Relay for Life

I've always wanted to participate in the
American Cancer Society's Relay for Life,
and a personal cancer scare this year has encouraged me
to follow through with that.

If you'd like to make a donation to our team
for the Relay, let me know.
Relay is a small step in the daunting task of finding a cure
for cancer, every little bit is appreciated.


"The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration,
but its donation"
-Corrie ten Boom

Birthday Blog: Long overdue

The gang went to Andy's in Ogden for my Birthday dinner.
My bestest bestie erica got me the Halloween tree I'd been pining over since October... that's right, she bought it and saved it for 8 MONTHS! She's too sweet. I just can't wait till October to put it up!
She had it on the table when we got there, along with a Corona and a shot to get my birthday part started! Gotta love her.
Andy's is a really great place, with awesome Greek food and a laid back atmosphere.

Erica especially likes the ranch....

At some point in the evening, I ended up drinking in my kayak....
on my lawn.
Not real sure what that was about...
but hey, it was my BIRTHDAY!
I do what I want!

Office gets a new look

I finally did something with my office! Yay!

Home Sweet Home Away from Home

Thriftstores and Spraypaint = Makeover

People think I'm crazy, but I LOVE shopping at the second-hand store.
You never know what you're going to find there, and you can't go expecting to find a certain treasure, you just have to go with your eyes open to possibilities.
Other people's trash has the potential to be your great treasure, you just never know.

I'm redecorating my office. I'm bored.
I had such great hopes for my office while it was being built... I knew that I would make it look awesome, and that just never happened.
I've been in my office for a year, and it's time to do something neat with it.
I'll post more pictures when it's finished, but I'll start with a picture of this bench I got at a second-hand store (it was an end table in its past life....)

A little spray paint, some fabric and my mad sewing skills and it's transformed!
Everything I've gotten for my office makeover except fabric has been recycled in some way, either from the DI, a garage sale or eBay.

More to come soon!

The shorties

I was initially going to write a blog about how Manuel's oldest child just turned THIRTEEN, but then I decided that I should just write a blog about all the kids.

If you've never been in a situation where you're dating someone that has children, I'll tell you right now that it can potentially be a really horrifying experience.
Before I met Manny's kids, I was really scared. What if they didn't like me? What if I didn't like them? What if their mothers try to kill me?
All legitimate thoughts.

I met his girls first, we went to Olive Garden. Things seemed to be going pretty well, and then Alex (the oldest) said "Dad, are we being good?" and he gave her a sideways look and said "Yes, you are" at which point she started giggling.
I must have looked confused because then she said " Dad told us to be good and not act like retards!"

It was then that I knew me and these girls would get along great.
They have wonderful senses of humor, they're loving and accepting.
Brayden was pretty hesitant at first, but I can honestly say that I think the little guy likes me.

Anyway, as I said, dating someone with children has the potential
to be horrifying, but in this case, I think it's really great.
Not only do I love Manny, but I also get 3 'shorties' to love, and that love me back.

Alexandria
(Alex, Alley Cat)

Alex just turned 13. Holy crap, a teenager! She loves horses and drawing and reading. She read the Twilight series faster than I did! She has a sense of humor that is close to mine, which is awesome! She plays the baritone in band and likes to ride my longboard. Hopefully she keeps her teenage sassiness to a minimum.





Taylor
(Tator Tot)

Taylor is 11 going on 17. She already has the teenage sassiness, and is our little drama queen. She is very affectionate and can often be found attached to the side of my hip. Wherever we go, you can be sure to hear "I get to sit by ernl!" out of her mouth. She loves Spaghetti O's: a girl after my own heart.






Brayden
(Bud)

Bud is going to be 7 in a couple weeks. He just graduated first grade, and is one of the best readers in his class. He excels at pretty much every sport. He made the majority of the points on his Jr. Jazz basketball team singlehandedly, and throws the ball so well in T-Ball they finally had to tell him to start rolling it because he had so much power the other kids didn't know what to do with themselves!

To my hero, Alexey

Dear Mr. Pajitnov,
I would like to thank you for the hundreds of hours of enjoyment you have provided me over my lifetime.
When I'm bored, lonely or hungry for a challenge, I turn to your genius.
You have enriched my life
You have also made my boyfriend extremely jealous of the time I spend with your offspring, and irritated when I endlessly brag about my unbeatable scores.

Here is a very happy 25th birthday wish to your brainchild.
The best video puzzle game in the history of video puzzle games- TETRIS.