Wendy and Syd

Suprise!

2009-05-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Mom went to see Melinda for her birthday. And I just had to tag along…but didn’t tell Melinda I was coming. At the airport Melinda called Mom trying to find her at the baggage claim. I knew she was in a hurry and probably a little stressed. So I called her over and over, knowing I would annoy her a little. She finally picked up as she walked into the airport. I very casually asked her what she was up to. She said she was just about to pick up Mom and wanted to call me back in 10 min. I told her it was very important that I talk to her right now. She then found mom and I was standing back and behind Melinda. She tried one more time to get off the phone with me, saying she would call me in 5 minutes when they got to the car. I said no, it can’t wait…I really need a ride. She was irritated and said “What?”…and then I walked up and said Hi! She was so surprised! It was great! She cried, which made Ian cry.

Before I left I told Mark that if Melinda called he was not to answer, because I thought he would ruin the surprise. I told that to Melinda, and after we got in the car she called Mark to see if she could mess with him a little. She said “Hey Mark, I’m really worried about Wendy, I haven’t been able to get a hold of her all day, do you know where she is?” Mark being THE WORLDS WORST LIAR, said …”um…no?” --- Great job Moe!

Here are some cute pictures of Ian and Melinda when we first got there:

And here is one of the whole fam:

We went to Target, very exciting! I got stopped by a couple of Mary Kay ladies who wanted to share a message of beauty with me. I told them I was LDS...kind of took the wind out of their sails.

Here is Ian trying out some baby sized seating:

My favorite part of Melinda's house is the hammock. Here is a picture of Melinda and Ian in it, as I had a hard time staying in it...it is a skill!

Burgoo anyone?
Melinda and Jake took us to Knockum Hill,a little BBQ place out in the middle of no where!

Here is Jake enjoying the BBQ pork and Burgoo! What is Burgoo you ask? Burgoo is a spicy stew that has its roots in the Irish or mulligan stew. Traditionally, the idea was to make a stew using whatever meats and vegetables were available and in good supply. That meant venison, squirrel, opossum (though not in modern recipes) or game birds; essentially whatever the hunt brought back.

The last two nights that we were there, mom and I stayed at the hotel on base, which was really nice. But the first night we stayed in a hotel with one twin - yes one twin bed. We got them to give us a roll-a-way, and mom just had to sleep in it, making me feel bad. But just so you know I really tried to get her to sleep in the real bed. This is her microwaving a little snack in bed.

On Sunday night, Mom gave a training to the Young Woman Leaders, and then a fireside for the youth of the Hopkinsville Kentucky Stake.

This is her in the back seat getting read (it was about a 40 minute drive)

And here are some pictures of her signing off on some of the girls personal progress goals:

And a couple more social shots

Whatup?!

2009-05-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

Spring Semester @ UVU = $2,250.00

Working Full Time and Taking 16 Credits = Little Sleep, and No Social Life

Rockin' The Semester With a 4.0 = Priceless

That's right everyone! Little Miss slacker just got A's in all 5 classes this semester! Go Me!!!

Baby Puppies R US

2009-04-20T12:27:00.001-07:00

This morning when I went to work, my boss had a wonderful task for me to do. She is baby sitting a little sweet baby dog. The puppies mom wouldn't feed her babies, and 6 of the 8 died, so they had to take the other two away from the mom at only 4 weeks. (That is really early for those of you who don't know) We have to bottle feed her every few hours, and she is currently sleeping in a box under my desk. I'm such a good dog mom!

On This Day In History...

2009-04-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I LOVE history, I thought I would dedicate today to some special events. Here is my top ten most interest events that took place today: 10. 1853 Cincinnati, Ohio, became the first U.S. city to pay its firefighters a regular salary. 9. 1873 Composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Russia. 8. 1939 The United States recognized the Franco government in Spain following the end of the Spanish Civil War. 7. 1960 The first weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched from Cape Canaveral. 6. 1970 President Richard Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and TV. 5. 1999 A New Jersey man was arrested and charged with originating the "Melissa" e-mail virus, which infected more than 1 million computers worldwide. 4. 2001 Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was arrested on corruption charges after a 26-hour armed standoff with police at his Belgrade villa. 3. Debbie Reynolds was born! 2. 2003 American troops rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where she had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed nine days earlier. AND NOW....THE NUMBER 1, MOST WONDERFUL EVENT THAT TOOK PLACE TODAY IN HISTORY...(Drum roll)....(and another drum roll).... In 2004 - Google introduced its Gmail product to the public!! Just Kidding!!! April Fools!!! The best thing about today, is that it is Cheryls Birthday!!! Cheryl is one of my favorite people. She is fun and thoughful, pretty and very talented. I think she is a wonderful mom to Abi, and new baby to come! She is a great wife to Doug. And a fabulous sister-in-law...(she would have to be to put up with Melinda making her perform, and not to hate me for posting this video! Which I'm posting because it shows how cute her laugh is!) I love you Cheryl! I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Callie O'Mallie

2009-03-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALLIE!!

As today is Miss Callie's Birthday, I am dedicating this post to her. This will take the shape of a poem....

C Is for cooky! I love that Callie is always playin' around.

A Is for Angelic. Callie really is very sweet.

L Is for Loving. Callie shows love for everyone.

L is for Loyal. Callie will stick by your side no matter what.

I is for Individual. Callie has a fun personality that is all her own.

E is for Elegant. Isn't she...

Creativity

2009-03-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was cleaning out one of my closets and came across some artwork I was in the middle of over a year ago. With working and going to school, both full time, I don't spend much time with my art, or doing anything creative. For me having a creative outlet is so important. My goal this week is to get back in touch with my creative side. I'll let you all know has it goes. For now, I hope you enjoy this very creative video!

Lunch Lessons

2009-02-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Today all of the attorneys went to some training, so the rest of us went to a long lunch and a movie.

Here are a few things I learned today:

1. After finding the perfect spot in a near empty movie theater, a giggly group of girls will inevitably find their way to the seats right behind you. One of which always finding the need to insert their own commentary on the movie...

2. Polynesian Sauce from Chick filet does not taste like BBQ sauce, despite the color resemblance.

3. Movies in the middle of the day are a good thing.

4. Debt can make you lose a really cute almost boyfriend, your job, and your self respect.

5. And finally - guys with accents and a little facial hair are consistently hotter than those without.

We saw Confessions of a Shopaholic. Very cute! And only PG! - you could take mom!

Needle Work

2009-02-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, another video…but this one is so amazing! I just had to share it.

Needle Sized Art

Thursday Thoughts

2009-01-29T08:10:00.000-08:00

I saw this a few weeks ago on the news and just loved it. As you all know I have a special love for animals. I think it is because I have benefitted through my interactions with them. I think if we all slowed down and paid attention, we could learn a lot from them.

Chocolate

2009-01-27T05:55:00.000-08:00

About every other week we make a chocolate run to See's. Yesterday Patrick and I ventured out on the journey together. Every time I go with him I feel like a celebrity getting the star treatment. He makes friends with EVERYONE he meets. And the See's ladies are no exception. They LOVE him! On our way out the door yesterday one of the ladies stopped us and gave us a huge (at least 5 lbs) box of chocolates "to share". It was a very generous and sweet gesture (pardon the pun). But sweeter still was Patrick’s lamenting that he failed to get them all Christmas gifts this past year. I am grateful to have friends, like all of you, who are kind and are great examples of how to treat others.

Alice

2009-01-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, in 1960, a piano was born. This little piano had two legs, three pedals and 88 keys. Her name was Alice. Alice spent her youth in the home of a family who loved her. She helped entertain the small children by letting them pound on her, creating music only the composer could appreciate. She loved the family, and was never offended when one of the children pouted, or complained that they when they had to spend time practicing with her.

As time went on, Alice was moved from town to town with the family. As the children grew and became more busy, Alice was forgotten. Except for rainy days when they were stuck inside, and Christmas when the family would gather around her once again.

Years passed and Alice became lonesome. The children were now grown and gone, and the parents no longer found a need for her.

So they put her on KSL.com and I got her!!!!!

Here's my Alice! Isn't she cute!

She needed a little TLC. One of her legs was broken, a peddle was stuck, a key was stuck, and one very out of tune note. So Dad came to the rescue and fixed her up! Yes....Dad is a piano tuner! (Mom and I couldn't watch, expecting the worst, so we had to leave. We went to the fabric store. When we came home, he had fixed her right up! - Who knew!)

Here are some pictures of the process...the part Mom and I stuck around for :)

Sydney and Me

2008-12-31T15:32:00.000-08:00

Today work was really slow, so Patrick, Alicia and I went to see Marley and Me at lunch. It was such a cute movie. We all sat there and cried together with the other five people in the theater. (Patrick and Alicia are cat people, I guess we can't all be perfect)

The movie went through the life of a little golden retriever and his family. Through it all I saw my little lady Syd and though of how happy she has made me. Even though she can be a little "spirited". We have been through a lot together, and she has kept me smiling through it all. So below is a little tribue in pictures of my favorite little monkey-bat-rat in the world.

Holiday Party

2008-12-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Gifts
Mom and I made the cutest bags to put the gifts (A leather bound copy of Stories For Christmas by Charles Dickens) in. They were really beautiful on the table at the party. Everyone loved them.

Everyone

We had so much fun, I don't think there was more than a few minute the entire night we were not all laughing. This group feeds off of each other. It was a good thing we had our own room. The other people in the restaurant kept coming by to see what we were doing, and I think to look at how cute the room looked.

Here are the Winners of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest....there was a lot of competition. Despite my best try at getting a really ugly one, one of the servers really liked mine...

Most Christmas Spirit Winner!

Please Don't Ever Wear That Again Winner

Did You Get That From Your Mom Winner

Best In Show Winner!

It Snowed Today!

2008-12-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

Snow by E. E. Cummings
SNOW

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BYS FLUTTERFULLY IF

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CRINGE WITHS

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BIRDS BECAUSE AGAINS

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GLIB SCARCELYEST AMONGS FLOWERING

The "Sue" Chefs

2008-11-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

I know this is way out of date at this point, but I just got the picutes from XanGo's Halloween day. It's a big deal around these parts. They have contest every year, grand prize ($1,500) went to the headless horseman who showed up on a black horse...crazy!

My job was to make the Legal department look like team players by dressing up for the first year ever! Thus the name "Sue Chefs"