Rite of Passage

The Culprit (Broken fireplace tile: very sharp)

The Wound (after it had been wiped a dozen times and still bled this bad)

First trip to the ER: 3 strips of surgical tape: 1 giant bandage to cover the tape

Ella had a bad day.

Mommy's day wasn't too good either.

Vacation

Ella the Arctic fox. If you don't understand the comparison, look up a video. It's worth it!

This time it was a real vacation!! Just a little one. Brent and I spontaneously decided to go spend a few nights in St. George. We went shopping and to a few museums in town. Mostly we hung out in the jacuzzi and laid around. It was wonderful!! Very relaxing!! We went to Ashley Furniture to browse hutches, tables, and head boards for our bed. I sat Ella on one of them to relieve my arms from her weight, and she got so excited! Most of the trip was spent taking her from bed to bed watching her crawl and roll around! It was like Ella Disneyland! We had a wonderful time. Now back to work......

Alphabet

I was emailed this and thought it was kind of fun!
A - Age: 25
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: Sweeping
D - Dog: None! But I would like a boxer or a lab
E - Essential start your day item: Contacts, followed closely by toothbrush
F - Favorite color(s): Red and purple
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5' 1 1/2 (The 1/2 is very important!)
I - Instruments you play: Piano, Guitar and clarinet, just not well.
J- Job: MOTHER, hairdresser and cheer coach
K - Kids: 1 gorgeous girl
L - Living arrangements: Beautiful new home
M - Mom's name: Bonnie (Incidentally my mother-in-law is Bonnie as well)
N - Nicknames: Ash, babe, peanut, ladybug, and HEY
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None
P - Pet Peeve: Fakeness and excess water on the sink
Q - Quote from a movie: "I will come for you" Last of the Mohican's
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: A big sister and a little brother. Actually he's not little, he's younger!
T - Time you wake up: Between 6am and 7am, depending on Ella.
U - Underwear: G's. But i miss pretty lacy things.
V - Vegetable you dislike: Tomatoes (are they fruits or veggies?)
W - Workout style: running, walking, swimming, biking, yoga, sit ups
X - X-rays you've had: teeth, both ankles, both knees, spine
Y - Yesterday's best moment: When Ella was super excited for Chili's rice and screamed and laughed. She was so cute!! The people next to us couldn't get enough of her!!
Z - Zoo favorite: Giraffes. They are so large but so gentle.


Extra: Ella went for her 1 year check up. She is 5% for height and 10% for weight. Her height has dropped of the chart but the doctor says it is okay, I can't MAKE her grow!

7 Things About Me

I was "tagged" by my friend Sheila. I have to post 7 random facts about me. So here it goes.

1. I'm blind as a bat. So if you see me from across the parking lot at Lin's or at church down the hallway, and I have a scowl on my face, it isn't personal. I always have a scowl and I can't see you! I can only see from about 15 feet away. Everything from there is slightly blurry. I have astigmatism is the explanation.

2. I have curly hair. It is by nature curly but not really curly. Just curly enough that if it dries naturally I have a fro. I hate all the sticky product I have to load into it to make it look nice, so I just straighten it.

3. Brent and I are high school sweethearts. We just have a long. complicated history. : )

4. I have flat feet. Ridiculously flat. So flat I can smash them together and the arches touch.

5. I'm really flexible. Not double-jointed, freakish flexible. Just able to turn of light switches with my feet.

6. I love Christmas. In all its tacky, Griswold glory.

7. I write poetry. No I will not share.

VACATION

Okay, it wasn't really a vacation, because we didn't go anywhere. It was a STAY-cation!! First we painted. Painting. SUCKS. Brent and I worked for 7 hours on Saturday and finished all the walls (living room, family room, kitchen, hallway). And then we started the ceiling before Brent gave out!

Sunday was our first day teaching 5 year olds. It was successful but we learned they are not like the 9 year olds we used to teach. They can play hang man because they know their letters!

Monday was another day of painting and it was awful!! Trying to edge the ceiling was frustrating! I happened upon this wonderful tool in the paint isle and brought it home. Brent was finished in only an hour! We also painted Ella's room. It has been restored to its former glory.

Tuesday we went to Warm Springs. They wouldn't let us in the pool with out a life guard, so we swam in the river. It was SO fun!! As you can tell, Ella loved it! She is a little fish! She could be in the water all day if I let her. She did not want to stop splashing, even for a picture.

Wednesday we went shopping in Vegas. (I love shopping) I got a couple of new blouses and some 'delicates'. Brent had to go have his yearly physical for the police department, so Ella and I went too. His cholesterol was YIPES (yipes, yipes, yipes) high so we are now all currently on a low fat, low cholesterol, high fiber diet. More on that later.

Thursday we went shopping AGAIN. This time out of necessity! Ella has determined that trying to slap our TV screen in a lot of fun. Brent freaked out and we headed to Ashley furniture and purchased this beauty. I love it! It is so much prettier than the hideous monster we had before. I have hated it from the beginning! I have been gunning for it's removal from the start!

Finally, after much organizing, de-junking, deep cleaning and running from Vegas to St. George, we have decreed the next 3 days 'Sit and do nothing days'! It has been a fun, BUSY week.


PS I found my notebook with how many miles my shoes had. As of June 5, 2009: 2,136

And no, I have NO desire to run a marathon!! (Good for anyone who does)

PSS Ella has finally cut 2 teeth. Which teeth you ask? Her 'I' teeth! They aren't all the way in yet so you can't see them unless I pull her lip back, but when they do come in, she is going to look frightening! Please Twilight fans, resist from driving past my house, hoping for a glimpse of my little vampire.

She has also been eating like crazy!! If she's awake she is crying for food. Because she is such a runt and I have to take her to the doctor soon, I feed her! Her favorite is Gerber puffs and yogurt melts.

Farewell Faithful Friend

These are my beloved Nike running shoes. I purchased them in January of 2007.

I have since put over 2000 miles on them! I kept a notebook with exactly how many miles but I recently lost it. : (

Needless to say they are dead. They are holey, the tread is worn thin and I am practically running on pavement.

So this is their replacement. Exact same shoe, just a different color. They were purchased in January of 2009, but I haven't used them yet. They just don't seem to feel like my faithful grey shoe. I have been waiting for the others to disintegrate right off my foot and I think they are almost there. I guess I should wear these but I just have such an attachment to my life supported shoe!!

Oh the Humanity!!!

The searing heat of the desert has sent me screaming for the indoors and central air conditioning! The monotony of being confined indoors is growing weary. I asked Brent what I could do to ease this boredom and he only shrugged his shoulders, so I changed my blog back ground..... TA DA!! Well people, that is just about the most excitement I have to report on. The heat is getting so oppressive it is even cutting in on Ella and my walk/run every morning. She is up and at it usually around 6. But lately she has been getting up at 6:30 and by then it is almost too hot to go! My Tahoe has an on board thermometer and this morning is was 95 degrees at 7 am. BLAHHHHHHH! I have hope that I have made through the worse of it and soon the down hill slope of burning hell-like conditions will ease, but we shall see.

On another note: Only 4 more months until the Christmas season begins!! YAY!! I love Christmas and go crazy with decor, presents and the like. And I'm not chic, tasteful Christmas either. I am tacky, red and green explosion Christmas!! Santa Clause with a real faces and Rudolph and the whole Griswold extravaganza! I can't wait.

Well, I don't even have a cute picture to post. SO you will have to be satisfied with my incoherent ramblings! Good news is: Brent has a whole week of vacation NEXT week so hopefully I will have something exciting to say!!