Why is Utah so fun to visit?

I have always disliked the idea of living in Utah but man i like to visit, and then i love to leave! We packed up and headed up the my aunts 80Th and all the pomp and circumstance that it entailed. It was funny how at the end of the party I talked to some cousins that I barely knew and had a blast talking to them! I wish we could have talked more :)

The above picture is the Provo pool... quite possibly one of the funnest places in the world. We have made memories in those two tubes of wonder. In these tubes i first discovered that my family laughs alike. I have never laughed as hard with whoever i was breaking the rules with! we had to go out of our way to make it to this mecca!!!

This time, we were going down and we were told the right side was "slower" side and the left being the "faster" we decided that the fast side would be ok to go down... In my head i thought it cant be that much faster... Umm, yeah it can be... i was shot out like a bat outta hell to only be tossed ass over tea kettle. I ended up on my belly laying down with water flying up into my face (not my favorite thing) so i decided to flip over and sit up... I had no idea where i was and when i sat up i hit my head so hard i almost knocked myself out. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Until we meet again Provo pool!

after the reunion we went up and stayed with my Aunt Genie and Uncle George in their gorgeous home in vernal Utah. This is the canyon that they live in. Pictures don't do it justice.

We went hiking up to the petroglyphs in their backyard.

Manny had the camera.

I have always hated hiking. Mainly because someone at the front feels a need to be a mountain goat and jump up the mountain. I have always been a tid bit competitive and i always lose in the hiking game. I don't like how hot it usually is and then you add the sun beating down on my skin and i get really cranky!

We got out there while the shade was still on that side of the canyon and Manny stayed with me and my mom... we enjoyed being out there and taking in how beautiful the place was! i decided that i didn't mind hiking anymore! Just don't think i will hike Kilimanjaro anytime soon!

this is a picture of the canyon facing toward my aunts house.

and these are just some of the petroglyphs. It really is amazing to be able to see these drawings and to know that they were from 1 a.d to 600 a.d.

my honey do list for manny

When we first moved in all i could focus on was how much i hated the kitchen.
The ugly linoleum that rolled up 4 inches of the wall. Can you say ugly.
I hated the blue that went on the cream cabinets.
I hated that the color of the walls was on the ceiling and doors.
I hated that all you could see was BLUE.
I hated the kitchen.

1. honey get me a new refrigerator.
2. Honey give me new floors.
(Obviously i helped with the peel and stick linoleum squares.)

Honey. paint the walls and give me pretty baseboards.

Honey paint the cabinets and make them pretty.

Honey put in a new faucet.

honey paint the can for the light above the sink.

Honey put on all new hinges.

honey lets rest!

(p.s. i did actually do a lot of the work for this kitchen!)

My Sweet Grammy

This past Tuesday my beautiful Grammy passed away peacefully at the age of 90.

I am humbled to by the overwhelming sense of love and peace knowing that she is on the other side with her family, probably giggling with her sisters and being loved on by her parents, grandparents aunts and uncles. The night of her passing i was awake crying with my sense of loss, the feeling of peace that the temple is true and that families are forever. I could picture her family embracing her with joy. My tears dried up (though i still tear up at the thought of not being in her presence here on earth) and i felt a peace that i didn't think i would find. I couldn't help but sit down and think about her long life and what she had seen in her lifetime.

She was born in 1920 in a small town in Utah... Can you imagine the amazing changes that has happened in the world at that time.

She was born the year that Prohibition was put into effect in America.
She saw the depression.
She felt the hope of Roosevelt and the change that he helped to bring about in the country.
She saw wars. World War 2, Korea, Vietnam, the cold war, Iraq in the 90's and then again in 2001.
She saw first hand what being a war wife meant.
She was around for Pearl Harbor.
She listened to the radio for entertainment, then moved on to black and white TV, color t.v. and now flat screen t.v.
She was around for assassination of Kennedy and attempted assassinations of Ford and Reagan.
She saw the space race and watched the first man standing on the moon.
She was around for segragation and saw it come to an end.
She was around for the advancement in Computer technology.
She was around for how travel around the world got easier by flight.
She saw the Twin Towers fall on that September day.

I know that this list is short, and that i am sure that i missed very important things. Can you imagine living through these things that we just read about in history books?!!!

The Things that I am going to miss is going over and sitting on the chair holding her soooo very soft hands admiring her wedding ring and listening to her stories. I loved walking in and going over to give her loves. I loved crawling into bed with her when she was taking a nap and giggling with her in bed. I loved the laughs. I loved saturdays when i would go over and mess up her freshly helmeted head. I loved watching her interact with her sisters and brother. I loved that I found out that she was the center of the party. I laugh when she tried to boss me around in the kitchen. I will cherish the memory of making a lemon merangue pie and accidently leaving out the lemon in one of the pies and then making lemade out of the extra lemon juice! I will cherish living with her when i first moved to San Diego, really getting to know her and realizing she is a kindred spirit. I will always cherish the relationship that my grandparents had. I will never forget when she came in and did the sexy dance for me, probably to the shock of both of us! I giggle when my grammy told me after years of me being single that she had given up praying for me to find someone! I will never forget when i called her to remind her it was my birthday that she said "oh Shit" because she had forgotten. I will never forget how she hated where my wedding was going to be and going over the day after it to have her tell me that it was the most beautiful wedding she had ever been to. I will always hear her say in her scratchy voice "oh it was so lovely, just wonderful!" Its funny i had it in balboa park because it was right next to the natural history museum where she had for years been a volunteer.

I will always be thankful for feeling so loved by her.

I will miss her but i will always be thankful for the blessing of having her as my grammy!

Until we meet again.

dumb girl

'was i wrong about everything?' UHHHHH YEAH.

hey dumb bachlorette, You've got the worst taste in men EVER...

I have to admit i dont watch this show ever... Normally its painful to watch DUMB girls being surrounded by abnormally hot men and pretend that love is in the air...

I think i got hooked this year because she is so dumb in the men department that its a trainwreck that i cant take my eyes off.

The most PAINFUL thing that she has said to a roomful of men/boys is 'I know that the man i am going to marry is in this room' Cue to the men mentally running from this girl...

Sorry i just had to say UGGH. Tonight was the last i can stand to watch you.

recipe

So this is for thicker fillets of fish...
Pan sear with a little olive oil, fresh rosemary and garlic.
salt and pepper the fish
Pre heat the oven to 425

Put the fish in a nonstick ovensafe skillet on the stove top and on the top of the fillet sprinkle a small amount of sugar. cook for a minute flip over and have the sugar side if fillet down for 2 min. then put the pan in the oven for 7-10 min.

fish is supposed to get to to 130-135 degrees.

pull out and be amazed at how good it is :)

i married a fisherman.

When people found out i was dating/married to a fisherman, their first question to me is a very snarky question of "so you must LOVE fish."

The answer is a heartfelt NO I actually don't really enjoy fish. There are a couple of reasons why i don't like it. The bones, I can guarantee that i will be the ONLY one to get one. They cause me to gag.

I think my aversion to fish started because of my grandma feeding me some awful freezer burned nasty salmon that was caught before i was born. (you think i am kidding... I am not!) that was over done or not done enough. She also would bring up canned salmon that even thinking of it gives me the shivers.

The other reason is growing up in the house with Joel caused me to always be around trout... There was always some (again) freezer burned fish in the freezer... I just thought it was gross. So i made up my mind that I didn't like fish.

Then I married a freakin' fisherman.

I can have all the fresh fish i could handle.

He knows how if feels and he didn't push me. He brought home Ling Cod, and my sister cooked some up and shared the recipe with me telling me that it was the worlds best fish.

Well if Nesha likes it, by golly i will put on my big girl panties and cook some up for my husband.

So here is my attempt.

Can I just tell you that It is the best fish in the world... NOT FISHY AT ALL!!!

It was so good that had to have a second spear of it and then to top it off i had to steal some off of Manny's plate.

She likes it, She REALLY likes it!

The whole meal of cod, wild rice and artichokes... YUMMY!

Back at it. repeat.

Today I went to the Gym... No i will not post pictures, its embarrassing.
While there i couldn't help but think two things.
1. Hey creepy old guy with a ponytail, stop checking me out. i think its gross.
and then leave me to my workout without coming over to tell me "your doing good" with a nice little caress on my shoulder. I don't like you or your comments...
if you knew what it takes for a fat girl to go work out, just leave her in peace... She doesn't want or need attention.

2. Hey rude man that came and CLEARLY saw that i was using a machine don't come up and act like i don't have a right to use it and start working out on it BEFORE I am done... There is something called working in.
I did call you an asshole under my breath but you deserved it for thinking you had more rights to the place than i did. I was there first. Next time I will say NO.

There is a reason they call it GRAND!

Its been on my "bucket" list for a long time.

I was able to talk my sidekick into going for my birthday!

It was a great present!!!

It was simply breathtaking! My mom, the ultimate tourist!!!

So here is a short story... Driving the to the Grand Canyon took about 9 hours.

I had no idea what to expect when we got to the park but we couldnt see it through the juniper trees... So I said in my nervousness, I hope this isn't a WHAHH WHAH WHAH moment.

it wasnt!!!

One of the things i had to do was see the canyon at sunrise.

YES i did say SUNRISE!!!

it was worth it.

cant believe i said it?

I DID.

i had to get a picture of mannys grand canyon at the Grand Canyon.

he makes me laugh.

The Night we got into williams i saw snow.

I told them i think there is snow on the ground.

Both Manny and my Mom said "thats not snow, its the sand and the way the light is hitting it."

I literally was rubbing my tired eyes and blinking thinking that i was losing it.

I wasnt... it was a very cold trip!!!

My Dad would probably hate that i posted this picture but having someone in a wheelchair is worth its weight in gold at a state park.

front of the line passes on all the busses.

i am sure everyone else hated us but it was nice to be boarded first!

Dad got scared at the canyon, he didnt like how far down it was!!!

Manny was a champ to go on a trip with my parents and to help out as much as he did.

He teaches me about service on a regular basis.

Honey i'm amazed by you!

Ta-Dah here is the finished headboard.

He is amazing!!!

HONEY DO LIST

So I have a love of searching the internet for furniture.

I spend too much time perusing sites for stuff i dont need just want.

Waste of time i know!

So i found this really cool bed on Overstock but of course they dont have it in a king.

Why not?!!!

Because that would make my husbands life a whole heck of a lot easier!!! So i inform him that i think he can build us this bed frame and that it will be easy for him to do when he comes home. He doesnt sit still very well. He went and got the wood and started measuring and cutting. Isnt that a look of how much he loves me in this moment of lots of work?!!!

I dont think he knew what he was getting into when he married me...

Now i have someone else to pull into my crazy projects...

He was doing a great job and so i had to come out and make it a little harder. I "helped" him with the laying out and measuring of the rectangles... Did you know that three forths of an inch and three quarters of inch is the same thing? Well we got frustrated with each other when we were saying it too the other and the other was just not understanding!

He finished it and painted it black like i wanted... now i want it white. Do you think i will get my way? I will post pictures when its in the house!

Honeymoons over!!!

This week i went up and stayed with manny on the boat in oxnard... i enjoy these visits because i get to watch him work and i read or go out and run errands. I love the peace of sitting in a beautiful place and soaking in the sites, sounds, and smells!
So let me tell you how i know that the honeymoon is over!

This time it was raining and very cold. So manny and i turned on the little heater in the stateroom to get it nice and toasty.

too toasty at times. its a love hate relationship, you want and love the heat but then you are roasting its so hot but then too cold when its off. so it was a constant wake up turn it on shivering, wake up to turn it off panting its so hot...

then there is the size of the bed...

i have a story.

a long time ago i lived with my grandparents and my family was coming to visit. My grandparents were getting the beds ready for them when my grandma and grandpa were "whispering" to each other about a twin pullout bed. My grandpa insist its ok for the 2 boys to
sleep in to which i hear my grandmothers oh so wise words "That bed wouldnt even make newlweds happy to sleep in!"

Truer words have never been spoken.

So now this comes up with with this trip.

The bunks are smaller than a twin. Try we did. But after hours of "sleeping" with our arms falling asleep, faces hitting the ribs of the boat... being too hot from the heater... we tapped out!

ps... the tuck and roll its the smartest move in the world!

meet the newest family member

Now Introducing Sir Reginald king of the checks. just look at that little checkerboard face... i wasnt going to get a cat, then i saw his cute little face and knew he was MINE!!! i look forward to our many years together... i just hope he can get used to the kisses and loves and snuggles.

family days

Its not a secret that i love my family... but this picture is classic. My dad obviously needs a cane, he has no balance. Jonathan tried to dodge some little kids when he was getting off of the ski lift and ended up injuring his knee. They looked so similar it cracks me up.

Jonny came in with this cane of bamboo that was too tall. I asked Manny to help Jonny cut it down, he tried but because it was bamboo it would split... So he went out and made one for him out of wood. Days like these are glorious to me!

Christmas tree time

Here is the Christmas tree Kimmie...when we first put up the tree i hated how skinny it was but as the season went on i loved it. it was the perfect size for our apartment! I asked Manny if we could keep it up all year round and just put seasonal decorations on it. He agreed, but i thought it wouldnt be as magical when it was christmas :) So down went the tree and an i am eager for another christmas so i can put up more of my new ornaments!

Beautiful LAKE TAHOE!!! oh how the beautiful the trees were. They sucked the air out of me... The color was such an intense vibrant color. I miss seeing fall! I loved how the colors was all over the mountains. I was home and it felt good!

I loved the rocky beaches and was thankful that i just kept my shoes on!

So Pretty!

We met up with one of my favorite people in the world... We went to emerald bay and threw rocks into the waterfall with AK!

This is one of the reasons i love manny!!! AK was out of rocks and so manny went on a hunt... both hands and his sweatshirt pocket!

I love how Beautiful and colorful that this area is! It was calm and relaxing after the wedding... a girl cant ask for more!

The wedding finally flew by with a blink and a year of planning! By the time that Kimmie got into town i knew that that meant my wedding was really going to happen. I will never forget Kimmie saying to me, well all these people arent coming just for your birthday party! You are right Kimmie it was for my wedding! I think i was pretty calm, I told myself to not be the dreaded bridezilla (i am sure i failed at moments) and to enjoy the day. I did! I will never forget sitting down to dinner and looking out at the amazingly beautiful setting and thinking WOOOOWW! It really was everything that i wanted. I didnt want cute, or funny or vintage blah blah blah. I wanted it to be warm and inviting with amazing colors, good food, and great people. I got it! so here is a few of the moments from the day My dress and veil! the dress was so simple and so i spiced it up with the most beautiful veil... i just didnt realize how heavy that veil was!

when manny and i first saw this picture i thought UUUGH... i hated both of our faces there ( however the majority of the candid pictures were of my very concerned face) but then as we were talking he said "I look like that guy in that movie" which one you ask... its night at the museum... he looks like robyn williams!!!

He does.

it makes me laugh!

new favorite picture!

my girls.

i love you.

you will always be part of my heart.

beautiful moment of just looking at manny and paying attention to just him.

the manzanita branch centerpieces.

loved them.

my favorite flowers.

my favorite colors.

breathtaking.

breathtaking.

one of my favorite moments of the night. jonny singing and it was like it was just the two of us in the courtyard. i wasnt able to close my eyes that night because i kept seeing our wedding everytime i closed my eyes. i would wake up and think man that was beautiful!!! i am glad i have a lifetime ahead of me with my husband!

update

some of my thoughts and favorite moments...

friends coming for the my favorite holiday... just felt off this year because it was on a sunday... i missed swimming and playing in the water this 4... but overall a great day full of family friends and of course the ultimate ending to a night... the loved (and hated) marshmallow war down at the beach.

i was driving behind this car and it was covered in stickers... i first noticed her because she was going so freakin' slow... anyways it had an obama sticker, a "why do we kill those that kill to show the world that killing is wrong" and equality sticker... obviously i thought to myself i would love to talk to that person that professes to be an open minded soul... but i can promise you this, she wouldnt be open minded if what my thoughts and opinions differed from hers... i love to talk to them... i would tell them that obama is horrible, that i believe in the death penalty, that not everyone deserves to live in the united states... even though not all the statements above are really the truth... but i would love to see what her face was as i straight face made those statements :)

i am learning that a call out of the blue from a friend is cherished... dinner and pinkberry make it a night that made my soul happy... and to have her listen to me and not let me steer away from the wedding topic was appreciated...for her to look at me and say " you made everyones wedding day easier or more beautiful with your talents, i dont necassarily have those same talents but i can help!" i was amazed that she walked away with an assignment that i have no doubt she will be able to do... it was nice to have a friend help with the planning:) it was nice to know that i do have a friend here in san diego :)

that being said i have learned that i will actually call and have people help me... i just have to figure out what i can divvy out!!! SO WATCH OUT!

i stayed home on sunday to make some flowers to attach to my beautiful wedding dress and i ended up watching WE tv... so it started out with my big fat wedding, then ultimate wedding cakes, then to top it off with bridezillas... josh was at the house and i was telling him how appalling it was that these girls/women throw tantrums, berate, scream, make fools out of themselves so that they can be the princess for one day. i hate that word but i really hate it when its thrown my direction... so i was at dinner and i was saying how i wanted something that i am not going to get, but i wont say anything to the person making it because i dont want to be labeled a bridezilla... when both my dad and brother james call me repeatedly a bridezilla... so i did the best thing i could and burst into uncontrollable tears... i cleared the area, and everyone sat there in uncomfortable silence as tears rolled down my face. i couldnt make them stop. aaaugh get me back of birthcontrol.

i have been slow at work and am going out of my mind. but i will be busy again soon since i love what i do :)

thats not all... but that all for now :)

board games

while playing sequence tonight with manny i was getting all sorts of competitive... well he then looks at me and says "one of us is competitive and the other persons job is to keep you are your toes!" he just makes me giggle.

i laugh through this whole thing... thought you would too!

Subject: Roping a DeerROPING A DEERAuthor unknown - probably for good reasonActual letter from someone who farms, writes well and tried this:

I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it upon corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first stepin this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since theycongregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff atthe bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away),it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag overits head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. Thecattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They werenot having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up-- 3 of them.

I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waistand twisted the end so I would have a good hold.The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it wasmildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towardsit, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope .., and thenreceived an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while adeer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, theyare spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound,a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in thatweight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. Adeer -- no chance.That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me offmy feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to methat having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up.

It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste forcorn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the endof that rope.I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, itwould likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing,and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against variouslarge rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to getit lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap Ihad set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back inthere and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite?They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer wouldbite somebody, so I was very surprised when ... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite youand then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head--almost like a pitbull. They bite HARD and it hurts.The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (thoughyou may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept itbusy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up ontheir back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, andtheir hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that,when an animal --like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope to sort of even the odds. All these events are true so help me God... An Educated Rancher

a funny moment

So i was at work today, and i was overhearing EVERYONE working saying "healthy food this, healthy food that, i'm on a diet, i hate my arms, my thighs are huge, i am doing a cleanse, blah blah blah..." so i know that i am not the only one that is going through this fun stage... however i am the only one that has any real weight to lose... so after hearing this literally all morning long someone mentions that there is cake in the back room... i literally thought that there was going to be a stampede to the back and dust would be drifting all around me...all thoughts of diet and hated body parts long forgotten... i will never forget the manicurist face of I WANT CAKE. it was so freaking funny!!!