10 things I'd do if I had more time

Sometimes life is crazy and we can't always do the things that we enjoy. I for one, do not enjoy working 11 days in a row, some of those days being double/triple shifts. So, to pass my time and bare through my work, I think of things I'd rather be doing.

1. Playing piano When I was in high school, during my last trimester I would play piano everyday for at least one hour. I love loved it. I only had one class/day so after that class I'd cozy on up in the practice rooms (which were soundproof, thankfully) and play away. I love to play and I find it really relaxing. We even have a keyboard and it's just collecting dust. It makes me a little sad.
2. Exercising There are some kinds of exercise I enjoy. Even though I'm technically "exercising" at work by walking around all day, I don't enjoy it or find it relaxing. Particularly working at BR. 
3. Baking I love to bake/cook. I'd rather make my food from scratch than by food from the store that is full of preservatives and junk. I feel bad that I have to resort to buying Brenan frozen meals to eat when I'm not home to make real food. 
4. Scrapbooking I love this particular hobby because it is relaxing (to me at least) and it brings back good memories. Plus when you make things for others i.e. cards, etc it makes them happy too! I have tons and tons of stuff that is just dying to be used, but I don't have the time. Or space.
5. Hanging out with Brenan I miss my husband. Either I see him early in the morning as I'm leaving for work, or I see him late at night when I get home. We may talk for a few minutes to catch up with each other, but I'd rather go and play with him. Ride bikes, play catch, video games, watch a movie, ANYTHING! 
6. Play with the dogs I have two sweet puppies that are absolutely hilarious. However, I find myself walking in, being annoyed at them jumping on me (because they're excited to see me) and them taking them out in a hurry so I can get some sleep. Poor pups. I love you :)
7. Reading I do like to read in my spare time. Do I have spare time? Not really. I read my lessons for my online classes...but that's not very exciting. I miss reading fun books for hours on end, or getting wrapped up in a new novel. Or, even reading my scriptures as much as I should. Sometimes 1 verse is all I get.
8. Domestic & Artistic activities Sewing, painting, etc... I miss being creative and artistic. Not to say I'm an "artist" but I like to draw/paint, sew, create, etc...     
9. SLEEPING! Fairly obvious. I miss sleep.
10. TBD. I gotta go to work. I needed to leave 3 minutes ago!

Presenting Annie Patsy Potts

Here is our new puppy Annie! She is 8 months old, calm yet vivacious, and the world's biggest cuddle bug. We are still trying to train her and she and Walter will be starting training this month. Even though she is a fawn like Walt, they look very different. She is much lighter and softer, and she looks like an angry china woman. She and Walt will be married soon, then she'll be Annie Patsy Cole, instead of Potts (which we totally made up).

Here they are taking a nap together :)

  

Our little china woman

Both of them napping on me.Yes, she wears clothes. According to Brenan, only girl dogs can wear clothes.

P.S. Here is a cool blog I found http://whatastitch.blogspot.com/

Life

I think that sometimes life comes at you too fast. And just when things settle down, you get thrown a curveball. Life is crazy and there are always tons of decisions to make and directions to go. A constant concern/thought/struggle that seems to reside with us is where should we work, where should we live, when are we going to finish school? Someday, somehow, I hope all of these questions will be answered.

Straight from dictionary.com

de·moc·ra·cy (or, what the US used to be)

 /dɪˈmɒkrəsi/ Show Spelled[dih-mok-ruh-see] Show IPA

–noun,plural-cies.

1.government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. 

 

dic·ta·tor·ship

 /dɪkˈteɪtərˌʃɪp, ˈdɪkteɪ-/ Show Spelled[dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey-] Show IPA

–noun

1.a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.

2.absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.

3.the office or position held by a dictator.

 

so·cial·ism

 /ˈsoʊʃəˌlɪzəm/ Show Spelled[soh-shuh-liz-uhm] Show IPA

–noun

1.a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

2.procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

3.(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles. 

 

Think about what our country was, even 8 years ago, and think about where it is now. Do these definitions ring any bells? Read. Learn. Educate yourselves on the issues. VOTE.

April has been one busy and exciting month...

A- we are getting preapproved to buy a house/condo/townhouse... whatever we choose. We'll see what happens because the townhouse we want just went on the market on Friday and there have already been other offers. Plus, we don't know if we have our down payment arranged yet. Rachel, quit getting your hopes up. We live in 620 sq. feet with 2 adults and a dog. Our kitchen/dining room also boasts a "home office" and a piano (really a keyboard, but it's on a stand so it takes up space). Our living room is also Walter's bedroom. Our laundry room is a storage room, piled high, unfortunately. Not to mention that our apartment is handicap accessible, so everything is lower than normal. I'm sick of squatting to brush my teeth. Though the detachable shower head is nice for washing the dog.

B- April Fools. Oh the fools. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Needless to say I capitalized on my trickiness and told my pops I was pregnant. NOTE: I AM NOT PREGNANT. Once I broke the good news that I wasn't, he called me an a hole. The full word though.

C- I've been working 6 days/week for the past 4 weeks. When I get time off all I do is sleep and do laundry. I feel like Brenan only sees me in bed while I'm sneaking off in the morning and at night when he comes to bed; at which point I'm already completely out. It's crazy how much you sleep when you work too much.

D- Disneyland is only three days away. THREE DAYS AWAY! Finally, some me and Brenan time/ family vacation. I'm thankful that we get employee discounts at hotels on rates and food. It makes a HUGE difference.

E- My boss is letting me write our training manual and I will become our new floor trainer (promotion? raise??). My secret passion and desires are to work in In Room Dining, even though the money is lower, I'd get benefits and have more responsibility. But I might have to work more... I like getting paid the same amount for working less hours.

The Walt

The other day, someone told me that we love Walter too much. Can you love your first and favorite puppy too much? I think there are those obsessive people that feed their animals top of the line gourmet food and dress their pets and have them groomed weekly. We are not those people. We wash Walter when we remember. We feed him decent food. I only feed him wet food sometimes because I got it on sale. Super sale. We don't dress Walter everyday --only if it's raining or Halloween.

But, here are the things we love most about Walter:

• When we're gone he watches Law & Order and ESPN on our bed (our tv is on an auto timer so it turns on at 6 everyday).
• He is a champ about us taking pictures.
• He chases his tail when he is bored 
• If he wants to play, he will jump up on top of the sofa and drop a toy on our heads to get our attention
• He gives us kisses
• He naps in the crook of our knee when we're in bed or on the sofa (see pic. below)
• He can keep up with the big dogs i.e. Dozer and the stranger dog
• He buries his bones and toys in our bed/in blankets/the sofa
• When you wake up and are laying in bed, he will bring in EVERY toy & bone until you play with him

And the award goes to...

I would like to thank Brenan for staying close to the speed limit when we drove to CO and for taking care of me the past two days that I've been sick. Thank you for semi-embarrassing me at the wrestler's banquet...

Thank you mama Drea and papa Ted for giving us furniture. Now our bedroom looks like a bedroom and instead of vegging in front of the tv on the sofa, I now do it in my room.

Thank you St. Regis for being busy and giving me lots of hours since Banana Republic is gay and hasn't given me or Bren any hours since New Years. No, I do not like living off of one income. But I do like making $30/hour. Thank you Leon for giving me even more hours. I heart IRD.

Thank you George for giving Brenan a new job selling Farmer's Insurance. You the man!

Thank you mom for not getting mad at me when Walter chewed up a bunch of your paper while I was too busy online to notice. And thanks for giving me your antibiotics so I can get better.

Papa Ron, thanks for the entertaining conversations that we always seem to have while I'm in public; thanks for giving the people of Heber funny things to laugh at as they hear my end of the conversation.

Thank you random lady at the reception that told me I was pretty, then preceded to eat the decoration on the plate (that as I hear, was unwashed and just a garnish)...you made my night.

Thank you USA for having a Law & Order marathon on Sunday and for keeping me up all day to watch it instead of napping.

Thank you USA for winning so many medals at the Olympics and for not being as lame as the closing ceremonies in Vancouver. Catherine O'Hara, you're not a comedienne in any way, shape, or form.