Moving Day

OK, I'm back. At least for today. Things have been a little hectic this last month. We finally moved into our new house (pictures to come later) on May 3rd. It was a VERY long day! I think that we may just stay here until we die because I don't know if I can handle the moving process again. I really can't imagine how much more awful it must be to move a family/house full of stuff than it was to move from our one-bedroom apartment. Although, I must say that it is amazing how much stuff Shaun and I had crammed into that little apartment. When we had everything boxed up and ready to move, it filled almost the entire front living room.

I meant to take pictures to memorialize our big move into our first house, but that plan went out the window within the first hour or so that day. Too much to do! So let me just say a big "Thank You" to those dearly beloved family members who helped us move. THANK YOU!!!

Flying Solo in San Francisco

So, it's official. I really dislike traveling by myself. I dislike sitting alone in a crowded restaurant where everyone is sitting and talking with friends or family and having such a good time. And it's just not as fun to do stuff solo. There's no one to talk to or laugh at something funny with. After awhile I just start to feel lonely.
I'm in San Francisco for a few days this week for an Environmental Law Conference (a very BORING Environmental Law Conference, might I add). The first two nights I was here I stayed in my room and ordered room service because I didn't want to go to a restaurant by myself. Also, in my own defense, it was cold and rainy outside. Well today I figured out how to get to Union Square (thanks to a very nice guy I've been sitting next to at my conference), so I decided to take a trip down the VERY big hill to get some lunch. It was great to get outside again and do something other than sit in my hotel room. The walk back up the hill was also a great workout. And based on how completely out-of-breath I was by the time I reached the top, I realized just how badly out-of-shape I am. Later, one of our classes was cancelled and I ventured back down the hill to visit a maternity store we don't have at home (yes, my clothes are already starting to get uncomfortably snug). After a fruitless shopping trip (why do they have to make maternity clothes so unattractive and so expensive?), I hiked back up to the top of the hill. The good news--it wasn't nearly as difficult the second time. Then tonight our classes ended a little late, and I almost wimped out and ordered room service for the third night in a row . . . BUT, I decided to be tough and head back out on my own. I ended up having a delicious dinner at a yummy Vietnamese restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed my cable car ride back up the hill. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though I'd rather not travel alone, I'm glad I got out and did something that was outside of my comfort zone. Hopefully, I won't have to do it again for awhile. :0)

Announcing . . .

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Shaun's Little Project

Several months ago, when Shaun announced his new career plan to open his own shop, my Uncle Val offered to give Shaun an old truck of his. I guess my cousin Jordan had gotten into an accident and Val and Jordan tried fixing it, but didn't really get very far. After Val offered to give Shaun the truck he had many a sleepless night because he would get so excited thinking of all the things he could do to fix it up. He even made a couple of trips out to Val's house way west of Spanish Fork to take pictures and just revel in the excitement.

In preparation for the big day, Shaun spent hours calling junk yards and pick 'n pulls to find the parts he'd need to start fixing up the truck. Then, to Shaun's excitement, Val towed the truck to our apartment and dropped it off a few weeks ago. Within just a few days Shaun had the truck mostly put back together and were it not for his oh-so-practical wife, he would have the whole job done by now. Nicole had to put the kibosh on his truck-fixing-up-adventure because the bills were starting to rack up. But, since then Shaun has purchased a new battery and is making plans to get a new bumper.

I give him a hard time, but he really has a talent for these things. I mean, talk about mad skills. Here are a couple of before and after pictures for you.

Not a Good Day

My brother Brandon called Shaun this morning and asked him to do him a favor--Brandon just bought a bike from a bike shop near our apartment (I guess he could get a significantly lower price there than in Vegas) and Brandon needed someone to pick it up. Well, Shaun and I have a bike rack on our Civic, so Brandon asked him to pick it up for him. After Shaun got home, he called Brandon to give him the bad news. As Shaun started driving out of the parking lot he saw Brandon's brand new bike come crashing down behind the car--he had forgotten to lock the bolt thingymajig. Unfortunately, Brandon's bike got more than a little scraped up in the accident. When Shaun called Brandon to give him the bad news, Brandon just didn't say anything . . .

. . . until Shaun wished him a Happy April Fool's Day!

I on the other hand completely forgot that today was April Fool's Day. I'm just glad that someone else was the butt of Shaun's joke.

It's Getting Closer!

As you can see from these pictures, our house is really getting close to being finished. They're getting the exterior ready for stucco and the interior is completely sheetrocked and the tile is all done. Our builder told us that the house is scheduled to be complete the first week of May--just a little over a month from now! I'm so excited for the house to be finished! I'm not looking forward to the process of moving, but it will be well worth it in the end.
Anyway, here are some pictures to help you visualize.

This next picture was taken from the kitchen, looking into the great room.

I Don't Do Cold

Shaun and I are working on wiring our house for speakers. Although we have doors and windows on the house, it is still freezing cold in there. Shaun was just fine in a sweatshirt, but I was freezing to death in a sweatshirt, a puffy down vest, a fleece jacket, my ski parka and gloves. It seriously took me a couple of hours to warm up afterward. Even after I got into bed and snuggled up in extra blankets I couldn't get warm. Regardless, the house is now wired for speakers and I finally got warm.