Love a cute face

I love these pictures of my beautiful friend Megan and her adorable child. The purpose of this photo shoot was to get portraits of the The Hinmon Agency employees for their new website. Then this little doll came in and I couldn't resist snapping a few.

The Tele and Bag

I think I've mentioned it before but Dan and I have been almost television free since we've been married. I've loved it for many reasons. First, we spent a whole lot more time sitting on our couches at night and talking, we came up with other ways to entertain ourselves, we made TV watching a social event by going over to his brother's house for the Thursday night line-up (Survivor, etc), and the list goes on.
Much to my displeasure, Dan recently started getting the itch for TV (I think this had to do with his sicky/prego wife who needed to go to bed at 8:30pm every night). After several weeks of weighing the pros verses cons, we got basic cable (which really isn't that basic). The biggest pro - Dan really wanted it and who doesn't want to make their husband this happy...
So we got cable, but our seating situation was not ideal. We had 3 full sized couches in the great room (we love to have comfy seating for ALL of our visitors) and nothing in our loft with the TV. You'd think the easiest solution would be to move one of the three couches upstairs but Dan didn't want to do that since we'd probably be moving again in the next year (of course, why go through the 15 minute hassle for just 1 year). So, we spent the first couple weeks of TV watching like this... (imagine me on the couch cushions and pillows next to him)


Around Valentine's Day I suggested we look into one of those big foam bag chairs so we could cuddle while we watched TV (and be a tad more comfortable). Who couldn't use a little more cuddle time? We did a little price comparisons and found a great deal with a company called Corda-roy's Sacs (my mom and sister have one- they highly recommended it). Not only is this sac a chair, but you can unzip it into a king sized bed... brilliant! We thought it might be better than the yoga ball and couch cushion on the floor, but we were still trying to decide.
Well, a little over a week ago, my teachers union FINALLY settled on the details of our contract and I came home with a lovely check due to a pay increase. That night I deposited the check and ordered our Sac. Less than a week after that, we were enjoying a night in front of the TV cuddled up in this comfy, red love bag.

Now, any free moment I have at home, you can find me in this chair. I LOVE IT! While comfortably seated, I usually go for my laptop rather than the remote, but I have to say, the TV is not so bad. This is especially true since we also got TiVo, another brilliant invention. I record Oprah, Ellen, and of course, our Thursday night shows. Then, whenever I do want to flip on the tele, I always have something good to watch. Not too shabby.

Now, the only trick is going to be getting out of the bag while 8 months prego. That will be a sight to see, I'm thinking Dan might have to dump me out. We'll see. I'm sure there will be pictures to come:)

Samson the Wise

I had some fun last night playing with my new Adobe Lightroom photo editing program. My adorable little nephew was the subject of my experiments. I've been holding on to these pictures since Christmas, so it was fun to finally get to it. I'm sure there will be more experimenting to come. It's good to be back to doing the things I love.
Oh, I just can't get enough of this kid!

Tagged by Kristine

10 years ago:
I was in the 9th grade, which was great for one reason - Sports. After a horrible 8th grade year, I made one of the greatest decisions of my teenage years, I decided not to try out for cheerleading and stick to sports instead. Sports really made that year wonderful and greatly improved my High School experience.

5 things on my to-do list Today:
1. Call in sick - I tried my luck on some peanut butter last night, which I'm allergic to. When will I learn.
2. Lay low this morning while the peanuts do their worst (and I thought I was past the morning sickness)
3. Photoshoot at the Hinman Agency - my first real gig
4. Work with 2 speech kiddos this afternoon
5. maybe our much anticipated Target run, we'll see how I feel

5 snacks I enjoy: It's hard to think of snacks right now....ummm...
1. Dan's smoothies
2. usually something chocolate -although, not as much since being pregnant
3. Fruit - canned peaches are my favorite right now
4. Wendy's Frosty - with mix-ins
5. Cool Ranch Doritos

What would I do if suddenly made a billionaire:
1. Buy some country land
2. Build a cute little cottage on it (or restore an old one)
3. Plant a whole lot of fruit trees
4. Hire someone to teach me how to make a deluxe garden
5. Buy photography equipment

5 places I've lived:
1. Mesa, AZ
2. Provo, UT
3. SLC, UT
4. McMinnville, OR
5. London, Guatemala, Costa Rica - all for only 6 weeks - 2 months

5 Jobs I've had:
1. Kooley Park concessions stand
2. After-school reading tutor
3. Reading specialist - elementary intervention program
4. Speech Therapist
5. Photographer

5 Thing you don't know about me:
1. I LOVE to dance - anytime, anywhere. I need no coaxing to get out on a dance floor, in fact - I'll probably be out there already trying to get YOU to dance.
2. I love to fly. I want to get my pilots license someday
3. I hate hearing people bite their nails - it's like nails on a chalkboard to me
4. I don't like being from a large family (youngest of 9)- although I love each and every one of them (so bad it sometimes hurts), I think smaller might be better for me and my own family.
5. I am generally unrealisticly optimistic. Whenever someone tells me something that didn't go so well with nursing, pregnancy, raising kids, etc. I catch myself thinking, "That won't ever happen to me, it's all going to go so smoothly". It makes me laugh sometimes. I'm not sure where this confidence comes from but I think it has helped me. I don't tend to worry about much because I don't generally anticipate problems. Then when something doesn't go all that smooth, I deal with it, and as time passes, I forget how bad it actually was. Maybe this is will change once I have kids, but I hope not, I feel like it's a huge blessing in my life.

Now I tag... my cousin Heather, my sister-in-law Allison, and Jen Wyeth

The Latest and Greatest

I haven't been motivated to do much of anything lately, especially blog, so here's a list of our latest and greatest:

• I'm still exhausted, but now it's only from 7pm until I go to bed, which is usually 9:30pm.

• In the last week I've finally felt motivated to do more than just work and sit on the couch, hence the posting.

• Dan & I read "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan and are very excited about it. I think EVERYONE needs to read this book. It'll change you. (I'm sure I'll post more about this soon)

• Dan & I have once again modified our 'division of household labors' plan and are very excited about the new system.


• For the first time in the 3 1/2 years we've been married, we now have T.V. (ugh)


• I just figured out how to burn CD's from my itunes collection, it's fantastic!
• This weekend, I made bread & granola. I also learned how to make cheesecake and homemade pizza (dough and all!)
• We ate well this weekend.
• I started working out again. I ran Friday, Saturday, and walked hills this morning!
• I'm pretty sure my butt is growing doubly as fast as my belly, looking forward for that to be reversed.
• Our baby has fingernails
• My sister-in-law had her little girl on Valentine's Day - Payton Melissa (pictures to come)
• The weather has been perfect this last week - clear, beautiful, 60 degrees
• Dan & I are starting to get excited and educated about starting our first garden
• Work is busy, but good.
• I'm going shopping today for the first time in several months - excited to make the hour trek to the closest mall!
• I've been enjoying my sister-in-laws blog, especially her creative V-day videos.
• She taught me how to hyperlink.
• My other sister-in-law, Megan, is pregnant. She's only 1-2 weeks behind me!
• Dan & I had a great Valentines Day full of love, quality time, chocolate, Thai food, a lovely Orchid, cute card, and a gift card for a massage (last 3 for me).
• For the last month, Dan & I have been making a list of things we need in our house such as trash cans, potato peeler, desk organizer, butter dish, etc. We're headed to Target this week to finally get all these "little" things that will make our house a little more organized.
• After a short period of being down on Oregon due to the rain, I'm back to LOVING it here.
• As a result of that short period, Dan & I have come up with a winter survival plan of getting out of the rain for at least a few days every January or February. Dan thinks it should be Hawaii every year. Our budget may think otherwise, but something to shoot for.
• Thanks to President's Day, I've had a wonderful 4 day weekend. I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Yael Naim - New Soul

I love this song! The Apple commercial reminded how much I love it. I just bought her album. I'll let you know how it is.

Hawaii - pictures-a-plenty

I know, you've all been waiting for the Hawaii update. Well, who comes back from Hawaii and says anything except... It was AWESOME!

Some Highlights:

- warm weather

- the feeling of the sun (I know, it's a hard feeling to remember in January) (Brian in the background flying through the waves)

- sitting by the pool knowing it's January and frozen at home

- the road to Hana during a flash flood warning - made the waterfalls extra exciting

- the breaks in the weather when we got to places we wanted to explore
- a lovely black sand beach
- whale sightings off shore (very, very off shore, but still cool)

- snorkeling with sea turtles - funny looking little (big) guys - Sorry Brian, no photoshop:)

- tennis with Dan and finally getting more comfortable with my serve (I finally won a set against him!)

- yummy shaved ice (Dan & I are now in the market for a high quality shaved ice machine if anyone has any recommendations) - this pic is actually Cold Stone, but you get the point - comfy accommodations and fantastic hosts (thank you Alan & Judy!)- hanging out with Sam, Alli, and Brian- Sam's awesome 'blow out' in the park and being 'naked boy' the rest of the night- the performance at the Luau (how do those girls move like that?)

- going to bed at 8:30pm and getting at least 10 hours of sleep every night

- Alan & Judy's love and excitment for the Banyan Tree!

- Sam, Sam, and more Sam

- frolicing in the blue waves

-hanging out on the Lanai

- hanging out with my buddy

- these picture - INCREDIBLE TRIP, INCREDIBLE PEOPLE! What more could you ask for?

President Gordon B. Hinckley

This morning was the funeral service for our Prophet, President Hinckley. I enjoyed the talks and tributes given but it wasn't until the closing song that it really hit me. During the closing song, a collage of video clips of President Hinckely was shown. I couldn't help but sob and I haven't been able to keep the tears from flowing since. He lived a long life (1910-2008) and I'm so happy for him to move on and be with his wife again (she passed away 3 years ago) but I'm going to miss him so much.
There have been many tributes dedicated to him in the past week but I don't think any of them can fully capture what an incredible life he led and what an amazing example he was to so many.

I have no doubt he was a Prophet of God and led the Lord's Church through inspiration.
Countless miracles have taken place during his 13 years as President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He has done so much good, however, I am most grateful for was his unwavering testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been very influential in the development of my testimony and love for the Gospel. He has helped burn into my heart deep feelings of faith and surety that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that he did see God the Father and Jesus Christ and as a result, the Book of Mormon was brought forth and the Gospel of Jesus Christ was again restored to the earth. I feel this so deeply. It is the one thing I am most sure about in life. Thank you President Hinckley for your example and testimony. You will be deeply missed.