wonderful christmas time

Ben and I took the weekend to do some Christmas shopping and to finally put up the tree and decorations. We grew some sunflowers out in our garden this summer and the remaining dead flowers look really sad in the yard. So Ben made them look even more pathetic by decorating them as a sad little tree. He thinks its great, I think it looks sad and dead. What do you think?



We also put up our cute little Christmas tree. Someday we may give in and get a full sized one, but for now, this one is the perfect size.



Then we put up the stockings. The cats have four stockings. (two are just toys from last year) and Ben has one. I don't have a stocking here, mine is still at my parent's house.



I love this stocking because the kitty looks like Tiger Lily. Yes we are "those people" who are obsessed with their cats. It's what I have to work with until we have kids, kay?



And here is Ben's cute little stocking. We don't really have a good place to hang them, so they kind of randomly hang from the ceiling all over the living room.

We are almost done with gift shopping. I am very relieved. I am sad to report that due to our work schedules we will not be traveling to Rifle this year. While I am glad to not have to worry about the weather and the roads, I will miss my family. :(

I know it's been a while

I bet you all thought I forgot about this blog, but I haven't. I still like to read other people's posts all the time. I just never feel like my exploits are worth sharing.

This weekend Ben and I took advantage of my deeply discounted employee rates and stayed at the Downtown Marriott. We had a delightfully delicious dinner at the Melting Pot. My problem with going downtown is that there is nowhere to park. We were going to be late until the hostess suggested using their valet.

We had a nice dinner with cheese fondue as an appetizer, a salad and then a variety of chicken, duck, pork, steak and vegetables cooked in a mojo style. We decided against dessert.



Then we must have waited 25 minutes for the valet to get our car. I was pissed. It was cold outside, and they do not have heaters like other restaurants do. For that money and time, we could have parked 5 blocks away and hoofed it. How hard is it to find a purple Honda Fit? I could tell the valet knew he did a bad job when he finally brought the car up, so I didn't feel guilty about not paying or tipping. We were supposed to pay $4 for the valet, but he didn't even wait or ask for it.

Later that night we decided to ride Trax down to the Library station to go to the Salt Lake Roasting company. We ended up paying $4 on tickets before we realized we were still in the free fare zone. So we paid the money regardless. :) We went to the roasting company because they have really good desserts. Even if you don't drink coffee they have really good cheesecake, flan, cookies, muffins, you name it. Ben got a chai and a fruit covered cake thing. I had a slice of chocolate raspberry cake. So good.



Ben ended up spilling his chai all over me and breaking the glass on the table. I had little shards of glass in my lap. It made me look like I'd wet my pants, plus it made the walk back to pants a lot colder. :( He felt very bad about it though, and is still apologizing. The Roasting Co was pretty nice about the broken glass too.

The next morning we checked out pretty early and found this little diner Ben had been to like 20 years ago to have breakfast. It was called Over the Counter cafe. It was packed and very much a greasy spoon, but absolutely great. The kind of place you'd see on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

It was nice to get away even for a night. We are planning a big trip next year, and we will be saving, so we won't be able to do this kind of thing as often. So it's nice to take advantage when we can.
School is almost out for the semester and I can't wait for the break!

aquarium day

Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I really haven't felt like there's been anything worth posting for awhile.

Yesterday was my team outing at work. It was like being back in elementary school and going on a field trip. We went to the living planet aquarium in Sandy, just down the street from my house.

I tried to take some pictures but without the flash (and sometimes even with) my camera doesn't do very well.

Spring (birthday) break

So this week was the highly anticipated Spring Break from school. I knew that the chances of having both work and school off at the same time were slim to none, so I made sure I took some PTO. Ben also decided to take some time off from the radio station, as he almost never gets any time off.
We went to Wendover on Wednesday and spent a night at the Montego Bay. I lost at Keno, as always. (although I did win the first time I ever played) I also played way too many slot machines trying to get the free spins. Ben played blackjack and lost $20 in like 5 minutes because the dealer kept coming up with 21 when he would have 20. We at delicious Chili Verde at the casino buffet of all places and I had my favorite tequila sunrise. All in all it was a great trip.

Friday was my birthday, Ben as always spoiled me.



Between the cooking trainer for ds and the cookbook, I should be able to become quite the chef. He also got me the dvds of the tv series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" but that had to be ordered from amazon.

On my birthday, we also had to make the pilgrimage to Park City so I could visit mecca the Coach Outlet. I had to get myself a birthday present as well.



I absolutely love the color.

Finally Ben and his grandparents had one more surprise for me.



It was a delicious ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamery. Chocolate cake with mint ice cream. It was verreh tasty.



So the week is drawing to an end. Tomorrow means a return to both work and school. It will be nice to get back to the ol' MVCI gang, but otherwise, I could wish I could take another week off!

Has it been 2 years already?

On Wednesday March 4th, Ben and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. Coincidentally, my favorite trashy guilty pleasure TV show "America's Next Top Model" was beginning a new cycle at the very place we got hitched two years ago, Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. They had pictures taken in some of the same places we did.
I fear that when I tell people I got married in Vegas, they picture the cheesy drive-thru chapel with the Elvis impersonator. Our wedding was nothing like that. We had an intimate gathering of about 25 people in one of the Italian themed chapels at Caesar's. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

So two years later, we marked the day in a less special way. I had to go to a midterm that morning and then I had class that night, so we really didn't do anything special on our actual anniversary. Ben did make a reservation for Thursday night at Tuscany, so that was our more romantic celebration. We had a nice quiet dinner at a very nice dinner (and thanks to b98.7, we didn't have to pay full price.) Our marriage is stronger than ever, and it was a great to celebrate our time spent and look forward to many more years.

25 Random Things

This has been floating around facebook as of late. I thought I would post it here instead.

1. I have never broken a bone. I have dislocated a kneecap and sprained a foot though.

2. I have taken tap, ballet and jazz dance classes. I have had lessons in swimming, gymnastics, singing, playing the viola and ice skating. And I quit them all!

3. “Celebrities” I have met: David Silverman, Christopher Castile, Andy Serkis *2x*, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan. Sean Astin, (all of them are from Lord of the Rings) and Penn & Teller.

4. My first flight by myself was at the age of 19, which was also my first international flight. I went to Birmingham, England to visit my friend Bex who I met via live journal about a year prior.

5. My husband and I went on our first date on 8/1/05. We ate at Carl’s Jr. and sat in the parking lot for several hours just talking. We each thought the other wasn’t interested in being more than friends.

6. I don’t call my husband by his real name when we are alone. I have a nickname for him I use instead.

7. I get migraines with aura. Sometimes I say funny things, or see weird wavy lines and my right arm almost always goes numb.

8. I hate calling people on the phone unless they know I’ll be calling.

9. I’ve had plastic surgery. When I was 12, a plastic surgeon removed a could-be cancerous growth on my head. I still have a bald spot from it.

10. I am not what you would call a picky eater, but I am very particular about textures and won’t eat certain things for that reason. I hate coconut flavor and texture, but I will eat almond joy candy bars. I like pickles but not cucumbers. I can’t stand water chestnuts or mushrooms.

11. I didn’t try sushi until about 2-3 years ago. Now I love it.

12. More food stuff: I am not the cook in our household, but I love to bake.

13. I grew up around dogs and never had a cat until I moved in with Ben. Now I have three cats and love them.

14. I am afraid of snakes and heights and sometimes spiders.

15. I don’t find blood and guts as gross as rotten food or vomit.

16. I am a messy person and am not opposed to “creative clutter.”

17. 2008 was the first time I voted in a presidential election, even though I was eligible to vote in 2004.

18. I have one tattoo of my name in Japanese. I got it at the age of 19 and was extremely surprised at how well my parents handled it.

19. I am the youngest of all my cousins on both my dad’s and mom’s sides of the family because my parents had me later in life, and my aunts both had their kids at young ages.

20. My name would have been Benjamin if I were a boy, which of course happens to be my husband’s name.

21. On that note, I used to tell people that my real name was Victoria when I was younger, because that’s what I thought it really was. But it’s not.

22. I am the queen of starting hobbies only to give them up a few months later. I get it from my mother.

23. I named my dog Molly after the character in the American Girl books and the doll.

24. I love reality dance competition shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" or "Step It Up and Dance." But I don’t like "Dancing With the Stars."

25. I don’t get stage fright before a performance. But I do get very nervous before an audition.

ice cream is a food group

What do you do on a rainy gloomy Saturday when you are feeling depressed and bored and your husband is sick?

You say, "screw the diet!" and have ice cream for dinner.



Thank God for Maggie. I wish I had something better to write about but that's it. :)