head. My dad and I are both very dramatic people when we want to be and it just happens that when we are together is when we both choose to be dramatic. My dad is who gave me my sense of humor. Granted it's not always appropriate but it's there thanks to him! I lied when I said Zach wasn’t like my dad. He’s just like him in all the ways that are important to me. He has such integrity, pride, love for me, and so many more qualities I couldn’t be more thankful for. Dad, thanks for showing me that I deserve the best in everything I do and everything I want and strive for. Because of you I will never sacrifice. I love you so much and hope you always remember that.

Amazing!!!

So I have the most amazing story to share with you guys. My sister Cori called me a couple days ago to tell me this and I about died. She works at a family practice clinic and a few weeks ago this guy came in and she was getting all his vitals and whatever and as she was puting him in his room to wait for the doctor he told her that she had such a familiar sole (a lovely sole I'll add). When he was leaving the office he told her that she is so great and he would just love to work with her every day because of her cheeryness (is that a word?). Anyway, this man came back in last week to bring his mother who had an appointment. Cori is the one that roomed her so she got to sit and talk to them again. He kept telling her that he felt like she shared the same sole with someone that he knew. She didn't want to ask who because what are the odds she would know the person anyway. Well he told her the name Sara Cheney. She said she almost fell to the floor. Before she could get a word in he said "you look nothing like her, but I feel like you share a sole." How incredible. She told him that we were sisters and that for the longest time we haven't even been together because I had lived in North Carolina and not long after I moved back Cori moved to California. I loved this story because seriously what are the odds that someone would put the two of us together. We honestly look nothing a like. There are pictures below for those who need reminders on what we look like. So it turns out that this guy is the owner of the company that I work for. He came up to my desk today to tell me the same story. The funniest part is that he knows me by Sara Cheney and I only worked there for like 2 months with my maiden name. Should I be offended? Great, now I think i'm offended. Well Cori had her tonsils out yesterday and her right sinus rebuilt (or something, I really don't know the exacts because I'm definately medically challenged) and I was feeling sad for her so I came home and started going through pictures. These are what I found...

This was taken in the summer of 2003. It was the first time I went to visit her in California. Brandon was out at Sea for the Navy and we were clearly not in our right minds. I love doing make-up so I begged her to let me do her make-up. She nicely obliged as long as I let her put lipstick on me (something I will never wear). I nicely obliged. Remind me that at some point the obliging must come to an end or we end up looking like this...

I'm not sure what went wrong but I'm pretty sure Cori had something to do with it. We were laughing so hard that we went to the neighbors (I think around 1 a.m.) to have her take pictures! Cori, that was rude of you!

Cori, this is dedicated to you. I hope you feel better soon. I love your guts!

Why would anyone beg to drive?

I think it’s time for a little update on how life is going. In my life I have been incredibly blessed with so many things at this point and I wouldn’t feel good about asking for more. However, if someone (maybe a genie perhaps) came to me and said since you have all of the immaterial blessings in life a person could ask for name a few things on the materialistic side you wouldn’t mind having. It would take no time at all for me to casually mention, to the genie of course, that I need a personal driver. It’s true; I need nothing else in life but a personal driver. I HATE to drive with an absolute passion. Buy me a brand new $100,000 luxury car and I don’t want it if it means I never have to drive again, but could still have the convenience of getting from point A to point B within a decent time frame. If I were an inventor (don’t count me out yet, I may become one after this) I would invent this perfect speaker sound system for the outside of cars. There will be some rules that come with it but those will come later. The gist of my invention is this. If someone is in the fast lane and feels like going slower than the slow lane you can simply tell your apparatus to tell the idiot (clearly not appropriate) in front of you to MOVE! Somehow my invention will use some generic voice though because we don’t need high pitch screams flying toward your car while you are trying to drive…even if you are an idiot. My list of examples can go on for days, but I’ll keep it to one. Use your imaginations and I’m sure you will be in agreement that this invention is a must. Wow, onto the real reason I started this entry. Poor Zach is not allowed to drive for a full 8 weeks. This means that he has 4 or 5 weeks left. He told me a couple weeks ago that he is having a really hard time having people wait on him. Obviously for an independent person this becomes difficult. The fact of the matter (I hate when people say that) is that he has to deal with it. We as his family do not mind driving him all over the place because it’s what family is for. I secretly hate it because I hate to drive…shocker! He told me that he will critique every little thing I do in my driving until I finally give in to him and let him drive. I laughed so hard, I thought it was a joke. Don’t you worry he was being 100% serious. Three weeks into me being his personal driver (he takes my biggest dream and makes it reality for himself) we have had no normal driving conversation. It goes like this…Sara turn here (as if I didn’t know), Sara weren’t you going here, Sara I think you’re going to wrong way, speed up, slow down, don’t turn so sharp, who taught you how to drive? All of this followed by a giggle from Zach. Zach thinks I’m going to give in against his doctor’s orders and let him drive out of pure frustration! I called the doctor and updated him on Zach’s progress. Please see very professional illustration. Doc knew right away Zach was trying to get away with driving and forbade it. Now I think Zach really believes me and started being the nice man I married! I think Zach has finally come to terms with the idea that he wouldn’t be driving for several more weeks. I don’t know what he’s complaining about! He really is being such a trooper though and I’m so proud of him for keeping such a great outlook on things! I love you honey!!!

Oh poor, poor, sweet Zach!

This post really could be several different posts, but I’m going to roll everything into one. If any of you don’t know already let me tell you how Zach was raised. His mom was a very hands on mom and she never let her kids go without. I personally think that’s a little overrated. I may think that though only because I’m constantly letting him go without. Before Zach and I got married I would always tell him that I can’t wait to have someone that I can pamper. I told him that I look forward to having someone else to cook dinner for, clean up after (boo), do laundry for etc. I honestly thought I was telling the truth though. I wasn’t just telling him these things so he would marry me. Where the heck did I go wrong….where did he go wrong? Poor guy! We got married a couple years ago and now he has this cute pudgy belly. Some would say that’s because I feed him so well. Ha ha ha ha, I’m laughing so hard right now. What really happened is malnutrition. Do you guys ever see those commercials with the kids from third world countries who are (God bless them all) sick from starvation? I’m not trying to make light of their terribly sad situation, but if any of you have noticed these poor kids have these bellies that stick so far out. We all know they aren’t fed well. That’s what has happened to my husband. I forgot to feed him and I’m sick about it. Don’t get me wrong, the boy is self sufficient…but only when it comes to fast food drive thru. I really don’t want something tragic happening to him like a heart attack years down the road. His dad had a heart attack when he was 45 so I know that from health history Zach is prone to the same devastating consequences. What I have concluded in all of this is that I am going to learn to domesticate myself. I don’t know how to do it so if anyone has any ideas please let me know. There are those that ask why we don’t have kids yet and let this be a good example as to why. Until I can learn to keep a plant kicking there is no way I’m letting a poor child suffer.

This last week while Zach was racing his BMX bike he had an accident and broke his hip. He took the ambulance to the hospital…who am I kidding…the ambulance took him to the hospital (and he hates how I drive)! He had surgery a few days later to put his hip back together. A few days after that he was out of the hospital. He has to be off his hip for 8 weeks! Now if that doesn’t get me on the road to domestication I don’t know what will. I think I have been doing pretty good waiting on him and then tonight rolls around. Gourmet meal or frozen pizza? I ask myself this question often (I don’t know what a gourmet meal means, I just hear the term a lot) and pizza usually wins. Zach however has to make it because I don’t know how. Sad huh? Anyway, I took a stab at the microwave pizza AND I LOST. How ridiculous is that? It’s a freaking frozen pizza. The instructions are to put in microwave for 3 minutes and serve. I got to the microwave I swear only 3 minutes later and cheese was everywhere…except on the pizza. Is there anyone out there who is willing to give me just one pointer on how to better domesticate myself? I’m sure Zach would win in divorce court if he were on his death bed from accidental poison or starvation….

Here goes nothing...

To be completely honest I don’t understand why people say that. “Here goes nothing”. Certainly something is going or there would be nothing following the statement “here goes nothing”. And in my case there is something to follow. So here goes something! I have finally decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon. I read everyone else’s blog and I always thought blogging was for those with kiddos. Kids seem to be a shared subject amongst the blogging bloggers. I decided after my fabulous mother decided to pick it up that I needed to see what this world is made of! I do, after all have an occasional story to share with those whom care! I do miss all my wonderful friends and family and I clearly do nothing on my end to keep in touch so maybe this will help. I love reading what is going on in your lives so now I’ll share a little about mine! Wish me luck.