Bug and Puppy

We're on our way...almost

2010-10-29T19:45:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow at approximately 4:45 pm we will be boarding a place to San Francisco airport. Then later that evening we will embark on the 14(!) hour flight from San Fran to Sydney, Australia. We will spend a week there at the Sydney Marriott, and then we fly to Wellington New Zealand on the 8th. Then from Wellington, we take a train to the north and arrive in Auckland NZ. The whole trip will span about 19 days. This is kind of a big deal. :) I will have lots of pictures, stories and experiences to share with everyone soon.

How to blog the trip?

2010-10-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

So we are at the two week mark for our trip to Sydney/NZ. We are bringing lappy, my husband's mini video camera, and a regular digital camera. I want to document the trip, and so I also bought a new paper journal. I don't know how much internet access I will have, especially in New Zealand, where the hotels are bragging about their "dial up" connections. I'm tempted to create a youtube account with Ben and maybe upload videos for people, or to write in my laptop's word pad and just upload it all later. If I write in the paper journal, I probably won't ever put it on the internet, and I know a lot of people want to hear about the experience. Decisions, decisions.

Next Stop Sydney

2010-08-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

The plane tickets are booked. There is no turning back. Now we just need to get a place to stay.

wonderful christmas time

2009-12-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

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

2009-05-23T08:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-03-06T17:46:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

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. :)

Early Christmas

2008-12-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

One of my Christmas traditions is to have an early Christmas at my parents house. This tradition started when I complained about never actually opening any gifts at my own house because we always spent Christmas in Rifle with my grandparents. This is nice because I get to have 2 Christmases. So on Saturday, my parents, Ben and I had our early Christmas together.

First we piled in the car together to drive to Bountiful to pick out my big gift. A brand new shiny bike.

Then we kind of regretted only taking one car, because there was no way to fold the seat down and have room for the bike and the four of us. But with some clever maneuvering and the use of some cloth grocery bags, we were able to get the bike home without scratching up the car and without having the bike fall out somewhere on the highway.

I love my new bike and can't wait for the snow to melt so I can ride the crap out of it. It was such a flashback to my childhood, having my parents take me to the store to pick out a bicycle. :)

Otherwise, I was very eager to give Ben his present. I got him a personalized jersey for his favorite soccer team.

All in all, it was a great early Christmas. Now we just have to hope for good weather so we can make it to Rifle to visit my grandparents for real Christmas. I hope you all have a great holiday!

Christmas Questions

2008-12-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I have always enjoyed wrapping presents. I used to have to do gift wrapping at Cracker Barrel, and I learned some tricks that make wrapping even easier and better looking.

2. Real tree or artificial?
I think prefer artificial. We have a little fake tree and I'm fine with that. I never really liked the mess and smell that comes from real trees.

3. When do you put up the tree?
This year we put it up the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We don't really have a set time, just whenever we get around to it.

4. When do you take the tree down?
once again, whenever we get around to it.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yeah sure, don't drink it very often.

6. Favorite gifts received as a child?
I remember one year Santa left me a Barbie house in the garage, it was totally unexpected. Also, when I got my Molly doll, that was a very good Christmas.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My Dad because he doesn't really have any hobbies and he doesn't listen to music.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My Mom, because I can usually get her something I would like and it's pretty safe.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
My parents do, and I still love putting it up. It's Precious Moments.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
E-mail seems so chintzy. I think this is the one time where e-mail won't cut it.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I can't think of anything truly horrendous, but my grandma sometimes would give me this awful gold costume jewelry and Charlie perfume.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Nightmare Before Christmas, Elf, Muppet's Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
This year I started mid-November.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No, I recycle the boxes they come in though.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
I'd have to second Bex and say cheese and crackers, but also pie, because I really don't eat pie the rest of the year.

16. Lights on the tree?
Of course.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Angels we Have Heard on High, Little Drummer Boy

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
I always end up traveling.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
From the poem? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen. And then Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
We bought a really cute star last year. My parents have an angel on theirs.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
When I was little I complained that I never got to have Christmas at my own house. So we started a tradition of opening presents a few days early at my parents house, just the ones between me and my parents. Then we open the rest on Xmas morning at my grandparents house.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
How rude everyone is when they're out shopping.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I like ice colors- whites and silvers and blues.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Honey baked ham.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
The one big thing I want is a new bike.

Handbag Heaven

2008-11-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

Coach > Life

Some girls like shoes, for others it's hats, or maybe jewelry. But for me it is very obviously handbags.
I started "collecting" them in High School. The great thing about holding on to your old bags is that I can go through them and reconnect to the time when I carried them. Like I can remember which bag I was carrying when I met Ben for the first time or when I went to England to meet Bex and all the hobbits.
I have my favorites, some that I don't even carry that often like my big cherry bag or my green coach that got compliments everywhere I took it. Yet, I don't think I could name a definitive favorite.
I'm probably most proud of my little Coach collection. I'm not usually a brand snob, but I really like some of the bags Coach makes and the quality is usually worth the hefty price tag. Also, I have yet to purchase a Coach bag at retail price due to the handy outlet in Park City.

So today I got bored and decided to pull out my bags and take "inventory" of them.

6 Coach
2 Dooney and Burke
1 Kate Spade
29 Assorted Brands
= 38 handbags

Not too mention that I had to have matching wristlets and wallets for all of them. I have a thing where I like the bag and the wallet to match or at least be the same color or material. A little obsessive, I know.

I'm already looking forward to my next handbag purchase. It's an expensive habit, yes but soooo much fun!

My prized Coach collection. My favorite is probably the lime green one, but I couldn't really pick a true favorite as that would be like a mother choosing a fave child!

This is where my retirement fund is going. :) Just kidding.

P90X

2008-11-13T15:56:00.001-08:00

I've kept quiet about my weight loss and fitness goals, but in the last few months I have actually made a big change in my life by finally working on losing the weight I've been steadily putting on for the last 3 years. Pretty much as soon as I changed jobs from standing 8 hours a day to sitting, I gained about 10 pounds right away. Then from eating out at fast food places every day I gained another 10...and so on.

I decided almost on a whim to make an effort to lose weight. I stopped eating at fast food places every day. I started exercising 3x a week at the rec center. I copied the Turbo Jam workout videos and started doing those too. I even started lifting weights.

I have successfully dropped 17 pounds. I don't feel that it is very noticeable, but when my family came to visit from Colorado (people who had not seen me in months)they said they could see a change.

I'm only about halfway to my goal, but I've decided to try the P90X system. My problem with working out is that I get bored of the same routine quickly. This system should be good for me because it comes with 12 different videos to do.

I want to tone up and be able to do a real pushup and get into my skinny jeans. I think that is reasonable. I don't have aspirations of a size 0 or having Madonna arms. :)

the man who wore vans

2008-11-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

Husband Survey

1. Where did you meet your husband? Myspace, sad but true

2. How long did you date before you got married? 1 year and 7 months

3. How long have you been married? 20 months

4. What does he do that surprises you? he started snoring after 2 years of being super quiet. That was surprising!

5. What is your favorite feature of his? pillow lips, bootay

6. What is your favorite quality? his snarky sense of humor

7. Does he have a nick name for you? bug, bugwife

8. What is his favorite food? cheese

9. What is his favorite sport? soccer

10. When and where did you first kiss? in front of my apartment in Aug 05. I kissed him!

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? get coffee, go shopping

12. Do you have children? three cat-kids

13. Does he have any hidden talents? he can play instruments

14. How old is he? 27

15. Who said I love you first? I think it was him, I said it back though

16. What is his favorite music? ska, punk, rock all of those

17. What do you admire most about him? his selflessness

18. What is favorite color? green

19. Will he read this? maybe

20. Who do you tag? all my gal pals with hubby/boyfren's/whatever

it's pumpkin-ninny!

2008-10-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last night Ben and I decided to carve up some punkin's. We'd never done it together before and the weather was nice, so we just sat out in front of our house and carved them before it got too dark. It was a lot of fun and brought back a lot of old memories of carving pumpkins every Halloween with my dad.

My pumpkin is on the left, Ben's vampire pumpkin is on the right. It was my first time using a pattern, I think it turned out pretty good.

1st Game at Rio Tinto Stadium

2008-10-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

Ben, myself and his brother Clayton all braved the chilling wind and bitter cold to see the first game for Real Salt Lake at the new stadium in Sandy. It is a really nice stadium, much better suited for soccer than Rice Eccles was. They tied 1-1. It was fun to be there, even though I'm not a huge soccer fan.

High School Not so Musical

2008-09-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

The delightful Joanna did this and I'm way too susceptible to peer pressure so...

1. Your High School's Full Name? Granger High
2. High School Colors? red and silver and blue
3. School Mascot? lancer
4. Did You Date Anyone From Your School? I'm gonna go with no.
5. What kind Of Car Did You Drive? my parents hand me down Gold saturn, that is now probably been sold for parts or crushed into a cube
6. Where Were You On A Friday Night? nothing probably. maybe out with Heidi.
7. Were You A Party Animal? Not at all.
8. Were You Considered A Flirt? not likely.
9. Were You In Band, Orchestra, Choir Or Other Groups? I was in choir until senior year, then they changed choir teachers, and I didn't make madrigals, so I left the class.
10.Were You In Any Clubs? I was secretary of drama club senior year. I also was on the lit magazine and the broadcasting club.
11. Did You Ever Get Expelled Or Suspended? No I did not
12. Can You Still Sing The Fight Song? I couldn't even sing it when I went there.
13. Favorite Teachers? Mr. Butler (drama) Mrs. Sargent (english) Ms. Miller (communications) Ms. Gaskins (psych)
14. Where Did You Sit During Lunch? senior year we never sat in the lunch room, we usually went to wendy's for lunch in my car
15. Who Did You Go To Homecoming With? I never went to homecoming.
16. Who Did You Go To Prom With? I went to Jr. Prom as a senior with Travis
17. If You Could Go Back And Redo High School...Would You? No, it was bad enough the first time.
18. What Do You Remember About Graduation? It was boring as hell.
19. Do You Plan On Going To Your 10 Year Reunion? Maybe.

I love this man!

2008-08-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

If you think this sounds like bragging that's because it is.
Twice in the last week he has used his position of "power" on the radio to be incredibly thoughtful and loving to me. Ben works as the morning show producer for B98.7, a local radio station. They do this thing called Celebrity Challenge where the listeners have to call in and guess the actor and movie after they play this little clip.
Anyway, Ben let me pick some of my favorite movies and choose the best clips they could use on the show.
This week they used my clip from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and dedicated it to me because it's my favorite movie. Unfortunately that morning I happened to miss the show, but he played it back for me and it was so sweet!

Then on another morning, they were talking about a recent fire in Draper and that people were being given 5 minutes to evacuate their house, and what would you take with you given those circumstances. The DJs were talking about get the computer with all the pictures on it, and Erin (the dj) was teasing Ben about his collection of t-shirts (he does have a pretty expansive selection) but then they asked him what he would bring. And he said (this makes me cry just thinking about it) that he would grab my Starr bear because my good friend (Erin) gave it to me and it's irreplaceable. I am so touched. I don't know if I would even have thought of getting Starr if the house was on fire, but the fact that he thought of an object that means so much too me, instead of something for himself, is just amazing. :)

That's Starr. (and Pikachu) He probably is my prized possession.

The Kids

2008-08-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is Callie. She belonged to Irmgard, the woman who lived in our house before us. When Irmgard got sick, Ben's Grandpa took care of the cats until we moved in. Callie was the first cat I ever had. She is a real sweetheart, except for when she throws up on the floor or bites you because she doesn't like how you are petting her.

This is Tiger Lily, we adopted her two years ago from the Humane Society. Originally, we wanted to get a dog. Instead we ended up with her. She was just a tiny kitten who won me over with her playfulness and unique look. She likes to hide in boxes and bags, crawling under the covers and drinking from the bathroom sink. She also made an escape attempt earlier this year, and was finally recovered hiding in the backyard under a bush. Since then, she's not allowed outside.

Finally our youngest baby is this little hairball, Codi. We adopted her from a litter of strays Ben's Mom took in. She is our smallest but most personable cat. She purrs louder than cats twice her size. She is also big on cuddles and likes kneading and pawing her humans.

It has been a lot of fun having these pets. It is hilarious to watch them play and chase each other. Often you'll see Codi and Tiger Lily cuddling one moment and wrestling the next. Because Callie is so much older she tends to stay on her own.

A common scene in our house.

My bestest Bud

2008-08-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Bex has been my best girl friend for over five years now. She is originally from New Zealand, but currently lives in Scotland. She is a super-smart Ph.D. student studying biology. I met her for the first time in 2003 when I took a trip to Birmingham UK to visit her and her parents. She then returned the favor when I got married last year, she came all the way to Las Vegas to be there for me. She is an amazing person and I can always count on her.